Pokemon Virus Version

by WeS RoYaL

Join Protagonist Seth and his underdog Chikorita as they journey through Johto in a rebellion against a reborn evil organization on a journey of their own to rise to power. As you read, you'll find that some people in this organization aren't so evil, and that Seth isn't at all heroic. It's up to travel companions Yumi, Chapel & Rose to change Seth's cold character for the better.

90. Chapter 90: Espurr's Last Stand

Pokemon Virus Version Chapter 90: Espurr's Last Stand

Yumi's POV

Flashback~

Location: Cherrygrove City

Wingull passing by, Ducklett and Swanna Roosting, and blue Shellos visiting the shore only added to the natural peace as Seth and I stared into the sunset.

Chikorita was with Althaea and Roselia, who were nearby and experimenting with a new perfume fragrance called 'Sunset'. Her inspiration coming from the sunset was really the only reason we were out here.

It was also a chance to relax one last time before hitting the road.

"I used to watch the sunset like this everyday," Seth said.

"Huh?" It was the first time I've ever heard Seth doing ANY kind of small talk. After a couple of seconds, I stared back at the sunset with a smile on my face as I said, "Me too." I was really in a good mood today. It had been about fourteen days-two weeks-since I sprained my ankle, and I was just happy to be walking again. Sure, I missed out on what would've been my Pokemon Contest debut, but Seth…he came back for me…

"Seth?" I called.

The seemingly emotionless boy said nothing, he didn't even look at me, but I know he heard me.

"When I hurt my ankle, why did you come back for me?" I asked as the waves continued to flow in the gentle breeze, "Our journey only started three weeks ago, yet you remain a mystery to me because you're so detached."

Seth sure was a quiet one, but after a few seconds, he at last opened his mouth, "I did it because you asked me to," he said as his eyes never left the sunset.

Well that was an obvious answer…maybe a little TOO obvious, "Did you do it because you think I'm pretty?" I asked cheerfully.

"No." Seth answered flatly.

"Come on, I know you like me!" Our conversation grabbed the attention of Althaea, and she join in from afar as I got in Seth's face and put my hands on my hips.

"Don't play hard to get, Seth!" Althaea said with a smile on her face.

"Chico!"

"Vui!" Even our pokemon in Chikorita and Eevee were starting to cheer.

"I think you're loud and annoying. In fact, it still annoys me how Eevee was given to you instead of me simply because you were at the lab just seconds earlier than me." Seth said with a straightforward tone.

"Aw, you're such a downer!" I said, obliviously disregarding Seth's words.

Seth didn't know it, but there was a part of me that was serious when I asked him if he liked me for the very first time, and to tell the truth, I may not have known either. It's just that trying to get Seth emotionally available was like trying to get a Tepig to fly: It couldn't be done.

But still I sit here on the beach, trying to make the impossible possible…

~End Flashback

Yumi's Dreamworld

But now Seth is gone, along with the sunset.

I… I wanna wake up now…Why? Why can't I wake up?

….

Location: Yumi's Dream Citadel

Seth's POV

Throughout the manor's final hall, I was able to get a better hearing of what was going on in the room I was approaching.

"No…" I heard the voice of Alice. She sounded as if she was in despair.

Next was the voice of the talking Espurr, "I have defeated you." The voice Espurr was calm and very sure, "It is pointless for you to become sad. You let Father Seth down, but it's not like you ever had a chance with him to begin with. Standing next to Mother Yumi, you're just a lesser prize for Father Seth to settle with-second place…"

There was a brief pause, but once Espurr opened her mouth again, I understood exactly what happened. "Tears?" Espurr questioned.

Alice was crying, but only slightly, "The reason why I'm sad is because everything you say is true, and that might be the reason why I hate Yumi so much."

"So then you will turn back?"

