Chapter 8. Wheeeeeeeee!
DISCLAIMER: NEWSFLASH! Pokemon is not owned by me.
Moonlight's Shadow Chapter 8:
A Show of Skills- Part 2
"Let me see… Absol…Attacks are- Shoot! It's attacking!"
Sami grimaced as Mr. Mime, Koja's opponent started forward first with a double slap. But Koja easily dodged the attack and smirked at his opponent's attempt.
"Aerial Ace!"
Koja responded immediately and in a split second Koja was on top of his opponent- that is, on top being on top of his opponent on thin air. Or that's what it looked like. It was actually a type of barrier. The Mr. Mime's eyes widened as he saw the scars on Koja's legs. The scars that had were cut in the shape of an 'x'. The battle stopped for a moment as there was obviously some dialog between the two. Koja suddenly reared up, furious. His eyes were glinting dangerously and he fainted in and out. The Absol kicked the Mr. Mime and seemed to be lost in his own world.
"Ack… Swagger."
Shadow scanned her tiny database of Pokemon Trainer knowledge of what the attack 'Swagger' was. She remembered from when she heard Sami describing a battle to her Grandmother. Swagger- an attack which highly confused the other Pokemon. The targeted Pokemon would have a low chance of even attacking but if it did attack, it would have double attack power. The Umbreon shook her head.
There was no use communicating to Koja now. The Absol was on a rampage. The Mr. Mime jumped away and started to make another barrier. He was just in time too- Koja banged headfirst into the invisible force field. The Absol flinched and his opponent took this time to jump out from behind his barrier and use another double slap on Koja.
One slap, two slaps, three slaps, four slaps, fi- Koja thrashed out at the Mr. Mime and bit his opponent's left ear. A shriek of pain was heard but Koja kept biting down. As Koja jumped away and prepared for another move Sami called out desperately.
"Swords Stance!"
It was a small moment of rejoicing. Somehow Sami's words reached the Absol and he nodded, if not a little bit dizzily. The Absol took a stance and raised his head. The fire in his eyes seemed to have doubled.
Mr. Mime took this time to initiate another double slap. But Koja was ready.
"Attack him with your horn!"
In an instant, Koja's horn was slashing left and right at his opponent. The Mr. Mime backed off immediately but Koja kept going. The Absol's horn may not have been used for battle a lot but the horn's edge was still razor sharp.
The Mr. Mime was starting to breath heavily, and there were cuts on his skin where Koja's horn had struck home. For a moment or two, the opponents watched each other, taking the moment to rest. But the peace didn't last long. Sabrina's Mr. Mime acted first, pulling his fingers into a fist and dealing a mega punch to Koja.
The Absol flew backwards, completely surprised by how hard he had gotten hit by the punch. Skidding backwards on the floor tiles, Koja glanced back at Sami for a command. He may have being experienced when it came to battling but he had almost no experience in fighting with psychic types. As much as he hated it, he would have to listen to Sami otherwise he'd definitely get beaten sorely.
Sami grimaced. She should have done more thinking last night. She had a limited knowledge on Absols. Most of that knowledge came from battling other Absols in trainer battles- and she had only encountered a few. The other problem was that… The teenager watched as Koja slowly got up. The other problem was that it was a known fact that dark Pokemon were weak towards fighting moves like mega punch…
"Use…Use taunt!" Sami called desperately.
Shadow shook her head as she watched both Pokemon, again exchange words. Although she couldn't hear what they were saying, she had the general idea. The Umbreon just hoped that this battle wouldn't turn out into an insult competition.
The move must have worked because it wasn't long before the Mr. Mime was charging full speed at Koja.
"Charge at him with a quick attack!"
Although skeptical, the Absol began to charge at his opponent. With only a few seconds to spare, the Koja mustered up a black ball of power in his mouth. It soon took off like a bullet and took a direct hit at the Mr. Mime. But the black ball of energy did not stop there. It seemed to spread over the Pokemon, like a huge black net.
"Eh? What was that? That wasn't in the plan!" Sami yelled angrily, but she also added, "That was amazing! Where'd you learn that?"
Koja glanced up at her with a small dark smile on his face, "Just a technique I learned from someone…"
But the Mr. Mime wasn't done yet. Taking advantage of his opponent's temporary vulnerability, the Psychic type struck another mega punch at Koja. Before anyone had anytime to even warn Koja, the Absol was flying in the air, shock on his face.
"Aerial Ace!"
Koja nodded and with inhumane speed swooped done on his opponent. The Mr. Mime tried frantically to build a barrier but there wasn't enough time. Armed with claws and teeth, the disaster Pokemon attacked rabidly at the Mr. Mime. Again, the Absol formed a black ball of energy in his jaws and let it free to consume his opponent.
