"You can't quit now!" Gardevoir argued. She couldn't believe that Infernape was leaving after all that had happened.
"I told you that I'd leave when fate gave me a sign. I think getting my arm snapped like a twig is a sign." He explained to Gardevoir.
"You lived! Why do you still think that you're cursed?"
"It's a warning. It's my last chance to quit while I'm ahead before... you know." Gardevoir was growing frustrated. It felt like she was talking to a brick wall.
"What about Umbreon trying to use your past against you?"
"That was a mistake. I was mad and I wasn't thinking." Infernape insisted. Gardevoir was about to yell at him when she had an idea.
"Why would fate give you a second warning?" She asked him with a deviously innocent smile. Infernape froze,
"W-What do you mean?"
"Fate only warned you once previously and even then, you went out of your way to hear it. Why wouldn't fate just kill you when it had the chance twice now?" Gardevoir questioned further. Infernape paused for a moment before he shook his head in denial,
"No, you're wrong! You don't know what you're talking about!" He snapped at her.
"Do you?" Gardevoir asked with a smug grin. Infernape didn't say a word. He looked as though she had a point but didn't want to admit it. Gardevoir left him alone to think.
"He's making progress!" She thought excitedly.
Meanwhile, Ampharos started packing his things slowly, a frown on his face. He felt like dead weight. That when they needed him most, he would run for the hills. When they faced their opponents head-on, he was frozen in place. That fight between him and Gallade and Ursaring brought further shame. Gengar could fight them. Gardevoir could fight them. Infernape could fight them. But he couldn't. Doubt was rising from within and he couldn't stop it. He freaked out and froze when Dragalge was about to kill Infernape. He had failed to help the others when Tyranitar rampaged or when Zeraora held the town hostage. All he had done was be a dead weight.
He heard the group calling for him. He sped up and hurriedly packed up everything. They couldn't know that he was a coward, a pretender. If they knew him for what he was, they'd probably be disgusted. So he would stick with them for now. Keep up the act, but he had no clue how long that act would last.
Bisharp, Sableye, and Umbreon met up in a nearby cave. With them was a blue and red dragon-like Pokemon covered in thorns. The Druddigon asked,
"What happened?"
"We got slowed down. Someone here didn't do their job." Bisharp said with a frustrated tone. Umbreon frowned. Druddigon sympathetically frowned at Umbreon. His mind then went to another place
"Heard you got you're ass kicked by Sceptile and an Aggron. Oh, I hope they followed us. That fight is gonna be awesome!" he gushed out loud. Bisharp glared at Druddigon before an idea popped into his head. Druddigon was a former tournament fighter, he had way more experience in combat than they did. Bisharp then grinned, it seems like his goal would be much closer than he thought.
"Druddigon. Tell you what, if you can take apart that group, piece by piece, that would mean the world to me," he offered. Druddigon smiled brightly before pumping his arm into the air,
"Fuck yeah!" he yelled. Bisharp then pointed at Sableye,
"You're going with him?"
"What? I'm the boss and I decide who goes." Sableye insisted. Bisharp rolled his eyes in annoyance, countering Sableye's claim with,
"And the 'boss' goes with his workers to make sure he gets the job done." Sableye glared at Bisharp but reluctantly agreed. With Druddigon in tow, and an objective to complete, Sableye and Druddigon left the hideout as Umbreon and Bisharp watched. Bisharp then walked further into the cave. Soon, a very special group of people would pay.
Gardevoir met back up with Garchomp,
"Where's Roserade?"
"She didn't tell you?" Garchomp questioned, "She doesn't live in Stalagmiton. She's an archeologist, she's constantly moving around to do research."
"Oh, good for her. She's discovering our history. She must be proud." Garchomp saw an opportunity and took it,
"Hopefully you'll be a part of my future." She flirted slyly.
"There is no telling what the future holds so maybe," Gardevoir remarked, completely oblivious to Garchomp's advances. Garchomp frowned and thought to herself,
"Okay, maybe that was too vague."
The group started their journey and arrived at a beautiful meadow. Flowers of many colors littered the ground. There was not a cloud in the sky. Infernape smelled the air,
"Goddamn, that smells good. I've got to build a house close to here." He thought out loud.
"Yeah, I'm not a flower kind of guy but this is gorgeous," Gengar confessed as he stared at the field. Garchomp smiled, this was a place to distract herself from the prior events at Stalagmiton. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a purple figure gliding toward her.
"YOU UTTER FOOLS!" The figure yelled flamboyantly. "YOU'VE FALLEN RIGHT INTO MY TRAP, NOW YOU SHALL SUFFER THE WRATH OF THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL THUNDER PUNCH!" The group turned but the figure was moving so fast they couldn't get a look at him. All they saw was a purple blur. "SAY YOUR PRAYERS, BECAUSE WHOEVER IT STRIKES WILL PERISH!" The figure threw his punch which landed squarely in Garchomp's stomach.
