CHAPTER 5:
Delma Dilemma Pt. 1 (Great, a two-parter...)
The next day, we all had gotten out of Agate Village, and headed back to the Pokemon HQ Lab to see if any Cipher activity had come up. It was an hour-long ride, so we went ahead and left.
0o0o0o0o0o0
After an hour, we three were at the Pokemon HQ Lab, the true start of adventure. Once inside, we saw Michael and Professor Krane conversing.
"Yo, Michael!" Brendan called, causing a yellow question mark to pop over my head.
"Uh... I'll take over the Q & A, B & M." I walked over to Michael.
"Okay, Michael. Let me slobber ya' up."
"YUCK, LADDIE! YOU'RE GR-R-ROSS!"
"I didn't mean the slurpy version, you imbecilic, insolent idiot! Let me ask ya..."
I spent the morning asking my questions, and this was the answer to "Where any action has come up?" Another tower like Realgam Tower (Someone tell me how ta' pronounce Realgam.). It was called the Delma Pillar. Michael had seen a number of Cipher Grunts and a Peon or two go in, along with a large, spiky-haired red head wearing a white one-piece suit which had only a thin strip of cloth from the bottom of the legs around his bare feet, and a, according to my George of the Jungle movie, a "butt flap". His whole clothing was Indian-like. He even had red marks on his cheeks! Michael also commented that he'd be easy to point out in a crowd just by his height; 7 feet!
"Well, I guess we better go. Y'know, I read about a Delma Pillar in that book I picked up in the Relic Forest... The member assigned was Cipher Admin Dakim... Uh, anyway, Delma Pillar is... Um..." I murmured. Pictures of me flipping through the notebook entered my mind, and I remembered that it didn't say!
...But then I remembered a vision from when I finished Pokemon XD... I drew a whole map of the Orre Region, creating my own places for a sequel...
I created Delma Pillar! It hit me like a ton of bricks! Some of the new things in the Orre Region were my doing!
Remembering the direction and whereabouts, I said after a long pause:
"Delma Pillar is east of Agate Village."
"Well then, time to kick butt!" Brendan cried out, kicking like a mad man.
"Brendan, calm down." I said sternly, causing him to stop.
"Who are ya', my mom!" he yelled.
"No, just a genius." A sweat drop appeared on the back of his head.
We were about to leave when a woman in a pink lab coat, blue high heels, white and brown clothing underneath, brown hair, and blue eyes came out the door of the lab. "Hold on!" she called.
"Who are you?" May asked.
"Um, I'm Lily, Michael's mother. May I ask you to find my daughter, Jovi?"
There was a small silence, and then I answered. "We will, Lily."
"Thank you. I think she's over at one of Professor Krane's friend's lab; Dr. Kaminko. Kaminko's House is south of here." Lily pointed to the south. But, when I heard we were going to Kaminko's House... Yikes. That place is spooky.
"Okay, Lily! We'll bring her back!" May said, hopping on her scooter, as did Brendan with his.
"Let's make this quick." I mumbled.
"Let's go!" Brendan called out, rumbling away in front of us.
"Don't you mean, 'gotta scoot', in a literal manner?" I asked him when May and I caught up. They both just sweat dropped...
0o0o0o0o0o0
Kaminko's House
After a half-hour ride, we came upon the mansion that eccentric scientist Kaminko lived in. It was dark, gloomy, and spooky. Many trees around the area were dead. A t-storm without rain hung in the atmosphere. Last, a dark gray pedestal with a little figure of a Pokemon on it centered the yard. The Pokemon on it was a dinosaur-like creature, having a head crest, spines along its sides, a pointed tail like its head crest, and darkened markings on its hands and arms... I recognized it slightly...
"Yee! A Groudon statue!" May cried, some of her hair spiking up.
"...Relax May. It's not like it'll come out and bite ya'." I said, shaking my head. As Brendan and May talked about their experiences with Legendaries, I walked up to the door to Kaminko's Laboratory. But then someone yelled out:
"Stop right there!"
I looked to my right to see a small someone in a white lab coat with a red suit under it, a yellow bowtie, well-kept blue hair, lab shoes, and weird glasses. They were large, with a blue spiral.
"You must be Dr. K's first and only assistant, Chobin." I said as he ran up to me.
"And you are a burglar! I will punish you!" the person, Chobin, said threateningly.
"Hold on!" May called. She and Brendan had walked up to the commotion. "Pat isn't a thief!"
"Yeah, right! You're saying that because you... You must be his partner!"
"GRR!" Brendan growled. "Listen, Short Stuff! I don't care who you are! I'm gonna rip you to shreds!"
