As with all battles, things eventually get chaotic enough that everything previously discussed and planned flew out of the window.
I couldn't tell exactly how long had passed since the battle started, but Team Plasma's numerical superiority proved to be enough to further push the defence line that we stubbornly held despite having four Gym Leaders and Looker on our side. Volkner had been continuously dropping thunder and lightning since the start of the battle but there simply were too many for him to really put down. There were enemies who seemingly possessed something similar to a Lightning Rod ability that drew his attacks away from the main party and Volkner had to tend to them first in order to continue his aerial bombardment effectively.
Now that our forces had effectively clashed in battle we needed to watch out for friendly fire, which limited the options that Nova and Flannery could possibly take. Team Plasma had tried to take down Castelia's walls using long range bombardment but Jasmine and her team of steel types were there to foil their plans.
As for me?
Things started out as we planned it to be. I released my better fighters like Kratos and Toothless to draw attention to themselves while Looker and I worked on picking off the trainers in an attempt to stop them from using Resonance. My ghosts really excelled in assassination work by taking advantage of the chaotic situation and Sebastian was always nearby to ensure my safety.
Then, we began to be overwhelmed by Team Plasma's numerical advantage. Looker, Sebastian and I tried to stick close to each other but we were still eventually scattered and left to fend for ourselves. During the Battle at Goldenrod I had my entire team with me because the site of that battle was a vast piece of flat land with plenty of space for us to go amok. Here at Castelia, the site of our battle does not afford that luxury and I can only selectively choose who I want to be out with at any one time.
The other difference I could feel was something deep within me stirring in unrest, as if it had been woken by the carnage I had been a part of ever since the battle started. It's like my blood had stirred in excitement, an unknown presence egging me on to remove all shackles and just dive into the fray. I do not know if those strange feelings were influencing my actions without me knowing about it but I did eventually find myself a little too deep beyond enemy lines.
"Gravity!"
Joy forced another group of enemies to their knees and Hulk smashed our targets with a huge boulder he had picked up. Fuzzy flew up to intercept a stray attack that might have hit us with Charge Beam and Rena allowed her psychic powers to burst forth and push back the pokemon that were charging at us. My pokemon were all doing fine. Splendid, even.
Me, not so much.
"We've advanced too far forward. We need to go back and regroup," I tried my best to keep my mind clear while hugging my shoulders, trying to stop my body from shivering despite being enveloped by Flamel's body heat while riding on his back. I felt as if my throbbing head was about to explode, like I'm feeling light-headed yet working on hyperdrive at the same time. I could feel myself slipping into some sort of rage-induced adrenaline, the fuse of my temper getting shorter and shorter and it was taking every last bit of my rationality to keep myself sane and not lash out in madness. The moment I lose myself this would be all over, this was what I rationalised to myself.
Dolly bombed our enemies sky high with a powerful Shadow Ball. Her powers had increased by an unbelievable amount ever since she devoured Emil's ghosts and the fruits of that really showed in this battle. Her endurance and stamina had really grown and she's battling like a heavy hitter rather than the saboteur that she was.
Rena kept giving me worried glances and she's not the only one. All of my pokemon had started to pick up the signs that I'm really not feeling well and are anxious to hurry and end this never ending battle for my sake. I opted to recall Toothless and Kratos when I realised that we will be separated too far from each other if this keeps up, leaving only the few pokemon who I kept outside to ensure my personal safety.
Castelia is a port city that's built on a cliff sloping down southwards in a gentle gradient until it meets the sea. The bottom end of that slope was where the port was built. The eastern side of the city is still located at the cliff at a height that would be fatal if anyone were to fall over its edge, and that was where we were being forced to head to as our enemies swarmed us with their superior numbers and herded us where they wanted us to go. They are trying to drop us into the sea.
It's obvious that as a trainer, I'm still not at a level where I can be a decisive factor to turn the tide of battle on a scale as large as this. I do have powerful pokemon with me, but they can still be taken down eventually when we are up against such unbalanced odds. My priority is to ensure my survival while trying to take out as many enemies as I could, because at the end of the day I still want to live.