Jumping away, Koja waited and watched as Sabrina's Mr. Mime cried out in pain. IT wasn't long before the dark energy disappeared but it left Koja the victor. Sami breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Sabrina taking out a pokeball and withdrawing her Mr. Mime within in. The teen glanced at Shadow in thought.
"No…I think I'll keep Koja out a bit longer…" the human grinned down at the Absol, "Good going Koja!"
The Absol allowed himself a small smile. Sabrina almost mimicked it as she took out her final pokeball. It was a blue and white sphere and it hung from her neck.
"Well done, Sami. You're quite a trainer… But, let's see how you take this. Let's go Alakazam!"
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Wielding two gigantic metal spoons and standing firm was Sabrina's Alakazam. Even Koja looked at him in awe and Shadow's eyes widened. So this was the Pokemon that she had wanted to find. The Pokemon who was one of the most intelligent species in the world.
"Great… Ah Koja! Start it with swords stance!"
The stance was performed but, interestingly enough, Sabrina's Alakazam did not attack. He instead closed his eyes and dropped into some form of trance. Koja grimaced. He'd heard of this. A common strategy of an Alakazam was to find his opponents weaknesses and use them to his advantage. This was normally done in a trance like what his opponent was doing now.
"Don't give him thinking time! Use that, that… move. That dark thing!"
Koja muttered something about 'wrong name' but he nodded and let a black ball of energy fly out of his mouth. The energy hit the Alakazam full force and began to creep over the Psi Pokemon. But it disappeared as soon as the Alakazam opened his eyes. Sami swallowed.
"Razor Wind!" the trainer wasted no time to issue another command as the wind based attack returned to Sami's memory.
The Absol jumped up into the air and somehow conjured up a whirlwind using his horn. He directed it towards the Alakazam and the winds obeyed. However, the wind never even came near the Alakazam. Holding up a metal spoon, Sabrina's Alakazam sent a psywave directed at Koja.
Koja shook his head not understanding… He was immune those types of attacks…
"Koja! Get out of the way!" shrieked Sami, "He's not aiming for you! He's aiming for the floor!"
But it was too late, by the time, the Absol started to get out of the way, the telekinetic force had hit ground under him. The flooring basically flew up in the air, carrying Koja with it.
"Aerial Ace!" commanded Sami
But the Alakazam seemed to be expecting this and teleported away. Koja swooped down and landed safely on the floor. He looked around cautiously, waiting for his opponent to pop up somewhere…
"Behind you!" called out Shadow, but it was already too late.
A psybeam blasted into the floor and again the impact carried the dark type Pokemon upwards. Grappling at something to hold on to, the Absol succeeded- he was now clinging by one paw on the overhanging ceiling light.
The Absol cried out in pain. Dark Pokemon, like Koja tried to avoid bright light when possible, it seemed to have a damaging effect on them. Now, being stuck up there must have been hell for Koja.
Sami's eyes widened. What a cruel way to attack. But as she glanced at Koja's opponent, she saw a flicker of emotion come over the Alakazam's face as his eyes softened. But it didn't last for long before the emotion was gone.
Not wasting any time, the Alakazam lifted his metal spoon again and set the force hurtling towards the ceiling. The metal chains, securing the light to the ceiling broke and Koja hurtled down towards the gym floor.
Knowing that Koja would be knocked out and would suffer critical injuries form such a huge fall, Sami chucked a pokeball at the Absol. Shadow trembled, looking at the opponent before her. The referee had already declared Alakazam the winner… She had never even really battled before… She wasn't going to last.
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It seemed odd. A massive Psychic genius against tiny dog like Pokemon. Even with a type disadvantage, most people would say the Alakazam would win. Sami bit her lip. She was going to have to come up with a good strategy, and fast. It seemed hopeless- her brain working against a genius with an IQ definitely way higher than hers.
The Alakazam certainly wasn't attacking either. He had gone back to into his trance. Sami sighed. Attacking wouldn't work while the psi Pokemon was in that state. His powers were probably at their peak. So she waited. Both trainer and Pokemon waited. Until his eyes opened.
It was then that he made a mistake. The mistake of looking into Shadow's eyes. The Alakazam froze. Sami grinned. For once those eyes came in to be useful. Shadow walked forward, keeping her eyes on her opponent.
But the effect was suddenly broken. Sabrina seemed to utter a mental command to her Pokemon and the Alakazam looked away. The Psychic type closed his eyes for a split second- before all went black. The Alakazam had turned off the lights.
