Chapter Thirty-One: The Lucid Dream Of The Eight Dark Masters

Trucy was unusually sad. She still smiled, but May's gut instinct was telling her that something was playing on Trucy's mind. The reason was Ash, May was sure of it. May noticed that Trucy's body had tightened up when they were both in the the car with Gary and Ash. Before they had picked up Ash, Trucy had her shoulders back and seemed much more relaxed. May had considered asking Trucy if anything was the matter, but in the end, she decided it was best to stay quiet.

The silence carried on until they all said their goodbyes. Trucy had got her nightie on and threw herself over on the sofa by the hotel window. She closed her eyes, but May had a feeling that she wasn't sleeping. Ash threw himself on the bed and slept like a log. It didn't take long before he was snoring away. May's bedroom routine only took around fifteen minutes, but that quarter of an hour appeared to drag. When she finally dived into the soft blanket, she knew that it was going to take a while to get back to sleep. She couldn't shake off the fact that Trucy found something suspicious about Ash. It took May several tosses and turns before she finally slept.

May was dreading what her dream would be that night. The scent of Ash's sweat overpowered her as she found that her surroundings had been replaced with a burning layer of rock. May sprang herself up and noticed that she was no longer in her nightdress, but instead in the red outfit that she wore on the first day that she met Ash.

She recognised the rocks. It was a lucid dream and May knew that she was in Hell. She was near the entrance where she rescued Ash earlier. May wasn't even sure if she could consider it a rescue any more. He didn't seen to sustain any injuries, nor did he seem scared.

There was a poem scribbled on the walls. May never noticed it before, perhaps it wasn't there and was exclusive to the dream. The letters glistened as the font slightly waved. It was calm enough to be legible but crazy enough to dance through the rocks.

The Pokémon League
Of the Nether Regions is
A treacherous path indeed

The eight dark masters
Only use one Pokémon
Only brave need apply

The Ruins of Pride
Is where you'll meet Scar and his
Horrible houndoom

Forest of Envy
Is home to crazy Kristoph
And his tough golem

Minister Frollo
Rules Cathedral of Despair
With Black Rapidash

The Streets of Sloth is
Tommy Devito's palace
His Slaking obeys

Lake of Greed splashes
Ursula's octillery
Aquatic power

Village Of Lust has
Gardevoir and the one and
Only Bellatrix

The old Town of Greed's
Dark master is Jafar with
His loyal arbok

The last City of Wrath
Owns mighty mega-mawile
And Maleficent

Tattoos are awards
Paw, eye, cross, gun, potion, heart,
Snake and the needle

The Elite Four are
The worst devils of all time
Then there is Hades

"Damn it Harley Quinn."

It was Ash's voice that could be heard. She could see Ash's shadow and May scurried over towards him. "Ash" May cried out, but he just walked right though her. He didn't know that she was there. Everything felt so real that she had forgotten that it was a dream.

Ash rubbed his head. "Why did she have to hit me so hard. She scared Pikachu away. Pikachu is my best friend." He aimlessly wanders around the empty rock pillars. "How am I suppose to win if I don't have Pikachu. He's won so many battles for me over the years. I guess I will have to train while I'm here and find the dark masters. Poor Joslyn and Lusamine: I hope they're okay."

May's heart sank. There was so much that she had to tell him in the morning. There was also so much that her and Trucy didn't know. It was at that moment where May had concluded that this dream was no ordinary dream. It was as if the dream had been purposely altared as if it wanted to show her something. She was confident that it was another one of Queen Elodie's tricks. If Queen Elodie had the power to control time, then controlling other people's dreams would be like a walk in the park for her. Queen Elodie was showing her what Ash was up to after he had been assaulted and kidnapped.

But was the kidnap genuine and what was Ash doing with Lusamine and Joslyn in the first place? May hoped that she would find the answer, but May had a feeling that it would not be resolved until the trial. She continued to follow Ash until she found herself in a stadium. Ash had dropped his mouth. "It's a stadium!"

Ash tiptoed towards the centre of the stage as a dark lion tumbled down from the the lava ceilings. The lion's fur was brown and his hair was raven black. His eyes were a horrific shade of yellow and his pupils were a lime shade of green. A white scar stood out from his dusky stance. The lion took a bow before Ash and grinned a rather sordid grin.

The lion was able to talk. "Good evening, Ash. My name is Scar."

"You're Scar!" Ash gasped. "Huh? One of the dark masters is a lion."

Scar laughed. "Indeed. I am the dark master that represents pride. I guard the Ruins of Pride." Scar roared as he crawled around Ash. "I am your first sniff of the Underworld's Pokémon League."

"My first sniff eh?" Ash said, crossing his arms. "I'm Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town. I've come to defeat you."

"Oh!" Scar cooed. "Eager are we? Very well. Scar took his place in the arena as the empty stadium suddenly became a full house. "Let me explain the rules. The matches are one-on-one. You may chose only one pokémon and substitutes and items are not allowed. Do I make myself clear?"

Ash smirked. "Crystal!"

