Interceptor's Wish

by Masterdude21

What started as a young man's search for his abducted mother spirals out of control. Soon, he is fighting a desperate war for survival against greater odds than a more generous God would have allowed. The enemy is everywhere and allies are far too few. With the entire region at stake, who can prevail when fate itself seems set against you? - Novelization of Pokemon Rejuvenation.

12. Raid on the Wispy Tower

Chapter 4: Isolation

Raid on the Wispy Tower

~~~~~~~(I)~~~~~~~

---

Three Xen grunts attacked him at the same time, and suddenly Will found himself in a fight for his life. A Raticate came scurrying across the floor, dodging Houndour's Ember blasts and leaping for Will's face. It came within an inch of Will's throat before Combusken swatted it out of the air with her claws.

Dusclops teleported around the room, reappearing right behind Will. Mightyena spun around, striking at the Ghost Pokemon with a hasty Snarl, forcing it to relocate again. Meanwhile, Grimer simply opened a gaping maw and began flooding the room with poison gas.

The people stuck there began screaming and running for cover. Panic sucker-punched reason and within mFoments, they were running through the entire Pokemon Center, falling over tables and chairs in their mad dash to escape.

"Combusken! Start punching holes in the walls!" Will ordered.

She ducked low to avoid a Shadow Ball courtesy of Dusclops, then shot him a glare.

"These people are dead if we don't open the Center up!"

Combusken hesitated for a moment longer, then hurried to fulfill his order. Fire would see the entire building down, so it had to be done by force. She ran alongside the length of the wall, gouging long trails through the wooden frame and breaking windows as she moved.

Will covered his mouth with his sleeve as he backpedaled away. Houndour chased after Raticate, deftly avoiding the panicking civilians and scattered furniture.

Mightyena didn't stray from Will's side, couldn't do more than chase away the Dusclops whenever it came too close. The Xen grunt had his Grimer stop the gas attack when he realized that the Pokemon Center had too many openings for fresh air now, and instead ordered him to begin lobbing globules of goo at Will.

Will didn't even want to think about what would happen if he got too close to that. "Combusken! Target that Grimer! Use Aerial Ace!"

Mightyena clasped his free sleeve in his jaws and jerked him aside just in time to avoid the ghastly hands of the Dusclops as it came in close for another attack. It teleported away before Mightyena could retaliate.

Grimer, being viscous and blubbery in nature, wasn't very fast. Its body type rendered it strong against physical attacks, because there was nothing to break, hurt, or tear. No organs, no bones, no skin.

But whatever else it was, Grimer was alive. Living things didn't like being set on fire.

"Flame Charge!" Will ordered.

So he'd set it on fire.

Wreathed in fire, Combusken slammed against Grimer in a full-body tackle. The force of her blow sent the amorphous Pokemon sprawling to the ground.

Raticate's trainer kept ordering his Pokemon to go after Will, but Houndour was close on its tail, constantly hounding him and forcing it to keep evading. Evidently Raticate couldn't attack and evade at the same time.

"Combusken, Mightyena, switch up," Will ordered. Maybe Combusken would be less suited at engaging the Dusclops harassing him, but if there was one thing he could count on it was Mightyena and Houndour's ability to figure out how to hunt down prey as a pair. They were born for pack hunting, after all.

Mightyena shot forwards like an arrow, sprinting across the floor and barking orders at Houndour.

Houndour switched it up, banking to the left and snapping at the Raticate, which was forced to break off to the right to keep his distance from his pursuer.

Of course, that route led it either straight through the cloud of poison gas, or towards Mightyena's fangs.

Raticate wasn't born yesterday though. At the last moment, it twisted its body ninety degrees to the left and leapt, which would have seen it narrowly bound over Mightyena's head had he gone in for the finishing blow.

But Mightyena didn't. As the Raticate jumped for it, he brought his head low and snapped at the rodent rear. His incisors knifed through Raticate's left hind leg, near the start of its tail, and the Pokemon stumbled upon landing and crashed.

A second later, Houndour pounced on top of it.

"This isn't going well…" one of the Xen grunts said.

"Fuck, at this rate, we'll lose for sure," another said.

Will couldn't afford to stay bogged down here. These guys would have people on the upper floor as well, Aelita was in trouble! "Mightyena, on me. Keep watch for that Dusclops. Combusken, throw these idiots out," Will ordered.

That got the thugs panicking. With only one Pokemon between the three of them left it seemed that they had realized that this ambush wasn't going to work.

"There's nowhere left to run," the female Xen operative bit at him as her two colleagues began pulling out.

Will raised his hand, signaling for Combusken to get ready for an attack. Seeing this, the Xen thug spat a curse and then bolted, followed closely by her two colleagues.

What was going on? Did Team Xen have another base in this area? Why were they here of all places?

A heavy crash on the upper floor shook Will from his thoughts. "Come on!" He shouted, recalling Combusken but keeping Mightyena around just in case any other Ghost Pokemon got some funny ideas.

Every guest had fled the first floor in the meantime. Aelita was nowhere to be seen, though Will did notice one room with its door busted off its hinges. Guessing that Aelita had simply taken her fight with the Xen grunt somewhere else, he bolted inside.

Aelita was there. Confronting her was none other than one of the two unidentified Xen Admins.

"Welcome William," the young man, grinning wickedly as Will carefully looked around for any signs of another ambush. "Good to see you again."

"You know Will?" Aelita said, surprised. "Wait, are you the one who sent these grunts running around here?"

Will recognized him now. This was the bastard who'd tried to choke him out from behind during his little teleportation mishap.

"Yeah, that was me," the admin replied smugly. "The name's Geara. Just a little trick some of my people wanted to pull off to separate the two of you. I let them go ahead and do as they wish, as long as it had results. Seeing as you two are still alive and in here bothering me, I understand that they made a mistake."

"So you're part of Team Xen as well," Aelita said, disgust dripping from her every word. "Why am I not surprised?"

Gear casually leaned back against the wall, still smiling smugly. "A certain girl from this town would be surprised. What was her name again? Oh yeah! Sariah!"

"What did you do to her?" Aelita demanded.

"Would I ever do anything bad?" Geara said condescendingly. "Like manipulating her into thinking Will was going to perform some act of terror? Abuse her trauma into reacting harshly towards a complete stranger? I would never…"

"Tch. Will, I'm gonna knock this kid into the next dimension with one kick," Aelita growled.

Geara stuck up his hands. "Sorry, didn't come here to fight. In fact, I need you three to stay out of my way. There's something in Wispy Tower that I came for and I just know you three will be a pain in my side."

"Three?" Aelita asked. "What do you – "

At that moment, in the worst timing possible, Narcissa walked into the room completely unguarded. "Will? Aelita? What is the meaning of this ruckus? The entire Center has been demolished down…" her voice trailed off when she laid eyes on Geara. "It cannot be…" she hoarsely whispered. "You - !"

"Need to shut up and take a nap," Geara snapped, his face twisting in rage.

Will felt a familiar chill run down his neck. "Watch out – "

Mightyena rammed his body against Will and knocked him to the ground. Something tore through the air where his head had been a second ago and he heard Aelita and Narcissa both cry out in pain, followed by the sounds of bodies tumbling to the ground.

Two Haunters materialized from thin air, hovering above Narcissa and Aelita, both of whom were lying on the ground without moving.

Mightyena snapped at them, chasing them away from the two women, letting Will quickly drop down next to them.

"You were able to sense that Sucker Punch?" Geara said. "Gotta say William, I'm impressed. But I'm equally annoyed that you don't know how to stay still!"

Aelita and Narcissa were both still breathing, and Wil exhaled a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, that relief didn't last long. The two Haunters disappeared a second before someone else came running up the stairs, crying, "Narcissa, stop, I told you it's not safe!"

Will shot Geara a glare. Sariah.

Geara's eyes lit up. "Maybe this worked out for the best! I would love to hang around, but I've got places to be. Haunter, Phantom Force!"

"Mightyena!" Will called. Mightyena bolted towards him, but it was too late. A Haunter reappeared behind Geara, grabbed a hold of him with its disconnected claw and disappeared again, taking the Xen Admin with him…

…leaving two unconscious bodies behind in the room with only one visible culprit.

Which so happened to be him.

"Really?" Will swore, knowing what was about to happen.

And two seconds later, Sariah came running into the room as well, took one look around and then acted like she'd just witnessed a double homicide. "N-Narcissa!" She cried, staggering backwards and bringing her hands to her mouth in shock. "Oh, and the other girl. I don't care. B-But Narcissa!"

Will knew it looked bad, but there was no way Sariah would buy that he just attacked his own friend as well, would she?

"You fiend!" Sariah then shouted. "You monster! That cute boy was right all along! You came here to cause trouble!"

"You cannot be this stupid," Will said aghast.

"I won't let you get away with this! You're coming with me!"

Will raised a skeptical eyebrow, then looked down at Mightyena.

A look of fear crossed Sariah's features. "I-I'll scream! I'll call the police. I'll call the entire town! I'll call everyone I need to stop you from harming my people!"

"Look," Will said, gripping his anger and shoving it somewhere it couldn't harm anyone. "This isn't what it looks like." He recalled Mightyena as well, showing the girl that he really meant no harm. If she got it in her head that he was some sort of lunatic and rallied the entire town against him he would never again have a chance to stop Team Xen here. He would never again have the chance to help Narcissa fix things for Ren.

"Easy to say!" Sariah snapped. Her eyes darted to Narcissa's prone body. "Fine, you want to make your case? I'll give you your chance. Come with me. I-If you send out your Pokemon again, I'll make sure the entire town beats you up!"

Will rolled his eyes, then gestured for her to lead the way.