"Brendan! That is not the way to solve things. I shall deal with this maladroit midget. I can tell all our little friend wants is a battle." I said calmly, pacing around Chobin.
"I'll whoop your butt!" Chobin snarled. He started to run at me, when May stepped in.
"Stop, Mister. Pat and I challenge you to a battle!"
"FINE! YOU VIDEO GAME PEOPLE ALWAYS THINK VIOLENCE SOLVES EVERYTHING, HUH!" Chobin roared.
"Video game heroes...?" Brendan repeated.
"Uh, Chobin, can we just battle?" I asked, not wanting the "fourth dimension" to be broken. I pulled out a Poke Ball.
"Okay, let's do this." Chobin pulled out two Poke Balls, and May pulled out one of her own.
"C'mon out, Aron and Chikorita!" Chobin shouted. Upon the field appeared a Chikorita and an Aron, a Rock/Steel Element with a large, gray, oval-shaped head, large blue eyes surrounded by black, and a small, oval-shaped, gray body with a spike from the back, a black underbody, and four small claws.
"Ar-on!" Aron barked.
"Chi-ka!" Chikorita cried out.
"Gastly, c'mon out!" I shouted, throwing Gastly's Ball. My new Ghost/Poison Pokemon appeared on the field in a flash of white light.
"Gastly..." it moaned spookily.
"I choose you! Eevee!" May's Eevee popped out of its Poke Ball, and once on the battle field, did a few flips.
"Vee!" it barked.
Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no substitutions or time limit.
My Gastly and May's Eevee vs. Chobin's Aron and Chikorita
BATTLE COMMENCE!
Right before May was about to declare an attack, I stopped her. My visor came up! A white cursor moved over to Aron.
"Aron. Lv. 9. Rock/ Steel Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Wave and Shadow Panic. SHADOW POKEMON."
"CHOBIN! YOU DARE OWN A SHADOW POKEMON?" I yelled, each word containing burning venom.
"A Shadow Pokemon? Are you out of your mind? What makes you say that?"
"My Shadow Monitor detected your Aron. It's a Shadow Pokemon."
"What? I uh... Whoops. I knew the people who gave me Aron were weird but familiar! I recall you, Chikorita!" Chobin cried out, recalling his Grass Type.
"Huh? Aren't we still battling?" May asked.
"...May, Chobin must realize we aren't burglars. Could you weaken Gastly so I can Snag it?"
"...Um... OK. Eevee, use Bite on Aron two times!"
Eevee, hearing May's command, dashed toward Aron, fangs out and glowing dark. It bit down once, then a second time. The attacks made Aron weak enough for Snagging!
"Let's go, Snag Ball!" I roared, throwing a red-illuminated Poke Ball. After it sucked Aron up in red light, it dropped to the ground. SHK-SHK, SHK-SHK, SHK-SHK.
"I Snagged it! Yeah!" I cheered. I picked up the Poke Ball and let Brendan, who claimed it, have it.
"So, Chobin, you really had no idea your Aron was a Shadow, correct?" Brendan asked after he walked up to our midget friend.
"I didn't! Some weird people gave it to me at the Delma Pillar!"
"I see..." I said softly.
0o0o0o0o0o0
I went into Dr. Kaminko's main lab after Chobin treated us to some lunch. I soon found him behind his desk. He had gray hair in an upward position, glasses like Chobin's, a small gray beard, a silver lab coat over a yellow long-sleeve shirt, red pants, and boots.
"Ahem... Doctor Kaminko, I presume?" I said, trying to sound impressive.
"What, ho? What are you doing here? Who are you?" Kaminko asked. His voice was gruff.
"I'm Pat, sir. And I came here to find a girl named Jovi. She's Michael's, the one who defeated Cipher a few years ago, sister. Have you seen her?"
"Hm? Oh, yes. The one you speak of is somewhere by Chobin's room..."
"Oh, okay. Thank you Doctor."
I left his room and walked across the hall. Because of my, ahem, gaming expertise, I knew there was only one way Jovi could've gone: into the basement. I walked into Chobin's room and down a set of stairs. Luckily, Chobin was outside with Brendan and May.
I found myself in a dark room. There were many cranes everywhere, as well as different colored buttons.
"Hello? Anyone here?" I shouted as I walked around, my voice echoing.
"I am." said a meek voice.
I looked to my left to see a young girl with blue hair fixed in balls at the top of her head and blue eyes. She wore high blue boots and a white "dress". Jovi.
"Ah, hello. Are you perhaps Jovi?" I asked.
"Yes. Who are you?" Jovi walked up to me.
"I came here to look for you. I'm Pat. Your mom told me to come look for you."
