The end is near. This arc only has three chapters, despite that it is still longer than arc 1. Everything I have worked for is almost over. All those years of work about to pay off. Sit back and relax, all you have to do is prepare for...
Chapter 24: The Disaster Pokémon
"Finally! The start of a whole new adventure! I can't wait!" Mike, an eager teen with a green cap and yellow vest beamed.
"Yeah, just don't lose your head before the Professor gives us our first lesson," said Janet, his childhood friend and rival.
The two new trainers stepped out onto the grassy, rural route filled with trees and berry bushes. A tall, bearded, blonde-haired man wearing glasses and a lab coat smiled when he saw them coming.
"Hello, kids, I'm Professor Redwood," he said as they approached. "Since Rowan is retired, I'll be your main regional instructor. I assume you already received the starter pokemon I sent you?"
"Yes, sir!" Mike said quickly.
"Excellent," Redwood harrumphed. "Now, then, I'll show you both how to capture a pokemon. First, we'll need to find one, and then we use our Poke Balls. Let's look in the tall grass."
The Pokemon Professor led the two youngsters into the thicket. After shoving their way through the dense foliage for a few minutes, they spotted a white-and-blue pokemon with sharp claws and a horn on its head.
"Ah! Perfect, a wild pokemon!" Redwood bellowed. "Watch, and I'll demonstrate how to weaken and capture it. Go, Starly!"
The Professor tossed a Poke Ball onto the ground, which opened up and revealed the tiny bird pokemon.
"Use Tackle!"
Starly rushed at the wild pokemon. The bird bounced pathetically off the clawed creature, who rolled its red eyes, not looking even slightly damaged.
"Great! That should soften it up! Now, we use a Poke Ball to capture it!"
Redwood cheerfully yanked out a Poke Ball and hurled it at the wild pokemon, sucking it inside the capsule. The ball didn't even shake once before shattering back open. Redwood faltered slightly.
"Um…that wasn't supposed—"
Suddenly, the white-and-blue pokemon rushed forward and used Psycho Cut, blasting Starly halfway across the entire field. The Professor and the two children stared at the creature in horror as it stalked toward them menacingly.
"Uh…now, kids, it's time for another lesson: How to flee a pokemon battle!" Redwood screamed.
The wild pokemon pounced forward, knocking Mike on his side. However, instead of attacking, it grabbed his trainer bag and yanked it off his back, then turned and ran off with it. Mike looked ready to burst into tears at the loss of his bag. Redwood stared at the retreating form of the wild Pokémon for a full minute before turning back to his young prodigies.
"Err…that concludes the lesson on how to capture a wild pokemon," he stammered. "Uh…any questions?"
Absol laughed to himself as he set down his new trainer bag. It had been a full week since he'd lost the last one in his unfortunate encounter with its trainer, and since then he'd done fairly well for himself with just the map. But when he'd needed to get healed and looked for a new bag, it had taken so little time to get this one compared to before that it was almost pathetic.
Absol pulled out and drank a few healing items, then examined the single silver disk inside the side compartment. It was a TM, one that he could use, and he recognized the useful move instantly. He activated the TM, forgetting Flamethrower in place of the new attack, then strapped the trainer bag onto his back—this time, it fit perfectly, much to his relief. He'd already tossed out the items he didn't need, such as the regional Pokedex. He idly wondered why the 'professor' of each region would give out a totally empty Pokedex to their prodigy, despite all of the world's pokemon already having been catalogued at some point or another.
Since he'd already made it through Rypherior's cavern some days ago, all that was left was to find Tropius or some other way of flying or surfing to the isle where the new NPCT was taking place. He'd already decided that if Ember had gone to Umbra's town, she would be safe there, so the only place he needed to check was the tournament in case she had decided to step into the lion's den. He only prayed he could get there fast enough.
Suddenly, Absol heard a loud cluster of squawks and flaps behind him. He turned and saw a flock of bird pokemon taking to the skies from the nearby trees. It wasn't the most unusual sight, but they were flying like Zubat out of hell. Something must have been pretty terrifying to them to make them act like that, whether they were stupid or not.
A chilling wind caressed Absol's fur, and he decided that it would probably be best if he kept moving for now. He would need to find a spring or a lake anyway. Luckily, Umbra's map showed that he was close to the lake where he'd first taught Ember the two-pokemon trick to catching an entire flock of Farfetch'd, and where they'd had their unfortunate first encounter with Luxray. It was as good a place as any to get water, though it would be a long and tiring trip to get there in this terrain.
As Absol continued through the stark and rugged route filled with a few trees and rocks with a metallic red hue, he noticed that there were no other wild pokemon around. Normally these types of routes would be filled to the brim with Grass and Ground pokemon, but the whole place was silent and empty. He decided that most of them were probably trying to readjust after the fall of the gangs and the recent rash of trainer attacks, and they would be busy elsewhere.
As the sun slowly sank below the horizon and painted the sky a darker shade of orange, Absol thought he heard a strange noise. He couldn't quite put a finger on it, but something definitely sounded odd. As he sat down and prepared to make camp, he suddenly realized what it was. It wasn't what he heard—it was what he didn't hear. There were no Bug pokemon chirping their nighttime serenades, no Noctowl hooting in the distance, no shuffling, flapping, or howling of any kind anywhere. There was no sound at all; everything was utterly dead quiet.
After a few more minutes of the ominous silence, Absol decided that he could go a little longer without resting. He would make faster progress if he kept moving anyway, so he quickly stood up and continued down the darkened trail, once again thankful that he could see in the dark.
What he didn't notice was a faint shimmering between the rocks, something that could only be seen if one were looking for it. A small yellow light surrounded by several large, purple lights shone briefly in the darkness before vanishing behind the cliffs, moving toward the retreating form of Absol.
"Is it working?"
"I think so. Just gimme a minute."
Ember watched patiently (as patiently as she could, anyway) as Ampharos (or Kala, as she learned she liked to be called) sent a steady current of electricity into the wires hooked up to the TV. After listening to Kala's story, she'd spent the week hunting and foraging nearby, occasionally coming back to check on Ampharos and bringing her some food too. She'd found Kala trying to make that TV work every time she saw her.
"How did you get a TV all the way up here, anyway?" Ember asked.
"Well, none of the houses below had any good power cords to give it energy," Kala explained as she worked. "Since nothing else worked, I brought the TV up here to use the lighthouse's electricity and have been trying to get it to work ever since. The lighthouse built to be powered by Electric types like me, anyway, so it seemed like the best option."
"You actually carried a TV all the way up here?"
"You would be amazed at what people will do when they get bored enough."
A few more sparks suddenly flew from the cables as Kala changed cords and sent more electricity flowing.
"So, how long have you been around here?" Ember asked, partly to keep herself occupied while they waited.