~~~~~~~(II)~~~~~~~

---

Narcissa groaned and Ren lifted his head to look at her. The mayor shifted, then slowly opened her eyes. "Where…" she muttered. "Where am I?"

"Your own house," Ren calmly replied. "Sariah said something happened to you at the Pokemon Center tonight. Came knocking on my door like a madwoman. I just came here to check on you. I…made you some herbal tea with Revival Herbs. Thought that would help."

"Oh," Naricssa said, but it didn't look like she really got what he said.

"I see you're still dazed out from whatever went on at the Pokemon Center,' Ren said. "Don't you worry Narcissa. I'm going to do what you couldn't."

"Will…" Narcissa weakly said. "And Aelita…where are they?"

"Aelita's downstairs…" Ren said. "She was suffering from some nightmares. Something about her house being on fire, I don't know. As for Will…" a pang of frustration and panic welled up inside of him. "I don't know. "

"I…"

Ren turned away. "Team Xen's storming Wispy Tower as we speak. Knowing Will, he's probably in the thick of it already. That's simply who he is. I'm going to help him."

"Just what do you hope to accomplish?" Narcissa asked.

"What kind of question is that?" Ren snapped. He'd vowed to keep this impersonal and objective, but Narcissa couldn't help but press his buttons, it seemed. "Crush Team Xen. Save my friend's life. They won't get away with their actions, not again!"

"Not…again?"

Ren scoffed. "Recently I lost an old friend of mine to team Xen. I didn't have what it took to stop them, and Will got seriously hurt trying to save her. But I'm stronger now! I won't let Team Xen kill him!"

"Still believing that strength is everything you need?" Narcissa asked. "If you keep on this path, you will reap what you sow. A fool's path leads nowhere. "

"Narcissa…shut up!" Ren yelled. "Do you think wisdom will help when they slit Will's throat? Do you think balance or patience or some stupid virtue are going to keep team Xen from tearing him to bloody bits with their Pokemon? His path led him to throw himself between them and innocent people. My path will lead to his survival. Where has your path taken you?" He took a breath, wrestling down his frustration and looming sense of helplessness. "This'll all be over by the end of the night. So you just rest up in bed in the meantime."

