Warning: Mild language
X.X
Eglantine couldn't remember the last time she felt this frightened. Not since the whole incident with Team Plasma trying to convince everyone to release their Pokemon. Though she found it a little hypocritical because Team Plasma used Pokemon themselves. No. That isn't compared to what she's feeling right now. Aiden kept his eyes straight as the Grunt led them to their Commander, who was standing by Greg.
"Well what do we have here? Did you kids come here to play? Well I'm sorry to be the harbinger of bad news, but I'm afraid this area is off limits." the pink haired woman said.
"We didn't come here to play! And we're not kids!" Eglantine snapped.
"Eglantine!" Aiden hissed sharply, "You'll only convince her to think that your weak. Stay strong and say nothing." He whispered in a low voice so that only Eglantine could hear.
Eglantine bit her bottom lip unsuringly before nodding.
"What are you planning on doing to the children?" Greg asked. His voice was slightly hoarse from the screaming he had done earlier.
"Hm? Oh, nothing much. If they don't get in our way, that is."
"Hey, I know you!" Sally suddenly gasped.
"You do?" Aiden asked.
"Yeah! I've seen her in TV before! She's one of the Elite Four members! Malva Pachira!"
Aiden gasped. Was that really Malva? One of the Elite Four members of Kalos who suddenly left both the Pokemon League and region for purposes unknown. Some say it's because of the death of her cousin, Lysandre.
"Oh. So you do have a brain." Malva sneered.
"What's the big deal!? Why are you stealing Greg's Skiddos!?" Eglantine cried.
"That is none of your business, brat." Malva replied, "And as you both don't know, I was in the middle of interrogating this man into telling me where that damn shiny Skiddo of his is. Hm." She turned to both Eglantine and Aiden. "Did you two happen to see a kid and her shiny Skiddo hop by? If so then tell me," she then brings out a Pokeball, "for your sake."
Aiden noticed the Mega Ring on Malva's left wrist and could only guess what Pokemon she had in the Pokeball. However. Mustering all of the courage he had, he kept his mouth shut and shook his head. It was then that Malva threw her head back and let out a chilling laugh.
"Oh! You wicked little Trainer!" she gave Aiden a sinister grin, "Did you really think you could trick me that easily? Even your damn cousin could do better!" She pressed the button in the middle of the Pokeball and released her Pokemon: Vicious looking male Houndoom who was missing one of his horns and had a long scar running down his right eye. The Pokemon's lips were curled back, revealing sharp white teeth and a low growl coming from his throat.
"Now." Malva pushed her visor back a bit, "I'm going to give you one more chance. Did you happen to see a girl and her Arceus damn shiny Skiddo hop by?"
"What happens if I refuse to speak?" Aiden said firmly.
"Then I'll have Houndoom here maul this man to shreds." Malva said casually as she gestured to Greg with her finger. Houndoom stood a few feet from Greg, snarling and snapping his deadly jaws at him. Greg shot a look of sheer terror at Eglantine and Aiden.
One of the Grunts suddenly perked up at this and cautiously approached Malva before whispering in her ear, "But Ma'am. The Boss gave us strict orders NOT to harm the man or his daughter in any way."
Malva rolled her eyes behind her visor. "What choice do I have? Unless this brat here spills the beans, I'm going to have to take desperate measures. And besides, it's not like she'll know. Won't she?"
The Grunt shuddered. "N-no ma'am." he replied nervously.
"Good!"
"Eglantine." Aiden whispered, "Try to reach into my bag."
"What?" Eglantine asked.
"Try to reach into my bag and take out a Pokeball. I have about five of them in there."
"Which one do I choose?"
"Any!" Aiden was beginning to sound a little desperate.
Eglantine carefully slipped her hand into his bag and rummaged through it as slowly and quietly as possible. A flicker of hope sparked in her chest when she felt a small sphere against the back of her fingers. She swiftly grabbed the Pokeball and threw it out.
"Combusken!" Combusken screeched.
"You little bastard!" Malva hissed, "You wicked little Trainers! No matter. Tear them apart, Houndoom!" The Houndoom suddenly charged the trio with a look of murder on his face.
"Use Double Kick and hurry!" Aiden shouted. Combusken swiftly kicked the Houndoom back with two powerful blows to the chest. The horned dog did a quick back flip and landed in front of his Trainer.
