This arc will be a bit of a breather compared to the last one. Of course, that's not to say there won't be plot. Because there will be.
"Korrina is going to be even tougher than Grant was," said Marcus as he sat down on a bench near the hotel, eating his breakfast. His team looked up at him from their own breakfasts, digesting every word in between bites.
"She's known for being a trainer of Lucario," Marcus continued. "I have no doubt we'll run into at least one. For those of you who don't know, Lucario are masters of an energy known as Aura, and are well known across the world for that ability. Most aspiring Fighting-type masters dream of owning a Lucario."
Marcus smiled as though living a forgotten memory. "The most famous Lucario by far is the Lucario of former Champion Cynthia," he said. "It was arguably her second strongest Pokemon, though her Garchomp was universally regarded as her Ace. I watched a couple of her battles in school; her Lucario was a master of Aura, wielding and shaping it into projectiles, barriers, and weapons alike, and that was just the visible effects."
He chuckled softly. "Of course, Korrina's won't be anywhere near as tough as that," he said. "But that doesn't mean it won't be difficult to fight. And that's not the only difficulty; Korrina's is the first Gym where they won't be restricted to four moves. Unlike Grant and Viola, Korrina's Pokemon will have plenty of attacks to draw on, and you'll have to be prepared for anything. Kriesh, Meditite, Skorupi, you're up for this one. I assume that's all right with you, Kriesh?"
"Fine by me," Kriesh squawked.
"So, I think we all know what we need to work on," said Marcus. "There are plenty of Trainers en route to the gym, so we'll have plenty of opportunities. Skorupi, weaving Poison, Bug, and/or Dark into all of your attacks; Kriesh, endurance, durability, and adaptability; Meditite, mental capacity and control of Force Palm. And don't think I've forgotten about you, Shellder. You'll be working on honing your two newest moves. I want Protect to be reflexive."
With that, Marcus finished his breakfast and stood from his bench. "Let's move."
And so the journey began.
"Psychic Wave!"
"Psychic Blast!"
Meditite's Psychic energies met those of the Solosis opposite her. Clearly, the Solosis had been honing its craft for a while, for Meditite felt her energies being pushed back, overpowered by the Solosis's Psychic might.
It wasn't her specialty anyway.
Meditite lunged forwards, abandoning the Psychic war. The Solosis's Psychic Wave streaked over her head as she leaped for it. "Fighting Strike!" she cried, making sure to flood the exact amount of energy necessary into her open palm.
The Solosis's body was uncomfortably squishy, and for a heartbeat Meditite felt her palm sinking uselessly into the green mass as it gave under her. Then the energy went off.
"Solosis!" the opposing Trainer cried as the ball-shaped Pokemon fell to the ground with a wet thud.
Meditite sighed with relief. That Solosis hadn't been easy; it had taken nearly two minutes to find an opening through its Psychic strength, long enough that she could feel her head aching.
But she'd won, and Fighting Strike was continuing to develop.
"Behold the results of our training! Fighting-Psychic combo: Barrier Fist!"
The Machoke's fists glowed purple as they were encased in the Mr. Mime's barriers. It grinned and lunged for Kriesh, fists swinging wildly.
"Sky Impact!" Kriesh retorted, leaping for the Machoke with body engulfed in Flying energy.
Her beak met the Machoke's left fist and stopped dead, though Kriesh saw a bead of sweat drip down the Mr. Mime's face at the impact. Then the Machoke's right fist came around. Kriesh backwinged madly, barely avoiding the vicious strike.
"Leavin' yerself open, are ya?" Skorupi snarled, rising up next to the Mr. Mime with spikes glowing with Dark energy.
"How?" one of the two Trainers opposite Marcus asked, a sentiment that Kriesh silently echoed; after a Psychic attack like that she'd thought Skorupi was out for good. "Machoke, stop that bug!"
The Machoke twisted, momentarily forgetting about Kriesh in favor of lunging for Skorupi with his barrier-infused fists. "Barrier Fist Pummel!"
"Kriesh, Hyper Beam!" Marcus cried.
"What?" both of the opposing Trainers cried, terror in their eyes.