Without wasting another word, Ren took his leave, leaving Narcissa alone.

~~~~~~~(IV)~~~~~~~

---

Will was starting to think that Sariah hadn't been entirely honest with him. One of the men who had been waiting for them locked the door behind Sariah the moment she and Will entered. The other three pulled out an assortment of baseball bats, kitchen knives and an actual freaking pitchfork, glaring menacingly as they began fanning out to surround him.

"You thought you could hurt us by taking down Narcissa?" Sariah angrily demanded. "We're strong in our own right too, you know!"

He eyed the approaching mob. He didn't see a single one with a pen and paper to take his testimony either.

"Now we're going to make sure you never hurt anyone EVER again!" Sariah yelled.

"You really are this stupid," Will said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Team Xen's running around your town right now and – "

"Save it!" Sariah cut him off. "I don't want to hear any flimsy excuses you have the gall to conjure up. Get ready for the beatdown of a century!"

The second her flunkies began moving, Will ripped his hands from his pockets, revealing the Poke Balls he'd been holding onto this entire time. He sent out Snorunt and Mightyena, then immediately put his back against the wall to prevent one of these guys from clobbering him over his newly-acquired weak spot.

"Snorunt, bat on the right! Mightyena, knife to the left!"

His Pokemon acted before their human targets could do anything. A gust of chilling wind caught the baseball-wielding by surprise and he screamed, dropping his weapon and clutching his face. as ice crystals began forming on exposed skin, forming red blotches and blisters. Mightyena caught the knife-wielder with a singular pulse of dark energy, knocking him on his ass as well.

A mercy, considering what he did to the last person who wanted to put their mitts on his trainer.

"No!" Sariah snapped, sending forth her own Pokemon. "You're not gonna get out of this!"

"Mightyena, target that Haunter! Snorunt, back here, pin down Duskull!"

The insanity of having to defend himself against Ghost-type Pokemon as well as angry citizens with improvised weapons and pitchforks was not lost on Will. When someone busted down the door to the house and an enormous, vicious-looking Pangoro burst inside, he wasn't even surprised. He simply got ready to defend himself on yet another front.

That was when the Pangoro clutched the guy with a pitchfork and yeeted him through the window. He spun around, grabbed a woman with a hammer and slung her through the same window. The rest of the flunkies ran for their lives, leaving Sariah all alone.

"Wait!" Sariah yelled when the Pangoro reached for her next. "Don't throw me! Nooo!"

"That's enough, Panggy!" The high-pitched voice of a child ordered, and that same little girl from before ran into the house. "Man, just in time!"

The Pangoro stomped back to his trainer, taking his place by her side again.

"You!" Sariah yelled. "I should have known!"

"Lady, you do a lot of yelling for someone with no brain cells," the kid said, and Will already liked her more than anyone else in Goldenleaf town. "You've got this situation totally wrong! That is what you should have known!"

"What are you talking about?" Sariah demanded.

"Will isn't the one who attacked Narcissa, and that other girl whose name I either don't remember or don't know! Team Xen set Will up! They set YOU up! Cuz you're gullible!"

"T-Team Xen?" Sariah muttered.

"Yes!" The girl yelled. "And right now they're on their way to Wispy Tower! I dunno what for, but I bet my mother's breakfast that it ain't good! Soooo, you gonna need to back off and let him go! Will is innocent!"

For a moment, it looked like Sariah wasn't going to budge, and that they needed a more violent solution.

"You could move aside, or Pangy here can send you to the moon with one throw," the kid then continued. Considering what she had done to half of Sariah's other flunkies, it wasn't a bluff.

Wordlessly, Sariah stepped aside.

"Hey thanks!" The little girl ran up to Will, flashing him a big, cheeky grin. "Hey, you! This is my way of thanking you for saving me earlier! The name's Mosely! Nice to meet ya! I'm kind of a regular around town! I visit and uh…"support" the local stores because they're oh so nice to me!"

"Hi Mosely," Will said.

"Support?" Sariah sputtered in protest. "You steal from us!"

"I can't help it! I'm hungry and I don't got any money, so…plus you guys hit me in the head with a basket for just trying to drink from the river!"

Will leveled a glare at Sariah, who squirmed and looked away.

"So screw you guys!" Mosely finished.

"Whatever…"

"Lemme guess Will, you wanna go to Wispy Tower and take down Team Xen?"

Will crossed his arms. "How'd you know?"

"Heh, I may have been eavesdropping a lil bit before. Remember that Window Geara was looking through? I was looking in on the left! I'm a cool spy, I promise!"

Hooo boy, if Team Xen ever found out about that Mosely would have a serious problem. "You should stay away from Wispy Tower," Will replied, choosing to ignore that eavesdropping part for the moment. "It's too dangerous."

"Dangerous my butt! I'm bored and I'm gonna do what I want. You should join! Kick some ass together! Treat ourselves to some tasty Sitrus Berry steaks when this is over!"

Will could already tell that Mosely wasn't the type of person to listen to words, and he didn't have the time to convince her to stay. He had to get to Wispy Tower and put a stop to whatever Team Xen was planning before more people got hurt.

"What are we waiting for then?" Will said. "Let's go."

When the two of them hurried outside, rain was pouring from the sky. A thick layer of clouds hung in front of the moon, making Wispy Path seem that much more ominous and dark.

Will kept his head on a swivel as Mosely and him made their way towards the old radio tower, constantly on the lookout for more Xen ambushes. Mightyena and Nidorino stuck close to his side. Their combined senses would easily notice any attempt of Xen to make use of the dark woods surrounding them, but Will couldn't help but feel anxious.

It didn't help that Mosely wouldn't stop talking.

"So how does this Geara dude know you? Did you fight before? What is your beef with Team Xen anyway? Do you know what they want? Does Narcissa know?"

"Mosely, pipe down," Will said. "They can hear us."

"Oh…" she frowned, then realized what he meant. "Oh! Right, they'll know we're coming! Can't have that. Superspies are as quiet as the night!'

It took them a few minutes, but they finally made their way back to the terminal that linked Wispy Path with the tower. It wasn't occupied anymore.

Will took a moment to observe the ruined site. He couldn't see anyone around. Wispy Tower seemed as abandoned as ever.

So what were the odds it was filled to the brim with Xen guys?

"Okay Mosely, let's go, quickly," Will whispered. They quickly crossed the fifty or so meters separating them from the tower and darted inside.

"Oh heck, this thing in the floor wasn't here before," Mosely hissed. "And I would know! I visit this place a lot in search for treasure!"

She was right. The floor in front of the tombstone had split open, revealing a hidden entrance.

"Whatever they want down here…I wanna see cause I'm nosy," Mosely said. Before Will could even figure out what she meant, she disappeared down the hatch.

"Mosely!" Will hissed, hurrying after her. He ran down a long hall with dark, metal walls, catching up to Mosely right at the end. She waited for him in front of what looked like an elevator, furiously studying the controls.

"This place looks cool," She said, poking at the "open" button with her pinky. "How long do you think it's been down here?"

"Too long," Will replied. He glanced at the panel and saw this was one of those two-way elevators that only connected between two floors. Where they'd end, he had no idea. Even in ruins, Wispy Tower was massive. "There. This button."

The doors closed, and Will felt his stomach leap as the elevator rapidly descended into the depths. After a couple of seconds, the doors slid open and Mosely jumped out. Will followed after her, carefully scanning his surroundings. It looked somewhat like the Carotos base, with more unkempt, with dying grass poking out through the tiles every here and there.

Behind them, the elevator closed and ascended again.

"Ayo, they got an entire lab down under the Wispy Tower!" She said, looking around with wonder. "Uh, I was expecting, like, a closet or something…we have to deal with an entire base? I ain't ready for this dude!"

"Tem Xen aren't nice people, Mosely. If they get the chance, they'll hurt you," Will said. "Better leave. Tell Narcissa what's going on. Get Aelita and Ren on their feet."

Behind them, the elevator descended again.

"You want me to leave ya? Alone?" Mosely said incredulously. "What about you?"

In all honesty, Will had no clue. Maybe he'd take Crescent's words to heart and thrash around, ruin whatever expensive machinery Xen kept here. With luck, he'd find that punk Geara and get the truth out of him.

The doors opened and Narcissa of all people stepped out. Her dark eyes flashed to Mosely, then to Will. "What is this place?"

Well…that threw a wrench into his plans.

Mosely stared at her with large, curious eyes. "Aren't you, like, the owner of this tower or something?" she asked. "I thought you of all people would know where we are!"

"My husband Sirius was the owner," Narcissa calmly replied. "I had no knowledge of this place."

:"Oh…weird…" Mosely murmured.

Will agreed. Building an elaborate underground laboratory took a massive amount of resources and manpower. No way Team Xen had done this after the tower had burned down. With how important this place was to Goldenleaf and how much they frequented it, they'd have spotted Team Xen from a mile away.

And that…kinda suggested that someone had built this lab while the Radio Tower had still been operational.

Will looked at Narcissa warily. Could she -?

Narcissa glanced down at Mosely, frowning. "Wait, I know you…"

Mosely nervously laughed. "Wh-What? No, you don't!"

"You're that troublemaker that frequently steals from the PokeMart in town. But not only that, you harass the local townsfolk for no apparent reason."

Mosely nervously backed away. "Hehe, well, if they didn't make it so easy to get agitated…but you don't have to worry about me anymore Ma'am! Will saved me from a mean ol'witch and I've turned over a new leaf!"

Narcissa eyed her suspiciously. "Is that so?"

"Ladies, here, really?" Will whispered. "We're not alone down here."

"Very well," Narcissa said. "I'll look past your transgressions for now. For now we should investigate this area and learn its purpose."

"Squad up!" Mosely exclaimed. "Let's beat down – "

As if on cue, a pair of Grunts came running around the corner. They skidded to a halt, spotted the trio of intruders and immediately sent out their Pokemon. "Stop! Don't move, or we'll have to hurt you!"

Will shot a glare at Mosely, who grinned and pulled her shoulders up an apologetic shrug. "Hehe, oops?"

He took the lead as their improvised group held their ground against the attacking Xen grunts. An Arbok surged forwards, hissing and propping up its hood. A Raticate scurried across the floor, snarling, and behind them, a Wheezing took up a solid position to spew poisonous gunk everywhere.

Narcissa helped out, especially with her experienced Dusclops, but they were still hard pressed to break free from that area in front of the elevator. "Narcissa, take care of that Wheezing," he said. "Nidorino, can you handle that Arbok?"

An affirmative growl was all he needed. "Combusken, target Raticate."

It was a cramped, violent battle. A black-purple hue of energy covered Dusclops's eye, before it released dark beam at the Wheezing, arcing in strange, irregular corners and twisting around cover as to strike at the Poison Pokemon. The Night Shade struck home hard and the Wheezing staggered back, interrupted just before it could flood the hall with gas.

