-Chapter XXVI: The Games Begin-

-Victor-

"M-Master Victor… I swear, I didn't know…"

"You… Rogue, my best tracker, the one that could find any Pokémon just by smelling the air, had no clue that Vincent the Smeargle was hiding in plain sight amongst us?!"

"No, sir… His entire physical form changes with his transformations… including his scent, sir. I beg for your forgiveness..." the Houndoom looked to the ground and wisely refrained from making eye contact. He growled and looked at Mordred. "Bring her to the arena. We have to make an example of what happens to those who cannot do their assigned duties."

Mordred's eyes widened, "But sir… Rogue has been with us since-"

"You think I don't know that? She has failed me more times than not. I refuse to stand idle and let others do the same." He grunted and glared at her. "I have half a mind to execute you in front of everyone."

"S-sir, if I may be so bold-" Mordred began.

"No! You cannot! I don't care who she is. In this business, there is no room for the weak. She was already beaten by Connor to the point of near death. That cost us a reviver seed. One that I shouldn't have had to use. However… Rogue... you, Koumori and Mordred are the three that helped me start all of this… It wouldn't be fair to kill you. Not after everything you've done to help us."

She seemed to relax slightly, which irritated him, so he used air slash to knock her backwards, then rushed forward and used steel wing, nearly cracking her jaw. He glared at her and strode forward until he was mere inches from her face. "I'm not through yet. Now…" He said with a dangerously neutral voice, "I will not tolerate any more failure from anyone. But… I've decided to give you one final chance."

She nodded silently, then asked, "What… do I have to do…?" her voice was broken from her fractured jaw, and tears of pain dripped to the ground.

He smiled slightly and pointed to the map of Immanis. "I need you to find a single member of Team Firestorm. Whomever you wish. Kill them, and bring them to me. Do not return until your task is complete."

"Y-yes sir…"

"I will provide you access to any of the members of my forces that you wish, as well as a map detailing the dungeons of origin for all of Team Firestorm. If you fail… I will not be so merciful upon your return."

She bowed her head silently and left.

-Roy-

"Dusknoir."

"Hm? Yes?"

The giant ghost turned to Briar as she strode up to them. "Since your new friend is only a young ghost, we found it in our best interest to assign you to teach him how to use a ghost-type's abilities to the greatest extent possible. That is your assigned duty."

"Of course… Anything I can do to help, Briar." He floated upwards and turned back to Roy. "You heard her. You're going to learn how to be a proper ghost-type."

He nodded and floated after him. "So… Am I not a proper ghost-type right now, or…?"

"No. You aren't." Dusknoir's rather blunt response caught him off guard. "Dusknoir… is everything alright?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?" Dusknoir looked over his shoulder as they phased through the wall.

"Normally your responses are much more elaborate, and not so straightforward."

"I'm just eager to teach, that is all. You're the first pure ghost-type I've talked to in months."

"Oh. Were there not very many ghost-types in the future, then?"

"Unfortunately, no. There are the Sableye and Golurk... But there were no real ghosts." He took a deep breath as they materialized in a massive forest. "Let us begin."v He extended his hand and narrowed his eye. "Now, first things first... do you know the basic differences between you and I?"

"Well… You're significantly larger, and… you have hands, and… one eye-"

Dusknoir laughed, but shook his head. "Those are legitimate, more… physical reasons, but no. Your past life is gone. You are a ghost, as well as a ghost-type. A husk of your former self. Me? I was born a ghost-type. I've never died before."

"What does that have to do with training?"

"Roy… Dusknoirs represent the more physical side of ghost-types. And in addition to being a ghost-type, we act as reapers, guiding lost souls to the Distortion World. We are the only species able to travel between Giratina's domain and our own without consequence."

Roy's eyes narrowed. "I'm not a lost soul, if that's where you're going with this."

"Oh, no, of course not. Your purpose still hasn't been completed yet. Until then, you are forbidden from even visiting the Distortion World."

"Ah…" Roy teared up slightly, then looked back up. "So… Training."