"Okay. I'm sorry I came here without asking."
"Oh, it's not me you should tell, Jovi. C'mon. Ready to go?" I stuck out my arm with the Snag Machine on it so she could grab it.
"What's that...? Oh, wait... I remember Prof. Krane was working on a new Snag thingie." Jovi said, seeing the Machine.
"Oh, yeah. Cipher is back, as you might know, and I'm whoopin' there butts!" I did a few karate kicks, making Jovi giggle.
"Ready to go?" I asked.
Jovi gave a nod, and we walked out of Dr. K's lab.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
A few hours later; Agate Village
After dropping Jovi off at the HQ Lab, B, M, and I headed toward Delma Pillar. We decided to take a break in Agate Village, so on the way we stopped.
"Pat, can I see that your Aerodactyl is acting weird..." May said. We let our Pokemon out to play, but Aerodactyl kept getting constant headaches.
"Yeah... What's wrong with it, I wonder?"
My visor popped up and gave us the answer. "Aerodactyl's Purification process: COMPLETE! Moves as of now: Shadow Blitz, Shadow Mist, Toxic, and Whirlwind."
"Oh, man! Aerodactyl can be Purified!" I cried happily.
"That's great!" May cheered.
"Yeah!" Brendan added.
They noticed I was gone. I had ran to the Relic Forest and the Relic Stone, more importantly. After releasing Aerodactyl from its Poke Ball, I told it to fly up to the Relic Stone.
Then something happened.
Whoosh! A strange noise was heard, and a saw a small Pokemon fly around Aerodactyl very fast. All I could see was a blur of green... And then my visor popped up.
"New moves for Purified Pokemon: Aerodactyl: Wing Attack and Pursuit." it beeped and flashed.
But I hardly paid attention, for I watched the little bee-shaped blur fly around...
I recalled Aerodactyl and left.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Even though I was still shaken from the literal "Flight of the Bumblebee", B, M, and I carried on to Delma, and reached it in an hour. Out from the horizon rose a brown colored tower with a slightly curved roof. It appeared to have five stories, roof included. Darkened windows were on each level. Lastly, there was a rectangular dark brown door opened from the middle. It had a Poke Ball on the middle, which was halved when the door opened.
"Let's do this." I said. But before we could go through the door, a Cipher Grunt dropped down. It was a male, with blond hair.
"Aha! So you came!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at me. "I shall whoop your butts! I, Steve, challenge bleach-hair boy and Brunette to a battle! PREPARE TO LOSE!"
He took out two Poke Balls, and tossed them out. Two Normal Elements came upon the field; a Sentret, a raccoon Pokemon with a brown and white striped tail, brown rabbit ears, a brown body except for a white ring on its belly, and white feet, and an Eevee.
Before May and Brendan could summon two Pokemon, my visor appeared, and the white circular cursor drifted upon Sentret on the screen.
"Sentret. Level 11. Shadow moves: Shadow Wave and Shadow Mist. SHADOW POKEMON!"
May and Brendan heard the voice on it, so I had no need to alert them of the dire situation, dramatically speaking.
"C'mon out, Aron!" Brendan shouted.
"You too! Lileep!" May cried.
Their Aron and Lileep appeared on the field with bursts of white light.
"Ar-ron!"
"Lileep..."
Battle statistics: This is a two-on-two double battle with no time limit or substitutions.
May's Lileep and Brendan's Aron vs. Cipher Grunt Steve's Eevee and Sentret
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Lileep, Shadow Blitz!" May shouted, pointing a finger at the desired target.
Lileep became surrounded in a purple aura, and it tackled Eevee. The attack of the Shadow Element was, as usual, super effective.
"Aron, Shadow Wave!"
Aron reared up on its hind legs, and a shadowy-colored ball formed in front of it. Two tiny specs of shadow floated towards both Eevee and Sentret. Since it was a rather weak attack, and the power was halved with the two targets, Eevee received little damage, and Sentret received even less, being a Shadow.
"Eevee, Bite! Sentret, Shadow Wave!"
Eevee dashed toward a target, Lileep, with fangs glowing dark. The attack on the Grass/Rock-Type was successful, and so was Sentret's version of Shadow Wave. May and Brendan had a clear advantage in HP.
"Lileep, Shadow Blitz again; this time on Sentret!"
Lileep performed a Shadowy tackle again, on Sentret. This brought the Pokemon into the yellows.
"Aron, Shadow Panic!"
Aron reared up again, and another shadowy ball formed in front of it. This time, two yellow orbs came out, which hit both Eevee and Sentret. Stars erupted from them, which caused the Confuse status.