Kriesh opened her beak wide. "Beam Impact!" The familiar blast of white energy burst forth, striking the Machoke in the back. The Machoke groaned in pain, tumbling to the ground face-first inches from Skorupi.
Skorupi paid no attention. "Prey," he snarled, leaping for the Mr. Mime even as it dispelled the barriers around Machoke's fists. But it was a heartbeat too slow to stop the furious Skorupi from ripping into him with every spike on his body.
Kriesh allowed herself a little time to relax as she watched Skorupi have his fun while the Mr. Mime's Trainer, his facade of serenity gone, frantically shouted useless commands at his helpless Pokemon. She winced as another stab of pain rent through her beak, sore from multiple beak-to-fist impacts with that Machoke.
Double battles were hard.
Even Shellder trained, even though he wasn't going to take part in the battle.
"Take this!" the Mienfoo cried, frustration filling her voice. Every one of her attacks had been virtually useless against Shellder's Defensive Shell and Impenetrable Shell techniques.
This one was no different. "Impenetrable Shell!"
"Stop defending and just fight!" the Mienfoo screamed.
"Why?" Shellder asked seriously. "If it's working, why should I stop?"
"Gaaaahhhh!" the Mienfoo howled, leaping again. "Power Punch!"
"Defensive Shell Impact!"
Shellder leaped forwards, shell closed tightly. The Mienfoo's fist slammed into the shell with a loud crack. Shellder felt himself fall back down to the ground, stopped in midair by the attack.
The Mienfoo had fared far worse. "Gyahh!" it howled, cradling its fist; the application of Fighting energy had spared it a broken hand, but it still clearly hurt.
"Oh, well, I guess offense works too," Shellder noted. "All right then. Ice Flurry!"
Five seconds later, the Mienfoo was back in its Pokeball, definitely wishing the Shellder had stuck with defending.
"You see that?" Marcus asked, pointing at the fight that was taking place between a Doduo and a fiery foxlike Pokemon none of them recognized, both controlled by blonde female Trainers, one wearing a fully black uniform, the other wearing a combination of black with a red skirt.
The team had stopped in a place Marcus called Reflection Cave for a break, in the middle of which Marcus had heard a fight taking place. So he and the team had slowly and quietly crept up to this small rocky shelf to watch.
"That," Marcus said, pointing to the uniformed Trainer, "is an Ace Trainer. Most of the Trainers around are either locals or dropouts; these guys are handpicked by the League to stand in areas and test Trainers who challenge them according to their badge level. They're sort of like miniature, optional Gym Trainers."
Meditite squinted at the other Trainer, the red-skirted one, as she commanded an Ember from her fox Pokemon, which she referred to as Braixen. The Braixen obliged, firing a flurry of tiny fiery pellets from the flaming stick it carried. The Doduo ducked or dodged most of them, but a couple hit, setting it to squawking in pain.
She could have sworn she recognized the other Trainer.
"I swear I recognize that other Trainer," Marcus muttered.
"Enough!" the Ace Trainer cried, recalling her flaming Doduo. "Very good. Your reward, as promised, and congratulations."
"Thank you," the other Trainer responded. "Braixen, well done."
"Thank you, Mistress Serena!" the Braixen cried.
That name Meditite recognized. "Skorupi?" she asked.
"Yeah, ah know," he growled. "Ah recognize her too."
"Who is that?" Shellder asked.
"A Trainer we met just after the first Gym," Meditite explained.
The Ace Trainer disappeared around a corner. Serena turned to look at the rocky shelf upon which Marcus and the team were hiding. "That good enough for you, Mr. Prying Eyes?" she asked.
Marcus rose, looking quite embarrassed. "Sorry," he said, "I just heard a fight going on, and-"
"It's no trouble," said Serena. "I don't mind having an audience." She squinted. "I think I remember you. You're that Trainer from outside Lumiose - Michael, right?"
"Marcus," Marcus corrected.
"Right," said Serena. "Have you beaten Korrina yet?"
"Actually," said Marcus, embarrassment returning to his tone, "I just beat Grant."
"Oh?" Serena asked. "Delays, I presume?"
"You have no idea," said Marcus. "So I assume you've beaten Korrina?"