"Ever since I escaped that last trainer attack," Kala replied, a hint of sadness creeping into her tone. "I thought that we would have a chance of survival when the humans attacked us, but apparently Luxray thought differently. He was actually on the verge of leaving us to our fate near the start of the battle when he was suddenly dive-bombed by a Charizard, and we were too scattered to see whether he was able to win or not, but one way or another, we never did see our 'brave and courageous leader' again."
"That's awful."
"You don't know the half of it. Everyone was counting on Luxray to lead them through the crisis, but when he disappeared, no one knew what to do, and we soon fell. Now both the East and West Sides are no more."
Ember honestly didn't know whether to enjoy or regret the news. After all they'd done, she couldn't help feeling that it was for the best, but she wondered how many of them truly deserved their fate.
"How did you escape?" Ember inquired, changing the subject.
Kala smiled a bit. "After all those months I spent digging for ore in Houndoom's mines, I learned and perfected the actual move Dig. After Luxray deserted us and it was obvious all was lost, I dug my way out right under the enemies' noses, and I eventually decided to come here, since the eastern end of the region was well away from where the trainers and gang remnants were, and this town was long forgotten by all those in the region."
"Speaking of which, why was this town abandoned? I mean, it looks like it was once so robust and clean…"
The TV screen suddenly flickered on, making both Ember and Ampharos jump.
"YES!" Kala whooped. "Finally! Okay, let's see what we can find as far as current regional events go."
She reached over and pressed what Ember guess was the channel button, and the somewhat-dull backlit screen flipped to the main stations.
COMMERCIAL: Do you want to get the best out of your battling skills? Take a shot at the Battle Factory, where—
Flip
Gabby: This is Gabby and TV, and we just recently interviewed a powerful upcoming trainer named Minerva near Route 203. We had a quick and epic battle, and the results are final! After a skirmish that lasted (1) turn(s), Minerva's Dragonite won handily! We asked her to describe her thoughts about the match in one word, and she said: "BORING." Deep! Thought provo—
Flip
MC: Sinnoh! Now! Hot news on all the latest battle trends—
Flip
Kala sighed as she flipped through the channels rapidly, scanning them for anything interesting.
"There has to be something on the current news," she muttered. "I mean, the entire regional force of competitive trainers massed themselves into a militia just a week ago!"
Flip
MC: A mass outbreak of wild Volbeat near route 207—
Flip
Referee: And as the preliminary rounds of the NPCT draw to a close, we see…
Ember stopped Kala before she could change the channel.
"Wait! I need to see this," she said quickly.
Kala merely shrugged and stepped back from the TV. Ember kept her eyes glued to the screen as they showed the latest combatants in the middle of a familiar large arena surrounded by screaming fans. One of the two trainers was unmistakably Rose! She saw her old master returning one of her pokemon to her Poke Ball as the other trainer left the stadium in defeat.
Referee:…another crushing prelim victory for Rose's Sun Team earns her a solid spot on our roster in the upcoming rounds. Will her team make a comeback from their previous tournament loss here?
"Where is that?" Ember asked frantically.
Kala squinted to read the red tagline at the bottom left corner of the screen.
"Here, I see the island's location on their mini-map of the region," she said. "Give me that map of yours and I'll mark it for you."
Ember pulled out her map and handed it to Kala, who etched a tiny "X" on the island with her claw and then handed it back to her.
"It says the tournament will be going for nearly a full week," Kala continued. "If you can get there to the island in time, you'll almost certainly find that trainer there somewhere. But do you really want to do that?"
"I have to," Ember replied. "Rose raised me since I was born, and I have a close, personal friend on her team. They're all I have left, and it's time I returned to them."
Kala shrugged, turning off the TV.
"Well, alright, but before you go, you should at least stock up on items here," she said. "I have a little safe house nearby for all the stuff I collected here. Come on, I'll walk you there."
Ember and Kala slowly descended the stairway and exited the lighthouse, heading back into the city. The two climbed up to the nearby bridges, which led from one group of houses to another. As Ember followed Kala across, she began to hear a low creaking noise beneath her. At first she thought it was nothing, but as the noise grew louder, she suddenly recognized it. It was the same sound she heard back at the Cycling bridge Cloyster was using!
"Look out!" she yelled, tackling Kala and causing them to tumble to the other side of the bridge.
It wasn't a moment too soon. A large chunk of the bridge gave way, falling down onto a pair of houses below with a loud crash. Ember growled and cursed under her breath.
"Ugh! I'm so sick of abandoned cities!" she spat. "Why are so many cities empty and decrepit? Over half the towns in the entire region are abandoned!"
"Well, I hardly think the wild pokemon gang wars were a boon for tourism," Kala replied, dusting herself off. "Besides, this region is old. Since pokemon training became a way of life, the humans have discovered many main regions in total, and this is only the fourth. The other new regions have attracted so much attention that most trainers have already forgotten this region and headed for them. But hey, look on the bright side; in a few years, once all the trainers have left this region, the wild pokemon here will finally be free to live in peace!"
"That would be wonderful," Ember replied, and she was surprised to find that she actually meant it. It would be wonderful if all the wild pokemon in this massive region could finally live without fear. With the gangs gone for good and the trainers slowly leaving the region, it seemed like a real possibility. The only problem was that she needed to catch up with her own trainer before that happened.
The two continued along the rocky cliffs that supported quite a few houses at the top, and Kala led the way to a slightly larger yet more decrepit building than the other three around it.
"Here it is," she muttered, opening the door.
The ancient, mossy piece of wood at the entrance swung back and revealed a large room filled with healing items and supplies. It wasn't as much as Ember was expecting, but it would do. She began filling her bag with whatever items seemed like they would help out in the long run, occasionally using one or two to heal her past battle damage and PP.
"Thanks for that," she said to Kala once she was stocked up and ready to go.
"Don't mention it. Hey, be careful out there."
"Yeah. Speaking of which, what are you going to do after this?"
Kala shrugged. "I guess I'll just hang around here until the food runs out. After that…well, I dunno, I'll figure something out."
Ember paused and began racking her brain, feeling sure that there was something she could do to help Ampharos right in front of her that she just couldn't quite see. Eventually she gave up, and like so many people before her, the solution popped into her head the instant she stopped thinking about it.
"Oh, I got it!" she said, grinning widely. "I know exactly where you could go!"
"Really? Where?"
Ember pulled out Umbra's map and pointed to the route where he'd said his goodbyes.
"There's a great town right in the middle of that route there," she said. "A friend of mine lives there, and there're no trainers or deadly wild pokemon around. The city is also filled with food and supplies. I bet you'd love it there!"
"Well, wouldn't the guy you're talking about stop me—"
"Oh, he'll let you in, no doubt. Trust me."
