Pokemon Virus Version Chapter 147: Stone Gaze Part 1
As the journey continues, Seth remains in a comatose state.
The road to Troia was a long and trying one. There were still several obstacles to overcome before the girls made it to the next town.
"Alright."
But for now, the girls were setting up camp for the night.
"Chikorita, Ursaring." Chapel called, "Can you gather firewood?"
Chikorita and Ursaring nodded.
"Chi!" Chikorita proceeded to happily climb atop Urasring's head and point her leaf forward, as if leading the way.
Ursaring was not amused. He bluntly took Chikorita and returned her to the ground before proceeding to gather firewood.
"Chicori!" Ursaring was big, and he had longer stride. Chikorita called for the big bear to slow down a bit.
"Chapel! Can you come help us?" Chapel's name was called by Banette.
"Your assistance would be greatly appreciated." Rose chimed in.
Banette and Rose were trying to set up the tent house. No matter how many times they did this, setting up the tent never ceased to be a struggle.
"Alright." Chapel approached the tent and grabbed the string Rose held out.
"Where's Yumi?" Banette asked. "Can't she help us?"
"Yumi's gathering water," Chapel said.
Banette sighed. "She should hurry up."
…
Somewhere, a short distance away from camp, there lied two empty canisters on the grass, needing to be filled with water.
"The sunset is beautiful tonight."
Rather than fetching water like she was told, Yumi was taking a small break. She sat on her knees, staring at the small pond of water before her. To be exact, Yumi was staring at her reflection in the water. Her long black hair really brought out the vividness of her aqua blue bangs. They brushed in the slight breeze, along with her short-skirted furisode that was the same blue color. The vividness of Yumi's furisode was brought out by the black obi she wore.
"I'm beautiful too." Yumi was thinking out loud to herself, "We've been on the road for so long, I've forgotten what it's like to sit in front of a full size mirror and dress myself up." Thinking out loud, while brushing her hair.
Once Yumi was finished brushing her hair, she was going to fill the canisters with water…But before she could get to that point…the setting sun began approaching a lower angle, with the ponds glistening reflection starting to fade in response.
"Huh?" It was here that Yumi noticed something.
"…"
The eyes on her reflection blinked.
"What?" Yumi was confused. How could Yumi's reflection blink without the real Yumi blinking?
"…" The reflection blinked again.
The setting sun continued to descend beyond the horizon. As this happened, the reflection…began to move.
"…" It began to ascend.
It was here that Yumi began to realize that she wasn't here alone.
"…" It ascended outside of the pond.
"It's a pokemon…"
It ascended outside the pond, but it did it in such a creepy way. It was almost Ghost-like.
Yumi gave the creepy pokemon a sideways glance. "I don't remember ever seeing a Pokemon like you. But you look so familiar…" She proceeds to take out her light blue Pokedex and scan the pokemon.
Corsola, the Coral Pokemon:
Sudden climate change wiped out this ancient kind of Corsola.
"Aww…" Yumi began reaching her hand out to pet Corsola.
Corsola absorbs others' life-force through its branches.
Yumi halted. "Corsola can absorb life-forces?" She remembered now. Corsola were fairly common in her home of Olivine City. Trainers and researchers alike would venture from far away to see this rare pokemon. "The Corsola back in Olivine were pink…"
This was no normal Corsola standing before Yumi. She'd never met a Corsola that looked this ghastly. What happened?
"La…" The mysterious Corsola cried.
"La…"
"La…"
"La…"
"Huh?" Yumi looked back at the pond to discover that more of the Corsola were making their way out.
One. Two. Three. Four. The mysterious Corsola kept surfacing. It appeared that there was no end to their numbers. But combined with the sunset in the background…
"Wow…" Yumi rose to her feet, mesmerized.
The countless Corsola had completely decorated the surrounding area, like balloons.
"La…"
"La…"
"La…"
The ghostly Corsola seemed to be performing choreographed movements as they continued to ascend toward the sky.
"Amazing…" No matter what the Pokedex said, Yumi could use this spectacular display as inspiration for her next Pokemon Contest. "Alright." She had an idea cooking, and took out one of her Pokeballs accordingly. "I have to catch a Corsola!"