Raticate couldn't get close to Combusken. In these close quarters, there wasn't any room to maneuver and Combusken took full advantage of that. She was a blur as she tackled the Raticate, a trail of white energy trailing her as she moved. Raticate tried to recover, but Comcusken wouldn't have any of that. She enveloped herself with flames and slammed into her foe again, sending it rolling across the floor.

Nidorino, having gotten plenty of experience with fighting serpentine opponents up to now, didn't take very long to finish his fight with the Arbok. With a little help from Narcissa's Dusclops, who struck the Arbok from behind with a Night Shade, the three of them broke through the Xen ambush together.

"We didn't want to be here either!" One of the grunts yelled. "Don't hurt us!"

Will shot a look at the elevator, then glared at the defeated trio. What did they mean, they didn't want to be down here? The exit was right there!

"We don't have a choice!" Another yelled. .

"There's always a choice," he quietly said.

"You are not welcome here," Narcissa proclaimed. "Leave, while you are still able to."

Will turned his back to the defeated trio and began scanning the laboratory for any other traps the Xen grunts could have laid. He didn't –

"Will!" Mosely screamed. "Shank!"

Will barely had the time to react before he heard a guttural snarl, the rapid clatter of nails on the steel and the sickening crunch of bones shattering, all of that practically a meter behind ihm.

Screaming, one of the Xen Grunts collapsed to the floor, clutching his leg with bloodied hands, his fingers probing a knee that didn't seem to have gotten the memo on which way to bend. Combusken screeched at him, hopping back and forth with her claws in front of her face, ready to strike a lethal blow if ordered, or defend against another attacker if need be.

A knife fell from the thug's fingers and clattered to the floor.

Will stated in disbelief. He knew some of these guys wanted him dead, but to pull a knife and go in for the kill themselves?

"For shame!" Narcissa snapped. "How dare you! How dare you strike at the back of those who showed you mercy already!"

The man cried between heaving breaths, in too much agony to respond to Narcissa's words. His comrades moved to pick him up, their faces grim and pale.

"Holy shit, you kicked that guy's knee back to his pre-evolution!" Mosely said enthusiastically. "Combusken you are the coolest!"

Will didn't know what to say. If Combusken hadn't been keeping an eye out, would he have…would that man have…?

"I…" he stammered. He didn't know what to say. It shouldn't have surprised him, not after what Team Xen had already said and done, but this…it felt so personal. So desperate. These people wanted him dead and they were willing to murder him with their own hands if they got their chance.

With his Pokemon and Narcissa and Mosely there? What were they thinking?!

"Will, are you hurt?" Narcissa said.

"No…" He said. "Mosely…shank?"

"Hey, by the time I'd get 'watch out that guy has a knife!'outta my mouth he'd have already shoved it into your ribs!" Mosely protested. "Don't you know prison slang?"

"Why do you know prison slang?" Narcissa asked.

"Don't ask Narcy. Don't ask."

Will didn't know what to say, so he stayed silent. He kept Nidorino and Combusken out, just in case what little Xen personnel still lingered got any funny ideas.

"Man, the people who owned this lab didn't clean up very well!" Mosely said, kicking at a patch of grass.

"I find it hard to believe the people here left their quarters like this," Narcissa replied. "Les temps est a blamer! Time is to blame."

Will and Mosely exchanged a blank look. "Did you just cast a spell on me?" Mosely demanded.

Narcissa looked at the young girl like she wasn't sure if she was being pranked or not. "No? I was just speaking Kalosian."

"Oh, phew! I thought I was gonna live three-hundred years as a Zigzagoon!"

"…you have a wild imagination, Mosely," Narcissa replied.

"Imagination? I was already cursed by a witch to be a little girl from another world! It's true!"

"I'm sure," Narcissa gracefully replied. Will thought that was an obviously specific thing to talk about. Maybe Mosely had overheard him and Aelita talking about that before? He didn't know.

Another Xen grunt came running at them from an office, frantic and wide-eyed. "You don't know what you're doing," she yelled, before sending out Beedrill to attack.

Combusken dodged multiple jabs, swept its stinger aside when Beedrill went in close and then countered with a Flame Charge, enveloping her body with flames and tackling the Beedrill away.

"If Team Xen is defeated, it will end bitterly for all of us!" She continued. "Beedrill, Poison Sting!"

So…what? Was Will just supposed to let them win? Let them keep killing people, keep tearing families apart in their manic quest for whatever it was they were after? He'd seen their work in Carotos Mountain. He knew what would happen if these people won.

He didn't want any part in that.

So he ignored the woman's frantic yells, and focused on what needed to be done. "Finish it off with Aerial Ace!"

As the Beedrill, still trailing smoke, attempted to fire a burst of poisonous barbs at Combusken, the Fire-type vanished in a blur of motion, reappearing a couple of meters to the left, right on top of the Beedrill. She leapt and sliced at it with her claws, slicing through its wings and tearing a gnarly cut through its abdomen.

"No!" The Xen grunt snapped. "Beedrill, come back!" For a moment, it looked like she wanted to say something else, but in the end she simply chose to run.

"Good riddance," Mosely said, poking her head out from around the corner.

"Mosely, why are you slowing down so much every corner we take?" Narcissa asked.

"It's because I saw a movie where this woman was blasted into nothing when she turned a corner! There ain't no way that's happenin' to me. I'm cautious by every corner."

Narcissa was speechless for a moment. "That…is very much not the answer I was expecting. Will, what do you think about this?"

Will had barely paid attention to what was being said. "Mosely, that's a bit ridiculous."

"Okay, but when the enemy team gets a sick headshot when you turn the corner it's not my fault!"

"Then lead the way for us, Mosely," Narcissa said with an almost maternal patience.

"Oh, now you're wanting my protection!"

Will walked up to the monitor at the wall. Mosely followed his gaze and hopped onto the chair. "What's this monitor gotta say?

"Hoopa, the Mischief Pokemon is a being that can warp space with the six rings it carries," Narcissa read, leaning over Will's shoulder to take a closer look. "With Hoopa, we would be able to reach new dimensions and greater heights…"

"I don't get it."

"The people here wanted to use Hoopa's power to jump through dimensions. For what reason? I don't know."

"Uhh…you missed something Narcy," Mosely said.

"What did I miss?"

Mosely pointed at the screen's bottom left corner. "It says password: Unbound."

Nodding, Narcissa said, "We should keep that in mind."

They continued onwards. To the right, where a steel gate blocked their way, Narcissa pointed out a terminal that might be of use to them now that they had the password,

It took Will three attempts to put the right code in. Apparently, the terminal only accepted the password in all caps. Finally, just as he was about to start doubting himself, the screen flashed green and the gate retracted back into the ceiling.

"Let's keep going, then," Narcissa said.

Will headed into the nearest office to investigate -

- out of nowhere, a man in a labcoat slammed into him and tackled him to the wall. "I won't let you!" The man shouted, grabbing a fistful of Will's jacket, trying to pull him to the ground.

Thankfully, Narcissa reacted immediately. Before Will even had the chance to reach for his own Pokemon, she ordered Dusclops to put the man to sleep with Hypnosis.

"These men and women seem desperate," Narcissa said as Will straightened his jacket. "What are they up to here?"

Another physical attack. This time, from what was obviously not someone used to this kind of thing. What drove a man to do something like that?

"Let's find out," Will said.

"Yeah," Mosely grumbled. She kicked the sleeping scientist against his shin, then hopped over him and headed to the computer. "Crazy people, attacking my peeps…bah."

"Uh, Mosely, what are you doing?" Narcissa asked.

"I was trying to see if this computer had any games on it…"

"Games?" Narcissa asked, aghast. "Is that really what we need right now?"

"Look, you're stressed, I'm stressed and Will might be stressed! Maybe just a small game of pinball might help us not be so stressed, ya known?"

"I like the attitude, but I feel like it may be a bit…what's the word?"

Irrational? Misguided? Desperate?

"Words are stupid anyway, Narcy!" Mosely exclaimed. "We – "

"Hey, Mosely, we don't have time," Will said. He grabbed the chair she'd seated herself on and spun it around to face the screen on the wall. "What about that one?"

"Oh! This one is just like the one in the other room!"

"Exactly,"

"Dusknoir, the Gripper Pokemon," Narcissa read aloud. "Said to bring Pokemon to the world of spirits. Perhaps humanity would avoid death by creeping into its own room. To conquer the Den of Souls is to conquer humanity's greatest weakness yet."

Dusknoir…Will wasn't sure he'd ever forget the sensation of that thing's hand clutching his shoulder.

"Sooooo…the person who wrote this is trying to live forever?" Mosely suggested.

"Using Dusknoir, he's trying to gain access to the Den of Souls…to…yes, gain immortality," Narcissa slowly said.

"Living forever's kinda cool," Mosely said with a whistle. "You could eat as many Sitrus Berries as you wanted. Or maybe fried Krabby…yum, yum, in my tum tum…"

"Going to pass on that," Narcissa said. "I prefer a plant based diet."

"If you want to grow big and strong, you need your proteins," Will said.

Narcissa gave him a bemused look. "If you want to grow healthy and strong, you will vary your diet regardless. That being said, this monitor has a password just like the one before it."

"Oh, yeah! Password is…soul."

"How very thematic. Let's move forward, everyone."

Mosely kicked the sleeping Xen scientist against the other shin as she passed him by. Narcissa chastised her, but Will didn't bother. He led the group to the last laboratory office on the right side, which was locked behind another monitor as well.

He put in the password without failing this time, then opened the door and sent in Nidorino first to deter any more fun grappling business.

Nidorino barked the all clear, and they filed inside after him. The laboratory was much larger than the previous, with dozens of consoles and computers lining the walls. Metal bookcases stood in all corners, stuffed to the brim with disks and books and other stuff Will didn't even recognize.

This lab alone could fit about twenty different scientists and that was just the guys seated behind their computers. Just how many people did Team Xen even have? If they had factories like these throughout the region, they must have had…hundreds of people. Thousands of people.

That realization shook Will. These people were literally everywhere. He'd have to fight such a huge, well-staffed and ruthless organization by himself?

Mom…I don't know how I'm going to do this…

"This one seems to be different from the other displays," Narcissa said, calmly approaching the large, electronic screen at the back of the room.

"Yeah, it's like an entire book. So laaame! I don't wanna read this stuff!"

"This tower acts as a disguise for the untrained eye…as the people above use the tower's services, the people below abuse the knowledge unknown by many," Narcissa read. "The people of the true Wispy Tower believe in…immortality through the power hidden within the Den of Souls…through Pokemon experimentation, this is possible. All we need to succeed is to find the right one. And I believe we have."

Will had the terrible feeling that Team Xen had acquired another legendary Pokemon.

