Chapter Thirty-Five: From the Shadows
Serena and Ash were only about an hour or so west of Saffron City when they ran into Officer Jenny, who was busy putting up a warning sign at the entrance of the forest path they would be taking. She noticed the two of them approaching and walked over to them.
"Are you going into the forest?" she asked.
"Yeah, we're traveling to Celadon City," Ash replied. "Why? Is something wrong?"
He glanced at the warning sign behind Officer Jenny, and Serena tried to make it out as well.
"There have been reports of large numbers of wild Pokémon attacking people," Officer Jenny said. "It does happen occasionally — there are several packs of Houndour and murders of Murkrow in the forest — but they generally avoid the paths and prefer to stay deep within the forest unless prey is scarce, which it really shouldn't be this time of year. We've been scouting around to see if we could find anything, but these packs are clever. If they don't want to be found, they probably won't be."
She sighed and shook her head. "The forest trail is one of the major roads to Celadon City, so closing it down isn't an option. We're simply choosing to warn people and leave it up to them if they want to go to Celadon another way, like by train or car, or if they want to risk the path regardless. Many Trainers do have Pokémon strong enough to ward off attacks, after all, though the reports say that they are uncommonly vicious, and that allegedly attacks that should work well had little effect on some of the attacking Pokémon, but given the stress caused by attacks like these…we're not sure how accurate those reports are. And again, every time we send units into the forest to track these Pokémon down, they evade us. In any case, it would be safer to find another route, but if you wish to take the forest path despite what you just heard, I won't stop you."
Serena and Ash exchanged a glance. Being attacked by a group of vicious Pokémon wasn't exactly high on Serena's wish list, so taking the train did sound like a better option, but they'd really only be in the dense part of the forest for a few days at most, and she was sure that between her and Ash's Pokémon, they'd be able to fight off any wild Pokémon brave enough to attack them.
Ash seemed to be thinking along similar lines, because he said, "I think we'll be fine. Serena and I are pretty strong."
Officer Jenny didn't look too happy with the decision, but she said, "Well, alright, then. Be careful, and should anything happen, please report it once you reach Celadon City. For now, all I can do is wish you a safe trip."
They thanked Officer Jenny and entered the forest, and as soon as the shadow of the trees fell over them, Serena shivered despite the warmth.
"Why do you think those Pokémon are attacking people?" she asked.
"I don't know," Ash replied. "I mean, normally I'd say to steal food, but Officer Jenny said there should be plenty…"
("It sounds a bit fishy, doesn't it? Almost like the Zubat in Mt. Moon,") Pikachu said.
"Do you think Team Rocket is behind it?" Serena asked.
("I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were, somehow,") Pikachu said. He sighed. ("But maybe I'm just getting paranoid. Being stalked by people for seven years will do that to you.")
"I think if Team Rocket were behind it they'd be trying to capture the Pokémon, right? That's what they were doing in Mt. Moon. Although that's maybe why the Pokémon hide whenever someone goes looking for them…" Ash said, thinking out loud. He shook his head in frustration. "Well, nothing we can do about it now. If they attack us, we'll just have to explain we're not here to hurt them and hopefully they'll leave us alone."
("And otherwise we will have to hurt them,") Pikachu said glumly.
Ash nodded. "Yeah, but hopefully it won't come to that."
They walked on in silence, and Serena kept scanning behind every tree, listening to every small sound from deeper in the forest, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Of course, they weren't very deep into the forest yet, but everything just felt like the warm, pleasant day it was. As the day wore on, she gradually became less nervous, and after lunch had passed without any incident, she almost forgot the warning entirely for the rest of the afternoon. They made camp in a clearing in the forest, had some dinner followed by a light evening training, and when Serena lay down in her sleeping bag that night she felt as comfortable as ever.
That changed when, in the middle of the night, something woke her up by yanking her hair. She shot up in her sleeping bag and wildly looked around.
("It's me,") Misdreavus whispered.
