Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. I only own the characters and story, unless otherwise stated. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
For that entire day and even further into the next, Kira did nothing but train at Marowak's Dojo. Sage, Duke, Nina, and Kiminari had come to tell her to stop or try to bring her back, but she was determined to grow better than any Pokémon who had ever faced her. The dojo's leader, Marowak, had agreed with her training, even if they both knew the amounts of stress it would put on her mind and body. Even then, Kira trained like it was the last day of her life.
Kira growled as she slammed her tail into the dummy she had been practicing with for the past hour. On impact, the straw figure snapped in half, even though Kira wasn't really attacking it. Her eyes were filled with rage, a sign that her Overgrow had kicked in and gave her much more strength than normal. Even if she had wanted to stop, in this state of mind, she would fight until she had either died or the enemy was in bits. However, she didn't last much longer, eventually collapsing due to exhaustion.
"Taking a break is a good thing for your body," Marowak said, throwing her an Oran Berry as he balanced on the top of his bone. "You have been training nonstop for almost half the day and through the entirety of last night, dear apprentice. For what battle are you preparing for that would require so much of your body?"
"A battle that decides the fate of an entire world and my sanity," Kira responded, grabbing the berry and biting into it. As much as it felt amazing to finally eat, Kira knew that this was slowing her down. "I don't want to lose against Necrozma and lose my world with it. I don't want to have to live knowing I failed to save billions of Pokémon and humans."
"You worry on what you shouldn't be," Marowak then told her, opening his eyes. "You say you wish to win this fight, and yet you are pushing your body beyond the limits of what it can handle. You may be as powerful as some of the higher level Pokémon in the dungeons, but you will only grow stronger as you train your mind and find your style for battle. You must prepare yourself for this fight against Necrozma rather than train nonstop and kill yourself in the process. You understand, apprentice?"
"I understand as much as I care, which means I don't understand at all!" Kira groaned loudly and stood up. "Necrozma is one of the most powerful Pokémon in the world! How will I beat him if I'm not on par with a Pokémon of his strength? How will I even make it to him if I can't fight those beneath him!"
"And this is where I bring up the tournament to you." Marowak jumped off his bone, grabbing it and slamming it into her waist, watching as she keeled over in pain. "You beat Nina, who was almost on par with the likes of Sage, Lucario, and Kiminari himself. If you beat her, then you can beat anyone. You tell yourself the only way to become better is to train. While it may seem that way, strategy is an important factor of battle as well. You have friends out there, Kira. You must fight alongside them, not against them."
"What are you trying to tell me, Marowak?" Kira groaned, forcing herself to stand, even through the familiar pain. "Are you telling me to make up with my friends? Are you telling me to quit becoming stronger and instead think of the fight as a match in chess, huh? Is that what you're telling me to do?"
"I'm telling you to rest and get your friends together before you end up killing yourself," Marowak stepped away from her, holding his bone behind his back. "There was once a Pokémon so stubborn that he trained for months and months, only to lose every battle he every challenged. In the end, it was because he gave up on thinking ahead, and instead rushed head-first into traps set by the others. If you continue on this path, you will end up like him. One day, you will be lying six feet under, your world destroyed because you failed to trust your friends. I agreed to train you, not to get you killed. Now, leave my dojo, Kira. We will continue practice next week, if you live that long."
Kira sighed lightly before she rushed out of the dojo. As the sun hit her, she flinched, only then realizing what she had been depriving herself of. The town was as lively as ever, but to Kira, it felt like it was dead. All the Pokémon around her looked so joyful, but then there she was to drag the entire feeling down on her own. She hated to feel like this, and so she rushed away, looking for any sign of Duke or Sage or anyone who she could talk to. She went to find the area where the tournament had once taken place, but it was already gone. There was no one nearby who she could trust enough to talk to. At least, that's what she was sure of.
As she was walking down an odd trail to the beach, a rock hit her from behind. She turned, but no one was there. Shaking her head, she continued down the trail, only for the rocks to hit her in the back once more. She growled, turning and slamming her vines into an invisible force, who then cried out and dropped the invisible cloak.
"That really hurt!" Zorua chuckled, gritting her teeth as she looked up at Kira, a paw on her gut. "You know, Marowak did a good job in teaching you how to fight, but he sure didn't teach you any manners in how to see through simple tricks like illusions. He does his part well, but he's useless otherwise."