Shadow found it hard to keep calm. She had expected everything- but this. Her breathing became faster and faster. She felt vulnerable when she knew she should feel protected by the blanket of darkness covering her.
"Yeah! Go get him Shadow!"
Shadow swallowed. Sami didn't know about her phobia of the dark. Even with perfect night vision, Shadow still felt frozen in place. What was she going to do? Her opponent was definitely going to make his move at any moment.
Forcing herself to think, the Umbreon grimaced. She felt a psywave bounce of her. She cursed. Her opponent was probably using his psywaves as a sort of sonar or radar... When it bounced off something it probably came back to him and he would be able to tell the exact position of her!
Little by little, Shadow made her first step. She was going to turn on the light switch. But she had to do it quickly otherwise her opponent would find her. IT was a game of cat and mouse. The Alakazam trying to locate her, something sending blasts of psychic power out, and she, trying to find the light switch.
She had a faint idea of what they looked like. A square button. She had seen one behind the… The referee. Fainting in and out of the normal realm, Shadow soon made it. Her paw smacked the button and the lights went on again.
As quick as lightning, the Umbreon hurled herself at the Alakazam and slashed his arm. She jumped backwards and glanced at Sami, waiting for a command.
Although puzzled by why the Umbreon would turn the lights back on to her disadvantage, the trainer didn't waste a second,
"Quick Attack!"
A second later, the Umbreon had tackled into her opponent and then jumped backwards again. But the Alakazam barely took any damage and simply took the lights out again. Shadow cursed- she should've remembered to destroy the light switch. The Alakazam was probably trying to find some strategy or something… But there was something different, something different about the way he arranged his spoons…
Future sight. Sami had only seen it once, and that was when she went to watch the Kanto League Tournament. One trainer had an Alakazam who used that move to win the battle. The Alakazam had ignored attacks for a period of time before he unleashed a powerful attack…
"Shadow!"
But there was no answer, and in the complete pitch darkness Sami had no idea of what was going on. There was silence for a long while. A long, long while. The trainer had called out several times but there was no answer. Finally, there was a thud.
"It's over."
Sami sighed as she watched the lights flicked back on… She expected too much, she- The trainer blinked. Shadow was standing over an unconscious Alakazam. She was the winner… That was amazing. The trainer grinned but it disappeared almost immediately. Shadow was grinning… She was grinning at the Alakazam… What was wrong with the Umbreon?
She seemed to be a completely different character… But it must have been imagination for soon Shadow was back to her normal self. Alakazam disappeared and Sabrina still stared at Shadow.
"She must have seen what happened…" mused Sami.
"I did… Or rather, I probed my Alakazam's thoughts." The telepathic voice was scared, awed.
Sami blinked. Sabrina was known to be one of the most powerful Psychics in the world and the teen doubted that the gym leader would get scared or awed easily.
"W-what did you…What happened…?"
"You must be a very good Pokemon trainer…Your Umbreon… Is very powerful. "
Sami raised an eyebrow before she answered. Shadow was that powerful?
"She's not mi- I mean…What did she do?"
"That I'm not exactly sure… My Alakazam couldn't really see anything through the darkness…Your Pokemon seemed to have an…evil aura…"
Evil?
"I don't get you. What do you mean by… evil?"
"I know you saw it… personality change you might call it."
The auburn haired girl looked at Shadow who was slowly walking back to her. The scene from when she saw Shadow standing victor over Alakazam came back and the trainer shuddered when she remembered the facial expression of the Umbreon.
"Yes, that personality change. I don't mean to alarm you but has your Umbreon always been this powerful?"
"I only just ah…caught her. I don't know much about her," admitted Sami, "Why?"
"Just wondering… And one last question. Are you sure that you have an Umbreon, not another species of Pokemon?"
"What! No… Well I'm pretty sure she's an Umbreon…Why?"
Sami swallowed. This was getting worse. How did things end up so complicated?
"Well. According to my Alakazam, you Umbreon has a phobia to the dark and shadows. That's why she switched back on the lights during the battle. Abnormal traits for an Umbreon wouldn't you say? And besides that, well… There's a good chance that she used a water based attack sometime during the battle. There is a puddle of water on the ground where my Alakazam fell unconscious."
Sami looked, and as the Gymleader said, there was a small puddle of water.
The Gymleader continued, "You'd better get her checked out at the Pokemon Center… There's something strange about your Umbreon, I'll tell you that."
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Illex Forest, Johto Region
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Illex Forest was known to have a shrine to Celebi- the Forest Guardian. It was also known to be a place where it wasn't that sunshiny- thus, some of the Pokemon that made their homes in the forest were sensitive to bright light. This was the reason why Zapdos was trying to dim the bright light that shone from his body. The light struggled to stay bright, but it couldn't win against its master. Soon, the light flickered and dimmed to a tiny glow.