"Oh? Looks like you'll prove to be a challenge after all. Let's see if you can handle two Pokemon!" Malva threw out a second Pokeball, this time revealing a female Chandelure.
"We'll see about that!" Eglantine yelled before throwing out a Pokemon of her own.
"Politoed!" the green frog croaked.
"Two against one? That seems hardly fair at all." Malva said in a mocking sad tone, "No matter! I've defeated plenty of Trainers during my name in the Elite Four. This should end rather quickly. Houndoom, use Crunch on Combusken! Chandelure, use Confuse Ray on Politoed!" she roared.
"Combusken, try to dodge and use Double Kick again!" Aiden yelled.
"Politoed, use Hydro Pump on Chandelure!" Eglantine cried.
Combusken collided with Houndoom whole Politoed's Hydro Pump managed to hit Chandelure. Chandelure suddenly looked enraged, for the purple flames that surrounded her suddenly grew brighter.
"That...can't be good." Eglantine said.
"Chandelure, use Hex on both Combusken and Politoed!" Malva yelled.
And dark aura suddenly surrounded both Pokemon before they both collapsed on their knees and screamed at the top of their lungs.
"Combusken!" Aiden screamed.
"Oh, no!" Eglantine cried.
"Houndoom, finish Combusken off with Feint Attack!"
The horned dog mercilessly struck Combusken with no warning whatsoever. The bipedal bird was suddenly sent flying before landing a few feet from them.
"COMBUSKEN!"
Combusken didn't move a muscle. Houndoom went over and roughly nudged the down Pokemon with his snout. He was then taken by surprise when Combusken's sharp claws suddenly lashed out at him and struck his face.
"You bastard!" Malva screeched, "Chandelure, take care of Politoed for me!" Chandelure nodded and proceeded to preform another Hex attack.
"Not this time! Politoed, use Aqua Ring!" Eglantine cried.
Blue rings suddenly surrounded Politoed and the Pokemon regained some of his health just as he was struck by another Hex attack. Combusken also received some damage as well, but didn't let it hold him down.
"Oooh! You wicked Trainers!" Malva hissed, "I could just burn you all alive right about now."
Houndoom landed devastating Beat Up attack on Combusken. The bipedal bird felt himself growing closer to defeat by the minute. Malva's Pokemon were just too damn strong! It's no joke that she was, indeed, a member of the Elite Four.
"Try to hang in there, Combusken!" Aiden cried. He was tempting to return Combusken to his Pokeball and bring out Frogadier instead. But knowing his partner, he wouldn't allow it. Combusken can be a little stubborn at times. But this wasn't a game, though. This was serious. Aiden was beginning to run out of options when...
Combusken threw his head back and let out a screech just before a bright light enveloped him in its blissful embrace. Everyone froze and watched as the Pokemon evolved before their eyes. Combusken's form suddenly grew taller, his limbs grew longer, and a brief blaze surrounded it before disappearing. The new Pokemon stood before Houndoom with a burning rage.
"Blaziken!" Aiden gasped.
Eglantine took advantage of the situation and immediately turned back to her Politoed. "Quick, Politoed, finish Chandelure off with Water Gun!" Politoed snapped back to the battle and unleashed a powerful Water Gun attack on Chandelure, defeating her.
"HOW DARE YOU HURT YOU CHANDELURE!" Malva roared after she returned her defeated Pokemon to her Pokeball. The Mega Stone on her Mega Ring suddenly glowed, reacting to her anger and frustration. Houndoom's sinister red eyes suddenly flashed as he reacted to the Mega Stone. A sudden inferno surrounded him as he Mega Evolved into a much more deadlier version of Houndoom. The inferno vanished, revealing a sinister looking Houndoom. His horns were longer and appeared to have some kind of bone plating covering his entire chest. Bone was the only word Aiden could think of to describe it.
Politoed suddenly jumped into his Trainer's arms. Fear running into his system. Even Eglantine looked a little scared as she returned her Pokemon to the safety of his Pokeball.
Aiden, however, was strangely calm. He then noticed a light coming from his pocket and reached in to take out the source: the Mega Stone he'd found earlier.
"Blaziken! Blaziken!" Blaziken called out his partner.
"Huh, are you sure Blaziken?" Aiden asked, looking at the glowing Mega Stone. Blaziken smiled and nodded. "Blaziken..." Aiden smiled and nodded back. "Alright, Blaziken! Let's do this together!" he roared as he swiftly replaced the Lucarionite with the new Mega Stone. An inferno surrounded Blaziken as well before it disappeared, revealing a stronger looking Blaziken.
