Okay, so we left off where Team Alpha and Team Omega got into the Frozen Cave, and Suicune told them what kind of Pokemon Kehrimohr was—Zoroark.

Thanks for voting in the poll, guys! I'm going to leave it up just in case we get more people reading so they have a chance to vote, but only until Chapter 15 is up. Oh, and just to drop the bomb on you a little late, your choice changes how Kyuri will look when she evolves into Marowak. How? You'll see.

Also, thanks to Psycro for Pettaja the Mawile, which he submitted before I posted Chapter 7. Oh, and for anyone wondering, the dividers I'm using aren't happy piggies, they're three Pichu. ^..^ ^..^ ^..^ The ^ are their ears and the periods are their eyes. See?

I own Pokemon. ...Okay, that's an extreme lie, but I can dream, can't I? I own the storyline, Team Alpha, Team Omega, Team Rapture, and Team Ragnarok. Most of everything else is made up of the Pokemon submitted in the reviews. Thanks to all who have submitted their OC's!

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: The Eternal Nightmare

Chapter 8: The Great Kehrimohr

Kyuri's POV

Zoroark! The Master of Illusion Zoroark! I was so excited, even though we were rescuing a Pokemon in trouble. The Great Kehrimohr, a living legend, the first explorer ever to make Master Rank, was a Zoroark, and I was supposed to save him. ME! I was going to meet my idol!

Well, Kahrik was there too, but he's such a jerk. I don't know why he has to be so mean. I don't see how he sees his actions as okay, but whatever. At least he knew his parents.

My team followed his down the various corridors of the cave. The place was a maze, and it was hard to make our way through. After a long time, we reached a room with three possible exits and a stone with footprint runes on it. Kahrik stepped forward and peered at the chiseled rock, deciphering the ancient text. It was worn, and there was some sort of brown stuff dried on to a couple of the corners. I don't know what it was, but I have a feeling it wasn't supposed to be outside of someone's body, if you catch my drift.

"Let ye who thinkest thyself good enough, come hither to the home of thy master, and test thy strength against the greatest of all. Send twin pocket monsters into each entrance, and test thy abilities. What sits on the opposite side of the entrance? Arceus himself is the only one with the knowledge." He backed away and frowned. "I hate Olde English."

Spirit slithered forward and stared at it for a moment. "If you think you're strong enough, come in and test yourself against the best. Send two Pokemon into each room and see what you can do. What challenges await? Arceus only knows," he translated, shaking his head. "Exactly how old is this guy?"

I stepped forward and looked at the entrances. "Well, whoever it is, he knew we were coming. Look!" I pointed to the tops of each door. They were different sizes, and each had a strange symbol on the top. The one on the left featured the carving of an Ekans skull with a spike protruding from the forehead. The one on the right had a Trapinch skull with a leaf on the top. The one in the middle was the weird one, however. All it had was the Tai-chi symbol.

Victoria glanced up at them with difficulty. "I guess it means who should go through the entrance. That's a Turtwig leaf over the Trapinch skull, so I suppose Victor and I are supposed to go through that one," she said, tracing a circle on the floor with her front right foot. "Then the Ekans skull with the spike must mean Soul and Spirit have to go through that one."

"But-" I started.

"That means!" Kahrik finished for me.

We grimaced at each other and stepped back. "We have to go together!" we shouted in unison, glaring at each other.

"I don't want to go with her!" the male Charmeleon snarled, crossing his arms and showing his back to me. "She's a weakling!"

I clenched my fists and took a step forward. "Well, you're no Mewtwo either!" I snapped in response, turning away.

For once, Victor said something logical. "Um... can we just move on now? If that's how it is, then that's how it is. There's not much we can do to change it. Let's just go and help the Zoroark."

Kahrik stared at him for a while, then frowned. "Fine," he barked, striding through the door. "Try and keep up with me then, skull-head," he jibed at me.

I stomped the ground and followed him, shouldering my bone. "Don't move too slow, lizard-lips."

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Somehow, we got stuck with the longest, most boring corridor we'd ever been in. We stomped alongside each other, never glancing at the other, focused on the darkness ahead. I wondered how Soul and Victoria were doing with Spirit and Victor. Considering their leader, they couldn't be doing much better than I was. If Kahrik was such a rude Pokemon, his friends couldn't be much better.

Still, it was getting pretty boring just to be walking along a musty, old corridor without talking. Even though he was a jerk, maybe we could manage a meaningful conversation. But what to talk about?

