The sunset was beautiful, illuminating the Alolan landscape in a kaleidoscope of pinks and purples and oranges, setting the faraway but visible ocean to sparkling. Eevee sighed contentedly under the sunset's gaze as she felt her Trainer's hand brush slowly across her fur. Serena's lap was always a nice place to rest. Her mothers had both been Eevees once upon a time, and both had extolled the virtues of a nice lap to lie in.
It felt a little odd, Eevee had to admit. Serena had read on a few websites that to evolve into Umbreon, an Eevee had to be friendly with their Trainer, and it had to be nighttime. Such a thing seemed unnecessarily complicated. Jolteon had evolved with an evolutionary stone, and Sylveon had simply evolved, neither of which seemed complex compared to specifically having to evolve at night.
Inkay was sitting on the grass to Serena's left. He had likewise had his evolutionary method looked up; there had been a moment of confusion when a website listed the method as simply turning Inkay upside down to evolve him, but it had turned out to be a fake website, and in reality Inkay would just evolve into Malamar with time and training.
"Siht si eht efil," Eevee heard Inkay whisper to herself. She never had figured out how to understand what the Dark/Psychic-type was saying.
To Serena's right, Seeker-Of-Endings lay with paws tucked and eyes staring at the sunset. Eevee had always found the Absol to be the strangest member of the team, even before he'd revealed himself as an agent sent by a group of other Absols to protect a completely different Trainer. But Seeker-Of-Endings had been as loyal as he was strange, and was easily the strongest member of the team even now. Currently, he seemed distracted, his mind somewhere else.
The group were sitting on the lawn behind the hotel they were staying the night at; Professor Burnet had apologetically admitted that her house was not built for five other Trainers to stay in. That was all right; the hotel room was nice and this expansive, beautiful lawn out back was perfect to sit on and relax.
A pair of footsteps disturbed the calm of the moment. "Mind if I sit with you?" the voice of Connie asked. Eevee didn't know much about her, other than that she was one of the other two Gym Trainers Marcus had recruited and that she and Marcus had fought in the Kalos Pokemon League Tournament. But she seemed nice enough.
"Sure." Serena picked up Inkay and placed the Dark/Psychic-type on her lap next to Eevee, allowing Connie to sit beside her. "Nac uoy evom revo, esaelp?" Inkay asked. Eevee glanced at her, not understanding; Inkay gestured for her to move over, and Eevee quickly obliged.
"Trying to evolve your Eevee?" Connie asked. Serena nodded.
"I've heard you can actually use a Moon Shard to do it," said Connie. "Broken piece of a Moon Stone. They're fairly rare, but if you can find one it'll be a lot easier to evolve her."
Eevee's ears perked up.
"Really?" Serena asked. "Do you have one?"
"Wish I did," said Connie. "Like I said, they're fairly rare. There's probably a shop in Lumiose that sells them, though."
"I'll look," said Serena. "Thanks."
"So I assume you're gonna wait to battle Marcus until you've evolved your Eevee and Inkay?" Connie asked.
"I've battled him twice, actually," said Serena.
"With a full Dark-type team?" Connie asked. Serena frowned. "It's up to you," said Connie, "but in general it's common for a prospective Gym Trainer to battle the Gym Leader in a three-on-three with only the Gym Leader's type."
Serena lay a hand on Seeker-Of-Endings. "Absol is the only Dark-type I had until recently," she said. "But I didn't use him last time I fought Marcus. Yeah, I'll battle him again. Have you?"
"No, Theo's the only one out of the three of us who battled him," said Connie. "I'm waitin' my turn 'cause he beat me in the Tournament, and because he needed my help, but once we get back to Kalos I'm challengin' him to a fight as soon as I can."
"What happens if you win?" Serena asked.
Connie thought for a second. "I suppose he'll have to find someone else to be his third Gym Trainer. I like the guy…but I've been a Gym Trainer before. I know the rules, and I stick by them. I don't intend to work for a Gym Leader who can't beat me in a Dark vs. Dark fight."
"Is it wrong that I want Marcus to win?" Serena asked.
"No, not at all," said Connie. "That's the entire point of a Gym. Everyone in there wants the challengers to win. But they fight to win all the same, because the point of a Gym is to test the opponents, not to hand them easy wins. And that extends to the pre-battles as well. Truth be told, I want Marcus to beat me too. But that doesn't change the fact that when we do fight, I'm gonna do everything in my power to win."
"And so will I," said Serena.
Connie smiled. "In the event that we do lose," she said, "I look forward to workin' with you."
"Same to you," said Serena, smiling back. Her hand brushed across Eevee's fur once again, and Eevee purred happily, curling up and allowing the sunset to warm her as the two Trainers and three Pokemon sat side by side on the grass.
Liepard stepped smoothly and quietly across the thick rug, her mind awhirl with thoughts. She'd been allowed…well, allowed wasn't really the right word in this situation…to see the brawl between Pangoro and Drapion that had ultimately resulted in the former's capture. Truth be told, Pangoro didn't seem like the sort of Pokemon that would be useful on a team. Then again, Liepard had to admit, bias could be playing a role in that assessment. After all, Pangoro had beaten Drapion to near-death, and her heart ached every time her mind conjured the image of Drapion's beaten, bloodied body lying on that red-stained clearing.
The two would be recuperating overnight in the nearby Pokemon Center, which did not assuage Liepard's worry for Drapion. She knew he was in good hands, but an overnight stay was reserved for really serious injuries. Drapion's status had left even Marcus somewhat nervous, which had undercut his joy at successfully capturing Pangoro. He'd stayed up late tonight, even forgetting to recall Liepard into her Great Ball, which Liepard had no intention of reminding him of. This gave her the opportunity she'd been looking for to approach one of the two remaining team members she hadn't yet spoken to.