"I…"

At that moment, I entered the room, causing the wide eyes of Espurr to land on me. "Father…"

My assumption about Alice was proven to be correct when she faced me, her face slightly dripping tears, "I'm sorry…I lost…"

"Alice, you have my gratitude." With a soft look in my eyes, I offered my hand to an Alice who was on her knees. She paused, looking at my hand like it was unfamiliar before grabbing a hold of it, allowing me to help her up. She then stared into my eyes.

…It wasn't like she DIDN'T have a chance. If I could find any sort of positive conclusion about 'us', it would be that we're much better friend now than we were yesterday. I keep very few friends in general, because people have to take the time to earn my trust, which is what Alice has done.

"You're one of my closest friends," I calmly said to an Alice who paused again, and then ran me into a hug. Affection…not my favorite thing in the world, but I reluctantly returned her hug.

After our moment, it was time for me to shift my attention toward Espurr and Yumi.

Behind the wide eyed Espurr, was probably the most upscale bed I've ever seen, with all the white linen. Then, sleeping on the bed…she looked different, with her hair sleeker, her bangs longer, and the white dress she was wearing.

"She will never wake up," Espurr said, "I'll make sure of it."

"Wait a minute, so Yumi's sleeping?" I asked.

"She isn't just sleeping, she's dreaming. And thanks to my power, whatever she's dreaming has become the reality that surrounds us as we speak."

So this is Yumi's dream world…And this was the extent of Espurr's power…Thinking about this, I wondered if Espurr could create a dream world for me. It would be a world without Neo Snagem…but if that were to happen, would Yumi even exist in that world? Probably not. Without Neo Snagem, I would've never had any reason to come to Johto in the first place, which means I would've never met Yumi.

"No matter how much you wish for this to remain you world, it'll never happen. This isn't your reality. It's not Yumi's reality either." It was my way of telling Espurr that the dream ends now. I took out a Pokeball, but Espurr didn't flinch.

Espurr sighed, "This isn't about reality, it's about Mother's eternal happiness-an eternal sleep."

My eye widened, while Alice gasped, "A death of sorts?" Alice asked.

"However you want to put it." With that, Espurr's eyes began to glow. I readied my Pokeball, but all Espurr did was point her paw behind Alice and I.

If I had a heart, it would've caused me to go into a state of panic when I saw what was behind me…

"Lit…"

"Lit…"

"Lit…" The Litwick that were lined up throughout the citadel…they were all gathered in this room as the door automatically slammed shut.

The Litwick wasted no time surrounding Alice and I.

"The world outside-reality-is a world of suffering and sorrow, with death being the most common denominator. Every being fights and struggles, but for what? A funeral for an ending? Here, we don't have to worry about that. Yumi and I are in our heaven, while you two…" Espurr paused, "Because you two have forced my hand, you'll also be sleeping, by the time I'm through with you. I'll deliver you to HELL!"

Alice grabbed my arm for comfort, but at this point, I really didn't see how it mattered.

Could I have sent out a pokemon? Absolutely, but we were completely outnumbered by the Litwick. As they came closer, their individual flames started merging to create on big flame. In comparison to the large, purple fire, the white room seemed to grow dim, at least in my mind.

"Yumi…" I uttered. Slowly, Alice and I fell to the ground. That 'bright light', or 'bright lights' came closer and closer to us.

…Could Hell be any worse than living in a world where I could fail to stop Neo Snagem?

…

Lights out….I had fallen asleep.

Was I defeated? Opening my eyes, I remembered everything.

I had followed Espurr into the white dominion, and when tension had risen, she and I had a fight. She let out a long and dragged out Yawn, causing me to do the same. I didn't know why, but at that time, I became very sleepy. My eyes became heavy, while my body started to shut down. The last thing I remember was looking into Espurr's wide eyes as I fell to the white floor.

I, Chikorita, was defeated by my baby sister in Espurr…or so I thought.

All I did was follow the light that actually turned out to be the white of the room that housed me. When I realized I was right next to Yumi, laying on what was probably the most elegant bed I've ever seen, I turned around, and my eyes widened immediately at what I saw.