The discomfort that had been affecting me since the start of the battle was starting to take its toll. I have a feeling that I know what it stemmed from and what this discomfort really is, but in order to do that I will have to take that leap of faith and really subject myself to danger. One careless mistake and it's goodbye forever.
We were pushed nearer and nearer to the edge of the cliff. I could see my pokemon desperately fighting back, understanding what it would mean if we were to really be pushed to the edge of the cliff. I decided that this might as well be the time for me to put my crazy idea into motion, to test if the suspicions that my instincts were telling me were right.
I grabbed my pokeballs, recalled almost all of my pokemon, and gave my order.
"Flamel, jump off the cliff."
If anyone were to ask me how do I know if my pokemon had full and unwavering trust in me, I would quote this very moment. Despite not understanding the reason why I gave him such an order Flamel never hesitated to immediately turn and ran for the edge of the cliff, showing that he had full faith in my judgement. People have always said that a trainer's bond with their starter is the most special bond one can find between trainer and pokemon. What we did then was perhaps a display of such a bond between us.
Flamel jumped off the cliff and we started to fall. I recalled Flamel and I tugged on the mental connection I share with my ghosts, hoping that this might just work.
Shadow Sneak
Dolly reappeared beside me and enveloped me in darkness. The laws of physics were being upturned when inertia seemingly cancelled itself and I felt my feet touching solid ground once more. I decided to stop trying to hold back the discomfort that has been permeating my entire body with increasing intensity. If I was in the mood I might just crack a Let it Go joke but this clearly wasn't an appropriate time to do so.
If what I suspect this strange discomfort is was correct, this might just turn the battle in my favour.
Dolly had dropped me in the middle of a hostile group per my instructions. I reached out my hand in their direction and I knew my suspicion was correct when that strange sense of discomfort burst forth. I felt something intangible being sucked into me and I watched as hostile trainers and pokemon around me started to wobble on their feet as though their energy were suddenly sucked dry.
This is Emil's ability, the ability to absorb the lifeforce of people around him.
Their sudden falter was the only opportunity that my ghosts needed to swoop in and take them out. Dolly screeched in challenge when more headed our way and fired another Shadow Ball, decimating them and I felt the discomfort within me quickly dissipating.
I inherited Emil's ability and some of his memories. Not all snippets of his memories were useful information because till date I don't have a clue how he eventually trained himself to activate and deactivate his ability at will, much less assume control over it. I did not recall such a memory from the memories I received from him. What I did pick up was that Emil did not have control over his ability when he was still a child. It was what led him to undergo his first Devouring unwillingly and it marked the start of his tragedy.
Now, I know what could force his ability to activate. The discomfort he must have felt until he could not hold it in any longer is a precursor to an involuntary outburst of his ability. If that is so, it truly is a miracle that I had not accidentally harmed the people around me until now. I'm lucky that my ability chose to activate at a time where I do not need to worry about friendly fire.
I recalled my pokemon except for my ghosts for this reason. Ghosts have no lifeforce so they will not be affected by my new ability, but my other pokemon might be implicated in this if they stick by my side. Now that I have no other concerns holding me back I can just let Emil's ability run wild to its greatest extent and see where this will bring me.
More enemies came running to take us down and I retaliated with a shout while instinctively reaching my hand out in their direction before closing my fingers in a grabbing motion. The thing about abilities is that you don't really need a tutorial to start using them the moment they manifest, although the same thing couldn't be said if you want to control them.
"Dolly, Miasma!"
Miasma is our self-invented technique that uses a mixture of low power ghost type moves to obscure ourselves with a dark fog. Most ghosts ended up picking up such a trick under the tutelage of their trainers one way or another. Dolly's version was largely based on Ominous Wind and even psychic connections could possibly be hindered under the influence of this fog.
I don't really like to use this move often when being involved in a deathmatch because of the low visibility being a double-edged sword to us too. However, this is no longer a problem because I now have a new slew of abilities thanks to Emil.
