Pokemon Virus Version Chapter 152: HaruSakiMura Part 2

A pillar of light appeared in the sky, shining through the layers of dark clouds previously brought in by Meteor Beam. Particles of light traveled from the sky and through this pillar. These particles collectively gathered to where Chikorita was concentrating her energy. Solarbeam normally would've been ready in short order, but the dark clouds prolonged the process.

"Chi..."

In addition to this, Chikorita was gathering enough energy to finish Onix right there. The energy being concentrated by Chikorita began to grow in size. Neither she nor anybody else could afford dragging out this fight long enough for Onix to launch another Meteor Beam.

"This might be the largest Solarbeam I've seen Chikorita use..." Chapel was in awe. "This is it. Once Onix is defeated, we'll look for Rose."

"Chi!" And so, Chikorita was ready to launch Solarbeam. She prepared to point her leaf forward to launch her attack at point blank range.

...

...

...

But just as Chikorita was about to launch the finishing blow...

"Stop." A silver haired boy suddenly stepped in between Chikorita and Onix. "This Onix belongs to me." His name was Saki, and he wasn't friendly, "Congratulations, you've passed the first test."

Meanwhile, Rose had been dragged underwater.

"…"

The culprit behind Rose getting separated from the group was floating in front of her.

Seismetoad…

Rose held her Egg close. She needed to get from underwater before she drowned. If she died here, she'd never get to meet her child…

Seismetoad was a great swimmer. He was ready for any effort Rose put forth toward escaping him.

Rose starts glowing the aura of the virus and attempts to speed to the surface.

"Hehehe…" Seismetoad watched and waited.

Unfortunately for Rose, underwater physics were completely different from the land. On land she could use her virus power to float. However, now that she was underwater, that virus power wasn't going to work. She needed to swim…or at least acclimate her virus power to underwater physics.

Seismetoad took this opportunity to overtake Rose from behind.

"Hn…Ngh!" Rose didn't dare to waste precious air screaming as Seismetoad immobilized her with a bearhug. "Hn…Ngh!" Try as she might, even her superhuman strength was rendered in effective underwater.

Seismetoad had been sent by Saki, Haru, and Mura to separate Rose from her group. He didn't expect this girl's power to be completely neutralized underwater.

Rose continued to struggle until the very end…when she began to lose consciousness. "…" Her eyes half shut, she began seeing the light – rays of sunshine reaching below the surface of the water. In the very end, Rose still held her Pokemon Egg close as she whited out.

'My child…'

Before Rose knew it, she was slowly waking up. But…this wasn't underwater.

"My child…" The child that was Rose's Pokemon Egg was right next to her.

Once the Egg was retrieved, Rose stood up and had a look at her surroundings. She was on land, but it wasn't the marsh region from before. The grass was green, and Rose's surroundings were full of life.

"This feels like a dream…" Rose continued to gaze at her surroundings before eventually laying her eyes on a grassy cliff, with a woman standing at the edge.

"…" This woman was tall, and her cape-like duster brushed in the wind, along with her long cherrywood colored hair.

"Lady Beatrice…" Rose knew this woman as she whispered her name to herself. As she began to approach Beatrice, Rose was about to call her name.

"Rose." Lady Beatrice could sense Rose's presence. "How is it? Your child?"

Rose embraced her Egg, "I will love my child until the end of the world."

"I heard from Bastion how determined you are to love your child." Commander 06's eyes stared longingly into the meadow which lied over the edge. "The love of a dearly beloved that deep is a trait that even your mother didn't have. It's something I've come to admire about you, Rose."

"My Mother?" Mother Flora has been on Rose's mind lately.

"Rose," Lady Beatrice finally turned to face Rose, "Do you love me?"

Rose takes a seat on the grassy edge right next to her Godmother. "Yes, I love you."

"I love you too, Rose." She took her gaze off Rose, "That's why I will be behind what will happen to you."

"What do you mean?" This perplexed Rose. Though…Beatrice promised that the next time they met, she would show no mercy.

"The beautiful meadow before us is known as Dawn Meadow." Beatrice answered, "Very soon you will find out who you truly are in this meadow, Rose. You will discover which loved ones you truly wish to spend the rest of your life with, and you will resolve to save your hatched child from the trials and tribulations of being a loved one."

Rose's eyes widened, her heart fluttering, "You think my Egg will hatch soon?"

Lady Beatrice nodded, "I am confident that Dawn Meadow will be where your child is born, at long last." She turned to Rose with a smile, "And I will be there to guide the way." She offers Rose a hand, "There are a few things I wish to teach you."

Rose is curious but smiles as she accepts Beatrice's hand.