"Um... Shadow Wave again, Sentret!"
Sentret tried to attack, but it hit itself with its tail three times, causing its Hp to drop a little.
"Okay, here we go! Snag Ball, do your stuff!" I cried, throwing a Poke Ball illuminated red.
In red light, Sentret was drawn into the Poke Ball. With a few SHK-SHKs, it was Snagged.
"Yeah!" May cheered, then turned back to the battle. "Now, Lileep, finish off Eevee with Shadow Blitz."
Lileep took a third or fourth charge, which caused a KO. CG Steve, May, and Brendan recalled their Pokemon, unless someone else owned one... Heh heh...
"Grr... I'll be back!" Steve growled. He ran away from the pillar.
"I want Sentret!" May cried out, running over to me. She grabbed the Poke Ball.
"You may have it. May we move on... May? Heh..." I chuckled. We all walked into the Delma Pillar, ready for the Cipher Grunt barrages.
0o0o0o0o0o0
On the second floor, two Grunts ambushed us. One was a male with gray hair, and the other was a female, with long black hair.
"Betcha don't know how we keep dropping in on ya, do ya?" said the woman.
"We had super-strong tape on our hands! Ha-ha-ha!" the male shouted.
"Oh, how impressive. I bet your battling skills will be as dumb and bad as that trick!" Brendan mocked.
"HEY! We used to be trainers at Mt. Battle!" the male said.
'That's right... Ein told me he was scouting for Grunts and Peons at Mt. Battle when I was at the Cipher Lab.' I thought.
"And now you shall perish... Whoever wants to battle."
"I shall battle." I said, my voice slightly deep.
"And I'll help!" May added, stepping up.
"You sure May?" I asked.
"Mm-hmm."
"I, Sivil..." said the female.
"And I, Newin..." the male said.
"SHALL DEFEAT YOU!"
Sivil and Newin tossed two Poke Balls into the air. Out of them came a Staryu, a Water Pokemon with a yellow, star-shaped body with a red gem in the center. Next to it appeared a Machop, a small blue Fighting Pokemon that looked like a baby. It had a set of yellow head crests and a tail.
"HYA!" Staryu yelled.
"Machop-ma!" Machop grunted.
"Alrighty, then. C'mon out, Totodile!"
"You too, Eevee!"
Upon the field materialized my Totodile and May's Eevee.
"Toto-dah!" Totodile shouted... It then dashed behind me and hid.
"Totodile... Do we hafta go through this again?" I groaned.
Totodile nodded.
I sighed. If I had to persuade Totodile one more time...
"Totodile, if I give you some food after we knock the snot outta them, will you please, please battle?"
Totodile nodded again.
"Thank you."
Battle statistics: This is a four-on-four tag battle with no time limit or substitutions.
May's Eevee and my Totodile vs. CG Sivil and Newin's Staryu and Machop
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Totodile, start this thing off with a Crunch attack!"
Totodile opened its jaws, and his teeth began glowing purple. He then ran toward the nearest target, Staryu (Or rather danced-walked), and bit down hard, causing Staryu to cry out in pain.
"And now, Eevee, use Dig!"
Eevee reared up, and then dug its brown paws into the earthen floor, soon disappearing from sight... A big hole was its only reminder.
A minute later, the Normal Element popped out from a hole in front of Machop and rammed him with a dirt-covered body. Eevee returned to May's side of the battlefield and shook off the dirt.
'Hmm... From the looks of things, May's strategies need work... Machop may use Earthquake next time Dig is performed, and that shall be the end of Eevee. If we want to take down Cipher, we're going to reform some strategies...' I thought, thinking of some of the Pokemon I saw in capture while I was leaving the Cipher Lab...
"Machop, destroy Pat's stupid little alligator..." Newin began.
"CROCODILE!" I shouted, correcting his mistake. A red anger cross appeared on Totodile's forehead.
"Yeah, whatever. Machop, destroy Pat's stupid little crocodile..."
"HE'S NOT STUPID OR LITTLE!"
"FINE! Machop, destroy Pat's annoying crocodile..."
"HE'S NOT ANNOYING!"
"ALL RIGHT! I GET IT!" An anger cross appeared on Newin's head. "Machop, destroy Pat's ugly crocodile..."
A sweat drop formed on May's, Brendan's, Sivil's, Machop's, and Staryu's heads as I shouted:
"HE'S NOT THAT UGLY!"
"SHUT UP! MACHOP, DESTROY PAT'S TOTODILE NOW! Is that better?"
"Yes... AND YA DON'T HAFTA YELL!" More sweat drops formed on the previously mentioned people's heads plus Newin.
"Machop, use Mega Punch! Sheesh..."