"Right. Mismagius are… more of the special side of ghosts, using incantations and spells and special moves, rather than brute force. That is the major difference between you and I."

"Uh-huh… So do you know any Incantations? I know ones of fear, sleep, hypnosis, partial paralysis, and fire. Although… the fire one is kind of strange. Have you ever heard of Chandelure?"

Dusknoir's fists closed tighter, but he nodded slowly. "Yes… They are the worst ghost-types, driven by a hunger for souls. Do you know what they do to their victims?"
"They burn them, obviously." Roy replied. That was practically common knowledge.

"Worse… They burn their spirits. If a spirit is burned, there is no afterlife for it. No Distortion world. A Pokémon's life, as well as their afterlife, ends with a Chandelure's flames. Now, some are more dangerous than others. Some don't really care much for feasting on souls. They prefer more… solid sustenance. Those are the Chandelure you see on Exploration Teams. But others, such as the one that attacked you and Dawn… that is the worst kind of Chandelure. One that kills solely for the joy of killing. He could care less what happens to anyone. He preys on the weak and burns their spirits for nothing more than a short burst of energy."

"Okay… That's dark."

Dusknoir crossed his arms and nodded. "That is why you must learn to combat them. Their flames have a hypnotic effect to other ghosts. Did you ever feel like you were being drawn in, in spite of yourself during your battle?"

"Y-yes…"

"Good. That is where we will start. You must learn how to snuff out others' flames using nothing but shadows."

"Is that how Grovyle was able to absorb my mystical fire?"

Dusknoir placed a hand on his chin in thought and murmured almost inaudibly. "So… Grovyle, you've learned that little trick already… I'm impressed." Then he nodded and said slightly louder, "Yes. That explains it."

Dusknoir nodded and crouched lower to the ground, "Now, I can't slow down time to let you watch how I do these things, but I will try to go as slowly as possible. Watch the shadows along the ground, and use mystical fire. Aim it right at me."

Roy nodded and opened his mouth wide. Scarlet flames poured out and swirled into a miniature tornado that snaked straight for Dusknoir. Then, Dusknoir, in the blink of an eye, waved his hand in a downward motion. The shadows cast by various trees around the forest came towards him and formed a wall of darkness in front of the flame. He pushed forward with his other hand, and the darkness washed over the fire, snuffing it out, then sunk back into the ground, as if nothing had happened.

Roy gasped and grinned. "That's awesome! …Now how do I do it?"

"It is one of the simpler abilites to learn. We are, naturally, starting with the basics. Now, the way one does this is… you know how to shadow-travel great distances on your own, correct?"

"Yeah…"

"Good. Act as if you're shadow-travelling… but instead of you going to the shadows, you bring them to you. This is the base of everything a ghost-type can do with the shadows around them. It is simple to learn, but difficult to master. Even I don't know all of the tricks of the shadows. I am always learning, always… adapting. It's rather amusing to reflect back and see where I've come from." He shook his head and quickly gestured to the nearest tree, casting a long, slender shadow across the forest. "Try to draw that shadow to you. It's alright if you cannot do it at first."

Roy nodded slowly. "Okay…" He stared at the shadow and drew it closer. It separated from the tree, so a massive line of darkness was floating in front of him without being attached to anything. He gasped in surprise and Dusknoir tilted his head, obviously perplexed by the scenario. "You already know how to move shadows? I was not aware..."

"What? No I don't. I haven't done this before today!"

"...Then perhaps Mismagius are gifted with that ability upon their evolution. This simplifies things immensely." He seemed to be in thought, then pointed to the shadow again. "Form the first image that comes to your mind."

Roy nodded, and without thinking about it, the shadow morphed into the unmistakable shape of a Ralts, with light patches and darker patches, making a perfect silhouette. Dusknoir chuckled. "Hoo-hoo-ha-ha-ha! That Ralts was the first thing to come to mind?"

He was surprised, too. He wasn't really thinking about anything, but that shadow… He had to play it off. "Are you criticising the way I think?"