Kala couldn't help but grin. "I must admit, that looks perfect. Alright, then, it seems like we both have a home to return to, so good luck out there."
"You too," Ember said, turning to leave. "Thanks for everything."
"Oh, wait, can I ask you a favor?"
Ember stopped, turning back to her. "What is it?"
Kala hesitated. "Um, back in Houndoom's mines, Absol told me you two were really close, and from what I've seen, I believe it. Since you two aren't together and you haven't mentioned him, I can only assume he didn't make it, so I'd like you to know that I'm…I'm sorry for everything. He tried to warn me about the gangs long ago, but I never listened. He saved my life and the lives of all of Houndoom's slaves, and I'd want to thank him for that, too."
Despite herself, Ember felt a tear threatening to slide down the rim of her eye. She'd been trying to keep her sorrow buried for a while, but Kala's heartfelt statement brought up a bit too much pain. She saw the grief behind Kala's eyes as well and realized that she didn't need to fight so hard to hide it, especially since she couldn't bear it any longer.
"I…I had the chance to say goodbye to him, Kala, but I didn't get to tell him all I wanted to, either," she choked out. "I wanted to thank him for giving me a reason to live when I was lost and alone in an unfamiliar world…I wanted to let him know that I would never, ever forget him, or the things he did for me, the life we shared together, but I…"
Fortunately, Kala stopped her before she completely fell apart, even though she looked to be on the verge of doing so as well.
"He was a great pokemon," she said quietly. "I always though Luxray to be a hero to us all, but if Absol had been in charge of the East Side, he could have truly led the region to peace and prosperity, like the way he led us and the other slaves to freedom. He gave us all a reason to live. I know he'll never be forgotten, because people like that will always live on."
Ember sniffed a bit and wiped away a tear, smiling a little. "Thanks, Kala. I don't really know you that well, but I consider you a good friend to me…to both of us."
Kala returned the smile. "It was nice to really meet you for the first time. You should get going, though; it'll be too dark to see the trail soon."
With that, after one last brief moment of companionable silence, the two parted ways, Ember leaving the city and continuing on through the last legs of her journey. She at least finally knew where to find her master, and just how to get there.
The sight of trees and green grass was a welcome sight, even in the dead of night when the green was barely visible. Absol had been starting to think the dry and rocky part of the route would never end. It was also a sign that he was steadily getting closer to the first lake he and Ember had visited—Lake Farfetch'd, as he liked to call it—which would serve all his drinking needs, and probably would be surrounded by game if the usual flocks of Farfetch'd were around as well.
His eyes were already becoming a little heavy due to his lack of sleep, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. While escaping from the West Side with Umbra those years ago, he'd once had to go five nights in a row with no sleep, so this was nothing. Still, his rational mind told him there was no need to stay awake like this, since there wasn't any immediate danger.
If only all his instincts weren't telling him otherwise.
There was just something in the air, an indescribable presence that exuded fear and malice. It could just be his nerves or his imagination run amok after all these trials, but it was a chance he didn't see fit to take.
A loud noise nearby snapped him out of his thoughts. He held his breath and listened carefully, hearing the sounds of a scuffle of to his far right. There were muffled yells and groans, and a few sharp whacks and noises that resembled the sound of bones breaking. No, he thought, the sound was just wrong—it was more like bones being shattered or ripped apart.
Normally, Absol would have rushed over to see what the scuffle was about and help if he could, but something told him that would be a very, very bad idea. After one last moment of hesitation, he quickened his pace through the woods, deciding that he might sleep at dawn when he was certain he was entirely alone and out of sight.
Suddenly, a faint light swept across the corner of his eye. He quickly turned toward it, but all he saw was a cluster of trees; whatever the light was, it had already vanished, if it was ever there at all. As soon as he turned away, the light reappeared right at the edge of his peripheral vision. This time, he continued walking for a few moments as if he hadn't noticed it.
Then, he suddenly pivoted around.
And he saw it.
A shining yellow light—almost like a golden orb of fire in the darkness—was glowing right between two of the trees. Several slightly larger, yet dimmer purple lights surrounded it like a collection of uneven, misshapen violet crystals around the single yellow glow. This time, the light didn't vanish when he looked at it. It remained perfectly still and unmoving, as did Absol, who couldn't take his eyes off of the otherworldly collection of lights amongst the shadows.
Suddenly, Absol began to hear a faint crackling noise. The yellow and purple lights soon became enveloped by a single, brilliant glow that illuminated the entire forest for a brief second and nearly blinded Absol. All too late, he realized what it was.
Before he could move, he was struck by the numbing jolt of Discharge and was sent hurling to the ground almost as fast as his wits. His muscles involuntarily shuddered and tightened as the electricity coursed through his veins. It was all he could do to force himself to stand before he was hit again. But when he regained his feet, the lights were gone.
Absol swiftly unslung and opened his trainer bag to look for a healing item, but he cursed when he found it empty. He remembered that the trainer he'd taken it from had been very young-a greenhorn, no-doubt-and obviously hadn't stocked his bag yet. He slung it back over his shoulders and began frantically looking back and forth for the cluster of lights, but he couldn't see anything nearby.
Suddenly, he heard the crackling noise again behind him. Without thinking, he flung himself to the left. Sadly, Discharge had an incredibly wide range, and the move badly scorched his side and obliterated the nearby trees. This time, Absol leapt back to his feet and instantly launched Psycho Cut in the direction Discharge had come from, but his move hit nothing. Apparently, whatever creature had attacked him was already on the move again.
With that thought in mind, Absol quickly got back on the move as well, hoping he could outrun and lose whatever mysterious night specter had ambushed him. Normally, Absol had only ever been hunted down by trainers, but this time the game of cat-and-mouse felt far more deadly and terrifying than anything he'd ever played. And he had a feeling that the loser would never see another dawn.
"Ugh, for the twentieth time, will you four please move out of the way?" Ember pleaded while struggling to retain what patience she had left.
"We have a headaaaaaache," one of the four Psyduck blocking the road moaned.
"I understand that," Ember said through gritted teeth. "But what does that have to do with you moving five feet to the left so I can pass by?!"
"We don't wanna," another Psyduck groaned.
At that moment, Ember was seriously considering blasting her way past the group of Psyduck with Fire Blast. In fact, the only thing preventing her from doing it at all was that she'd caused enough bloodshed already. But why did these asinine creatures have to be so insipidly stubborn just because of a stupid headache? She'd had headaches before, but she never formed a mob and blocked off an entire route!
"Look, what can I do for you guys that will make you move?" she tried.
"Fix our headaaaaaches!"
Ember rolled her eyes. "I can't just make a headache go away, especially for four people!" four people as dumb as you, she wanted to add, but she held her tongue.
"Fix our headaches, or we won't move!"
"Why not?! How will standing here like a bunch of sausages help your headaches go away?"