Machop balled up its fist, which began glowing in a white shine. He then clobbered Totodile's jaw, making Totodile bawl...
"Totodile... Would you stop? He didn't hurt you that much, got it?"
"Toto... Dah..." Totodile mumbled, crossing his arms.
'I think he just said... Fine, Mr. High-and-mighty human!' I pondered.
"Staryu, Swift!"
Staryu spun around the battlefield, and stopped in front of Totodile. Then hundreds of yellow stars flew from its red gem, aimed at my Pokemon.
"I don't think so! Totodile, deflect them with Powder Snow!"
Totodile inhaled cold blue air, and blew it out in the form of hail-like objects at the Swift attack, deflecting them back at Staryu!
"WHAT? Grr!" Sivil growled.
"Heh-heh-heh..." I cackled.
'Wow. Even though he's a beginner, Pat's strength is... phenomenal! He's stronger than Brendan was the second time I battled him!' May thought as she gazed at me. I noticed her staring.
"Is there a problem, May?" I asked.
"Wha? Uh, no! No problem, no." she stuttered.
"All right then." My gaze redirected onto the field.
"Totodile, vanquish Sivil's Staryu by means of utilizing the special assault we devoloped!" Everyone that was human looked at me in a confused look.
"Eliminate Staryu by making use of the unique offense we designed?" I said with simpler words. They still had a confused expression.
"Knock Staryu out with the supreme aggression we devised?" They still were extremely dumfounded!
"Huh?" Newin mumbled, scratching his head.
"YOU FOOLS! Totodile, attack Staryu with our special attack! Triple Swipe!" They all understood, since I used words a kindergartner would use!
"Triple Swipe?" May asked.
"A combination attack of..." I began to explain...
Totodile charged over to Staryu and slashed it three times...
"Fury Swipes..."
Totodile scraped his claws on Staryu's yellow body soon after...
"Scratch..."
And last, Totodile's claws began to glow in white light, and they slashed Staryu mercilessly.
"...And Slash."
Staryu fell on its face as Totodile returned to my side of the field.
"No, Staryu!" Sivil cried out.
"And now, Totodile, annihilate Machop with our Icy Water combination!"
"Icy Water?" May questioned.
"It's composed of..."
Totodile opened his mouth, from which a blast of blue water shot out at Machop, which caused damage to the Fighting Element.
"Water Gun, Surf, Waterfall, Hydro Pump, or Hydro Cannon..."
And then Totodile formed an icy blue sphere in its mouth, which thrust onto Machop in the form of a thunderbolt-shaped beam.
"...And Icy Beam, Icy Wind, or Blizzard."
The Ice Beam had crystallized Machop, which made him look like an ice statue.
"Our Pokemon!" Sivil and Newin exclaimed. They both growled, and then held out their Pokemon's Poke Balls. Machop and Staryu turned into red energy as a red beam streaked from the white button in the middle of their Poke Balls, and they were zapped inside.
"Well, you've fought enough to withstand our normal Pokemon..." Sivil smirked.
"But can you take these!" Newin shouted. They both threw out a Poke Ball.
"Go! Chinchou!" shouted Newin.
"You too, Natu!" yelled Sivil.
From two bursts of white energy appeared a Water/Electric and Psychic/Flying Elementals. Chinchou, the W/E, was a small blue creature with two anglerfish-like antennae with yellow "bags" at the end, two small blue fins, and yellow eyes with plus-shaped pupils. Natu was a very small bird with a yellow beak, a green circle-shaped body, a red head feather, a red tail, red talons with white claws, and two golden, red, and black design wings.
"Chinch-chou!" Chinchou cried out.
"Natu-na!" Natu squawked.
Suddenly, my green Shadow Monitor popped out. I had a feeling those two Pokemon were Shadows.
"Chinchou. Lv. 11. Water/ Electric Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Blitz and Shadow Mist. SHADOW POKEMON."
"Natu. Lv. 12. Psychic/ Flying Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Wave and Shadow Hold. SHADOW POKEMON."
"Hmph. Those Shadow Pokemon are incompetent." I mumbled with a smirk on my face.
"You'll regret that!" Newin shouted at me angrily.
"Don't make me use large words you can't understand! Like, for example, lose-er." I taunted, making an anger cross pop up on Newin's head.
May's Eevee and my Totodile vs. CG Newin and Sivil's Chinchou and Natu
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Totodile, use your jaws and Crunch that little fish!" I ordered.
Totodile ran at Chinchou and chomped down on it with purple teeth.
"Ha-ha! You fell right into my trap, already!" Newin laughed. "Chinchou, Spark!"
