Have you ever experienced adrenaline-induced behaviour? Like you are going on a roll and are unable to stop?
That's the description that I could use to best describe what I'm feeling now. Dolly and I led our ghosts onwards deeper and deeper into enemy lines in a reckless behaviour that I'm sure Looker and Sebastian will be chastising me for afterwards. I could feel the excitement, the thrill of the battle as though my blood was singing in joy for every enemy I sucked the life out of with just a mental thought. I could feel the thrumming exhilaration of my ghosts through the mental link we share as they ripped our foes apart in droves. Our emotions are connected on a level far deeper than telepathy. Don't ask me how I know, I just instinctively understood.
My enemies often don't know that I'm there until it's too late thanks to one of my abilities being able to passively hide my presence from others. After which it's simply directing Emil's ability to suck their lives out from them before I vanished into the shadows once more. For once in my life I could experience the joy of being able to run with my legs without going out of breath. It's so liberating, as if the invisible shackles that were chaining me down since birth had finally disappeared.
I experienced what being an assassin was like when I recalled brief snippets of Emil's memories and put them into action. While his habits and emotions will not influence me any longer it does not stop me from recalling some of his experiences that are now retained in my mind. Dolly would shroud us all with her miasma and allow us to get a drop on our victims, forcefully pulling them into the world of Phantom Force where they will be void of their pokemon's protection and allowing Wacky to swiftly end their lives. We will emerge from that parallel world as my ghost army continues to charge ahead in reckless abandon. Dozens of them had their bodies dispersed and destroyed when they were finally taken down, their enemies too powerful thanks to the effects of Resonance powering them but this is not their end. They will come back eventually.
Such is the tenacity of ghost types.
The kamikaze style of assault that we threw ourselves into had taken our enemies by surprise. Dolly would subject the enemy trainers with Curse, killing them in a slow torturous death and swiftly healed herself up with Pain Split. Anybody that Curse couldn't reach, we pull them into our death trap that is Phantom Force. Wacky and one haunter continuously stuck close to me for my safety, gleefully taking down our foes who came too close to us.
The rational part of my mind reminded me that this is not who I usually am, that my behaviour now must have been altered through some sort of mental influence. The rational part of me reminded me to not lose myself or I might really just embark on a road of no return like Emil did but I ignored that voice. Being rational will not save me now, will not allow me to come out of this bleak looking war unharmed and alive, and if by throwing myself deep into the abyss means that I am able to go back home and see my loved ones again then that is what I will do.
I love travelling the world and seeing what the world can offer, but ultimately I still want to go home and see my family, my parents and brother. I'm homesick, a sentiment that's been getting stronger ever since Flannery and Norman came over. I really want to go back home and see my family again and these Plasmas are getting in my way.
Dr Lott told me that there was an old Unova saying that the more Ability Holders use their abilities, the more they resemble pokemon. I think that's what is happening to me now, judging from how I so callously reaped the lives of my enemies with a mental thought. The scarier part was that I am aware that a part of me secretly relished in it, and that this does not actually scare me. I should be scared that I now treated life so callously because this is not who I originally am.
Will my family still love me the same way they did if they saw me like this, I wonder? It's a thought that flashed across my mind every now and then as I continued to throw the battlefield into utter mayhem with my ghosts.
The intensity of the battle gradually slowed a little, allowing me to spare the attention to get a clearer look at the overall picture. Team Plasma's forces sieging the eastern end had to make their way here through the Skyarrow Bridge to reach Castelia. This defence battle would be much easier if we could just destroy the bridge.
I could also tell that I'm not the only one who came to that conclusion. My friends had also deduced the same thing judging from how they are trying to push past the endless waves of enemies swarming our way to reach the bridge. I could see Volkner trying to drop crashing thunder on the bridge but there's simply too many enemies coming at him to take his life to do that. He's being outnumbered, and while his life is not in immediate danger even a trainer as powerful as him had to tread carefully in the face of such odds. The same goes for the other Gym Leaders present as well.