Kira glared at Zorua before she started back down the trail. "If you wanted manners, why did you use an illusion to sneak up on me?" Kira mumbled under her breath. She wanted to talk to Duke or Sage, not Zorua. "Besides, the tournament's over, isn't it? Why are you still around?"
"I'm still around because Duke hired me to keep an eye on you and make sure you didn't push yourself over the edge," Zorua responded, chasing her down to the sandy shore. "You know, he's really worried about you, Kira. He went back to Esperanza Village just so he could do research on those zones that you need to battle. He's doing all he can for you, Kira. You need to do stuff to help him as well."
"And what could I do to help that little bird?" Kira mumbled as she sat in the sand, crossing her arms in defiance. "I haven't even been in this world for a whole month, and I'm still being pressured to save the world I came from, Zorua! I just want to be able to relax and live a normal life for even a day! I have no idea who I am, or what I used to be! All I know is my name and goal! I just want to relax!"
"And that's what we all want you to do," Zorua growled, shaking her head. "Kira, Duke went alone because he wants you to catch up on sleep and not have to worry about research. Sage is preparing a travel bag so you don't have to stress over what to bring. Kira, all of your friends want to help you. Because of them, all us normal Pokémon will be going along with our normal lives. Kira, you need to help them by not stressing. Go ahead and take a nap or walk around town, Kira. Just do something that'll take your mind off your world and drag it into this one. You heard what Jirachi had to say about your world and that stasis it's in."
Kira looked down at the ground, ashamed of herself. Here she was trying to become stronger because she thought everyone wanted her to be, only to find out they were wanting to help her. She barely knew them all that well, and they were actually helping her save an entire world. A rush of emotions came up all at once: confusion, fear, anger, sadness, worry. She hurriedly stood and hugged Zorua, almost crushing the small fox with her tight hug.
"Thank you so much!" she cried out, holding the fox as tight as she possibly could. "I should have seen it earlier, but the stress of the tournament and fear of my world being destroyed made me forget who I was! I'm so, so sorry about all that shouting, Zorua! I'll try to not let it happen again!"
"In actuality, I don't care what you act like, so long as you don't kill anyone!" Zorua groaned, then kicking Kira until she had finally been released. Upon landing, she gasped for air. "You sure are powerful. You know, you might as well go and get some mental training. Necrozma's a Pokémon who uses psychic powers. It'd be a good idea to get some training against that kind of Pokémon."
"Thanks for pointing out that I was distracted by my anger and hate," Kira mumbled. Well, at least she had the time now. She had been so focused and worried on her world that she had failed to realize that sometimes taking it easy was what was best. "If there's any way I can pay you back, just tell me, Zorua. I don't have much, but... I'll try."
"I have an idea for how you could repay me, but I'll ask for that favor once we've saved your world from an almost certain doom." They both laughed before Zorua started to pad away. "To the west of here, there is a place called Mount Travail. At the peak, a Pokémon named Xatu now resides, training any who make it to him. Just tell him you need some training against a psychic-type. Also, tell him I said hi!"
Kira sighed lightly before shaking her head and looking over the horizon. "Well, thank you, Zorua." She smiled faintly before a wave of nausea hit her once more. "Zorua? Do you ever get the feeling that what you're doing has no purpose and that everything around you is just an illusion?"
"I am an illusionary fox," Zorua responded, turning for one last glace at Kira. "It's my duty to make illusions and hide what no one should ever see. So, I guess you could say my life is nothing but an illusion of lies and trickery." With a light chuckle, she then left.
Kira sighed lightly before she started up the trail. She had been told to rest, but then Zorua went and changed her mind to tell Kira to find some Pokémon known as Xatu resting on the top of some sort of mountain. Well, it wasn't the worst possible thing, especially since Kira could actually use a bit more training. She knew she was more than physically capable of destroying enemies, but as Marowak had told her, strategy was one of the most important skills any Pokémon could have. Perhaps mentality was also one of those, but how could she balance all three at once? It seemed unlikely, but it was just like life. You eat, sleep, work, and then there's all the extra stuff. Kira knew the feeling of being pushed to work beyond her mind, and even keeping herself from sleep, upsetting the balance of her own life force. Soon enough, she'd have to drag herself back into that balance, just as she'd have to keep pushing and becoming stronger in the balance of her fighting style. Sooner or later, she, along with those she had made as friends, would have to come together and trust each other more than ever; however, she knew it wouldn't be for a long time that she would have to worry about that. For now, it was all about training the balance of battle, not life.