A canine growl echoed through the stadium as a mega-houndoom crashed through the stadium and destroyed any rock that stood in it's way.

Scar laughed again. "Why hello there my dear friend. Why don't teach this foolish human a lesson that he'll never forget."

"Greninja!" Ash screamed. "Come on out!" Ash's blue bipedal pokémon was up against the black canine beast covered in bones. May knew that Ash had won, not because Ash told her that she won, but because Ash had trained his greninja. "Use Water Shruriken!"

Greninja forms multiple shurikens in his hand and then tosses all of them at the mega-houndoom. The battle was over before it had even started. Scar pined over his pokémon slave, then kicked him off the stadium. "Bah! What a pathetic weakling."

"Hey!" Ash bellowed. "That's no way to treat a pokémon!" He looked over at Greninja whilst pointing at Scar. "Teach Scar a lesson!"

Greninja formed an ice beam from it's hands and aimed it directly at Scar. The loser lion had become engulfed in ice. A small black paw began to appear on his arm.

Ash continued to defeat the other seven masters with relative ease. Greninja knocked all the pokémon out in one hit. After putting Scar in his place at Ruins of Pride. Ash discovered the Forest of Envy and bumped into a chaotic blonde man in a blue suit. His name was Kristoph Gavin and he claimed to know May's boss, Phoenix Wright. For some reason, Ash knew that he was the second dark master and challenged him to a match. Greninja quickly surfed Kristoph's golem away. Underneath the paw tattoo, a black eye appeared.

Ash fought through the bustling forest and entered a cathedral covered in cobwebs. "This is the Cathedral of Despair." May felt her surroundings move rapidly even though her feet were firmly on the ground. There was where Ash found the third dark master: Minister Frollo. He was an old man who's black robes blended in the pitch black surroundings. He was riding on a black rapidash that had blue flames floating about serving as hair. Frollo charged at Ash, but Greninja charged at Minister Frollo and his horse before they even got a chance to land an attack. Rapidash fainted as Frollo was trapped underneath her.

May began to notice a pattern as a black cross was slapped underneath the eye. Every time he defeated a dark master, Ash was getting another tattoo. The tattoos must represent which dark master he has defeated. Ash exited the cathedral through the other door and found some desolate streets. The signs on the walls said: Welcome to the streets of sloth. It was there were he found the fourth master, Tommy DeVito. When he was a mortal, he was a prolific mafia member. His slaking put up a good fight, but Greninja still kicked his ass. His fourth tattoo with a gun under the cross.

"He's got four of them now," May said. "How is he doing it so quickly?"

"Here's the Lake of Gluttony," Ash said as soon as he left the streets and peered over his reflection in the green waters. An obese witch with purple skin, white hair and eight legs emerged from the waters. It was Ursula, the firth dark master. There was no time for a sweet conversation. As soon as their eyes met it was time for a battle. Her octillery was the only one that survived the first turn as the pokémon quickly tumbled back into the water after Greninja's second attack. Ursula and her pokémon never stood a chance. Ash swam through the lake with a new tattoo shaped as a bottle of potion.

When Ash finished swimming, he found himself in the Village of Lust. There waiting for her was a beautiful, but menacing enchantress known as Bellatrix Lestrange. Her pokémon of choice, a shiny mega-gardevoir was just as charming and evil as she was. Sadly her bulkiness had little to be desired and was taken out in one hit. Bellatrix screamed and then disappeared under a dusky mist. May saw a heart tattoo take shape on Ash's skin.

Ash followed the empty road over to the Town of Greed. A dark man waited for a dark purpose. An Arab man with an arbok beside him greeted him. His velvet black robes aligned with red represented his high status before his demise on earth. His arbok was a piece of cake to defeat. Ashamed of his defeat, Jafar vanished from sight. Ash had earned a new snake tattoo.

Ash continued to follow the pathway towards the City of Wrath were Ash would encounter Maleficent: the final dark master. Ash panted for breath as he leaned over towards a wall and rolled on the floor. "Maleficent!" Ash croaked. "If you're there, I challenge you to a battle!"

The sorceress was summoned through green smoke along with her pokémon of choice a deadly mega-mawile. The battle between Ash and Maleficent was a hot and heated one. At first it seemed that Maleficent had the upper hand until Greninja's water attacks proved powerful enough to wash her away.

Maleficent smirked. "It seems you have defeated me. Well done. Here is your final tattoo."

A spinning needle was sketched upon his arm. Ash gasped as he span his arm around and examined all eight of his tattoos. "Wow!" Ash gasped. "These tattoos look amazing."

"But your victory is in vain," Maleficent announced. "You may face the elite four and Hades, our lord...if you're tough enough."

"I will win," Ash announced It seemed as if his health had been replenished. "I will defeat every single one of you. You know Maleficent, out of all of the dark masters, you were the only one to prove a challenge."

"Thank you," Maleficent said. "I shall take my leave now. You must train and rest some more if you want to unleash your potential."

Everything faded to black until May opened her eyes to a glorious morning.