Welcome back! Things happen! Hope you enjoy!
Rainbow instinctually recoiled back, waiting for the inevitable pain from the blow to explode onto his face. But he felt no pain oncoming. In fact, Rainbow felt great. The fatigue and the wear he felt on his body were pretty much nonexistent. He wasn't frozen anymore, he relished the feeling of stretching his legs.
He was also alone. There was no sign of Pena or the bandits he was just fighting. Actually, he wasn't even in the forest anymore. He was standing in a decently sized room with a dome-shaped roof. Where there should be walls were windows, abling one to see out of the circular room from any angle. The ceiling and the floor were made of white marble, with gold trim placed throughout.
In the center of the room was a large circular altar. It was also chiseled from white marble, with its top face made from black marble. Walking up to it, he spotted nine notches in the face, each one seemed to be a perfect fit for the sizes of the plates.
The face was also adorned with gold carvings. He recognized almost every legendary pokemon he could think of. Ho-oh, Lugia, Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza, Dialga, Palkia, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde. In the middle of the face, though, were two pokemon he had never seen before.
One was a quadrupedal pokemon adorned with a ring around its midsection. The posture in its depiction was the picture of elegance. Next to it was a pokemon with six stumpy legs and a long neck. It looked menacing, its wings seemingly made of smoke.
"Who are these pokemon?" He asked himself.
"I'd have hoped you would have figured that out by now." Rainbow twirled around, eyes widened in recognition. He knew that voice, except this time it wasn't in his head.
He came to be looking at one of the pokemon from the inscription, the quadrupedal one. It was mostly white, with the ring and some of its parts gold in color. It easily dwarfed him, he felt like a small Joltik in comparison. It gazed down at him with an unblinking red eye.
"You're… Arceus." He breathed out. The pokemon gave nothing but a small nod in return. Rainbow took a step back. "But… How are you here? No one has seen you in centuries." Arceus hovered closer to overlook the altar as well.
"'Here'? Where do you think 'here' is?" Arceus asked back.
"Well, here. In the real world, I guess."
"The real world, eh? How did you arrive in this tower, then?" Rainbow relaxed a bit. What was this guy playing at?
"Uh," He dumbly stated. How did he get here? "Did you teleport me here? Like you did in the forest five years ago?" Arceus did not have a mouth, but Rainbow swore he could see the pokemon smile.
"No, I did nothing like that to you this time."
"What does this have to do with anything?" Rainbow did not see the point of this conversation. Arceus turned back to him.
"I'm teaching you something. Young Rainbow, just because something seems real does not mean it is." As if to demonstrate this point, Arceus lifted one of his hooves. As he did this the whole room turned translucent, revealing a black abyss past the windows that seemed to sprawl infinitely outwards.
"Then, where am I?" Rainbow questioned Arceus as the room was placed back.
"We are in your head. You got hit pretty hard, you know. You may be going crazy." Rainbow saw the mirth in Arceus's eyes.
"So I'm dreaming."
"Yes, you are dreaming."
"Why are you here in my dreams, then?" Arceus sighed and shook his head.
"Enjoy the moment, Rainbow. Impatience leads to disaster." Rainbow's eyes flared with anger and annoyance.
"Arceus, my family is in danger! I need to wake up and save Pena, I won't fail again!" He lashed out at the legendary. Arceus lowered his head.
"Yes, your family. Of course. I am here, in your dream, to offer you some aid." Rainbow gave Arceus a cautious gaze. It seemed like he was being serious now.
"What makes you think I need it?" Rainbow retorted. Arceus raised his hoof once more and the scene changed. They were back in the forest and everything was frozen. Pena was still leaned against the tree except now there were tears running freely down her face. The Dusclops and Duskull were hovering/standing above Rainbow's body, trying to pry the band from his neck.
"This is why." Arceus responded. Rainbow looked at himself. He was battered, bloodied, and bruised. His fur was soaked and burned, one of his hind legs was swollen. He looked like a corpse, like he had really died on the spot. Rainbow cringed at his real body and understood what Arceus was saying. The scene returned to the room before.