"Fix our headaaaaaches!"
"AAAGH! You people are useless, and insane! How do you expect me to 'fix' a headache?!"
Before she decided to blast the Psyduck to the next region, a buzzing and shuffling sound in the nearby trees made her pause. She saw a Scizor who wore a small yellow ribbon on his chest leap down from one of the nearby oaks and land a few feet away. He calmly walked up to the Psyduck after giving Ember a quick glance.
"Okay, come on, you lot," he said. "I've got your medicine, so quit bothering the lady, 'kay?"
The Scizor opened a small red satchel he was carrying in his claw, handing the four Psyduck one bottle of potent-looking liquid each.
"Oh, thank you, Scizor," one of the Psyduck said after drinking the potion down. "It was so terrible; we had the most awful headache, and then this mean Eight-tails kept yelling at us!"
A sickening—and yet strangely satisfying—mental image of the Psyduck being strangled to death popped into Ember's head at the "Eight-tails" comment. She only kept her cool thanks to the knowledge that these ducks were too stupid to live long anyway.
"Yes, yes, I'm sure the story is very interesting, but let's talk about it later," Scizor interjected, gesturing to the fields behind them. "Would you mind letting me pass?"
The Psyduck all nodded at once and blundered off through the woods, their pudgy yellow forms soon disappearing (thankfully) from sight. Ember let out a sigh of relief and turned to the pokemon who'd saved her neck.
"Thanks for that," she said. "You have no idea how annoying that was."
"Yeah, those Psyduck get headaches every other week, and they always meander around until they find a nice, inconvenient spot to just sit there and moan."
"Wait, they've done this before?! How can anyone get around wherever they are?"
Scizor chuckled. "Well, they've blocked roads like this before, and it was causing the humans so much trouble that they eventually created a potion specifically to cure migraines. They do a fairly good job of keeping track of the Psyduck that do it, but we sometimes steal some potions from them in case we need to get somewhere past them."
Ember smiled. "Well, I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't shown up. Well, actually, I do, but it wouldn't have been pretty, so thanks again."
"Oh, it's no trouble. Besides, we've gotta stick together, right?"
For an awkward moment, Ember had no idea what he meant. But when she took a closer look at the ribbon Scizor wore, she remembered what she'd just been through a week ago and glanced at the identical ribbon she wore around her own neck, the symbol of one of the largest groups of pokemon still trying to help out wherever they could.
"Oh, yeah, of course," she said quickly. "If we don't help each other, who will?"
Scizor nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Well, if there's anything else I can do for you, let me know."
Ember was about to nod and wish him a good afternoon, but she suddenly thought of a great idea.
"Oh, hey, yes, there actually is something you could do that would really help me out," she replied.
"Excellent. Name it."
Ember pulled out her old but faithfull map of the region, showing it to Scizor, who squinted to read the markings in the dark.
"Can you show me how to get here?" she asked, pointing to the island marked on it.
Scizor nodded slowly. "Uh huh…well, that's human territory. Do you really want to go there?"
"Yeah, I have something there I need to take care of. Is there a way to get there?"
"I can actually fly you there, if you like."
Ember's heart leapt up to her throat. "You can?!"
Scizor chuckled again. "Well, I can't actually fly you there myself, but I know someone who can, and he owes me a few favors. Come on, and I'll introduce you to him if you haven't already met."
With that, Ember followed Scizor down the newly-opened pathway, feeling a strange quivering in her belly, though she had no idea whether it was eagerness or nervousness that was causing it.
After about twenty minutes of walking, Scizor eventually led Ember into a small, well concealed grove. She realized that it was a Hidden Grotto, and a fairly obvious one at that, though she made no comment. Scizor walked up to one of the smallest trees and gave two loud raps on the bark with his claw, followed by three slightly softer knocks. After a few seconds, a large, long-necked Grass pokemon with long, leaf-like wings and fruit hanging from its neck stepped out from the entrance, yawning as he looked down at them. He also wore the yellow ribbon of the group on his neck, though it looked a little too small for his huge figure.
"Oh, Scizor, it's you," the large pokemon mumbled. "What's up—especially at this hour?"
"Great to see you too, Tropius," Scizor laughed. "I've actually got a friend here who needs your help to fly somewhere."
Ember smiled politely as Tropius glanced at her, his drowsy eyes fixing on the ribbon around her neck.
"Oh, she's with us," he remarked. "Say, I don't really recognize your face. Are you a new volunteer?"
Ember nodded. "I actually just joined a week ago. My name is Ember, nice to meet you."
"You too," Tropius said through another yawn. "So, where'd you wanna go?"
"She needs to get to that old island the humans have been renovating lately," Scizor said. "What was it called…? You know, the one with the Battle and Resort areas. Can you get her there?"
Tropius smirked. "And what makes you think I won't doze off in midflight and send us both plummeting to our deaths?"
Scizor smirked back. "You once flew a group of five Azumarill to another region with no stops on the way. I don't think you'll have too much trouble getting one Ninetails a few miles to the northeast."
"Fair point," Tropius muttered. "Still, it's late, and I'm tired. What do I get out of this?"
Scizor sighed. "There'll be a little extra something for you at tomorrow's breakfast, okay?"
"I want double pancakes."
"Deal."
Tropius smiled and spread his wings, groaning slightly as he stretched himself out. He then looked back to Ember, who was grinning ear-to-ear.
"You ready to go now?" he asked.
"Absolutely," Ember replied briskly.
With that, Tropius bent down slightly and allowed Ember to hop onto his back. He let out a small guttural chuckle.
"You're lighter than a feather," he said over his shoulder. "Okay, hang on tight, 'cause about the only thing I'm good at is flying fast enough to out-speed hurricanes!"
Ember braced herself, her stomach clenching slightly. Tropius reared back, then rocketed off the ground and into the night sky. The sudden thrust of movement and rush of wind was pretty scary, but also exhilarating. It was an amazing feeling to soar through the air, free as the many bird pokemon she'd seen throughout the region. Tropius was incredibly fast, but also flew quite smoothly, and Ember had no trouble holding on, and no trace of air sickness bothered her.
"You're doing better than most first timers," Tropius remarked. "I assume this is your first time flying, eh?"
"Pretty much," Ember replied, too breath-taken to respond further.
Looking down at the world below was the best part. A lot of people had fear of heights—her master had called it 'acrophobia'—but fortunately, she didn't seem to be plagued by this problem, as it didn't rob her of the joy of the majestic view of all the places she'd travelled in the region. She saw Umbra's old ironworks, the empty contest hall where they'd danced and played together, and many more wondrous sights from her past.
