AN: Hey everyone, I have the next chapter here. Sorry for the month-long break, was working on some personal stuff at the time and could not attend to this series. I am back here, but the chapter this section might still be a little shorter for a while as I adjust. We check in on the duo as they cross each side of the crown tundra. As Blake tries to catch a new Pokemon, she runs into one of my favorite characters from Galar. As well, I switched to the cover to show her with the adorable Espurr in her arms. Meanwhile, Weiss attempts to talk with Nia, but there might be one thing standing in her path she needs to take down first. Hope you enjoy this chapter, leave a review with your comments and questions, and have a nice day.
See the most recent Save State Chapter for Cover Art details.
Chapter 28 – Pride and Courage
Blake continued to follow the tracks, searching for the white ram Pokemon. As she exited the snowy tundra and made her way to a grassy terrain, the shadowy girl caught sight of what she was looking for, "Absol!" Blake called out.
"Ab?" Absol said as it stopped, then turned around.
"I saw what they did to you." Blake said as she walked up, "But you were trying to help those people, weren't you?"
"…" Absol did not say a word.
"Where are you going now?" Blake asked, but Absol just turned back around, "Whatever is about to happen, you're going to try and stop it by yourself, aren't you?" She said as Absol continued to walk away. However, the shadowy girl ran up and stood in front of the white ram Pokemon, "Please, let me help you!" Blake pleaded.
"Sol," Absol responded with a scowl, trying to walk past Blake.
However, Blake repositioned herself to stop Absol again, "I have seen that look in your eyes before, because I was the same way." Blake responded, her voice slowly become more sincere, "It took a friend to show me that I was going down the wrong path. So, I want to be that friend for you now." She said before reaching behind her back, then offering a Pokeball, "Please, let me catch you, then we can fight this disaster together."
"…" Absol looked at the Pokeball in Blake's hand, but then gritted its teeth. The white ram Pokemon raised its front right leg, then knocked the Pokeball out of Blake's hand with its claw, "Sol!" Absol shouted before running past Blake and further into the crown tundra's land.
"Wait, Absol!" Blake called out but was met with no response. She sighed before walking over to the Pokeball, "Yang, was I still stubborn with your help?" She said to herself before picking up the Pokeball, then her grip around it tightened, "Still, you didn't give up on me when I need it." The shadowy girl said before looking down the way Absol went, "I won't let this Pokemon run away from me." She said before charging after the white ram Pokemon as fast as she could.
After making her way through the area, Blake soon found herself near an ominous area. Broken walls and tombstones littered the ground. The shadowy girl cautiously walked, but her eyes on the lookout for Absol. However, her gaze was focused sone else. Looking down at a nearby tombstone, an elderly lady in a pink and baby blue dress was seen, one that matched the umbrella in her hand. Her collar was a puffy purple while her hat was teal with black circles. She then raised her head, looking over to Blake to show her face, one with a long nose and teal eyes, "My, hello dearie."
"Hello," Blake responded, "I'm sorry to disturb you."
"Oh, no worries." The elderly lady responded, glancing back at the tombstone with a slight smile, "I was just visiting old friends." She then looked back to the shadowy girl, "My name is Opal, and if I had to guess yours is something like… Blake?"
"How did you-" Blake spoke in shock.
"I am very good at seeing the color a person emanates, almost like I an aura." Opal responded, "Black is the color is the one I most in you. Not a dark shade, but a more like the shadows cast at midnight on a full moon." The elderly lady said before giggling, "Goodness me, I am rambling on. This is all for me to say I had a lucky guess."
"It's okay," Blake said with a smile, then had a look of concern, "Did you happen to see an Absol run by here."
"Oh, that poor soul." Opal said while shaking her head, "That girl is always running back and forth between the town the next disaster coming. She always tries to warn them, but they do not listen, so she has to fight to protect them herself."
"Fight?" Blake asked, "I thought these were natural disaster warnings."
"And as the townspeople believe, there are Pokemon that cause a natural disaster." Opal responded, "They are just blaming the one trying to prevent it." She said before sighing, then aiming with her umbrella, "I wanted to help that poor soul, but she ran off in that direction. And these old bones are not fit for running like they used to."