"Is that Mega Evolution!?" Eglantine gasped. She's heard of it, but never seen.
"Houndoom, use Thunder Fang on Blaziken!" Malva screeched.
"Blaziken, dodge and use High Jump Kick!" Aiden roared. Mega Blaziken swiftly dodged Mega Houndoom's Thunder Fang and kicked him below the jaw. The Mega Pokemon crashed into one of the stables a few feet away. Mega Houndoom eemerged from the wreckage and unleashed a frustrated Flamethrower. Malva herself was beginning to get frustrated.
"Use Inferno on Blaziken NOW!" Malva roared. Mega Houndoom charged Mega Blaziken as a blaze suddenly engulfed him.
"Counter with Blaze Kick!" Aiden roared. Mega Blaziken charged Mega Houndoom before jumping in the air. Both Pokemon collided and large inferno was made before it was reduced into a cloud of smoke. As soon as the smoke cleared, it revealed that both Pokemon had returned to their normal forms. Both fire types stood across from the other, glaring. A full minute had past until Houndoom collapsed on the ground in defeat.
"Impossible!" Malva gasped, "You wicked Trainer!" The Flare commander returned her Pokemon to his Pokeball and growled. "This isn't over. Everyone! Abort the mission!" she shouted.
"Right!" the Grunts said in unison. In a manner of minutes, they were all gone.
"Blaziken!" Aiden gasped as he ran over to his partner's side. The Blaziken fell on knee, completely drained from the battle and damage he received. "Oh, Blaziken, I'm so sorry you had to go through this." Aiden said as he buried his face in his Pokemon's chest. He felt Blaziken gently run his beak through his hair in a sign of comfort and assurance. Aiden smiled. "You did really amazing out there. I knew you could do it..."
"That was amazing, Aiden." Eglantine said as she approached the two, "I don't think I've ever seen such a powerful bond between Pokemon and Trainer. Is that how Mega Evolution works?"
"Um... Excuse me?" a voice asked.
Aiden, Eglantine, and Blaziken looked over to see Greg and caged Skiddos.
"I'd hate to ruin the moment but I could use a little help here." he said.
...
The early afternoon sun was almost midway by the time the Police had arrived on the scene. Like Glittering Cave, Team Flare was long gone. Aiden forgot to ask Malva if she knew anyone by the name of "Venice". Because when he encountered Team Flare in Glittering Cave, there weren't a lot of them. He was starting to grow suspicious that there might be something else to this whole caging Pokemon up thing.
"I can't thank you two enough for saving my daddy and Skiddy's friends!" Sally said as they stood outside the entrance to the ranch.
"No prob. And sorry about the damage." Aiden said.
Greg laughed and shrugged it off. "It's fine. We've gotten hit with wroser things." he assured him.
"Here! I want you both to take these!" Sally held out both her hands, each holding a sun shaped orange rock, "These are sun stones! Skiddy and I found them on the Ranch the other day, but we have no use for them. Consider it a thank you present!"
"Thanks!" Eglantine said as she and Aiden accepted the gifts. She then turned to Aiden and smirked. "So! You still up for a gym battle or what?" she asked.
Aiden smiled. "I'm never too tired for a Gym battle." he replied, "Let's go."
...
"ARCEUS DAMN IT!" Malva angrily threw her visor against the fall. But it didn't break. She had been fuming and fuming since her defeat. She's forgotten what defeat even felt like! She's been defeated in Training fights, but not from an actual battle. Oh, how she hated losing. More so against the cousin of the boy who had her cousin killed. Never has she felt so much hate towards someone. Never!
The sudden ring tone of her phone-yes, phone- caught her attention and she stormed over to her desk and snatched it up. "WHAT!?" she yelled. Her anger levels started to go down when she heard the voice on the other side. "Who is this?" she asked, much more calmer. She took a seat on the edge of her bed and listened. "Venice? I don't remember a Grunt named Venice."
Then again she was hardly EVER on base two years prior to this. Something suddenly clicked in her head and she frowned. "Is this a joke? Because I swear if it is-"
The voice cut her off. Malva would've she felt her heart stop. "Wait... You're where? How did you-!?" Malva never did manage to finish that sentence.
X.X
In the game, MALVA DOESN'T HAVE A HOUNDOOM. But this takes place two years later, and a LOT has changed so far.