She also noticed the empty West Side base, the place where more pokemon had probably died than any other area in the entire region combined. She remembered that it was basically a graveyard now, a reminder of the horrors of war. Still, the thought of the other pokemon below now living in peace helped raise her spirits further. Tropius was flying so high that they were almost level with the peak of Rypherior's mountain.
As all the beautiful memories of those places rushed up to meet her, Ember thought back to all the fantastic experiences she'd shared in this great region, despite the gang wars and other nightmares. It made her wonder how the humans could forsake this region simply because it was somewhat older or less popular than the others.
"Hey, Tropius?" she called.
"Yeah?"
"What is this region, anyway? I've lived my whole life here, but I've never known what the humans call it."
Tropius smiled and returned his gaze ahead. "This is the Sinnoh region, m'lady, and that mountain you're gaping at is called Mt. Coronet. I've grown up here too, and while I've visited nearly all the regions in my time, I've never known another like it."
Ember nodded slowly, filing away the name in her mind.
"Do you think once the trainers leave this place, the wild pokemon here can live in peace?"
Tropius nodded. "I heard that the gangs fell a while back, and once the humans have forgotten about this place, there's no reason pokemon can't live freely here. It will take a long time for the scars the gangs and trainers have left behind to heal, but I'm sure we can repair our lives eventually."
Ember smiled, even though Tropius wasn't looking at her. She realized that there was always hope for peace and freedom, even when the enemy was unstoppably powerful. One day, perhaps the humans would also grow tired of all the other regions as well, and all the pokemon in the world could finally live in happiness. Until then, it was just one step at a time.
As Ember allowed herself to trust Tropius's flying and relax, even to the point of lying back and closing her eyes, she began to wonder if she was really doing the right thing. She'd seen the cruelty of most humans firsthand, and even now she knew wild pokemon could only ever be free once trainers left them alone. So why was she going back to Rose…?
No, she thought sharply. Rose was different. Yes, most trainers were bad, but not her. She'd grown up under Rose's wing, and she'd seen her character with her own eyes. She loved her pokemon, and Ember was sure they loved her back, as she did. She still wasn't entirely certain what had happened that fateful day in the first NPCT, but she was sure it was an accident. Rose would never have abandoned her on purpose.
Still…if Rose had really wanted her back, couldn't she have tracked her with her Pokedex and Poke Radar? Since Ember had her trainer ID, wouldn't it have been easy for Rose to find her? It wouldn't have taken more than a few weeks for her master to track her down…
Well, Rose was probably busy trying to help out the rest of her team. It must have been difficult for her to manage a Sun Team without a Drought lead. Now she was being selfish; her other four teammates were lost as well, and Rose was probably trying to track them down too, since she obviously didn't know they ended up with the gangs…
But if Rose were looking for them too, why would all of them have died? Ember thought. Why had Rose been unable to save even a single one?
Ember tried to push those doubts aside, but they clawed at her like Arcanine's fangs. Why had she lost faith in her master? Why was her master any different than any other competitive trainer? What had caused the accident? Why hadn't Rose found her yet? Why had she travelled the entire region looking for her trainer? All the questions she'd shoved into the back of her mind now pushed their way to the surface and refused to leave her alone.
All of a sudden, Ember felt as though she'd reached a crossroads. How easy it would be to say to Tropius, 'You know what? Never mind, I think we should go back. I'll pay you for your trouble.' She could simply turn around and leave her old life behind for good. She remembered that Absol had suggested she return to Umbra's town when she saw him for the last time; perhaps that was a good idea after all.
But how could she turn her back on the person who raised her? Besides, even if what Arcanine had said about her teammates was true, Charizard could still be alive and well on Rose's team. He probably had the skill to avoid whatever caused the others to be released anyway. She needed to see Charizard again; he was the closest thing to a father she'd ever had, and she had to know if he was okay.
But what if Rose really had only raised her to be a competitive fighter? What if that was all Rose really cared about? What if Rose had never loved her at all, and thought of her only as a commodity, like so many other competitive trainers?
No. That was impossible…wasn't it? All the doubts made Ember want to scream. Why was this so hard? Absol was gone. She had nothing left in the wild…
But even as she thought this, she knew it wasn't true. She did have something in the wild: A home. A life. Total freedom. For all years she spent with Rose, she had no memory of ever running through fields filled with green grass and fresh air; only a dull, holographic containment box in a PC. She never had a home, or a beautiful city she could return to at any time; only a capsule about the size of Rose's palm. She never had freedom; only a life of battling, training, and more battling. Was it really worth it? Shouldn't the love of her master and her closest friend be enough?
"You okay back there?" Tropius asked suddenly, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"I don't know," Ember muttered. "I guess…I'm just having a tough time knowing what to do."
Tropius nodded slowly. "Well, everyone has to make tough decisions. Sometimes, the only way to know which one is right is to make the choice and find out. We can't always know which path is best for us until we take it and see where it leads."
Despite herself, Ember almost chuckled. It was like Tropius could read her mind. She wondered if people like he and Absol were just really good at figuring out what was bothering people, or if she was just really bad at concealing it.
"Thanks," she replied, trying to forget her doubts for the moment. "I guess…I'll find out soon enough."
Tropius glanced ahead, noticing the faintest traces of sunlight peeking out over the dark-blue horizon.
"The weather is perfect," he said. "With the wind at our backs, we should reach your island by dawn."
Ember felt her heard begin to beat a bit faster. After so long, her journey was finally coming to a close, and she realized that it couldn't all be for nothing. She'd fought so hard to return to Rose, and she couldn't just turn back now. She had to find out the truth for herself, to follow the path to its end.
I'm coming, Rose.
Absol let out a long sigh of relief as Lake Farfetch'd came into view. He'd finally made it, and he was safe for the moment. Now he would have water, and if the usual flocks of Farfetch'd were there, he would have food as well. Plus, the whole area was wide open with no places for cover other than a pair of small trees nearby, so if the eerie lights that had attacked him before showed up again, he'd see them coming a mile away.
Now that he was finally out of danger for the moment, Absol lied down on the cool bed of grass and relaxed himself, sighing in contentment. He was feeling a little hungry, but he could go catch the flocks of Farfetch'd at any time once they flew in. For now, he was satisfied to simply rest and wait for them to arrive. He occasionally glanced around in case the lights decided to show up and attack him again, but it looked like he was entirely alone.
It seemed a little odd that there were no other pokemon near the lake, but he assumed most of them were still asleep at this hour. It was getting close to dawn, but it was still pretty early. Perhaps it would be a good time for him to get some sleep as well…
Still, the main reason he'd come to the lake in the first place was for water, and he was quite thirsty. He didn't want to wake up with a horrible sore throat, so he reluctantly rolled to his feet and strolled over to the lake, dipping his front paws in the water to cool them off. He then leaned down and began lapping up the icy drink, which cooled and refreshed his tongue and throat.