"Don't worry, I'll help her." Blake responded, then slightly bowed her head, "Thank you for letting me know the way she went."
"No, thank you, dearie." Opal responded, "You're a good girl." She said with a smile, which Blake responded with as well before running after where Absol had gone.
Meanwhile.
Peony led the way up a hill as Weiss and Hilda followed, "So, Blake went after a Pokemon." The white heiress said, "From what you told me, I understand why she had such a connection to it."
"Yeah, hope she can catch Absol after helping it." Hilda responded, "We probably could have got one for her if we stayed in Hoenn a bit longer." She said before crossing her arms, "Don't forget, you should see about catching something too. I restocked your Pokeball supply just in case you see something you like. You might need something with a bit more power for your next badge." Hilda said with a smirk, "I mean, your Zangoose is already strong, but we need to find you a special stone for Vulpix."
"I see," Weiss responded, "What about Feebas?"
"Well, she is a different story on how to evolve her." Hilda responded, "For that, we might need to-"
"RRRRRRRRAAAAAAA!" suddenly, the group heard a monstrous yell in the distance.
"What was that!?" Weiss asked. However, Peony had a look of panic as his teeth were girt. He then ran ahead with Weiss and Hilda following close behind. They made it to a cave entrance, seeing a couple of scientists running out.
One then ran up to Peony, "Please you have to help us!" the scientist pleaded, "One of the Pokemon in a max raid den has escaped!"
"What!? How did this happen!?" Peony asks before realizing someone else was not nearby, "Where is my Nia?"
"She was chased out of a den, but the Pokemon followed her." The scientist explained, "I don't know which way she went."
"My guess is the same direction as that roar we heard," Hilda responded.
"RRRRRRRRAAAAAAAA!" the same roar was heard again as the trio turned to the noise.
"Hang on Nia!" Peony said before running towards the noise, "Papa's coming!"
Weiss and Hilda followed as they made their way through the frozen tundra. Suddenly, the group found something that made them gasp. Nia cowered with her back against a tree, shivering in terror at the massive Pokemon looking down at her. It was a massive red dinosaur with some orange scales, the ones on its head almost resembling a crown. A white-collar draped its neck, matching its lower jaw, "RRRRRRRAAAAA!" it roared before flaring its fangs.
"What is that thing!?" Weiss shouted as Hilda took out her Pokedex, "Tyrantrum, the Despot Pokémon" the Pokedex explained, "Thanks to its gargantuan jaws, which could shred thick metal plates as if they were paper, it was invincible in the ancient world it once inhabited. Nothing could stop this Pokémon 100 million years ago, so it behaved like a king."
"RRRRRAAAAAA!" Tyrantrum roared again as Nia was chattering her teeth in fear, thinking this was her end.
"Hey!" Peony shouted as he ran, gaining both Nia and Tyrantrum's attention, "You stay away from her!" He said while getting a Pokemon ready, "And pick on someone your own size, go Copper-" the energetic explorer said before tripping on a stone covered by the snow. He then fell face-first into a tree, lying unconscious while the ball fell to his side.
"… I'm doomed," Nia said with a sigh before Tyrantrum turned back to her, its mouth ready to chomp. While she closed her eyes in panic, Nia had a look of confusion as her body was not munched. She opened her eyes to see multiple shards of ice bash into the right side of Tyrantrum's face. She and the t-rex Pokemon turned to see Weiss with her Vulpix standing by.
"Why don't you try us on for size?" Weiss said to Tyrantrum with her arms crossed.
"Vul!" Vulpix added on with a look of focus in her eyes.
"RRRRRAAAAAA!" Tyrantrum roared before unleashing a barrage of rocks from its mouth.
"Dodge it," Weiss said as she and Vulpix moved out of the way. Suddenly, Tyrantrum's body pivot. With the whip of its tail, a barrage of scales was shot at high speed, "Those too." Weiss said as Vulpix gracefully moved out of the way of the attack as well. The white fox Pokemon then saw Tyrantrum jump, its body lined up to slam into Vulpix's. "Move out of the way," Weiss ordered again.
