A Certain Unfortunate Trainer

by NeoShadows

Kamijou Touma was your average Pokemon Trainer in Academy City. Except he had no Ability or Pokemon as a lowly Level-0 with a weird right hand that brought him misfortune. But upon meeting Index, a girl who memorized a library of forbidden books on Pokemon myths and legends, that normal school life would change. When Science, Magic, and Pokemon meet, a story is told.

9. Those Resolute To Battle

Oooooohhhhh, shit. Here we go again.

NeoShadows back at it with a new chapter.

If ya want anyone to blame for my late update, than where the hell have you all been this past year? Even if things are starting to resemble our old normalcy, things are still rather hectic. Especially if you're in the food industry; feel my pain and frustration, ya bastards. I'm still struggling to find time to sit down and write. Let's not even get into edits, cuts, and rewrites that also take a considerable amount of time.

Oh, and Genshin Impact's latest update isn't helping either.

(Don't mention Booba Sword, don't mention Booba Sword, don't mention Booba Sword, don't mention Booba Sword!)

So, Neo: The World Ends With You is also coming out this week too. That's going to suck me in for some time as welBooba Sword.

...Damn it, Baal's totally my typppppppppppppppppppppppppppeeeeeeeeeeee! I can't help ittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!

Moving on; let's get them reviews out of the way.

TheNotSoFantastique: I always wanted others to write more of Aogami. For an idiot renown as The Fetish King, there's a great deal of mystery to him that can be used for just about any story. And I plan to do just so! As for BLAU getting a girl? Ha! I don't think he would be Aogami if he got what he said he wanted.

DNWorks: Toxic Hazard's character's were a joy for me to write. Each one had to embody some kind of toxic nature and a unique venom responsible for twisting them into who they are. For Byoki, it was the venom of the innocent(children) being treated as useless and worthless by the adults of the city who were suppose to protect them. But as you've seen, his caring nature was corrupted as he turned to violence while ignoring those who were 'gifted'; human or Pokemon. 'Sauia' is someone who was also poisoned and you'll get more to her character in this chapter too. When you think about Z-Rings, Mega Rings, and Dynamax Bands, among other gimmick items in Pokemon, they're rather dangerous. I mean, a random ten-year-old with a Z-Ring and a Zenith Stone can randomly set a small town aflame with a fireball that towers the surrounding buildings, just for fun. Mega Evolution further increases a Pokemon's destructive capabilities to terrifying degrees. Let's not even go into Dynamax; thank god for Power Spots but still! I'd have to believe the research papers and any other information regarding those deadly weapons are reserved to each nation and locked away; just like nuclear weapon technology. Oh, and boy do I have plans for Aogami in this fic! Don't you worry about that!

AngelFaux: The topic of God and Arceus will be brought up later on. But yes, I suppose you can say they are seperate entities.

Onilink500: All it takes is a bit of venom to make one lose their mind if they don't seek treatment. The main characters of Toxic Hazard have all been poisoned and found themselves evolving into tragic figures from the venom coursing their veins. I like the comparison between N and Touma but I feel, despite how they may appear similar, they're both different. Ah, Ambulance-chan, the true hero of the story.

MrQuestionMark: Structure? Isn't that a little logical? When the hell has logic and reason been associated with Kamijou Touma? Life ain't no game, my man! I like the mention of Touma's weakness to Fighting-types which goes even further when you think about it, if he were a Pokemon, he'd have the dual typing of Normal/Dark to him. As for Touma's past, it's one subject I just want to blurt out but can't. That's saved for another special arc. It's the events of Toxic Hazard and Index's arc that have begun triggering certain pieces of said past that give you all the pieces to attempt to put together a picture of what may have happened.

WSarcasm: I admit nothing. But I am a Water Starter main; always have been. My first Pokemon game was a random Ruby cartridge I found in the backyard of a house I recently moved into. I never got to play it since I didn't have a Gameboy until a friend of mine gave his old Advance away; good times. Ah yes, Touma's signature move: Mega Punch! The ending to Toxic Hazard's arc is defiantly going to be one no one saw coming, so we'll have to see about whether the bonds made will be enough for Touma to gather the courage to take on a partner. And the past involving his starter and Ayu and Shokuhou will have to be eluded until the times is right but feel free to guess away!

Doomqwer: Not everyone within Toxic Hazard see Pokemon as tools like Byoki. His belief is that those who have power, human or Pokemon, aren't so weak to need saving. His kindness is extended to children who have been let down and abandoned by those adults who promised to protect them, only to toss them aside when they failed to achieve any note worthy results. It's just easier and simpler to see such gifted creatures as weapons. Thier feelings don't matter to him as he believes that those lucky creatures can do something about their situation unlike him. Which is completely twisted. As someone who always loves capturing spider Pokemon and putting them on his team, I feel your sympathy in how Spinarak was treated.

We're done with reviews, so let's get to next battle!

---

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to A Certain Magical Index or Pokemon. Both are respectively reserved to Kazuma Kamachi and Game Freak.

Currently feeling old. Just recently was told by one of the girls I finished training that she remembers stopping into the restaurant as a kid to try and order from me when I use to run the register. She said it so brightly as if it wasn't anything special but a fun little fact.

...I legit slumped over and began having a mid-mid-life crisis. Jesus Christ! I just realized I've seen a lot of these kids grow up! It's weird! I-I'm still young too! I'm hip! I'm kewl! I-I-I only complain about my bad hip because I've been in a couple of car accidents! It's not because I'm old!

Twenty-six is the new sixteen, damn it! I don't care what those high school girls say as they giggle at my panicking! It's just a number!

...Eh? What do you mean it's also a number in prison? The fuck does that have to do with anything? I'll have you know I'm into older chicks with big breaaaaaassssssssstttttttssssssss!

---

Chapter 9: Those Resolute To Battle.

Rebel_The_Poison_STATUS.

Yumiya Rakko was, understandably, absolutely livid with rage coursing through every vein of her body like searing fire born from a Charizard's breath.

Let us dive into the reasoning behind her upset behavior.

Today was her day off from both matters involving her work with the dark side organization known as SCHOOL and her normal life at school. Like the other members of her organization, she was an inhabitant of two different worlds. To those who lurked within the underbelly of this utopia of technology and academic study into Pokemon, she was an assassin, a long-range killer no different than the master's of stealth and assassination: Greninja and Inteleon. She was a hunter, a killer, a devious and silent bullet commanded by a terrifying leader who made the likes of Darkrai but a pleasant dream.

Outside of her place in SCHOOL and Academy City's underworld, she was simply a meek and frail maiden. An ordinary school girl who was usually far too shy to start a conversation with classmates she's known for a year. If you were to categorize her as a Pokemon, the first two to come to mind would be the Normal-types of Clefairy and Whimsur: two easily startled creatures who typically shied away from others.

Between the two facades, Yumiya was no longer sure which nature she truly resonated with any longer. Perhaps Academy City's unique environment had done more than alter her than she initially believed. It was as if she had evolved into bearing two types. Dark and Normal. Both were separate parts of her that never directly interacted with another. All she truly knew was that she was constantly switching back and forth between the two types in order to achieve her own goal.

After juggling both sides of her life, she decided she deserved a break. It had been a long year from both school and SCHOOL. And she was exhausted. She needed a break.

To free herself from her anxiety brought upon fearing both aspects of her world would seep into one another. To not seep herself further into bloodshed which only brought her a momentary high of the thrill of the hunt before it came crashing down as she returned to her normal life. To not once again fail at making friends with those who were lucky enough to be surrounded by people who loved them no matter what.

Summer was here. There were no classes for the next few weeks. SCHOOL had no missions for her and Kaiba had even said Kakine was busy with a personal matter he didn't feel like sharing with his followers. It was a rare time for Yumiya to relax.

No stress. No work. No troubles.

For once, she could blend back into her normal life without any abrupt missions taking her away. She could spend the next few days as the normal school girl on summer break with her Pokemon who seemed to be the only beings who didn't abandon her. Not like they could as she was their master. Which was a sad realization to the lonely girl who wanted a real friend.

So, with her time free of any surprise or trouble, Yumiya had gone out to enjoy a nice little stroll around District 15 and see where the day would take her. If she remembered right, she had heard a few of her classmates talking about hanging around the shopping district before break. Who knows? Maybe she would stumble onto them and be invited to join in on their fun?

But instead, she had been harassed by a couple of lowly thugs who were drooling over her chest and tried to lead her away for their sick idea of fun. She would have discretely disposed of them with a few bullets if it hadn't been for the appearance of two individuals.

Index and Kamijou Touma.

Two strangers who would become fast friends after meeting her.

She had been overjoyed to become friends with such a cute girl as Index, and later, found herself growing timid and red with being friends with Touma after Index had told her about the boy. They had gone to Kokyu Tower upon her idea, believing such a grand shopping mall/Battle Facility would be a perfect place to deepen the newborn friendship between the them. And she was having fun.

Those lonely days as part of the Level-5 Experiment Ideal had dimmed in the presence of such a bright person as Index who welcomed her with a kind and warm smile. She felt hopeful, believing she would soon gain even more friends, more people who would love her, as long as she continued bonding with the popular Index.

But than those sorry excuses for human beings decided to screw everything up!

Toxic Hazard; a small-time gang of Level-0 branched off from Skill-Out. Idiots who gathered around another to cause trouble for their own insecurity and failure to be anything more than Level-0s. It was because of those bastards that Yumiya's good times with Index as they tried to find Touma to go out for a memorable lunch of many to come, had been ruined.

Toxic gas had spread throughout the ventilation system of the mall/Battle Facility, spreading like wildfire upon a dry field of grass. She had caught onto the danger quickly, bringing out a special mask that protected her from airborne toxins. As a member of the underbelly of Academy City's darkness, she was always prepared for any sudden attacks of varying nature. Sadly she didn't have a spare for Index, but found the nun unaffected by the visible ill effects hitting the mall patrons and only complained about the foul odor.

Concern for those falling victim to the poison gas wasn't found in the cold-hearted killer who took hold of Index's hand as tightly as possible. None of those panicking students and adults mattered. She wouldn't shed a tear if any of them dropped dead like bugs.

The only one who mattered to Yumiya was Index. Even the lost Touma didn't matter as much as the girl who was with her and could be protected right now.

Yumiya wasn't sure where they could run, but anywhere was better than their current position. They needed to keep moving, search for a safe place to hide, and possibly see if they could run into Touma while they were on the move. To her displeasure though, the worms known as Toxic Hazard took notice of both girls running away as the fog descended and chased after them.

Thanks to the Murkrow known as Zenchou, and Yumiya's sleeve of hidden bullets, they were able to take out several of the grunts being lead by who appeared to be a figurehead of the gang.

The chase led them to their current location; the 17th floor of Kokyu tower. A floor catered to the more sporty-oriented students. The stores offered a wide range of sporting goods from equipment, clothing, medicine, and vitamins, and objections for even Pokemon. Being sports-oriented, many of the colors seen painting the floors and support beams were red and black with several Fighting-Type Pokemon figures found posing with flexes or playing a sport.

Normally those who participated in clubs involving physical activity or focusing on building muscles and staying healthy were found wandering the floor beside their Pokemon. But now all those athletic trainers were knocked out under the poison mustard gas's toxins.

Currently, Yumiya, Index, and Zenchou were taking shelter behind a large black cage filled with soccer balls, basketballs, volleyballs, footballs, and medicine balls which were designed similar to a prize machine. For the price of 1,000Pkyn, one would get a surprise ball designed in patterns taken after Pokemon. Instead of being used as a prize machine, it was now being used as a shelter. It was more than big enough to hide the two girls away from the wandering eyes of the Toxic Hazard thugs searching the sports good store.

Yumiya hugged Index closely, resting the scared nun's head on her chest as both the SCHOOL member and Zenchou discretely peeked around the corner of their hiding spot to keep an eye on the thugs.

'There are six thugs, all grunts. All of them are commanding Pokemon related to Poison; three Zubats, two Koffing, and one Skuntank. The boy with the shaggy Alolan Muk haircut isn't here, so he must be searching for us in another store with the four grunts he has left. If I was by myself, I could take them all out with Sabishi-kun's support.'

The problem with that plan came in the form of the innocent and naive Index Yumiya was protecting. Above all else, she didn't want her new friend discovering Yumiya was a killer, let alone a violent girl. She just knew Index would never want to be friends with at the sight of blood Yumiya would leave behind.

It made her feel like a terrible friend, but Index was a shackle she couldn't shake.

"Rakko-chan, I'm worried about Touma."

Yumiya tightened her embrace as Index spoke in concern to the missing spiky boy.

There was nothing she could do about Touma. He wasn't here. And it made Yumiya grow guilty, realizing said boy was probably being poisoned by the fog of toxins. She wasn't sure Touma was like the Sister in her arms who only felt sick from the smell, unlike the espers outside and inside the store who fell prey to the unknown gas. There was nothing she could do to save him.

Even though he had come to her rescue, she couldn't repay his kindness. She couldn't return his Helping Hand.

An esper like her whose ability paled in comparison to her younger sister could only protect the girl she was hugging tightly onto.

Such cold-hearted truth only made her livid rage sputter.

There was only so much a girl could endure before she snapped.

"Zenchou-san, can you watch over Index-chan for me? When I give the signal, head for the back office of the store, break the lock if you have to, and wait until I've looked for you; okay?"

"Rakko-chan?"

Yumiya smiled down at Index, moving the girl so that she could look at her face as the sounds of the Poison-themed thugs grew closer to their location.

"Index-chan, follow Zenchou-san when I say so. I'm afraid I can't fight at my fullest with you two around, so I need you to hide somewhere safe until things have calmed down. You don't seem to be severely affected by the gas, so you should be fine without a mask. I promise, once we've gotten rid of these thugs, we'll search for Kamijou-san; okay? It's a promise."

"But-!"

One of the three Pokeballs clipped to Yumiya's waist was brandished, growing large as the dark pigtailed girl already moved to act.

Yumiya didn't want to leave Index's side, but there was little choice in the matter at hand. She refused to let her secondary typing reveal itself to her new friend who represented light. In order to protect that golden beacon of hope, she needed to hide her away. Only when Index's eyes were gone, could Yumiya go all out and finish off those bastards who dared to ruin her normal shopping trip with friends.

Making sure Index held onto the items she bought before the chaos began, Yumiya nodded firmly to the dark feathered Dark-type landing on the Sister's headdress.

"Caw!"

Zenchou signaled he was ready to play his part as guardian, trusting the new girl to do her part in protecting them and dealing with the humans attacking them.

Taking a deep breath, Yumiya nodded back just before tossing her Pokeball up into the air, catching the attention of the six thugs and their Pokemon.

"Sogeki-san, Water Pulse!"

A pop of a Pokeball, a blue shelled crustacean with black stripes, yellow eyes and a large right claw appeared above the sports ball prize machine. The Water Gun Pokemon narrowed her eyes at the thugs her master wanted taken out and took aim, lining the sights of her large claw gathering with condensed vapors of water at the center of her targets.

A cannonball of dense water was fired before the Toxic Hazard grunts could move to react, crashing into the center of the thugs and Pokemon. The aqua shell cracked, erupting to unleash an umbrella-wide geyser of water to strike those close to the attack as the crashing tides disoriented all those struck.

"Go now!"

Zenchou cawed in understanding before digging his talons into the headdress of the holy Sister and leading her to the backroom in their line of sight. Despite the girl's protests, Zenchou led her away from the fight about to break out.

In the confusion of the waves of water threatening to knock the grunts off their feet, a Sister escaped unnoticed.

Leaving the soaked grunts to hunt the dark pigtailed girl with the large chest.

An amber set of orbs lost their light.

Darkness bloomed.

[-]

One of the Zubat's flapped their wings furiously to shake off the water splashing them.

PFFT!

The left wing of the wet Zubat was pierced by what could only be a sniper round, the sheer speed and force of the small bullet creating a large gaping wound that rendered the Poison/Flying-Type flightless. Crippled, the Pokemon fell into the dying waves of water carrying it out of the store's open doorway.

"W-What the fuck was th-GGGGGGYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

The owner of the crippled Zubat suddenly screamed in agony as she found her left bicep spurting blood from a metal sniper round cleanly exiting her back. Several more shots followed before the female thug was knocked off her feet by a stream of boiling hot water hitting her chest. She was rendered speechless by the sheer pain as she collapsed.

As the Water Pulses tides died down, the five grunts grew uneasy as their target disappeared from sight. All around them they could only see various places where the sniper girl could hide behind racks of clothing, displays, large figurines of Pokemon, and counters. They grew weary, realizing their prey was far more adept in fighting than they first believed.