"Why did you do that?!" Serena whispered back angrily.
("Because you were sleeping like a log and something weird's going on in the forest,") Misdreavus said.
"Something weird?" Serena repeated.
("I'm sensing extremely powerful emotions, two sets of them. And they're…not good. Pain, fear, anger.")
"Well…maybe a Pokémon is, um, hunting prey?" Serena asked uncomfortably, again not really willing to think about sapient beings literally eating each other.
Misdreavus shook her head. ("No, that feels different. I can sense you don't like the idea, so I won't explain how it differs, but just trust me when I say this is something else. Something worse.")
"Should we wake up Ash?" Serena asked, now fully recalling Officer Jenny's warning from earlier in the day and fearing the rumors might be true.
("Yeah, I think so,") Misdreavus said, and she reached out to pull his hair as well before Serena stopped her.
"Let me handle that," she said, and then gently shook Ash to wake him up.
"Huh? Is it morning already?" Ash asked sleepily.
"No, but Misdreavus says there's trouble," Serena said.
Ash was instantly awake, and Pikachu, who'd woken up as well when Ash sat up, closed his eyes and twitched his ears, listening intently.
("I don't hear anything odd,") he said after a moment.
("They're still far from here,") Misdreavus said. ("That's why it's so odd I can sense them at all. They're moving apart, one is faster than the other and…flying, I think?")
She shook her head. ("Look, all I know is that both of these Pokémon are suffering badly. I can't believe they can actually move with the amount of pain I'm feeling from them.")
Pikachu cocked his head. ("Are you sure your senses aren't just on the fritz or something?") he asked.
("No!") Misdreavus said sharply. ("My senses are accurate, I promise you. You don't spend years learning how to spread fear without being very sensitive to emotions, you know. But this…I've never felt anything like this and I don't know if you've realized, but I've been around for a while.")
("I thought you were pretty young,") Pikachu said sheepishly.
("For a ghost, yes. In actual years…I'm older than everyone else in our group put together,") Misdreavus said. Then she added, ("But don't tell Pancham that.")
Her eyes widened. ("Oh no. The flying one is coming this way. I don't know if it heard or smelled us or what, but it's coming here…and now the other one's moving too,") she said.
"How long until they get here?" Ash asked.
("Maybe three minutes?") Misdreavus guessed.
"Let's get outside now and call everyone out," Ash said, immediately leaning over to zip open the tent.
Serena got up as well, and the moment she was outside she called out her other Pokémon, who seemed confused at being woken up.
("Whas goin' on?") Pancham asked with a yawn.
("Trouble,") Misdreavus said.
When Ash had also called out his team, she quickly explained to everyone what was coming, and she'd barely finished speaking when Serena heard the rustle of wings overhead.
In the faint light of the barely-glowing fire, it was impossible to make out what kind of Pokémon they were aside from the red glow in their eyes, but there were many of them, and given that Officer Jenny had mentioned Murkrow, that was probably what they were.
But there were far more than just two. The noise of the swarm of Murkrow was deafening, but then, as if they'd been given a signal, they fell quiet and perched in the nearby trees, watching the group with glowing eyes. A moment later, there was a howl nearby which sent shivers down Serena's spine, and a chorus of barks that answered from all directions.
"We're surrounded, I guess," Ash said tensely.
("What was your first clue?") Pikachu asked sarcastically.
Misdreavus whimpered, curling herself up on the forest floor. Pancham was concernedly kneeling next to her. ("Those emotions…they're…") she groaned.
Again, the howl filled the night, and it was answered by a birdlike cry, deeper than the squawks of the Murkrow, but equally nearby. The Houndour between the trees barked and the Murkrow began to rustle their wings in response to their leaders' commands.
"What do we do?" Serena asked quietly, trying to keep an eye on the sea of glowing red eyes all around her.
"I'll…talk to them, I guess," Ash said. He took a step forward. "We don't want to hurt you," he said to the Pokémon. "We're just traveling through the forest, that's all."