"Vul!" Vulpix said while barely dodging the slam.
Tyrantrum gritted its teeth in rage at its opponent's evasion. "RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAA!" It roared before pivoting back to unleash another blast of rocks.
"Now," Weiss said before pointing, "Use Icy Wind!"
"Vul!" Vulpix spoke before inhale the cool air, then blew it directly towards Tyrantrum. The icy wind then went into the t-rex pokemon's mouth, freezing its jaw shut. Tyrantrum tried to roar but could not break through the ice. However, its eyes glowed red with rage as its body radiated a matching aura.
"That attack," Weiss said in a slight gasp, recalling Regirock's Superpower hit against her Zangoose. However, she smirked, "Heh, I've already seen this before." She said before Tyrantrum charged towards Vulpix, "And I know someone with this same power. Vulpix, use Mist."
"Vul," Vulpix said before unleashing a white fog from her mouth, one the filled the foot atop the snow. Tyrantrum stomped over where the white fox Pokemon once was, but nothing was there. Suddenly, Vulpix jumped out of the mist behind the t-rex Pokemon.
"Now, Confuse Ray!" Weiss ordered with her Pokemon firing the yellow ball of light from its mouth, one that hit Tyrantrum and caused it to have its rage-filled eyes swirling. The t-rex Pokemon then again to bash its head against a nearby tree as Vulpix landed back on the ground. "Go, one more Icy Wind with all you got!" Weiss called out.
"Vul!" Vulpix said before unleashing the cooling wind again. Tyrantrum recoiled in the pain of the attack, but then snapped out of its confusion. The t-rex Pokemon then began to charge towards Vulpix again with the Superpower aura, "Vulpix!" suddenly, the cooling wind changed into a beam of multicolored light. The attack collided with Tyrantrum's chest, pushing it back in agony.
"What was-?" Weiss said in shock.
"That was Aurora Beam," Hilda answered, "Looks like Vulpix picked up a new move."
"Really," Weiss said before looking down at her Pokemon, "That just makes you even stronger, and cuter."
"Vul!" Vulpix said with a matching smile to her trainer. However, both looked back to see Tyrantrum readying for another charge.
"Time to end this," Weiss said before pointing, "Use Aurora Beam!" she declared with the white fox Pokemon unleashing the beam of multicolored light again. The attack collided with Tyrantrum before it could fully recover, causing the t-rex Pokemon to topple backward and collapsed onto a tree. As it struggled to get up, Weiss readied a Pokeball, "Now, you're mine!" she said before throwing the Pokeball at her target. Tyrantrum was ensnared inside the ball before it hit the ground. While in the snow, the ball shock three times before a slight click was heard. A look of joy filled Weiss's eyes as ran over, picking up the Pokeball, and cheering, "I caught a Tyrantrum!" Nia then let out a sigh of relief, while Hilda helped up a still recovering Peony.
"Vul!" Vulpix jumped with joy as well, causing Weiss to pick her up and nuzzle the white fox Pokemon.
A short while later.
Near the cave, Weiss and Hilda spoke with the scientist, "I caught the Pokemon that was running a rampage." The white heiress said while looking down at the ball, "But, would it be okay if I take the Pokemon with me on my journey?"
"Of course," the scientist said, "That is the least we can do for heroics."
"Nice, now you got some real power on your team." Hilda said with Weiss looking at the ball with a smile, "But, you better make sure he can obey you."
"Right," Weiss said with a nod before tossing the ball into the air, "Come on out, Tyrantrum!" she said with the t-rex Pokemon emerging with a heavy slam onto the ground. Tyrantrum looked down at the scientist, who quickly ran back into the cave, "Listen up," Weiss said, gaining the t-rex pokemon's attention, "I don't care if you were invincible millions of years ago." She said before pointing to herself, "I beat you and caught you, which means you follow my rule now. Okay?"
"…" Tyrantrum looked down in silence. However, it soon closed its eyes before bending one knee and lowering the head, "Tyr,"
"Good," Weiss said with a smile as petted the t-rex Pokemon on the head, "I promise, I'll make you feel like the king you once were."