Beatrice leads Rose away from the edge and onto a flat piece of grassy land, where they stood on opposite sides. Beatrice took out a Pokeball and wordlessly threw it into the air.

"…" Materializing on the grassy ground was a Pokemon Rose was familiar with. It was Gallade, who was in a kneeling position with his head bowed.

"I have called upon my sword, Rose." As Lady Beatrice said this, Gallade rose to his feet and looked at Rose with cold eyes.

"What are we doing?" Rose asked.

Gallade and Lady Beatrice exchanged a silent nod with each other before Gallade turned faced Rose again. "Hmph…" Gallade was a manslayer. He has downed countless enemies, and he was capable of defeating over 100 opponents with a single swing of his sword. "Glade!" Abruptly, he lunged at Rose.

Rose's eyes widened. Rather than flinch in fear, Rose used her virus power to quickly intercept Gallade.

"Glade…"

Being physically and mentally superior to the average human being, Rose was able force Gallade into a power struggle.

"Why are you doing this?!" Rose questioned why Gallade would just suddenly attack her.

"I don't mean any harm." Lady Beatrice answered, "I wish to test your ability, Rose. I see you've grown strong in your time away from Neo Snagem. However…" Her eyes narrowed, "It will take more than strength for you to win the fight that awaits."

Before the struggle could drag on, Gallade unceremoniously relented to Rose's strength.

"Woah!" Rose was caught off guard. Her strength had created momentum which sent her falling forward.

"Glade." Gallade calmly stuck his leg out, causing Rose to trip over it. He then held his sword right over Rose's back.

"Sometimes, the strongest opponent is overcome by the strongest will." Lady Beatrice continued, "The key to victory against a stronger opponent is to use their strength against them."

Still laying on the ground, Rose asked, "Why are you teaching me this? Who is this opponent you're talking about?"

Beatrice smiled, "I'm afraid you'll have to find an answer to that question on your own. But for now, you must defeat Seismetoad and the Neo Snagem Grunts that I've sent."

Seismetoad. Onix. Haru, Saki, and Mura…Lady Beatrice was behind their entire ambush.

"This is a test, Rose. And in this test, you must finish with the best score of all."

As Lady Beatrice says this, Rose began whiting out.

'So this was a dream…" Rose thought to her self and she began slowly closing her eyes. Before waking up from this dream, Rose looked to Lady Beatrice one more time. "Thank you. I enjoyed talking with you, Godmother."

How long was Rose dreaming? It was tough to tell, but when Rose woke up, all that mattered was that she was still in Seismetoad's grasp.

"Hehehe…"

It mattered not how long Rose was in Seismetoad's grasp. All that mattered was that she free herself and return to the surface before running out of air. "Mmm…!" Again, Rose tried to struggle her way out. Her effort was ultimately futile. She then thought about the dream she just had.

'It will take more than strength for you to win the fight that awaits.' She remembered what Lady Beatrice said to her. 'Sometimes, the strongest opponent is overcome by the strongest will. The key to victory against a stronger opponent is to use their strength against them.'

Rose finally got it. Before, she tried relying solely on her strength to escape Seismetoad. Being underwater was the first time that brute strength didn't work for Rose. But now…Rose had to use what Lady Beatrice taught her in order to escape with her life.

"…" Rose stopped resisting, allowing herself to rest in Seismetoad's grasp.

"Hmm…" Because Seismetoad had Rose grabbed from behind, he was unable to see Rose's facial expression. To him, Rose appeared to have given up, drowned, and gone limp. "Hehehe…" He released Rose and gazed at her for a brief second. She seemed like an innocent little girl…but orders were orders. "Hnn!" Seismetoad cloaked his fist in ice, ready to finish her.

Freed from Seismetoad's grasp, Rose wasted little time taking advantage of the situation. She turned around to see Seismetoad's incoming fist cloaked in Ice Punch. In less than a second, Rose opened her eyes wide and made an effort to hold on to her Pokemon Egg as she avoided the attack. Rose then took Seismetoad's ice-cloaked fist and forced it right back to him.

"Hnn?!"

Lady Beatrice was right…By redirecting Seismetoad's Ice Punch to his own body, he was promptly frozen in the water.

Rose began swimming to the surface as she watched the ice-encased Seismetoad descend to the depths of darkness. Would Seismetoad ever resurface to world above? Rose wouldn't rule it out. The Water-type will eventually be free from the ice and roam the world as he did before. But for now…this was Rose's show, and she wasn't going to let anyone stand in her way. For her child and Lady Beatrice, Rose was ready for whatever trials laid in wait…

To Be Continued…