"Yeah, just this morning," Serena answered.
"Then why are you back here?" Marcus asked. "Shouldn't you, you know, be heading to the next gym right about now?"
"I can't," said Serena. "I have to train. And I wanted to beat this Ace Trainer in here before I moved on."
She paused before continuing. "Why don't you come down? It's weird looking up at you constantly."
"All right," said Marcus. "Come on, guys."
Meditite and the rest of the team followed Marcus as he stepped down from the shelf. Serena glanced at each member of the team as they appeared one by one, trailing behind Marcus.
"Nice team," Serena complimented. "If they're as strong as they look, you'll do well against Korrina."
"What's your team like?" Marcus asked.
Serena grinned. "Well, you just saw Braixen, my Starter," she said, indicating the fiery fox beside her, who gave a cheery wave. Then she pulled out two more Pokeballs and released their occupants. "And you've already met Meowstic."
Meditite recognized Meowstic, but the third Pokemon was what caught her eye, and from the look of it the eyes of the rest of the team as well. It was much larger than both of Serena's others, with a sleek white coat, a round black face, bright red eyes, and a pitch-black curved shape, much like a waning moon, protruding from one side of its head and arcing above it.
It was the most terrifying thing Meditite had ever seen. She took a step back; so did Skorupi, who was quite clearly getting ready to bolt.
"Hello," the black-and-white Pokemon intoned, its voice soft and mysterious as its vision scanned over them, stopping at each one.
"Where'd you get an Absol?" Marcus sounded impressed.
"It's kind of a funny story, actually," said Serena. "He basically just walked up, challenged both of my Pokemon to a battle, and then asked if he could join my team."
"And he won," Meowstic added with a bit of irritation in her voice. "I mean, Braixen was still a Fennekin and I didn't know any non-Psychic techniques at the time, but still, it was kind of humiliating."
"And yet I told you that humiliation wasn't my goal," Absol pointed out. Then he looked back at Marcus's team. "Greetings. I am Absol. Might I inquire as to your names?"
Terror froze Meditite's mouth. Kriesh, seeing her and Skorupi's fearful states, introduced herself. "I'm Kriesh," she said. "Your kind's reputation precedes you."
"Regretful," Absol stated matter-of-factly. "Our causing disasters is a sadly common misconception. I chose to join Serena in part because her Pokemon did not believe in that misconception. Do you?"
"Yeah," said Kriesh bluntly. "But honestly, I've seen enough that Absol are the least of my worries."
"What's an Absol?" Shellder asked.
Kriesh sighed. "Of course…suffice it to say, Absol are harbingers of disaster. It's said that every time one shows up, disaster soon follows."
"A true saying," said Absol, "and yet false. For we do not seek to cause disasters; our kind is blessed with the unique ability to predict disasters. And so, despite our persecution, we take it upon ourselves to warn others of those disasters."
Meditite finally mustered up the courage to speak. "Is that an Ability?"
"No," said Absol, "just a unique biological symptom. Though it may be an offshoot of our as of yet undeveloped Ability; we do not know, as none of us Wild Absols have ever developed one."
"I remember…" said Meditite, "...that a Graveler in the forest I used to live in, Boulder, once told me about an Absol who came to the forest. The forest Pokemon turned him away, said he'd been yammering about some river bursting its banks. The next day the river did just that, and many Geodude died. Do you know if that is true?"
Absol bowed his head. "I believe that story is true. An old friend of mine, I believe, was that exact Absol. Did this story, by any chance, take place two years and three months ago today?"
"Yeah, around that time," said Meditite, "although I only heard the story a year after that."
"Then yes, that was my friend," said Absol. "He was quite broken up about it, actually; the incident drove him to leave for Hoenn."
"I'm sorry," Meditite said.
"Don't be," said Absol. "He is living a good life there, last I heard. And your 'Boulder' is far from the only Wild Pokemon who has turned us away out of simple fear. Who are you, anyway?"
"I'm Meditite," Meditite answered. "This is Skorupi." She indicated the Scorpion Pokemon, who still looked uncharacteristically afraid despite Absol's explanation. Then she pointed to Shellder. "And that's Shellder."
