A/N: Summary: Sticks and stones could break your bones but they can always be fixed. The power of words can build you up, fill you with joy or tear you down and dispose of all happiness. But once they've been said the damage, good or bad, has been done and nothing can reverse it or heal it completely. Sure it can repair itself mostly but those words will follow the target till the end of their days and will affect a choice they make in the future. So what happens when someone has complete and utter control over that power? Will they use it to maintain the balance or will they favour? This is the tale of a girl who did not follow the path that destiny had wanted when she was gifted with her talent. Not a true hero nor a true villain; meet Phoenix Rivera, the Antihero. (All credit for this idea goes to Michael Mind's Antiheroes)
Disclaimer: I do not own pokémon. I swear on my life but I wish I did. If I did Ash would be a girl and not an idiot but I suppose his stupidity is entertaining for kids. Also he would not restart his journey and abandon all his pokémon after he's used them.
Disclaimer: I do not own Antiheroes
Note: Please Vote on my Poll!
The Phoenix Chapter
Episode 4: The Pains of Assessment Day
The morning started normally enough; early morning training followed by breakfast which had resulted in several different arguments including what was for lunch and the typical stop stealing my food. Phoenix had decided that it was time to test the three starters in their abilities. Nike, Nya and Enyo whole heartedly agreed and thus here they were in a large open space beside a lake on the way to Mt Moon preparing for the greatest challenge the starters have faced.
Phoenix sat of a boulder, note book in hand, ready to draw sketches or write notes on the battle. Saffron, Dusk and Athena, her eevees, sat beside her practically bursting with excitement. It would be the first battle they had ever witnessed so naturally they were psyched up. Well, Dusk was extremely timid and shy so maybe not too enthusiastic on his part. The assessment was focusing on everything; strength, speed, tactics, initiative, skills but most importantly team work.
Hearth, Ilex and Storm stood opposite their mentors as they prepared for the battle. Despite knowing that their mentors wouldn't be going all out they were slightly worried about how much damage they could cause them.
"Alright are both sides ready?" Phoenix asked, her voice carrying over the distance of the clearing with clarity and ease. Ilex, the unofficial speaker for their group, nodded with the action mimicked by Nike.
"Very well, begin!"
The original trio, Phoenix's strongest, most trusted and feared pokémon, attacked as one.
Enyo roared and took to the skies, launching a powerful dragon pulse upon them with ease whilst Nya fired a flamethrower into their midst and Nike unleashed a frigid ice beam effectively separating their opponents.
"Aww shit." Storm cursed as she was forced to dodge yet another dragon pulse. "Not even a minute in and we're already on the defensive."
She breathed in summoning water to her mouth before she fired it at Nya who had advanced upon her. The water was easily out maneuverer and Nya's advance remained un-faltered. "Two can play that game," she muttered as she tucked into her shell and spun away as quickly as possible, using the same tactic used in the gym battle and unleashed a constant jet of water, as she escaped. Unfortunately they joy she felt with her escape was short lived as she felt weight descend upon her knocking her out of the air. Unable to see, Storm braced herself for the impact. It never came. Vines wrapped around her shell and yanked her out from underneath Nya, who landed gracefully despite her fall, and pulled her to safety. Popping her head out as she stretched she turned to her sister.
"Thanks Lex," she told the Bulbasaur whilst they unleashed a barrage of razor leaves and water guns at Enyo who was now within range.
"No problem but you owe me one," the grass type rumbled, he vines lashing out to destroy and incoming projectile.
"Understood. Where's Hearth?" Storm asked as she fired yet another water gun at Nya. Ilex frowned.
"Dunno, actually I do. She's probably taking on Nike in combat. I'd go but I'm not leaving you alone against both of them," she stated as she let loose a razor leaf at Enyo who simply let them hit, unperturbed by the attack.
"I have a plan to deal with one but I'll need your help. Get on my back and ready sleep powder for Enyo," Storm whispered as she remembered the conversation she'd had with Phoenix during training this morning. The tactic was wild and Storm suspected only Nick would have ever thought of it but if it was done properly it would be killer in battle. She tucked into her shell, using withdraw to raise her defence. Arceus knows she'd need it.
"Alright but if I am burnt to ashes it's on you," she warned as she stepped on.
"Consider me warned. Now brace yourself," Storm grunted as her activated Rapid Spin to give them some altitude and momentum.
"Go slightly left."
"I'm spinning. I don't have a left."
"If I put my weight on the side I want you to go will you respond properly?"
"Interesting question. Let's answer it," Storm replied as she shifted her rotation to the side that she felt the majority of Ilex's weight was on, successfully turning the way that was required if Ilex was going to be able to put Enyo to sleep.
"Drop lower!" Ilex snapped in panic as a flamethrower was launched by Enyo towards them, combined with a surprising solar beam from Nya.
"On it!" Storm answered as she dived downwards slightly, trusting Ilex's judgment completely. They were rewarded with non-burnt bodies and annoyed growls from the opposition.