Already one of their own had been taken out in less than a minute along with their Pokemon.

A green dyed-haired grunt scowled in frustration before commanding his Pokemon to attack blindly.

"Screw this! If that bitch wants to hide, we'll just take out all her hiding options! Gasu-jo, use Flamethrower and incinerate anything a girl can use as cover!"

The grinning Koffing hovering by the green-dyed-haired grunt nodded, its cheeks bulging with small embers peeking out of its overblown mouth.

PFFT!

A metal round pierced the forehead of the Gas Pokemon holding back a stream of licking flames.

"Flash Cannon."

Before the green-haired grunt could lament the loss of his Pokemon, a thin beam of silver light was fired from nearby, striking the boy in the chest with the intensity of a laser.

A normal Flash Cannon was far larger and wider than the beam that had struck the grunt. It was only by intense training and refinement such an attack could alter its form to such a degree without losing its power.

An organ had been pierced by the sniper shot rendering the grunt speechless as blood flowed from his mouth. He fell to the wet floor without a sound.

Four down, eight to go.

Fear now struck the sweating Toxic Hazard members as they grew closer to one another. It was only now that the realization that their target wasn't afraid to go as far as killing them set in. Not even Pokemon were safe.

"Above, Water Pulse."

Heads stared up, finding a condensed ball of water launched right above their heads. The distinct sound of an airsoft rifle was heard before the Water Pulse was shot by a sniper bullet. Disturbed, the cannon of tides was ruptured and created a downpour of waves crashing down onto the stun grunts. The weight of the water striking them both harmed them as they felt literal gallons threaten to push them down and break bone, and paralyzed them from any more attacks.

A bandanna wearing grunt flinched as the shadow of a hand appeared over his face. His eyes drown by water grew large in panic and fear at what he before the hidden barrel of a collapsible sniper poked his forehead.

Twisted amber eyes shadowed with death and amusement stared into his soul. He found a crow-like mask reminiscent of a Corviknight concealing the girl's lower face.

The right arm sniper barrel made for short-range fire silently barked, cleanly shooting a shell past skin, bone, brain matter, and out the back of the skull.

Disregarding the dead Toxic Hazard boy, Yumiya swung her left hand out, aiming her pointer finger at two more targets. She felt the weight of her Clauncher fall on her forearm.

"Ice Beam; hit each one of them."

The Clauncher known as Sogeki clicked her large claw crawling with a cold mist.

A barrage of Air Slashes fell upon the assassin pair that was Yumiya and Sogeki from the two Zubats in their line of sights. Yumiya didn't show any signs of panic, evading the wind blades with a backflip. Mid-air in her maneuver, she adjusted the aim of her Water Pokemon's line of sight. A beam of chilling cold energy was fired without losing its accuracy, freezing the small bat's form into an ice statue.

A sniper bullet followed a second later, breaking off the bat's wings and a chunk of its body as well before the frozen Pokemon hit the ground.

"God damn it! Sasu, Shadow Ball!"

"Sogeki-san, match them with a Water Pulse."

Per Yumiya's calm and collected command, her Clauncher fired another ball of heavy waves at the miasma like cannonball of ghostly energy fired from the last remaining Zubat. The two balls of Water and Ghost forces met in the middle of their flights, detonating in a colorful eruption of blue and purple smoke further drenching the sports store turned battle ground.

Amber eyes suddenly turned to their right, noticing a glint of something heading her way. Yumiya leaned her head back, avoiding the throwing knife aimed at her head. She smirked smugly as her attacker missed and decided to run straight for her. A green mohawk-haired teen roared as he ran in with a wild series of Fury Swip like slashes with his pocket knife glistening with poison she was careful to dodge.

A straight thrust was batted aside with Yumiya's right hand. An upward slash was avoided with a step back as she kicked her feet into the side of the thug, striking his ribs with a sickening crack. Fueled by adrenaline, the mohawk thug snarled and tried to use a faint to land one slash. Yumiya went on to catch the wrist of the knife hand, offering the nervous thug a chilling smile beneath her mask before snapping the bone with a twist of her strong grip.

Just as he opened his mouth to scream, she laid her right hand onto his stomach, unloading three bullets into his stomach for further damage.

Another body fell to the floor.

"F-Fuck this! I ain't dying to some psycho bitch! The plan's not worth this shit!"

What was suppose to be four targets left winded down to two as one of the thugs was smart enough to run with his tail between his left and his Pokemon back in the safety of their Pokeball.

All that remained of the hunting force of Toxic Hazard grunts was the leader of the small party.

A tall thug wearing the standard gang attire of his team remained to face the eerie-faced dark pigtailed-haired girl. The leader of the original six grew tense, clenching his fist as the piercings on his face trembled beneath the haunting stare of the girl eyeing him coldly. He was alone, his comrades either dead, groaning with lethal wounds, or gone to leave him as the only one to face the easy prey.

His mouth was dry. His teeth lightly shivered at those cold and nonchalant amber orbs regarding him like some Caterpie unfit for even the reaped EXP.

When did it happen?

"You've all done a very bad thing, you know? If you had all scheduled whatever it is your planning on another date, I wouldn't have had to dirty my hands. I wouldn't have cared if you so much as blew this entire building if you all used Explosion in a suicide pact."

When had their roles been switched? Where did the meek girl who cowered from their numbers, Pokemon, and weapons disappear to?

"I just wanted to have a nice day with my new friends. I finally arrived at my popular phase. This was the first step to gaining popularity and being loved by so many. I caught myself a very rare little Fairy that I could show off and earn the attention of so many. But you lousy Rattatas nearly spooked my prize away with your rampage. You tarnished my hunt."

Words were spoken softly yet menacingly. A deadly cool frost could be felt creeping from those dull yellow-amber eyes of a pretty girl with large breasts who stood in the middle of a flooded sport's good store. The Corviknight face mask grew ominous as it hid a frightening expression to match the smiling eyes devoid of warmth.

The weak and pathetic prey had evolved in an instant. At some point, the tables had been turned.

When had the hunted become the hunter?

When did they become prey?!

The amber-eyed school girl snapped her left wrist, loading a new magazine of bullets to her collapsible sniper rifle hidden beneath her school uniform. Her Clauncher returned to her side, resting over her right shoulder with the lobster's large claw ready to fire at command.

A terrifying shadow loomed from to devour the leading thug's own. He felt his very presence was dwarfed by a girl who had casually murdered several of his gang's members. Like Impidimp's causing trouble in the woodlands of Galar, they were no more than childish pests when the Grimsnarl appeared. Or perhaps this a picture more fit for a Corviknight's predatory gaze as it took its time in selecting when to swoop down and go for the kill.

The Toxic Hazard thug clenched his teeth. He couldn't help but feel whatever pride he still possessed be wounded by someone he believed to be some weak prey found in the beginning fields of an RPG. He refused to accept such a frail girl could simply ruin everything they were working towards!

This was the remaining Toxic Hazard thug's last stand. With his Skuntank at his side, he felt he could win this fight. He was far stronger than the other grunts who fell. He wouldn't be so easy!

"You...you don't scare me!"

A gun of his own was ripped out of the pocket of his pants.

A twinkle of amusement was seen on the creepy girl who the thug swore was smiling beneath her crow-like mask.

"I'm not trying to scare you. After all, the hunter doesn't care about their prey's feelings. It's already been decided a dead beast has no reason to feel anything anyway. No, whose feelings matter are the hunter's. Whether they feel any thrill or boredom is the true objective kept in mind, not the trophy's value. I never had any intention to frighten you; you're not sport and you're not a target. You're just an annoyance no different than those loudly buzzing Nincada's in the summer's of Sinnoh."

The click of two guns was heard.

One more battle was waged.

And the silencing pop of a metal barrel signaled the end of a less than thrilling hunt.

[-]

"Kinoko, Sludge Bomb the bastard!"

Truly this was a really shitty week. What else was new for this unfortunate Kamijou-san.

The sweating high school boy known as Kamijou Touma held back a panicked shout as a total of six Toxic Hazard chased after him in the mustard-colored gas field that was the thirteenth floor of the Kokyu Tower Level-3 Battle Facility. Said Poison-themed thugs each carried a small mushroom like Pokemon with a fungus top resembling a Pokeball on their shoulders; Foongus. The toxic shroom Pokemon sucked in a great breath, their small cheeks bulging comically with a swish of liquid gathering in their small bodies containing various harmful and poisonous spores. Upon attaining the required volume of poison liquid from within, the six Foongus fired cannonball shells of vermilion poison after their target.

Knowing he couldn't avoid the shells of explosive poison toxins completely, Touma had to be creative as he leaped over a large cafeteria table, knocking aside the unfinished meals as he slid over the surface. He fell on his back with a wince but ignored the pain as he kicked both his feet underneath the bottom of the table, flipping it over to act as a protective wall just as the Sludge Bombs hit.

Back against the underside of the durable lunch table and ignoring the chewed gum sticking to his uniform, Touma clenched his teeth with an audible clack.

The projectile cannonballs of poison cracked with violent roars, erupting a miasma cloud of toxins in place of the usual fiery flames. A powerful shockwave destroyed the surrounding area, wrecking the nearby seating as the table Touma was using for protection found itself being reduced to rubble.

Thankfully the section Touma was laying back against held on enough to send the spiky boy forward from the explosive momentum. He felt a spike of pain strike his back as he escaped the enveloping harmful purple smoke spread in the wake of the Sludge Bombs, rolling onto the food court floor with a sharp breathe before stopping against a trash dispenser.

"D-Damn it! I'm getting really fed up with all this fucking poison bullshit being flung around! Seriously, what kind of edge lords thought about creating a team of thugs around a lame tactic involving chip damage!"

Panting, Touma forced his aching body to stand back up, cleaning off the greasy leftovers he collected in his dodging. A sense of vertigo which had been slowly building up due to the fog produced by the chemical gas known as Level Toxin hit him, nearly stumbling him as he held his aching head.

From what he could tell, it had been roughly ten, possibly fifteen, minutes since the mustard gas flooded the Battle Facility mall. Even if he was a Level-0, he wasn't safe from the ill effects the toxins flooding into his system were causing to make his vision swim and his body break out into a feverish sweat. His skin was irritated and he wanted nothing more than to scratch his arms until blood was underneath his nails. Pure adrenaline was his only saving grace right now and who knows how long until he could no longer push his body to keep moving.

"Quick while he's trying to catch his breath; Kinoko, fire the Solar Beam you've been gathering! Spread the beam wide!"

A dangerous emerald and golden gleam warned Touma of the next following attack amid the smokescreen of grape purple and mustard a couple of feet from him. His right hand tensed.

Solar Beam: a devastating beam of luminescent light resembling the nutritious ray of sunlight which was reminiscent of a Hyper Beam. It was one of the strongest Special Attacks known to Grass-types and required ample time to prepare.

And it was said beam which sliced through Level Toxins fog like a laser in a wide swing as if it were long sword swung by a Bisharp. Solar Beam's high-intensity light scorched through the shops, furniture, and the very air as it aimed to strike the stunned spiky teen who was too slow to dodge such a powerful move.

Touma cracked his right hand, unafraid of the supernatural attack no matter how deadly it may be. Just as Solar Beam swung at his right side as if it were a blade, he met the beam's burning edge with Imagine Breaker. His hand caught the beam of sunlight, holding it in place as the Foongus began to focus all of its attention in searing a smoking hole through the odd aura exuding boy's chest. An orange glow signaling the sheer heat being exuded by the sunlight's deadly luminescence was seen attempting to break through a simple right hand of one human boy.

It didn't matter how powerful the Pokemon's attack was. Solar Beam could have been fired by a Pokemon quadruple Foongus's size with higher stats and greater strength; it didn't matter.

Imagine Breaker held on long enough against the solar laser until it lost its power. Shattering glass was heard in the last moments of the Solar Beam's strike, leaving behind naught but a glimmer of faint light breaking apart in the eyes of the bewildered poison-themed thugs.

"Wh-What?"

"Was that an ability?"

"The hell kind of ability lets someone use their hand as a shield against a fucking Solar Beam?! Does his Personal Reality revolve around something like Protect or King's Shield?"

"How's that possible? Level Toxin should be ruining his concentration! He should be convulsing at his high level!"

Touma waved his right hand lightly to the side as he anxiously met the gaze of the stun Toxic Hazard grunts. He didn't do it to shake off the heat or pain of the powerful Grass move. It was more of a habit by now, developed from years of having to counter against supernatural powers no normal high school student should have ever faced.

Yet here was your typical student doing just that.

"Six, or twelve when you count their Pokemon, against one. I'd say what are the odds, but it's me. Such misfortune." Touma panted lightly before his throat quivered.

Something foul slithered into his system.

He felt it. Sickening bile wishing to burst from his stomach as the world spun viciously despite the fact he was standing perfectly still. The vertigo was becoming far more aggressive. Level Toxin's putrid odor alone made a normal person feel sick like a teenager glued to their phone's screen on a long car ride back from visiting their relatives. But espers were treated to far worse.

Vertigo. Feverish sweats. Chills. Headaches. Nausea. Convulsions and seizures.

Espers were humans who reached beyond the base humanity instilled at birth. They were no longer natural beings. Gemstones were an exception and were widely regarded by researchers of Academy City as a possible missing link from the old tales of Pokemon and human coexistence, or the next link in human evolution. But due to various drugs having a deep handle in an esper's change in biology, whether or not a student awakened a Personal Reality, Level Toxin's toxins created a unique chemical reaction in an espers system no different than venom injected by the fangs of a Poison Pokemon. Even Level-0s, the weakest stage of an esper with a small percentage of AIM, fell under the effects.

From what Touma was starting to understand from Level Toxin, it wasn't the sickening effects that were its major design. It was what it did to the mental state and concentration of an esper.

An esper could only perform the reality-bending feats from their own micro-verse due to their ability to perform supercomputer level calculations. Mental power was heavily relied on to bend a spoon even a fraction of an inch. If an esper lost their ability to concentrate and think than no matter the level, they would be unable to utilize their abilities at all.

In short, Level Toxin's disturbed the mental functionality of an esper. The debilitating tags such as vertigo, nausea, and headaches made it so espers couldn't perform the necessary calculations to use so much as a fraction of their ability without a backlash or failure popping up. There came in the real danger to espers.

That is what Touma would have liked to believe.

Toxins were still toxins. Even a small dosage taken during long periods of time is bound to grow lethal. Weak poison such as bug spray was deadly to bug Pokemon but had very little impact on humans; in small dosage. No matter the weight, size, or health of said human though, if they were subjected to nothing but bug spray for hours at a time, a body would drop. Level Toxin had to be the same.

Touma grimaced as every desperate gasp for air meant he was sucking in more of the deadly man-made fumes riddled with toxins.

How long?

How long until one person in the Battle Facility breathed their last sickly breath?

How long until someone died because of a bunch of thugs who were selfish enough to take the lives of ordinary people who had no ties to their anger or grief?

'Just...just what the hell am I supposed to do about this? I'm no smart enough to come up with some clever plan to clear out all the toxic gas on my own! I'm the dumbest in my class, possibly all of Academy City! The only thing I can do is make a fist and punch.'

What had it been Touma had said to the Toxic Hazard Admin? That he would put a stop to the plans of those thugs no matter what? Without even a plan in mind, he had run off his mouth because of the feelings welling up in his heart.

No ability, no Pokemon, no help in sight while Index, Zenchou, and Yumiya were probably suffering from Level Toxin; he swore to save everyone.

"Mega Drain!"

"Clear Smog!"

Tendril-like roots of emerald energy were fired after the dizzy spiky teen alongside a fierce blast of clear smoke of odd poison.

Touma evaded the straight path of the Clear Smog pushing aside everything in sight. There was no need to negate such a simple attack. The real challenge came in the foremost attack called out.

Whipping emerald tendrils from the small body of Foongus chased after Touma as he ran to evade their draining touch. It was unlike Clear Smog; six tendrils were accounted for and it seemed to be remote-controlled by the mushroom Pokemon.

Catching hold of a knocked over seat, Touma threw it back behind him, sending it to collide with two Mega Drain tendrils, causing them to erupt. A single Mega Drain speared through the erupting smoke, aimed to attach itself to the exposed neck of the sweating boy beginning to stumble. With no other choice as he felt the familiar forewarning of his hairs, Touma spun around, breaking and negating the Mega Drain attack.

The emerald root was erased but its remaining branches were still wriggling.

Quicker than he could react, the Mega Drain tendrils took advantage of Touma's defensive stance and struck. Three of the green energy bodies glued themselves to Touma's kneecap, his lower stomach, and his collarbone. Immediately he could feel his vigor being sucked like juice through a straw. It was a sickening invasive straw greedily guzzling his own nutrients through a gooey rope.