Silence fell upon the meadow as Garchomp didn't even flinch at the attack. The entire group just stared at the figure. He was a blueish, purple bat-like figure with a tail that had two fang-like protrusions. He looked up at Garchomp,
"You know, up close, you're actually pretty cute." He said pathetically before being kicked across the meadow. Sceptile quickly ran over and wrapped the Gliscor in vines,
"Who are you!?" He interrogated. The Gliscor quickly broke,
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Don't hurt me, please!" Gliscor wailed, tears pouring out of his eyes like a fountain. The others stared at the flying type in disbelief. How could a Pokémon so confident in his abilities crack at the slightest failure?
"You are an idiot. You're lucky that you ran us and not someone less considerate." Sceptile scolded as he let go of Gliscor. Gliscor landed with a thud as the group turned to leave.
"Wait?! You're not gonna leave me here, are you?!" Gliscor screamed in panic. Sceptile turned back to the flying type,
"What do you mean?" he asked. Gliscor, with a nervous look on his face, quietly muttered,
"I'm- I'm lost." Gengar buried his face in his hands,
"Oh my fucking god. I guess we're babysitting now." He groaned. Gardevoir was quick to defend Gliscor.
"Don't be mean! Not everyone is good with directions, you know."
"Alright fine, we'll take you to the next town we come across, okay?" Infernape conceded, shrugging in a sort of fuck-it type way. Gliscor smiled before standing up,
"Ha Ha! Because of your kindness, I've decided to spare you, gorgeous, psychic woman. The rest of you will guide me home or be destoryed!" Gliscor declared in his eccentric villain voice. Everyone except Gardevoir rolled their eyes as they continued on their quest.
Gliscor insisted on being in front of the party much to the annoyance of Infernape and Gengar. Ampharos started to socialize with Gliscor,
"Well then, how are you doing?" He asked.
"Oh, you're asking how I'm doing? Instead of trembling in fear, you're asking how I'm doing?" Gliscor boomed, before quietly whispering, "I'm doing good, thanks. I-I really appreciate it." Ampharos smiled at the flying type.
He then walked towards Gardevoir,
"Hey" he said, "what are you afraid of?" Gardevoir looked concerned at him,
"What do you mean?" she asked. It was a fairly casual question but his tone indicated something more.
"What are you scared of most?" Ampharos elaborated. Gardevoir thought about it and answered,
"I'm scared that I'll become the same person that left Infernape when he was at his most helpless. The person who lies to her friends for her own ego. The person who nearly led her friends to their deaths. Oh, and the ocean. What about you?" Ampharos hesitated to answer, leaving Gardevoir increasingly worried about him.
That night the group rested next to a cliff, primarily for the view. It overlooked the ocean, the full moon's light reflecting off of the water. Garchomp noticed Infernape sitting at the cliff's edge and walked towards it. She had wanted to get to know him since he seemed to have the strongest connection with Gardevoir.
"Nice view, right?" she said as she sat down next to the fire type. He smiled at her,
"Yeah, looks like the clouds are coming in though." Infernape stared off into the moonlight.
"What was that incident that you and Aggron were talking about?" Garchomp asked, "I overheard you talking about exercise and I was curious." Infernape visibly slumped over. Garchomp frowned, she didn't mean to hurt his feelings.
"You don't have to tell me, I'm sorry. I just thought you were like me." Infernape turned to her,
"What do you mean?" questioned Infernape. Garchomp sighed,
"I was tortured into subservience by an awful woman and I... killed her in a rage. I was falling into despair before Gardevoir saved me. I thought you went through something similar." For a few seconds, silence fell upon the two.
Was he really about to tell a stranger his whole life story, after it went so well last time? He jested, but he couldn't go around advertising his story like it was some hot new sitcom. 'The Pain and Suffering of Son Lieyanhou;' tonight at five. It was his story and his story alone. But Gardevoir had gone out of her way to help this woman. By the sound of it, Garchomp could use some support from someone that she could emphasize with. Infernape shrugged his shoulders, what's the worst that could happen, aside from everything?
Infernape began to tell his story to Garchomp. He looked as though was going to burst into tears at any moment. Garchomp listened intently to everything he said. When he finished, Garchomp patted Infernape on the back in sympathy. Infernape chuckled,
"I guess we are similar. We both were in deep shit and we got bailed out by Gardevoir." Garchomp snickered. She composed herself before asking, "What do you think of Gardevoir?" Infernape laid back, using his hands as a pillow.