Skye's flying types had their hands full trying to work with Volkner to make sure we don't lose aerial superiority. There's currently nobody who can free themselves to destroy the Skyarrow bridge. I guess I could try slipping past using a combination of Shadow Sneak and Phantom Force, but the distance to reach Skyarrow Bridge is a little too far for such an attempt to be a safe one.
But somebody has to try or Castelia will be eventually overrun.
I was on the verge of having Dolly transporting me to Skyarrow Bridge when the unexpected happened. Somebody had apparently done the job for us, judging from how the bridge had suddenly exploded in flames in a flashy and trembling blast. It caught everyone by surprise, that was for certain, and it also considerably lessened the pressure that Castelia was facing because Team Plasma had to direct a fraction of their forces to deal with the unknown threat that had bombed up the bridge that they were dependent upon to continuously supply fresh soldiers to the battlefield.
Whoever did that deserved a medal, in my opinion. The tides of the battle had finally started to shift in our favour.
"Ms Velda!"
Sebastian teleported next to me in a flash with his claydol's help, looking both worried and relieved at the same time. Seeing him like this made me feel a little guilty for worrying him like that.
"Sorry for making you worry, but I'm alright. Are you okay?"
"My pokemon and I are fine," Sebastian assured, "but we have to move back, we are too far out front."
"I think this is the best time to give chase though," I pointed ahead at the Plasmas who were undecided if they should push on with their assault or head back to assist their comrades to take down whoever had blown up their bridge. I primed three pokeballs in hand and released Kratos, Toothless, and Snap. Yes, I'm feeling reckless today, my power is invigorating me in an unstoppable rush and making me feel as though I'm invincible, but I also truly felt that now is the best time to push on with the advantage that we now hold.
"Bombard them, send them running."
My trio were more than eager to do just that, blowing our opponents up in humongous explosions and I was soon joined by Volkner and Skye who managed to reach me before the others did. The battlefield fell silent within minutes of Volkner's arrival and I'm glad to have him here.
"You alright, short stack?"
"Never felt better," I smiled back at the thought of the hidden double meaning of my reply and pointed to Dolly, who also waved an excited hello at them. "Meet Dolly and marvel at her new form, she's eager for your praise."
"Is that a Mega Banette? Wherever did you find its Mega Stone from? Pretty sure you didn't have it before this battle."
"You are not going to believe it, but a group of wild shuppets gave it to me halfway into the battle."
"That's some insanely good luck you have there."
"I'm very lucky," I agreed as my conglomeration of ghosts gathered around me, sinking back into the shadows and I mentally felt them joining me within the depths of my own shadow. My ghost army has just grown bigger and probably will continue to do so over time.
Dolly reverted back to her original state in a rainbow glow now that we do not need the power of Mega Evolution. Skye fussed and checked over me just to be safe but I never felt better, and I'm starting to wonder if it's indeed true that Mega Evolution is harmful to both trainer and pokemon. I certainly did not feel like I was in danger when invoking Mega Evolution with Dolly unlike how I felt when I did it with Kratos or Bigblue. Sustaining Bigblue or Kratos' Mega Evolution for about a minute was enough to make me feel severely winded, but I had done so for Dolly for so much longer and I don't feel any different from before I started invoking that power.
I will have to look into this discrepancy in my free time. This is clearly not normal.
"We have things wrapped up on our end here. The frigate is still not spotted, which is both good and bad news. You know, it felt like we might just be able to pull through this time."
It was then that the temperature turned scorching hot within seconds. We looked up, spotting a draconic figure hovering high up above the city and released a roar. Gigantic flaming fireballs began to rain down from above like a movie scene that promised the end of the world.
"QUICK, GET BACK!"
"Reshiram-"
"DEFEND!"
What came next was a flash of blinding light and searing heat. There was no time for anyone to react.
Unova's legendary dragon had been unleashed upon Castelia City.