"How can you help?" Rainbow asked the other pokemon. "I need to get back up, I need to save her!"
"Do not fret, you will save young Pena. That outcome is assured." Arceus responded with such confidence, as if Rainbow was some invincible hero that could right any wrong.
"Didn't you just see me? I'm in no shape to fight those two bandits off."
"Because this time you will not be bringing only you, but a part of me as well."
"Excuse me?"
"What I mean to say is, I will give you a gift." Arceus gave Rainbow the most serious look he had seen from the creator so far.
"Another gift? Like the one five years ago that got my parents killed?" Arceus sighed in displeasure.
"I regret that day more than you know. It was unfortunate, what happened to Dutch and Merrida. I thought you and your family would be safe, but I had underestimated the desire in some pokemons' hearts." Rainbow shifted his weight, unsure of how to take that. "But this time, you can fight. And you will win." This had to be some power, if he could win with it that easily.
"What exactly are you offering me? Why can't you just come and help me yourself?"
"I believe that the pokemon I have created can rule themselves, to solve their own problems without the help of myself or the other legendaries. That is why I am offering you an ability beyond what most pokemon thought possible. An ability that can be useful in almost any combat situation. One that may save many pokemon from the evils of the world."
"And you're just going to give me this ability? For nothing in return?" With a power like the one being described, Rainbow couldn't just think that Arceus would give it to him for free. Arceus chuckled.
"I believe some pokemon once said, 'usually a stranger expects something from you if they just hand you something like this out of the blue.'" Rainbow grimaced at his own words being used against him. "I'll warn you. For me to give you this power, I expect an oath as well as to task you with a challenge to prove your worthiness."
Rainbow was getting a little nervous. If this ability was as great as Arceus was hyping it up to be, he really needed it when he woke up. But a direct challenge from the creator of all pokemon? Would he be up to the task?
"Ah, but I guess you've already completed the challenge, so I guess we can skip that part." Uh, what?
"But I haven't done anything yet."
"Nothing, you say? Last I checked you still had my Dread Plate on you, did you not? I asked you five years ago to keep it safe, and so you have!" Rainbow was floored, to say the least. At this point, he didn't know if Arceus really wanted to test him or to just hurry up and hand over the aforementioned ability. "Now, the oath."
Arceus hovered closer to Rainbow's comparatively small body, coming to a stop just before the Eevee.
"I shall warn you one final time. This ability comes with immense pressure and expectations. Never again will you fit in with the average crowd. No longer will you live the life of a normal pokemon. You will have unknowingly painted the largest target on your back. Once you have it, it is up to you and you alone to decide what to use it for."
"How do you know I won't use this power for evil?"
"I don't," Arceus admitted. "But I have a feeling that you are the perfect inheritor. Now, do you accept those conditions?"
Rainbow felt immense power roll off of the creator. It took all of his effort to stay standing before the amount of pressure bearing down on him. Arceus's unblinking eye was weighing Rainbow's very soul as if judging the smaller pokemon. Rainbow felt a cold sweat run down the back of his head and for a second he thought about turning him down. He thought about facing the pair of siblings as he was, and he could envision the struggle he would put up before falling permanently. It would be because of his failure that Pena would die. He would not let that happen, he thought with a scowl. He met Arceus stare with a determined glare, an unspoken fire raging inside.
"I accept your conditions, Arceus." There was no shaking in Rainbow's voice.
"Then the oath is made and your fate ever intertwined with the world." Arceus's eyes glowed a brilliant gold. Rainbow started to glow as well, a warmth overcoming him. "You are no longer Rainbow, the orphan of Quartz. You are Rainbow, Champion of Arceus."
The glowing ceased, and Rainbow let out a breath he had been holding. He felt… no different than he had before. Arceus spoke once more.
"Now, my Champion, save your family. That is my first task of you." Rainbow's body was starting to fade, he knew he would wake up soon.
"How do I use this power?" Rainbow asked quickly before he left. "I don't feel any different!"
"It will come to you, do not worry." But Rainbow still had doubts.