If the Pokémon heard him, they didn't show it. The Murkrow kept rustling their wings and the Houndour kept barking.
("They…they'll attack soon,") Misdreavus said weakly, still looking like she was in pain. ("Their anger and pain and fear are…") She trailed off again, trembling. Just how strong were these emotions, if they could immobilize Misdreavus just by being close?
An angry snarl came from the trees, followed by an enraged shriek from one of the branches, and all at once, the Pokémon attacked.
A green shimmering shield bounced all of the attackers back and Sylveon strained to maintain her Protect.
("I can't keep this up for long,") she warned.
"Pikachu, remember those Spearow from all those years ago?" Ash asked.
("As if I'd forget,") Pikachu replied.
He leapt up from Ash's shoulder and fired a massive Thunderbolt into the enraged flock of Murkrow, which seemed to do good damage.
("Leave some for me,") Charizard growled before taking flight, quickly followed into the air by Noivern and Noctowl.
("I'll get these guys,") Pancham said, striking the ground and blasting out Stone Edge pillars into the spiraling and circling Houndour.
("I'll help,") Sylveon said, and she whipped up a Fairy Wind, lashing out at the pack.
("Why are they all Fire and Flying types?!") Bayleef asked in frustration as her attacks failed to make any impact on either the Murkrow or the Houndour.
("I'm not doing that much better,") Delphox said grimly, firing off Hidden Power orbs at the Houndour while trying to blast the Murkrow with Mystical Fire.
While the Pokémon seemed to be doing a good job battling the horde, Serena couldn't help but feel something was about to go wrong. The leaders of the two groups, presumably Houndoom and Honchkrow, hadn't joined the fray yet, after all.
As if they'd been listening to Serena's thoughts, two sharp commands were clearly audible over the battle, and the Murkrow and Houndour retreated — the ones who weren't knocked out, anyway. Serena and Ash's Pokémon returned back to their place in the defensive circle, looking a bit battered, but not beaten.
Misdreavus screamed and at the same time, a Flamethrower and Dark Pulse shot at the group, once again blocked by a quick Protect from Sylveon.
"You…you must…fight…you must…fall…"
The telepathic 'voice' in Serena's head was strained, as if whoever was speaking was about to explode into screams of pain.
"We…hunt…we…fight…"
This was a different voice, but it sounded just as pained, just as tortured as the first.
"How are they talking with telepathy? They're not Psychic-types, are they?" Serena asked.
"I don't understand it either," Ash said. "Honchkrow, Houndoom, please listen to me. We don't want to fight you," he said.
"You…will fight…"
"We…will hunt…"
Ash sighed. "If we fight you and win, will you let us go?" he asked.
"You…will lose…"
"We…must win…"
Ash looked at Serena. "Can you handle Houndoom? Pikachu and I will deal with Honchkrow," he said.
Serena hesitated only for a moment, but then she nodded. "Right. Pancham, let's go," she said, trying to sound more confident than she felt.
Delphox was her strongest fighter, but she wouldn't be able to hurt Houndoom at all. At least Pancham's Stone Edge and Drain Punch would probably work well, despite his small size.
Pancham got up from Misdreavus's side and nodded once, clearly ready to fight. ("Let's get him,") he said.
Houndoom stepped forward from between the trees, eyes glowing, and flames coming from the sides of his mouth. The expression in his eyes was wild, reflecting the pain and anger his impossible telepathic voice had contained.
"Stone Edge, Pancham!" Serena said, and Pancham immediately struck the ground hard, blasting a glowing rock pillar in the direction of Houndoom — who didn't even bother dodging. Instead, his horns gleamed a metallic white, and he smashed the pillar of rock into glowing dust before firing a Flamethrower at Pancham.
"Dodge it, quick!" Serena yelled, but Pancham had already taken the initiative himself.
"Drain Punch!"