She'd have ample time to talk to Houndoom, them being on the same Gym Leader team and all. Trevenant, though, might be difficult, and so she had already decided on approaching the Grass/Ghost-type. Liepard hadn't had much experience with Trevenant; she only knew that they were regarded as somewhat of an oddball amongst the group.
In the small room, there weren't all too many places Trevenant could be. Liepard found them quickly, sitting on the room's balcony and gazing down upon the lawn down below.
Liepard stepped through the thankfully open door. Below her she could see Connie, Serena, and a few of their Pokemon sitting amongst the lawn's numerous trees, basking in the fading sunlight. "Que fais-tu?" Liepard asked, mostly to herself; it wasn't like Trevenant would understand her anyway.
"Je me demande si je dois descendre là-bas et les rejoindre," Trevenant unexpectedly replied. "Je peux me transporter instantanément vers n'importe lequel de ces arbres. Mais je ne veux pas faire la même erreur que chez Marcus. C'était vraiment-"
"Okay," Liepard interrupted. "Seriously. You speak native Kalosian?"
"Um…yes," said Trevenant. "The fact that I'm speaking native Kalosian should make that quite obvious."
"But how?" Liepard asked. "I've only known one person who spoke native Kalosian, and she came from a family specifically devoted to retaining Kalosian traditions!"
"The thing about the Phantump line," said Trevenant, "is that a Phantump is born when a spirit inhabits the remains of a dying tree. A spirit doesn't really keep the memories of its past life. But the tree remembers everything from its long life. And so I've got memories from a long, long time ago."
"How long, exactly?" Liepard asked.
Trevenant shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe a couple thousand years, give or take. Point is, I've heard a lot of people talk in native Kalosian. I've picked up a few things."
For the first time in what felt like years, Liepard had no idea what to say next.
"Generally, though, I prefer not to speak native Kalosian," said Trevenant, "because I think it's kinda weird to speak a language that no one around you understands." Suddenly, Trevenant was right on the other side of Liepard, leaning in close. "Why do you do it, by the way? Is it just to distinguish yourself from everyone else? Or is there some other big reason?"
"My second Trainer," Liepard answered, finally finding her voice. "She was Kalosian. Traveled to Unova. She taught all her Pokemon native Kalosian, then gave orders in battle in that language. She's the one I talked about…the one whose family liked to keep traditions alive."
"I kinda figured you had a Trainer before Marcus," said Trevenant. "You strike me as the kind of Pokemon who knows Trainers." The Ghost/Grass-type Pokemon paused, staring wistfully down at the trees once more. Liepard was about to speak again when Trevenant beat her to it. "Y'know, Liepard…I find you fairly interesting."
Liepard, who had been about to say the exact same thing, stopped for a moment to allow her thoughts to rearrange themselves. "Why is that, mon ami?" she asked.
"When I first realized you were following us, you reminded me of Heliolisk in a way," said Trevenant. "He led a gang of Pokemon against us, got captured by Marcus, and started attempting to exert his will upon the rest of the group. He assumed that he was meant to be our 'lord' or something. I know that's not what you want…but you seemed obsessed with pursuing Drapion, and I couldn't help but be reminded of Heliolisk's own obsession with leadership."
"I have not seen a Heliolisk on this team," said Liepard. "What happened to him?"
Trevenant sighed; their expression darkened significantly. "Marcus eventually released him," said Trevenant. "Tried to have him sent to some kind of rehabilitation center. He didn't take it well. I don't really know how he escaped, but he somehow tracked us down, and…" Trevenant stopped again. "I was stupid enough to think he was my friend. To trust him. He caught me off guard, tried to kill me…and he would have if…if the roof didn't start collapsing…he didn't even try to get out of the way…"
Liepard stepped closer to Trevenant. "Ce n'était pas ta faute."
"Merci," said Trevenant.
Liepard sighed. "I get it now," she said. "You're burdened, aren't you? All those memories, centuries locked in that head of yours…and yet you maintain that strange personality of yours. That…excitement. Why choose to do that?"
"Because part of me just wants to pretend like those memories don't exist," said Trevenant. "A couple thousand years sitting in a forest, watching humans and Pokemon walking by while I steadily grow older and older? It gets boring after a while. The strange thing is, trees are alive, but they aren't sentient. They see and hear and feel everything around them, and yet they are not truly conscious of it. But when that spirit and that tree joined together, and created me…two thousand years of memories just came flooding in."
"That sounds terrifying," Liepard admitted.
"It was," said Trevenant. "In the end, Liepard, there's only really two things that can happen with a newly created Phantump. Either they try to reject the memories and go insane, or they embrace those memories and all the madness that comes with them. Every Phantump or Trevenant is a little insane. It's just how insane they are that separates them. The other Phantumps and Trevenants in the forest…my family…they helped me through the worst of it. Helped me learn to bottle it up. Keep my head held high and my emotions positive." Trevenant sighed. "Team Flare and Heliolisk tested it, though. It gets a little difficult to stay positive when you're forced into a war and indirectly murder another Pokemon."
Liepard nodded slowly. "And yet you still are."
"Yeah," said Trevenant. "Yeah, I am. Like I said, I find it comparatively easy to bottle up the past. The trick is simply to not let your past inform your future."
Liepard remained silent. Had that allusion been intentional? Had Trevenant heard her conversation with Kamado the night before they'd departed for Alola?
"I'm tired," said Trevenant matter-of-factly. "I'm going to go to sleep now." Trevenant turned and wandered inside, clearly hoping to find Marcus and therefore his Luxury Ball.
Liepard followed them inside, keeping her distance. She'd spent so long bouncing from place to place, ally to ally, constantly waiting for the moment when everything would fall apart. Yet Trevenant, in some ways, was like her; they'd endured so much and yet just kept going, keeping, as they'd said, 'head held high and emotions positive'.
Could that be Liepard's path as well?
Liepard shook her head. It was far too late for that. She'd been bitten too many times to accept any form of relaxation, any belief that this would turn out differently.