Kira hurriedly let the thought drift away and continued down the trail. She knew she was being distracted, but for some reason, she just allowed it to happen. Her heart felt light, and she felt much better than she had only hours ago. As much as exhaustion dragged her down, she was rather excited to learn to fight Necrozma. Perhaps she could stay here and learn to fight a lot more, but then again...
"One day, I have to return to my home," she mumbled to herself as she followed trails and signs to wherever Mount Travail was. "Well, I guess I'm still technically taking both bits of Zorua's advice at once. I'm taking a peaceful walk while going to get some training. I wonder how many other Pokémon out there do this. I hope it's not too many. I kind of want to feel special." Kira chuckled lightly and held a hand to her heart. "But then again, I really am an odd case, huh? Not even a month in and I'm already proving myself to be one of the most powerful Pokémon here. I wonder if it's because of what I was before all this... I'm not sure, so let's not get our hopes up."
With a quick shake of her head, Kira took down a dirt trail. She had seen a sign that pointed it towards Mount Travail, which she could see even from this distance. The mountain, while not as high as she had expected, was quite visible compared to the surrounding forests and hills. It looked like it was one of the only mountains around, although it quite obviously wasn't. Well, Kira knew that she was headed there anyways, so why not let the scenery distract her?
As she was running, a dizzy spell washed over her, causing her to stumble and slam into the ground. She groaned as she forced herself to her feet, rubbing her head like she had run into a wall. As she was trying to clear her head, the dizziness came back, although even rougher than before. Was this perhaps being caused by her lack of sleep or eating? She couldn't tell, but she sure didn't want to collapse right here. That was when she noticed the black flower in front of her. It was like the ones she had seen right before leaving Esperanza Village.
"So you think you can just run and run and take your time coming to face me, huh?" a familiar voice growled within her head. "While that filthy Wish-maker is right about your world's stasis, I don't think you'll find it so easy to just train and beat me. Kira, I know I said this was a challenge, but don't take all the time you want. I get bored, too, and when I am, I like to throw a couple of contenders into the ring. Now, if you excuse me, I must be going. Don't be late to Mount Travail, rat."
Kira gasped for air as the vision faded away without a word from her. The first time that vision had occurred, she hadn't exactly been ready, but it was only getting worse and worse for her. She hurriedly shook her head and pushed herself onwards towards Mount Travail. She was rather worried about who Necrozma would throw in the ring, but she was sure that whatever it was she could face it head-on. She wasn't scared of the legendry, even if he was so much more powerful than her. In all, that just gave her a reason to push beyond her limits even more!
As Kira continued to rush down the trail, the familiar sounds of footsteps reached her ears. She looked around quickly before then stopping. It hadn't even been five minutes since that vision, and whatever Pokémon had been sent after her was already here. At least, that was the feeling she got from the footsteps. Seriously, what other Pokémon would know she was here? She was sure she wasn't on some other Pokémon's territory, and she was sure no one had followed her. Maybe Necrozma's little servant was a bit early to the party or something?
After about ten minutes of waiting there, she continued on the trail until she reached the base of the mountain. From there, she entered the cave-like entrance and started up the mountain in some sort of winding, maze-like tunnel. It was rather fun, but it was also confusing and sickening. She soon reached a place where she could stop.
As she tried to catch her breath, the faint sound of footsteps echoed around her once more. Instantly, Kira was on guard, only to relax as she realized that the footsteps had come from far below her current location. While she couldn't exactly tell where they were from or where they were headed, she was sure that the Pokémon probably wasn't chasing her or anything. Perhaps it had just come here to take shelter for a while.
Kira sat there for a long while before she continued her climb of the mountain. The climb itself wasn't difficult, even though she came across many Pokémon who were more than capable of defeating her if they tried. However, thanks to her training and the strategy she was more than getting used to, she eventually reached the top, half-way out of breath and exhaustion almost knocking her out alongside hunger.
"Arrive, you have done. Training, begin soon," a Pokémon from outside of her darkening vision said. "Rest easy for now, danger grows close. Darkness spreading, the battle approaches. Beginning will be ending, but ending only beginning."