Phoenix clapped a hand over her mouth to prevent the ecstatic glee as Storm used the tactic she'd thought of in battle from escaping. It was actually working! Saffron was psyched up completely, cheering enthusiastically for both sides while Athena watched with an impressed gaze, cheering only every so often. Little Dusk however was stunned silent in awe as he watched his new family duke it out in a fantastic clash of the elements. They were doing extremely well in the fight despite the significant difference in strength. Nick turned her gaze to her other starter who wasn't just surviving an onslaught from Nike but was thriving, landing several hits on the absol without help. Hearth had been separated from her friends at the beginning of the battle and had been forced to fight Nike alone. The young fire type had been enraged at the toying nature Nike used as if she wasn't worth her time. That had been enough to send the stubborn charmander over the edge and her ember had become a full-fledged flamethrower. With Nike sufficiently impressed, the two were fighting, as equals.
Hearth growled and unleashed another flamethrower that was effortlessly countered by her elder sister's own. Running forward she faked a strike to the left and fired a flamethrower at her right, leaping back to avoid a recovery hit. Nike shot forward scoring a deep gash down her shoulder only to receive an enraged flamethrower to the face. She dodged the brick break and countered with a sucker punch to the face. Scowling, Hearth snorted out a cloud of thick black smoke as she ducked away. Nike didn't need to see though as she waited patiently for her senses to locate her fire happy sibling before darting forward. Nike frowned. This was exactly the spot where Hearth was meant to be. Where was she?
Her train of though was interrupted as a weight landed heavily on her back and a powerful rick break was delivered to her ribs. Before she'd recovered a flamethrower greeted her face. Nike snarled in fury as she realised that her sister had been in the tree directly above her. A novice mistake to make. She leapt forward pinning the fire type to the ground, delivering a harsh night slash to the face. Bloodied scratches littered her body but Hearth didn't care. Her sister was only doing what another would do, preparing her for what a battle really entailed. Hearth fired a flamethrower at Nike's face causing the dark type to reel backward, releasing her sister. Before either could attack again, Nike was flung into the air by a strong set of vines. A battered and bruised charmander turned to Ilex.
"Thank you Lex," she told her. Ilex nodded and refrained herself from helping her sister make her way over. She had no wish to insult her sister's pride by making her feel weak. An ideal way to deal with all fire types as they don't accept help easily.
"Do you wish to take her down together?" Ilex suggested. Hearth raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
"Attempt to yes, I'd like that," Hearth replied as they both turned to face the advancing absol. "How's Storm?"
"Half dead fighting Nya. Maybe Enyo but that depends on how long my sleep powder lasts."
"Then we'd better move this battle closer to her," Hearth decided.
"Any ideas?"
"Yep. Fling and run."
"Sounds good. You fling, I run."
"I was thinking more along the lines of you flinging then me running."
"How bout I fling and we both run?"
"Sounds like a plan," Hearth joked as Ilex lassoed an amused Nike before throwing her away. Hearth picked up Ilex and bolted. Nike followed at a more sedated pass. They had passed most of the tests today with just one final challenge to complete. She was highly amused at the banter the duo had going and the fact that most of the plans Ilex made or involved Ilex usually consisted of her throwing someone. It wasn't always going to work but she'd let them have a little fun.
Meanwhile, Storm was having the time of her life dodging Nya and her thunder fangs and a particularly pissed salamence's dragon pulses. Fun. Note the sarcasm.
"Oh for the sake of all things related to ninjas, Hearth and Ilex please get your asses over here before I die!" Storm snapped to no one in particular before she was struck down with a dragon pulse soon followed by a vicious thunder fang. Storm screamed in agony as she rolled free, struggling to stand. She gritted her teeth and fought against the oncoming darkness. She knew they weren't going all out but she was several years behind them in experience and sheer power. Storm opened one eye and immediately wished she hadn't. Her mentor had just shot forward, surrounded in pure power and energy, all alarms blaring dragon rush and she was in no shape to dodge. Closing her eyes shut tightly, Storm braced herself for the inevitable.
But like all good shows, stories and movies; the inevitable hardly ever happens. After a few moments of pondering why she wasn't in anymore pain, Storm slowly opened her eyes and gasped in shock. A bleeding and bruised Hearth and an exhausted and battered Ilex stood in front of her protectively but that wasn't what occupied her sisters' surprise. Encasing them was a beautiful bluish green dome.
"Stormy," Hearth whispered, fatigue bitting at her voice. "How?"
Storm finally regained enough strength to see what she was going on about.
"Is that what I think it is?" Ilex questioned softly. Storm nodded, shell-shocked (pun unintended).
"Yeah."
"Enough! This battle is over," Phoenix cut in causing the trio to stumble over to her, exhausted and elated. Saffron, Dusk and Athena circled Nick's feet chirping happily about the excitement of the match. The older, relatively uninjured pokémon laughed at their cuteness whilst the others just tumbled over each other in exhaustion.