Espurr…she was controlling the many illusionary Litwick that were swallowing Seth and Alice within the dark flames.

"Oh no you don't…" I gritted my teeth and became very angry at the Espurr. I wasn't gonna let her harm my trainer any longer!

I made my way toward the edge of the bed, and stared down an Espurr who did not realize I was awake yet.

"Ha!" She was startled by my voice as I jumped off the bed and performed a diving tackle, sending her to the ground.

Espurr's fall was a fall that grabbed the attention of everyone, including the many Litwick who abruptly h

Alted their elimination of Alice and Seth. All the illusionary Litwick rushed to Espurr's aid, while I rushed to Seth.

"Seth?" I called "Seth?" Of course, all my trainer could hear was my typical Chikorita cry, but that didn't stop him from responding to me.

"Ngh…" He moved, but only slightly.

On the other hand, Alice was more responsive, "Chikorita?" she said confused as she opened her eyes and sat up on her knees. "Oh?!" Glancing at Espurr and the many Litwick prompted Alice to hasten her first attempt at rushing Seth to his feet.

"Chikorita, Alice…" Seth said as he opened his eyes.

Seth's POV

When I sat up, Chikorita immediately jumped into my arms and hugged me.

"Chico! Chicori!"

How pathetic of me. Was I really going to go down without a fight? Was I really going to give up on Chikorita? On Yumi?

With Chikorita in my arms, I rose to my feet and stared past the Litwick and momentarily downed Espurr, and at my sleeping best friend on the white bed.

Perhaps now was the time for us to go and wake her up, with Espurr having 'seemingly' taken a critical hit.

Alice, Chikorita and I approaching the bed, I didn't know what to think of Yumi, except of the sleeker hair, longer bangs, and white dress, as I've observed before. She looked nice. But was I going to say that out loud? No way.

"Yumi…" I said in a low tone of voice.

Yumi's Dream…

Yumi's POV

That voice…that very familiar voice…The voice of the person I've been waiting here in the darkness to see.

"Seth, are you there?"

Seth's voice alone was enough to change my mood, albeit just a little. Not being able to see or hear him was the reason this dream started to turn into a nightmare for me. But now…

…Now I could feel my heart starting to beat faster. Emotions of delight and happiness were starting to surround me. The darkness of the Sunnyshore night was finally beginning to fade away, and I felt myself being engulfed in light, a VERY VIVID light. This was the light of my heart. And waiting for me at the center…

"Yumi?" The sound of his voice echoed.

My eyes grew wide as I focused on him.

"You're about as dead as a Gastly when it comes to your emotions…" I said as my opened my eyes halfway, "For you, loving someone seems impossible. Though sometimes, I think your pride just gets in the way of you expressing yourself. You'd be embarrassed, if you even have that emotion at all. You've never given the impression though. At times, you can be very blunt and heartless. And to top that off, in the past, you've put your goals before your friends…before me…yet I can't help but like you. You've been there for me when I was at my low points, just as I've been for you. I'll get you to return my feelings for you one day, and when that time comes, my persistence will have finally paid off, and I'll be oh-so satisfied…" I ran the dream into a hug, and there the dream just stood. The real Seth is not at all affectionate. "My dream will become our reality someday."

"Yumi…" It was the voice again.

I…I no longer felt the need to remain in this dream. I thought that I was unable to wake up before, but I guess it was all 'in my head'. Either that or Seth's voice was really speaking to me.

"Yumi…" As I began to open my eyes for real at long last, the light started to become overwhelming, and the echo was starting to become clear.

I was in an all white bed in an all white room. And from my bed, I saw him. He was accompanied by Chikorita and 'her'.

"Seth…and Alice?" No doubt, I was back in reality, even though I was still in my dream manor.

I smiled as Seth and stared at each other for one long moment. I think…I think I have the courage to tell him my feelings now, because the future doesn't seem so bleak to me anymore.

"You're awake." Seth pointed out the obvious with that same, indifferent expression on his face.

