Okay, I'm pretty sure I left off where Kahrik and Kehrimohr are in the middle of a showdown and Kehrimohr mentioned he knew a Charmeleon named Ember, which happens to be the name of Kahrik's mother. I'm going to continue the fight scene and you'll see who is victorious in this chapter.
I own four of the teams, the concept of two others, the storyline, and the title. Everything else belongs to... well, someone else. ...Damn it.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: The Eternal Nightmare
Chapter 9: The Ballad of the Battle
Kahrik's POV
It couldn't be true. He couldn't be my father. Not him. He was a damned sneak, and a trickster. A coward! He ran away from my mother—my family! I couldn't let that go unanswered. "Bastard," I spat, removing my arm from Kyuri's grasp. I strode forward, and clenched my fists. "I'll turn you into fish fodder!" I roared, crouching into a fighting stance.
He laughed in my face, bending his knees to prepare for the battle. "Well, if you are my son, let's see if you're any good at fighting!" With that, he sprang forward, dragging a Shadow Claw along the ground to gain power.
I jumped over him as he reached me, and raked a Slash across his bare back. He howled in agony, but recovered quickly, driving a Payback-empowered fist into my gut. I flew back against the wall and groaned, slowly getting to my feet. A bruise was forming on my abdomen, and I drew an arm in front of my belly to protect it from further damage. Then, I shot forward, a primal snarl forming in my throat. Boy, was he in for a surprise.
Kehrimohr smirked and braced himself for impact. He had no clue what my attacks were, other than Flamethrower and Slash. Instead of tackling him head on, I used him as a step ladder and shot towards the ceiling, digging my claws into the stone.
"Hey! Get back down here so I can smash you!" He Tormented me. I did my best to ignore it and looked for a weakness in the rock, the right place to dig in my claws and bury him for good.
It didn't take long. I soon found a crack in the roof, just above where he stood. I made to grab onto that crack as if I were just moving across the ceiling, but instead tore a stone lose, unleashing a Rock Slide before jumping down and rolling out of the way.
There was a low rumble before a solid ton of boulder fell down, landing right on top of the fox-like Pokemon. I sneered in triumph. But for some reason, burying him wasn't good enough. I followed up the attack with one of the biggest Flamethrowers I've ever done to melt the stone and seal him away forever. He could die here for all I care. He was no father to me.
Damn it all. He burst out of the rocks while I was heating them up, backflipping and using the pile as a shield. I stopped my Flamethrower and took the opportunity to use Swords Dance, then used another Flamethrower, this one into the air. "Come on, coward! Face me!" I snarled, dragging my claws across the wall behind me. They left three deep marks in the wall, and sent sparks dancing around my feet.
Kehrimohr leapt up on top of the pile, brandishing his claws. "Not bad, boy. You take after me."
"THAT'S A LIE!" I roared, charging forward and trying to Slash at him. He moved back in time to my attacks, dodging each one with ease. "I'm nothing like you!" I finally connected with him, my claws tearing into his soft belly and sending a spray of blood into both our faces. Now was my chance. I continued my relentless attack, slicing his skin to ribbons with repeated Slashes. Eventually, my arms tired, and I used a Flamethrower to force him back to the wall so I could recuperate.
He slammed against the sheer rock and stood there a while, his head low. Then, I heard him chuckling. He spat a mouthful of blood on the ground in front of him, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Are you so sure?" he asked, voice raspy with fatigue. "Look at you!" he laughed, an insane glimmer in his eyes. "You're ruthless in battle, you have a violent temper, and you even look like me!" He stood to full height, strengthening a Hidden Power between his hands. "You're just like me!" he cackled with a freakish delight, charging forward despite his condition and throwing the attack into my chest.
I thought of what he was implying as the attack slammed into my sternum, forcing any breath I had out of my lungs. He maintained his onslaught, smashing my form apart, striking my arms, my belly, but never my head. After a solid fifteen minutes of attacks, I fell to my knees, bruises forming on every inch of my body if not already there. I may as well have been one giant bruise. I could feel the flame at the end of my tail, so small now, flickering faintly, barely an ember any more.