He wasn't sure, but he thought he could see something tiny near the bottom of the lake. He squinted hard to see what it was, though it was difficult with the rippling in the water obscuring his vision. He waited for the lake to settle down before looking again, finally getting a clear look at the strange sight. However, he'd realized what it was far too late.
It was the yellow and purple light cluster.
The lake suddenly gleamed blindingly, and Absol was too slow in leaping back to avoid a supercharged electric blast. The Discharge burned even worse than before, and it felt as though he'd been hit with ten. There was a sudden loud splash as the cluster of lights burst out of the lake, the mist and water obscuring its form as it landed.
Absol slowly stood up and faced his unknown aggressor, ready for the worst. However, as the mist cleared and the creature's form finally became apparent, he realized that he wasn't ready enough, nor would he ever have been for this.
"Time is up, old friend," sneered the bane of his existence.
All words eluded Absol's mind as he faced the nightmarish, mangled form of his longtime antagonist. He had no idea how or why, but he was face-to-face with a wounded, battered Luxray that looked as though he'd cheated death by the narrowest of margins. Luxray had uncountable scars and gashes resulting in leaving large patches of skin with out fur, and the purple lights Absol had seen before were the light from the Life Orb shards in his body seeping through his scar tissue. But those wounds were nothing compared to those on his face. The yellow light that Absol had seen was Luxray's single remaining eye; the other eye was gone, leaving only a bloody, torn socket on the left side of his face.
Absol backed away as his nemesis slowly stalked towards him, the grass beneath Luxray's feet standing up as electric sparks ran through them. The same twisted, sardonic grin was plastered on Luxray's marred face as his yellow eye pierced the darkness of the night, as if staring right into Absol's soul.
"Why are you here? What the hell do you want from me?!" he shouted without thinking.
"Oh, not much," Luxray replied, the words dripping from his mouth like acid. "I just wanted to fertilize the grass with your blood and feed the Farfetch'd with your corpse. After that, I'll leave you be."
"Were you just waiting for me there the whole time?" Absol asked, more out of horror than actual curiosity.
"I was starting to worry you'd never take a drink, but if you'd fallen asleep instead, that would have been fine also."
"Why are you after me?!"
Luxray's eye glazed over ever-so-slightly, though Absol knew he wasn't distracted and could attack at any moment if he dropped his guard.
"It's funny; ever since you and that nine-tailed wench first came to this lake, you've caused me so much trouble, but I never once thought you two could bring me down, even if it was indirectly. The West Side and the trainers destroyed my gang, but you two caused me more anger, more frustration, and—I loath to admit it—anxiety than I've felt in years. You're pretty familiar with revenge, right? Yeah, that's what's about to happen, my friend."
"You're completely insane!"
Luxray frowned thoughtfully. "I think maybe you're right. Especially since you, y'know, destroyed my life and all that."
Absol couldn't help shivering. "So, you just tracked me as soon as you found my trail just to kill me?"
"Pretty much. Say, where's your crippled pet?"
Absol said nothing in reply, but Luxray's grin slowly returned to his lopsided face, and it was even wider and more disturbing than before.
"Ohhhh, you lost her, didn't you? Ha! Ha! Ha! This journey is already worth it and I haven't even begun yet. Don't worry, if she hasn't already been mauled by savage predators, killed by remnants of our gangs, or captured by a trainer, I'll find her and take care of her for you. I'll make sure the last thing she hears is how painfully you died."
Luxray easily dodged the Psycho Cut Absol shot at him, laughing at his futile effort.
"You are such a waste," he spat. "I just don't understand people like you. You have skills—or had, anyway—but you constantly squandered them when you could have been a top leader in either of the gangs. It seems you're just content to wander around a dead region, finding female pokemon to fall in love with and then go losing them somewhere."
"I may be a waste of potential," Absol shot back, "but at least I'm not a demented, psychotic warlord trying to destroy everything around me!"
Luxray chuckled. "Why, thank you!"
Absol darted back toward the path he'd used to get there, but Luxray ran faster and cut off his path.
"Oh, no, Absol, you're not leaving this time," the warlord said icily. "The last three encounters we had, luck delivered you from me, but there's nowhere for you to go this time. Isn't it exhilarating, knowing that your time to die is finally here, and there's nothing you can do about it? How does it feel?"
Luxray suddenly stared at Absol's chest for a moment, his grin widening as his eye glowed.
"Your heart is beating pretty fast, Absol. I can fix that."
Absol rushed at Luxray and used Stone Edge, and the move impaled Luxray directly. However, the Luxray that Absol was facing disappeared, revealing it to be a Substitute. Startled, Absol took a step back, but he suddenly bumped into something that felt hideously like fur and claws.
"You're always ten steps behind me," Luxray whispered.
Absol was blasted forward by another discharge, and he fell into the icy water of the lake with a heavy splash. For a moment, he was totally disoriented. Suddenly, panic overtook him as he realized that Luxray could electrify the lake and fry him alive. He bet on Sucker Punch and used it to bolt forward forward and leap out of the lake a split second before Luxray send an electric current running through it. Absol whirled to face Luxray the moment he hit the ground, though his enemy was a fair distance away still. He obviously wanted to play a few more mind games before going for the kill.
"You can try begging if you want," Luxray offered. "Thousands of pokemon have before. I've spared a few of them, depending on the mood I'm in. You probably won't be quite so lucky, but you'll have a better chance of surviving than if we fought."
"I've gotten stronger since we last fought," Absol bluffed.
"Really? It was only a few weeks since I beat you to a pulp and then proceeded to fight Houndoom, and I've gotten stronger since then too. Tell me, is any of your old confidence still alive, or is it as dead as you're about to be?"
Absol briefly faltered, and Luxray sent a chilling laugh into the night air.
"Take note of the sweat running down the side of your face and the paleness in your cheeks, Absol. It's what you always see in tiny, sad creatures that try to challenge beings greater and more powerful than them."
"Why are you even bothering to talk to me so much, if you're so sure you'll win?"
"Actually, when I first ambushed you here, I wasn't entirely sure I would, but now I am. I like letting your fear eat you alive before we even fight; it might even be doing more damage to you than I will. So, by all means, keep trying to stall our fight. It will just make things easier for me."
Absol tried to hit Luxray with Stone Edge, but Luxray rushed at him and slid under the rocks, ripping into Absol's flesh with Thunder Fang and then sending him staggering backwards with a sharp kick in the ribs.
"So predictable," Luxray scoffed. "Oh, before I forget, I have a little present for you, Absol."
Before Absol could react or move out of the way, Luxray suddenly flicked a shining, silver disk at him that shattered on impact with his skin. An eerie light washed over Absol, and he felt a large power drain from his body, replaced by a hollow and pathetic energy. He looked at Luxray in horror.
"What the hell did you just do to me?"