"No, not at all… It's just… curious, that's all. That a ghost-type such as yourself, who claims to not be governed by emotions such as infatuation and love, has a Ralts as the very first thing that comes to mind when training."

"We haven't even been at this for five minutes. Can we please… get back on topic?"

"Yes, of course. My duty is to train you in the art of shadow manipulation. Now, if done right, you can teleport in the blink of an eye." Roy tilted his head slightly, and Dusknoir was gone.

"You see?"

"Hey!" Roy floated forward rapidly as Dusknoir's stomach-mouth grinned from behind him. "If you draw the shadows into you… you can vanish and re-appear wherever you wish, all in a fraction of a moment, as long as there are enough shadows to use."

Roy nodded slowly. "Alright… Let me give it a go. How do I do it?"

"You draw the shadows into your skin, let it become a part of you. Embrace the darkness. It is a ghosts greatest ally. In absolute darkness is where we reign superior above all others. Not even Dark Types can stand against us."

Roy whistled slightly. "Huh. Alright, here goes nothing." He closed his eyes and drew the darkness in around him. It didn't feel any different at first, but when the darkness touched him, he felt… cold. It seeped into his skin, turning his violet skin into an almost black color, and Dusknoir nodded. "It is cold at first… not something you're accustomed to, I'm sure."

"True… This is uncomfortable, but I'll get used to it. What next?"

"To sink into shadows… you must disappear into yourself."

"Like I'm using Phantom Force?"

"Yes. It is essentially the same thing, except much faster, and it isn't a special move that requires time to charge up. This is instantaneous, and uses almost no energy. Psychic types require a constant supply of energy to use teleportation. That is why most of them that can learn teleport also know moves that can heal, such as wish or recover."

Roy smirked, and Dusknoir went on, "Now picture where you wish to go. You don't have to close your eyes, but it helps if you are travelling vast distances."

Roy looked around, then decided on a spot right behind Dusknoir. Then, he acted like he was using phantom force. He disappeared into the shadow realm, and everything around him was perfectly still, and outlined in black and white. "Oh… This is weird. It's like time's frozen…"

He flew to behind Dusknoir and forced himself out of the shadow realm. Everything became colorful again, and Dusknoir laughed some more. "Good, good… Your species is already able to do much of this without extensive practice… This is excellent. You'll have learned everything I know by the end of the day! Then we might even be able to battle soon!"

Roy laughed nervously. "Against you…? Heh. I don't know if I can…"

"Not to worry. That is if I deem you ready. And it is not easy to perform to my standards. But with that move you just performed… you can teleport multiple times in less than a second. Just using that alone could make you capable of providing a challenge to any non-legendary pokémon."

Roy snickered as he thought of all of the possibilities. "Oh, this will be a blast, scaring the villagers! No warning, just *boom!* I'm there! Hee-hee! This is marvelous! But… why didn't you use any of this when we were captured?" Roy asked. He had just thought about it. If Dusknoir was such an incredible ghost-type, how come they were both able to be subdued by regular, non-ghost pokémon at night in a forest?

"I wasn't prepared for the attacks at first, and whatever that Ariados did to me… it negated my shadow manipulation."

"So you have to be prepared to use these powers? That's kind of a severe drawback."

"I was preoccupied talking to you. My mind was nowhere near ready for a battle. Now, focus. Your training isn't over yet, and Briar instructed me to train you to the best of my abilities. Doing any less is unacceptable."

"Why are you listening to them? From what I heard, you killed Grovyle, almost killed Connor and Vulcan along with Grovyle a second time… It sounds like they should have already taken you out of the picture."

"You already know why, Roy." Dusknoir's tone was a mix of annoyance and anger. "I do not wish to discuss this again, and especially not while we are teaching you essential skills to become a well-versed ghost-type."

Roy nodded slowly and tilted his hat back slightly. "Alright, fine. We'll talk later. So what's next?"

Dusknoir's voice returned to normal as he held a small orb of fire in his hand. "Using Will-o-wisp to create shadows around the opponent."