Folding his right hand to resemble a knife, Touma chopped off the draining branches with a swing of Imagine Breaker.

Touma flinched, once again feeling the effects of Level Toxic as he stumbled back and hit the wall of a kiosk that sold various cooked and fried meats on a stick. The world wouldn't stop spinning as a bit of bile seeped from his clenched teeth.

"He's tripping up! We've finished charging, so fire!"

Four separate shouts were heard as a brilliant gleam from four Foongus was seen in Touma's blurry vision.

"SOLAR BEAM!"

"SOLAR BEAM!"

"SOLAR BEAM!"

"SOLAR BEAM!"

"Bulldoze!"

The surprise was evident on the faces of not only Touma but the Toxic Hazard grunts as a new voice screamed at the top of their lungs as the beams of solar energy were seconds from firing. The shooting squad was interrupted by the very earth below roaring like a beast.

The silhouette of an orange aura-bodied Pokemon could be seen in the fog of mustard gas behind the grunts. From the horned Pokemon's feet, a rippling shockwave from the earth created a wave of tiles underneath the Pokemon to surge forward and strike the six grunts. It was comparable to a focused earthquake traveling in a crescent path. Out of instinct, Touma slammed his right palm on the floor in front of him before he was hit by the destructive move.

Altogether, the Toxic Hazard grunts were sent flying several meters into the air by the rumbling earth wave, dealing a significant amount of damage to their bodies by the powerful jolt slamming up their legs. Even the small Pokeball patterned mushrooms on their shoulders were struck by the shocks, disrupting their attacks trajectory. Four beams of solar energy were wildly fired into random directions with far less firepower than originally intended.

Bulldoze's line of attack stopped once it reached Touma's direction, Imagine Breaker's touch erasing the earth rumbling wave without further destruction. The tiled floor which had moved like water returned to its original shape.

Have you ever heard of Newton's Law? Sparing every law spoken of by a man who discovered the world-changing physics of relativity, there was a little something detailing the effects of gravity.

Like the Applin that had lead to the man's theory, the six grunts fell to the floor with harsh thuds. The impacts broke bone with ugly cracks.

Shouts of pain were brief as the Toxic Hazard grunts passed out from the pain. Their Pokemon fainted or remained down without their trainers to command them further. Touma was momentarily safe from any further harm.

Baring of course the new attacker who joined the battle.

Touma prepared himself for another fight, clenching both his fists even though he felt his fingers grow uncontrollably sweaty. A step forward nearly made him collapse as a splitting headache and vertigo caused vomit to flow out of his lips. Everything in his vision refused to stop spiraling as if he was stuck inside a washing machine's spin.

"D-Damn...it."

How did the Toxic Hazard thugs do it? They were espers too, they had to be. Unlike Byoki, they weren't wearing masks. Just like everyone else in the Battle Facility mall, they were breathing in the same mustard-like gas. So, why weren't they affected?

Why was it only Touma who was about to collapse from breathing in all the gas between them? Were they really immune?

A rush of footsteps heading straight for him was Touma's only warning of what was to come as his weakened body began to fall forward.

"Kamijou-kun!"

'Huh?'

The sweaty, dirty face of a high school boy fell into the pillowy, bountiful, and firm chest of his 'attacker'. Like airbags of soft flesh, his fall was cushioned as he felt warm arms take a hold of him with an embrace only a caring woman who spent her times watching over troublemakers could provide. Despite feeling like he was caught, he still felt himself falling forward and hitting the floor.

Oppai!

'...Just what the hell is this poison? Does it cause hallucinations too? Because right now, I could swear the hard food court floor feels soft yet firm against my face. It all feels so vivid.'

Touma shook his head against the guiltily pleasing to feel the floor, knowing he couldn't be wasting his time when he needed to do something about the current problem plaguing the mall/research facility. Pushing his arms against said floor, he pushed himself back to his feet.

At least those were his intentions. Call it human curiosity but when his hands grabbed onto the floor, he couldn't help but marvel at how the 'floor' felt to the touch. He didn't know why, but one could say he began to grope the soft pillowy floor.

One grope.

"This...feels oddly familiar for some reason."

Two gropes.

"Where have I felt this before? It seems too real to be a hallucination."

Three gropes and a hum.

"Is that fabric? Whatever lays behind the...clothes...feels...round and...perky? What's with this weird, small nub-!"

"K-K-K-K…!"

The confused and dizzy Kamijou Touma paused his kneading hands as he heard a voice directly below him. A different kind of sweat formed on his face as he finally turned his head up, freeing himself from the busty chest of whoever caught him and cushioned his fall with their own. He blinked dumbly twice as he met the burning red face and embarrassed wide grape red eyes of a familiar face.

"Yuri-onee-!

"KYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Naturally, when a woman is unexpectedly motorboated and groped without shame, the correct course of action is to scream and deliver several Double Slaps to the perverted Pignite who molested her in public.

Touma was no exception from the rule as he received a rather loud smack to the face by the purple-haired college student who wished to become a teacher in the future. The slap to the face at least helped to shake off some vertigo. Back hitting the floor, he groaned pitifully as he rubbed the swelling red hand-printed cheek

'Wait! The hand I'm touching my face with was the very hand that had just massaged Onee-san's overly busty chest! Ahhhhh! I can still feel them on my palm!'

Another slap to the face was needed by Touma's own to shatter whatever perverted illusions he was in danger of being swallowed by as he sat up with a wince. He turned his sights to a certain Onee-san he had recently met, a college girl he hadn't expected to be caught up in this mess as she knelt down on her knees and hugged her chest. For some reason, her entire body shivered. Was this rage?

"Yuri-onee-san? What are you doing out here?"

It was hard to get a good look at Yuri through all the mustard gas curtains in the way but it seemed she was fine despite holding her chest with a mortified expression. She seemed to be wearing the same clothes as when he first met her, reminding him of both a Dorm Manager and a Pokemon Breeder. Next to her stood a large blue scaled Pokemon with a horn on their forehead, reminding Touma of a lizard. If he remembered correctly from Pokedex entries on his phone and school, the Pokemon was known as Nidoqueen.

"To think a boy did all that to my breasts! A-And I moaned, I even began to pant! I-I-I'm unfit to be married now. No man would want me now! I've been spoiled! I'm going to grow old and alone, tainted by a boy's touch before I could ever give my purity to a husband. No! I...I just have to have him take responsibility! Y-Yeah! It's only fair! I refuse to grow into some old hag without a litter of children to dot over and teach! He's already taken several firsts, it's only logical he should take them all!"

…

Clearly, the effects of Level Toxin were affecting his hearing too. R-Right?

The Nidoqueen beside the rambling blushing-faced Yuri looked to her trainer with exasperation. Touma would have never known such a Pokemon could facepalm until now. Nidoqueen poked her trainer's arm, flicking her eyes to the still down spiky boy as Yuri snapped out of her inner dilemma concerning her marriage potential.

"Ah, right, Kamijou-kun! Are you alright?"

A hand was offered to the dizzy boy. Groaning lightly, Touma took hold of Yuri's smaller hand as she helped him back up on his feet. He stumbled a bit, blinking away the effects of Level Toxin sinking its fangs back into him. Thankfully Yuri held onto his right arm, steadying him as he began to pant with sweat rolling down his face.

Not good. He couldn't even stand without losing his breath now. At this rate, he wasn't sure he could push his body hard enough to so much as run. His body was pretty much a puppet who had its strings snipped off right now. Without Yuri's support, he would have collapsed again.

"Your breathing is short and labored, and your face is starting to turn pale. Just how much of the gas have you been breathing in?"

He felt his body shifted around, his vision swimming before he found himself resting on the back of an Onee-san. Was this a piggyback ride?

"We have to get you back to Judgment-chan! Her Swanna's Defog should prevent any more of the gas from affecting you. From there, you just have to hold on long enough until we're all saved and you can be treated by a doctor! So, please, hang on!"

On the back of a lovely Onee-san, he felt her take a few steps back where she came from. They were moving. He was being brought to a safe zone free of Level Toxin.

He would be saved.

"...I can't."

Weak as he may be, Touma still forced his body to push off of Yuri's shaking back until he fell back on his unsteady feet.

"K-Kamijou-kun? What are you doing?! We have to get you to safety! If you stay out here any longer, you could very well-!"

The college girl who wished to become a teacher found herself unable to finish her sentence. For such a caring and nurturing woman as herself, she wouldn't dare say such a possibility. The very thought made her eyes well up with tears. Even her Nidoqueen was concerned for his well-being and would have moved to take him.

If not for the chilling right hand he possessed.

Touma smiled faintly at the concerned Yuri and anxious Nidoqueen who had saved him. If it weren't for the situation right now, he would have done whatever the onee-san desired. He could never say no to such a person. He would normally be putty in their loving hands as he fell under her Attract.

Right now though, he couldn't afford to give in to such a woman's wishes. He couldn't allow himself to wallow in such a pleasant warmth.

He clenched his right fist and spoke firmly.

"I...I can't go with you now. Not when...not when so many people are suffering. I know I'm not feeling well...I know every second breathing in these toxic fumes will lead me closer to something nasty. I know. But...even though I'm a Level-0 without an ability, even though I'm a Trainer without a Pokemon...there has to be something I can do to stop these bastards from harming anyone else!"

Obviously, Yuri wasn't going to listen. As seen by her Nidoqueen narrowing her eyes in preparation for their trainer's commands, Yuri was more than ready to force the poisoned spiky boy to come back with her. Even if she had to use force to do so.

Her grape red eyes filled with more tears at such a betraying action to someone she only wanted to lovingly protect.

"Y-You bastards! Don't think I'm done just yet!"

Touma and Yuri were suddenly startled by a furious yell from behind the purple-haired onee-san's back. A glance back revealed one of the Toxic Hazard grunts rising back up, forcing his bruised body back up as he held a Pokeball in hand. Out of the six, the lone remaining thug had enough endurance and stamina to keep fighting after being tossed several meters into the air and falling back with enough force to break bones.

With a fierce bloody grin on his face, the Toxic Hazard grunt was prepared to hit the two with his own version of Payback. At his feet, two of the Foongus who remained conscious after their trainers had fainted were prepared to attack as well.

That is if it weren't for the bombardment of glowing spines striking him down like cruiser missiles from above.

A familiar sight was witnessed by Touma as he watched a rain of Pin Missiles crash over the Toxic Hazard grunt. The bug aura spines erupted, engulfing the thug before he could call out his Pokemon in an explosion of energy that struck the Foongus at his feet. A shout of pain was heard in the roar of the boom produced by the missiles.

When the smoke settled, the lone Toxic Hazard thug was knocked out. If there were any more of his comrades who were ready to jump up to attack as well, there weren't anymore.

"What was that?" Yuri whispered softly at the surprise Pin Missile.

Her answer came as she looked back to the equally confused Touma, her reddish-purple orbs blinking at the strange sight she was seeing.

"Kamijou-kun, do you have any Bug-type Pokemon on you?"

"Hmm? No, not really? I don't even possess a single Pokemon, to begin with." Touma answered honestly as he scratched his head.

His fingers grew still as they brushed against something fuzzy and bulgy. That wasn't right. Since when did he gain a bump on his head? Did he hit his head recently?

Without knowing why, he looked up at his head and found an odd sight.

Small beady insect eyes stared back at the confused boy, the spider resting on his spiky hair happily chittering as he was noticed.

"Yuri-onee-san, am I hallucinating again, or is there a Spinarak on my head?"

"You're not hallucinating, Kamijou-kun. I should know, you aren't fondling my breasts and making my legs quiver."

Blushing aside, Touma continued to stare up at the Bug/Poison-type he had previously fought. The Spinarak wasn't making any hostile motions, so that was good. If anything, the spider seemed to be content on his new resting place.

What was it about his head that Pokemon enjoyed lounging around on as if he was some kind of cushion?!

Any more questions about the spider resting on his hair were sadly null as Touma stumbled back to once again hit the back of the kiosk behind him.

"Kamijou-kun!"

As long as Level Toxin flooded the mall, there wasn't much that could be done no matter how determined he was.

He suddenly felt movement from atop his head, the Spinarak moving his way from Touma's head to his shoulder. It was then that Touma noticed the odd little backpack or pouch made of webs on Spinarak's abdomen. He watched as the spider used his legs to reach into his pouch, taking out a glass vial of swishing blue liquid that caught his eye.

For some reason, the Spinarak was gesturing the liquid to him? Why?

Frustration was evident on the Pokemon's face as Touma made no move to take the vial, continuing to stare at him strangely. Growing fed up, Spinarak turned to the purple-haired woman close by and gestured the vial to her in hopes of her understanding his intentions.

A look of surprise came over Yuri's face before she rushed over to grab said vial from the critter's hold. He wasn't sure how, but the lovely onee-san with attractive curves connected the dots together.

"This is probably going to taste really bitter, Kamijou-kun, but you're just going to have to swallow every last drop like a good boy; okay?"

Bitter? Swallow?

Questions were ignored as Touma felt Yuri forcefully pry open his lips, lean his head back, uncork the vial, and tip the dirt aroma blue liquid into his mouth without his consent.

His tastebuds were assaulted by a crashing wave of gritty gravel and roots.

Yuri was not kidding when she mentioned whatever the blue liquid was would taste really bitter. Bitter was an understatement. What flooded his poor tongue could be compared to gritty dirt mixed with chalk. He nearly choked on what he realized must have been some kind of medicine and spat it out like a child being forced fed. While the liquid was smooth, the flavor was downright unbearable.

Every last drop of the gritty liquid was swallowed even if Touma sputtered and gagged at the very last drop. He stuck out his tongue as a canine Pokemon would in the hot sun, grimacing as the flavor seemed to coat his tongue.

Not a second later that he drank the mysterious fluid, his body seized up.

It felt like every muscle had been electrocuted.

"GGGRRRRRRRRRKKKKKKKKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Once again, Yuri caught him before he could fall as every muscle in his body grew tense and every nerve seemed to catch on fire. Every fiber of his muscles felt as if they were struck by a charlie horse. A white-hot flash of pain blinded his rolling eyes. Bile flooded his throat amid his screaming, bursting out of his mouth no matter how hard he fought to keep it from rushing out of his lips and nose. Liquid fire seared the soft pink flesh of his throat and nose.

"Shh, shh, shh, it's alright. I know you must be in utter agony right now, but please, bear with it. Just let Yuri-onee-san help you find a seat so you can rest for a moment. It should take a few more minutes for the fast-acting antidote to detox all the toxins and create antibodies to counteract any more of the gas you breathe in. Due to the large amount you must have taken in, you're suffering from a powerful shock from the cleanse. Just let it all out; don't try to save face. Onee-san won't judge you harshly if you so much as paint her clothes in vomit and blood."

A soothing hand-rubbed Touma's back as Yuri sat him down on a nearby bench surrounded by some artificial plants and a fountain depicting several Water Pokemon such as Squirtles and Goldeens. Without a word, Yuri's Nidoqueen stood guard over the two as Touma's mind was overtaken by a searing flood pouring out of his mouth.

He wasn't sure how long it lasted but eventually, the world cleared up in his eyes. the disgusting sound of vomit splattering on the floor ended with a dry heave and one last wet hurl. An uncomfortable sweat made his clothes stick to his body like glue but other than that, the headaches, the chills, vertigo, and nausea had died down from a flood to a trickle of water. He was still breathing in the foul gas and the very scent made his stomach churn with hoarse gasps. But the vomit stopped, leaving nothing behind in his stomach as he dry heaved again and tasted acidic grime on his lips. Other than a natural reaction to the putrid mustard gas any healthy person would have felt, Touma wasn't afflicted with the symptoms Byoki had explained to him before his defeat.

Tightened muscles strained to the point of snapping slowly relaxed. His sense of balance adjusted to no longer make him feel as if the ground beneath his feet was constantly revolving. The splitting sensation in his forehead had eased and disappeared.

Touma gasped, dragging in another deep breath of the disgusting mustard gas as beads of sweat fell from his spiky locks plastered to his forehead.

Shock? Whatever he just went through was far more intense than a simple shock to his system!

It had hurt. Definitely one of the worst pains he had ever felt. Possibly top ten.

But he was definitely feeling far better than before.

Weary as it was from the intense pain he had felt from the fluid, Touma offered the anxious Spinarak on his shoulder a tired smile.

The little spider had saved his life even though they had been enemies earlier? Who would have thought?

"Thanks, Kumo-san."

Happy chittering was heard from the green spider who affectionately rubbed himself against the sweaty cheek caked with bile.