Yumi threw the Pokeball in the air, releasing…
"Zen!" Braixen landed on the grassy ground.
"Use Flamethrower!" Yumi called.
Braixen took out her wand-like stick and pointed in at one of the Corsola before launching a stream of fire.
"La."
Corsola was hit, with what seemed to be a critical hit.
"La…"
But it didn't seem like Corsola felt a thing.
"What?" Yumi was stunned. "Flamethrower didn't do a thing…Braixen, use Flamethrower again!"
Braixen launched another stream of fire at the same Corsola.
"La…" Same result.
Yumi droops comedically, "Please tell me that Corsola has the all too powerful 'plot armor'." Yumi straightened herself out, "Or maybe…Corsola has great defense…"
"La…" The stricken Corsola descended from its party and back down to Yumi's level. "La…"
"I could really use a Pokemon like you on my team." Yumi addressed the Corsola, "Your spectacle was amazing. And on top of that, your defense is exceptional. You didn't even feel Flamethrower!"
"…" Corsola made no change in facial expression as Yumi gave it praise.
"Would you like to join us?" Yumi stepped forward and asked Corsola.
"La…" Corsola didn't appear to nod, nor did it shake its head. No matter how exceptional Yumi made Corsola out to be, this pokemon just seemed dead…
"Zen." Braixen narrowed her eyes. Her flames having no visible effect left the Fire type with little patience. If Corsola wasn't going to accept Yumi's offer, then why not defeat it? Yumi would be able to catch Corsola without fail. "Zen!" Braixen began producing small flames that were blue in color.
"Will-O-Wisp?" Yumi, realizing that Corsola gave no answer to her offer, was on the same page as Braixen.
"Zen!" Braixen directed the flames at Corsola.
"…" Corsola made no effort to evade or resist. The dead pokemon was engulfed by the ghastly flames, remaining as motionless as a statue. "…"
"Will-O-Wisp should seal the deal." Yumi took out an empty Pokeball. "Go, Pokeball!" She threw the Pokeball at the burning Corsola.
"La…" The Pokeball was supposed to make contact with Corsola, but that wasn't what happened.
"What?"
"Zen?"
Yumi and Braixen were confused as the Pokeball was halted in the air. "La…" The blue flames surrounding Corsola began turning into black fire…The Pokeball began to glow this same fire. The Pokeball…began melting from the inside out.
"What's going on?!" Yumi, understandably upset, felt cheated. Her throw of the Pokeball was perfect. What could've happened?
Yumi's Pokedex read:
Curse.
"Curse?" Yumi questioned.
Curse: A move in which a Ghost damages itself in order to spite its enemy with a Nightmare, or Curse.
Corsola was using Braixen's flames to lay a curse.
A Pokemon target with Curse will continually have their health drained until defeat…When laid upon by a vengeful spirit, Curse will continue until the target's life ends.
Yumi's eyes widened. "Then we need to defeat Corsola before the Curse overwhelms us!"
Braixen nodded in understanding.
"Braixen, use Psybeam!" Yumi called.
Once again, Braixen used her wand-like stick. Gone were the flames of Flamethrower. Braixen was now concentrating her Psychic energy into a beam headed straight for Corsola.
'Corsola must've taken a lot of damage to lay its Curse.' Yumi thought to herself, 'Braixen should be able to defeat Corsola and free herself from the Curse in good time.'
The countless Corsola in the sky watched as Psybeam made contact. Unlike the flames of Flamethrower and Will-O-Wisp, Psybeam seemed to elicit a reaction from Corsola. "La." It narrowed its eyes…as the black flames of Curse began spreading.
"Oh no…" Yumi saw this. "Braixen, hurry and recall your Psybeam!" She panicked.
Braixen did as Yumi said and withdrew her Psybeam…but Curse's black flame travelled fast. It travelled along the tip of the receding Psybeam before making contact with Braixen.
"Zen!" Braixen yelped as the black flames made contact.
It was an alarming sight. Braixen hastily dug a hand of dirt and threw it on herself to try and douse the flames. When that didn't work, Braixen stopped, dropped, and rolled on the ground. It was no use. Nothing Braixen did was going to douse the black fire.
Yumi needed to calm Braixen and have her refocus on Corsola. "Braixen, we have to defeat Corsola now!"