But was it? Did it have to be that way? The thought continued to tear at her even as she attempted to force it out of her mind.
By the time Marcus finally remembered, an hour later, to recall Liepard back into her Great Ball for the night, Liepard still hadn't been able to find an answer to that question.
"Die."
With a metallic clang, Betrayer-Of-Kin met Bringer-Of-Visions with her own horn. Both horns surged with Dark energy, crackling against each other with a force that Ripper could feel from his position five feet away.
The other four Absols lunged at their leader's signal. It didn't seem like any of them could teleport the way Bringer-Of-Visions had done, but even so their speed was tremendous as they hurtled across the valley floor towards Betrayer-Of-Kin and Ripper.
"Discharge!" Betrayer-Of-Kin's command galvanized Ripper into action. With a snarl of "Thunder Blast!", Ripper unleashed a powerful burst of Electric energy in all directions. Betrayer-Of-Kin disappeared from existence as the sphere spread outwards, reappearing inside the expanding sphere; irritatingly, Bringer-Of-Visions followed in the same way a split second later and the two locked horns once again. As for the other four Absols, they reacted just as swiftly; four Dark energy-wreathed horns slashed downwards in concert, and four aerial blades of darkness slammed into the incoming Thunder Blast, dispersing it in a massive explosion.
"It'll take more than that to stop us," Bringer-Of-Visions snarled.
"As if that was my only play." Betrayer-Of-Kin shifted sideways with Detect, breaking the lock and lashing out with her horn at Bringer-Of-Visions' side. But Bringer-Of-Visions twisted with equal rapidity, deflecting Betrayer-Of-Kin's horn with her own. A claw-swipe from Betrayer-Of-Kin was ducked, but Bringer-Of-Visions' own horn-slash was swatted away by another of Betrayer-Of-Kin's paws. "Again!" she cried.
"Thunder Blast!" Ripper snarled. Again Bringer-Of-Visions and Betrayer-Of-Kin dematerialized to avoid it, and again the other four Absols, much closer now, dispersed it with a concentrated effort, but this time Betrayer-Of-Kin did not reappear beside Bringer-Of-Visions. Instead, she popped into existence right behind the other four Absols, smirking widely.
"Behind you!" Bringer-Of-Visions cried, materializing right next to Ripper.
Ripper felt a chill come over him as he realized that Bringer-Of-Visions would now be focused on him. Did Betrayer-Of-Kin plan that? Regardless, he knew he'd have to take her on now; the other four Absols twisted to face Betrayer-Of-Kin as she charged straight for them, splitting into a dozen copies as she did so.
"Thunder Release!" Ripper was unsurprised to see Bringer-Of-Visions blur out of the way with a Detect; he was already charging forwards, paws outstretched. All he had to do was touch her to activate Static.
"Thunder Charge!"
"I think not."
Bringer-Of-Visions teleported yet again, avoiding the Thunder Charge and reappearing behind him. A flurry of Pursuit rays slammed into Ripper's backside before he could turn, throwing him bodily to the ground.
He could see from here Betrayer-Of-Kin facing her four adversaries; she was noticeably faster, and her solid Double Team clones were evening the odds, but it was clear even she was struggling against the greater numbers as two of the Absols pushed her back, alternating horn strikes and Pursuit rays to force her onto the back foot. Ripper rolled to his feet and let fly with another Thunder Release, then another omnidirectional Thunder Blast to follow it up. Once again Bringer-Of-Visions dodged the Thunder Release and teleported past the Thunder Blast; two of Betrayer-Of-Kin's opponents also spun and, though it clearly took some effort, dispersed the Thunder Blast with slashes from their horns.
But Ripper paid that confrontation no heed. "Gotcha!" Ripper snarled as Bringer-Of-Visions began to materialize. "Thunder Charge!"
Bringer-Of-Visions' horn erupted with Dark energy and she slashed it at the oncoming Ripper. Horn met jaws, but Ripper's electricity was stopped in its tracks by the sheer power of the attack. "Thunder Blast!" Ripper growled, but yet again Bringer-Of-Visions was too quick, teleporting right behind him and knocking him down with another flurry of Pursuit rays.
As for Betrayer-Of-Kin's opponents, again two of them twisted to deflect and disperse the incoming Thunder Blast. This time, however, Betrayer-Of-Kin took full advantage of the distraction. A swift teleportation sent one of her adversaries stumbling, and in that brief moment only one Absol faced Betrayer-Of-Kin. Only a lightning-speed Detect saved that Absol's life; even so, Betrayer-Of-Kin's horn ripped through her shoulder, showering the nearby rocks with blood.
Ripper rounded on Bringer-Of-Visions, only to be greeted with a faceful of Pursuit rays, knocking him down once more. "Why would you fight for a monster such as her?" Bringer-Of-Visions asked.
"She promised me strength," Ripper snarled. "She promised me revenge. I'll fight alongside anyone if it means gaining that."
"Her promises are empty," Bringer-Of-Visions retorted. "Surely you see that."
"Like I'll listen to the Absol trying to murder me!" Ripper growled. "Thunder Blast!"
"Enough!" Bringer-Of-Visions teleported again. This time, though, she materialized between the Thunder Blast and her Absol allies. Her horn blazed black, seeming to double, triple, quadruple in length as she twisted and slashed lengthwise along the Thunder Blast. To Ripper's shock, the Thunder Blast dispersed, and Bringer-Of-Visions barely seemed to have broken a sweat as she landed on the ground.
"If you insist on fighting for her," Bringer-Of-Visions warned, "then you will not survive the day."
She leaped, covering the distance between herself and Ripper in seconds. "Thunder Release!" Ripper snarled, but Bringer-Of-Visions retaliated with an aerial blade of Dark energy that slashed through the Electric-type attack like it wasn't even there. Ripper didn't manage to get out of the way in time; he felt the blade carve into his side and knock him to the ground once more. He had scarcely regained his senses when Bringer-Of-Visions' horn stopped just short of his neck, the point so close that Ripper could feel it tickling him.