'I probably should have expected as much,' Kira thought as she tried to catch her breath. This Pokémon, as much as she probably hated to say it, was probably her only chance to regain balance. "Thank you for not asking questions, Xatu, but I don't need any rest." She tried to push herself to her feet, but failed miserably. "Okay, maybe I do."
"It is best," the Pokémon responded, moving front of her as she began to black out. The strange-looking bird didn't cast a glance at her as he stared over the edge of the mountain. "Soon, you will see the darkness in its whole. And soon, the world will be exposed to the red aura's full strength. You, Kira, are the only one standing between it. For the next week, you will train to survive on little and nothing. Your training will begin at midnight."
"So this is the mysterious dungeon you needed to investigate with me?" Sage sighed as he looked down at Duke, who was shivering. "Why didn't you just ask one of your friends to come alongside you? I have better things to do than deal with your shit, Duke."
"Sage, you know this cave better than anyone," Duke responded as he began to hop forward. "You've entered this dungeon hundreds of times before, and I'm counting on you to bring me to the location where you saw the markings of Necrozma."
"You're such a stubborn bitch, ya know that?" Sage shrugged before he started into the cave. "Just keep behind me and look only at the floor. If you get lost, head back to the entrance and wait for me to give a shit about you not being behind me. Otherwise, you might as well just leave."
"You know I can't leave." Duke chuckled and followed close by, glancing at the floor but also keeping his eyes on Sage. "Sage? Do you know why Zorua sent Kira to Xatu even after all she's been put through? He's simply going to starve her and drive her to the brink of insanity."
"I'd say I care, but I don't," Sage responded. "All you need to know is that Xatu is very experienced in the field of reading the past and future. Kira will be in the best of hands, even if she is starved to an almost-dead state. Just don't worry and everything will be fine. Also, I say that so we can pretend like we were looking for her. I don't want her to think we know about anything."
The two fell silent as they continued to walk through the darkening cave. Once neither could see, Sage lit a torch that he had made from some items they had found on the floor, which was a miracle to them both. As they continued, the walls began to become covered in symbols and markings, but none of them were what they were looking for.
"We are nearly there," Sage said as the symbols started to grow even less frequent, right up until they were almost non-existent. "Years ago, these caves were filled with hundreds of Pokémon. However, with the rise of the Dark One, every Pokémon who had once believed in the future was slaughtered mercilessly. These paintings are their last, from over a hundred years ago. And to think that the prophecy of Necrozma only rose twenty years ago. I guess Pokémon really are mysterious beings, huh?"
Duke simply nodded in response, glancing at the symbols that soon gave way to markings, which became to pictures of a creature that few knew about: Necrozma. A cold chill suddenly washed over them, but neither reacted as they closed in on their destination. Within the minute, they had stopped and were now analyzing a picture of an odd Necrozma facing against a human-shaped form and Snivy.
"Kira," Sage whispered as he read the symbols above and below the picture. "A human from a region far-off will be summoned to save us from the one driving the madness upon the beings, but also do so as they are driven by the thing that they held closest the most. When they are called, the red aura will burst from their body, and upon their realization, they will call upon the forbidden calling, destroying all that anyone has known. We hope we are wrong, but it seems this is the end of our world."
"The end of the world as depicted by Xatu over thirty years ago," Duke whispered as he lowered his head. "In order to save her own world, Kira would have to sacrifice the light of another she had been to, right? If that's what this thing is saying, then what do we do?"
Sage was silent for a moment, only to then let out light chuckles. "Allow this pathetic world to die," he said after a while. "It isn't like we can change the future, Duke. Besides, you must remember that this wasn't that long ago. For all we know, this could all be a new code or that the person was rushed and just tried to say that nothing mattered to whoever was chasing them." Sage sighed before shaking his head. "But if it's true, then we are nothing short of fucked. We have to find Kira and tell her of what will happen when she faces Necrozma. She can't go in blind."
"I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that, Sage and Duke," Kiminari said as he suddenly stepped into their line of sight, apparently having followed them there. "This world, whether it be destined to die or not, should not be tampered with. Kira won her wish, and you did as well. Why do you always want to change the future? You know it's useless. You aren't them."