Luckily, he was the first to open his mouth, saving me the trouble of coming up with a topic. "Never knew your parents, huh?" he asked, looking down at me.

I decided I'd lead him around on a string for a while. "Nope," I replied shortly, averting my gaze to the joint between the wall and the floor.

He was quiet for a while, but found something else to say quickly. "I only ever knew my mother. My father ran off before I even hatched." That got my attention. I snapped my head towards him, and noticed he was paying more attention to the floor than anything else. "I never even knew his name. Mom always said he was a dragon, but that doesn't tell me anything. There aren't many Dragon Pokemon, but there are five Pokemon I know of that can transform into other Pokemon, and even Hitmonchan is a 'dragon' of punching moves."

I started to say something, but thought better of it after a moment. He's trying to be nice, I thought, looking at the ground. I may be the Lonely Pokemon, but he's been through just about the same thing I have. Except it probably hurt him worse, watching his parents die. I straightened up and looked at him. It might have been my imagination, but I thought I saw extra water around the bottom of his eyes.

Another long moment of silence passed between us. I was about to speak again and break the silence when Kahrik slammed his weight against me, pinning me to the wall. "What the-" I started, but then I saw the cause. A thick Ice Beam was shooting down the hallway, and he took the full blunt of the attack, shielding me from harm. After a while, the Ice Beam ended, and he remained in front of me, turning his head to see down the hall.

"That was too close," he muttered, backing off before shaking the ice from his back. He then motioned for me to follow him. "Walk behind me, and don't step where the ice can hit you." So, we continued our walk.

I was still a little shocked from his actions. He and I were only arguing moments ago, and the next thing I know, he throws his bulk against me to save me from an attack that would have left me frozen or worse. Why would he do that?

I looked up to Arceus for guidance. It was then that I saw something above Kahrik. A few rocks shifted, and some of the dust fell on my skull. The stones above him were shaking like they were going to fall. The rocks would bury him in an instant! Without a second thought, I bunched up my legs and tackled him from behind, just as the boulders tumbled down.

He reacted about the same way I did. "What the f-" he pushed me off and turned around to see why I knocked him forward. When he saw the mound of rock lying in the exact spot he was standing only seconds before, he spun quickly and checked his tail. The blue flame was still flickering, though it was a bit lower than before.

"I saved you from an Ice Beam," he began, focusing his energy to make the fire burn higher, "that would've frozen you solid and rendered you powerless. You, however," he pointed morbidly at his tail, "saved my life."

"Saved your life?" I repeated, getting up and dusting myself off. "What do you mean, I saved your life?"

He stood up and swayed his tail from side to side. "Do you ever wonder why Charmander, Charmeleon, and Charizard's tails are always on fire? You never see one without a blazing tail. Do you know why?"

I looked down at the ground for a while, then looked at him. "Why?"

Kahrik looked at the wall, then picked up one of the rocks, using a Flamethrower on it so he could write with it. Then, he drew the outline of a Charmeleon, only there was no flame at the end of the tail. "The flame at the end of the tail," he explained, making a small, spiked ball at the end of the tail to represent a fire. He then drew a line from the fire through the tail and into the chest. "...is a direct link to the heart. As the heart beats," he smacked his chest, "the flame flickers." He drew an orb in the center of the chest. "The flame shows if a Charmander, Charmeleon, or Charizard is living," he threw the rock at the outline, hard enough to splatter the hot stone all over the drawing, "or dead."

"So... the flame is your heart?" I asked, scratching my head.

"No. It is the representation of my heart. In a way, it predicts the future," he replied, catching his tail and moving his hand around the fire. "It is said that, without the flame at the end of the tail, Charmeleon and his evolutionary brethren are incapable of using Fire attacks."

I stared at him in shock. "So, if you were to lose the fire at the end of your tail, you might not be able to use your fire ever again?"

"That's the superstition. It is unknown if it happens or not. Only that the Charmeleon that lose their flame don't survive their next battle. It might just be a mental thing, perhaps a scary story to put naughty Charmander to bed, but the fact stands. There's never been a Charmeleon to lose its flame and win any battle afterward, much less get it ignited again."

It was a morbid thought, to think your life depended on the state of a flame at the end of your tail. "But why would not having the fire prevent the use of Fire-type attacks?"