Still panicked, Braixen rose to her feet. She needed to fight through the pain.
"Why don't we use this black fire to our advantage?"
Braixen looked back at Yumi.
"Use the black fire to charge at Corsola with Flame Charge." Yumi smiled, confident that she could defeat Corsola using its very own Curse.
Braixen focused herself. She concentrated her normal flames to surround her. The normal flames compounded with the black fire gave Braixen overwhelming energy. Despite being in pain, the energy of the combined flames made her feel so alive.
"Zen!"
Braixen charged at Corsola with all her being. A clear path of burnt ground was created in her wake.
"Zen!"
As Corsola was struck, it was immediately engulfed by the overwhelming flames.
"…Cor…!"
The flame was enough to penetrate Corsola's defense and make it wince in pain. Corsola looked about to give in…
"Alright!" Yumi took out another Pokeball, ready to make her capture. But before she could throw it.
"Cor…sol…la…" Corsola begins glowing a green energy…this energy engulfs Braixen as well.
The flames surrounding the battling pokemon evaporated into thin air. It was as if Flame Charge never happened in the first place.
"Zen?"
Braixen felt…off. What was going on here?! Braixen hastily pushed Corsola away from her…but the green aura remained surrounding her.
"Braixen, use Flamethrower!" Yumi called.
"Zen…Zen…"
Braixen didn't follow through with Yumi's command. She cradled herself, unsure of what was going to happen next.
"What's wrong?"
Braixen…she wanted to follow Yumi's command…but she just didn't have the flame keep up… "…" Braixen's legs went numb, causing her to fall to her knees.
"Braixen?" Yumi worried what this green aura was doing.
Braixen turned to face Yumi…just in time for her vibrant red eyes to become empty and lifeless. "…" Braixen's body fell to the ground.
"La."
Yumi was astonished.
Braixen was defeated…But how could that be? What just happened?
"…"
Braixen wasn't just defeated. There was something wrong. Braixen wasn't even writhing in defeat.
"I don't get it…" Yumi didn't understand…until an important detail flashed back into her mind, "The Pokedex…"
'Corsola absorbs others' life forces using its branches.'
"Cor. Sol. La." So...Corsola used Strength Sap to drain Braixen's life force.
This battle which Yumi had started with the innocent intention of adding Corsola to her team…it had now taken a new meaning. As the stakes of this innocent battle became winner take all, Yumi became much more determined. This was no longer about capturing Corsola. An innocent life was now on the line.
"I have to save Braixen, no matter what." Yumi took out a second Pokeball, throwing it into the air.
Appearing before the body of Braixen was Yumi's very first Pokemon: Umbreon.
"Umbre." Umbreon looked at Braixen's lifeless body with a calm face. It looked like he was able to gauge the situation just by shifting his gaze between Braixen and Corsola.
"We need to rescue Braixen's life force."
Umbreon nodded in understanding. As Yumi's very first partner, it was Umbreon's duty not to let Yumi down.
"We need to be careful too. Making contact with Corsola will allow it to take your life force." Yumi looked Umbreon straight in the eye, "This will be a dangerous battle…"
Again, Umbreon reassured Yumi.
"Alright…now use Dark Pulse!"
"Breon!" Umbreon launched a stream of dark energy at Corsola.
"La…!" Normally, Corsola's high defense would've been able to tank the hit without issue. But Dark Pulse was a super effective move. "La!" Dark Pulse caused Corsola to stumble backward.
"Now use Shadow Ball!"
Umbreon jumped into the air, where all the other Corsola watched, and launched a ball of shadows at a Corsola still recoiling.
"La…" The super effective move did major damage to Corsola, and created a cloud of smoke in the process.
"Let's keep up the assault!" Yumi yelled, "Let's rain a volley of Shadow Ball!"
Yumi pointed at the sky, calling for Umbreon to let loose one of the moves she'd been perfecting for a Pokemon Contest.
"On! On! On!" Umbreon launched Shadow Ball at a fast and continued pace.
"…" Yumi didn't allow Corsola back on its feet after the first Shadow Ball. Corsola was left to take the Shadow Ball Barrage.