"Seems you made yourself a friend, Kamijou-kun."

Touma rubbed the Bug/Poison Pokemon's head with a weak chuckle.

"I guess so. I'm certainly feeling far better than before."

With a groan, Touma stood back up, grimacing from both the taste of the antidote he had just drunk and the lingering after-effects created by the intense detox session. Various aches and joint pains made themselves known. He smacked his lips, nearly gagging as he tasted vomit. Dear God, or Arceus, even his nose was clogged with small bits of his bile.

Disgusting as it was, he shot out the bits from his violent hurl to the side as he cleared his nose.

Right in front of an Onee-san who could probably run a dorm if she wanted; wasn't he sight for sore eyes? What rotten luck.

"Hmm?"

Small feet moved around Touma's body again, bringing his attention to the arachnid with a face-like pattern on his green abdomen. The Spinarak reached into his silken knapsack again, this time gesturing to a folded up piece of...paper? No, calling something as flimsy and thin as paper wouldn't do. It was folded several times over to better fit into someone's pocket and made of a durable material designed to be used in a much more stressful setting.

"Is this...a blueprint layout of the Battle Facility tower?"

Once unfolded, Touma was greeted to blueprints, or schematics, of the mall which served as the Battle Facility for Level-3 espers. Each floor of the 31-floor building was detailed to those who might wish to plan out construction work or get a sense of what was found within. Many of the finer details flew over his head, but he found himself focused on the red marker characters drawn up by whoever originally possessed the blueprints. Several circled spots were carefully marked as important, places where the ventilation vents would be found on several floors going from the bottom floor all the way to the twentieth floor which served as the main hub center for the entire building's clean and cool air being delivered. A growing frown made itself onto Touma's face as he continued to try and make sense of the layouts and characters he realized must have been etched by Toxic Hazard's Admin, Byoki.

'If this belonged to the Admin I just knocked out than could this be the Key Item I need to stop these idiots from further endangering the lives of everyone here? It seems he was really adamant about highlighting floors 3 and 19; the Communications and Air Ventilation Centers respectively. Does that mean he was planning on heading over there when he was finished with me? How does that help me though?'

Kamijou Touma wasn't one to be called a genius in any field of study. He was self-admitted moron when he was called out for his shenanigans involving his usual antics with the rest of the Delta Force. Just because he had in his hands an important Key Item as Kokyu Tower's Blueprints in his inventory, didn't mean he suddenly gained an idea on how to solve this dilemma on his own.

An item of such importance and detail to the plan of those subjecting the mall's patrons with noxious gas was better used by someone who actually knew about the building.

"Mabushii-san, she should be able to better use this than an idiot like me. She's the Battle Facility's Brain, The Head Researcher in charge of both the lower floors from 1 to 19 and the upper floors. If anyone might be able to get a handle of the situation right now, it's her."

The older woman who appeared as a spoiled princess, an exotic woman from either Alola or Unova, and seemed the type to never bother with picking up a book was the answer Touma was searching for. Currently, she was being protected by Aogami from the hands of Toxic Hazard who had their own plans in mind with her capture.

This was hardly a hopeless situation. People were in danger, people were crying out for help, people were cowering, and people were crying. Even Pokemon were sharing in the despair and ebbing pain. But this was hardly what one would call a hopeless situation that would allow him the excuse to give up.

Even this average high school boy without a Pokemon could do something right now to aid in quelling those cries.

"But where can I find her?" Touma mumbled with a hand resting on his chin.

"…..zzzzzzzztttttt…..zzzzzzzzzzzttt…..zzztttttttttt…...iszztt…..issssszzz….is it working yet? Huh, it's cleared up? Sweet! 'Bout time that slutty bitch got the loudspeaker system working. I've been growing impatient with all this waiting! I want to get this show rocking on!"

The electrical crackle of the overhead PA system ripped Touma out of his thoughts, turning both his and Yumi's heads up at the sound of the figure-less voice speaking to everyone in the building. For whatever reason, Touma couldn't help but picture whoever it was behind the speakers with a gloating grin.

Why was it that the voice brought an odd sense of Deja Vu?

'Hello~! Patrons of Kokyu Tower's Level-3 Battle Facility, allow us to introduce ourselves properly. We are Toxic Hazard! Level-0s who had grown fed up with this toxic city which feeds false promises as those atop this bullshit system of science continue to poison the minds of those who have fallen for their sweet words like honey from a Combee. Well, no more! We've had enough of this city's abuse and failure to deliver upon their promises! And what better way to make those researchers, scientists, board members, and adults feel the sting we all feel with some good old fashion payback!'

A cruel laugh was heard, seeping with a desire to inflict however much pain they could for pure amusement. Touma's temper flared, his teeth visibly grinding like stones as the speaker continued.

'Now, you may be wondering; what's the plan? Why are we doing this now? What could we possibly gain from causing so much panic and disorder when Anti-Skill and Judgment are currently standing outside these walls in wait to attack us? Surely, we must have some diabolical plan in mind? Well, you are correct. Think of yourselves as our lovely little hostages, suffering from a rather nasty toxic gas I've made in mind to prevent espers from using their nifty abilities and even affect their Pokemon who've taken the same drugs administered to those in the Power Curriculum Program. I call it Level Toxin; Talent Venom. I won't waste my time explaining all the finger details but, in short, Level Toxin effects espers in varying degrees of intensity based on the AIM Diffusion Field they emit. The sickness you feel basically prevents an esper from performing calculations to use their abilities! And it will only grow worse as time goes on. Scary, scary, scary~! And unless our demands are made, you're all in danger from a rather nasty death once you cross the one-hour threshold.'

"People really...will die?"

The hushed, weak, broken whisper from Yuri's quivering lips further fueled the anger coursing across Touma's body.

[-]

"Wait...hour threshold? Death? What the fuck? That wasn't part of the fucking plan, you fat piece of shit! It's supposed to make them sick, at worse cause a seizure, not keel over!"

A swiveled chair was violently knocked to the floor.

From the main security room modeled after a conference room, Saiua stood up with a face livid with anger and confusion as she listened to the message being sent by the 'leader' of Toxic Hazard. Her knuckles were snow-white, clenched tightly with anxiety and fury as she glared up at the loudspeaker above her head. Her chest tightened as Gomi went on with a snicker, her mind picturing the fat thug failing to cover his flapping gums like a child ready to spoil a secret.

She heard the door to the security room crack, the lock failing to prevent anyone from reaching her as the handle grew bright red from intense heat. Flames spewed in a roaring gout of fire smashing the door apart, allowing a smug-faced Skuntank to enter with five grunts of her gang following behind. She snarled at the greasy stares the boys held on their faces. Her skin crawled as their greedy eyes roamed her body like the animals she always knew them to be.

This wasn't part of the plan.

Level Toxin was a gas riddled with toxins designed to target those who underwent certain drugs administered to those who participated in the Power Curriculum. Humans and Pokemon were targeted and made to feel ill, disrupting their ability to perform their abilities. It was meant to make them feel weak, cut off their ability to form coherent thoughts, and even knock out higher-level espers. It was a poison designed by Toxic Hazard's head Admin, Gomi Gio, to disable espers.

It was never meant to be fatal.

The plan was to use the patrons of the mall half of the Battle Facility as hostages, that hadn't changed. They were to capture the Brain of the Battle Facility, use the patrons as leverage, and have the Head Researcher take them to her hidden lab containing the valuable treasure trove of information they needed to complete the final leg of their secret project to enact vengeance on those who were at fault for their current scars and abuse. Only those who truly were at fault for the poison injected into their bodies under the pretense of research were to be killed in the end.

"What the fuck are you Pignites doing?!"

Saiua readied her own Pokeball as one of her own grunts stepped up, his Skuntank following beside him with a sneer. The boy was younger than herself, a fourteen-year-old, but he was staring at her like a forty-year-old pervert who had never had a healthy relationship in his life.

"We're just following orders, Saiua-chan! Apologies if ya didn't get the memo from the boss, but there appears to be a change in leadership going on. And as the newly instated Boss of Toxic Hazard, Gomi-sama says to bring your fine ass in for 'reassignment'. Ya got new duties to take care of, Saiua-chwan~!"

New duties ordered by the lard of overbearing fat and perversion? Saiua had no intention of even questioning what those new orders would entail from the likes of Gomi and his perverted followers.

Releasing her Pokemon, Saiua glared murderously at the grunts eager to 'attack' her. A hooded shadow appeared from behind her, coiling protectively with an intimidating glare capable of injecting fear into even a tough Pokemon as Skuntank.

Arbok, a large purple scaled pure Poison-type snake with the ability to Intimidate. A hunter of great caliber with sharp fangs dripping with fatal poison which could gain several elemental properties, strong muscles to break bones in their snare, and a reptile of terrible vengeance who would never stop her hunt until her prey drew their last breath.

Terrifying patterns of black, red, and yellow on the stomach of Saiua's Arbok hypnotized the Pokemon with a sense of foreboding, instilling fear into their beings as even the grunts grew terrified of the large purple snake taller than anyone in the room.

"Change of leadership? What the hell is that sick pervert up to? I know for a fucking fact the boss would never give up their position to the likes of him! I refuse to believe it!"

"Your consent isn't needed." The lead grunt mustered to speak smugly past the cold sweat on his face in the shadow of the large poison hooded snake, "We're just doing what boss tells us to. Says we can have a little fun with ya if you decide to get fussy. Are you really sure you want to give us a reason to rip off that slutty shirt which has been teasing us grunts with a peek of your huge knockers!?"

The shadow of Saiua's Arbok only further added to the darkness creeping from the cruel smile on her face. Her expression was cold, empty of sympathy to those baring their own fangs back at the snake they believed they could play with like she was some Pokemon pet.

Did they not know?

Snakes were not the most playful or forgiving of Pokemon to mess with.

"I'm afraid I'll have to get the answers I need from that bastard then. I don't even need to let you know not to go easy on them, right, Ryoshi-chan?"

The Arbok, Ryoshi, hissed in understanding as her fangs began to switch from flames, electricity, ice, and poison in preparation to her trainer's command.

As the fight between thugs of poison began, in the background of the battle, the PA system continued to deliver the new Toxic Hazard boss's message.

[-]

'Originally, the plan did involve stealing some well-guarded secrets a certain Brain has been keeping to herself. But those were the previous boss's objectives. As the new boss of Toxic Hazard, Gomi Gio-sama, I have new demands to be made! Realistic demands which will bear far more fruit than some simple-minded revenge scheme! So, Mabushii-san~, if you can hear me, listen well to this man's demands.'

The twentieth floor; The Level-3 Battle Facility Main Entrance. A pure white decor floor which saw a day, on average, about a hundred Level-3 espers visiting the floor for the sole focus of further developing their ability alongside their Pokemon. The main elevator shaft which traveled to floors 1 to 20 stopped here, preventing any further escalation to the upper floors reserved for those who attained Level-3 status. The entrance level's floors were a pure Swanna white, the lounging seats were similarly colored, and certain parts of the room had a faint blue outline on the doors, desks, and boards. Like all other floors, it was shaped like a doughnut and lead to certain rooms which would take a student to the proper floor for their training and development.

As a visitor got off, they would immediately notice a toll-like booth when they stepped off where a security guard and their Pokemon would request for identification to approve their entry. Failure to prove their status as a Level-3 would result in being asked to leave peacefully or risk being forced away.

Normally, the Battle Facility Main Entrance would be full of at least twenty people including Pokemon. That was the average Mabushii had come to discover on summer days like today.

Instead of that warm average, the twentieth floor was barren of any personal or students. Red blaring lights were seen bleeding into the Swanna white room as a loud alarm blared a warning siren to evacuate the floor. The aftermath mess of panicked students dropping their things cluttered the once pristine floor Mabushii stood in the center of. Message boards detailing certain student's recent growths and achievements to inspire others or challenge others were replaced by a warning logo detailing the threat of a chemical bio-hazard being released.

Protocol stated that the lives of the students were of the utmost importance. Mabushii had an idea of where the students in the upper floors undergoing their testing were being held for safety. Not that they would need to be protected by the threat of gas.

Unlike the floors beneath the twentieth, the main entrance was free of the mustard-like gas replacing the clean air.

For better efficiency, the two halves of Kokyu Tower had two separate ventilation systems. The lower floors required far more power, maintenance, cooling, and purification than the upper floors which were composed of the Battle Facility due to the large number of people visiting the mall. It made far more sense to have a separate system that could run far smoother than one which was designed to cater to hundreds of visitors.

Level Toxin's fumes would never touch the top unless those Level-0s found a way to sabotage the Battle Facility's ventilation system as well. The few clouds she brought with her from her elevator ride had already withered away.

Everyone above the current floor she stood in was safe.

But those below were experiencing hell.

Mabushii grit her teeth as her shoulders trembled, the sick voice of the terrorist addressing her grating on her nerves as she imagined them with an overly wide and sweet smile on their greasy faces.

'Hand yourself over to me. I wanna...have a little chat with you. You're a woman of certain qualifications, status, wealth, and knowledge sought by so many. It must be tiring to have to run all the while the very people who are funneling funds for your research are going through a lousy experience in your little glittered-up facility. If you just listen to what I have to say, I could save them. For a price to be discussed, of course.'

"Who the hell do you think you are, you insignificant Shuckle?"

Brittany was a fun character; a girl who liked to have fun, chat with friends, gossip, shop without any thought to her credit card's spending limit, and adored searching for the latest trends as if she were your average high school girl obsessed with fashion and popularity. She thought books were icky, had a thing for delinquents who were hard to please, loved getting a tan, and gushed over cute Pokemon. She was not a thinker, not a much of a Trainer, and had no ability birthed by her connection with her Pokemon partner. She was forever eighteen in her mind.

And like all girls who were being poisoned by the gas of Level Toxin, she was afraid and wished for someone to save her. She was a damsel in distress.

Mabushii Hoseki was nothing like that cowering fashionable blonde child.

"Kirakin-san, we have work to do."

Amid the blaring sirens and the Toxic Hazard boss's message, the sound of a Pokeball popping open was heard faintly.

The supernatural creature was known commonly as The Bully of The Sands.

A Ground/Dark-type with a violent nature who hunted alongside Flygon for food.

A gruff and intimidating thug who preyed on the weak among the scalding and unforgiving sands with brute force.

A crocodile-like reptilian who stood on two feet, possessed a long barrel jaw, short and thin arms, a powerful swishing tail, and a dark membrane surrounding its equally black eyes for further intimidation. It was typically a maroon-scaled Pokemon with a white belly.

The Krookodile known as Kirakin was a Shiny variation with golden yellow stripes and mocha brown scales. It was an incredibly rare Pokemon not found normally and sought after by collectors.

Kirakin stood behind his Trainer, his beady dark eyes narrowing as he was only ever called out to deal with threats or those foolish enough to believe she was weak. Out of all her Pokemon, he was her Enforcer, her Muscle, her Weapon, and her Anger. And he always delivered upon his purpose for the sake of his beloved Trainer.

The Bully of The Sands didn't need to see what face his Trainer was making right now. It was a face he had seen few times when he was suddenly called out by such a chilling voice.

It was an expression of cold, livid, furious anger seeking the utter destruction of those in mind.

"I only need a few moments to myself to get myself ready to meet with the pathetic Shuckle who's calling out to me. Once we move out, prepare for the slaughter."

Kirakin nodded dutifully, his claws twitching and his jaws creaking open like the unoiled gates of hell.

Very few times did he ever get cut loose and mangle bodies without any scolding from his cute Trainer.

[-]

'This is a takeover, a coup de ta. I don't have to explain myself to the members of Toxic Hazard; other than the Admins below me, everyone has accepted me as the new boss. It makes sense. The old boss never took the time to see anyone other than the Admins due to their selfish reasons. This means the only ones who would have a problem with me would be said Admins and the boss. I know you're here, ya shadow figure of a lousy leader. Consider this a challenge before I take everything we've worked for myself. If you truly have a problem with me, come get me. I'll be waiting for you at the 8th floor centered towards Pokemon merchandise and battles. How was it that we always solved arguments in high school again? Battles, right? Than how about one last round to cement my rule as the leader?'

"Are you kidding me? The 8th floor? Did I seriously just travel all these floors up for nothing then?"

The 19th floor of Kokyu Tower; The Air Ventilation Center. It was one of few floors no students were allowed to enter no matter the situation. Only verified staff and personal were allowed entrance to such a restricted area focused on the quality of the air provided for the patrons of the mall. It had no effect on the floor right above. Several ventilation rooms composed the floor, each in charge of various tasks from air quality, temperature, purification, and flow throughout each floor requiring different settings.