Ember. What would my mother say if she saw me now? Would she be ashamed of her only son, fighting his father like this? Would she be disappointed that I didn't have the strength to defeat him? Would she be proud that I even made it this far before failing so severely? I truly could not remember the sight of her smile, the sound of her voice, or the warmth of her hugs. What was she even like? The name seemed foreign to me, yet as familiar as Spirit's or Victor's.
My companions. I promised them both that, no matter what happened, we'd always be a team. We'd always be the greatest combination. What use was I to them if I failed here? No. Failed wasn't the word. I felt a foreign energy within my chest, begging to be unleashed. I could do it. Slash was no use to me, but this move...
It was decided. I rose my head, a hateful gleam shimmering in my now-watering eyes. "It's your fault," I whispered, "that she's dead." I put both hands on the ground and forced myself to my feet, unable to lift my arms any longer. It didn't matter. I wouldn't need them for this. How I learned it, I didn't care. But this was my last chance. If I couldn't pull this off, I could die here.
The flame at the end of my tail flared up, dancing at the tip. My heart started to beat faster and faster, and the temperature in the room started to gradually increase in heat, at first gradually, then a steeper incline as the attack continued. Heat Wave wasn't a move normally learned by Charmeleon until after evolution, but at the moment I didn't care.
The thought crossed my mind that I always seem to learn things when I need them most. I learned Flamethrower when I was battling a Steelix and losing... horribly. By some miracle of Arceus, I learned the attack ages before I should have. I didn't learn Slash until I was facing a Seismitoad that stole someone's Surf HM. Rock Slide came when I was fighting a very powerful bird Pokemon—Death, to be exact. Now, Heat Wave came when I didn't have much moxie left in me.
A second thought came—I was learning moves either long before I should've or in ways I shouldn't be able to. Rock Slide isn't even in the move pool chart Clefable made for every Pokemon he'd ever encountered and helped to the top level. It was no longer possible to even learn that move anymore. The trait had been rubbed out from generation to generation, and eventually the only Pokemon that could learn it anymore were the ones who learned it from their grandparents. I, of course, had no such things. Or, at least, I'd never met them.
The heat was now almost unbearable, even for me. My vision blacked out from the heat, and I could only see a faint silhouette of the other Pokemon in the room. Was it just me, or was the rock beneath my feet giving way to my weight? It was getting too be much to keep it up any longer. Finally, my tail lowered to its original state, and I passed out.
^..^ ^..^ ^..^
There was a volcano erupting behind me; I could feel the heat on my back. I spun around, and there was the silhouette of a Pokemon in front of me. He was pretty big, like a mastiff and a lion crossed, with a flowing, smokey main behind him. He wore a mask that was gold on top, and gray on the bottom. His deep red eyes bored into my soul, and he pawed the ground. Then, he turned away and leapt off toward the volcano, roaring once as he left.
"Wait! Who are you?" I shouted, running after him. He stopped in front of the volcano, tossed his head, and seemed to wait for me. Before I could catch up, he bounded in and motioned for me to follow.
My flat feet slapped against the stone path, claws clacking together as I tripped over myself to follow. My breathing grew ragged and labored, and I realized I was shaking with anticipation of what was about to happen. Somehow, it was like I knew what was going on, but had no idea how I knew.
The tunnel was dark and stuffy, suffocating me with some sort of smoky fog. I started coughing, but tried to stifle it and kept running. Eventually, I reached an open room. The lion creature was gone, and in his place was a monstrous red beast with black patterns all over his body. Behind him, in cages, were my companions, Kyuri, Spirit, Soul, Victor, and Victoria. How did they get here? More importantly, how did this thing get them?
A foreign darkness took hold of my heart and I snarled at the beast in a voice not entirely my own. "Let them go," the voice said from my mouth, though it wasn't me who said it. I clicked my claws together and noticed that, instead of black, my scales were a deep violet color, almost a bruised purple. The claws, instead of bleached white, were a cold, silvery blue. Near me was a glassy obsidian stone on the ground. I peered into it and saw, not my normal, blue eyes, but solid crimson orbs, filled with contempt and hate. What happened to me?
Whatever. It didn't matter now. My friends needed my help. I glowered at the massive Pokemon in front of me and repeated myself, this time in a darker voice. "LET THEM GO!" It came out a bone-chilling roar, reverberating off the cave walls.