"It's over," she growled.
And then Betrayer-Of-Kin materialized right behind her. Bringer-Of-Visions turned on her heel and struck, and their two horns clashed once again. Ripper rolled out of the way as both Absols skidded backwards, claws ripping into the ground. Betrayer-Of-Kin was the first to recover; Ripper could see her white fur was stained red from several cuts, but she seemed to have lost none of her energy. "Your foolish endeavors will never succeed!" she snarled.
"I beg to differ." Bringer-Of-Visions leaped into action. Betrayer-Of-Kin rose to meet her, claws outstretched and horns glowing.
Dark energy swirled around the two Absols as they clashed once more at a speed so rapid Ripper couldn't fully follow the fight. He could see the other four Absols moving to encircle the two battlers, tense and ready to intervene if their leader faltered but knowing they could not aid her. Two of them had one eye on Ripper, ready to react if he attempted to run or fight.
Ripper stayed where he was.
He didn't see how it happened, but Bringer-Of-Visions was suddenly thrown backwards with a fresh wound in her front right leg. At once the Absol behind Betrayer-Of-Kin leaped, but Betrayer-Of-Kin simply teleported out of the way. Pursuit rays flew from her jaws and slammed into that Absol, knocking him down, and then Bringer-Of-Visions was behind Betrayer-Of-Kin again, horn already slashing downwards. Betrayer-Of-Kin was just a hair too slow; blood sprayed as Bringer-Of-Visions' horn ripped across her left cheek.
Betrayer-Of-Kin hissed in agony; her attempted retaliation was easily avoided as Bringer-Of-Visions teleported away yet again. "This fight ends now," said Bringer-Of-Visions. "Surrender, Betrayer-Of-Kin. You know you can't win this."
"I…I agree," Betrayer-Of-Kin responded.
Ripper's eyes widened. Was she…was she giving up?
"I agree," Betrayer-Of-Kin repeated. "This fight ends now. Pressure."
A surge of energy burst outwards from Betrayer-Of-Kin, slamming into the five Absols and sending them all stumbling. Ripper had never seen Betrayer-Of-Kin use her Ability before; he hadn't even known she had Pressure as her Ability, but it made sense.
"Ripper, this way!" Betrayer-Of-Kin ordered.
Ripper obeyed, hurling himself away from the five staggering Absols. As he ran, he saw Betrayer-Of-Kin turn her gaze back to her foes, eyes narrowed and glaring. And Ripper felt a burst of power surge through the valley as Betrayer-Of-Kin crouched. "Master's Blade," she growled. "Sundering Void."
Betrayer-Of-Kin's horn exploded in a shower of Dark energy, glowing black, bursting and rippling as it extended higher and higher. Slowly, the black energy began to brighten, turning from black to dark gray to light gray, until a towering horn-blade of smoky white light was extending from Betrayer-Of-Kin's forehead, illuminating the night sky in a blaze of power. The powerful Absol's body shook with, for what was certainly the first time Ripper had seen from her, genuine effort.
Bringer-Of-Visions' eyes flew wide. "Everyone, get down!" she ordered.
With a swift twist of her head, Betrayer-Of-Kin slammed the massive white horn-blade into the cliff to her left. Another twist sent it flying across it, carving a neat line diagonally down the cliff face. Bringer-Of-Visions crouched. "Master's Blade: Void Absorption!" Her own horn flared with blinding white light as Betrayer-Of-Kin's Sundering Void ripped through the cliff, arcing down towards the other Absol.
Bringer-Of-Visions twisted her own head, and the two massive white horn-blades slammed into one another. For a moment Ripper saw the crackling energy of Betrayer-Of-Kin's attack flowing into Bringer-Of-Visions' defense as if the latter was draining the former into itself, and then the light flared and exploded outwards with a thunderous sonic boom.
Ripper could not see anything but whiteness, could not hear anything but ringing in his ears. For a good fifteen seconds he stood dumbly, blinking, trying to make out anything he could. Someone was shouting, faintly at first, then louder and louder. "…hear me? We need to go!"
The blinding whiteness cleared and Ripper saw Betrayer-Of-Kin in front of him, her eyes flicking between Ripper and the cliff above. Across the valley, Bringer-Of-Visions was rising to her feet, gasping; the other four Absols were crouched and ready to charge once more. Yet Betrayer-Of-Kin did not seem at all concerned with them.
Ripper followed her gaze to the cliff; for a moment he thought he was seeing things, and shook his head. No, it was true: the entire cliff was shifting. The portion that Betrayer-Of-Kin had carved away from the rest with her Sundering Void was beginning to tilt slowly forwards, chunks of rock already breaking away, no longer able to defeat the all-consuming embrace of gravity.
Ripper turned and ran. Cries of alarm came from behind him as the Absols spotted the tumbling cliffside; Betrayer-Of-Kin ran alongside Ripper, then ahead, her body blurring as she easily outpaced him. Even after that attack she was still moving with terrifying ease, not at all spent.
It pricked at Ripper that Betrayer-Of-Kin had never called an attack before. Normally, if one called an attack, it was more powerful than the standard slash or bite or blast of energy. Was that all Betrayer-Of-Kin had been doing before? Throughout all of it, every fight Ripper had seen her take part in…had all that been her only using basic attacks?
Had she truly been holding back that much?
A shout came from behind Ripper that he couldn't quite make out over the noise of the cliff falling, now in earnest, massive boulders and shards of rock slamming into the valley floor. Ripper threw himself into a Quick Attack, forcing his body to move even faster even as his muscles strained. Quick Attack was meant to be momentary, a quick speed boost if necessary, not a sustained effort, but this was life or death. So Ripper ignored the protestations of his body as he pounded across the valley floor, following Betrayer-Of-Kin as behind him the cliff crumbled into the valley with a cacophony of deafening rumbling.