"Hey! I thought Shadow Pokemon only knew Shadow Attacks!" May said.
"Guess again."
Chinchou's yellow things began glowing, and they released electrical energy onto Totodile!
"Ah! Totodile!" I cried, but then smirked. "Yeah, right. I figured you'd do that, Newin-boy. I know more about the Shadow Pokemon Plan than my numbskull partners!" Brendan and May glared at me.
"Totodile, use Water Gun!" I shouted.
Totodile, still chomping on Chinchou, released a blast of water from his mouth, but still held on to Chinchou!
"Huh?" Newin said.
After a few minutes, Chinchou couldn't take any more Water Gun/Crunch. He stopped using Spark, and got blast across the field into the wall.
"Alright! Poke Ball, let's do it!" I shouted, tossing a red-illuminated Poke Ball. In a flash of red light, Chinchou was sucked up into the Ball. It fell to the ground and shook thrice. SHK-SHK. SHK-SHK. SHK-SHK.
"One down..." I said.
"...One to go!" May added. "Eevee, use Fury Swipes, and then switch to Tackle!"
May's Eevee nodded from hearing its owner's command, and then charged toward Natu. Twice the bird was slashed, and then rammed. This caused Natu to wobble slightly. A few more hits and it could be Snagged!
"Natu! Attack with Shadow Wave!"
A black ball formed in Natu's beak, and then it branched out as two black dots. They whammed into both Totodile and Eevee, causing some damage, since there were two targets, making the power split.
"Ha! You're Shadow Pokemon is weak! Totodile, use Scratch!" I commanded.
Totodile danced over to Natu and scratched it with blue claws. (Well, it is a blue Pokemon...)
"Natu!" Sivil cried out. "I need some suggestions, Newin!" Sivil looked to the left and saw... Newin had high-tailed it outta there!
"Poor guy... Musta been too embarrassed to stick around cuz he, the imbecilic idiot he was, got KO'd before a female..." I said.
"Paaaaat..." May moaned.
"Grr...!" Sivil growled.
"And now... I shall conclude this battle before Sivil clobbers me in the head and May moans away her life! Totodile, use Seismic Toss!"
Totodile ran toward the Shadow Pokemon and grabbed it, and then flung Natu up into the air. He jumped up to Natu's level and slammed him into the ground, causing a loud wham to echo through the building. A small hole with dust coming out of it revealed Totodile and Natu, both seriously wobbling.
"Ah, Totodile! You're gonna be okay, just don't cry, PLEASE!" I cried out.
"Toto... Dah-hah!" Totodile grunted, giving me a fingers-up. Er, I mean thumbs-up.
"Alright! Now, go SNAG BALL!" As with Chinchou, Natu became red energy once touched by a Poke Ball in a red aura, and was sucked into the spherical body. With a literal three shakes of a Mareep's tail (You get it? Heh-heh...), its capture was clear! I also tossed Totodile its "reward": some special Water Pokemon food.
"HA! You got it! I CALL CHINCHOU!" May shouted, running by Natu's Poke Ball to grab the other one, which had been left on the field.
"Brendan, take Natu. I already have enough of these ridiculous Shadow Pokemon for the time being..." I mumbled, recalling Totodile as May did Eevee.
"Aww... But I wanted Chinchou..." Brendan moaned. He stuck out his lower lip and his eyes became puppy-dog version. "May, just because I love you so much, can we trade our Pokemon? Pwetty pwease?"
"No way, Brendan! That puppy dog look may have gotten some stuff outta me, but not this time."
"WAAAH-HAAAAH!" Brendan cried (Like a BIG BABY!).
"Come on, May and Baby Brendan! We gotta get to the top! DON'T YOU REALIZE THAT YOUR USELESS WHIMPERING, CRYING, AND WHINING..." I roared...
"...will do us no good!"
"Pat... You're really mean, you know that?" Brendan frowned.
"Yeah, well whoop-de-do. Let's say I have a mean streak! Now, let's move on."
Brendan grumbled as he followed me through a stairwell.
'Wow... Pat can be cruel, cold, and cocky one minute and then sorta caring, calm, and collected...' May thought as she looked toward my turned back.
"Coming, May?" I asked, looking at her with one eye.
"Uh... Yeah, Pat!"
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
We were on the third floor, so I expected at least two or three Cipher Grunt attacks since there were a total of five, minus the roof.
I was just beginning to scope the ceiling when a male Grunt with blond hair ran up to us.
"HA! I found you!" he shouted.
"And who might you be, you sniveling snob?" I sneered. May and Brendan popped their heads from behind my back.
"I'm Cipher Grunt Todd, the last one you'll ever face! HA-HA-HA-HA!"