The Pokemon looked down at me and shook his head. "Young Charmeleon, there is something impossibly wrong with you. You've been corrupted by the Shadow! Get a hold of yourself before you destroy what you hold dear," he urged, curling his hand into a fist.
"Everything is fine with me. I've never been better!" I hissed with a manic kind of glee, my lips curling into a crazed grin. "I'm the best I've ever felt!" I charged forward, my claws dragging the ground. I wanted to use Slash, but the move came out as a Shadow Claw. When did I learn that? I thought of the moves I knew; they weren't the same as I remembered. Not Slash, Flamethrower, Heat Wave, and Swords Dance. Now, Shadow Claw, Shadow Blitz, Shadow Wave, and Shadow Down. Those weren't even normal Pokemon moves! Well, Shadow Claw, but what were the other three?
And what was wrong with me?
^..^ ^..^ ^..^
When I finally awakened, Kyuri was standing over me, bandaging some of my wounds. Spirit was on her left, nudging my head gently with his nose, and Victor was at her right, using Heal Pulse to help my wounds. My eyes pried themselves open and I looked around. "Kehrimohr?" I asked, a slight growl of contempt to my voice.
"Unconscious," Kyuri replied, tying one of the bandages together. "That Heat Wave attack was too much for him. Good thing I'm a Ground Pokemon, or I would've been on the floor just like you," she joked.
"Victoria and I already have him all tied up and ready to take back to the base," Victor added, his antennae dancing with joy.
Without letting the Cubone finish, I pushed myself up and got to my feet. "Then lets move out," I replied, striding over to the fallen Zoroark, throwing him over my shoulder, and heading for the exit.
Kill him now... a voice whispered in my ear. I looked around, a little frantically, for the source of the whisper. My friends seemed a little confused.
"Are you okay?" Victor asked, flying over to me. "Do you want us to carry him?"
Just kill him. He's dead weight... the voice said, more urgently this time.
I gulped, then shook my head. "N-No, I'm okay... I think... Did you guys hear something just now?"
Kyuri stared at me a little funny. "We didn't hear anything. Are you sure you're okay?"
Say yes, the voice hissed. This time, I freaked out, dropping Kehrimohr and getting ready to fight. "Okay, this is kind of ridiculous. I know I heard something just now! You can't tell me you heard nothing!" I paused, staring at them all. "You had to have heard something..."
Spirit blinked, an appearance of worry across his features. "Kahrik, we didn't hear anything. You're tired, and just fought a hard battle. How about we carry you b-"
"NO!" I shouted, balling up my fist. "I can walk just fine!"
After a moment, he sighed. "At least let us carry the Zoroark."
I thought, then conceded, taking up my place at the rear so I could think without impeding traffic. Was I going crazy?
No... you're not going crazy. They can't hear me because I'm in your head. I audibly gasped as my eyes widened with realization. I guessed I shouldn't talk back to the voice in my head, but I didn't understand how hearing a voice in your head wasn't crazy.
Who in the hell are you? I asked it, lowering my gaze to the ground. My friends couldn't know I was going crazy. What would they think? Would they tell Audrey?
The voice chuckled. My name is not important, Kahrik. Just do as I say. Kill the Zoroark. He is useless to you. It's his fault your mother is dead. If he had stayed and taken care of his family, it wouldn't be broken.
What the hell? I don't need a voice in my head. Go away, whoever you are. Yeah, like that'd work. But it was the first thing that came to mind.
I won't leave, the voice replied, but I will tell you what I am called. They call me... the Shadow...
End Chapter 9
Yeah, Kahrik is hearing voices in his head. So, what was wrong with him in the dream? Who or what is the Shadow? And why does the Shadow want Kehrimohr dead?
Still need OC's!
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: The Shadow
Gender: Unknown
Species: Unknown
Level: Unknown
Personality: The Shadow stems from when Lugia was first corrupted by humans. It is the entity that twisted his mind to do evil, so it in turn is evil. Dragged into this world against it's will, the Shadow wants nothing more than to eliminate the main antagonist of its existence-the world
Goal: Destroy the world
Appearance: Unknown
History: The Shadow first made its appearance when humans sought to use Lugia's power to take over the world. However, after the beast of the sea's purification, the Shadow wandered the world, hopping from host to host, all the time searching for a suitable body to inhabit.
Moves: Corrupt
Alignment: Evil Entity