To answer, he opened his mouth to reveal a very small opening at the back of his throat. "You see that little hole?" I nodded. "It's another link." He shut his mouth. "The flame at the end of my tail lights every Fire attack I use."

"Well, why can't you just create static electricity in your mouth?"

He frowned and we stood there a while before he shrugged and continued walking down the hallway. "I dunno."

After quite some time of walking and 'bonding', we finally reached the center room, a vast, round room with three exits. In the center was a strange, azure crystal, about the size of a Dialga. As we stepped through the door into the room, we quickly found the room was perfectly spherical, and we fell down, rolled down the side, and smacked into the crystal. The moment we touched it, we were whisked away to another room. I don't know how that was possible, but whatever.

The room we ended up in was fairly plain, and in the center floated a strange Pokemon, a grayish-lavender with a long, thick, violet tail. He had two necks leading to a single head, like a cat's head, but with two rod-like ears. He had some sort of chest plate on, not really armor, but a part of him. He only had three fingers on each hand, and two toes, with a ball at the end of each foot for an ankle. His eyes were angry and purple, piercing and freezing me in place.

Our companions lay in crumpled, bloody heaps around the room, like he'd torn them apart without moving. He focused his gaze on Kahrik and finally spoke. "Are you the one who awakened me?" he asked venomously, lowering himself to the ground.

Kahrik looked to his left and saw Spirit, struggling to raise his head. "R-R-Run..." the Dragonair hissed, his head flopping down on the ground. He looked to his right and saw Victor, unconscious, blood oozing out of a wound at the back of his head.

The Charmeleon glared at the Pokemon. "Who the hell are you?"

He chuckled, smirking and stepping forward, his tail twisting behind him. "I am Mewtwo. I was created by humans to be the strongest Pokemon in the world. Stronger even than Mew."

When he spoke, his mouth never opened. Telepathy. So he was a Psychic Pokemon. No wonder he was able to defeat our friends so easily. I put my best foot forward, so to speak. "I don't care if you're Arceus himself! You don't get to hurt my friends without repercussions!" I shouted, curling my hand into a fist in front of me. "I'll crush your skull with my Bone Club!"

Kahrik raked his claws against the wall behind us. "It's been a long time since my claws tasted the blood of a Psychic Pokemon," he taunted, staring at the razor-sharp edge of the white talons.

Mewtwo laughed. "First you'll have to get in range, Flame Pokemon. My Psychic powers are without rival." With that, he rose one hand, narrowing his eyes. The hand glowed with a dark blue aura, and his eyes did the same.

The same aura surrounded Kahrik and lifted him up into the air. He seemed to be in pain, but the Psychic Pokemon was distracted. While he focused on Kahrik, I snuck around behind him where he couldn't see me. Just as he was about to throw the Charmeleon aside, I jumped up behind him and slammed a Bone Club right between his ears. "Take that, Houdini!" I shouted as he fell forward, releasing my travel partner.

As he hit the ground, he started to glow red, and I backed off as the strangest thing happened. His form changed, growing thinner around the waist, claws on the feet, which now turned into paws, and a thick, bushy mane on the back of the head, tied low in a ponytail. The ponytail was a dark violet color, but the rest of him was colored normally.

He was a shiny Zoroark!

After the transformation, he staggered to his feet, one hand always on his head. He growled and turned his head toward me, one furious, teal eye locked on my face. Then, he spun around and struck me on the nose with as much force as he could. Payback. My eyes were watering from the pain, so I couldn't see. Then, he struck me in the gut with a Hidden Power, sending me flying back to the wall. Judging by how much it hurt, it was a neutrally-damaging type, but it still left me winded.

Spirit managed to open one eye and whispered to me, "D-D-D-Dragon..." then, he passed out. So, that was how he hurt Spirit so badly. That Hidden Power was Dragon-type, so it knocked both Spirit and Victor on their tails.

Kahrik was having trouble as well. Zoroark tried to hit him with Shadow Claw after Shadow Claw, and the Charmeleon was doing his best to avoid every strike. Finally, he saw an opening. Taking a deep breath, Kahrik unleashed a Flamethrower right into Zoroark's chest, sending him back several feet and giving him a nasty burn.

For a while, they stood staring at each other, chests heaving to catch their breath. Finally, Zoroark started laughing. "You're the first Pokemon to get a strike on me in a long time! Me, The Great Kehrimohr!" he cackled, as if it was all some sort of joke. He was the Zoroark we were looking for!