"I know that, you bitch," Sage chuckled. "I gave up long ago of every being a damn Explorer, and yet when I see fuck-ups like that guy Wigglytuff introduced to me, I get the feeling, that only I can do something about that. So, why don't you step out of my way, bitch?" Sage then lifted a hand, his claws flashing as they reflected the light of the torch. "Or do I need to fuck you up?"
Kiminari growled before slamming him tail into the ground. Rocks suddenly fell from the roof, only to be reduced to dust the instant they were in the air. He flinched back as blood suddenly seeped from a wound in his cheek, somehow caused by the terrifyingly sharp claws of Sage. They both glared at each other, one the distraction and the other the slave of time.
"You'll wish you weren't born by the time I'm done kicking your ass," Sage whispered as he rushed forward, only to kick Kiminari to the side. "But for now, I have a mission to accomplish. See you at the Steel Arena, Kiminari. I have a student to save." Sage then disappeared, leaving a very pissed Kiminari behind.
"Screw you and your goals," Kiminari whispered, a red glow soon surrounding him and filling him with anger. "Hail the one who will destroy the world. Kill all those who are trying to save it."
A week had passed since she had arrived at the top of Mount Travail, and Kira was still nowhere near where she wanted to be. At the moment, she was standing alongside Xatu and staring over the land that was their own region. Kira stood there as still as a statue, even through the bleeding scars on her body. She could feel hunger darkening her vision, but she knew any movement would just give her another scar for to bleed from. This was all a result of Xatu's training, and it had been nothing but brutal.
"That is enough for today," Xatu suddenly said, allowing Kira to finally collapse. "Your wounds are a simple sign of growth. Remember that pain, and call upon the feelings you felt for the week of our training. It may save your life one day."
"Xatu, I don't understand what this training was for!" Kira gasped as she tried to get rid of the numbness running through her body. "I went to Marowak's so I could get stronger, but then I'm sent here for no reason whatsoever! What was your training supposed to do?"
Kira flinched as yet another scar appeared on her body, sending pain through her body. She raised a hand to the scar, which then began to bleed. Raising her head, she looked at the Xatu, who had remained as calm as ever. Whenever she would ask that simple question, he would hurt her over and over and over until he thought she would have stopped. This time, he simply attacked her once.
"You do not question my decisions, Kira," he responded simply. He then walked away from her, watching over the edge of the mountain. "Your body was pushed beyond the limits you had of both body and mind. You are simply one of the many spirits inhabiting your body at the current moment." He then turned and glared at her. "If you want to save your friends and your world, you will learn to control them and use their life as your own."
Now Kira was even more confused than why she had been with Xatu since the beginning of the training. She was about to ask what Xatu meant, but she quickly stopped as she recalled a feeling she had received when they had been training. There had always been the distinct feeling of another within her mind, although she had never quite been able to tell what it was. She had thought it was her mind trying to tell her that something was wrong, but... Now that she thought about it, she hadn't felt exhaustion or hunger for the past couple of days. Was that the doing of someone inside here?
"You seem confused on the matter," Xatu said, snapping her from her thoughts. "For now, that does not matter. You are to return to Treasure Town and await your next instructions. If you understand, leave me in peace. I don't want to see your ugly face unless I have to."
This Pokémon was really rude. Kira stood, only to collapse back to her hands and knees in pain, hunger, and exhaustion. She could barely move, but she knew she would have to soon enough. She could hear footsteps coming closer. She looked up to Xatu, who wasn't even reacting to the loud thud coming from deeper within the mountain. Even then, it felt like the footsteps were pounding against her head.
Kira eventually managed to force herself to stand, but walking was an even more difficult task at the moment. Every step she took, she would stumble to the side, collapsing once more, only to have to force herself to continue. She felt sick to her stomach with all the movement, but she knew giving up, whether it be from training or not, wasn't something that she could do. Even if she wished that, she knew she couldn't really go any further.
"Such a weak and inexperienced host you are," a voice whispered within her head. "Even after all that training, you still can't seem to get a hold on the being that you were always meant to be. I've tried to help you, and yet it isn't until now that you acknowledge the existence of the beings apart from you inhabiting this body. Maybe you just weren't cut out for the role, but it's too late now, isn't it? Maybe sharing with you what we can do will help you push further."