Betrayer-Of-Kin stopped, and Ripper slowed to a halt beside her, panting with effort. Both turned to look at the valley; where the cliff had fallen a massive cloud of dust obscured the valley floor, but from what Ripper could see the entire area was filled with the remains of the cliff face, countless massive pieces of stone covering the area where the other five Absols had been standing.
"With any luck," said Betrayer-Of-Kin, "that should slow them down for a few moments."
Ripper gaped. "A…a few moments? You literally just collapsed an entire cliff on top of them!"
"Bringer-Of-Visions is as strong as I am," Betrayer-Of-Kin growled. "And the other four would not be here if she didn't believe they were strong enough to back her up. This isn't some random group who don't know what they're doing. This is a kill squad. As much as I hate to admit it…even the two of us won't be able to handle this much longer."
An explosion of Dark energy burst forth from the pile of boulders, shattering several into tiny shards and scattering the dust cloud before it; Ripper could do nothing but stare at the five Absols emerging from the fallen cliff face, looking completely unscathed but for dust that grayed their white coats, Bringer-Of-Visions in the center with horn glowing black.
"How in Distortion are we supposed to beat them, then?" Ripper growled, panic threatening to set in. "Was all of that completely useless?"
"No," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "In fact, all that achieved its purpose quite nicely."
"And that purpose was?"
"To alert me." Nidoking's voice boomed. Ripper twisted to see the massive Poison/Ground-type standing behind them, fists clenched; once again he hadn't even heard the behemoth walking up. "I suppose these are the Absols you keep mentioning?"
"I'm afraid so," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "The one in front is as strong as I am. The others, less so."
Nidoking's fanged mouth twisted into a savage grin. "Really? I suppose, in that case…this will be fun."
Marshadow's eyes blinked open; he could at once tell it was still dark, nearly midnight judging by the position of the moon. By now, everybody would be, should be asleep.
So why was there a distinct rustling coming from nearby?
Marshadow uncurled, nervousness rising. He forced it back down; it was probably some random wild Pokemon looking for a place to sleep or something. Nothing to be worried about.
Slowly, Marshadow poked one eye out of his hiding place. His gaze met that of a comparatively massive blue Pokemon with four legs, a tan snout, and orange highlights around her eyes.
Oh, crap.
"Marshadow," said Zacian. "My apologies for disturbing your evening. Don't worry, my brother and I aren't here to cause you trouble. We just want to ask you a few questions."
Marshadow tried to stop himself from hyperventilating and failed miserably.
"You two, over here," Zacian called over her shoulder.
A second later the second of the Dogs of War trotted up. Zamazenta was watching Marshadow distrustfully, looking a lot more gruff than Zacian. Behind the two of them came a third Legendary. Marshadow had been expecting Zamazenta to be here; after all, Zacian and Zamazenta rarely traveled apart. But he had not at all been expecting Reshiram. The massive white Dragon of Truth towered over Zacian and Zamazenta, gazing down upon Marshadow with an unreadable expression.
"I…I promise you, I haven't done anything," Marshadow said quickly, hoping they'd somehow be satisfied. "I haven't gone Zenith since the War of Legends, I promise-"
"Oh, please shut up, you're worse than Calyrex," Zamazenta growled.
"Zamazenta." Zacian's voice was firm. With a sigh, she turned to Marshadow. "I'll not mince words. About a month ago, Xerneas fought Yveltal. During the fight, Yveltal's power was enhanced by strong Distortional energies. Would you happen to know anything about that?"
"N…no, I never even heard of it," Marshadow stammered.
"He speaks the truth," Reshiram rumbled.
"A truth," said Zamazenta. "Were you in Kalos during the Battle of Geosenge?"
"I don't know what that is!" Marshadow protested.
"Again, he speaks the truth," said Reshiram.
"Marshadow, have you seen Yveltal within the past year?" Zacian asked.
"No," said Marshadow.
Zamazenta and Zacian glanced at Reshiram. "Also the truth," Reshiram confirmed.
Zamazenta stepped forwards. "Marshadow, have you-"
"Enough," said Zacian. "It's pretty obvious it wasn't him." She sounded surprisingly dejected.
Marshadow looked nervously between the other three Legendaries.
"Thank you for your time," said Zacian. "We'll keep looking."
"Zacian?" Marshadow had no idea why he was continuing to speak, but his voice continued anyway as if it was forcibly being propelled out of his throat. "Have you…have you asked Giratina yet?"
All three Legendaries stopped short and looked back at Marshadow. Marshadow caught Zacian's eyes and saw something he hadn't at all expected in the Legendary's gaze: fear.
"You…you're trying everyone else first, aren't you?" Marshadow said falteringly. "Everyone else it could possibly be. Because you don't want it to be Giratina."
"No!" Zacian snapped. "That's not-"
"That is a lie," Reshiram interrupted.
Zacian glared at Reshiram, then sighed defeatedly. "Yes. You're right. We've already tried Spectrier, and we're going to Hoopa next, but after that…"
"Why would he do this?" Marshadow asked, fury overriding common sense. "He's already tried once and failed, he knows we'd be ready for him this time-"
"We?" Zamazenta shouldered past Zacian and shoved his face right into Marshadow. "You fought alongside him! You have no right to lump yourself in with us! You're nothing but an Arceus-damned monster! You-"
"Zamazenta!" Zacian shouted, forcing herself in between Zamazenta and the quivering Marshadow. "Like him or not, Marshadow is not behind all this! We're wasting our time here. We leave now."
With a last glare back at Marshadow, Zamazenta turned and followed Zacian and Reshiram out of the town. Marshadow didn't watch them leaving. He was too busy trembling.
Slowly, he managed to clamber back into his stump and lie back down in as comfortable a position as he could obtain. But for the rest of the night, Marshadow could not get a wink of sleep.