"I missed you…" I said to Seth, "I know this might not make sense to you, but even though you were in my dream, you weren't really 'there'. There's so many things I wanna tell you now."

Even though Alice won the battle earlier, her still cared enough to come back for me…

"But…you can't…" The eyes of both Alice and Chikorita widened, while Seth gritted his teeth as he turned toward the room's entrance.

It was Espurr, and she was standing alongside many, many Litwick. Something must've been wrong for Seth to react to Espurr's voice the way he did.

"The people who stand in front of you…they only make you feel sad," Espurr said to me, "They've separated you from your perfect dream."

"No." I said to Espurr, "I was BECAUSE I was dreaming that I have a newfound appreciation for reality now." My appreciation DOES have some exclusions, like Alice and the lasting grudge between he and I… "Seth makes me feel happy, and I refuse to give up on him."

"Apparently you've LOST SIGHT of what makes you happy." Espurr countered. So even I wasn't enough to sway her? I sighed. Now THIS is what I call stubborn. Combine that with the lack of control over her powers, then you've got a very destruction AND SELF DESTRUCTIVE combination.

"No, I haven't." I replied.

"You must return to your eternal slumber, where you'll dream happily ever after. I promised you…" Espurr said.

"I-I wasn't myself back then…" I was just too caught up in my emotions…

It was hard, seeing what my baby Espurr was growing into. She fixed her eyes on the ground, probably sinking into her thoughts, while the Litwick looked at Seth, Alice, and Chikorita. After a few seconds, Espurr looked up to me, her eyes now glowing that light blue aura.

"Mother, a promise is STILL a promise that I must keep. Nothing will stand in between me and my goal."

My eyes opened wide as Espurr's mouth did the same thing. She was probably preparing to Yawn me to sleep again. Is my little Espurr really intending to antagonize me? No. She is only antagonizing me because she loves me so much…because she wants me to live in a place she THINKS will make me happy. I never thought it would come to this so suddenly, but I quickly reacted to Espurr as her mouth was moving in slow motion.

"Umbreon! Hurry up and stop her!" I yelled as I threw my pokeball, which released my first pokemon, who proceeded to swiftly launch, in Espurr's direction, a Shadow Ball that the Litwick weren't fast enough to react to.

"Breon." Umbreon cried.

"You left me no choice, Espurr…" I said to the lilac colored feline as she was sent to the ground by the super effective Shadow Ball.

"…" Espurr quickly reopened her wide eyes, startling Alice and Chikorita. On her way back to her feet, she told me, "I could say the same thing to you." Her eyes still glowing that light blue color, she lifted her arms, directing the many Litwick to take a single step forward.

Umbreon and I were ready to fight back, but something happened…

"Stay away from her." It was Seth…He stepped right in front of me, ready to fight. A pokeball was readied in his hand, while Chikorita stood in her battle stance. Alice, on the other hand, looked as though she felt left out. Has she already been defeated?

"Seth…" I looked at him with a sparkle of admiration in my eyes.

He looked back at me with determination in his eyes as he said, "You're in good hands."

Of course, I was very capable of holding my own against Espurr and the Litwick, but it wasn't everyday Seth would act like this, so I decided to play along, even though I could've swore my heart skipped a few beats. Was I hearing things? Maybe I was dreaming again? No, this was real. I smiled, and I couldn't help but raised a hand to my chest as my heart fluttered.

"Seth, I…" Would it have been right for me to tell him how I feel in such a critical moment?

"This is the end for you, Father," Espurr said to Seth.

In unison, the many Litwick took another step forward, causing to Seth to throw his pokeball as a reaction.

"Luuuurrrr…"

The eyes of the Litwick all widened as they stared into the eyes of their fully evolved form.

"Father, you too will remain in a world different from this one when this battle is over. But unlike Mother, your eternal slumber won't be pleasant. The flames of Hell await!"

A threat? Does Espurr really intend on killing Seth?