Late that afternoon, Ilex awoke from her sleep to find herself curled up next to Hearth and Storm who were also beginning to wake. The smell of her mother/sister figures cooking wafted around her until she couldn't take it anymore and trudged over, hoping for something to eat. Storm and Hearth weren't far behind. Phoenix appeared to be packing up, a bowl of carbonara (one of the only human dishes she could make) ready on the ground beside her and several plates of her own special pokémon food laid out. Her 'mother's' eyes lit up upon seeing them and gestured for them to come eat. Whilst she ate, Ilex observed the visible signs of injury on her siblings' figures. Storm had a nasty burn on one cheek and one of her legs was severely bruised. Hearth's left arm was wrapped in bandages and her torso and part of her face had dressings on them. Ilex herself felt as if her lower jaw had been burnt off and her precious bulb hurt like hell.
"I must say you did fantastic out there today," Phoenix began as she smiled warmly at them, patting Ilex on the head gently. "Although I'll tell you now that your mentors weren't going at half power, more like 60%," she continued causing their heads to snap up in shock. "By the way, congratulations all of you! Great work learning Flamethrower Hearth, Ilex you've mastered Razor Leaf and your Vine Whip has become far more versatile and has a longer reach then before and Storm that was excellent work with the aerial tactic and of course your pulling off of Protect in the nick of time. I'm proud of you all. Your mentors are too," she finished smiling lovingly at them.
Pride swelled in Ilex's chest. Nike didn't respect anybody unless they earned it, by her standards, Enyo didn't deliver praise at all unless it was undeniable that it was deserved and whilst Nya was slightly less uptight and aloof then the other two, she didn't offer praise or respect flippantly. So to receive praise from all three plus her 'mother' well Ilex was happier then she had ever been in her life.
"Thank you sister," Ilex told her sincerely. Hearth and Storm added in their own thanks.
"When will we fully recover?" Storm asked. "I don't want to be a winy brat when I say this but this hurts."
"No kidding," Hearth mumbled as she glared at her bandaged arm disdainfully. Phoenix laughed.
"Two days at the most and that's counting today so really just one day. I'm giving you this off period to spend time with your little sisters and brother as well as time to figure out what you need to work on when you get back to training. It has been three days since we left Pewter and I plan to have the Cascade Badge under my non-existent belt in two weeks!"
"You got it!" Storm cheered. Hearth punched her in the shoulder, mock annoyance clear.
"You, my beloved little sister, are hopeless."
Ilex snorted.
"Something we can both agree on."
"Yeah-HEY!" Storm snapped. The other three beings present erupted into laughter.
A/N: How was it? Yeah this chapter was a little more of a filler then others but I wanted to have a chapter (maybe 2) before the Cerulean Gym so here you go!
Phoenix's Team:
Absol (Nike): Female. Pressure. Justified.
M: Pursuit, Night Slash, Sucker Punch, Bite, Quick Attack, Slash, Razor Wind, Detect, Double Team, Attract, Future Sight, Iron Tail, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, Flamethrower, Hyper Beam
EM: Play Rough, Megahorn
Salamence (Enyo): Female. Intimidate. Moxie.
M: Dragon Claw, Dragon Pulse, Dragon Tail, Aerial Ace, Roost, Double Team, Attract, Protect, Hyper Beam, Earthquake, Fire Fang, Flamethrower, Steel Wing, Stone Edge, Brick Break
EM: Hydro Pump, Dragon Rush
Arcanine (Nya): Female. Flash Fire. Justified.
M: Thunder Fang, Extreme Speed, Fire Fang, Flamethrower, Crunch, Heat Wave, Flare Blitz, Agility, Overheat, Wild Charge, Double Team, Attract, Sunny Day, Solar Beam, Giga Impact
EM: Iron Tail, Close Combat
Charmander (Hearth): Female. Blaze.
M: Scratch, Flamethrower, Smokescreen, Brick Break
EM: Dragon Dance, Dragon Pulse
Bulbasaur (Ilex): Female. Overgrow. Chlorophyll.
M: Tackle, Leech Seed, Vine Whip, Sleep Powder, Razor Leaf
EM: Leaf Storm, Power Whip
Squirtle (Storm): Female. Torrent. Rain Dish.
M: Tackle, Water Gun, Withdraw, Rapid Spin, Protect
EM: Aura Sphere, Water Spout
Eevee (Saffron): Female. Run Away. Anticipation
M: Helping Hand, Tackle, Growl, Tail Whip
EM: Covet
Eevee (Dusk): Male. Adaptability. Anticipation
M: Helping Hand, Tackle, Growl, Tail Whip
EM: Covet
Eevee (Athena): Female. Run Away. Anticipation
M: Helping Hand, Tackle, Growl, Tail Whip
EM: Covet
Please vote on my poll! It is extremely important I make a decision because while it won't happen in this book (depends again on who it is) it definitely will in the sequel. Next chapter will include an exciting confrontation, some stars and maybe a gym battle or something else. Not necessarily in that order.
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Hell's Gates