Luxray grinned again. "That was an HM for Rock Smash."
The blood drained from Absol's face as the words sank in.
"That's right, old friend," Luxray taunted when he saw his expression. "Your Sucker Punch is gone, replaced by one of the weakest and most pathetic moves in existence, and you can never, ever forget it. Now, how will you fight me without your strongest move? I'll still listen if you want to start begging."
Despite his current situation, Absol took a second to test his move. Sure enough, the pathetic energy from Rock Smash was unleashed in place of his signature move. The only pokemon that could put Rock Smash to any use were ones with the ability Scenic Grace, which he would never have. He took one more look at his manic enemy, who's ominous calmness was only matched by his total insanity. Perhaps he should give up…
No. If he gave up, Luxray would not only murder him anyway, but he would be disgracing the memory of all who had died at the hands of Luxray's gang. He had to stand and fight, even if he would lose. But was there no way to survive? He'd never been able to match Luxray in a fight, even when they'd first clashed, back when he was at the peak of his rage and strength…
Wait a moment. Rage. Absol remembered that when they'd first fought, he was so furious over Elsa's murder that he couldn't even see straight. And when they'd fought back in Houndoom's manor, he was torn and shaken to the bone at Salamence's death, and frightened over Ember's safety. And now, he was terrified beyond all reason and could barely keep his own body from quivering.
Every time he faced Luxray, his emotions always overwhelmed him, while Luxray remained perfectly calm and ready for battle. Plus, he'd also always fought Luxray under the assumption that he had nothing to lose, but perhaps fighting for something—someone-was stronger than nothing at all. Absol realized that he had to keep his emotions in check and remain as cool and composed as his enemy.
But even more importantly, he had to make Luxray mad.
"Well, Absol? I'm waiting for you to finish praying and attack me."
Absol forced a smirk. "Why would you be waiting for me? Why not just sick your guards on me? Let's have a few Hunting Leaders take me down!"
For the first time, Luxray's grin faded ever so slightly.
"Oh, that's right, I forgot that you let all of them die," Absol continued. "How does it feel to be the last deluded pokemon in the region?"
Luxray scoffed. "What's this? You were so scared a moment ago, you were watering the grass beneath you, and now-"
"What? That doesn't upset you, does it? You know, me not quivering in fear of you? I guess what they say about you is true: you're only big when everyone around you is small."
"You've got a lot of nerve, talking like that to a pokemon who's actually done something with his life," Luxray spat.
"Done what? Built an army to get destroyed piece by piece? I wish you'd at least have had the courtesy to die with them so no one else has to look at your face, you sad, pathetic tin-plated dictator."
"I don't see what—"
"Of course you can't see, you Cyclops!"
At this, Luxray's grin twisted into a scowl, and Absol couldn't help a smile. His own confidence was finally beginning to return now that he knew he was getting to Luxray. At last, he had proof that his enemy was fallible.
"I guess I should've expected this from you," Luxray countered. "You always loved to flirt with death, and now you're finally going to get it. I would've thought you'd learned by now not to run your mouth in front of a pokemon with ten times your strength."
Absol nodded. "You're absolutely right. If I see one, I'll keep quiet."
Luxray laughed sharply, though there was no humor behind it this time. "You actually, really think you can beat me, you flea-bitten pile of Stoutland shit?"
"As far as I'm concerned, you've already lost, you miserable failure."
"Failure? I've led an army, and you've only ever had a handful of people who actually care about you."
"That's a handful more than you've ever had," Absol shot back. "You think those drones that meandered around your base day in and day out waiting to get killed ever liked you? Oh, yes, they looked at you in awe—that anyone could be such a wannabe!"
"Wannabe?!"
"YES! All you've ever done is try to play God and act like you're actually in charge of anything! You're not a great leader or even a commander—you're a loser. And I'm not using that word as a childish insult; I'm using it because it's that's exactly what you are. You lost your trumped up rank, your status, your army, and your life. And you know why I'm so sure you're gonna lose to me? 'Cause it's in your nature to lose! You're the only one left who ever actually believed in that crap you spouted to your underlings, and once you're gone, no one will ever remember who you were, unless they want to use your name as a punch line!"
Luxray actually winced slightly, his eye shining and flaring with rage.
"The same way no one will ever remember Elsa?" Luxray shot back.
"At least she was worth remembering," Absol replied without missing a beat. "You know, it's funny, only four people in this region have ever made me laugh: Her, Ember, Umbra, and now you, but only because you're so pathetic!"
Luxray rushed at Absol, who barely dodged the rage-fuelled attack and forced himself to break into laughter right to Luxray's face. The warlord bared his fangs and glared daggers at him.
"Stop laughing!" he roared.
"Heh, why?" Absol asked between chuckles. "I thought you were always trying to make people laugh with that big East Side comedy act!"
Luxray's eye suddenly rolled back into his head, and he looked up at the sky and let out an ear-piercing, ungodly howl that instantly cut off Absol's laughter. The warlord then stared back at Absol with such wrath that fear began to creep its way back into his mind.
"Alright, Absol, we've heard you laugh; now let's find out how loud you can scream!"
With that, Luxray rushed at Absol, teeth and claws bared like a hundred scythes all eager to rip through his flesh. Absol slashed him with Psycho Cut, opening yet another gash on Luxray's belly and allowing more eerie purple light to seep through, but the electric warlord never once faltered in his charge, and Absol soon found himself on the ground with Luxray above him, each struggling to tear each other apart.
Absol briefly managed to throw him off, but Luxray almost instantly leapt back on him and unleashed all his close-range moves. Luxray obviously didn't want a fight from a distance; he wanted nothing more than to grapple, a style of fighting he'd no-doubt perfected over the years. Absol realized he had to fight Luxray at a distance, dangerous as it was, or he would be torn apart in minutes.
After enduring another Thunder Fang and managing to avoid getting himself paralyzed, Absol kicked Luxray off him and quickly stepped back a few paces, Luxray rushing to meet him. Absol could tell Luxray was about to attack again and tried to use Sucker Punch, but he mentally berated himself for his mistake when Rock Smash activated instead. Luxray barely even winced as the pitiful attack connected, and he once again was in close-quarters grappling distance.
Absol realized that any more mistakes like that would cost him his life-if he had any chance of preserving it at all. He quickly ran to meet Luxray, and as the warlord leapt at him, Absol managed to slide underneath his feet. He then caught Luxray's backside with Psycho Cut, slashing the yellow star off of his tail and causing him to roar in agony.
Luxray whirled around to face Absol, who had dashed a few yards away from him. He unleashed Thunder Wave, which would surely have ended the fight had Absol not come up with his craziest idea yet. It was a long shot, but it was his only hope.