"Control over your power is lost beyond recovery…" Espurr was just too powerful for her own good. Though it would be 'romantic' for me to stoop to the level of a damsel in distress, the threat of spoke to me. It told me not to let Seth fight this battle alone. So I ran up and stood right next to him.

"Mother…"

If you're prepared to kill, then you're prepared to BE killed. "This is you final battle…" I said to Espurr, "Umbreon, use Shadow Ball!"

"Chandelure, YOU use Shadow Ball," Seth called.

"Luuurrr…" Both Chandelure and Umbreon launched spheres of dark energy at Espurr.

"Hmph…" Espurr closed her eyes as she didn't even try to dodge. She didn't HAVE to dodge, for she was shielded by a Litwick that jumped in the path of both attacks.

"I cannot be defeated…" Espurr said to me.

I gritted my teeth. So while Espurr was unharmed, that Litwick fell to the ground, and stayed there as a fallen comrade of Espurr's…before fading away…

"Chico!" It was now Chikorita's turn as she started charging toward Espurr.

Even I realized how straightforward Chikorita was, using Tackle like that. It wasn't going to work.

"Eliminate her. Eliminate my sister." Espurr said to the Litwick.

The Litwick all responded by each launching Flamethrower attacks at a charging Chikorita who stopped, wincing and flinching in fear as she stood at the white room's center.

"Chandelure!" Seth called his pokemon as if he knew what to do.

Litwick's evolved form was able to get in front of Chikorita and take the multiple Flamethrowers very well.

"Chikorita, now's your chance!" Seth yelled.

"Huh?" I said confused as I looked at Seth, and then back at Chikorita.

Oh! With the Litwick focused on Chandelure, Espurr has no means of defense right now, "Umbreon, Espurr's all yours!"

Umbreon nodded as he rushed past Chandelure and Litwick. There they stood, the starter pokemon of both Seth and I as they gave glares to Espurr.

"Is the end near?" Alice asked.

Espurr was seemingly not moved by the fact that it was two against one now. "Sister…Brother…" the wide eyes of the baby Espurr shifted back and forth between the two.

"Yumi?"

"Hm?" It was Seth who called my name.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Uh, yeah!" I replied with a smile.

"I need for Umbreon to fight Espurr one on one for a moment," Seth said, "I think Chikorita and I can beat her in one shot…"

Seth is always so determined, even though his attitude never showed it. I nodded in agreement. "O lo-oh?" Those words, they almost slipped out!

"Umbreon!"

"Breon!" Umbreon gave a loud cry.

"Chikorita, get ready for Solarbeam!" Seth commanded.

I knew exactly what was going to happen once Chikorita started to glow and absorb light from the white of the dream citadel we were in: Umbreon and I were simply going to buy time.

This…this is Espurr's last stand!

"Breon" Umbreon cried as he began charging at Espurr.

Without word, Espurr began to glow the light blue color, directing her psychic power on her attacker.

The aura surrounded Umbreon initially, but disappeared just split second later. Umbreon was unaffected by Psychic.

Caught off guard, the jaw of Espurr dropped slightly as Umbreon closed in on her. Espurr was tackled into the air, but before she even returned to the ground, she was struck by Umbreon's Iron Tail, and then by a Shadow Ball that sent her crashing into the room's closed door.

Umbreon's chain of attacks left Espurr down on the ground. Espurr picked her face up and stared at me with a tear in her eye, though it was easy to miss. I didn't buy it though, and neither did Umbreon as we both narrowed our eyes.

"Mother…" Espurr began to sniffle. And as hard as I tried to resist, I let my guard down.

It was moments like these where I wished I was a bit like Seth; staring into the face of emotion and fighting on with a face of indifference…

Chikorita didn't back down though, but she was still absorbing light. I guess Solarbeam is just a slower process when not in sunlight…

"Momma…" Espurr's snifflin turned into groaning…which turned into whining, then yelling, and eventually screaming. "MOOOMMMAAAHHH!" It was the first time Espurr has ever lost her typical calm demeanor.