Absol suddenly was right next to Meditite, bending his head down to look closely at her body. Meditite reflexively flinched away. "Apologies," said Absol. "I merely wished to confirm something I had already guessed."
Then he was back by Meowstic's side.
"What?" Meditite asked.
"Your body is darkening," said Absol. "Your blue color is slowly turning to a bright purple. This indicates that you are becoming moderately close to Evolution."
"Evolution?" Meditite echoed.
"The transformation of your body into a new, stronger form," Absol explained.
"I know what Evolution is," said Meditite. "I just…didn't expect it so soon."
"If you were old enough to remember a story you were told a year and three months ago," said Absol, "then you have likely been alive for at least two years, possibly more. With that plus your current experience level, I am not surprised that you are approaching your Evolution."
"Absol!" Braixen called. "Seems we might be here a while, so could you help me practice up a bit?"
Absol nodded to Meditite. "I look forward to your Evolution," he said. Then the Disaster Pokemon turned and loped away.
"What's gotten into you?" Kriesh asked the still trembling Skorupi. "Weren't you listening? Absol's not a threat."
"Not yet, maybe…" Skorupi spat. "But ah know Absols. They're bad news. An' yer not convincin' me otherwise."
Meditite tuned that particular conversation out and looked back up at Marcus and Serena, who by now had sat down on a nearby rock to continue their own conversation.
"So why are you training here, exactly?" Marcus asked Serena. "There are plenty of Trainers on the route from Shalour to Coumarine. You could easily train there."
"Maybe," said Serena. "But I wanted to…I guess train here first. It's obvious I need the extra training anyway."
"You've got the third badge," Marcus observed.
"Look," said Serena. "It's not about the third badge. It's…it's Calem. We fought in the Tower of Mastery, before the Gym Battle, and…" She sighed. "It wasn't even a contest. I beat one of his Pokemon. One, and it took all three of my Pokemon with it. And as a reward, he got a Mega Ring so that he can become even stronger. I…" Serena paused again, visibly fighting back her emotions. "I need to get stronger. I can't just keep losing to him like this. We started at the same time, have the same amount of badges…and yet he's just so much stronger!"
Marcus was clearly trying to find some kind of comforting words, something he failed completely at. "I mean...that sucks," he said lamely.
"Is that true?" Meditite asked Meowstic. "Did she really lose all three of her Pokemon to one of Calem's?"
"No," said Meowstic, "she lost all three of her Pokemon and took down one of Calem's. The thing about Calem is that he switches his Pokemon in and out during battles. He's gotten really good at it."
"Isn't that against the rules?" Meditite asked.
"Not really," said Meowstic. "Most Trainers just don't do it. It's called etiquette."
"So…" Marcus asked Serena, "would you like to battle? Once you've healed up your Pokemon, that is…"
"You've only got two badges," Serena responded. "I'm fine with waiting around until after you've gotten the third one, but I'm not fighting you before that."
She grinned. "That said…with that team, you look like you'll be a fun fight once you have that badge. So do me a favor and win it quickly, because suddenly I'm looking forward to this."
"You won't have to wait long," Marcus said, grinning back. "All right, guys, you heard Serena. Let's get out of this cave. We've got a Gym Badge to win."
Having said their goodbyes to Serena and her team, Marcus and his team continued out of Reflection Cave. Meditite could not help but notice as they walked that Skorupi still seemed oddly scared.
This was decidedly unusual, mainly because Skorupi didn't usually allow things to unnerve him.
So Meditite was quick to ask Skorupi what was wrong. She got the same basic answer that Kriesh had: "It's Absols. They're just…bad news."
Unfortunately, before she could say any more, Marcus broke into the conversation. "All right, let's head to that field over there and see what we've been working on. Pair up. Kriesh, you're with Skorupi; Meditite, you're with Shellder."
Meditite hid a grimace as Skorupi promptly moved towards Kriesh a little more quickly than he usually did.
"So…what do you want to work on?"
Shellder's voice broke into Meditite's thoughts. She turned to face the shelled Pokemon, attempting to wipe the grimace off her face.
"Is something wrong?"