Each room contained various bronze industrial pipes, generators, vents, and computers operated by not only humans but certain Pokemon who helped power or cleanse the air.

It was in one of those industrial rooms full of machines, maze-like pipes, and blinking screens that a certain eggplant-colored bob-cut college boy found himself.

Surrounding said punk and poison-themed boy were various yellow hard hat workers and Toxic Hazard grunts, all laid out, indisposed, by various injuries done by all parties here. He was responsible for his fair share of those who were knocked out. His main Pokemon and partner as an esper, the Toxtricity named Kaminari, stood to the side, lazily resting back against a large bronze-colored pipe on the wall.

The mysterious boy whose clothing colors and patterns reminded one of Scolipede was named Garrick, a college freshman who attended a rather boring university and had been out to visit Kokyu Tower's mall for the latest music released this week by a popular rock artist in Unova.

Due to reasons involving Toxic Hazard, he had a bone to pick with said 'new' leader.

Garrick pocketed his hands in his jacket, dropping his head with an annoyed sigh.

"Why the hell did those idiots have to start trouble now? Did they not realize Roxie-chan's latest hit single released today, of all days?! I don't have time for this shit! But if that fucking idiot wants a fight, I'll give him a fucking fight!"

Like the delinquent he appeared to be, a violent aura seeped from Garrick's body as he stomped away from the room, followed closely by his dispassionate Kaminari.

Originally, he had thought he'd have found the ire of his frustration and foul mood in the very area the Toxic Hazard grunts were staging a big part of their attack. But apparently, he had made it all the way here without anything to show for it.

If rock music wouldn't soothe him now than a good old ass-kicking it would have to be!

[-]

'I'll be making myself nice and comfortable here on the 8th floor. You can find me where all the battles take place; Section-D if I remember right. That goes for you too, Mabushi-chan~! Don't keep a man waiting. Otherwise, my boys will have to get a little rough with you and I can't keep them in line if they get a little touchy with you!'

"B-Boss…!"

PFFT!

A bloody hand trembled, fighting with all their strength to pull themselves forward before growing still.

Another bullet pierced his beaten, broken, mangled body. At this point, he couldn't even feel the hot metal break the skin and shred his muscles. Far too many had taken the feeling in his nerves.

On his stomach, covered in puncture wounds delivered by both human and Pokemon, painted in deep red still seeping from his body, Gebi vainly attempted one last attempt to fi-!

"What a disappointment."

PFFT!

A splatter of ruby ooze violently burst onto the floor.

A bored, dissatisfied Yumiya moved her outstretched right hand back from the head of the Enforcer. She wasn't disturbed by all the blood or the few flicks which stained her uniform. The hunt was over.

A very boring one that did little to get her blood pumping.

"I admit, your Ghost Pokemon were difficult to deal with. Live ammunition created by humans is no different than Normal-type moves; they have no effect. By my Pokemon are just as skilled in taking out such threats in my place."

She had to wonder if Ghost-Types died normally. Wasn't there a theory by researchers in Academy City that Ghost-types were simply a new form of organisms that operated via radio waves and were more akin to unseen organisms far too small to consider existing? Or were they organisms born of plasma who were said to reside in another dimension similar to the 11th dimension?

Whatever the case, there were no longer any threats to either herself or Index. It wasn't a fun hunt, far duller than her sniping missions. Her opponents never landed a single hit on either her or her Pokemon. All this trouble for nothing. To think her time with her new friend was interrupted by such pathetic prey.

Yumiya idly paid attention to the intercom message being sent out to all those in the mall/battle facility. Seeing as this had nothing to do with her at the moment, she ignored it in favor of a much more pressing and vital matter.

"Ah, Index-chan! How long have I been gone?! She must be terrified without me there to calm her down! Not to mention we haven't found Kamijou-kun either! He's an esper, so he must be suffering from the toxic gas if he hasn't found a safe place away from the gas. I should really see if we can find him in all this chaos. What kind of friend would I be if I let him die. Index-chan would never forgive me!"

The coldhearted, malicious, cruel, and bloodthirsty sniper had vanished from the scene. In her place, Yumiya Rakko returned to her anxious, nervous, shy, and unconfident persona.

She was back to being a middle school girl who had trouble making friends.

Fidgeting at the thought of Index being by herself despite Zenchou watching over her, Yumiya left behind the bloody scene of the boy with a bullet in the back of his head, rushing back over to her new friend who would be the key to her future popularity.

Whatever schemes unfolding in the background didn't matter in the slightest to her and her personal hunt.

[-]

'But that's that folks! The lives of everyone in this building lay in the hands of the lovely Brain of Kokyu Tower caving into my demands. She better act quick; it's already been over twenty minutes. Another twenty and people will start seeing blood in their vomit!'

Gomi's message as the new boss of Toxic Hazard ended with a bellowing laugh from his fat stomach, causing widespread fear, panic, and terror to be inflicted on the heart of everyone being affected by Level Toxin. Static was all which could be heard at the end of the declaration. The message was clear to all those suffering at the hands of a gang of Level-0s by the mustard gas flooding the mall.

If nothing was done, they would all die. Child, adult, esper, human, Pokemon; the toxins seeping into their immune systems would eventually cause organ failure in about an hour. Lives were on the line and only one person in this entire building could possibly save them. So long as they gave into the mocking and smug leader's demands, they would be saved.

Nothing else could be done.

"So...you didn't learn your lesson the last time, you fucking bastard."

Touma's figure quivered with repressed rage as he glared ahead with eyes portraying a strong sense of violence. Something dark shadowed his once kind expression.

That voice, the Toxic Hazard boss's voice...it was no wonder it sounded familiar. How could he have forgotten such a whiny, pathetic, sick, and despicable voice?

Days ago, Touma had encountered a heavyweight thug harassing two girls in the dank back alleys of District 7. A thug who complained about the unfairness of Level-0s feeling inferior and harassed by those above them, and believed it was only right that he reflects his cruelty back at those who had nothing to do with his troubles. A Level-0 who used his own Pokemon as a tool and encouraged his partner to abuse the girls, teaching the wondrous creature cruelty unique to humans.

A fight had broken out between a high school boy and a thug.

A right fist had smashed into a face.

And two girls had been saved as the knocked-out thug was taken into custody.

What should have been a clean end to the story had turned out to have a sequel rearing itself up. Apparently, their earlier confrontation was far from over.

Because Kamijou Touma was more than eager to return to beating the living shit out of the bastard who had yet to stop harming others for his own poor excuses.

Coursing through Touma's veins was an antidote found on the person of one of Toxic Hazard's Admins, a special serum created to assure their members were safe from the toxins in the air for an unknown amount of time. With new antibodies working to counter the toxins he was still breathing in, he was temporarily safe from the effects of Level Toxin, meaning he could continue on without missing a step.

The 8th Floor; a floor focused on all manner of Pokemon-related paraphernalia consisting of clothing, toys, music, books, furniture, etc, for both humans and their Pokemon to enjoy. Since it was themed after Pokemon, said floor also held a few battle arenas for Trainers to enjoy battles after shopping around. It was there, on the 8th floor, that Toxic Hazard's boss held himself up. The Final Boss was found.

A right fist was clenched with a trembling emotion desiring nothing more than to return to pounding a certain face black and blue.

Was there ever a reason to not step forward to meet the challenge?

"I just have to repeat our first fight all over again. Once he's a groaning mess with missing teeth in his bloody mouth, I'll force him to fix the mess he's made. Than I'll find Index and Yumiya-san. Aogami and Brittany won't need to run and hide anymore. Everyone can return back to their lives with the smiles they were wearing before some idiots tainted it with fucking excuses!"

The Key Item that would allow someone else to step in and save the day was crunched into a ball in his left hand.

Touma's eyes went towards the large metal cylinder centered in the middle of the food court, a transportation machine with eight doors. The elevator was working, right? Unless they had some hacker messing with the elevator than he should be able to go in and reach the 8th floor in a matter of minutes. He could put an end to this toxic matter once and for all!

'I'm sorry, Index. But I need you to wait for me just a bit longer! I know I swore to protect you but I have to take a short detour. Even if I just met her, I can trust a nice girl like Yumiya-san to watch over you; not to mention Zenchou would never allow a hair on your head to be touched! So, please, forgive this good-for-nothing Kamijou-san for handing you over to someone else while he relieves himself of all his seething rage!'

A sudden change overcame the ready to collapse boy.

The boring-faced Magikarp evolved into a raging and violent Gyarados.

Destination in sight, mission in mind, Touma took a step forward.

Only for that rage to be caught by something undeniably sweet and gentle.

"Wait! Kamijou-kun...you can't seriously be thinking of going down there to fight!? Look at you! You're in no shape to be doing something so stupid!"

A frantic hand grabbed Touma's right elbow, stopping him from taking another step. Just by the feel of the soft fingers digging into his skin, he could tell how terrified and worried Yuri was for his safety. She made an attempt to pull him back, to take him back into her warm and protective embrace. To smother him in a blanket of kindness.

He smiled bitterly, his dark blue eyes glancing back at the terrified reddish-purple orbs reflecting back at him.

Sweaty, dirty, rough fingers intertwined with the onee-san much more delicate fingers and gently pried them off.

"I'm sorry, Yuri-onee-san, but I have to go. I can't just hide away when there is a slight chance I could do something. This is something I have to fix."

"But it's not your fight!"

Yuri's hands batted away Touma's own and once again took a hold of him. Eyes similar to vermilion quivered with fear for the life of the boy who was willingly marching to the heart of the chaos. The young woman who desired to become a teacher, a figure who looked after the well being of her students, the type of person who would even take the time to help a down on his luck student commonly seen as a delinquent with a patient and loving smile, was trembling as she shouted frantically at the suicidal boy.

"This is a matter between the Brain of the Battle Facility, Toxic Hazard, Anti-Skill, and Judgment! A student like yourself has no reason to go rushing in blindly against a group of misled espers taking their revenge out on the innocent! Let those important figures handle this. You're just a Level-0, you couldn't possibly do anything to save anyone! So, please, just let Onee-san take you back to safety where you can rest without any more troubles or misfortune plaguing you."

A shaken smile was on Yuri's face, one ready to crumble to bits at the slightest touch, desperation clear on her features which seemed to have aged due to the stress she was under. The beautiful onee-san was struggling to keep a brave face, to not reveal a shred of weakness to the young boy she wished to protect. Even though Touma was sure she was also suffering from breathing in Level Toxin, she was doing her utmost best to swallow her own agony so she could care for him and focus on his health.

He bit the bottom of his lips until he tasted iron.

"Just...J-Just let me take you b-back. A-And I'll dote on you as a proper Onee-san should. I'll rest your head on my lap, I'll caress your hair, I'll whisper sweet nothings in your ear, I'll kiss your cuts and scrapes better, and I'll protect you from all the bad guys! Let the adults who've failed to protect you clean up this mess and play the role of the good little Level-0 as you should!"

If this had been a different time, a different place…

If it had been another hand she reached for…

If he wasn't so selfish...

Yuri's smile fell, her expression frozen solid as her hold was broken by the Level-0 she wished to protect stepping away from her.

"I can't. I'm sorry, Yuri-san, but I can't."

Hurt, confusion, despair was clear to see on Yuri's face as Touma smiled gently with regret on his lips.

He was rejecting the kind hand so that he could dive further into the crushing tides of misfortune.

Truly, he was a bastard on the same level as Toxic Hazard's own boss.

"You're right, I'm a Level-0. I don't even have a Pokemon of my own to fight with; I'm all alone. But, so what? What does it matter? Who cares if this is a mess better resolved by those taking the center stage? I'm not going to use my status as One Without Power to shrink away from lending my hand out to others who are suffering! As if this doesn't involve me!"

Several faces came to mind. Index, Yumiya, Zenchou, Aogami, and Mabushii. They were all caught up in this event and were probably in danger as well.

"People I care about are suffering! People I've never met are crying! As if I could just run away and save myself when they're all in danger! As if I could ever turn a blind eye to people struck by bad luck! That's not who Kamijou Touma is! That's not who I want to be! Somehow, someway, I have to do something to save them all! Because I would rather die trying than live with the guilt of failing to save them from all this fucking misfortune!"

Firm and strong, Touma stepped away from the kind onee-san with his determined gaze. Hurt could be seen crossing Yuri's face and it made Touma feel like shit for rejecting the beautiful mature woman's own desire to protect him. But he wouldn't back down.

Once upon a time, he had wanted to be a hero.

He had suffered a childhood rampant with blame, cold stares, insults, pain, neglect, and even physical violence by those who saw him as a Plague. He was no different than an Absol who was labeled as the source of disasters by superstitious humans.

Because of the misfortune he had suffered, he had desired to save others from such unfair circumstances. He had done so by actively searching for trouble in back alleys riddled with darkness swallowing innocent people. He became a bit of a delinquent for getting into fights with both espers and Pokemon. Under the pretense of seeking excitement and stepping off the boring rails, he dove into the darkness for something he wasn't sure he knew he wanted.

Than, one day, he had stumbled upon a certain Tokiwadai student with fluffy brown hair who was caught up in a dangerous event.

He tried to play the hero. He tried to save her. And he fought to protect her.

But in the end, the darkness had swallowed her whole and she was no longer the girl he had befriended. She had evolved into a figure who had let go of his hand with a bitter smile and an apology as she slipped into the shadows of a world he could not follow.

He had failed to be her hero and more misfortune had plagued him.

Since then, he did everything he could to make up for his failures. He gave up on the concept of heroes. He gave up on the concept of villains. None of that mattered.

All that mattered was that he could save someone, anyone, no matter what label they were designated with.

He wasn't doing this to be a hero. He wasn't doing this because he knew what it felt like to be at the hands of misfortune. He wasn't doing this because of his tragic backstory. He was done coming up with such lousy excuses.

The smiles of both people and Pokemon were being trampled on by those who believed they were in the right and only their twisted happiness mattered.

That was why he would continue fighting right now!

Every breath was another intake of Level Toxin but Touma nonetheless steadied his breathing.

"I really appreciate your concern, Yuri-onee-san. If this had been any other time, I would have gone with you and probably have said some stupid things to embarrass the both of us. Even with all my bad luck, I would have considered myself the luckiest boy alive to be fussed over by someone who represents the woman of my dreams. But I need to go. So, please, go back to the safe zone before you start feeling ill too. A bunch of kids and rowdy idiots like me are probably panicking without an Onee-san like you easing their fears, so, please, give those scared children a beautiful smile that promises everything will be alright."

Three steps were taken back from the frantic hand reaching out to Touma as he put more distance between them. Yuri's Nidoqueen, who had stayed silent as her Trainer attempted to take him back, narrowed her eyes as she readied herself for any commands to capture Touma.

"I promise, once this is all over, I'll find you. I'll find you and I'll greet you on hands and knees, head bowed firmly against the dirty floor, and beg for your forgiveness. I'll apologize for being an ungrateful bastard who brought such pain on such a kind Onee-san's face until my throat is bloody and my vocal cords are torn to shreds! Even if you come to hate me, despise me, spit in my face, I'll do everything to beg for your forgiveness once I've protected everyone from this misfortune!"

Again, Yuri's frantic fingers stretched out hopelessly as she was faced with his back. He couldn't see it, but her lips were quivering and tears threatened to fall from her despaired eyes.

"But...this isn't your mess. This has nothing to do with you! This isn't your responsibility to accept!"

His footsteps echoed behind him as he clenched his teeth to the point of chipping a tooth.

"I'll...I'll...I'll stop you! If you don't turn back, I'll have Kichona-kaku-chan restrain you by force! Even if she has to hurt you, I'll do whatever it takes to stop you!"

The hurt in her voice at the thought of harming him to protect him made Touma feel sick as knots twisted his stomach. Hurting others, even for their own good, was a thought that twisted itself into her heart like a knife. Her pleas were ignored as he made it to the large elevator, waiting for the door to open, and sighed in relief as the twin metal shutters cracked open. He stepped in, turning around to see the agonized vermilion eyes of Yuri staring back at him with grief.

"Please...don't go."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being a rotten, good-for-nothing, selfish, inconsiderate idiot, Onee-san. But if something means so much to you, you'll bear with whatever misfortune and pain it entails achieving what it is you want. If you want to save someone, anyone, you have to make these difficult choices. Even if it means the people you care for feel betrayed."

Touma smiled, a pained smile strained by guilt, towards the teary-eyed older sister character as he pushed the button taking him to the 8th floor of Kokyu Tower.

The twin metal doors shuddered as they shut, cutting off his view of the purple-haired young woman stepping forward to stop him before he was taken away.

[-]

"..."