Pancham's fist glowed green and he lunged forward, but Houndoom again didn't retreat, instead bounding forward with his fangs glowing pink.
"Pancham, look out!" Serena yelled, but the Psychic Fangs found their mark and Pancham rolled back before jumping back up to his feet…but then he was levitated into the air, surrounded by the same pink glow that had been around Houndoom's fangs, and to Serena's astonishment she saw that his eyes were now glowing in the same color. Was Houndoom using Psychic? But how?!
Houndoom slammed Pancham into the ground hard and then fired another Flamethrower, but for the third time that night Sylveon came to the rescue with a Protect.
("You get some rest, Pancham, I'll fight,") she said with a determined look.
"Thank you, Sylveon," Serena said gratefully, and Pancham nodded weakly. "Alright, use Fairy Wind!"
Sylveon called up her Fairy Wind again and sent the vortex of billowing air in Houndoom's direction, but before it could connect Houndoom threw back his head and fired a sickly brown glob of sludge through the oncoming wind, which Sylveon only barely managed to dodge.
Sludge Bomb? How could Houndoom have this many moves?!
There was no time to think, because Houndoom fired off another Sludge Bomb at Sylveon, who blocked it using Protect.
"Alright, Double Team and Swift, Sylveon!" Serena said.
Sylveon began to bound around, quickly setting up her Double Team illusions, and fired off a series of Swift stars which buffeted Houndoom, but didn't seem to be hurting him much. Then he leapt forward, his horns glowing metallic white once more, and with pinpoint accuracy he slammed into Sylveon, who yelped and rolled back.
("Smart Strike?!") she said in amazement.
Just what was this Houndoom? Serena glanced over her shoulder to see if she could ask Ash for help, but to her surprise he was now battling Honchkrow with his entire team. Well, if that was how it had to be, then Serena would do the same. This wasn't a normal battle anymore, after all.
She glanced at Misdreavus, who was still curled up on the ground. She wouldn't be able to do anything. Pancham was injured, but not out. Sylveon wasn't as battered as Pancham, but not fully healthy, either, and Delphox hadn't really fought yet, but the only attack she could use would be Hidden Power.
It didn't matter. The situation wouldn't change by shouting it wasn't fair, so Serena would just have to come up with a solution. Houndoom didn't seem to be taking much damage from the attacks sent his way, but they had to be doing something. If Pancham, Sylveon, and Delphox worked together, it might be enough to turn the tide.
"Delphox, Hidden Power from all sides at once. Sylveon, Fairy Wind all around, and keep up your Double Team. Pancham, try to trap Houndoom with Dark Pulse. It won't hurt him much, but maybe we can pin him in place for a moment," she said.
Her team didn't hesitate and immediately jumped into action.
Houndoom tracked them all, trying to decide who to attack first, and he seemed to settle on Delphox, who shot glowing blue-white orbs at him, carefully controlling their trajectory to make it harder for him to dodge them all.
At the same time, Sylveon's copies surrounded him in a storm of sparkles, which hit Houndoom as if it was a Sandstorm instead of a Fairy Wind.
Pancham spread out his paws and fired off a series of dark, shimmering rings, all nudging Houndoom and clearly enraging him.
None of the attacks truly hurt him, but the constant barrage made it impossible for him to move freely, and his retaliatory Flamethrower was easily dodged.
Guess what, creep? Coordinated attacks with low power are my specialty, Serena thought smugly. 'Death by a thousand cuts' indeed…
But of course, she had no intention of giving Houndoom any time to recover. He was pinned nearly in place now, so she yelled, "Now, Pancham! Stone Edge from all sides!"
Pancham dropped his Dark Pulse, and with practiced ease he slammed his paws into the ground. Four glowing pillars shot from the earth, converging on Houndoom with a resounding smash.
Serena winced and briefly wondered if she'd overdone it, but then a massive fireball cleared away the debris, revealing Houndoom once more. Serena looked at her Pokémon, who looked to be on their last legs but still defiantly stared down Houndoom, who finally looked injured as well.