"No," Kira responded simply, shaking off the voice. Even if there were more spirits within the body than her, she was the one who controlled the body and what it did. "This is my body, not yours. You are a simple inhabitant from somewhere far off. I am the one in control here, and you will not help me unless I ask for it."
As Kira had expected, the voice didn't respond. She soon managed to get back to her feet and walk through the maze-like caves of the mountain. She retraced her footsteps through it, ignoring almost everything that looked at her. As much as she wanted to stop and rest, she had to do something before she died. She wanted to sleep, but she had to make it to town first, right? Well, she just wanted something to eat first. She felt like her body was eating itself from the inside after all that training and nonstop wounding.
As she was walking through the forest on her way back to town, the footsteps started up again. Like last time, she froze and looked around for the source. This time, she knew that whoever was there was going to attack her. As she was expecting it, a powerful beam of energy flew at her from the forest; she just barely managed to avoid a direct hit, even if it did hurt her greatly.
"Just to be expected from the champion," Kiminari chuckled as he left the cover of the forest, glaring at her with a familiar glare. "So, Kira of Esperanza Village, are you ready to die? I'll happily teach you not to mess with me."
Kira felt fear as it gripped her heart, pulling her away from the Aggron. She wasn't sure exactly why, but this aura that he gave off reminded her of Skarmory and Lucas. She didn't know how it was happening, especially since she was sure he wasn't an Infected. But then again, those Pokémon could spread the disease, right? Maybe Kiminari had become one like Lucas had. Why was she thinking of these things now? She had two choices: fight, or run.
At the moment, she was sure there was only one proper decision, and it involved her knocking this guy out and book it before he could hit her. Even through the pain, she rocketed forward, slamming into him head-on with a powerful Tackle. Both of them were sent reeling back from the other, but Kira was already on the offensive. By the time he was ready to attack, Kira had already disappeared from sight, only to then slam a Leaf blade onto him from above. Her movements, unlike what they had been a week ago, were fluid and filled with a power unlike what she had experience before.
Kiminari growled as he then swung, knocking her back quite a far distance. "You sure have improved, but it won't be that easy to defeat me!" Kiminari's body began to glow, only to then be surrounded by some sort of dice-looking form. "Forced evolution: Mega Evolution Breakthrough!" His body then became visible. He had turned into a golden form of his own mega evolution, although the violent red aura had grown even bigger, giving away the Infection that had set in.
"How disappointing," Kira said as she appeared in front of him, her eyes glowing a light red. "I would have expected more from you, Kiminari, but I guess even brats like you don't have any sense for real power. Guess it's my time to shine, huh?" A violent wind began to kick up as Kira's eyes became blood-red. "My name is Ragnarök, the Spirit of Rage within Kira-chan's mind and body! I will destroy you, Kiminari!"
Ragnarök could only see that Kiminari had flinched a tiny bit at the sudden raise of her voice. She simply chuckled before disappearing. The next thing she saw, Kiminari was on the ground, battered and bruised by a series of attacks taking place faster than the eye could even perceive. Ragnarök, within the second, had settled down and closed her eyes.
"That was fun," she whispered as her eyes slowly became normal. "So, you're the one who was in my head, telling me that I was weak, huh?" Kira, having regained control of her body, slowly began to start her walk back to town. "I guess I'm not as strong as you, Ragnarök, but I hold the life of the body inside me. If you take control like that, you might as well just be ripping the heart right out of my body."
"That's why you have to learn to control our powers," Ragnarök told her from within. "Your body and mind are capable of many things, Kira, but only training of the spirit and mind will be able to make you stronger. You must learn to control the flame that is your limit-breaker. Much like the Infected, we were created to fight and keep you alive. Once you can control the fire we are made from, you can grow beyond the boundaries of humanity. But for now, I say it's time to relax and get some proper grub. I sure am hungry for some Pad Thai!"
"Is all you can think about food?" Kira asked as she continued to walk. After a bit of silence, she could hear her own stomach growling from days of little food. "Don't even answer that question. I guess your flame reacts to my body's needs, huh? I guess we could use that to understand what we might need."
"Nah!" Ragnarök responded. "You see, your body tells us what we need. You knew you were hungry from the moment you began training, so we tried our hardest to ignore it through the training. I guess your body tried to make up for it, so it began to deny the fact that you needed nutrients, allowing you to complete the training on basically nothing. That means we'll be able to go long times without food if we continue to practice as Xatu taught us. Maybe you can even control even more flames."