Some fifty feet away from Marshadow, within Liilie's bag, Cosmog sat, wide awake and eyes wide.
"wow," he whispered to himself. "so many legendaries! i really should-"
In the next second, he popped out of existence.
"Hello, Medicham."
"Hello, Darkrai," said Medicham, opening her eyes.
"So how was your day today?" Darkrai asked. "Did you enjoy your relaxation?"
"It was fine," said Medicham. "Marcus caught a Pangoro."
"Congratulations," said Darkrai.
"It was…pretty brutal," Medicham admitted. "Drapion fought him…they both knocked each other out, and there was a lot of blood…"
"It reminded you of the clearing, didn't it?"
Medicham nodded slowly.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up," Darkrai said.
"It's okay," said Medicham. "Look, Darkrai…I can't believe I'm telling this to a Legendary…you don't have to apologize every time you say something that reminds me of my past."
"But it feels wrong to remind you of it," Darkrai protested.
"Darkrai, listen to me," said Medicham. "What you're doing…it helps, okay? You've done so much for me already. I truly, truly, appreciate all of this…so a few reminders I can forgive." She smiled. "All right?"
"All right." Darkrai's voice gave away that he was smiling too. "So. Mind and Blaze today?"
"Of course," said Medicham. "I feel like I'm close."
"Then these are your opponents." At Darkrai's words, a Roserade and a Vileplume materialized before Medicham.
By now, Medicham knew exactly what to do in such a situation. "Mind Blast!" she cried, sending the Roserade flying backwards with a blast of Psychic energy. The Vileplume shot a Sludge Bomb at Medicham and then skittered forwards; Medicham avoided the blast with an Aura Avoidance and lunged at the Vileplume with a fist wreathed in Fire energy.
"Blaze Strike!" Medicham cried, pumping her fist into the Vileplume's flower and driving it backwards. The Roserade rolled back into view, a Dazzling Gleam flying from its petals. Medicham dove behind the staggering Vileplume, using it for cover; as the Dazzling Gleam flew overhead, Medicham spun and kicked the Vileplume away with an Aura-enhanced foot.
The Roserade leaped straight for Medicham, arm-flowers clenched into fists, and Medicham rose to meet her. She ducked the Roserade's swing with another Aura Avoidance and decked it in the face with a Blaze Strike, then delivered another one to its chest.
"Let's up the tempo a bit," Darkrai's voice sounded.
Abruptly a blast of powder flew from Roserade's petals; a Stun Spore, too close to avoid. Medicham felt the powder settle onto her and paralysis begin to take hold. Grimacing, she tossed the Roserade away with another Mind Blast, but as she twisted to face the Vileplume, her legs locked up and she stumbled right into its charge.
Her side exploded with pain as the Vileplume bore her to the ground. Grass energy surged from its body, manifesting into vines that wrapped tightly around Medicham and began sucking her vitality away. Thankfully, Mind Blast didn't need movement to be utilized, and another application of Psychic energy was sufficient to toss the Vileplume off her.
Medicham managed to fight through the Stun Spore and roll to her feet in time to punch the oncoming Roserade with a Blaze Strike. At that, the Roserade crumpled, finally overcome by the numerous hits. Medicham rounded on the Vileplume, fists clenched.
"One more time," said Darkrai.
The Vileplume raised its head, looking up at the roof of the dojo. A burst of Fire energy flew from its body, manifesting itself into a miniature sun. An aura of power flared to life around the Vileplume's body. Chlorophyll, Medicham realized as the Vileplume shot forward, Grass energy flying from its body.
Medicham reacted instantaneously. Aura Avoidance was sufficient to dodge the onrushing Vileplume's attack, and a swift Mind Blast sent it staggering. Medicham leaped forwards, drawing back a fist. "Blaze Strike!"
That was when it happened. Medicham had no idea how else to describe it; one moment it was a standard flaming fist, the next it was as if it was burning twice as hotly, the light twice as intense. As it hit Vileplume flew, gyrating frantically through the air until it crashed against the opposite wall, clearly unconscious.
"YES!" Darkrai's joy was clearly audible. "I thought the sun might help…congratulations! You just used Blaze!"
"I…I did?" Medicham gazed at her hand; the Fire energy - no, the Blaze - had already faded, but she could still feel her knuckles burning slightly.
"Yes, there was no mistaking it," said Darkrai. "You did it, Medicham. Good work."
"Thank you," said Medicham.
"Now, you did do it under an artificial sun that boosted the power of your attack times two," said Darkrai, "so don't get too cocky. We've still got a lot of work to do. But that was very, very, good."
"I want to try again," said Medicham.
"And I'll be glad to help," said Darkrai. "As always. Now…reset, or new opponents?"
"New opponents," said Medicham. "And take away the sun. I don't want to rely on it."
"Of course." In a flash, the sun was gone, and a Bronzong and Venusaur occupied the space in front of Medicham.
Medicham was unsurprised to see Fire energy snaking up her hand as she summoned it. Consistent Blaze was still beyond her. But she'd done it once.
For now, that was enough.
Bringer-Of-Visions steadied herself as she gazed upon the newest arrival to the fight. Deflecting Betrayer-Of-Kin's stunt with the cliff had left Bringer-Of-Visions somewhat winded, though she tried not to show it. She needed to present a strong front, especially against this unknown.
And unknown it was. She'd been able to read Ripper, effortlessly calculating what the Admin-level Manectric would do and formulating plans to counter his actions. Betrayer-Of-Kin had been smart to bring a Pokemon who could spam area-of-effect attacks; after all, most Heralds couldn't teleport, and Detect couldn't defend against those kinds of attacks. But Ripper's power level hadn't been nearly high enough for that to matter too much.
The Nidoking, however, was a different story. Try as Bringer-Of-Visions might, she simply could not read him. It wasn't like the strange beings at Aether Paradise, she could see Nidoking just fine, but his abilities and power level were blocked from her sight.