He snarled and flames erupted from between his teeth — and then he jerked as if he'd been struck by lightning. He howled, and the pack of Houndour who had remained at a distance during the battle immediately dispersed.
From behind her, Serena heard Honchkrow give a similar command, and the Murkrow too took off, squawking loudly, and they disappeared into the night. Houndoom gave a last, hateful stare, and then turned around, stalking away into the forest.
Serena immediately ran over to her Pokémon. "Are you all okay?!" she asked frantically.
("Been better,") Pancham said with a groan. ("But we won,") he said proudly.
("Barely,") Delphox said. ("That Houndoom wasn't normal. He knew too many moves, and too many moves he should have no way of knowing in the first place.")
("It's like we couldn't even hurt him,") Sylveon said with a shiver. Then she looked at Serena and smiled. ("But you just made it feel like a performance. It wasn't as fun as one, but still.")
Serena smiled back. "I'm just glad you're all okay," she said.
"Serena!" Ash yelled, and Serena turned around to look at him.
"We're okay! How are your Pokémon?" she yelled back.
("Seriously annoyed, but fine,") Pikachu said. He looked a good deal more injured than his comment let on, however. ("That Honchkrow was insane. My Thunderbolts did nothing, Charizard's fire did next to nothing, Noivern's Acrobatics hardly did anything…none of us could hurt him at all, it seemed.")
"Did he use moves he had no way of knowing, too?" Serena asked.
Ash nodded. "Yeah. I couldn't figure it out at all, so I just told everyone to give it all they had and take him out that way. We were finally beginning to get somewhere when they just…retreated. Do you know what happened?" he asked.
Serena shook her head. "Not really. I mean, we managed to pin down Houndoom and hit him good, but he still looked like he could fight…"
("They're…they're gone,") Misdreavus said, and Serena and Ash both looked up at her.
"Misdreavus! Are you feeling better?" Serena asked anxiously.
Misdreavus nodded. ("Yeah. Those Pokémon…I don't know where they went, but I can't feel them anymore.")
She shuddered. ("Those emotions were so strong. I just…couldn't think straight. I don't understand how they were able to battle at all…")
"Well…I hope they won't be back tonight, at least," Serena said.
"I don't think so," Ash said. "Whatever they were after…they either got it, or we kept them from it. I think they'll leave us alone for now. Let's get everyone patched up and then try to get some sleep. The earlier we get going tomorrow, the sooner we'll be out of the forest…"
Serena nodded silently and stood up. They really should've just taken the train after all…
Giovanni icily looked at the footage the grunts had brought him. Two Trainers had managed to interfere with the experiment to this level… Clearly, there was far more work to be done. The failures would be thoroughly analyzed and disposed of, but for now, it was more interesting to see who these Trainers were. Clearly, they were skilled, and that made them interesting as possible subjects.
Giovanni frowned when he recognized one of the two. Ash Ketchum. A boy who had stood in his way once before, in the ill-fated Unova expedition. And the other…the other was that girl from the Expositions. Serena from Vaniville Town in Kalos… Wait, Kalos?
He quickly pulled up older footage, the footage Jessie and James had shot during the Kalos incident with Zygarde. He didn't need to scan many shots to find both Serena and Ash in them. A cold smile played on his lips. Yes, these two might be fine additions to the project as well…
Right, sorry this one took so long. Nothing big, just took longer to finish Pokémon Violet than I thought, and this chapter was giving me some trouble.
And yeah, I know a group of crows is called a murder. I just used a whole bunch of mass nouns because, well, murder sounds both badass and really stupid at the same time, so after Officer Jenny said it, I figured I'd switch it up. I'm just glad they aren't ravens, because saying 'unkindness' sounds even weirder.
I should be able to post again tomorrow, but if not, well, at the latest it'll be Friday. See you then!