"Done?" Celebi, the Forest Guardian looked at his fellow god with mild interest before continuing, "So… What brings you here?"
"Well… it's kind of a long story…" but seeing as he had the whole afternoon ahead of him, Zapdos gave his friend a brief summary of what had happened to him and his siblings in the Ruins of Alph.
"I do… Kind of remember that prophecy…" The Pokemon paused in thought after Zapdos had finished, "It was first made… Around fifty human years ago? I'm not exactly sure… I traveled back to that year once…"
Celebi had a strange talent to travel through time- but even the God himself didn't like to talk about it. Apparently it still held many secrets and wasn't all that safe.
"And?" the word sounded slightly excited.
"And," continued Celebi, "This prophecy was made by a Slowking. He lived somewhere up in the mountains in Kanto."
"Is he still alive?"
"I doubt… You know how mortals are- they have short lives." The Forest Guardian frowned in thought, "But why the Unown would have knowledge of such a prophecy is really quite strange… I think I'll investigate- this matter is quite interesting. Entei told me about it."
"Thanks for your help. Well, I'd-"
A dark shadow flew past overhead making some leaves on the tree rustle slightly. Immediately on the alert, Zapdos scanned the area.
"What in the-" Eyes were watching the pair closely from the cover of bushes, "What is this?"
Zapdos glanced at Celebi, irritated.
"They're just Pokemon…but if you want…" the God waved his arm at the bushes, "Be off!"
In an instant every Pokemon watching had disappeared. Celebi began to drift of, saying he had matters to attend to.
"You'd better be more careful. That conversation wasn't exactly for every mortal to hear. They get scared easily." Zapdos warned, "Besides… Watch over this forest, hey? There's something going on…"
Celebi laughed softly as he left the small clearing, "Of course I'll watch over my forest! What do you expect? I'm their guardian."
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Saffron City Pokemon Centre
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The Pokemon Centre couch was probably as comfortable as you could get- except Samantha Atwane, also known to the reader as Sami just did not feel comfortable. She had been thinking about what Sabrina had said to her about Shadow.
"There's something strange about your Umbreon, I'll tell you that."
The words seem to echo in her mind… It wasn't long before another scene popped into her head. It was when she and Shadow were walking to the Pokemon Centre. Tentatively, she had asked the Umbreon, what had happened when she knocked Sabrina's Alakazam out. The Umbreon quietly said that she would rather not talk about it. So they left it at that.
Now she was sitting in the Pokemon Centre waiting. Waiting for her Pokemon to wake up. Sami sighed as she glanced at the double doors that led to the Emergency Room. Koja and Inferno were taken there, while Shadow only had minor injuries and was sleeping somewhere…
"Are you the trainer of the Absol who went into the Emergency Room?"
The teen looked up. Standing before her was a pink haired woman who was one of the famous, 'Nurse Joy's' But then, she didn't look too joyful. There was a firm frown on her face.
"Ah…Yes. Yes, I am. Why?"
"Well… You'd better come with me."
Puzzled, Sami followed the woman into a small office. Nurse Joy sat down at a computer and faced Sami.
"May I have your Trainer ID?"
"Yes… Wait a sec'" Sami fumbled around in her pocket before coming up with it, "Here."
Inserting the card into a slot in the computer, Nurse tapped a few keys on the keyboard before a picture of Sami and information about her came up on the screen. Sami scowled at her picture. She was wearing a hideous t shirt and sporting a really cheesy smile.
"What is it?" she asked irritably.
"Well…"
Nurse Joy tapped some more keys on the keyboard and a picture of Koja came up. Sami cringed. She must have caught Koja when she chucked a pokeball at him.
"Yes. Look at that Absol's trainer ID number."
Sami glanced at it… It… It wasn't hers.
"What? There's got to be a mistake…"
"There isn't. I've double checked. So, according to this data…"
Nurse Joy sighed.
"You're a Pokemon Thief."
I'm really sorry but I just suck at describing battle scenes… I'm hopeless at them. But I guess it has improved. Looking back at the gym battle before my re-editing I have to say that it caused me to gag…
And the gym battle scene still causes me to gag…But not as much. Also, I'm not exactly sure if I made Sabrina too… cold and cruel? She was meant to be nicer… But anyways, that's Chapter 8 done!
W00T! W00T! Finally- I don't think I'll have to do another battle scene for a while… Well I think so anyway.
Thanks for reading this far reader! I don't care if you don't review (well actually I kind of do but that's not the point) but… Shoot. What was I going to write? Oh well… It was probably something cheesy anyway….