Meditite sighed. For a moment she considered telling Shellder her suspicions. But then she looked over at Skorupi, engrossed in speaking with Kriesh.
He was hiding something, that was for sure. But…if he really wanted that thing to stay hidden, it would probably do more harm than good to tell others about it.
"No," she told Shellder. "It's just…I can't stop thinking about that Absol's friend. The one my friends…my old friends drove away. I remember that flood…Boulder thought the Absol had caused it. And I went with it. I spent more than a year believing that. Now that I've been told was wrong…"
It was the truth, and yet Meditite could not help feeling that she was using it as a lie.
"I've never heard of Absol before today," said Shellder. His voice lowered, becoming surprisingly morose. "But…I get it. Being told something for your entire life doesn't always mean it's real. And sometimes that's difficult to accept."
Then he perked up again. "Like, I used to think my sonics were the only way I could communicate. I didn't even know you could speak with your mouth - I thought it was only for eating!"
"Okay, Shellder," Meditite interrupted. "Thank you. So…as for what we should be working on, you use your barriers against physical attacks most of the time, right?"
"Yep!"
"How about you try using them against my Psychic attacks?" Meditite suggested. "That way we can work on my Psychic abilities and your barriers at the same time."
"Sounds good!" Shellder cried. "Defensive Shell!"
Meditite peered at the shell as it closed tightly around Shellder. At once she saw a crack wrapping around the shell where the two halves of it met. Slowly, she began gathering Psychic energy, focusing her attack on that tiny crack.
"Psychic Blast."
The stream of Psychic energy flew forth. To Meditite's surprise, instead of striking the shell and bouncing off or going through the crack, it seemed to almost pass through the shell.
"Gah!" Shellder cried out, opening his shell to reveal a pained expression. "How'd you do that?"
"No idea," said Meditite. "But…Shellder, have you faced a Psychic attack before?"
"Nope!" Shellder responded.
"I bet," said Meditite, "that your shell doesn't do too well against non-physical attacks. Mental attacks like my Psychic Blast will pass through it."
"Oh," Shellder said disappointedly.
"Don't get me wrong, it's still a powerful defensive tool," Meditite said hastily. "And I bet Impenetrable Shell will protect against those mental attacks."
"Let's try it!" Shellder cried. "Impenetrable Shell!"
"Psychic Blast!" This time, Meditite saw no need to focus and gather power. She simply took as much Psychic energy as she could muster in about a second and tossed it at the shell-shaped barrier that had just sprang up between her and Shellder.
A small boom heralded the impact, and the Psychic energy dissipated against the barrier.
"There you go," Meditite said. "Now, let's see about my Psychic Dodge. Can you try your Ice Flurry attack on me?"
And so it went. First they traded ranged attacks, testing each others' defenses. Then they moved on to physical attacks. Shellder suggested using Impenetrable Shell as a renewable point to practice Fighting Strike. Occasionally, Meditite would look over and see Kriesh and Skorupi working together on Skorupi's speed and evasion and Kriesh's endurance. Marcus sat down nearby and watched, smiling as he watched his team train.
It was around the third hour of training. Meditite was unleashing one Fighting Strike after another against Shellder's Impenetrable Shell. By now, even a quick Fighting Strike was only generating a small amount of backlash. But, small or no, backlash was backlash, and so Meditite continued to practice.
"Ready, Shellder?" Meditite asked.
"Ready!" Shellder affirmed.
"Fighting Strike!" With one smooth motion, Meditite gathered Fighting energy into her palm and thrust it forwards into the Impenetrable Shell.
And watched with wide eyes as the Impenetrable Shell shattered like glass and her Fighting Strike went right into the completely unprepared Shellder's face.
Shellder screamed in shock and pain as he flew, skipping across the ground until his flight was cut short by the very rock Marcus was sitting on. The Trainer leaped to his feet.
"Shellder!" Meditite cried, abandoning the technique. There was no response. Meditite began to rush towards the downed shelled Pokemon, not even registering the stares of Kriesh and Skorupi.
She reached him. "Shellder!" she yelled right into the gap between the two halves of his shell. She instantly realized there were no eye-lights in there; they were closed, unmoving. "Shellder!" She shook him wildly, desperately.
