PokeStones of the Dead - Chapter Nine
Temperance was pushed against the mirror wall as Lillette's hands linked around his back, her hands circled around him in a tight embrace. Some natural body instinct took over, as he encircled his own hands around her waist, drawing her close to him. They must have stayed like that for less than a minute, but as far as Temperance was concerned, it was for eternity. And even so, it was not enough.
"You know, in all my life, no one has ever said they liked me, in any way? I joined the defence, but there were only hard relationships there, cordial and robotic. It was better than anything I had ever got at home, but it was still very lonely. I've been waiting all my life for someone to say that…"
How did you know that no one said they liked you? You lost your memory… was what Temperance would have said half an hour ago. Now, that part of his brain was banished into the background, as he just continued hugging Lillette, saying nothing. A few minutes passed, and then Lillette released him, prompting Temperance to do the same.
"Thank you. I like you too."
And no more words needed to be said. They continued down the corridor. The ghostly figures were still behind them, but as Temperance and Lillette linked hands, the floor could have fallen away, and they would still have continued walking, so deep were the extent of their thoughts and emotions. A small percent of Temperance's mind was telling him that Houndoom would do well against Agatha, but the rest of it was focused on Lillette.
The corridor came to an end. An hour ago, Temperance would never have nominated it for a romantic location. Now, it seemed like heaven in his eyes, and he wanted to remain in it with Lillette forever. But a woman was waiting in the arena, still standing upright despite her apparent very old age.
"You are anticipated. You are behind schedule. Begin with haste."
Temperance and Lillette snapped out of their dreams, and their hands parted as they made their way to the arena positions. Temperance noted that these positions were at the same positions as the previous two arenas, but the lighting and mirrors made it appear as it the arena stretched on infinitely behind them, and they would be in the middle of the battle. Only by focusing hard on an object could he banish this illusion from this mind.
The battle begun, with Houndoom and Scizor against Dusclops and Banette. Lillette was only vaguely familiar with them, having lived in Kanto all her life, but Temperance had gotten used to these Pokemon on his travels. Dusclops was a defensive monster, able to wall away most attacks. Banette, on the other hand, was more offensive-based. Sure enough, Banette started lobbing Shadow Balls from one end to the other. Most went woefully wide, but the rate of fire was fast enough to inconvenience the duo, as Scizor was forced to slash at one of them, taking minor damage from the impact.
The reply was instantaneous, as Houndoom ran at full speed towards Banette with a Crunch attack. As the jaws almost made contact, Banette disappeared, and in its place was Dusclops casting Imprison. Houndoom's jaws froze in midair, as Banette reappeared next to it, then used Spite on the frozen Pokemon. Temperance and Lillette could only watch helplessly as the teeth of the canine splintered. Clearly, there would be no more Crunching from now on. The Imprison faded, but not before Banette gave it a Shadow Ball in the face. The howl of pain from Houndoom chilled the ears of Temperance and his other Pokemon, even in their Poke Balls.
Scizor Silver Winded from afar, but the two ghosts were gone in a shadowy fog, and Temperance was aware of Banette concentrating on Scizor's learnt moves. Picking one of them, it stood aside for Dusclops to Torment Scizor, as his mind filled with terrible images, all involving the Silver Wind he had just used. Forced to the ground, then immediately Imprisoned within his mental faculties, he was virtually helpless. Houndoom's fangs were gone; it was coughing blood, and was not up to defending the trapped Scizor. Both could only watch as Banette finishing tightening its focus, before using Scizor's own move against him. While the ghost went straight through Scizor, as if it had no effect, Scizor had clearly taken a hit, and its pain was felt by both Temperance and Lillette. Both were winded. What sort of power was this?
As Banette gave the finishing blow to Scizor with a Shadow Ball, Lillette was already releasing Misdreavus. Surprised, the slower Dusclops could not avoid the Mean Look from Misdreavus. Then, it felt the pain experienced by Houndoom during that combination attack, as Houndoom felt his wounds lessen. His fangs grew back, though he was still hurt. As the Mean Look was about to expire, Misdreavus gave the frozen Dusclops a Confuse Ray to stop the insane combinations that the two could execute, then dodged Banette's Shadow Ball from distance.
Dusclops tried to Torment Misdreavus, but the Confuse Ray had addled its mind enough for it to Torment itself. Its own medicine used against it, Dusclops could do nothing against the rampaging Houndoom, fangs restored. Banette moved to intercept the attack, but Misdreavus stopped it with another Mean Look, and Houndoom was free to Crunch the offending Dusclops with full force. Only its strong natural defences allowed it to survive the attack. There was still some hope for the two yet.
Even as Houndoom sank his fangs into Dusclops, giving him an excuse to cheer, Temperance realised that the situation was still very bad. Both of the two Pokemon were alive, and Banette's only source of prior damage came from its own usage of Spite. Dusclops was more badly hurt, but together, the two could execute their combo over and over again. They had only managed to damage it because of quick thinking and reflexes by Lillette, catching the slower Dusclops unaware as the two retreated back.