"Sweet," Hilda said with a smile and her arms crossed, "It this pokemon's a King, then does that make you, her Queen?"
"Heh, I guess you could say that." Weiss said with her head held high.
"Well, I guess you it would be more appropriate to be called an ice qu-"
"On second thought, no," Weiss cut off Hilda at the last word, recalling her Pokemon, then sighed. "Where are Peony and Nia?"
"Well, he is recovering from that fall. I should go check on him." Hilda answered, "As for Nia, I saw her by one of the trees nearby."
"Okay, give me a second to talk with her," Weiss said with Hilda nodding. The two then split up with the white heiress making it to a nearby clearing. There, she saw Nia leaning against a tree, "Hey, how are you feeling?"
"Fine, I guess." Nia responded, but did not make eye contact, "Thanks for saving me back there."
"You don't seem that thankful," Weiss responded.
"I know you're here to rub it in my face that the Max Raid Adventure was a complete failure." Nia responded, "That my dad was right, it's too dangerous."
"I'm not here to do that." Weiss commented, "And you should know that your dad just wants you to be safe."
"I'm not a kid anymore, I don't need his help." Nia responded, "And he is such a dolt, you saw him right there with that pathetic fall."
"Yeah, I know." Weiss said with a smile, "But, I thought that was cool." She said with Nia having a look of confusion at the white heiress, "Your dad loves you so much that he forgot to watch his step. He prioritized your safety over his own." She said with a slight chuckled, but then had a look of sorrow in her eyes, "You should be grateful, not all fathers would do that for their daughter." Weiss said with Nia's eyes slightly widening. The white heiress then sighed before turning to Nia with a smile, "I wish my dad was a lot more like yours."
"…Heh," Nia said with a smirk, "Well, you can't have him." She said while crossing her arms, "He may get on my nerves, but he is still my Papa and mine alone."
"That was a bit cold towards me, I did just save your life." Weiss responded with a chuckle, "But I am sure your dad would appreciate that."
"Yes, which is why we keep this conversation between us girls, okay?" Nia said with Weiss nodding, "Good, now I can show you the max raid adventure with legendary Pokemon."
"You still want to go on one after that!?" Weiss responded with her eyes slightly widen.
"Please, I'm not going to let something like that stop me." Nia responded, then winked, "Plus, if I have you by my side, I know we can make it to the end."
"Heh, okay," Weiss said as Nia smiled, causing the two to head back to the cave. They entered the cave with the white heiress looking around to see a couple of scientists, a camper, and a doctor, "Well, this place is pretty organized consider Tyrantrum ran though here." Weiss said before noticing a monitor against one of the walls, "What is that thing for?"
"Oh, that lets people know what legendary Pokemon are in the raid right now." Nia said as she saw the silhouette of a Pokemon, "Hm, I wonder who that Pokemon is?" she said before turning to Weiss, "Do you know-" Nia said before seeing the white heiress hyperventilating, "You okay?"
"That's…," Weiss said with her eyes widened, pointing at the silhouette, "That's the one." She said as her mind flashed back to the day when she and her teammate were eaten by the creature of shadows. While not seen on this silhouette, she could never forget those red eyes that looked down at her. Suddenly, Weiss gritted her teeth, "I'm not going to let you get away!" she said before running deeper into the cave.
"Hey, wait up!" Nia said as she ran after the white heiress.
AN: There you go, Blake tried to talk with Absol, but to no avail. She then meets Opal, who is my favorite gen eight gym leader. At the same time, Weiss take on and catches a Tyrantrum. I wanted to give at least one of them a raid Pokemon, and this one felt fitting. As much as people would say it works for Yang due to its rage, I feel it's the pride that more carries this Pokemon and why it is a fit for Weiss. Plus, with her first design, they have inverse colors with the body and collars. Now, her Vulpix knows aurora beam and finally got a moment to shine since her debut. And while it may seem like an easy catch, Weiss has had a lot of time to practice and deal with tantrums thanks to her far away teammates. However, the white heiress has her sights set on a new target, and this one will prove a lot harder to battle. That is all for now, thanks for reading, and hope to see you in the next chapter.