A light cough came from the shell. It was followed by another, and then another. Shellder burst into a fit of coughing as breath returned to him.
"Oh, thank Arceus! Shellder, are you all right?" Meditite asked, nearly sobbing with relief.
"What…" Shellder asked. "What…was that? I mean…Impenetrable Shell's kinda…supposed to be impenetrable, right?"
"Here." Marcus's voice was close. Meditite shuffled aside to make way for Marcus's hand. A Potion sprayed onto Shellder; the shell Pokemon let out a relieved sigh as the pain wracking him eased.
The Trainer turned to look at Meditite. "I think you may have just learned Feint."
Feint, as Marcus proceeded to tell Meditite, was a fairly simple technique; with a properly aimed blow, a user of Feint could shatter Protects like they were nothing. Marcus also explained that it was similar to an attack known as Brick Break, which used Fighting energy to achieve a similar effect through raw, concentrated power as opposed to Feint's precision.
After making sure that Shellder was all right, he set Meditite to practicing it, warning Shellder to not stand directly behind Impenetrable Shell during Meditite's practice.
Two more hours later, without any more incidents of note, the day ended. Meditite had grown stronger psychically, gained more control of Fighting Strike, and was capable of consistently shattering Impenetrable Shell with her new technique, which she simply called Piercing Strike. Shellder had begun working on chaining multiple Impenetrable Shells, though the strain was proving massively difficult for the young Water-type. Skorupi had managed to start imbuing most of his attacks with Poison energy and was also learning how to launch Infestation through them. And Kriesh…well, there wasn't much of a noticeable difference, but Meditite knew that her endurance was probably up at least a little bit.
"I think we're ready for anything Korrina can throw at us," said Marcus. "You heard Serena; if she thought we were good to go back in Reflection Cave, we're certainly good to go now. We'll go in tomorrow morning. Let's get a good night's sleep."
It was nighttime. Dinner had long since been eaten, and now the team were in their Pokeballs, settling down for a nice long rest before the Gym Battle tomorrow.
But Meditite simply could not get to sleep. Thoughts of Skorupi's fear and of Shellder's broken body swam around and around in her head, ruining even the beautifully comfortable interior of the Luxury Ball.
So it was that as she tossed and turned fitfully, trying to find some position where she could get to sleep, she saw a bright light through the crack in her Pokeball.
Thoughts of sleep faded, replaced with curiosity. Meditite shifted, moving to the crack. She could at once tell that something was off about her Pokeball; normally there was something that held it closed, some kind of seal, but tonight the seal was off.
She could only see through the crack in the Pokeball that some sort of bright light was coming from upwards, from Marcus's bed. Slowly, she reached out, pulling her hand back once or twice as fear overtook her and then curiosity forced it back, and touched the inside of her Pokeball, where Marcus touched it on the outside to open it.
The Pokeball hissed open.
Instantly, Marcus's head appeared over the side of the bed. "Meditite?" he asked. "Did I forget…ah." His eyes glanced down; Meditite followed them to spot her Pokeball's seal, lying on the floor next to it.
Marcus reached out a hand. "You know what? Come on up."
Still unsure, Meditite grasped the hand, and though Marcus seemed surprised by how heavy she was, after a few seconds of strain Marcus pulled her up onto the bed.
She could at once tell that the bright light was coming from Marcus's blue device that he carried around. It currently had some kind of article on it; she'd seen similar things on what humans called 'newspapers' and other screens.
So the device was a miniature screen. That was good to know.
The article read at the top 'League Classifies Team Flare as Rocket-Level Threat'. Slowly, Marcus began scrolling down. Meditite squirmed over to his shoulder and read with him.
"This afternoon, a day after the brutal attacks that resulted in the capture of sixty-two Pokemon by an organization of Pokemon thieves known as Team Flare, Champion Diantha took the stage to deliver a speech on the status of the affected areas - and Team Flare itself.
'No permanent damage has been caused, thank Arceus', Champion Diantha was recorded as saying. She then added, 'But Team Flare's crimes will not stand. I have issued orders for any Ace Trainers to be on the lookout for Team Flare, and any passersby who sees a Team Flare uniform is to report it immediately. Team Flare is, as of this moment, officially a Rocket-level threat.'