The trip down accompanied by the stereotypical elevator music went without a word as Touma tiredly leaned back against the mahogany wall of the six-person closed space. The few bruises he had collected from his fights stung but nothing stung worse than the face he had last seen on Yuri's face. He deserved far worse than what he was feeling now for what he did to her because of his own selfish desires.

"Do you think she'll ever forgive me?"

Touma wasn't alone in his self-loathing as he heard a chitter from the Spinarak on his shoulder try to cheer him up. He smiled half-heartedly at the Bug/Poison Pokemon's attempts.

"I'm not sure why you decided to go along with a lousy bastard like me, Kumo-san, but I guess I could use a little help with dealing with any more grunts getting in my way of the big boss. My right hand is only good in canceling out supernatural phenomena; against a large crowd of Level-0s and Pokemon, I'd only be good against half of them. I don't have any doubt in mind I'd be walking out a bloody mess with nearly all my bones broken; Heaven Canceler would be prepping my usual room right about now."

For whatever reason, the Spinarak was accompanying this Kamijou-san in his reckless charge against a gang of poison-themed Level-0s. Normally, he would have questioned the motives or intents, but he was honestly in need of a little extra muscle if he was going to shut down Toxic Hazard's plans. If he was going to return to finding Index, Yumiya, Zenchou, Aogami, and Brittany later, he needed to be alive. And the dead couldn't apologize to Yuri properly for being an idiot.

A battle awaited him. An unknown number of opponents would probably greet him. Odds were against him a hundred to one.

He wished to do this alone as he always did. But it didn't look like the Bug/Poison-type accompanying him would be leaving. This Kamijou-san had a partner this time.

The Spinarak on his shoulder chattered as if saying 'I got nothing else to do, so why not?'.

Touma grinned ruefully at the green spider as he massaged his right wrist.

"Don't go into this battle thinking I'll be using you like you were a gun or a knife, Kumo-san. I'm not the type of person to stand back and let someone else do all the fighting either. It may seem weird but you'll have to fight around this Kamijou-san stepping onto the battlefield as if he were a Pokemon. So, you better prepare yourself for whatever violence may greet us."

Spinarak nodded his head with what appeared to be a fierce scowl on his face.

The bug who was treated like a weapon felt as if he needed to pay back the spiky-haired boy for freeing him from his chains. If the boy with an eerie aura permeating from his right hand desired to fight Toxic Hazard than Spinarak would join in as well. He was a Pokemon breed for violence to be used by the command of others; he would decide to bear his sickly fangs onto whoever he desired for his own reasons from now on.

The cursed human and the rebellious Pokemon were in agreement and aligned themselves for a common purpose.

Defeat Toxic Hazard.

A plan which would come to a temporary pause.

KKKRRRRRRCHNK!

The sound of a motor sputtering caught Touma's attention to glance up at the ceiling of the elevator. He scowled in frustration as he felt the elevator room come to an abrupt stop. Not good.

If he recalled correctly, the elevators used by Kokyu Tower were designed with magnetic propulsion and something called a regenerative drive. There were no steel cables moving the shaft up and down as common buildings would possess. Every function of this high-tech machine was operated by a computer instead of motors. Said functions were controlled by a room of security staff in another room who were monitoring the situation for better response to accidents or malfunctions.

Said staff was suffering the effects of Level Toxin or wounded by the grunts of Toxic Hazard. Everything was now in the control of those thugs.

To prevent any unnecessary parties crashing their little private concert, they must have stopped the service to the elevators.

In other words, he was dead on the water.

A human couldn't break through the steel doors or the emergency hatch created to withstand the attacks of even a Rampardos headbutt.

Kamijou Touma was a Level-0 without an ability. His right hand was useless when confronted with normal threats and held no power of destruction against the mere metal door. He could pound on the emergency latch above and below all he wanted like a Machamp performing Close Combat; he wouldn't be able to put so much as a mere dent onto the surface.

If this were any other situation, he'd be hard-pressed to come up with a clever solution to his dilemma.

"I'm not exactly sure on what your move-set would be, Kumo-san, but do you think you got something in your arsenal of tricks capable of breaking through metal?"

Spinarak gestured with his appendages as if he was firing multiple shots.

"Only Pin Missile, huh? Well, we don't have any other options to play. I'll keep my right hand up in case any of the damage splashes back, so don't be afraid of holding back for my sake. Cut loose; if ya got any aggression pent up, now would be the time to let it all go."

Just because the material could withstand a Rampardos headbutt, didn't mean spamming a bunch of missiles fabricated by the essence of bugs over and over again wouldn't yield results. It was time to test just how hardy the emergency latch was.

[-]

There was blood.

"D-Damn it."

No matter how hard she pressed her palm against her side, the sticky red seeped through her fingers like Combee honey. The volume had lessened considerably since she was first struck by the lead thug's Skuntank's Nightslash but it was still alarming to be seeing such deep fatty red beads slipping past her digits as the wound began to numb. She was no doctor or Nurse Joy, but she was sure that wasn't a good sign.

"I just...I just...I j-just got to k-keep going."

It wasn't fatal(hopefully) but it sure did make her knees tremble and steal her breath. As long as she wasn't spitting blood than all was good. Right?

The Toxic Hazard Admin in charge of everything technological such as breaking into data banks and firewalls wasn't so weak or feeble to collapse to a wound like this.

Sauia had been through worse.

She was a Level-0, a busty girl who held no power to her name other than a talent with computers and programming custom software. Despite her admittedly vicious and threateningly attitude, the truth was she was no stronger than a Happiny when it came to strength. She was weak, she knew that.

Even with her Pokemon at her side and trained to act as her shield, her strength was nothing when it was matched up against the pure destruction and raw strength of espers.

All it would take was a haughty and arrogant Level-3 with his buddies to knock out her team of beloved Pokemon to leave her at their disposal.

She had been beaten far worse.

She had tried to not only fight for her safety but for a friend with all her might once.

And she had failed.

Men with power were disgusting creatures far fouler than Grimer. She had nearly lost something undeniably precious to all women as she had laid in an alley with her best friend with numerous bruises and blood caking her face. At the hands of boys who had become Emboar's snorting with perverse giggles, she had found their hands roam places no one should have touched.

She had seen such eyes on those arrogant espers many times. The roaming orbs filled with lust and want. She had always felt disgusted by the leers but had been far too timid to say anything, especially when comments were made the second she turned her back. She had been a girl who had blossomed early in middle school to develop curves; she was used to it by the time she had made it to high school.

Saiua had always been afraid, knowing she lacked any power to fight back if those hot leers became violent. She had tried to keep to herself and never go out alone.

But even when she had been with a friend that time, everything had fallen apart.

Anti-Skill may have made it to their rescue. The amazon like woman who knocked out the leader of the espers atop of her may have made it in time. Their cries may have been answered.

But…

The scars were far too much. The memories were far too haunting.

Saiua planted her right hand onto the glass window frame of a random clothing store on the 9th floor for support. She clenched her teeth to the point she swore she heard a tooth crack. Her legs wobbled but she continued to slowly advance forward even as each motion of her rising hip caused the wound on her side to spurt.

Ahead of the (ex)Admin was the main elevator which would lead her further down. Below her very feet was the 8th floor where a certain 'boss' was about to challenge the true boss of their gang for the seat of control. The only one among Toxic Hazard who the female Admin actually liked and believed would help her in taking revenge upon this city that had produced such vile men, was about to face Gomi who most likely had several tricks up his slimy hands.

Saiua couldn't allow such an unfair battle to take place.

Toxic Hazard did not belong to that lustful Emboar with a belly far fatter than a Snorlax.

It wasn't some piece of property to be bought or taken over so easily!

Saiua tried to steady her breathing and fight past the pain as she continued making her way through the mustard colored gas filtering into the mall.

"E-Even if I'm the o-only one..."

She had already taken the antidote she had made sure wasn't actually poison to begin with. She wasn't affected even if she was a Level-0. She was one of the few who could actually put up a fight in this mall/battle facility.

"I refuse to give in to such a monster who would go as far as to kill those uninvolved in our toxic revenge against those responsible for the poison in our veins!"

What Saiua desired was to enact revenge upon Academy City who was responsible for mass-producing the vile shits who had taken advantage of people like her. She wanted to crush the espers directly responsible for the scars in her heart and who had broken her best friend. She wanted to hurt all those who had direct responsibility for her anguish and despair.

She may have developed a hatred for men as a whole but she wouldn't even go as far as to ever kill those uninvolved in her trauma. She wasn't so blind.

Saiua just wanted revenge. Nothing else matters but to pay back those who had harmed her.

Toxic Hazard was led by a boss who understood her pain and wished to ease it. Even if it was through violence, Saiua had been promised she would get her revenge on Academy City and make those espers who had molested her pay. This gang of Level-0s was her escape from her nightmares and suffering.

So long as it was led by her boss, she could continue to put up with the likes of Gomi to attain her goal.

So she kept moving ahead.

She ignored the droplets of red trailing behind her.

The sounds of running feet and threatening shouts to her back didn't matter.

Saiua-

No, she supposed she no longer had a need for a fake name now. She had never wanted those piles of Grimer ever speaking her true name from their shitty lips.

Hidoi Airisu refused to collapse on her knees to a man ever again.

She was only five meters away from the elevator but stopped. She was no longer leaning on any walls, remaining to stand as she steadied her legs. Her right hand, clean of blood, reached for her belt which held six Pokeballs for her to fight back with.

The motion made her hiss as the wound on her waist stung but she turned around to find three Toxic Hazard grunts stopping a few feet away from her. Unlike the grunts her Arbok had thrashed, the boys appeared remorseful as they brandished their Pokeballs and released their supernatural companions for a battle. Seemed they were some of the few who had accepted Gomi's authority but still saw the former Admin in a positive light despite her harsh treatment of them.

Regret was clear even in the mustard fog.

"I'm sorry, Saiua-san, but please: stop fighting. You have to understand the current way we've been doing things hasn't yielded us any fruits. The former Boss wasn't ever there other than brief appearances. Unlike Gomi, they were never around and simply organized our attacks and funded our operations. This past year has been the worst of them all; no one other than you Admins has seen the boss, leaving us in the dark."

The lead grunt stepped up to speak some sense to Saiua in hopes of bringing this to a peaceful resolution.

It would have been easier to simply attack but they had no desire to harm her any further like the previous traitors.

As one of their former leaders who they had spoken to regularly unlike the boss of Toxic Hazard who was seen as lazy and unmotivated to actually lead them as Gomi had, they felt no joy in seeing the red staining the Admin's right side.

Hidoi scoffed softly with a narrow gaze.

"So, you betrayed the real boss because they don't have the time to actually take charge? Do you think they abandoned you? Do you think they would rather do anything else than listen to our complaints about a system that unjustly treats those with talent as higher beings allowed to do whatever they want? What a bunch of needy boys you are."

Pokeball in hand, Hidoi was ready to teach those boys not to look down on her as some frail girl.

"I don't need to explain the boss's reasons to idiots like you who would so easily stab them in the back!"

Hidoi held a fierce grin as she clicked the button on her capsule to go into the attack.

"Ball-Lock."

A chilling audio tune was played from the white music player in the lead grunt's hand. Such a sound couldn't be called music. It was noise, garbled signals made up of what sounded as sirens and tones constantly changing in pitch.

Ball-Lock, an audio file created by an unknown party who had handed such a powerful tool to Level-0s in District 10 exclusively. Hidoi knew plenty about the sound being produced as she herself had a music player containing the file. The noise produced was capable of interfering with Pokeballs functions to prevent Pokemon from being released, locking the capsule for as long as the audio file played.

Hidoi was frozen by the action, face paling as she realized she had no other way to fight. The grunts knew such and took a step forward cautiously. An anxious sweat of fear wet her skin as her heart was caught in a Vicegrip.

This was it.

She was a Level-0 who couldn't even use her Pokemon to put up a fight.

She was wounded and bleeding.

Once those naive grunts captured her, she would be at the hands of a monster who thought of nothing but himself and his lust. Just like back then, her body would be touched and grimy hands would pinch, slap, and twist her flesh despite her protests and tears. She was weak.

Her intimidating hood created from her harsh attitude and speech which was alike to an Arbok's was gone.

She was close to tears.

Hidoi's lips quivered as took a trembling step back.

Whatever words she wanted to say were stuck in her tight throat which had seized up from fear.

"I'm sure if we tell the Boss to go easy on you, you won't have to deal with his...ways."

No, he won't. Gomi wasn't that kind of person.

Crobats, the evolved form of Zubats, flapped their wings loudly as they flew towards her.

This truly was it.

Unlike back then, Hidoi wouldn't be saved.

She couldn't even muster the strength to cry for help as she was afflicted with Paralysis.

All she could do was accept her own weakness.

BAM!

A rumbling pressure could be heard behind Hidoi from the elevator's frame. What sounded like multiple booms being contained within the silver metal doors could be heard threatening to break the durable twin sheets. It was as if some wild Pokemon was repeatedly performing Outrage from within the cage said to withstand the head smash of a Rampardos.

Tendrils of smoke could be seen slipping past the middle of where the silver metal doors met.

Hidoi wasn't the only one taken back by the noise and rumbling elevator doors as even the Toxic Hazard grunts paused to stare in both curiosity and caution at whatever was trying to break free. Over and over again, the door shuddered as it fought to contain whatever was going wild with reckless abandonment.

No one dared to move in fear of the menace which was about to break loose.

"ONCE MORE!"

A voice could be heard from within as one more rumble could be seen shaking the bulging metal doors that released a loud groan of metal bending.

Than the explosive boom followed. An invisible pressure slammed against those weakened doors to bust them wide open.

A bubble of smoke erupted from the middle of the groaning doors, immediately flooding the vision of all those present to witness the violence inside break out of its cage. A curtain of smoke washed over Hidoi and the Toxic Hazard grunts to obscure the identity of the new party introducing themselves into the story.

A faint chitter was heard along with coughing.

"Y-You really didn't (cough) hold back, d-did ya? And (cough) people think Pin Missile is a weak Bug-Type Move; why? And since when did a Pokemon like you know a move like that?!"

A moderately sized hole was created by the rupturing explosive force which had been pounding away from the inside and been opened by another mysterious force. From the new opening, someone stepped out with their right hand fanning out as if he were both clearing away the smoke and easing the pain in his wrist. He didn't appear to be wounded by the explosion created from inside allowing him to break free, instead, his clothes were ruffled and torn in a few places on his uniform.

The boy appeared to be in high school with a rather lax face similar to that found in delinquents, average in appearance other than his spiky hair and appeared as if he had recently gotten out of a brawl with another delinquent. On his right shoulder, a green spider with yellow legs, a horn, and markings similar to a face on its abdomen was found chittering as if speaking back to his Trainer.

Hidoi stared at the familiar head of black spikes with surprise and confusion.

A face came to mind, a previous meeting between a high school boy and a sadistic college girl who argued over pork in a supermarket.

A random boy who was just another idiot who would shamelessly leer her body up and down like a Growlithe in heat. A violent boy who would go as far as to argue back with her and would have most likely cared little if he got into a public fight with her over something as small as discount meat.

He was a random face among faces, no different than the many selfish and corrupt men who would abuse what little power they possessed to take what they wanted when they were refused.

The sudden appearance of the plain-faced boy made no difference to her situation, Hidoi knew such as she grit her teeth with a painful grimace.

Predators were predators.

Truth like that was never wrong in this cold world built by adults abusing children's hopes and dreams to create a system serving to only poison them to frail and weak beings to be eaten.

"I'm not exactly sure about the situation right now, but I think I understand enough to know what to do next without being given any context to help make my decision."

Join into the fun or take over as the bigger predator among Tyrantrums?

In the end, the girl known as Hidoi Airisu would be devoured.

"Psychic."

An invisible force was summoned, momentarily coloring the outline of the surprised Toxic Hazard thugs bodies in an eerie blue as the dark eyes of the Bug/Poison-type matched the supernatural force taking a hold of his prey.

There was no fighting back or squirming against the pure psychic power bearing down on the poison-themed thugs. Without warning, the members of Toxic Hazard were struck by what felt like run-away dumpsters ramming into their chests. Shouts of panic were heard as they were lifted off their feet and sent flying several feet away from the stunned Hidoi who remained untouched by the supernatural push. Her long raven hair with two strips of green simply fluttered in the aftermath of such an attack.

"DETECT!"