The small town on a cape in the south of this region is called Cabo Poco. It's not a very big town to speak of, most of its residents are the young and the elderly, the young adults generally moved out to seek jobs elsewhere in the bigger towns or cities. There's nothing outstanding about this place other than its breathtakingly beautiful scenery thanks to the town being located close to the beach with a temperate climate all year round.
A hooded figure silently treaded through the streets of Cabo Poco, somehow remaining out of notice despite it being daytime. This is a region far out of the reach of the PWL whose union is composed of its seven member regions. This is not the only region whose existence the PWL is unaware of and it's truly mind boggling to comprehend just how big the world is.
He reached a quaint and unassuming cottage sitting at a site of the town where its occupants can look out to the sea on one end and the vast piece of land on another. This is one of his master's many residences she possessed across the world. This cottage is small but it's one of her favourites, the fact that she would often choose to reside here whenever she's back spoke volumes of that. As to why his master loved this place, his guess was that Cabo Poco largely resembled her birthplace and is quiet enough from all the headache-inducing things that they get into when acting in the capacities of their identities in their organisation.
He easily leapt over the iron gates to get in. A trevenant had appeared to see who had dared intrude upon its master's territory but let him pass when it realised it was him again. This trevenant is one that his master raised to help look after the many plants and flowers she tended to in her free time. She always loved to do a bit of gardening when she had the time and relies on trevenant to ensure that her beloved plants are not dead when she is busy elsewhere for extended periods of time.
The door to her home swung open by itself and he entered, knowing that his master's pokemon must have already informed her of his arrival. He soon found her sitting on a wooden reclining sun chair outside on the porch, eyes closed as if taking a rest.
"Master, the young lady and Emperor will be arriving at Unova soon."
"Sorry for always troubling you with her. She's quite a handful and I spoil her too much," his master apologised and slowly sat up. "How's the situation at Unova now?"
"Ghetsis had fused Kyurem and Reshiram into one being. The Swords of Justice and Zekrom are currently facing it in battle. However, the original dragon is two-third to completion. I worry that if Ghetsis could somehow capture Zekrom and fuse it to revive the original dragon, then…"
"It would truly be a calamity," his master agreed with an exasperated sigh. "The original dragon is not a pokemon originally from this planet. Once reborn, they do have the power to destroy the entire world if they fall into the wrong hands. Ghetsis… I guess in the end we still underestimated him."
"Lord Aoki is currently facing it in battle with Latios and Latias. We will have to prepare for the possible repercussions."
"Noted. Had Aline and Aaron taken action? Your thoughts on this battle?"
"To my latest knowledge, no. And… I don't think the odds are in our or Unova's favour unless Emperor joins the battle, but if he does so it might affect the plans that we originally needed him for. We might need to provide more assistance if we wish to stop Ghetsis."
He kept his head bowed when his master remained silent to ponder over the next best action to take.
"Personally, I do not wish to expose Paldea and Galar's existence to the PWL so soon, even if I know that it's just a matter of time they were discovered. The only reason why Tarot could hide from the PWL for so long was because we have been hiding out of their jurisdiction by residing in regions whose existence is unknown to them. Once their existence gets out things are going to be a little difficult, especially if they realise that the Fool of Tarot is Paldea's founding Champion, Paldea's very first La Primera."
The servant kept his head bowed in silence. He understood very clearly why his master was hesitating, because he was one of the participants who participated in the war a few centuries ago at the end of the Paldean Empire's reign which subsequently saw the birth of the modern Paldea region. Fool, High Priestess, Emperor, Strength, Justice, Death, Star and the young lady; eight people conquered an entire region in ten days and wrote a new page into the history books of the region, with Fool becoming its very first Champion since the fall of the monarchy age and became its La Primera.
She may have stepped down from her position centuries ago but her title of La Primera remained as Paldea's tradition. Every Paldean Champion who succeeded their predecessor had all inherited her original title. Geeta is the current successor. His master's legendary feats are still being celebrated today, written into history books with festivals held in her name. Unlike the area managed by the PWL Paldeans are very well aware that the Founding Heroes of Paldea are all immortals. While the exact ways of attaining immortality remains a well-kept secret, the existence of immortality itself is not a secret in this part of the world and is generally well-accepted by the populace.