As the attack flew toward him, Absol turned and dove into the lake, the energy sailing over him harmlessly. He then pushed himself off the rocks and used the momentum to leap back out of the water milliseconds before Luxray could send an electrical current running through it. The yellow-eyed archfiend gave him the faintest of smirks as both his moves missed their target.
"Not bad," he said. "You got me angry, and you can still show a little variety when you fight. Let's see how far it gets you."
Luxray flipped through the air and performed a perfect dive into the water as well, easily dodging Absol's Psycho Cut, and he leapt back out on the other side, facing his adversary head-on. Absol feigned another Psycho Cut and instead used Stone Edge at the last second, finally hitting his opponent. While the stones drew no blood, they pelted Luxray heavily and pounded away at his head, chest and torso. Through Luxray's open mouth, Absol could hear the great gasps of air he was belting out of him.
In turn, as Absol had sacrificed momentum for power, Luxray seized the moment and rushed at Absol again, grappling and biting and locking Absol in the grasp of his great, powerful arms as his claws raked along his backside. For a horrifying moment, Absol was afraid that he wouldn't be able to break free of his opponent's grasp, but as Luxray slashed again at his back, no-doubt tearing off skin and fur with each strike, Absol managed to use all his strength to punch Luxray's arms away and shove his adversary backwards. He knew that no matter what, he couldn't allow Luxray's teeth to sink into his neck again; there was still no evident way for him to escape that death grip.
In the end, the question of the day was whether blood loss would undo Absol before the heavy blows on the heart and kidneys would undo Luxray. Whenever it came to the precision exchange of battle moves and long-distance fighting, Absol would have the advantage. Whenever it became close-range grappling, Luxray won the day. If Absol still had Sucker Punch, he might have been able to defeat Luxray in a close-range struggle, but with Rock Smash as a sorry replacement, that was out of the question. Yes, Luxray had planned the ambush all too perfectly.
For yet another frightening moment, Luxray had managed to catch Absol in his deadly up-close embrace, and once Absol managed to throw him off by the skin of his teeth, the two suddenly found themselves several feet away, both panting and gasping for breath. Their own fatigue divided the fight into rounds far more effectively than any judge or referee could have.
"If its revenge you want, why are you coming after me and Ember?" Absol asked between breaths. "The West Side was your enemy the whole time."
"Every member of the West Side is dead, save for you two," Luxray replied heavily. "I'm just finishing the job."
No more words were exchanged, as both were too out of breath and energy. The fight resumed after a few more precious seconds of recovery, with Absol continuing to try and drive Luxray back and pound away at him from a distance, and Luxray attempting to break through Absol's defenses and tear him apart at close range while occasionally trying to paralyze him with Thunder Wave. The effects of the Life Orb shards in Luxray's body were visibly taking their toll, but so was the great strength and power behind his attacks as he hammered away at Absol whenever he got the chance.
One major turning point in the battle happened but a few 'rounds' later. Instead of keeping his distance, Absol actually rushed to meet Luxray again, this time purposely using none other than Rock Smash on his enemy. Not only was Luxray startled by the move choice, but his defense was weakened by the lucky hit and the first signs of slight nervousness crossed his features.
Another turning point happened almost consecutively. Absol tried to follow up his advantage and use Luxray's own tactics against him, trying to leap on him and grapple him while his defense was lowered. However, Luxray had apparently been waiting for such a move; he almost instantly used Thunder Wave, forcing Absol to halt and dodge it, which lost him the momentum and allowed Luxray to wrestle him to the ground again.
This time, however, instead of trying to claw and bite him, Luxray held Absol by the throat in a death grip, then jerked him toward the lake and thrust his head under the water. Absol gagged as water seeped into his throat and sinuses, and he realized that if he didn't do something in moments, he would either be drowned or fried alive by super-conducted electricity.
As he thrashed and struggled to escape Luxray's grasp, he heard the muffled sound of Luxray shouting "Die already, you parasite! JUST DIE!" As darkness began to fill Absol's vision, he suddenly remembered back to when he'd first brought Ember to a lake and tried to make her go in. When he'd pushed her, she'd gotten back at him and pulled him in as well when his guard was down.
With one last desperate surge of strength, Absol reached up and grabbed Luxray instead of trying to push him away, and he suddenly yanked the startled warlord into the lake with him. Without a moment's hesitation, Absol quickly swam to the surface, taking in air in large gasps as he scrambled for land. As he began climbing out of the lake, his back legs, which were still in the water for a brief second, were suddenly given a violent electric jolt that nearly paralyzed them and caused him to scream in agony. If his full body had been in the water when Luxray sent that current, he would have been dead in seconds.
Luxray barreled out of the water and let out a roar, rushing to meet him again. Despite the great pain in his hind legs, Absol was forced to try and intercept Luxray's charge with another Stone Edge, which hit the demonic Electric pokemon dead on, and it seemed to be his undoing, as he groaned in pain and collapsed on his side. However, when his body abruptly disappeared, Absol realized he'd attacked another Substitute and whirled to find the real Luxray.
But he was too late. Luxray had already fired another Thunder Wave at him from behind, and he wasn't quick enough to avoid it. The energy enveloped him and felt like a million jolts of static on every muscle in his body. In that moment, he realized he was finished. There was no way he could beat Luxray while paralyzed, and there were no items in his bag that could heal or cure him. This was the second moment in his life that he was totally certain of his death, and this time he could see no way out. Unless…
"You should've given up while you had the chance, Absol," Luxray said between breaths, grinning sardonically once again. "You think Mienshao caused your girl pain? You don't know the meaning of pain. Allow me to enlighten you."
Absol tried another attack, but the cursed, vile paralysis froze his joints and prevented him from moving an inch. Luxray easily—almost contemptuously—swept his legs out from under him and held him down, sinking his claws into Absol's skin. He then began to pummel Absol with all the rage and malice of a pokemon gone truly insane, raking him with his claws, biting his throat, electrocuting him, and ripping flesh from bone in the most gruesome and painful ways possible.
Finally, Luxray once again grabbed Absol by the throat and held his head under the water, and this time, there was nothing Absol could do to break his grip. His most furious struggles were all but useless, and every time he came even close to escaping, the paralysis would cut him off and keep him under. He tried to pull Luxray back into the water with him, but his enemy was prepared his time and dug his back claws into the dirt, unable to be moved. Darkness fell on Absol's vision, and his thrashes and struggles grew slower and weaker by the second as his oxygen-deprived body gave out on him.
Finally, Absol's resistance ceased entirely; after but a few more moments, his arms no longer struggled to throw off Luxray's, his breathing slowly halted and his body grew limp in the water. Luxray smiled once again, continuing to hold Absol's head below the surface.
"It's been fun, old friend," he chuckled. "One down, one to go."
Wild Pokémon Grand Finale
Final Chapter: A Wild Ninetails Has Appeared!