"The master of the Distortion World…where time has stopped completely. Giratina will be our gateway into the New World…signed…by Sirius," Narcissa whispered, her face pale. She softly shook her head in disbelief, before a terrible look of grief and shock overtook her. "It cannot be! My husband was…the leader of this laboratory?"

Will averted his eyes. "I'm…sorry, Narcissa."

It didn't look like she even heard him. "My husband told me everything! He never, ever put me down the wrong path!"

"M-Maybe it's another Sirius?" Mosely quickly pointed out, "Like, his brother or something?"

"No…there was no one else with that name in this region…" Narcissa said. "And considering Gregory's presence, it all lines up properly."

"Gregory?" Will asked.

When Narcissa didn't answer, Mosely shot Will a helpless look. "She doesn't want to talk about it, I guess?"

"No…" Narcissa said. "It's not that, I'm just thinking…for him to be a man that involved himself in the experimentation of Pokemon…that can only tell me that the man I knew, and married, was a façade."

Will thought back to Jenner. To Keta. To Indriad Theolia and Maria. What was it about Team Xen that so easily corrupted people? What about them was so lucrative that people would willingly destroy their own family for them?

A very ugly voice whispered at him that he didn't know his own mother's affiliation either. Team Xen had gone after her specifically, and she in turn had clearly known Team Xen as well.

Shut up.

Thunder rumbled through the walls and the entire tower shook.

"What the heck!" Mosely snapped. "Was that the tower? Is it collapsing?"

"No…" Narcissa, moving towards the exit. "There is a battle going on somewhere. Ren…Will, you must have gotten here after he did."

"Ren is here?" Will exclaimed. Damnit. Goddamnit! They had no time to waste!

Will didn't wait for the others. He sprinted back to the main room, past the elevator towards what he'd assumed was the main entrance. It wasn't locked anymore.

Hang in there Ren! Will frantically thought.

He rounded the corner and skidded to a halt. There, in front of him, stood Eli and Sharon. Of all the rotten timings-!

"Oh good, look who it is Eli, it's William."

"Yes!" Eli jovially replied. "I could see that, Sharleen."

Sharon smacked her forehead with her palm. "Ignoring that blatantly wrong name…I can't believe we got dragged here all the way from HQ just to be used for stalling."

Stalling.

They knew why he was here. He knew that his actions could turn the battle around and possibly save Ren.

Anger coursed through him, and Will struggled very hard to keep himself steady. Anger would make him prone to mistakes. He had to stay calm and collected.

Mosely and Narcissa had caught up in the meantime. "You know," Mosely said, "If you weren't part of Team Xen, you wouldn't have to put up with this at all."

"Yeah," Sharon scoffed. "If only."

"One chance," Will said. He was unable to keep his anger out of his voice, and it came out rough and forced. "Get out of our way."

"Yeah, can't do that," Sharon sighed. "I mean, we literally can't. Come on then. Let's get this over with."

That was the end of the talking. Sharon and Eli sent forth their Pokemon, and Will met them in kind. It seemed the pair had evolved some of their previous Pokemon too. Mismagius and Honchkrow immediately took the ranged advantage, unhindered by the tight constraints of the hallway.

Still, that only helped them out vertically. They were just as boxed in horizontally as Will's Pokemon were. Evading attacks was going to be very difficult for everyone.

Mightyena Snarled, sending blackish rings of energy arcing through the air at Mismagius, but the Ghost Pokemon vanished in thin air. That left Honchkrow free to throw itself into a sudden dive, rocketing towards Snorunt at breakneck speeds.

Snorunt froze up, and Will had to order Mightyena to interfere. The Dark-type positioned himself atop Snorunt, providing it with cover as he snapped at the incoming foe.

Honchkrow was forced to break off his attack at the last moment or risk putting himself at biting range. He banked sharply to the right –

- and Mismagius reappeared behind both of Will's Pokemon, lobbing a Shadow Ball at them before vanishing just as quickly again.

Snorunt, being the smaller target, threw itself to the floor, narrowly avoiding the worst of the blast. Mightyena wasn't so lucky and the orb splashed across his body, throwing him off his feet.

Honchkrow took that moment to attack again. Its wings glowed a deep shade of purple as it swept down, this time aiming straight for Mightyena's head.

At the same time, Mismagius reappeared again, a couple of meters to the left, readying another Shadow Ball.

"Snorunt! Icy Wind the entire room!" Will ordered

Snorunt scampered out from underneath Mightyena's muscular frame and inhaled sharply, before spinning around and exhaling a thick cloud of frozen air in a circle. Mightyena threw himself to the ground, flattening himself against the floor to avoid the burst of frigid air. Honchkrow caught the worst of it. Unable to change its course, it flew straight into the sudden subzero temperatures and flinched, sailing over Mightyena with inches to spare.

Mismagius fluttered erratically, clutching at its face with its ghostly limbs.

"Mightyena! Target the Ghost!" Will then ordered.

"Mismagius, dodge him!" Sharon called.

Mismagius vanished once again, but Mightyena didn't stop. He snapped at the air a meter to Mismagius' left, launching himself high in the air as his jaws snapped shut –

- clutching a part of Mismagius' dress between his rows of razor-sharp teeth. Having spent so much time fighting Ghost-type Pokemon, even tangling with a Dusknoir in full-on hunting mode, had honed his senses to perfection. That, or he had a hell of an instinct. Either way, he pulled the struggling Mismagius out the air even as Snorunt continued filling the air with his Icy Wind.

"Oh, too cold!" Eli said. "Bah!"

"Yeah, n-n-no shit," Sharon bit back. "Mismagius, return. Lickitung, it's up to you now!"

Will recalled Snorunt, sending out Combusken next.

Eli increased the pressure, ordering Honchkrow to keep attacking. It shook off the frigid temperatures and swept back down at Mightyena with another Night Daze, which he countered with Bite. Nevertheless, Honchkrow had a greater range of motion and he struck Mightyena, hard.

Mightyena's head snapped sideways and his body swayed. Honchkrow sailed overhead again, sweeping low and coming in from the side again.

Combusken kicked Lickitung to the ground, leapt back to avoid a swipe of its massive pink tongue and spun around mid-air, blasting Honchkrow with Ember.

The Flying Pokemon didn't see that coming and the superheated shards of fire knocked it off course. Its low altitude put it at a collision angle with Mightyena, who body-checked him to the ground.

"Oh!" Eli exclaimed. "Ah, I mean no!"

He recalled his Honchkrow and sent out Tangela next.

Clearly, the pair had put all their eggs in the basket of their first Pokemon. Will recalled Mightyena and sent out Pidgeotto next, and together with Combusken they were able to easily outmuscle and overpower the enemy's remaining Pokemon. Combusken knocked Lickitung to the floor by targeting its thick, but short legs, and then slammed her knee against his face, knocking him out.

Pidgeotto, meanwhile, buffeted Tangela's Vine Whip attacks with powerful gusts of wind, keeping his distance just in case. With Lickitung out of the picture, Combusken was able to blast Tangela with a super effective burst of Ember, knocking it out too.

"Darn!" Eli shouted, looking far too happy given the circumstances.

"Oh darn…looks like we lost, Eli…guess we got no other choice than to bail, right? Clearly there's nothing else we can do…the horror. But first we should open the door, right, Eli?"

"Yes Sarah!"

Sharon worked her jaw. "It's SHARON! How hard can it be to remember such a simple name? SHAAAROOON!"

"What's up with you two?" Will said. He didn't get it. How could people work for Team Xen while being so…agreeable? "Team Xen's killing people left and right and you're just…what, going with the flow?"

Sharon looked at him with a hint of pity. "I wouldn't expect you to understand, William."

"It's Will," he shot back. "Seems only my enemies call me William."

"Right. Gotcha. I won't waste more of your time. I'm over it, anyway. Come on Eli…let's leave through this here locked door…"

As Will watched the misfortunate duo take their leave, conveniently leaving the way forward unblocked, Narcissa walked past him. "What an interesting pair. They suit each other perfectly."

"Heh. Those guys didn't even try! They should just quit their job!"

"Makes me wonder why Team Xen was the answer for them in the first place."

"Doesn't matter," Will said. Nothing could justify joining a group of people like Xen. Nothing. "They're scum."

"Yeah!" Mosely agreed. "Anyone who joins Team Xen doesn't have rights!"

"Damn right," Will muttered.

"Oh Mosely…" Narcissa said. "If only you knew what true desperation could do to people…we should proceed with care, Will. I sense a strong power ahead. Are you prepared"

Any second they wasted was a second Xen could murder Ren. "Come on."

Will pressed onwards, Mosely and Narcissa close on his heels. He passed through the unlocked door ahead and stumbled upon what looked like an enormous landing zone of sorts. A massive platform where fifty people could have passed across side-by-side amidst a gaping abyss of darkness. There, lying against the railing, bleeding from several wounds, lay Ren.

"Ren!" Will ran towards him, quickly dropping down next to his friend and looking him over. He didn't see any sources of massive bleeding. It looked like Ren just had a lot of shallow cuts and scrapes. "Looks worse than it is…are you okay? Can you talk?"

Ren didn't meet his gaze. "I wasn't able to stop Geara…not even after all my training…"

"What? That doesn't matter! Can you move?"

"So you got whooped! Big deal! Get up dude, we gotsa run!" Mosely exclaimed.

But Ren didn't move. "You don't understand…Geara, he…"

"Hah. Done being depressed yet, Ren?"

Will looked up to see someone leaning against a large set of stairs on the opposite end of the landing zone, someone who definitely hadn't been standing there before.

Geara.

Will bit back a sharp reply. Anger had something vicious on his tongue, but what was the point? People like Geara…scum like Geara only understood actions, not words.

"So you made it intact," Geara continued. "What happened to that other girl?"

"She's resting on my couch," Narcissa answered in an even voice. "Thanks to you."

Geara shrugged. "Could be worse."

Narcissa drew herself upright, staring down at Geara with more authority and disdain than Will had seen from her before. "Gregory, just what are you planning? You knew about this laboratory all this time, didn't you? That's why you knew to come down here!"

Will blinked. Gregory…and Sirius…no way. This little bastard was Narcissa's son?

A look of pure rage crossed Geara's features. "My name," he growled, "Is Geara! Not Gregory! Best to remember that next time! But yes, you're right, and judging by how you're here…you've seen the data then? About your beloved husband?"

Narcissa didn't respond.

"While going through this place, I deliberately set you on a path to show you the grim truth, Narcissa, and now you've seen it."

Geara started to drift into Madelis-levels of being a lowlife. Will started to despise him – and his people by extension – more and more with every syllable the little bastard spoke.

"The court would like to know your feelings on the matter?" Geara continued.

"My husband…" Narcissa quietly said, her voice trembling. "Loved…"

"He didn't love anyone!" Geara shouted, angrily swiping his arm to the side to accentuate his words. "That's the point! He MANIPULATED you because you were pathetic! Why would he happen to show up and marry this town's leader? It's so that he could build this lab in the spot he wanted without interruption!" Geara spat at the ground. "I always hated how easily you let him walk all over you. All because you were missing something in life."