All but one of the Crobat's possessed by the Level-0 thugs was untouched by the Super Effective attack leaving the other silent flying bats unconscious. A brilliant gleam was seen in the lone Crobat's eyes, its fighting instincts taking over in a surge of adrenaline to allow the Pokemon to evade the invisible wall of pressure instilled with Psychic energy with incredible reaction time. The purple four-winged bat vanished in a burst of speed, rising up high to avoid the unseen psycho kinetic wall crashing into even its master, and appeared above the aftermath of human and Pokemon ballista sent slamming onto the hard floor and roll like broken toys.

Though the head of the Toxic Hazard party struggled to rise back up after his harsh landing, a landing which had caused a disc or two in his spine to slip out, he didn't dare to simply pass out like his comrades. His eyes fluttered but he stubbornly forced them open so that he may glare furiously at the random spiky-haired boy who had wandered into what was family business. It hurt to move his muscles but he forced himself back up on his feet with a vengeful shout.

"Croix, hit him with Air Cutter!"

Keeping himself flying high above the humans on the floor, Crobat obediently followed his master's demands. The furious soundless flapping of his wings gained a brilliant sheen of light born from the essence of what was categorized as Flying flowing to the four wings the bat possessed and fired a bombardment of see-through razor disks of wind at his locked on prey.

They were weapons born from the wind. Each razor disk possessed a high critical hit rate. Meaning even being struck by one could lead to suffering tremendous damage to a Pokemon.

To humans, it was a different matter altogether.

Being hit by one blade created by Air Cutter could spell a rather fatal wound at worst. A nick of one disk would slice through several veins leading to heavy blood loss.

Hidoi stepped back at the sight of over a dozen wind disks raining down upon not only the spiky-haired boy but herself as well. She was within the range of the AoE attack carelessly fired by one of the predators who desired to capture her like some Pokemon. She was far too drained to do something as dodging out of the way of the slicing wheels ready to inflict an even more devastating wound as the bleeding on her side.

Ball-Lock was still playing, the disorienting noise created to somehow jam the functions of Pokeballs, having survived to play a chilling melody of death.

She had no way to save herself.

Hidoi shut her eyes bitterly, her body tensing up in acceptance to being shredded by the Air Cutter fired by one of those she had detested but still considered a comrade.

'I suppose...this is a better way to go than accepting whatever fate that Pignite had in store for me with his greasy fat fingers and leering eyes.'

Multiple see-through razor blades of wind energy pelted her body like molten beads falling onto Vanillush. Blood splattered like a balloon filled with red popped cruelly.

She should have died to such wounds within agonizing minutes stretching into eternity.

But she didn't.

The sound of something solid shattering like glass was heard instead of the gruesome and sickening sounds of her soft flesh being gouged.

Instead, she opened her green eyes to a stunning sight robbing her of the strength in her weak legs. She collapsed on her knees to the shadow stretching over her from the figure standing in front of her.

The spiky-haired boy stood in the way of the AoE attacks.

Alone such action was stunning enough.

But no, it wasn't the action of the random high school boy playing shield that had stolen her breath as if it was an item robbed by Snatch.

What left her jaw gaping was the sight of the Level-0 stretching his hand out, fingers spread out like an umbrella against the rain of razor wind, without so much as a scratch on his body.

From the corner of Hidoi's eyes, she noticed divets and tears on the floor around them. It was as if a wall had protected them from the barrage of Air Cutters, leaving the rest to strike the edges of the invisible field of protection instead. Smoke could be seen lazily emitting from the harsh strikes of slicing wind which had failed to inflict any harm onto either Level-0 in the field of the AoE move.

She tried to understand how they had survived. Had it been a move like Protect? Wouldn't she have heard the sound of razor wind striking the kinetic barrier of energy though? She was positive she had heard something break.

An odd point of interest caught Hodoi's attention.

The spiky-haired boy's right hand was raised as if to block the Air Cutters.

The field of protection around them was centered at the point of his palm serving as an umbrella of sorts from the rain.

And the panicked shout from the lead grunt spoke of who was responsible for saving her life.

"What the fuck did you do?! Croix, Cross Poison!"

The sweating Crobat flinched at his master's command. It took the Poison/Flying-type a moment to gather his shaken thoughts as he stared fearfully at the human who had erased his attack before narrowing his yellow eyes stubbornly.

A sickly purple coated the four wings of the silent blood-sucking bat.

Venom was fired like a missile by the crossing of the four wings, forming a large X of purple capable of cutting deep into stone. The very sickly light shone down upon the Level-0s like a star born of foul toxins amid the mustard colored gas.

Its size was unnatural. It was as if it had received a random boost in strength.

One could say it was a Critical Hit.

Hodoi attempted to crawl back from the poison cross-shaped star.

But a calm and warm voice stopped her.

"Attacking so brazenly with no regard to others? Yeah, as if I need an explanation of what to do right now. Talking to you bastards isn't going to do me any more good than trying to explain calculus to a Psyduck. I've already tried to get one of you idiots to see reason. All I've ever done is try to make you idiots see reason. I've done it far too many times to know it won't work on a brash brat like you. In this situation, shouldn't I respond back to violence with violence?!"

The naive high school boy grinned fiercely in light of the Cross Poison with his right hand stretched out to grab at the venom-soaked star falling from the sky. A sickly purple brilliance dyed the world before him.

At that moment he defied logic and reason.

Expectations were pathetically crushed.

The Level-0 snatched the large X-shaped star about to crash with a resounding cutting boom.

Fingers curled around the poisonous body from above that shadowed his body.

And crushed it with a simple clench.

Hidoi heard the earlier sound of shattering glass as Cross Poison was simply...destroyed before her very eyes at the touch of an ordinary boy's hand.

With the destruction of the high critical hit ration attack, a rush of wind was created in the object's sudden absence in space, buffeting the wounded Level-0 Admin who struggled to keep her eyes open in the harsh gust. The lingering smoke from the previously widespread Flying-type move was blown away.

Standing without a scratch was the average-faced high school boy rooted firmly in the way of a thug and his Pokemon. No weapon was brandished threateningly and the Pokemon on his shoulder was absent.

An ordinary right fist was the only weapon to greet the sweating thug and his frightened fully matured Pokemon.

"What the fuck did you do?! I don't know what kind of ability you're using to block my Pokemon's attacks but this little freakshow your performing ends here! I won't let some high and mighty esper gifted with an ability throw a wrench in our plans now of all times!"

Another Pokeball was not chosen to deal with the esper with the spiky hair.

The thug had another means to fight.

He reached for the back of his waist, grinning cruelly before showing off his greatest weapon against both Pokemon and Espers.

Deadly black steel molded into a frightening form capable of propelling shells crated from a variety of materials ranging from lead, rubber, wax, and steel via the explosive reaction within a chamber.

In short, a gun was aimed at the stiff shouldered spiky-haired boy.

The thug's breathing was labored, his body ached and every muscle was screaming bloody murder. His legs wouldn't stop shaking as he was sure the crashing psychic force had resulted in a twisted ankle. The human body was a delicate thing. Nonetheless, he grinned viciously as he aligned the sights of the barrel of his trembling gun to the frozen esper.

The human body truly was a delicate thing.

Even an inch wide gaping hole would prove to be fatal.

"How about this, you gifted bastard with an ability? I'll give you one chance to walk out of this alive. Surely you've noticed your own ability isn't as perfect or as stable as it usually is, right? You've breathed in Level Toxin. By now, your head must be swimming and your skull is threatening to be split apart from the inside! Even your Pokemon will be feeling the effects of the drugs administered to them just the same as you. So, turn your back and run away to safety. Forget you saw anything and leave this nasty business to Level-0s. Don't involve yourself in shit you lucky freaks wouldn't understand."

A shot was fired with a terrible bang that shook Touma's bones.

The bullet flew several meters away from Touma's standing position but he felt he could still feel it as it impacted into the broken frame of the elevator behind him. Gunpowder mixed in with the vile scent of various foul elements called Level Toxin.

A warning shot.

Two options laid before a high school boy.

Run away and save yourself.

Or die to a thug with a gun.

Touma grit his teeth.

His left leg took a step back.

At that moment, Hidoi knew she was an idiot.

She was an idiot for that seedling of hope. A boy who had nothing to do with this? An esper with an ability so lucky as to have the strength to fight back against the wild and hungry Mightyena's of this world? Someone no different than those selfish beings known as men who took whatever they wanted because they felt entitled to whatever they desired?

How could she for one moment ever believe such a person might save her?

Either she would have been taken for a bigger predator or saved to be eaten by a smaller predator who took advantage of such a rare chance to dig their teeth into a squirming weakling.

She was duller than a Slowpoke for such a weak and small seed to be planted in her scarred heart that knew better.

"Blessed? Lucky? Just who the hell do you think you're talking to, you piece of Taurus shit?!"

Very thin threads of silk strong as steel found themselves planting onto the barrel of the Toxic Hazard thug's gun, startling the boy as he had prepared to fire the moment Touma had insulted him.

That single step back was not to run away as believed by the thug and Hidoi.

He had simply readied himself into a running start as he tightly clenched his fist.

'Spider silk?! W-Wait! Where the hell did that Spinarak on his shoulder go?!'

Without being seen by the Toxic Hazard thug, the rebelled Spinarak who was once part of the poison-themed Skill-Out gang had slipped past everyone's gazes under the cloak of Level Toxic's mustard gas. The green spider carefully and silently evaded detection from the hostile party to skitter close to the thug's personal bubble. There he bid his time, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Firing a thin stream of webbing, the Spinarak yanked at the deadly firearm with all his strength as the spiky-haired high school boy charged with a roar on his lips.

"This matter doesn't concern me?! Are you fucking serious?! Someone is bleeding, I can see the fear in their wet eyes! And you expect me to turn tail like a coward?! Not even a Wimpod is so pathetic as to run away! A Level-0 like me, a cursed boy who knows only of misfortune and defeat; as if I don't understand what's going on right now!"

"Kkhh! C-Croix, use Brave Bird and send the lying bastard to the grave already!"

The force of the Spinarak's yanking thread on his gun was enough to nearly trip the Toxic Hazard thug as he felt his right arm's joints creak before he could fire the killing shot. His finger pulled the trigger but the bullet impacted the floor. All he could do was command his Pokemon to make up for his failure.

Shaken but not harmed in any way possible, the Crobat known as Croix heeded his master's orders. The purple four-winged bat spread his wings far apart before soaring up as high as possible to touch the ceiling before diving straight down like a ballistic missile. Croix tucked his wings in to decrease the wind resistance as his body grew aflame due to the velocity igniting his body similar to the image of a burning bird.

Brave Bird: a high damage dealing Flying-type move where the Pokemon in question dives down and attacks from a low altitude and suffers recoil from the sheer high-velocity speed striking their body.

Normally a Crobat wouldn't have been capable of learning such a move. But thanks to selective breeding, the bat was born with the innate ability to perform such a deadly move at even its baby stage. The fact the Crobat named Croix knew of such a powerful attack was the whole reason the thug in question had bought him from an illegal Pokemon vendor found in the darkness of Academy City.

Whatever ability was used to stop his Pokemon's previous attacks would surely falter now! Level Toxic was all the spiky boy was breathing in! Surely that ingenious gas created by the now leading boss of Toxic Hazard would do its magic and disrupt the esper's calculating ability!

As Croix was about to dive straight into the floor like a bomb, his flight was abruptly changed at just the right moment to send him flying along the floor as the flames on its body dissipated. A dark blue aura coated his body as he spread his four wings far apart and honed in on his charging target as the very air could be seen streaking past its high-speed charge.

This was an attack capable of slicing right through the base of an oak tree. It created an explosive blast upon impact and could knock the largest of Pokemon off their feet. Regarded as one of the strongest Flying-type moves any Flying-type could learn, it was surely nothing to scoff at.

So…

Why?

Why the hell was a high school boy who labeled himself as powerless as a Level-0 charging straight at such an attack with a measly fist?!

Touma ignored the baffled expression on the thug's face as he decided to change up his next move.

He would end this in one strike. With just one Geodude, he would knock out two Spearows right out of the sky!

Unfurling his hard fist, Touma spread his fingers out as if he was preparing to catch a baseball with a catcher's mitt. If he remembered his lessons on Pokemon correctly, a Crobat was far bigger than one would initially believe thanks to the four large wings the bat possessed. It was half his own height and could body-check him as it was about to do. Even if he negated the supernatural force adding greater power to its flying tackle, Touma would still have to deal with the natural force left behind.

He would be knocked off his feet with multiple broken bones, plain and simple.

Knowing the result, he thought logically about the impact and force he would have to deal with.

As the Crobat known as Croix was ready to strike with Brave Bird, Touma slammed his open right hand at the blue aura coated bat's large body. Imagine Breaker did its thing in negating the Flying elemental essence but left the weight behind the tackle capable of snapping a human's arm like a twig. He felt a painful tremor in his wrist but firmly clenched his teeth in ready for his next move.

Throughout the years in this city of science that was practically comparable to a childhood hometown of an ordinary teen, Kamijou Touma had faced many supernatural phenomena and dangers created by natural means. Because of his bad luck's tendency to create misfortune after misfortune around him, he had been caught in all manners of trouble. It was because of the experience of each bad event he triggered like a flag in a galge, he had learned to overcome such cruelties.

This was simply another play from Kamijou Touma's Handbook of Misfortune.

Feeling the force hitting his entire body, he allowed it to push him back slightly before clutching at the flinching bat's face with a Crush Claw like grip. He spun his body, his waist, and spun in what could be seen as a pitcher's swing as he stomped his foot for support. The action he was taking felt as if it was shredding his muscles similar to a taut rubber band about to snap. He swallowed the pain, his teeth visibly ground together like stones and glared back at the stunned thug as he readied the finishing pitch.

"Run and save myself? Die like an idiot?! Don't think you can just decide on what this lousy Level-0 can do based on your ultimatums! Let me shatter your illusions and beat you down with answer number 3!"

The Crobat was transformed into a baseball in the hands of a Level-0. And with all his might he pitched a perfect straight directly in the face of the shaken Toxic Hazard thug.

Two bodies were smacked into one another and crashed to the floor with a harsh sound. Brute force and kinetic energy met. The thoughts of a human and Pokemon were shaken.

Nothing more was heard from either member of Toxic Hazard as they laid knocked out. A trail of blood flowed from the thug's broken nose.

[-]

"D-Damn it. I think I nearly threw out my back there."

Touma groaned as he stretched his right arm out after the Giga Impact pitch. His right arm and back were throbbing like they had each gained a heart of their own. If he kept these kinds of shenanigans up, he was going to start complaining about rickety bones like a senior in his seventies!

Kamijou-san didn't want to turn into some old man! No onee-san would love such a useless old fart!

With that problem aside, he still had to deal with the main core of this entire situation. A certain fat thug now in charge of Toxic Hazard was in need of another serious beat down. Whatever it takes, he'd force that selfish bastard to put an end to this madness and stop the flood of toxins in the air.

All he needed to do was find a way to the lower floor. If he was right than the floor catered to Pokemon essentials and battle was below his feet. The Boss Room was right below him! If he needed a key to get in than he would simply bash open the lock with his rotten fist until the bones of his knuckles were visible amid all the blood!

But first…

"Are you alright, miss?"

There was a girl with a nasty-looking wound on her side he needed to help first. Actually, upon closer look, she kinda looked familiar. Where had he seen her face before?

Ah! Wait!

"Aren't you that dominatrix chick who stole the discounted pork from me a few days ago?!"

A nasty glare was the wounded college girl's answer.

"Don't label a girl a dominatrix chick, you lousy bitch. Can't you treat a girl more sensitively? And keep your eyes up here! I can see your lustful eyes straying down to my tits!"

"Give this Kamijou-san some credit! As if I'm the kind of depraved pervert who would perform Harden below his belt when seeing a girl bruised and bloodied. It doesn't even look like you can stand yet you seem to have enough energy to insult me just fine. I wonder if I got to deal with this the entire way."

"The entire way? What are you-kyaaaaaa!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

To hear such a girly scream from a young woman who dressed as some intimidating figure who would grin sadistically when stepping on men with glee was a rather rare event indeed.

Without consent, Touma had picked up the bleeding dominatrix and set her on his back, careful not to aggravate the wound on her side any more than necessary. Due to the suddenness of the action, Hidoi's sensitive body had reacted to what was believed to be natural to a woman like her.

She screamed. Rather girly too. She sounded as if she had reverted to her middle school days for a second there.

Because of this, the red-faced and morbid girl found her arms circling Touma's neck not just for support…

"Gyak! P-Please, Dominatrix-chan! I need to breathe even if it means sucking in this disgusting gas! I don't care what those idiots back in school say! I am not a masochist who gets off when strangled by a girl even if she had huge breasts!"

"Die! Die, got to hell, and never come back!"