"Dude, you wish. I challenge you to a one on one battle! Are you... afraid? Perhaps you'd like to hand your Shadow Pokemon over now? Or will you take your beating like an imbecile?"
"WHY YOU! I'm an elite Grunt!"
"So? You're a Grunt. Not a Peon. Or Administrator. Or the leader. Just a little-skilled, little-experienced, little-brained Grunt in the ranks of Cipher. But there are no five ways around it..."
"Two." Brendan corrected.
"Yeah, whatever. I shall battle you." I drew a Poke Ball from my belt.
"Uh... Well, I only have one Pokemon. So, let the battle COMMENCE!" Todd shouted. (Sound familiar?)
"Time to kick some butt!" I shouted, throwing out the Poke Ball I clutched.
"Let's rock 'n roll, Aerodactyl!" I shouted. Aerodactyl appeared in front of me on the battlefield. But it was different... It didn't have an extremely hostile look on its face.
"Uh... Pat? Aerodactyl used ta' look..." May started to say.
"Antagonistic." I finished. "I purified it, getting rid of all hostile energy from being a Shadow Pokemon."
"Cool!"
'Yeah, but what was that bee-like thing I saw while the process occurred?' I pondered, my mind flashed back to the soothing yet exiting moment...
"Meet my Pokemon! Grimer!"
Todd tossed a Poke Ball, and in a flash of red light his Pokemon appeared. It was a big blob of purple sludge with eyes and a mouth, thus making it a clear Poison Element.
"Grim-er!" it grunted.
"RO-DAC-TYL!" Aerodactyl squawked loudly.
"Hmm... Since I'm facing a Poison Element... which..." I sniffed the air. "...ugh! Smells really bad... I need to take a defensive plan, since Poison is a physical-reliant Type, as well as maintaining an offensive strategy with projectile attacks such as Flamethrower, which of course Aerodactyl doesn't know." I said, trying to figure a strategy.
My visor slid out from my Snag Machine again. "Grimer. Lv. 12. Poison Element. Shadow moves: Shadow Wave and Shadow Panic. SHADOW POKEMON."
"Let's go, people!" Todd yelled.
"FINE!"
Battle statistics: This is a one-on-one battle with no time limit or substitutions.
My Aerodactyl vs. CG Todd's Grimer
BATTLE COMMENCE!
"Aerodactyl, be careful." I cautioned. "Grimer may make you unconscious if you get too close to him and vice versa."
"Ro!" Aerodactyl nodded.
"We'll only use projectile attacks. So first, attack with Steel Wing! Just... Don't hit or go near Grimer."
"Huh?" May questioned, seeing how using a pure offensive attack without hitting a Pokemon would be useless.
"I get it..." Brendan said. "May, do you remember Winona's Skarmory?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, she did the same thing against me!" Brendan recalled when he was fighting Hoenn Gym Leader Winona. It was down to their last Pokemon, Winona's Skarmory vs. Brendan's Shelgon. (Now what would a Patinator Product inc. be without early Dragon usage, huh? I am Rayquaza's fan numero uno! (Number one))
(Brendan's POV)
"Winona's Skarmory and my Shelgon had taken a little bit of damage. Since I used mostly pure physical attacks instead of Shelgon's Dragon moves, Winona ordered Skarmory to use Iron Defense and Steel Wing, the latter without hitting my Shelgon. I concluded then and there I had to use Special Attacks like Dragonbreath and Dragon Claw."
(Regular POV)
"Oh yeah... Steel Wing sometimes heightens Defense!" May realized.
Meanwhile, my Skarmory... Uh... I mean Aerodactyl, had just flew up into the air with its wings encased in a metallic aura, and then flapped back down as the shine decreased. A small green circle came up from the ground and enveloped Aerodactyl, telling me my plan was successful!
"But why didn't Pat use another Defense move like Harden or Iron Defense?" May wondered.
"Aerodactyl doesn't know any other Defense-boosting moves, and can't learn them. I must admit, Pat's comin' along better than I was at this stage."
"Wow!" May cried out.
"WHAT! Did I miss something?"
"No, you were modest." A sweat drop appeared on Brendan's head, which bubbled a bit from "slight" anger...
"And now, Aerodactyl! Use Hidden Power!"
Aerodactyl began to glow in a white light, which suddenly flushed out of him into many white orbs, which danced around the Rock/Flying Element. With a shriek from Aerodactyl's mouth, the orbs spread out from the center point, AKA the aforementioned Pokemon, causing about three to hit Grimer. The other bashed into the walls, forming holes when they evaporated. A ring around the walls drawn with a flashy Pokemon attack... It sounded like a good Contest idea...