Night Vision
Everything suddenly seemed so clear to me even within the low visibility. A haunter picked me up with its floating hands as per my command and became my wings, allowing me to swiftly traverse across the battlefield with its help as I allowed my abilities to continue to run rampant for the very first time. People and pokemon alike were starting to drop to their knees in confused cries and my ghosts burst forth from the shadows to tear them apart. I saw attacks directed at me from afar. There were people who had accurately deduced that my lifeforce stealing ability had an effective range and that they would be safe if they stayed out of it. They are trying to take me down with long range attacks.
'Phantom Force.'
I found myself in that parallel world once again. I knew Dolly understood my intentions because I saw the enemy trainers trapped here against their will but without the protection of their pokemon. This is a skill that Dolly and I had picked up from our battle with Emil and I do not mind reenacting it on our enemies. We might not yet have the same proficiency in this move that Emil and his golurk had displayed, but what Dolly is currently capable of will be enough for our cause.
'Wacky.'
A purplish paw tore through our enemies as Wacky killed them with Shadow Punch. We returned back to our reality and watched as the opposing pokemon looked around in confusion when they realised that they were no longer under the effects of Resonance. None of these pokemon are a threat to us without the effects of Resonance. Without their trainers, they are nothing but mere roadblocks that could be easily overcome.
Dolly hovered near me protectively and let loose a shriek. She's being influenced by her bloodlust but that is fine. Right now I need her to be bloodthirsty because anything lesser and our lives might be forfeited.
'I know all of you are watching. Can you help us?'
The surrounding temperature began to drop unnaturally when I mentally broadcasted my thoughts. The shadows around us began to move as though they had a mind of their own. Wild ghosts of various species began to emerge upon my call and slowly put themselves in between me and my enemies. I'm not surprised that they are gathered here. Ghosts are naturally attracted to death and negative emotions and there's plenty of those in a battlefield.
A group of shuppets caught my attention when they approached me with excited howls and giggles. One of them held a small marble-like object in its mouth and presented it to me as though in reverence. I could tell that they cherished this item very much and I gratefully accepted their offer despite not knowing what it was until I could take a closer look at it in my hand.
"A… Mega Stone?" I could feel my eyes widening a little from the surprise. The excited noises that the shuppets were making confirmed my suspicions. Dolly reappeared beside me and we both shared a look.
"Are you prepared?" I asked Dolly. Neither of us had tried Mega Evolution together before. This could either produce some wondrous results or fail terribly but I already knew Dolly's answer, she is not one to shy away from taking risks if she thinks that it's worth a shot.
Dolly's grin widened as she snatched the object off my hand. She charged right ahead in a frenzied howl as my own army of ghosts answered in kind, slowly breaking out into a run with bloodcrazed howls and shrieks as I took out the pendant my father gave me on one of my birthdays. In it sits the Key Stone that will make this miracle possible.
A bright rainbow light shone through the darkness before disappearing altogether. As a Mega Banette Dolly now has several additional zippers running across her body. Some of her zippers are unzipped, revealing parts of her body that couldn't be seen when she was a normal banette.
"Curse."
Dolly howled and a powerful pressure descended the area. Her victims screamed in agony from the sudden phantom pains that they received. To be on the receiving end of a ghost's Curse is a painful ordeal, I could only imagine what it would feel like to receive one from a Mega Banette.
There were many speculations and folklore about a banette's zippers and why they were kept zipped. Some say that banettes kept their zippers zipped because unzipping them would cause their deaths. Some say that the zippers are to prevent them from unleashing their full power and are what protects us from the powerful curse that allowed them to come into existence. Banette is a species of pokemon associated with curses and grudges and so I do not find it surprising that a Mega Banette can unleash negative intentions towards their enemies that are powerful enough to turn horrendous things into reality.
I had seen Curse in effect before. It's one of Dolly's favourite moves to use against powerful foes but never had I witnessed such potent effects of Curse being displayed. The effects of Curse being used on opposing pokemon was something that I had already seen plenty of times, it was the effects of Curse being used on humans that took me by surprise.