Kira sighed lightly as they finally arrived in town. She looked around a bit before chuckling to herself lightly. "Now that I think of it, I have no idea where to get any food," she told Ragnarök. All the food I got was from Swoobat and from the tournament before all of this happened. I have no idea where to get some actual grub at."
As she was expecting to get a response from Ragnarök, she was suddenly knocked to the ground, only to then be picked up and hugged by a rather familiar figure. She turned and looked up at Sage; he looked like he had just come from one hell of a training camp.
"Where ya been for the past week?" he asked with a light chuckle. "I've been looking all over for you alongside Duke, Kira. When you just disappeared, we thought you'd left us. Why didn't you tell us where you were going?"
"Umm... because I had no idea where I was going until I was told to head there," Kira responded. "Besides, it wasn't like I could tell you where I was anyways, Sage. You were busy with travel bags or whatever and Duke was back in Esperanza Village, right? Why would you want to know where I was if you were all busy? Besides, the training I had to endure was just fine. I'm a lot stronger now."
"You say that, and yet your body denies every single word you said about training," Duke told her as he landed next to Sage. "Sage, we still have business to attend to, so make sure you're at Wigglytuff's guild soon. Kira, you should probably go and find a medic. You should also get some sleep and food. Your body tells me you haven't had much of either for quite a bit of time."
"Thanks, but I don't know where to get food, nor do I really have any money to pay for them, Duke," Kira pointed out as she was set down. "Duke, you know I've only gotten so far because of you all. Without you, I'd probably be six feet under the ground by now."
"What a harsh thing to say." Kira's eyes widened in fear as Kiminari's voice echoed through the town. "What? did you not expect me to come back to you so soon, Kira? Oh, and I see you've collected the two backstabbers as well. Well, this is just perfect!"
Kira growled and pushed the two aside, glaring at the golden Mega Aggron in front of them. Kira knew that he was strong, but how had he managed to get up so soon after being knocked down? It hadn't even been half-an-hour, and he was already standing at full strength. Was this the power of the Breakthrough, or was it possibly something else?
She quickly rushed forward, but she was simply hit to the side by the powerful backhand that Aggron had swung. She had been caught off-guard by the counter, but she managed to land back on her feet after slamming into a wall. As she focused back on Kiminari, she realized that the flames had almost completely dispersed. If he was this powerful with so few flames, then the power of Ragnarök far outmatched her own.
"Don't go thinking you're weak now," Ragnarök told her from within. "I may be strong, but if I was stronger than you, your body wouldn't be able to handle the power of my flames. You're a counter, Kira; you predict your foes movements and use them to counter. I am an attacker; I attack head on faster than anyone else. Kira, this is your battle to win, not mine. Do what comes naturally to you."
Kira nodded lightly and glared at Aggron with a light chuckle. "Why don't you leave Sage and Duke out of our little squabble?" she whispered before she rushed at him, quickly changing directions as he tried to slam his fist into her again. "This is between you and me, Kiminari. If anyone needs to get hurt, it's you and me."
Kira smirked as she stopped, jumping up and lashing her vines at him. Each attack hit harshly, and yet Kiminari didn't react to a single one of them. During one of the attacks, he grabbed a vine and pulled her close, as she had anticipated. She turned as she was pulled at him, slamming her tail into his head, which was followed by a loud explosion and the cracking of what sounded like hundreds of bones at once.
"That's one hell of an attack you have there," Kira whispered as she flew off of him, slamming into the ground with an immense force. As she stood, she noticed that most of the armor over Kiminari's body had cracked. It was only because of that armor that he had managed to survive the attack, but now... he didn't have any defenses. "So, do you have any last words, Kiminari? Or will I have to put you where all Infected belong?"
"The prophecy... was right," Kiminari gasped as he fell to his knees. "A human-turned-Pokémon of immeasurable power will enter the world in a desperate attempt to protect their loved ones. This human will overpower the ones lost to infection, and destroy all that had been in their way. Kira, you're a human in your world... aren't you?"
Kira growled and shook her head. "Of course not," she said; it wasn't like she could remember having ever been human. "I am a Snivy through and through. And whether you like it or not, it's game over for you."