"Hoenn will not take kindly to an outsider having possession of their Eon duo, even if that person was their Uncrowned Hero," his master eventually spoke up. "And if Aline and Aaron were forced to show their hand as well… We will have to do something equally drastic to redirect the PWL's attention away from them, most likely through exposing Paldea's and Galar's existence to the PWL. We might have to speed up our plans."
A quiet sigh escaped her lips and silence descended the space between them. The servant continued to keep his head bowed, not daring to break the stillness in fear of interrupting his master's thoughts.
After a while, she spoke once more.
"Oh well, it might not be a bad thing after all. With Paldea and Galar's existence out of the bag it will open up more avenues for us to operate on the global stage too. Since Ghetsis forced our hand we might as well take this opportunity to display Paldea's and Galar's might to the world, that would give us the bargaining power we need when I send Geeta and Leon to reach out and mingle with the PWL. Reizo."
The servant immediately got onto one knee.
"I'm at your command."
"You and Aline, seriously, stop with all the kneeling and bowing," his master gave him another of her exasperated sighs again. "Go get Afie. Tell her that I authorise the use of Miraidon and her team of paradox pokemon. Contact Leon and get him to loan Regieleki to Afie as well. White Kyurem is an existence with strength that puts it among the likes of the Creation Trio but if it's Yasu, I have faith that he will be able to hold out until our Moon arrives."
The Moon of Tarot is that one Card that Fool very rarely mobilised for tasks situated in the seven regions that made up the PWL. The fact that she finally decided to send Moon out to resolve this situation already spoke volumes of the severity of the current situation and of his master's resolve.
This is his master's will, and is thus his will to follow through and see done.
"Tell Afie that I want her to make a show out of it and by that, I mean that I want the only thing that the entire world will be talking about once everything is over is her and her pokemon. Tell Aline to refrain from using volcanion, I don't want Kalos to be aware of us possessing volcanion just yet. Get her and Aaron to meet up with Emperor and Sephira instead to prepare for our original plan. The Swords of Justice and Vicitini, that is the price that I will have Unova cough up to us for saving their region regardless if they liked it or not. Lastly, verify if Ghetsis is dead once Afie defeats White Kyurem. If he manages to survive somehow, end him. Let's not take any more chances this time."
"Understood."
"Once you're done, I will have to trouble you to contact Hierophant regarding the Mega Mewtwo Project I briefed you about the last time. Make sure he understands that he doesn't have a say in this issue. I want him to get it done. Hoopa."
The enigmatic ghost appeared with a mischievous cackle.
"Follow Reizo and listen to what he gets you to do," hoopa cackled and flew circles around his master excitedly while making a pleading motion. "Fine, if you like to join in the fun so much then go get your ass whipped by Kyurem, why don't you? I'm telling you this in advance, don't come back crying to me if your body gets destroyed. I will not entertain your complaints."
Hoopa gave its verbal agreement and quickly joined Reizo by his side in buzzing excitement. Reizo Nagatani gave his master one final bow before he affixed the mask he wore over his face whenever he goes about doing his duties as the Death of Tarot. Time is of the essence, he has to get the Moon of Tarot to hurry and assist Strength in the battle currently taking place in Unova.
He should be able to spare the time to witness the battle that Moon will be assisting in later. Miraidon is a pokemon that had turned the world to ash in the far future, or at least that was what Moon claimed when she first came over to their time through the professors' time machine at Area Zero. It's not everyday he gets to see a battle between legendaries, each of which holds the power to possibly turn the world to ash.
The space around him ripped and warped as the Death of Tarot forged on to fulfil his master's orders. His master had ordered Ghetsis' death and that is a command he will see done. The Unseen Blade of Mahogany who had once assassinated a Champion, a man who died a tool and reborn as a human, had now been drawn from his sheath.
He was a man who had once slain a Champion. This time, for his master's goal, he will set his sights even higher.
He will slay Gods.
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