Imprison to trap the Pokemon, Spite to disable. If the move is unknown to the two ghosts, they Torment to torture, long enough for one of them to Mimic the move… then Imprison kicks in again. It's an invincible combo!
Temperance, in despair, looked towards Lillette, only to see her looking directly at him, one finger on the Poke Ball that contained Scizor. The wink that followed showed that she had something up her sleeve. True, they were allowed one change of Pokemon per match. But even if Scizor could still battle, what good would it do? If he could not scratch the ghosts at full HP, why could he do so now? Temperance wondered if that move would only hasten the end. He just could not see what Lillette was thinking, and direct communication was not allowed during the third and fourth matches…
Then, in a brainwave, it came to him, almost as if Lillette had transferred it to his own mind using some strange telepathy. Temperance imagined her voice speaking inside his brain, but of course that was just wishful thinking. However, he knew what to do. He nodded to Lillette, and the two made their move.
"Houndoom, Foresight!"
Temperance's voice was joined by Lillette's on his left saying the same thing, as both Houndoom and Misdreavus created a shimmering barrier of rainbow energy in front of them. It seemed to have no visible effect, but the fog of shadow that was Banette and Dusclops turned solid, and the two shapes were clearly visible despite the distance. Temperance, satisfied that it was working, instantly withdrew Houndoom. This had to be done in perfect fast timing, before Agatha realised their stunt. If Dusclops managed to cast Haze, nullifying the Foresight, it was all over.
"Scizor, Reversal!"
Scizor emerged from Lillette's Poke Ball, clearly weak, but strong enough to extract vengeance. In its battered state, Reversal was at its strongest, and the Bug Pokemon sped towards the ghosts, the Foresight barrier allowing it to not only see, but attack, Agatha's ghosts. Both made emergency evades, but Dusclops, its speed letting it down again, took the full force of the Reversal from Scizor. It crumpled into shadow and fog, as it was withdrawn.
"Scizor, Reversal again!"
Scizor went for Banette next. Without Torment, it could not possibly stop Scizor, and it did not have Reversal in its arsenal, so again Imprison was out of the question. In desperation, Agatha ordered it to charge up a Focus Punch, as Scizor charged towards the ghost Pokemon. Banette finished charging the attack, and the two Pokemon clashed in a titanic battle of physical blows. The resulting explosion caused all three trainers to shield their eyes.
As the dust cleared, both Pokemon lay immobilised on the ground. Lillette withdrew Scizor, as Agatha did the same for Banette, and released Gengar. The Ghost Pokemon was clearly her strongest asset, and where it walked, the shadow and darkness seemed drawn to it as well. As the mirrors created endless copies of the Gengar, Lillette looked at Misdreavus, who was not a strong 1v1 fighter. Gengar, on the other hand, had access to a humongous variety of attacks, both physical and special. They had to use another strategy to overcome this new obstacle.
The two Ghost Pokemon circled each other, preparing for the initial skirmish. Down to an individual battle, that would be natural need for more caution than in a 2v2. Temperance noticed that Agatha's Gengar was not clear and translucent like those found in books and computer databases. Hers was shrouded in shadow, and indeed almost a source of darkness in itself. The outline of the Gengar's hands and feet were not clear, only the general shape distinguishing it from another Pokemon. While Temperance was taking this all in, Misdreavus had already cast Pain Split on it, evening the battle, at least where percentages were concerned.
The blob of shadow that was Agatha's Gengar suddenly erupted into life. A ball of shadow hurtled from it at a speed approaching terminal velocity, forcing Misdreavus to hurl herself to the ground to avoid it. Casting a Shadow Ball of her own, Misdreavus counterattacked, but another Shadow Ball from Gengar not only nullified it but also continued going, showing the gulf in power between the two attacks. Temperance then realised that the shadowy Gengar also rendered the trainers unable to notice the casting movement of its Shadow Balls, forcing Misdreavus to increase her reaction time.
"Misdreavus, Confuse Ray!"
An orange ray was summoned from Misdreavus' hands, going towards Gengar. To Temperance's surprise, Gengar made only the slightest of movements to avoid the ray, as it seemingly crashed through the shadow, but Gengar remained unscathed.
So… the fog and shadow around it does not simply determine its form, but also affects a small area around the Gengar. This makes its evasion higher and hence decreases the accuracy of Lillette's attacks… Again, a very high level of battle proficiency shown. Clearly, they have much more experience under their belt that we can never hope to have.
Temperance realised, with a start, that there was no hope of a victory after all. Misdreavus had access to one attack that could do any damage to the opposition, but it was clearly not enough to stop the awesome power of the Dark Gengar. As a Thunderbolt illuminated the Gengar's grinning face briefly, then targeted Lillette's Misdreavus, a sense of hopelessness and despair rose in him. Was it all over?