Will felt the rage build up to something different. Something cold. Focused. It had gone beyond making him shake, or blur his thoughts with redness.

"Dude, what is your freaking deal? You've gone all this way to make her feel like shit, and you're dragging her through the mud like this still? What is your problem!" Mosely shouted.

Geara didn't even bother looking at her. "Who let this gremlin down here?"

"I am not a gremlin!" Mosely snapped, shaking with anger.

"Well, whatever. Accept it or not. It doesn't matter to me. The reality is there for all to see. I – "

Will took several steps forwards, putting himself between Geara and Narcissa. "Stop talking, Greg," he said.

Geara clenched his jaw with rage. "William, you filthy son of a bitch, I'll – "

Will sent out Mightyena and Houndour. "Stop talking, Greg, and act," he repeated, somewhat amazed at the utter calmness in his voice.

"Giratina!" Geara shouted.

And from the upper levels of the tower descended a monster.

It swept down with such force that its mere landing nearly sent Mosely flying. Wind buffeted Will's face and he had to steady himself.

Giratina was…big. A large, draconic Pokemon with three golden half-rings running down the length of its neck. Large, ghostly wings protruded from its back, shifting and almost translucent. Six claw-tipped legs stuck out from its serpentine body, although it didn't even use them.

"Oh man…" Mosely said with a shaky voice. "That's one big chicken."

Geara strode towards Giratina, leaning against the Pokemon with an almost casual air. "This big chicken will be your own demise," he said, grinning. "Poor Ren over there didn't stand a chance. And now look at him. Embarrassed and broken from failing. After all that talk, too. You just hate to see it. "

Will let the bastard ramble. He ran his gaze across Giratina's body, searching for any weak spots or vulnerabilities he could exploit. Any zones he could target, like the Rift Gyarados' neck or Galvantula's throat.

He didn't see any.

"Gregory!" Narcissa cried. "Stop this!"

"It's Geara!" Geara roared back, spittle flying from his mouth. He took a moment to compose himself, though he still breathed heavily as he continued. "Once I'm done separating William's head from his neck as revenge for his meddling in the Carotos Lab…I'll take Giratina and turn Goldenleaf into one giant crater. This region is better off without this disgusting smudge on the map. Think the fire was bad? A mere footnote compared to what I'll do."

There was no reasoning with this guy. Giratina regarded the group of people standing before it with dark, unfathomable eyes, then began drawing in power to annihilate them.

Well, he wasn't going to let that happen. "Pidgeotto, Mightyena, go!"

Will's Pokemon hadn't even hit the ground before Giratina began blasting them with Shadow Balls. Where the inky black spheres impacted the ground, they detonated with the force of an explosion, leaving large, smoking craters in their wake.

Will, Mosely and Narcissa were forced to scatter and run for cover as the Legendary Pokemon continued attacking. Pidgeotto buffeted with heavy winds, Mightyena fired off several Snarls in quick succession, but it was as if Giratina didn't even register the attacks.

The headplates on Giratina's skull opened to reveal a mouth with jagged teeth. Blue fireballs appeared from its mouth and scattered around the battlefield, burning with intense heat as they zipped through the air.

"Houndour, block them!" Will yelled.

Houndour landed on all fours, spotted the floating Will-O-Wisps and leapt in their way. The orbs of fire struck Houndour before they could slam into his trainer. Houndour's body glowed a bright red as his body simply absorbed the flames, and the subsequent Ember he fired back at Giratina scorched its face, leaving little pockets of soot where they struck.

With Giratina's attention now squarely on Will, Mightyena and Pidgeotto renewed their attacks. Pidgeotto swept low and began creating large gusts of wind, blowing debris and bits of stone into Giratina's face. Legendary Pokemon or not, it still had physical eyes, and nobody liked to get debris in their eyes.

Giratina roared and launched an Aura Sphere at Pidgeotto, forcing it to break off its attack and dive for cover. Mightyena crossed the battlefield like a blurry shadow and launched himself at Giratina, digging his shadow-wreathed teeth deep into its neck.

Enraged, Giratina shook itself, throwing Mightyena off as if he were nothing more than a fly. Houndour continued peppering him with bolts of searing flames, but the temporary boost his Flash FIre ability had given him waned, and soon his attacks became nothing more than an annoyance to Giratina.

All of a sudden Giratina melted away in the shadows, only ro reappear to their left flank. The Legendary roared, then unleashed another flurry of Shadow Balls that laid waste to the arena. With nowhere left to hide, Will dove for cover inside one of the larger craters as Giratina swept the area with projectiles. The nonstop detonation of Shadow Balls rattled his teeth and shook his bones. Stone shrapnel and waves of ghostly energy arced through the air, making it impossible to see what was happening.

But he kept fighting, kept putting pressure on Giratina. He ordered Snorunt out as well, tasking the little Ice-type with providing Icy Wind coverage from the safety of the crater. Pidgeotto kept buffeting Giratina with Sand Attacks, occasionally sweeping down and harassing it from behind whenever it didn't pay attention.

Houndour and Mightyena sprinted across the battlefield, diving from crater to crater and coordinating their attacks together. They alternated between ranged attacks - Embers and Snarls - and getting whenever Giratina targeted anyone other than them.

Slowly, Will's Pokemon began synchronizing their efforts. Will recalled his Pokemone one at a time whenever they took a hit, spraying their wounds with the healing potions he had with him.

All the while, Giratina kept bombarding the area with attacks, but with so many targets to keep track of and so many attacks to shrug off, its focus began wavering. Gradually, the intensity of its onslaught grew more tolerable, easier to withstand.

"To think you could push Giratina back like this," Geara said, staring at Will with disbelief. "You've been a trainer for…what, a month? Two? You're already doing much better than that pathetic – "

Will gestured and Mightyena sprinted towards Geara. The bastard scoffed and ducked behind Giratina, who swept its massive tail at Mightyena, forcing him to break off his attack and leap back.

"Enough!" Geara exclaimed. "Giratina, finish them off! Shadow Ball!"

As Giratina began drawing in power again, Narcissa suddenly spoke up. "Will, Mosely, Ren…I've failed all of you. I, too, have walked down the path of a fool. But when the curtains fall, a new show awaits to be seen."

Giratina launched its attack –

- and Narcissa moved. Will didn't see how she did it, but she just blurred forwards, stepped in the way of the attack and swung her fans, deftly deflecting the devastating blast of energy. Faint smoky vapors trailed the edges of her fans, and Will saw the blurry outline of…something about her.

"As long as my light shines, I refuse to lay down and die," Narcissa proclaimed. "Turn Goldenleaf into a crater? How dare you! You have a legendary beast before you, but you lack dare. Class. Integrity." She moved again, a blurry outline as she vaulted high into the air, over Giratina's head, before landing on the platform behind it. "Passion!" She yelled. She leapt again, swiping at Giratina with her fans, and Will didn't see them connect yet Giratina acted like it had been dealt a hammer blow. It shook its head in disorientation as Narcissa landed. "Elegance!"

Will grinned as Geara seemed to lose his composure. "Don't just float there you dumb thing! Attack!" Geara shouted.

Giratina cried out and a shockwave pulsed through the air. Mightyena blurred in front of Will and easily absorbed the darkness-infused wave, but it flung Narcissa off her feet.

"I know Sirius did horrible things…" She said, slowly climbing back to her feet. "Unforgivable things. It's my job to clean up the mess he made. For Goldenleaf's well-being…after everything that's happened, I have made people suffer too. Ren, don't give into despair. Stand up and fight with us."

Houndour and Combusken blasted Giratina with Ember, but the bolts harmlessly dissipated against its hide. Snorunt, trembling, was forced to break off its attacks when Pidgeotto sailed through his view.

"I wasn't able to do anything!" Ren protested, tears welling up in his eyes. "I've been useless from the start!"

"Then redeem yourself here!" Narcissa urged him. "You cannot just give up! If you intend on being the one to lead Goldenlead Town, then prove it!"

Giratina uttered a bone-quaking roar.

"Right…right!" Ren stammered. He got to his feet and hurried to Will's side. "Will, I think you have what it takes to defeat Geara! If you handle him…then Mosely, Narcissa and I will distract Giratina!"

"Heck yeah!" Mosely shouted. "Imma have chicken for dinner!"

"You're joking, right?" Geara said, grinning in a display of mad fury. "I don't know if you're brave, or utterly idiotic. William! Madelis lost because she thought you to be of no threat to us! I won't make that mistake. I'm going to tear you apart, and present that miserable cow with your remains! Fall!"

Geara stepped into the fray as well. He led with a Persian and a Clefairy, while Will recalled all other Pokemon except for Pidgeotto, then sent Nidorino out to engage the Admin two-on-two.

The four Pokemon went at it almost instantly. Geara's Persian immediately bolted towards Will without even a single attack order. Nidorino moved to intercept it, but he wouldn't make it in time anyway, so Will ordered him to focus on the Clefairy instead.

"Pidgeotto, intercept Persian!"

Pidgeotto dove at Persian, his claws extended. The supple feline dodged out of the way, then pivoted and came for Pidgeotto next, jumping towards him and swiping with its sharp claws.

Nidorino and Clefairy faced each other down, with the little purple-skinned Clefairy enveloping itself with a rainbow-colored field of energy, which began rapidly expanding outwards. Nidorino retaliated by launching a Poison Sting attack, but the thin needles barely had enough power to punch through the field of energy. It shot outwards and caught Nidorino in its wake. The blast of energy struck him head-on.

Meanwhile, Pidgeotto and Persian went back and forth, constantly circling each other, striking, evading and striking again. Pidgeotto couldn't take full advantage of its ability to fly, since the moment it stopped harassing Persian it would go after Will instead.

They traded blows, raking each other with sharp claws, beaks and teeth. Slowly, Persian gained the upper hand, hitting more Fury Swipes while taking less damage. Eventually, it was able to strike a blow across Pidgeotto's face, knocking him out of the air. Pidgeotto tried to recover mid-fall, but Persian was much faster and followed up with an Aerial Ace. With lightning speed, it swept at Pidgeotto again, knocking him out completely.

Judging by the violence of the ongoing fight with Giratina, his friends were far too preoccupied to help. Pidgeotto had come in clutch however; as it fought, it had continued drawing Pidgeotto away from Will, meter by meter, attack by attack, until he had created enough distance for Will to put his drawing skills to the test.

The second Will recalled Pidgeotto, Geara ordered Persian to go in for the kill. Will deposited Pidgeotto's Poke Ball into his pocket, already reaching for Combusken's ball with his free hand.

Persian darted across the stone floor, moving as silent as the night as he closed the distance. God, that thing was fast.