Kiminari chuckled. It seemed that he knew something she didn't, but he didn't get the chance to speak as he finally collapsed, his body unmoving and growing cold rather quickly. As he died, a heavy weight filled Kira's heart. She raised a hand to where her heart would lay under her chest, and sighed lightly. So this was the beginning of the ever-darkening adventure she would have to go through, huh? It wasn't the worst start, but it was going to be a terrible one.
As the aftermath reached her, Kira felt her hunger take over once more. "All I can think about now is food," she mumbled as she looked at the Pokémon who had gathered around. She could sense the sadness and fear, but there was also relief and happiness within a few of them. "Well, I guess not all bad adventures are entirely sad in the beginning!"
Within the hour, the town was full of life, and all remnants of the battle had faded away. At the moment, Kira, along with Sage and Duke, was eating a large meal at Sharpedo Bluff, watching the ocean as it floated on peacefully. Neither of them had spoken since the battle, which made for a very awkward meeting, although Kira found it just fine.
After a few more moments of silence, Duke finally spoke up. "Who would have guess Kiminari knew how to access a Breakthrough technique? I thought that art was forbidden, but I guess some Pokémon still have access to it. What's even weirder is that he did it in a mega evolved form." He then turned and looked at Kira. "Just exactly what kind of training were you doing?"
Kira was silent for a moment before she shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure what my tutor was trying to get me to do," she responded, shaking her head. "All I know is that we were silent, rarely ate, barely slept, and meditated on just about the edge of Mount Travail. I... don't know what it was all about."
"It's just as you had told me, Sage," Duke said, almost as though Kira didn't exist anymore. "Xatu was training her body and mind to push through a limit-breaker, wasn't he? I thought we told him not to do such a thing to the Pokémon he met! That guy just doesn't listen to us!"
"What do you mean by that?" Kira asked loudly, making Duke freeze. "You just asked what kind of training I went through, and earlier you pestered me about not knowing where I had gone." Kira quickly stood, clenching her fist. "Are you trying to play dumb on me, Duke and Sage? If so, you really suck at whispering and hiding words under your breath."
"What we're talking about is of no concern to a bastard who can't even control herself," Sage responded, standing and kicking her to the side before glancing at Duke. "You utter a single word of what we saw, and I'll kill you myself, you little fuck-boy." Sage then began to walk away, confusion hanging in the air at his sudden outburst.
Kira was left in a bit of shock, before she finally managed to shake it off and look back over the ocean. She felt a bit worried, but she didn't bother to poke through what they were possibly hiding. As much as she wanted to know, she knew that Sage meant serious business when he made his threats; she didn't doubt his power either. After all, he had taught her many techniques to her own battle-style. As different as they were, they were still a trainer and student.
"You know, as much as I would want to continue on with our journey, I think now would be a great time to settle down and get a proper foothold on what we're supposed to do," Duke mumbled after several minutes of silence. "We can look into those zones that Jirachi had told us about, and you can resume your training that we hate so much. Xatu and Marowak are the best of the best, even if their methods are rather dangerous."
Kira nodded lightly and sighed lightly. If Duke wanted that to happen, well, who was she to stop him? As she turned to look back at him, what sounded like an explosion sounded out, only for the sky to be filled with bright lights and colors. Kira recognized the sound as fireworks, which she hadn't seen in forever.
"They're celebrating the end of the tournament," Duke explained as he stood beside her, chuckling lightly. "Over a week has passed since that day, but I guess they're doing this just now. Well, I better get going. I'll check back with you tomorrow, Kira." He then began to hop away from her. "Don't lose concentration, Kira. You have a lot of training to do before you're able to fight Necrozma." He then left her, just as Sage had left them a couple of minutes ago.
Kira sighed lightly as she was then left to watch the fireworks on her lonesome. Well, at least she had found her friends and had gotten rid of one of the Infected along the way. As much as she wished to regret it now, it was in the past, which was something none of them could have controlled. Now, she had to look to the future where her world hung in the balance. With a sigh, she allowed the night to pass by. After all, she had some major training beginning tomorrow.
Input: Hello. If you are reading this, then it means you have finished Chapter 5: Training. I hope this chapter will fill in for the excitement the last few left out. Also, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. If you notice any errors, please inform me and I will fix them as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please ask me and I will try to explain them to the best of my ability. Thank you for reading.