This remarkable statement was a reference to the well-known organization Team Rocket, who plagued Kanto and Johto with their crimes of Pokemon thievery, and who rumor has it were planning an all-out invasion of Kanto when they were suddenly all but wiped off the map by the mysterious Pokemon Trainer known only as Red. Champion Diantha's message may also have been targeted at former Champion Lance, whose historic act of unifying Kanto and Johto under one League was marred by accusations of his having enabled Team Rocket's rise by turning a blind eye to their crimes in favor of his own pursuits.
We reached out to members of the Elite Four for comment.
'By doing this, Champion Diantha has effectively declared war on Team Flare,' Elite Four member and Dragon-type Master Drasna said in a non-televised interview. 'In my opinion, I think she's doing the right thing. They need to go now.'
Steel-type Master Wikstrom, also of the Kalos Elite Four, was similarly direct in his interview. 'These heartless knaves shall hold no ground in Kalos!' he stated emphatically.
We will continue to follow what is now commonly being termed as the 'Team Flare Crisis'. Stay tuned."
-Alexa, Lumiose Press
Meditite recognized the names 'Red' and 'Team Rocket' from Kriesh's story, and shuddered at the memory. Marcus felt Meditite shiver, and one of his arms slowly wrapped around her. "Yeah, it's scary," he said. "But you know what? We beat them. We took on Team Flare and we won. And now we're stronger, and we're going to get even stronger than this. You understand?"
Meditite nodded.
"All the same, I'll be glad when this is over," he said. "My parents are going to be worried sick. I should probably call them again…nah, after the Gym Battle. No, wait…after the fight with Serena, I'll call my parents again."
Marcus sighed, looking out the window. Meditite's gaze followed his and she saw the waning moon, floating serenely in the sky in the exact shape of Absol's horn.
In an instant, all her worries about Skorupi came rolling back.
Marcus was oblivious. "I'm gonna get some sleep," he said. "You should, too. Big day tomorrow."
He kept his arm wrapped around Meditite as he closed his eyes. But still Meditite couldn't sleep. Her mind was just too filled with thoughts of Skorupi, that terrified expression on his face at the mere sight of Absol.
What had happened to him to make him so scared of Absol?
Eventually, Meditite did finally go to sleep. But her sleep was even worse than when she was awake, filled with dreams of Team Flare and the unmoving Shellder and the terrified Skorupi, and so she did not sleep well at all that night.
Four rooms across and one floor down, an Absol looked up at his Trainer and her Meowstic and Braixen as the three of them slept together on their bed, oblivious to their surroundings.
So innocent they looked, tucked into Serena's blanket. It was such a shame he'd had to lie to them. But they would understand, eventually.
Then he sighed, and began to sing.
It was a soft melody, too quiet for anyone else to hear. The melody was slow and melancholic; anyone who heard it would have called it beautiful, for Absol's voice gave the song a vibrancy that lifted up the song itself. And they would have also called it sad, for Absol's practiced voice imbued the song with sorrow.
Absol sang, filling his own ears with the melody. As the song drew to a close, he reflexively tensed, even though he knew it wouldn't hurt; this was always the most tenuous part.
Then Perish Song took effect, and Absol plunged into an abyss of darkness.
A formless void spread out around him, no features identifiable. To an untrained eye, it would have been choking, terrifying. But Absol waited patiently with no fear on his face. Slowly, his vision adjusted until he could see about ten feet in all directions. Only then did he finally speak.
Absol's voice rose as he called into the darkness. "Greetings, Bringer-Of-Visions," he intoned. "I have made contact with Marcus."
Two red eyes opened in the darkness. Absol watched as another Absol emerged, striding unhurriedly from the void surrounding them. The new arrival slowed to a halt five feet away, eyes unblinking and a smile on its face.
"Excellent work, Seeker-Of-Endings," Bringer-Of-Visions responded with the slightest twinge of satisfaction. "I will alert the rest of the Heralds. I do believe..."
Bringer-Of-Visions allowed her smile to grow into a smirk.
"...the Master will be most pleased."