Humans were rolling on the ground in suffering, screaming and clawing at their own bodies until bloodied lines could be seen when their fingernails dug too deep. Some had seemingly gone crazy, I even saw one person who pushed a dagger into their throat to take their own life because the suffering was too much for him to bear. There were some whose bodies started to rot visibly, some whose bones suddenly broke in a very audible and hair raising crack and made them collapse in a screaming mess, and I even saw one whose eyeball suddenly just popped off their socket and rolled innocuously on the ground. I counted it a personal achievement that I did not retch at the sight of it all.
Whatever this may be, the effects of Curse seem to vary from individual to individual when used on humans and I'm not sure if this observation is applicable to all ghosts or if this is simply something unique to Mega Banette. It is a very frightening sight to behold and an even more frightening power to wield, but I'm glad that I wielded this power at that moment. It's what allowed me to turn the battle around to my favour and ensured my survival.
"Kill the enemies, don't leave them alive."
My own little army of otherworldly beings acknowledged my orders with excited cackles, ruthlessly tearing into our fallen foes as I stood behind them with a haunter staying behind to guard me. The haunter watched on in excitement and accentuated his presence with occasional howls. Its long tongue reached out to wrap around a victim that happened to lay too close to us and I watched as its tongue brought its prey closer to it before the haunter swallowed it whole. It doesn't seem to like the taste very much if the look on its face was anything to go by.
I looked at my hand. The discomfort that I felt had disappeared and I felt Emil's ability being deactivated the moment I invoked Mega Evolution. I will not be a danger to the people around me for the moment. If there's one thing I concluded from this experiment it's that whenever this ability does make its appearance again, the only beings that can safely stay by my side will be my ghosts. Wacky had told me that even Lily wasn't spared when this lifeforce absorbing power was activated at full power, which meant that I have to keep all of my pokemon away from me or return them back to the safety of their pokeballs if this were to happen again.
What a lonely power. No wonder Emil eventually went insane. Ghosts are not creatures that can usually be encountered as they prefer to keep to themselves and stay far away from humans. I'm an anomaly only because of my original ability to attract ghosts to my presence. I do not have to endure that same loneliness that Emil felt.
I'm much more fortunate than he was.
"Are you feeling okay?" I asked when Dolly returned back to my side, still in the form of a Mega Banette. Dolly shrieked in glee, excitedly showing me her new body like a child who just received her new dress and I smiled at her behaviour. Her cheerful demeanour had lifted up my spirits without her knowing it herself.
"If you are sure you are okay, then let's continue," I suggested and Dolly was more than agreeable to my suggestion. The ghosts around us swirled with Dolly as their epicentre and I recognised this as their act of subservience to a powerful pokemon who they now view as their leader. Well, other than Wacky, who now has his hands on his hips and loudly complaining that he could also do everything that Dolly did if he had a Mega Stone too.
"You will have your turn," I assured Wacky and patted him on the head as Dolly began to shroud us in darkness once more. Funnily enough, I felt invigorated and alive despite being stranded deep behind enemy lines, like I'm actually enjoying the carnage that I'm taking part in despite knowing that I do not like that. Is this my ability at work again?
Huh, I must really be going insane. I should have my head checked once this is all over.
Character and pokemon list:
Velda Vera, Age: 14, Female, Pokemon Trainer, Member of the International Police
Pokemon on hand:
1) Rapidash (Flamel), male
2) Swampert (Bigblue), male
3) Banette (Dolly), female
4) Flygon (Snap), male
5) Absol (Kelsa), female
6) Charizard (Toothless), male
7) Cradily (Lily), female
8) Espeon (Rena), female
9) Pachirisu (Fuzzy), male
10) Tyranitar (Kratos), male
11) Clefairy (Joy), female
12) Nidoqueen (Ness), female
13) Pangoro (Hulk), male
14) Porygon-Z (Jarvis), genderless
15) Scizor (Archer), male
16) Lapras (Chill), female
17) Gengar (Wacky), male