"Erg…" Both Seth and I covered our ears. The screaming just got louder and louder until it was just unbearable. However, Alice looked as though she was used to the Disarming Voice attack. The preoccupied Chandelure and Litwick were able to take the Disarming Voice much better than a Chikorita who had no choice but to grin and bear it while she was still charging up for Solarbeam, and an Umbreon who was weal to the Fairy type attack.

"It's too loud." A wincing Seth said.

"Umbreon, hang in there!" I said, "Try to use another Shadow Ball!"

"Breon…" But it was no use. The loud screaming was just too much for Umbreon's sensitive ears. The super effective attack had Umbreon immobilized and trying to cover them as he couldn't even hear me.

It wasn't just Umbreon, Espurr's Disarming Voice had EVERYONE immobilized…everyone except for Alice.

Wait a minute…Alice's Kirlia knew Disarming Voice! I realized if Alice was in fact used to Disarming Voice, she would be the only one able to do anything at the moment, and I think she knew that too. She looked at Seth as she walked past him and I. She gave him a very genuine smile, letting him know that she was going to act now. Seth nodded.

Just what exactly was Alice going to do? I think it's so obvious that even some of the readers know the answer.

She raced up to Espurr and proceeded to grab her into a bear hug. Cutting off Espurr's air supply, Disarming Voice was cancelled out, and Espurr began gasping for air.

"Alice!" I called out.

She looked at Seth again, while Espurr was beginning to struggle. "Seth, now you can finish her!" She never looked at me or Umbreon though. Maybe her personal bias against me played some sort of factor.

"But…"

"Huh?" I looked at Seth with a very surprised expression. He was never one to take another person's wellbeing into consideration.

So he cares for Alice too. Does he care for her as much as he cares for me?

"Alice…" Seth said to himself before narrowing his eyes as he turned to a Chikorita who looked as if she had finally absorbed enough energy. "Chikorita?"

Chikorita looked back at Seth and the two exchanged nods, indicating that Chikorita knew what to do.

"Chi…" Chikorita looked at Alice and Espurr with determined eyes as she walked just past Chandelure and the Litwick, who all watched as they did not want to unintentionally perform 'friendly fire' on themselves OR Espurr.

Chikorita hesitated for a second until…

"It's okay, I'll be fine." Chikorita was assured by an Alice with a smile on her face.

For a moment, Chikorita continued to stare at Alice, still partially unconvinced. After seemingly thinking about, Chikorita decided that it would be best to put her faith in the platinum blonde haired girl. "Chi!" In her battle stance, Chikorita released a beam of amazing green-white light that I've only seen her use once before, if I remember correctly.

"Hmph!" As Solarbeam began closing in, Alice's eyes became focused, and she smirked, moving out of Solarbeam's path at the last second as she let go of Espurr.

Espurr's body didn't move as she began falling to the ground in what seemed to be slow motion in my mind. She didn't even MAKE it to the ground as she was struck by an overwhelming Solarbeam.

The light of the Solarbeam made the body of Espurr appear as just a silhouette to Seth and I as Espurr slowly landed on the ground…

…Imagine being in a mother's place when having to go against your own child. And imagine your child losing…

Even though it was in the defense of me and those I hold dear, I couldn't help but feel sad and empty inside, and I didn't even try to hide it.

Espurr was not moving, NOT AT ALL, despite the fact that her eyes were wide open and fixated on the ceiling.

"Espurr?" I called as I started toward Espurr. The Litwick didn't even try to stop me, probably because they realized the fight was over.

All eyes were on me as my footsteps on the white floor echoed…

Making my way to Espurr, I got on my knees and stared into her wide eyes. They weren't staring at me, they were just…just blank…

I began to have a sense of fear creeping up inside me. I began to think 'Could she be…?'

To Be Continued…

Yumi's Party

Umbreon(Male)-Synchronize

Braixen(Female)-Blaze

Shadow Gligar(Male)-Sand Veil

Snivy(Male)-Overgrow