"Grimer! Use Sludge Bomb!" Todd shouted.
Purple gunk was seen coming into Grimer's mouth, which was spat out in Aerodactyl's direction as several gunky, slimy, stinky, purple, gooey ovals.
"Oh, right. That's so gonna hit me. Aerodactyl, Sandstorm!" I ordered.
Aerodactyl lowered its gray wings, and then jolted them up, giving him a spinning motion. A small sand tornado whipped up around Aerodactyl, deflecting Sludge Bomb.
The sandstorm also spread out across the field, taking bits off of Grimer's HP.
"Okay, Aerodactyl! That's enough!" I said. Aerodactyl ceased the dust storm, which left the field blanketed in sand. The purple sludge my opponent's Pokemon was gurgled up to the top.
'This reminds me of the deserts and dust storms back where I was born...' I thought, suddenly becoming reminiscent...
"Aerodactyl, ready for more?"
"Ro-ro-dactyl!"
"Okay! Use Hidden Power again!"
As before, my Fossil Pokemon began to glow with white light, which drained out of him into several white orbs. The spherical bodies launched from their "creator", you could say, and bashed into the walls and Grimer!
"Ha! Now use... Secret Power!" I shouted. A breath was drawn into Aerodactyl's large mouth, and he began to come down to the ground...
"STOP!" He stopped.
"Pat, what did you do that for?" May asked.
"Because of the sand field, Secret Power would be transformed into Earthquake or Magnitude, Ground moves."
"Connect the dots for me."
"Ugh... Gr-oun...DUH is su-per eeee-ffec-tiiive a-gains...TUH Poi-son... Did ya get that?" I mumbled.
"Uh... Yeah. Now say it without takin' thirty-three hours!"
"...Ground is super effective against Poison, OK? Back to the battle... Sheesh. Aerodactyl, use Whirlwind to blow away the sand!"
Aerodactyl spun around in midair, creating a small, regular tornado. It blew the sand to the left of the field, leaving the battlefield bare.
"And now use Rock Tomb!"
With a screech, Aerodactyl made rocks pop out from the ground, nearly fully encasing Grimer. Soon they disappeared, leaving Grimer with a decreased Accuracy stat and HP.
"Almost time..." I said softly.
"Grimer! It's time we show him... Shadow Punch!"
"Ooh... Scary. It's a Ghost attack, you idiot. Not a Shadow move."
"So?" Todd asked slyly. Grimer's fist began to glow in a shadowy color, rushed toward Aerodactyl at a surprising high speed, punched my Pokemon, and then returned to his side of the battlefield.
"Aerodactyl, you'll be okay." I said, seeing how Grimer scored a critical hit.
"Can you still fight?" I got a nod. The Rock/Flying-Type shook off some of the pain and put on its game head, or whatever you people say.
"Ha-ha-ha! Aerodactyl, use Rock Smash!"
Aerodactyl's wingtips glowed in a red-brown color. He slung them onto the ground, of course losing his aerial status, causing a small rut to slice its way toward Grimer. It was a Fighting attack, but it still brought Grimer down just enough, into the low-like yellows.
"Well, that's a wrap. Snag Ball, do your thing!" I yelled, throwing toward Grimer a Poke Ball with a red aura. The Shadow Pokemon was sucked up with red energy into the Ball, which fell from its aerial perch as it enclosed. With three of the famous-in-this-fic SHK-SHKs, the Pokemon had been Snagged.
"NO!" Todd growled. He ran off as I advanced toward the Poke Ball.
"May, I'll let you have it." I threw it to her with a spin motion.
"But... What about you? Brenda and I have two more."
"May... Don't call me Brenda..." Brendan groaned.
"Gee, I wonder where she got it from." I pondered in a sarcastic tone. I then chuckled. "I should be able to get more Shadow Pokemon here, May. But thank you for the concern. I don't care if you and Brenda have more. For now." I walked to the next portion of the third floor.
"Uh... Okay, Pat." May followed me.
"Hey, wait up will ya? AND DON'T CALL ME BRENDA!" Brendan yelled as he ran to catch up. A sweat drop appeared on May's and my head as May began to giggle softly. I, in turn, chuckled for a brief moment, with a smirk on my face and my eyes closed. (As usual.) I didn't often show signs of joy or humor, but I did anyway, probably because I was the one who began the "Brenda" craze, ha-ha!
PM: Okay, I know I haven't updated in about two months. Kill me now. But you understand why I had to cut this Chapter into a two-part adventure: I'M ALREADY AT 117 KILOBYTES! So, I bid you all farewell. For now.