Kahrik, however, wasn't in a laughing mood. "You hurt my friends," he snarled in response, spitting at the Dark Pokemon's feet. "You deserve punishment."

Kehrimohr stopped laughing and gazed into the Charmeleon's eyes. "You look oddly familiar. Have I kicked your butt before?"

"No, and you never will," Kahrik taunted in response, blowing a short jet of fire from his nostrils. "My name is Kahrik. I am the leader of Team Alpha, whose members you have already reduced to bloody pulp. The Dragonair and the Vibrava that lie unconscious to the sides of you are my friends."

Kehrimohr looked disinterested. "Yeah, yeah. Finish your monologue and let's get on with it."

Instead of that, Kahrik started powering up his twin Flamethrower move. "In the name of Ember the Charizard, I'm going to turn you into Magikarp food!" With that, he fired the attack, slamming both Flamethrowers into the Zoroark.

After he fell back and slid across the floor, Kehrimohr rolled onto his stomach and slowly got to his feet. "I knew an Ember once, except she was a Charmeleon when I met her. The only way she'd talk to me was if I transformed into a Dragon Pokemon."

The Charmeleon let his arms fall to his sides when he heard that. "D-Did you happen to meet that Charmeleon in the Scorched Valley?"

The Great Kehrimohr stared at him. "Yes, why?"

Without a word, Kahrik fell to his hands and knees, staring at the floor. "It-It can't be!" He glared at Kehrimohr, his tail swaying back and forth. "No way!"

The Zoroark didn't seem to be listening to him. He was rubbing his chin, eyes closed. "If memory serves, we-" Kahrik silenced him with a Flamethrower.

"Damn you! It's not true!" He roared, glaring at the Dark Pokemon. "It can't be true!"

By that time, I was on my feet, and ran over to Kahrik, helping him to his feet. "What can't be true?"

He glowered darkly at the Illusion Fox, his hands curling into fists. "Ember the Charizard is... or rather... was... my mother."

End Chapter 8

If you can't put two and two together and figure it out, I can't help you. And yes, I am aware that Charmeleon and Zoroark aren't in the same Egg Group, as Charmeleon is in the Monster and Dragon groups, while Zoroark is only in the Ground group. I don't care. Zoroark can turn into other Pokemon; they should've put him in the Ditto group.

So I answered the question; who is Kahrik's real father? I mentioned the Feraligatr was Kahrik's foster father... which I should've said stepfather instead. My bad. Wrong choice of words. Just now thought of that one.

Still accepting OC's from anybody at this point. If you're reading and you don't have an account, just follow sandshrewtc's lead. Oh, and review. I know where you sleep. Just thought I'd tell you. }:|

Name: (What's your Pokemon's nickname?)

Gender: (Are you a boy or a girl? lol)

Species: (What kind of Pokemon is it?)

Level: (How experienced is your Pokemon?)

Personality: (What is your Pokemon like?)

Goal: (A vendetta is a prolonged, bitter quarrel with someone. Does your Pokemon have a vendetta against another, or maybe a grudge against a Pokemon who wronged them? Or are they just out to explore or have fun?)

Appearance: (Do they have any interesting attributes abnormal to their species? If not, just leave this out)

History: (What's so special about this Pokemon's past that sets them apart from every other Pokemon of its species?)

Moves: (What moves does your Pokemon have?)

Alignment: (Outlaw, Shopkeeper, Team member, Team leader, Solo explorer Guild member, or other)

Team: (Only if they are on a team. If they are, you need to submit at least 1 other Pokemon on the same team or I can't use them)

^..^ ^..^ ^..^

Name: Kehrimohr

Gender: Male

Species: Zoroark

Level: 50

Personality: Kehrimohr is a trickster, and an obnoxious one at that. He uses his ability to transform into other Pokemon for his own selfish reasons. However, deep down, he is a good explorer, and knows there's a time and place for everything.

Goal: Live life to the fullest

Appearance: shiny Zoroark

History: Kehrimohr was one of the first explorers to reach the Master Rank, granting his name a legendary status. Most Pokemon call him the Great Kehrimohr, though he is mostly just a Zoroark that had nothing better to do. However, for a long portion of early life, he was incapable of controlling his powers, as he experienced Group Evolution long before he should've evolved. As such, his attacks are much more developed than a Zoroark of the same level that evolved normally.

Moves: Payback, Shadow Claw, Hidden Power (Dragon), Torment

Alignment: Master Rank Solo Explorer