"What if it doesn't?"
"It will." Arceus looked Rainbow dead in the eyes, red to black. "Because I would have not picked you if I was not completely sure.." Arceus turned away. "Until next time, Champion. It has been fun."
Rainbow's eyes were still closed yet he knew he was now back to reality, He could feel the cold air on his wounds once more, his fatigue returning. He felt a sudden tug around his neck, pulling him slightly forward.
"Stupid thing. It won't come off!" He heard Shaid the Dusclops curse to his front, he could feel her hand wrapped around the band on his neck. She was trying to pull the band from his neck, it was starting to choke him. Before it could do just that, Rainbow opened his eyes and laid down a Bite onto her hand.
Shaid shouted in surprise and pain, bouncing backward and away from the Eevee. Rainbow also hopped backward and dropped to a fighting stance. Shaid was glaring at him, clutching her hand in pain. Caid the Duskiull was floating cautiously in front of Pena, who was now tied down to the tree and had a wad of leaves stuffed in her mouth. She had a look of hope and happiness at his awakening.
They had gagged her, he realized. He growled, trying to keep his anger in check. He couldn't afford any mistakes, and getting angry would make this fight significantly harder.
"Welcome back to the world of the living, thief." Shaid spat, obviously displeased. "You may be ready to fight, but your body isn't. I wonder just how long you'll last." She charged him with a Thunder Punch, intent on finishing him this time around. As she charged, Rainbow saw Caid charge up another Ice Beam and fire. He stepped to the side to dodge, noting the pain in his hind leg. Shaid turned to her brother, a crazed look in her eye.
"Don't fight him! I am more than enough to handle this half-dead Eevee." Caid flinched back, nodding at his enraged sister. Shaid turned back towards Rainbow only to find the Eevee gone. Rainbow used her distraction as a chance to hide within the trees and out of her line of sight. She screamed in rage and started randomly throwing her punches at the trees.
Rainbow sat behind a particularly thick trunk, peering around the side and witnessing the carnage. Her anger was left raging, multiple trees felled by her wrath. He leaned back and held the first plate he had received, the Dread Plate as Arceus had called it, and tried to will his new power to life.
He tried to feel something, anything, that could be this power of his. He looked into its vortex, feeling the pull of the plate. He felt its call but nothing else. He bit his lower lip. Rainbow couldn't afford to waste time here. Who knows how long it would take the Dusclops to find him, or even how long it would take for them to use Pena to lure him out.
Rainbow clutched the Dread Plate even harder, his head starting to pound in stress and anxiety. Had he just been dreaming? Was it all fake? Did that blow to his head do more damage than he thought?
The tree he was hiding behind exploded. Rainbow was thrown forwards, landing on his side.
"Found you, coward!" Shaid elated in sick joy after finding her prey. Rainbow looked behind her and noted the number of craters and incinerated trees in the area. He cursed. He needed more time to figure things out.
Shaid charged Rainbow once more. She reared her fist back and took a wide swing with a Fire Punch. Rainbow easily dodged the well-choreographed attack. She took a few more shots like this, taking wide and slow swings. Her punches seemed less refined, wilder than before. She seemed to grow angrier with every punch she missed.
"Stay still, squirt!" She heaved out, growing more tired with every swing. Rainbow was backed into a tree. Shaid took another wide swing, striking the tree as Rainbow dodged once more. The now damaged tree then started to lurch forward. It was falling down and heading straight towards the two. Shaid was too focused on Rainbow to react in time. The tree struck her in the head, dazing her for a few seconds. When she looked up, her prey had disappeared again. She roared in annoyance and blind rage.
Rainbow witnessed her reaction from up in the trees. He hid within the thick canopy of the forest, the darkness hiding him. He saw her wildly look around before setting work on destroying trees once again.
"Please," Rainbow pleaded to himself, to the power inside of him. He was running out of his limited time. His worst fears were realized with what happened next. He watched the Dusclops slowly turn to the scared Pichu still tied to the tree.