"She's family to me, a very frustrating member of the family, but family nonetheless. she made mistakes but has now begun to improve herself and I…I want to be proud of her. I don't know, I just…ugh" he cut himself off. Garchomp frowned to herself. She was glad to have made a friend just like her, but he seemed to be holding onto a grudge. Gardevoir had done something wrong. She needed to find out what. On the plus side, she had Gardevoir all to herself.
As clouds began to gather, Ampharos sat alone in an open field. Just far enough from anyone so that he could be alone. He was very deep in thought, worried sick of what the others would think of his deepest fear.
"OH, SITTING ALONE IN A FIELD? HOW PATHETIC! YOU SHOULD KNOW YOU CANNOT ESCAPE MY POWER, COWARD!" Gliscor boasted as he walked towards the electric type. Ampharos was hurt by Gliscor's comment and frowned, curling up tightly. Gliscor noticed,
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." he apologized. Ampharos was surprised at Gliscor's sympathy.
"Wow, I guess you have a little bit of good in you." Gliscor shook his head,
"N-No, I'm pure evil. I'm bad to the bone. FEAR ME!" He insisted as Ampharos just smiled at him.
"Hey, there's no need to pretend around me. That's all I've been doing all this time," said Ampharos shamefully. Gliscor raised an eyebrow,
"What do you-" he gasped "ARE YOU A SUPERHERO? NO, AND I TOLD YOU MY EVIL PLANS! CRAP!"
"Nonononononono!" insisted Ampharos, "I just meant that…you hiding behind this character and… I guess I relate to that."
Gliscor furrowed his eyebrow and placed his hands on his hips angrily,
"I'm not hiding crap! I'm going to be the number one supervillain and no minion of mine is gonna sit here and be sad!" Ampharos was surprised by the declaration for numerous reasons, but chief among these was that last part. He knew Ampharos for all of about six hours max and he was already willing to help him. However, Ampharos looked away from him. He was wasting his time trying to help a coward.
"Thanks, but I don't think I would make a good 'minion.' I'm a coward,"
"So am I," said Gliscor. This caught Ampharos off guard. Gliscor was a coward? But he was hyping himself up so much.
Gliscor continued, "But the life of a villain rewards cowards. The Senshi are powerful, intelligent, and super cool, which is why bad guys use our brains and our death rays to outwit them. Most Pokemon would crumble under that weight. But I am not most Pokemon. I am able to look at those scary men with the power to destroy small towns, and the ability to take me to prison, but I look at them in their faces and say, No. I know the danger. I know I could go to jail, but that just means that I have to fight even harder to be the best bad guy I can be. That way, when I have the good guy tied up to a metal sheet, with a laser ready to split them in half, I know I have overcome the odds."
That speech… a lot to take in. Gliscor seemed to view the Senshi like they were comic book superheroes. He seemed to want to be the mustache-twirling villain who tied a woman to a train track while laughing manically. But there was something oddly inspiring about that speech. His dedication to his craft, however unusual, was respectable. Ampharos only noticed the grin on his face when it began to falter.
"Hey!" A voice with a strange accent yelled. Ampharos and Gliscor turned to see two figures: a Sableye, and a Druddigon.
"Hello," the Sableye greeted, speaking in some ungodly amalgamation of various accents, "We are fans of Sceptile and we heard he was in the area, so could you do us a favor and tell us where he is?" Ampharos was suspicious of the two, no one on earth spoke such a fake accent dialect, but Gliscor immediately answered the question,
"He's resting by the cliff over there."
"Gliscor?! We don't know what these people want!" Ampharos scolded firmly. Druddigon rolled his eyes and mimicked Sableye's accent,
"No need to be so judgmental. We just want autographs." Ampharos appeared to lighten up but still held his suspicions. Sableye bowed,
"Thank you, we'll see him and Aggron in the morning." Before beginning to walk away. Ampharos smiled at the two before a realization struck him,
"Wait!" He shouted to the two Pokémon, "How do you two know about Aggron?" Sableye and Druddigon froze. "Aggron is a deputized hero, he doesn't appear in the news. So how do you know about him." Sableye turned around, dropping the voice,
"That's none of your business."
"He's my friend, it is my business!" Ampharos argued. Sableye was briefly shocked before he smiled,
"Shit, Thunderbolt, that's all you had to say. Kill him." Druddigon grabbed Ampharos and threw him into the ground.
"Keep this as quiet as possible, we don't want the rest to gang up on us." Sableye demanded as he watched the battle that ensued.
Ampharos rolled away from Druddigon and tried to shock the dragon type but the attack missed. Druddigon cracked his knuckles,
"You call that an attack? Please tell me you're holding back?" he asked, frustrated. Navy blue energy with yellow accents surrounded the dragon-type as he charged at Ampharos. Ampharos moved to the left but Druddigon grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder, knocking the wind out of him. Druddigon was about to stomp on Ampharos's neck but the red gem on his forehead flashed very brightly, blinding Druddigon. Druddigon stumbled back, allowing Ampharos to stand up. Druddigon was finally able to see as Ampharos swiped at him with his tail. Druddigon caught it and threw Ampharos away.