Combusken's Poke Ball came free and Will sent her out right in front of his legs. Persian was mere meters away when Combusken emerged and leapt, intent on simply bounding over his foe –

Combusken followed his trajectory and blasted Persian with a concentrated blast of Ember. The flames struck home in Persian's exposed stomach, knocking him off course. Will side-stepped as the feline came crashing down on the floor, Combusken darting after it.

Nidorino was as steadfast as ever in the face of Clefairy's ranged attacks. His thick hide and natural constitution allowed him to shrug off the blasts of Fairy-type energy that his foe scattered across the battlefield. Soon, he picked up momentum, steadily making his way forward.

"Watch the pause!" Will ordered. "Wait until it's charging another attack, then use Poison Sting!"

"I don't think so!" Geara said. He suddenly recalled Clefairy, before sending out a Marowak in turn. It wasn't any form of Marowak that Will had seen before; its skin was all black, but it didn't strike him as a Shadow Pokemon.

Nidorino bellowed a challenge at this new foe, but Will ordered him to stay back and observe.

The Marowak sized up Nidorino, before tuffs of bluish green flames erupted from its body. It set its bone club ablaze, then flung it at Nidorino. Purple flames enveloped the bone as it tore through the air towards Nidorino with incredible speed.

He tried to dodge the blow, but it moved far too fast for him to do anything about it. The shadow-infused club struck him about his head, and Nidorino barked in alarm as purple flames erupted around his body.

Will hurried to recall Nidorino before he could incur too many injuries. Ghost and Fire type attacks...then maybe-!

"Mightyena, handle that Marowak!"

As the battle between Persian and Combusken continued, Pdigeotto's previous attacks began taking their toll on the feline. It was fast, yes, but Combusken was faster still and hit a lot harder. The Persian could not get by her without exposing himself to a crippling blow and in return, he could not meaningfully harm Combusken without subjecting himself to her flames.

Meanwhile, it took Combusken one good flurry of kicks to break one of Persian's limbs. Thus crippled, it was unable to defend against or evade the next attack.

One savage roundhouse kick to its jaw sent it crashing to the floor, unconscious before it even hit the deck.

"Morgrem! Crush these fools!" Geara yelled, sending his next Pokemon into the fray.

Morgrem, a smaller pink-colored biped with dark, spiky hair and long, sharp fingers, kept its distance while Marowak pressed the offensive. He and Mightyena went back and forth, exchanging blows and dancing around each other's attacks. Both of them were heavy hitters capable of taking a blow, but Marowak had a tool he could use and Mightyena didn't, which was a big disadvantage in this fight.

Nevertheless, Will didn't miss how Geara had stopped attacking him. It was very likely that the bastard was feeling the heat.

Time to turn that heat up a notch.

"Morgrem! Dazzling Gleam!"

Saw that one before, Will thought. "Combusken, Flame Charge then Ember! Keep yourself protected!"

The Morgrem exploded in an aura of sparkling light that surged outwards at massive speeds. Combusken enveloped herself in flames, then hosed down the onrushing wave of light with a burst of Ember flames.

Her attack was to no avail. The bolts of amber splashed harmlessly across the dome of light, but when it impacted her body, the Fairy energy clashed with the flames enveloping her frame, producing brilliant flashes of red and green light.

Fire was a force of nature, neither good nor evil. Fire purified. Fire cleansed. Whatever nature drove the Fairy-type energy, it could not influence the simple truth behind fire.

"Now Combusken! Charge!" Will ordered.

Combusken broke into a sudden sprint, heading straight towards the Morgrem. She gathered more flames to her body, and the Morgrem tried to charge up another Dazzling Gleam, but Combusken was too fast. She was on top of the strange Pokemon before it could release its power and body-checked him to the ground.

Morgrem rolled across the ground several times, flipped back all fours…and then bowed its head to the ground, as if begging for mercy.

Will eyed the Pokemon, then glanced at Geara. If Geara knew what his Pokemon was doing he didn't show it.

What was going on?

"Careful Combusken," Will ordered. "Don't trust them."

This time, she took his advice to heart. She slowly approached her fallen foe, carefully putting one clawed leg in front of the other as she closed the distance. If he could knock this thing out now, that would force Geara to either send out Clefairy, or reveal his last Pokemon. Either way, it would be a big advantage.

When Combusken came within striking range, the Morgrem suddenly twitched and its hair extended towards Combusken, forming into jagged spikes with razor-sharp ends –

In a display of incredible reflexes, Combusken snatched the spikes of hair between her claws, stopping them inches before they could hit her in the face. With a mighty heave, she jerked the Morgrum towards her by its hair, catapulting him into the air.

Mogrem was helpless as he flew face-first into her readied foot. She landed a rapid flurry of kicks, shifted her weight and rammed her other leg against the base of Morgem's neck.

Two down. Three to go.

"Well done Combusken!" Will said. "Get some rest. Houndour! Your turn!"

Geara snarled with anger. He sent out one of the Haunters he'd used to knock Aelita and Narcissa out; a large and experienced-looking specimen, looking like it was raring to go.

Haunter wasted no time in going on the offensive. He lobbed a Shadow Ball Houndour's way, then disappeared into thin air when Houndour dodged it.

Moments later the Haunter reappeared behind Houndour and struck, nailing him with a Sucker Punch to the spine.

Houndour uttered a sharp, pained whine and collapsed. Shivering, he struggled to get back upright.

"Come on Houndour!" Will shouted. "We're not done!"

"Give it up!" Geara yelled.

Houndour struggled back to his feet. He snapped at Haunter, but the Ghost type had disappeared again and Houndour's powerful jaws only found empty air.

Again, the Haunter reappeared to strike at Houndour from a weak position and again, Houndour was unable to defend himself. He opened his maw wide to launch a barrage of Ember at the Haunter, but it simply evaded them and returned fire with Shadow Ball, nailing Houndour in his side and sending him crashing to the floor again.

Try as he might, Houndour could not get close enough to harm Haunter, and the damned Marowak kept Mightyena too busy to assist.

He was alone.

Haunter laughed, spun around in mid-air and then prepared another Shadow Ball.

Houndour, just like Mightyena once had, struggled to get back to his unsteady feet, wavering, but unwilling to give up when so much was on the line. He had to know on an instinctual level what was at stake here – what would happen to the rest of his pack if he fell here. It was what kept him on his feet, even though the fight against Giratina had taken much out of him already.

And that, just like Mightyena once found, gave him the strength he needed to push him over the edge.

Houndour threw his head up and howled, a long and melancholic cry that reverberated across the chamber. As he howled, a white light enveloped his body, casting shimmering shadows across the floor. His body shifted, warped and changed.

"What?" Geara yelled.

"Yes!" Will whooped.

"Haunter, finish this now!"

The evolution process took seconds. When it was finished, Houndour had grown almost three times as large as he had been before, with a pair of wicked curved horns sweeping back across his head. Houndoom snarled, tongues of flames dancing between his teeth.

"Find that Haunter," Will said. "Don't let him get away."

Houndoom barked in response, then opened his mouth and released an orb of white energy surrounded by two clear rings. The orb slowly floated the ground and a bright yellow pulse of light erupted from its center, rapidly expanding until it had filled the entirety of the cave with its pulse.

Will didn't see what changed, but clearly Houndoom did. His head snapped up and he broke into a sprint.

"Haunter, dodge him!" Geara yelled.

Houndoom Snarled, sending pulses of dark energy bounding across the air. Those pulses distorted something invisible, and all of a sudden Haunter was there again, its expression one of pain as it attempted to evade what was to come.

Odor sleuth. Will never thought that ability would have a combat application, but here they were.

But Houndoom had learned from the best. He snapped, his teeth clutching Haunter's body and digging deep into its ghostly flesh. Like he had seen Mightyena do it many times before, he began shaking his head violently from the left to the right, the powerful muscles in his neck allowing to literally ragdoll the Haunter around.

"No!" Geara snapped, before recalling his helpless Pokemon. "Impossible! Even with a legendary – "

Will didn't give him time to respond. Houndoom lunged for him, slamming himself against Geara's legs and throwing him to the ground. Before the bastard even hit the floor, Houndoom was on top of him, black lips curled back to reveal little tongues of purple flames dancing between dagger-like teeth. With that lovely image to stare up at roughly three centimeters from his face, Geara couldn't do much than lie back, remaining as motionless and non-threatening as possible.

His Marowak gasped, dropping its guard and immediately rushing to protect its trainer.

That was the opening Mightyena had been waiting for. He flew back to his feet and tackled the Marowak from behind. The two rolled across the floor, Marowak wildly swinging its club, but this was the kind of fight Mightyena was built for. He rolled across the floor and used his momentum to fling Marowak through the air by his neck. He slammed his foe against the floor and, without ever releasing his grip, brought his superior weight and force to bear on the part Ghost Pokemon, pinning him in place.

Will looked to his side. Somehow, Narcissa, Ren and Mosely had succeeded in warding off Giratina. All of them were still in one piece, albeit looked ragged and tired.

"Recall them, Geara," Narcissa said. "For your own good."

Knowing that he was stuck between a rock and a set of hard, burning teeth, Geara recalled Giratina and his struggling Marowak.

Releasing a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, Will slowly walked towards the fallen Admin. "Okay Greg. Eyes up. Don't look at him. Look at me." He knelt down next to Geara and looked the young man in the eyes. He'd never been in a situation like this, feeling the way he currently felt. It was new to him. He half expected his voice to be shaky, his hands trembling. Not the case. He felt calm. He felt collected.

"Uh…Will?" Mosely said. "Need my help? I'll chew him up for you."

"The S.S. Oceana. Where'd you take those people?" Will asked.

Geara gave him an unpleasant smile. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough…"

"I'd like to find out now. Where did Xen take them?"

Geara spat in his face.

Will inhaled slowly through his nostrils. His breath fluttered somewhat at the end. He wiped his face with his sleeve. If he started getting violent with Geara now, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to stop – didn't know if he'd want to stop. "Okay. Houndoom? Take off one of his ears. Don't care which."

"Will!" Narcissa shouted.

"Whoah, hey, wait wait!" Geara said, thrashing around underneath Houndoom's weight. "I don't know where, I don't know where it is, but I know a name," Geara said. Beads of sweat began forming on his forehead. "Blacksteeple Castle. That's all I know."

Will nodded slowly. He wasn't sure if he believed Geara, but he wasn't sure he actually wanted to go through with his threats, either, so that suited him fine. "Okay. Melia."

"Will, I think you should stop," Ren urged him.

Geara eyed him nervously. "What about Melia?"

Cold, cold clarity guided Will's anger somewhere more useful, away from his personal feelings. "Why were you after her?"