"Well, squirt," She started to lumber towards Pena with the cold mist of an Ice Punch trailing from her fist. "If you won't come for me, you'll come for the other squirt." Pena's eyes widened and she started screaming against her gag. She struggled with her binds, desperately trying to free herself. Even Caid looked a tad unsure at this revelation, but he otherwise said nothing.
Rainbow's eyes were set ablaze and he felt an aching in his heart. He had run out of time. He grit his teeth and steeled his nerves. Power or not, he had to save Pena. He had to save his family.
It was then, when Rainbow was backed into a corner and ready to protect someone no matter the cost, that the Dread Plate began to glow. The light overtook the band as he dropped to the ground. He himself was glowing white as he stalked towards the bandit duo from the ruin of the forest. Pena's eyes locked onto him in pleading desperation.
Rainbow felt his form start to change. He grew taller, almost double his previous height. His body lengthened and his fur receded. His legs were stretched into longer limbs, his tail, as well as his ears, now pointed straight. He felt the energy of Dark overtake the Normal he had known since his birth.
"Well, would you look at that," Shaid stared down the Umbreon that now growled at her. "The squirt isn't so squirty anymore."
"Step away from the Pichu." Rainbow demanded from the two bandits. He had no idea how he did it, but he had evolved. Into an Umbreon, as well! With his typing, he should have a much easier time dealing with the siblings. Though he could still feel the sting from his previous injuries.
"Be careful, sister, this could be a problem." Caid warned Shaid from Pena's side.
"Stay out of this, Caid. He's still half-dead, he just looks different now." Rainbow hated it, but he had to agree with her. Spontaneous evolution or not, he still hasn't healed up. His hind leg still stung when he put weight on it and the multitude of cuts and bruises across his body ached. Still, facing the Dusclops without her brother to back her up was much easier than facing the two as a team. Shaid suddenly came sprinting at Rainbow.
"Let's finish this, Umbreon!" Rainbow let out a small grunt in agreement, this was the time to finish this fight once and for all. Ignoring the shooting pain in his leg he rushed to meet her head-on.
Rainbow was planning on springing up and using Bite on her hand. Instead, he felt a significantly more powerful attack charge up in his jaw. This wasn't a Bite anymore, it was a Crunch. Shaid screamed as the super-effective move landed on her hand. Reacting quickly, she charged and landed a Fire Punch to Rainbow's torso and he was thrown off.
"That really hurt." She breathed out in pain, still wincing at the pain. As Rainbow landed nearby he thought to himself that her Fire Punch had actually hurt less. Rainbow was then extremely grateful that he had evolved at this time. He could deal more damage while taking more as well. He crouched down low as Shaid recovered and charged him once more. She was going to throw a Thunder Punch with her left hand.
Rainbow's plan to try the same tactic again seemed to fail as his injured leg slipped on the forest floor. He felt the singe of the electricity scrape his back. Panicking, Rainbow charged another attack in his mouth. Instead of a Crunch, though, the Dark energy that came out was not physical. Rainbow shot the energy and hit Shaid in the eye with a point-blank Dark Pulse.
"Ah!" Shaid yelped in even more pain. She covered her eye and kneeled down, trying to recover from the attack. She was panting, the barrage of super-effective attacks from Rainbow now having an effect on her. Even she couldn't take much more.
"Sister, enough!" Caid rushed to Shaid's side, firing an Ice Beam at Rainbow. Rainbow jumped back and put distance between himself and the siblings.
"I told you to stay out of this!" Shaid stood back up, glaring daggers at her brother.
"Do not mask your stupidity with pride, sister! As an Eevee he may have been an easy target, but an Umbreon is a whole different situation!" Shaid growled at his argument but relented at his point. "We must face him together, as we always have!"
Shaid turned her murderous glare towards Rainbow. Her hands clenched and unclenched, as if contemplating what she would do to the Umbreon if she had him in her grasp. She finally yelled out in anger.