-Zorro-

He clawed his way up Mt. Travail, running away. His ribs were partially cracked, and his jaw was nearly broken from that stupid Infernape, but he was alive. Nagini said that there was a secret base here, somewhere… Near the top. He had to find it. He had to escape. At least until he healed up. He knew rest for emergencies, all he had to do was just escape.

Suddenly he was grabbed and thrown back down the mountain, then blasted with a full-force flamethrower. He screamed in pain as the stone around him turned to magma and he sunk into it like honey. It was agonizing, but when he opened his eyes, an Infernape was kneeling over him, the stone instantly hardening around him, until only his head and shoulders were above the stone. "Zorro the Krookodile… I thought you died in that battle a few days ago after a Golurk punched you through a building."

He gasped in pain, and the Infernape chuckled. "Yeah, yeah… I know, I'm supposed to be dead and all that. Victor's orders, right? Or was it Nagini? No, no… Mordred is what I heard Team Firestorm saying... Who's in charge of this gig, anyways?"

"Who… Are you?"

"Oh… That's right, you're relatively new here, aren't you?"

"Yeah…"

"Haha! Nope! You're lying! You, Cas, Francis and Plague are the second four after the big four!"

Out of nowhere, a fully grown Charizard crashed into him from the sky, snapping his arm in two with its leg. It snarled at him, smoke coming out of its nostrils. "You know who we are, and why we're here. Where is Victor? And if you don't know where he is, then where is Mordred? Or Vulcan?"

"Y-You think I'll tell you anything?!"

"Of course not. That would be too easy!" The Infernape replied with a light laugh.

He narrowed his eyes at them, and the Charizard pressed down harder on his broken arm. He screamed in pain, and the Charizard rolled his eyes and raised his arms. Six pillars of stone rose around them and clamped down until they were in a sealed off chamber. The Infernape smirked. "Smart. I definitely would not have thought of that."

"Save it." The Charizard growled. Zorro could barely comprehend what was going on due to the pain, but the Charizard grabbed him by his neck and pulled him straight up. "Now, you're going to tell us everything you know."

"I'd rather… die…"

The Infernape sat down and spread his arms out in a defeated gesture. "Well… What do we do? He's not going to give up anything. You heard him."

The Charizard glanced between them, then asked, "Do you have any loved ones? Someone that means a lot to you?"

"No. I gave up everything for Victor."

"All the better. Then nobody will miss you." He pulled his fist back, and just before he swung, he cried out, "W-wait! Wait…"

"Hm? Change your mind already?"

"No. I just want to say… Victor will find you… Iden and Cinder."

"Hmph. So be it." Iden pulled back his fist and sighed, "Sorry, but you leave me no-" Then the rock tomb chamber was blasted apart by a sonicboom, and a Noivern snatched the Infernape from the ground faster than the eye could follow. Then, Iden was ensnared by a thick layer of webbing that oozed over him and dragged him to the ground. Zorro smiled and leaned back. "So… The Assassins have come to save me?"

"Not quite. You just happened to be in the area. I'll be sure to report your loss to Victor. I apologize in advance for whatever fate befalls you." Widow replied without looking at him.

"Wait… You can't just leave me! I'm a part of his group! You have to take me back!"

She let out an annoyed sigh as she turned back to face him. "Our job is not to be Victor's delivery pokémon. We're not here to bring a half-dead Krookodile to our employer. We're here to kill Iden-Gak!"

The Infernape held the Ariados by her throat and set his hand ablaze, a look of rage in his eyes. "Substitutes. Gotta love 'em. Did you even read up on who you're messing with? Granted, you guys came out of nowhere, and that Noivern is freakin' fast… but still."

The Ariados struggled feebly, but the Infernape stared her down while holding her out in front of him. "Let's see how much fire you can handle… Your exoskeleton burns like kindling, so I doubt it's very much. You said you're working with Victor. Where is he?"

"I… I won't- urk!"