And if Betrayer-Of-Kin considered the Nidoking's power to be a sufficient enough trump card that she would put so much energy into shielding that power from Bringer-Of-Visions' sight, that meant he had to be strong.
She glanced around at the rest of her group. Finder-Of-Knowledge was still nursing her wounded shoulder from Betrayer-Of-Kin's successful slash. Observer-Of-Lives was helping her steady herself, and Follower-Of-Stories was still digging himself out from the rubble. Only Listener-Of-Thoughts was truly ready to continue the fight right now.
Damn. This fight had not gone according to plan at all. Bringer-Of-Visions' one consolation was that Betrayer-Of-Kin looked more wounded than she'd ever seen her.
"I see you brought another ally!" Bringer-Of-Visions called out, aiming to buy time for the rest of her group to ready themselves. "Do you really think that's going to save you?"
The Nidoking surprised her by stepping forwards in answer. "What's your name supposed to be?" he asked, his voice carrying across the distance and yet still sounding low and gruff.
"I am Absol," Bringer-Of-Visions answered.
Nidoking glared at her. "You know what? Fine. I don't care who you are. In fact, I don't even care about what you want. All I know…is that I need Betrayer-Of-Kin for my own mission." Nidoking stopped about halfway between Betrayer-Of-Kin and Bringer-Of-Visions. "Which means you're in my way. Earth Power."
Nidoking twisted his foot, and the ground between him and Bringer-Of-Visions exploded forwards, surging straight towards the five Heralds in an approximation of a towering tidal wave.
All five Heralds were quick to answer. Five blades of Dark energy flew through the air, slamming into the oncoming wave and blunting it before them. The earthen wave collapsed in on itself, crumpling before the Heralds' combined attack.
And then a hole opened in the center of the collapsing wave and Nidoking hurled himself through. "Ancient Power!" Half a dozen blades of Rock energy - no, of Ancient - burst from his outstretched claws, moving with such rapidity that the Heralds only barely dodged with Detects.
He can wield Ancient and Earth? How strong is he?
Nidoking continued to move, leaping straight for Finder-Of-Knowledge as she skidded to a halt. One massive burly fist punched forwards, knuckles tipped with Poison energy; Finder-Of-Knowledge met the blow with a swift parry from her horn, but the impact was enough to shove her backwards.
Observer-Of-Lives and Listener-Of-Thoughts lunged to the defense of their comrade, but without even looking, Nidoking twisted his foot again and a blast of Earth energy erupted under their feet. The two Heralds flew backwards, flailing, though they managed to land on their feet. Finder-Of-Knowledge attempted to go for a slash on Nidoking's side, but Nidoking twisted, bringing his massive tail up to block it. More a slab of armor than a tail, Nidoking's appendage was heavy enough that Finder-Of-Knowledge was thrown backwards by the impact, grunting in pain.
Bringer-Of-Visions had had enough. Pulling herself into Oblivion, she willed her body forwards and materialized into the real world next to Nidoking. Nidoking spun impossibly fast and deflected her horn-strike with a fairly clumsy block. "Triad," Nidoking growled. Blasts of Blaze, Lightning, and Ice flew from his own horn, and Bringer-Of-Visions was at once forced into a Detect to avoid the crackling energy.
Absurd! How can he wield so much raw energy?
Follower-Of-Stories leaped into view, Pursuit rays flying from his mouth, but with a murmur of "Ancient Defense", Nidoking raised a wall of Ancient to deflect the rays. A scrabbling of claws sounded as Follower-Of-Stories managed to stop himself from striking the wall. Finder-Of-Knowledge split into eight copies and lunged back into battle, forcing Nidoking to shift his attention and giving Bringer-Of-Visions some breathing room.
"Earth Power!" Another explosion of Earth sent Finder-Of-Knowledge flying, her seven Double Team copies dissolving as she slammed into a rock. Observer-Of-Lives and Listener-Of-Thoughts skidded around the upraised wall of Ancient, one on each side. "Ancient Power!" Nidoking snarled, sending more blasts of Ancient their way. Bringer-Of-Visions lunged, ducking Nidoking's swift tail-swipe with Detect, and drove a vicious horn-strike between two plates of Nidoking's armor.
Nidoking let out an agonized roar, stumbling, and Observer-Of-Lives and Listener-Of-Thoughts were quick to take advantage of the stumble. Two fresh cuts opened on Nidoking's skin as the two Heralds dove to either side of the behemoth. Follower-Of-Stories leaped into view as well, pummeling the staggering Nidoking with a flurry of Pursuit rays.
Bringer-Of-Visions smirked. Nidoking was powerful. A strong trump card. But she could see Betrayer-Of-Kin and Ripper watching the fight, doing nothing to help. She'd relied on him too much, made a mistake.
It would cost her.
Worry suddenly pricked at Bringer-Of-Visions. It wasn't like Betrayer-Of-Kin to sit and watch like that. There was no reason for her to, unless…
Unless Nidoking was still holding back.
"Sheer Force: Earth Power!" Nidoking bellowed.
There was a brief moment of silence, and then the ground within a fifty-foot radius of Nidoking exploded. Bringer-Of-Visions managed to teleport out of the way, but as she rematerialized just out of the blast zone she could see the other four Heralds flying uncontrollably backwards. She saw a purple sphere - a Life Orb, unmistakably - dangling from a chain around Nidoking's neck and glowing with power.
Sheer Force was a simple Ability on paper; the user could not take damage from anything that wasn't a direct attack. That explained why Nidoking had smashed through his own collapsing earthen wave before; he hadn't even felt anything from it. But that Ability extended to the Life Orb hanging from Nidoking's neck, an item that normally caused the user pain but amplified the power of their attacks. With Sheer Force, Nidoking had all the power of the Life Orb with none of the drawbacks.