"Fine then!" She suddenly clutched Caid in her hand. "As we've always done!" She threw the Duskull straight at Rainbow. Said Umbreon was confused. She had used her own brother as a projectile? Then he remembered. The Duskull, with Ally Switch. Rainbow bit his lower lip and tried to formulate a plan. The Duskull was getting close now. Rainbow knew of one move he could use, but did he have it? He attained new moves with his evolution, so what were the chances he had received this specific move as well?.
He would have to take the risk, he thought, as the Duskull was now upon him. Rainbow breathed in and braced himself as best he could. The Duskull then disappeared and in came the larger of the two, with a Fire Punch aiming straight for the Umbreon. Rainbow clenched his jaw and glared down the attack. If his plan did not work, there would be no more chance of victory.
He grunted through clenched teeth as the searing fist make contact. The flames charred his fur and the force behind the blow made Rainbow's body scream in pain. But he held his ground. When the flames died and the fist pulled back, Rainbow knew it was now or never.
He hoped that luck, for once, was on his side as he searched for the Dark energy inside of him. It started to manifest in one of his paws, a blackened shine covering the appendage. The dark glow then turned harsh as Rainbow felt the power of the move double. In that instant, he knew he had the right move. The same attack he saw five years ago.
He used the last of the strength in his legs to jump up once more, to get right in the face of the stunned and confused Dusclops still in front of him. He shot his paw out and unleashed the fury of a super-effective, double-powered Payback into the pokemon's gut.
Shaid spat out in exasperation. Her eye was so wide it looked like it was about to pop out of her skull. She clenched where the attack had landed with both of her hands and she doubled over. She seemed to struggle to raise her head once more. She gave Rainbow the most venomous glare he had seen from her yet, before her eye rolled back and she fell onto her stomach. The lack of movement indicated that she was now unconscious.
The only sound that came from the battlefield was Rainbow's heavy panting. He was exhausted, but he still had to deal with one more adversary before he had won. He glared at Caid, who was still staring at his sister in horror and disbelief. Rainbow gave the Duskull a low, guttural growl.
"Get out of this forest." Rainbow stood tall, trying to make it seem as though he could take the Duskull. To make it seem like he wouldn't fall at any moment. Caid glanced between Rainbow and his sister, in deep contemplation. The small pokemon nodded, coming to some conclusion.
"Please," the Duskull started. "I will take her out of here. We will leave." He relented. Rainbow growled once more.
"You will not come back." The Duskull winced at Rainbow's tone. He meekly replied.
"Of course." Caid began to drag his older sibling from the battlefield and back into the forest. Rainbow didn't dare try to move, instead choosing to stare them down from his spot as they left. He only relaxed when they were out of sight.
Rainbow made his way towards Pena. Her eyes now filled with joy and more tears coming down her face. She was still struggling with her bonds and he could hear her cries through the gag. He gave the best comforting smile he could as he limped over to his sister. He couldn't help but think that he had done it. He had finally won. He reached a claw down and cut Pena's bonds. She used her newfound freedom to undo her gag. Without wasting a single moment, she rushed into Rainbow and gave him a bone-breaking hug.
"You did it! You did it! You won!" She released him, giving his aching body a break. "And you evolved, too!"
"Crazy, right?" He humored her. A softness grew in his eyes when he stared at the Pichu, his little sister. He looked to the sky. It was well past sundown, the stars had come out and shone in all their glory. "We're late for dinner, Pena. Your mother is worried, you know." She gave a little pout.
"Our mom is worried, Bow." He flinched a small bit at the retort. He relented to his sister.
"Our mom."
She smiled at his response. Rainbow turned and limped back towards the cottage, their home. He gestured for her to follow. She hurried to catch up to him. They walked together in comfortable silence.
"Bow?" Pena addressed him. He hummed in acknowledgment. "Thank you." He smiled once more.
"Don't worry about it, Pena."
They walked a bit further.
"Hey, Bow?"
"Yes?"
"I love you. And mom, too. And Jolt. I love our family." Rainbow contemplated on a response, landing on the only one he wanted to say.
"I do, too."
The bandit duo is defeated and Pena has been rescued! But what is this mysterious power that Rainbow has acquired? Thank you for reading and I hope you liked the ending fight, I know I did. Until next time.