"Tell us, please. I recognize you guys. You're some of the most feared assassins on Immanis. Why is Victor sending you after us?"

"Because you're… in cahoots with Team Firestorm."

The Infernape laughed and dropped her, leaving her gasping for breath. He knelt down to her and burst into laughter. "Ha-ha-ha-hoo-hoo-hee-hee-ha-ha! Oh, we aren't involved with those guys! If you'd read up, we're a completely separate deal."

"But that Charizard in question is Vulcan's father."

The Infernape shook his head. "Don't know what you're talking about. We're just two guys trying to do the right thing."

"Does the right thing include disposing of the one paying my partner and I?"

"Well… Yeah, I think it does. Victor, right?"

"Yes." Iden confirmed from beneath the net of webbing.

"Then it seems like we're at a bit of a disagreement… Tell you what, since you already know who we are… I have an offer I'd like to make."

"...I'm listening."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The two pokémon that Victor was paying over a quarter million poké are just… making a deal with the enemy? But he couldn't say anything. The two assassins showed no interest in saving him, and those other two would surely kill him… He was going to die. Plain and simple. Unless a miracle happened.

"So… my offer is this: you leave us alone."

"...Is that all?"

The Infernape seemed to think about it, then said, "Actually, Team Firestorm, too. Leave them alone too."

The Ariados bit back a laugh. "You expect me to comply with your demands?"

"Well… yeah. You see, if you don't, then I'll have to kill you while my friend takes care of the Noivern. You see, not only do we have the male Alpha Charizard on our side, but that's Iden. If you've done your research, which I'm guessing you have, then you know how dangerous he is to mess with. So if you accept my offer, I swear that neither Iden or I will pursue you in any way. If you don't… you die. Like that." The infernape snapped his fingers, and the webbing around Iden burned away in a yellow flash of fire.

Iden stood up slowly, and Zorro noticed a strange marking on his neck, like a cross between an X and some wavy symbol he'd seen on Rogue. The Ariados gulped, but nodded slowly. "And what if I agree, but go tell Victor of what I discovered?"

"Oh. Iden, I didn't think about that. It's kinda obvious, but still… how do we threaten them to not do that?"

"Tell her that we'll find her."

"Aha! We'll find you… and kill you anyways!"

The Ariados leveled an unamused look at him, and he leaned back casually. "What, is it not convincing enough?"

"You're acting childish. If you have no affiliation with Team Firestorm, then why do you protect them in our 'agreement', which I still have yet to agree to?"

"Because I just wanted to make you mad. It's working, isn't it?"

"No. I am not baited by such foolish tactics. You'll need to do better than that."

"Well, crap. What now, Iden?"

"Hold on… The Noivern's coming." His hands glowed white, and he grabbed the Noivern's head mid-flight and slammed it into the ground face-first. Then he stepped on its back with his massive clawed foot, forcing it to the ground. "There. What were you saying?"

"I dunno… I forgot."

The Ariados lunged at him in the blink of an eye, but he swatted her aside with a mach punch, then leapt towards Iden. "Okay… I saw that coming from a mile away, but not that fast. An Ariados shouldn't be able to..." Then the Noivern vanished beneath them, along with the Ariados. "Move that fast. And Noivern don't disappear like that! Dammit, they used an escape orb!"

When Zorro looked to where Widow should have been, he found a crushed orb. He smirked and leaned his head back. An escape orb… Huh. Guess these guys are too much for the feared assassins. Then, much to his surprise, he was whisked away in a sphere of blue light.

Hello everyone! I hope you guys are having a wonderful day! Spring break is over, so it's back to school, unfortunately... Enough about real life! So much stuff is happening! Victor's mad at Rogue, Zorro and the Assassins just got royally spanked by Iden and Cinder, and Dusknoir is teaching Roy advanced shadow-bending techniques! Wow! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! If you did, feel free to let me know! If you have any questions, comments, concerns or theories about what might happen, go ahead and leave them in the form of a Review or PM! As always, I will see you all in the next update! Much Love!

-PL