"On! On! On!" This was a move Yumi had kept under wraps. She and Umbreon wanted to surprise the world with their new signature move in a Contest when the time was right. But this was an emergency. Braixen's life force was on the line. This was more suited to be a final attack, considering the toll using it took on Umbreon's energy. "On! On! On!" Umbreon was beginning to sweat, but he must not let up!
"It's time to finish this off!" Yumi pointed to Corsola.
"Um!" Umbreon began producing the final Shadow Ball in his barrage. This Shadow Ball…grew and grew and grew…it was humongous.
"Giant Shadow Ball!"
Umbreon launched the humongous Shadow Ball.
The cloud of smoke created by the Shadow Ball Barrage was fair in size, but the Giant Shadow Ball made it huge. The Shadow Ball's impact caused for big gusts of wind to brush against Yumi and Umbreon.
Braixen's lifeless body remained motionless.
When the smoke cleared, it was revealed that huge piles of dirt was stirred in the Shadow Ball Barrage's wake. Corsola wasn't there. Perhaps it was buried beneath the dirt.
"Did we defeat Corsola?" Yumi was holding her breath. Yumi was waiting to give Umbreon a big hug and to praise him on a job well done.
"On." Umbreon calmly approached the stirred dirt.
"Be careful," Yumi said, "We don't know if Corsola can take your life force even while unconscious."
Umbreon nodded, heeding Yumi's warning. Carefully, Umbreon scooped the stirred dirt, hoping to find Corsola's unconscious body buried beneath.
"We need to find Corsola so that we can get Braixen's life force back." Yumi said out loud.
Umbreon continued digging. "Mm?" But something was wrong.
"What's wrong?" Yumi approached Umbreon.
"Umbreon." The stirred dirt…there was nothing buried beneath it.
"Where's Corsola?"
Just then, the ground underneath Umbreon and Yumi began to shake. Was it an earthquake?
"Umbreon!" Umbreon took a guarded stance in front of Yumi, ready to protect her.
"La!" The ground underneath Umbreon gave way, revealing a Corsola who rammed into Umbreon.
"Umbreon!" Yumi called out in worry.
Umbreon was knocked a few feet back.
"Corsola…it knew Dig?!"
Who would've thought Corsola had an element of surprise to it?
As Umbreon landed, he began glowing the same green aura which surrounded Braixen.
"Um…" Umbreon tried to stay on his feet, but it wasn't long before his body gave out.
Dig allowed Corsola to make contact with Umbreon. Umbreon, before his life force was taken, admitted to himself that Corsola was a fine battler…
"…" Umbreon was as lifeless as Braixen now.
"La!" Corsola now had two life forces in its collection. The green aura surrounding it grew even stronger. "La! La! Cor! Sol! La!" The green aura was then accompanied by a white aura. It was hard to see, but Corsola was starting to change in shape and size.
Yumi gritted her teeth.
Corsola was evolving.
When the white aura faded, Yumi was disturbed by what she saw. It looked as if Corsola's entire being had broken apart, revealing an ectoplasmic body with branches.
"Curse…"
This pokemon seemed even more dead than it was as a Corsola.
"Curse…CURSE!"
Immediately, this powerful pokemon extended its branches toward Yumi.
Yumi's eyes widened in fear. With haste, she performed a dodge roll to avoid the evolved Corsola's branch. Another branch came forward, to which Yumi rolled across the ground like a log as fast as she could. She hopped back onto her feet as a third branch came her way, to which she hopped backward. Then, a fourth branch was coming. Yumi ducked, narrowly avoiding the branch as it hit a couple strands of her aqua blue bangs.
"Curse." The evolved Corsola then turned its attention toward the lifeless bodies of Umbreon and Braixen. It extended two branches toward them, engulfing them in its ectoplasm.
From her knees, Yumi watched… "No…" She watched…as the ectoplasm began to petrify Umbreon and Braixen's lifeless bodies. "What's going on?"
Yumi's Pokedex scanned the evolved Corsola.
Cursola, the Coral Pokemon; Be cautious of the ectoplasmic body surrounding Cursola's soul. You'll become stiff as stone if you touch it.
"Cursola is turning Umbreon and Braixen into stone?!"
By the time Yumi could react, it was too late. Umbreon and Braixen were now lifeless statues.
To Be Continued…