"Ancient Power!" A Detect simply could not be done in midair; shards of flying Ancient caught all four flailing Heralds and knocked them further. Observer-Of-Lives slammed into the right wall of the valley, Follower-Of-Stories the left wall; both slumped to the ground, clearly winded. Listener-Of-Thoughts was thrown into a pile of boulders with a crack that indicated at least a couple broken bones. And Finder-Of-Knowledge plunged to the ground right next to Nidoking.
The realization came to Bringer-Of-Visions, and she nearly sank to her knees. This Nidoking…it had to be Champion-level. Perhaps even stronger. How else could he wield such powerful, versatile energy? How else could he manipulate Ancient and Earth so effortlessly? How else could he defeat an entire kill-squad of Heralds with such ease?
Betrayer-Of-Kin had won. Even if they somehow managed to defeat Nidoking, Betrayer-Of-Kin would find it trivially easy to pick off the weakened Heralds. Bringer-Of-Visions felt humiliated tears coming to her eyes. So much preparation for nothing.
She'd failed her Master again.
Nidoking bent down and picked Finder-Of-Knowledge up by the neck, then looked around at the rest of the Heralds, ignoring his captive clawing at his arm and struggling desperately. "Leave. Us. Alone," he snarled, and then he clenched his claws tightly and snapped Finder-Of-Knowledge's neck. The Herald fell limp, head lolling at a terrifying angle. Nidoking dropped the body to the floor and glared around at the rest of the Heralds, silently daring them to attack.
Bringer-Of-Visions clenched her claws. No. There was no way she would just stand back and let Nidoking win.
She threw back her head and began to sing out her Perish Song. Nidoking's eyes narrowed and he lunged, hurling himself across the broken terrain. The three remaining Heralds leaped to meet him, uncaring of their own wounds, knowing only that they needed to distract Nidoking, to occupy him, to delay him in any way possible.
And then something materialized right next to Bringer-Of-Visions. It looked like a puff of smoke, if that smoke was a blue-purple that reminded Bringer-Of-Visions of a nebula and had a face. "oh! hi! what's going on? i don't really-"
Just as quickly as it had arrived, the strange being disappeared, and Bringer-Of-Visions disappeared along with it, the notes of the Perish Song dispersing uselessly into the air.
Bringer-Of-Visions looked around wildly. Snow. Blood. Trees. A massive stump.
Why am I here?
"What is this?" she snarled, rounding on the strange nebula-like figure. "What did you do?"
The figure looked terrified. "i'm sorry…i don't know what's going on. all i know is that…for some reason…i had to do this. this…this wasn't my idea…"
"Don't give me that!" Bringer-Of-Visions shouted. "Where am I? What did you do to me?"
"i don't know," said the strange smoky being. "i don't know where we are. there's a clearing…that's a lot of blood…and there's some kind of dojo over there. this doesn't make sense. where am i? why would i need to bring this absol here?"
Bringer-Of-Visions looked where the figure was looking. Indeed, in the otherwise-familiar clearing, the tan walls of a dojo were visible between the trees.
It was then that the wall exploded as a Venusaur flew through, landing hard in the snow outside. Through the now-ripped-open wall, Bringer-Of-Visions saw a face looking out, a face gasping with effort. Then the face landed on Bringer-Of-Visions.
Medicham's eyes went wide with terror. Bringer-Of-Visions looked instinctively to the side, but the strange smoky being was not there anymore. She turned back towards Medicham, who was shrinking backwards, breathing hard and fast, muttering something Bringer-Of-Visions couldn't quite make out.
Had she done this? Was this her fault? Was this someone's idea of a joke? Pure rage grasped at Bringer-Of-Visions' mind and dragged her paws forwards. Bringer-Of-Visions lunged at Medicham, fury driving every movement; for what might have been the first time in her life, rage overran reason.
With a blast of Psychic energy, Medicham sent the Venusaur flying, massive trunklike limbs flailing to try and gain purchase on nothing. It had been difficult to finish the hulking Pokemon off, so Medicham had simply thrown Mind Blast after Mind Blast at it, seeking to summon forth Mind instead of Psychic energy.
The Venusaur's body tore through the wall and continued to fly. Medicham stopped short; that was the wall leading out into the clearing. She could see the snow, could see the trees, could see the blood.
And she could see the Absol standing in the center of the clearing, eyes fixated on her.
"No…" she whispered. "No…she's not real…she's not real…it's just a dream…"
Bringer-Of-Visions glanced to the side for a moment, then turned her gaze fully towards Medicham. Fury sparkled in her eyes and she hurled herself forwards.
"You're not real!" Medicham screamed.
Bringer-Of-Visions slammed into Medicham, knocking her to the dojo floor. One paw landed on each shoulder, one on each thigh, pinning her to the ground. Bringer-Of-Visions's eyes glared straight into hers. "What did you do?" she hissed, a strangled hiss of rage that sent a chill down Medicham's mind.
The realization hit Medicham that this was real. That somehow, Bringer-Of-Visions was truly here. "Darkrai!" she screamed. "Darkrai! Help!"
Bringer-Of-Visions froze. Slowly, she turned her gaze upwards. "D…Darkrai?" Her voice shook, her grip relaxing at the Legendary's name.
Darkrai's voice sounded in the silent dojo. "Medicham," he said. His voice was saddened, as if tears were descending from his eyes even now, and Medicham at once knew something was wrong. "I…I'm sorry. This wasn't meant to happen."
Bringer-Of-Visions' eyes widened. "Master?" she asked, surprise and recognition flooding her voice.
And Medicham felt every bit of breath flee her body, felt her heart shatter into a thousand pieces, felt shock and horror and unimaginable mental pain grasped her mind like an ensnaring vine and refused to let go.
Yes, I'm a monster. I'll admit it.
Anyway, hope you all had fun reading, and see you in four days for the conclusion of the Shadows Arc! I will be taking a short break after next chapter, so fair word of warning. More details next chapter.