As Ampharos stood back up, he felt something wet land on his head. He looked up to see the moon completely hidden by the clouds. Another drop hit him on the back. His attention was brought back to Druddigon as a blue glow almost blinded him. Druddigon was charging an attack to finish the job. Ampharos ran to the right just as Druddigon fired. Druddigon shot dragonbreath after dragonbreath, trying to hit the electric type as it began to rain. Ampharos had an idea as Druddigon fired one more attack at him. Ampharos dodged the attack, trying not to panic,
"Come back here and face me like a man!" Druddigon roared as he charged towards the electric type as his hand glowed blue. Ampharos shook his fear away before waiting until Druddigon got close and quickly dragged his tail through the mud in front of him. The mud blinded Druddigon again and Ampharos went around behind the dragon. He charged up as much electricity as he could and unleashed it all at Druddigon. Druddigon screamed in pain as the electricity crackled throughout his body. He fell onto one knee as the effects of the attack began to wear off,
"About time, hopefully you can keep this up!" said Druddigon with a goofy smile on his face.
"Ye-Yeah, I can." Ampharos explained with a confident facade. Druddigon grinned with excitement.
Two incredibly hard gemstones slammed into Ampharos's back and he collapsed. Sableye walked from behind and revealed a small yellow crystal. He sent a gemstone flying into Druddigon, knocking him unconscious, before pressing the crystal on his skin. The crystal disappeared as Druddigon woke up, his injuries partially healed. Druddigon stood back up,
"Oh come on, I was just getting started." he groaned as Sableye walked towards Ampharos. Ampharos was about to get up but Sableye stomped his head into the mud,
"Are you done?" Ampharos tried to summon any energy that he had left but all could create was a pathetic spark.
"Looks like you overcharged yourself. If I were a betting man, I'd say that you were counting on that thunderbolt to knockout Druddigon. Am I wrong?" Sableye smirked. The distant crack of thunder echoed from afar. Ampharos tried to lift himself up with his remaining strength, which left Druddigon disgusted.
"Is that it?! Is that all you can do? Damn, and I was getting excited." groaned Druddigon. Sableye rolled his eyes,
"We are not here to have a good time, we are here for a reason." He chastised as he turned an emerald into a knife and put it to Ampharos's neck.
"Any last words?" Sableye asked with venom as more thunder roared.
Ampharos burst into a stifled sobbing fit. Sableye and Druddigon were taken aback. The realization of their actions was finally kicking in. Ampharos pulled himself together for a moment,
"Please! Don't kill me!" he begged before breaking down. His wretched gasps punched into Sableye and Druddigon's conscience. They…They were about to kill someone. Who knows how many people knew him and cherished his presence? Did he have a girlfriend? Did he have children? Close family members for friends that needed him? Sableye in particular was gravely upset. He couldn't allow himself to do this. Maybe if they healed him up and made him promise to not tell Sceptile, then lie to Bisharp and say everything went wrong and take whatever punishment followed.
As if Arceus itself wanted to defend Ampharos, lightning crashed into Druddigon and the current quickly went towards Sableye and Ampharos. Sableye and Druddigon screamed as the electricity coursed through their bodies. The current stopped at Sableye's hand. Ampharos used the opportunity to stand up and toss Sableye away. Sableye and Druddigon finally shook off the effects of the thunderbolt. Ampharos and Druddigon's eyes met, one filled with sheer terror, and the other with excitement.
"YES! You have some fight left in you. You better not let me down again." Druddigon gushed ecstatically as he took a battle stance. Ampharos froze in terror."
"HEY!" A voice interrupted and everyone turned to Gliscor. "YOU DARE IGNORE ME? I AM THE FUTURE GREATEST VILLAIN OF ALL TIME, NOW, YOU WILL SUFFER THE WRAITH OF MY THUNDER PUNCH! WHOEVER IT STRIKES WILL PERISH!" Gliscor yelled as he charged toward Druddigon at full speed. His fist was covered in electricity. Gliscor struck Druddigon in the cheek with all of his power. Druddigon just swiped Gliscor away like a fly and faced Ampharos once again. Sableye rolled his eyes but he then grinned as he thought of something. He took a battle stance as well.
Just then, Ampharos felt someone tap on his shoulder.
"Hey, you weren't planning on fighting these idiots on your own, were you?" Infernape smirked. Ampharos almost collapsed with relief and luckily, it didn't seem Infernape was alone. Stomping next to him was Garchomp, who growled at Druddigon and Sableye,
"Stay away from him."