"Yeah? That's what you wanna know? Still hung up on that?" Geara said, squirming. "Still hung up on your failure? Hah! Don't make me laugh. You're pathetic! All of you! It won't matter soon. We know you and yours now, William!"

"Don't let that bitch talk to you like that Will!" Mosely shouted shrilly.

Indecision knifed through him, and before Will could really process Geara's words, he felt someone's hand clasp his shoulder.

"Hey, Will, we kicked his ass," Ren said. "Let's not do anything rash, shall we?"

"Yeah, let's not do anything rash," Geara said mockingly. "You couldn't do shit on your own, and now you wanna be the tough guy? Who do you think you're fooling?"

Pain crossed Ren's features, and he fell silent again.

"Enough Geara, if you wish to be called that," Narcissa suddenly called out. "If you wish to act like a child, I shall treat you as one. Dusclops!"

Her Dusclops materialized right behind Geara. Houndoom glared at the Ghost-type and growled menacingly, but Will got to his feet, forced himself to tear his gaze off Geara, and placed a reassuring hand on Houndoom's back. Not to reassure his partner, but for himself. Today was not the day to discover if he would regret his actions. "That's okay. Let Narcissa take this."

Reluctantly, Houndoom got off Geara.

"While not quite a Dusknoir, Dusclops still has the capability to drag you away to a dimension unknown," Narcissa explained. I believe you need time to think about what you've done."

"Narcissa!" Geara screamed.

And then Dusclops was on top of him, and the both of them vanished in a swirling portal that reminded Will far, far too much of Indriad's maids.

"Oh…" Mosely sputtered. "Well dang Narcissa! I didn't expect you to do that!"

"None of us knew just what to expect," Narcissa said, staring intently at Will. "That boy was able to capture and command a Legendary Pokemon. If I were to let him go, he would just cause havoc elsewhere. No, this is what needed to happen."

Which seemed fair enough to Will. Blacksteeple Castle…that sounded like some sort of prison complex. A new base, perhaps? At least now he had a name to work with.

"Narcissa…" Ren said. "How could you fight after all that? All the horrible things you've discovered about your husband…despite all that you were able to power through and fight with your heart?"

Narcissa hesitated. "Well, it wasn't strength. Truthfully, I don't know what it was. Something deep within the core of my being told me to stand up and fight. A feeling, I suspect, is not unknown to you both."

"I see…" Ren said.

Narcissa took a breath. "That being said…I don't like being here. I wish to return home now, please."

"Oh, yeah, I should head home myself. Maman's supposed to make breakfast in the morning…" Mosely said. "What time is it anyway?"

"That won't be necessary," Narcissa said, offering Mosely a small, but genuine smile. "Please, spend the night at my home, then join me for breakfast in the morning, all of you."

"That sounds amazing," Ren said. "Let's head back to your house, then. I'm exhausted. Coming Will?"

Ren placed a hand on Will's shoulder, gently pulling him a bit back to let Mosely and Narcissa make their way past them. "Hey? What was that?"

"Right back at you. You're bleeding."

"This? It's superficial. Just some scrapes. That thing with Geara, it got pretty heated, didn't it?"

Will was certain it could have gotten a lot more heated if either he or Geara had made a mistake. "Maybe. Yeah, a bit."

"Look…" Ren sighed. "I know you have strong feelings about Team Xen. I do too. But…I'm not sure that was the best way to go about it."

"I did get a name out of him."

"Yeah…but what if you didn't? Would you have gone through with what you said?"

People asked him that a lot these days. So far, his answer hadn't changed…had it? "I don't know. They're after our lives, Ren. Any information could be the difference between life and death."

"I know, I know," Ren said. "Look, I'm not judging you. The guy's a nasty piece of work. He got what was coming to him. I just…didn't see you like that before. It was kinda intense, and I'm not sure if it is you, if you get me."

"I think so."

"Good! Err, good. Regardless, you did an amazing job. Come on, let's…let's get out of this damn hole…"

Ren's words stuck with him as they made their way back to Goldenleaf Town. The idea of having to seriously maim or even kill people sickened him, but that hadn't stopped him from taking the lives of those Rift Pokemon, had it? With Xen it was kill or be killed. They had made that abundantly clear.

If he had to keep showing restraint and mercy, he would remain true to his ideals…but it might also get him killed. If he kept backing off whenever he started doubting things. would he ever get anywhere in this damn conflict?

But a sadistic little bastard like Geara…would he really feel that bad if he'd gone through with his threat? Rather, what would he have done after going through? Where would he have stopped?

I'm not sure if its you…

He didn't know either. Not having any personal memories really, really didn't help.

Thanks for that Indriad, you son of a bitch…

Back at Narcissa's house, Mosely took three seconds to turn one of the beds into her nest and then disappeared under the blankets. Will and Ren took a detour to Aelita's room, just to make sure. Thankfully, she didn't look any worse for wear. She slept peacefully, buried under a large pile of blankets and pillows.

Knowing that Aelita was simply sleeping off Geara's surprise attack put Will at ease. When he finally dragged himself to one of Narcissa's guest rooms to sleep in for the night, it didn't take him very long to drift off.

Narcissa let them sleep in until nine in the morning before waking them. By the time Will got dressed – a lot more successfully this time around – and made his way downstairs, the scent of freshly-baked bread and sizzling bacon practically lured him to the living room.

"Hey Will!" Aelita said, waving him over. "Morning!"

"Morning. How are you feeling?" Will asked, taking a seat next to her.

"Eh. It's never pleasant to wake up after a hit on the noggin'. I can't believe I let that little punk get the better of me…"

"You and me both," Narcissa said, emerging from her kitchen with a pitcher of juice. "Would you like some tea, Will?"

"Do you have coffee?"

"Of course. A moment."

"So Narcissa told me what happened in the Wispy Tower…I wish I were there to help."

Perhaps…perhaps for this one, it was better that she hadn't. "I'm sure there will be a hidden Xen base in the next town we visit."

"Oof, don't joke about that! I didn't know Team Xen was this large…to build an entire laboratory underground with none the wiser..."

It didn't take Ren and Mosely long to show up either. Mosely didn't waste a second before pulling up a chair, pouring herself a large glass of juice and regaling Aelita with the many, many butts she had supposedly kicked from Sariah's court hall all the way to the bottom of Geara's lab.

Aelita smiled throughout Mosely's stories, though she did occasionally steal a glance at Ren to see how he reacted, considering he was being uncharacteristically quiet, even for him.

"I have more where this came from," Narcissa said, placing a large bowl with scrambled eggs and a big plate filled with bacon on the table. "To think I put you and Will through problems of my past…forgive me."

"Ah, no need to worry!" Aelita said. "I'm just glad things worked out okay! I just wish I could have done more myself."

"What's done is done. For now, let us enjoy some good food."

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Mosely said between bites. "I'm a growing gal who's gotta have a good meal!"

Narcissa shook her head at Mosely's table manners, then eyed Ren. "Aren't you hungry? I can whip you up a plate as well."

Ren didn't immediately respond. He had his eyes on the floor, seemingly lost in thoughts. After a few seconds he suddenly jerked and looked at Narcissa. "H-Huh? Sorry, were you speaking to me? I was just…thinking."

"You've been like that since I woke up," Aelita said, her brow furrowed in concern. "You doin' okay, Ren?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine!" Ren stammered. "Sorry for worrying you all! I'm good on the breakfast though. Sorry."

With that, Ren suddenly got up from his seat and left.

Aelita watched him go. "I don't think he's alright."

"He's got a lot to think about," Narcissa said. "I don't blame him. I…wish he'd at least eat."

Mosely shoved her empty plate away and sprang to her feet. "Welp, that was really good, but I should get on going back to Maman's." She stopped halfway to the door, then turned to address Narcissa. "Thanks for everything Ma'am! I appreciate it!"

"Here, take this before you leave," Narcissa said, offering the kid a plastic box.

"Eh? What's this?"

"Some bacon sandwiches for you and Maman to have later. Tell her she should come visit sometime. I'd be happy to cook for her again."

Mosely sniffled, then hastily rubbed the forming tears from her eyes. "You're so kind, Narcy! I promise I'll tell her! See ya Will! See ya Aelita!"

"Oh, goodbye!" Aelita replied.

Mosely raced off and Narcissa sat down in one of the chairs as well. "Oh, such a rambunctious child."

Narcissa, Sirius and Geara. If Geara had known the entire time without ever telling Narcissa, Will found it hard to believe that he was her biological son. Easier to stomach if Geara had been in on the deception the entire time.

"I like her spirit! She'd do well in Sheridan! Also, I didn't want to bring it up before, but I think I have an idea for you-know-what."

"Oh?" Narcissa said, her interest piqued. "Yes?"

If Geara had been in on it the entire time, either he was an absolute genius who hated his mother and cast his lot with his father…or he'd come with Sirius when the man came to Goldenleaf. That would make him Narcissa's stepson. That made the most sense.

"You used to perform and all that, right? I feel like that would be the best way to connect with the townspeople. Through a medium you love, I think that's definitely the best way."

Narcissa thought about that for a moment. "Through theatre? Well, that's a brilliant idea…that would take some preparation, and a lot of work..."

"Will and I can help you set things up! It's the least we could do!"

"Very well then," Narcissa nodded. 'This is the avenue we'll take. It will take a few days, but if we do this correctly, I believe it'll work."

"A few days…that sounds right," Aelita said. "Will, you know what that means, right?"

Will took a sip of his coffee and then blinked his blankest eyes at her.

Aelita snickered. "'Course you do! We get to continue training. Let's see, we left off at…right, Strength training."

"I love chest day," Will whispered.

Narcissa just looked at them all enigmatic like. Considering how much she'd helped keep Giratina at bay, Will didn't mind that one bit. Some people could keep their secrets if it made them happy.

~~~~~~~(I)~~~~~~~

AN: And so ends another part with a lot of battles to work through. It was a challenge, but I believe the fights are interesting enough to keep going. They're not Anime levels of good, but I think they serve their purpose.

To the anonymous Guest: thank you for your review! To answer your questions: the first one is a definite yes. As a matter of fact, tentative changes will take place next chapter, with more…shall we say, drastic changes to the team occurring in Story Chapter 5. I try to follow the route the various Anime adaptations took when it comes to remembering moves; there is no 4-move slot to limit the Pokemon's moves, which means that if they remember it, they can use. As for your last question… I think I know what you mean, and as per my rules for this novelization, I'm definitely going to expand on that and try to make it more interesting for the readers.

That's all folks! Thank you so much for sticking with this story. Don't hesitate to leave a comment if you liked this chapter, and I will see you all with the next update!