A new weight added itself to the Kamijou Express as the Spinarak joining Touma's party returned. Since his spot on the high school boy's shoulder was blocked by the arms of the Toxic Hazard Admin, a fact the spider was unable to communicate verbally, the Bug/Poison-type decided to sit on Hidoi's head. He chittered pleasantly at his new seat, settling in while the busty Toxic Hazard Admin tried to strangle the chocking high school boy with her arms.

"Hey, Masochist-boy; call back your Pokemon into its Pokeball. I don't want to find white sticky strands in my hair, you sick bitch."

"Ignoring that hentai-ish imagery, Kumo-san isn't my Pokemon. He had a bone to pick with his old Trainer and decided to tag along in some form of revenge. He's pretty much just tagging along for the ride as I try to teach a certain bastard I beat up last time a repeat of our last lesson."

"T-Typical...of a boy...violent and b-brash just...just like the others."

"Even on the verge of passing out from blood loss, you can't help but insult me, you man-hating dominatrix. Just hang on a bit. If it keeps you awake, insult me, make fun of me, say whatever rotten and cruel words you can think up."

"W...Where are you t-taking...me? You...you bitch!"

The wounded girl with large assets pressing against Touma's back squirmed as he walked away from the elevator, fighting to push off of him with panic in her voice. She noticed the boy carrying her was taking her somewhere more secluded, an abandoned store where the patrons had left as Level Toxin where no one would be able to hear her cries for help.

"I'm not some...prize you can play with! I won't...I won't-!"

"If you keep moving around like that, you're going to open your wound further. Don't think I'm the same as someone so pathetic as to make a girl cry for his own pleasure. Even if you're part of Toxic Hazard, I'm not going to turn my back on someone who needs help."

Just as he had said; he didn't need the situation to be explained to him.

Touma wasn't so slow as not to connect the poison-themed attire the girl on his back was wearing to the similar design of the grunts he had been fighting. It was possible she was someone far above those thugs. She could have been someone similar to Byoki. She was responsible for all those innocent lives being slowly poisoned for the selfish desires of Level-0s who were fed up with Academy City's system.

So what?

Would such revelations affect his desire to save a girl being attacked with blood painting the side of her waist?

Of course not!

The Admin soaking the back of his white summer school uniform with red grew quiet as if she was afraid of what he might do now that he knew of her affiliation with the people responsible for all the chaos.

"Trust me, I'd rather be doing two things right now; bashing my fist repeatedly into the face of the bastard in charge of all this mess and finding my friends. I made a promise to someone special to protect her but I can't do that in all this toxic gas flowing around. Even if I have to make a few detours along the way, I'll make my way back to her no matter what. I'll treat you as best I can and than you can go back to hating me and my gender all you wish."

Nothing more needed to be said right now.

Stranger, friend, or enemy, this high school boy will do whatever it takes to protect those who were in pain.

Kamijou Touma wouldn't be Kamijou Touma if he did it any other way.

[-]

Between The Lines-6

Floor #8, the center of all Pokemon paraphernalia and the only place in all of Kokyu Tower allowing its shoppers who weren't able to access the top floors focused solely on advancing Level-3s to do battle with their Pokemon partners and even participate in special event battles to win prizes. Of all the floors in the mall/battle facility designed in mind for espers and their supernatural companions, it was one of the busiest and most crowded of areas.

Why would it not? Academy City may have been a city focused on developing espers and furthering all manners of scientific breakthroughs in technology but it was still a city that housed Trainers of all kinds. The Power Curriculum Program heavily relied on the bond between humans and Pokemon to awaken the wondrous phenomena known as Personal Realities that allowed humans to transcend their base humanity and gain the ability to create their own rules and laws within a sense of reality similar to Pokemon. Pokemon were an important part of this city of science as they were in all corners of the world.

As such even the researchers had taken into mind how those supernatural beasts could affect a student's growth in their studies. Many of the shops, amusement parks, even grocery stores, and hospitals made it so that the students had a spot to battle among others to further deepen the psychic bond shared between espers and their Pokemon.

It was believed that the bond between human and Pokemon had an effect on strength of an espers AIM Diffusion Field. More said connection was cared for, defined, and deepened, the more of an impact was created on the Personal Reality of the student. It was theorized even the Pokemon themselves would end up changing beyond their natural abilities, seen through the ability to share the Personal Reality of their Trainers through Academy City's unique ASRL System. Rare cases of variants had been discovered in certain species of Pokemon not found naturally outside of Academy City. The unique environment with a strange air was believed to mutate both humans and Pokemon alike.

Battles were an important part of both espers and Pokemons lives.

Such an observation was found to be a truth unshaken by anyone in this world.

Many of the matters in this world shared by two high potential species were solved through battle.

Love.

War.

Conflict.

Desires.

Salvation.

To earn what it is you seek, a battle must be waged.

"So, who is that will arrive to claim everything in this tower as their own?"

Floor 8 was divided into four sections providing the shopper a better way of finding what they desired and navigating through the many shops and services offered on the floor.

Section-A was the Pokemon Gift and Toy Emporium. Here people could find both toys fashioned for Pokemon and toys fashioned after Pokemon for children as well as a variety of gifts designed for both.

Section-B was the Pokemon Accessory and Clothing Boutique. Accessories crafted for both battle and cosmetics could be found here along with specially tailored outfits for Pokemon of different species.

Section-C was the Pokemon Fun Zone and Food Court. If one wished to dine with their Pokemon or let them loose to play around in the specially designed playground area for almost all manner of Pokemon, it was here where one could relax and have fun with their partners after hours of shopping.

And finally Section-D.

The Pokemon Battle Zone.

Compared to all the other sections on Floor 8, it was the biggest and most visited. It was a section designed solely for Trainers to do battle with referees ruling over all matches in various battlefields which would change if one wished to mix things up. Special events would be set up every once in a while offering various special prizes and rewards for winners along with the occasional tournament where even Level-0s could fight against higher leveled espers and win a large cash money prize for their training of their supernatural partners.

It was an odd floor when compared to the many other floors available to shoppers. Out of all of them, it was the most advanced due to the technology making up the floor offering over ten battlefields. The design of The Pokemon Battle Zone was similar to a donut grid made up of eight blocks. The durable walls made of steel, rubber, and various other elements made to endure powerful attacks were retractable and would often times change to create bigger battlefields during special events. Each battlefield was fifteen yards long and offered seating for close to twenty people to spectate each match. Due to the size of each field, there were restrictions on certain Pokemon who could battle in the slightly curved fields.

But when all eight battle rooms combined and retracted all their walls to become one, the field expanded to grow as far as sixty yards long and thirty yards wide. It became a special race track like battlefield made up of various gimmick fields for a grand spectacle of a final battle.

Currently five battle rooms were open. Four of which were your standard fifteen yards long and five-yard wide rooms. The five was comprised of four rooms, creating a field at 30x30 yards centered in the middle with two rooms on each end.

It was in the fifth battle room where the newly established leader of the Skill-Out splinter gang known as Toxic Hazard resided.

Gomi Gio, once one of the highest-ranked Admins in the small organization of Level-0s, now leader of the gang he helped to establish alongside the old boss, sat in the middle of the simple earth-based battlefield etched with chalk to resemble a Pokeball. His seat of choice was a simple wooden seat designed to support a man of his girth he had stolen from a shop up above before settling in his boss room.

To commemorate his new title as Boss or Leader, he had thrown aside his old clothes for a set he had designed for just this occasion.

The heavyset college student now wore a fine dark royal purple leather jacket that was unzipped to reveal a sickly green undershirt. The cuffs of his leather purple jacket were designed with a neon green ooze-like pattern rising up to touch his elbows. His pants matched the color of his jacket and he wore yellow sneakers with a neon green sole and laces. Various keychain like vials of brightly colored sickly liquids were chained to his belt among the four Pokeballs he carried.

To finish his design off, he had ordered a custom-made purple and green medallion with the symbol of their gang. Similar to a bio-hazard motif in design, it was designed with a T in the middle of an H with a hole in the middle. Each point of the two letters were curved similar to the forked tongue of an Arbok.

This sigil was one of Gomi's own ideas, one not implemented by the former shadow figure of a boss he had created this gang with long ago in their high school days as fellow Level-0s who were seen as nothing more than trash no different than Trubbish.

Gomi Gio was a brilliant student who had high marks in various fields of academic study. Biology and chemistry were his favorite subjects. He was an intelligent student despite the dyes of violence and rebellion painted by thugs. He was a self-certified genius capable of creating new strains of toxins never seen before and had even been rewarded a large sum of Pokeyen in his final years for a special toxin bought and now developed by one of the twelve Board Members of Academy City.

The name Gio was the name of someone with the qualities of a Righteous King.

His very name spelled out he should have been given everything he ever desired.

Never mind the worthless and false Trash family name he had no choice but to be born into this world as.

His intellect should have guaranteed him all that was needed to require a Personal Reality. He was nothing like all those dull and stupid Level-0s below him. Power, woman, Pokemon, respect, worth; it was all supposed to be available to someone as great as him!

But he was born into this world with a weight problem. Genetics dictated he would have a problem with controlling his weight by 40%-70% due to multiple factors contributing to his large physique.

His appearance was bland. He wasn't anything eye-catching to girls around him. His bald head didn't help either and only further made others say he had an Emboar like expression without any of the macho charm. He wasn't attractive in the slightest.

He had been born into a poor family. A simple family struggling to get by in the region of Kanto in a small town not known by many. They believed he would have been better off finding success in the ever-promising city of science which would do wonders for a boy who had a knack for learning and chemistry at the age of ten.

And in the end, he had turned out to be a worthless Level-0. The final blow to his self-esteem could be said to be the many years of being labeled as a Zero despite his intellect and stellar test scores in everything other than his scores concerning his AIM.

Everything he desired in this world was denied to him due to the poor marks upon his birth.

It wasn't fair.

It wasn't fair!

Gomi Gio knew he should have stood atop all of the Level-0s around him.

He should have been a Level-1.

A Level-2.

A Level-3.

A Level-4!

A genius with such gifts as him should have been one of the illustrious Level-5!

It was this false city of hopes and promises fault.

A unique venom excused as a miracle drug capable of granting one a unique power similar to Pokemon with enough study and focus. Such a venom had been injected into him with a mocking smile. Because of the venom coursing through the core of his heart throughout his veins, he was labeled as One Without Power.

Gomi wanted…

No, he desired power.

It didn't matter what form such power appeared before him.

It could have been one born from the 'bond' of Pokemon.

It could have been one born through the advanced science and technology of the city region made of steel.

It could have been something as simple as a magical knife with runes inscribed to 'defeat every enemy struck by its edge'.

He couldn't care less how such a miraculous, destructive, overwhelming weapon appeared before him. How such a tool was built didn't matter no matter the tragic backstory behind its creation.

'Gio' was the name of a Righteous King.

And every King needed proof of their Title for the world to recognize them as such. He realized such a crucial piece to his rise to glory late but it wasn't too late.

In this city of science born of steel, he would find, steal, build, or create a Sword.

A Sword of Great Destruction.

A Proof of Righteousness.

Once in possession of such a terrible and miraculous weapon, he would no longer need to take what caught his fancy by force any longer. Like the true king he was, it would all be offered to him without having to lift a finger. Every girl he lusted after would bend over on hands and feet for him with a grateful smile. Rare Pokemon would act as his knights and defend him against whatever idiots would dare to step up to him. All the money and food he could stuff into his wallet or stomach would shower him. Respect would come in time and he would be recognized for more than just his genius.

Yes, it would all appear before him here.

Kokyu Tower.

It would be his tower where the ceremony for the Righteous King Falsely Born in Trash would be remembered. He only needed a Sword to complete his rebirth. It was within this luxurious tower where he would battle those who wished to dethrone him and take his seat from him. Whatever dirty tricks, foul moves, detestable acts of inhumanity it required; he would do whatever was required to reign as true to his name.

But first, he needed a special lady who would grant him such a Sword to signify his crowning.

But first, he needed to defeat the unfit boss who was wishy-washy with their intentions to save Zeroes to stand as king.

But first, he needed a beautiful woman by his side to serve his every need.

But first, he needed revenge against the city idiotic enough to label him as worthless to prove to them his legitimacy as gifted.

DING!

An electronic noise made to sound like a bell chime from a Chimecho was heard from one of the four doors leading into the main battlefield where Gomi sat in waiting.

The balded-headed Boss of Toxic Hazard grinning in anticipation as he reached for one of his Pokeballs.

Whoever stepped out would be a challenger to his throne.

This would either be a battle to decide on claim of the secret Sword hidden by the Battle Facility's Brain.

This would either be a battle to decide on claim to Toxic Hazard's name and his path to achieving legitimacy to his crown.

Whatever result would be found there was one truth to this event.

A Battle would commence.

And Gomi Gio would win.

Because his name entitled victory would be in the hands of a King.

---

Seek the venomous fangs and make your voice heard.

Selfish child. Violent child. Miserable child. Naive child.

Be poisoned. Be struck. Be ridiculed.

But never allow that dreadful ending scarring your heart to ever repeat itself again.

We're close to the ending of Toxic Hazard's arc at last. This is the final stretch. Just two more chapters to go before we head back to Index's arc. And what an ending do I got in stores!

Before we encounter the final boss of this arc, there were a few things that needed to be addressed. The reasons one has to battle.

As Yumiya is a proper member of Academy City's darkside, her reasons for battling were always due to her mission. She killed because someone wanted her target dead and she enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. Other than the pleasure of pursuing targets to satiate those malicious desires within, she has no other reason to bother with fighting the likes of Toxic Hazard unless threatened. But because of Index, she found that resolution to fight for something other than just pleasure of a mission. When I came up with the Pokemon she would use, I focused on Pokemon who were commonly know to use long-range attacks.

Sauia, or as revealed, Hidoi Airisu, battles for revenge. Because of her circumstances and the trauma brought on from her lack of powers or strength, she suffered a horrible event that has scarred her. She fights to inflict pain back onto those who had some hand in her scars. And the scars of others.

Gomi's is obvious by now. He believes the world had treated him unfairly despite how talented he was. Because he took pride in his name, not his family's name, he eventually grew disillusioned as the efforts he made to unlock a Personal Reality were met with failure after failure. He was poisoned by his own belief that he was destined to be more because of his intellect and gifts, eventually decided to maliciously lash out and battle the unfair world.

Spinarak found a reason to against the very organization he fought for because of the words of the spiky boy who defended him. His resolution is in repaying a debt to someone he had been commanded to harm. With no other purpose left to him, he decided to see where the strange boy's path would eventually lead him in their battles.

Oh, and Brittany! Or, should I say, Mabushii Hoseki. The true Brain of Kokyu Tower possesses the forbidden knowledge to mass-produce terrible and terrifying technology that allows even children to level small towns with a Baby Pokemon. She was forced to cast aside that lovely and ignorant mask she adored in her free time to reveal the cold and deadly woman whose curiosity led her to steal confidential secrets from several governments. This is the true ruler of the Level-3 facility whose time to shine is coming up! To represent her anger and resolution to crush those who have ruined her fun, no other Pokemon came to mind to match her than my favorite Ground-type! Krookodile!

God do I have a desperate need to play White and Black all over again.

And of course, the star of the show!

Touma really doesn't need a reason to make a fist and fight, does he? The Kamijou Touma we all know never needed one and simply fought for others to see them smile. It was as simple as that.

But this Kamijou Touma is different.

Because he still remembers the failures and trauma of his past. He knows what's responsible for those emotions that drive him to fight to the point he's on death's doors for strangers who may never even bother to thank him for everything he's done for them.

You could say that his reason to fight is that he's afraid of failing again. Because he knows failure better than everyone. And because he doesn't want to experience that kind of lonely and miserable loss again. This is the Kamijou Touma who would become the base of those invisible and intangible tugs that would make the canon high school boy find himself all over again.

I'd like to think the lead-up to the very end of both Toxic Hazard and Index's arc is what will completely cement Touma's resolution, affirm why he clenches his fist despite possessing a position that everyone would abuse for their own selfish excuses.

Oh, and Zenchou's doing whatever the hell he wants. Because he's cool like that, you know?

We move onto breaking into the Final Boss room. And we've already got a battle ready to break out too. Just who is that has stepped into the ring to challenge Gomi for the title of Toxic Hazard!? We'll have to wait till next time to find out.

As for when; that's the million pokeyen question, isn't it? I mean, I've already completed the arc and moved onto the next, but it takes time to patch things up and turn it into something I'm happy to upload. I'll do my best to get something up sometime next month, alright? So keep tuned!

Remember to Read and Review!

Until then, NeoShadows fading in and out!