A/N: Here's the next chapter! Also, can I say how funny some of the Pokémon Generations scenes can be? Like, in the episode where Gabby and Ty get the video of the player character catching Deoxys, it ends with the scientist talking how the world isn't ready to handle the discovery? Well, I mean, it could be true, but let's be real that the Trainer is probably showing off he's got Rayquaza and Deoxys (considering how a lot of people who play Pokémon tend to handle their very first Pokémon games; I definitely had a lot of Legendary Pokémon being a part of my main teams). Going back to the topic of this story series, I do have the poll up to decide where to go next! It's mainly based on the games I do have (so no Shining Pearl/Brilliant Diamond). Anyway, onto the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's nor Pokémon. Both go to their respective owners. I only claim my OCs. And prepare the soap for Ren's potty mouth. Also, a bit of blood/violence warning.
Chapter 4:
(Flashback, Ren's POV)
"Simipour, Acrobatics!" Cress commanded.
"Simiii!" The Water-type Pokémon lunged for Cross. The Delphox let out a low growl at the approaching Simipour.
"Psyshock!" Ellis countered back.
"Phox!" Chunks of psychic energy appeared around the advancing Simipour. Cross held out a paw, clenching it. The energy orbs flew right into the Water-type, causing massive damage. The Simipour paused, stumbled, and then fell unconscious on the battlefield.
"Simipour is unable to battle, Delphox wins!" the referee cheered. "The victory goes to the challenger, Ellis Mori!"
"Osha Osha!" Blue yipped beside me. I looked down to see his front paws clenched in excitement. Did he like watching, or was he imaging himself up there?
"Enjoy the battle, Blue?" I asked him.
"Osha Oshawott Osha!" He pointed at where Cross was. Ellis had stepped up beside him to receive the badge, Cross standing proudly.
"Wait, you want to fight?" He nodded eagerly. "Well, um, I'm not really joining the League Challenge right now." Blue deflated. "But...I might decide later, if you want to try it out."
That cheered the small Water-type up. "Osha Osha!"
"Okay. How about after Ellis's trip through here we start up our own little challenge, eh?"
"Oshaa!"
(Present Day, Yusei's POV)
Argen snoozed beside me while I leaned against a fence, thinking. Chelsea said that the marks appeared on the same day Ren lost his brother and two of his Pokémon. Does that mean that the marks only appear on someone after a great loss? I shook my head. No, that can't be right. There's got to be another reason. Sure, there are stories where that has a Legendary Pokémon come around during a time of great tragedy, but there are some that only show themselves when things are peaceful. I reached for the Poké ball of my second partner. After all, that's why you came around, right?
A loud growl came from beside me. Argen had gotten up, his fur crackling with electricity. "Argen? What is it?" I asked him.
"Lux!" he roared, racing off.
"Hey, wait!" I put the Poké ball aback on my belt and chased after him.
(Ren's POV)
"Blue! Blue! Hey, where are you?" I called once I got to the river near the ranch. I had gone to the ponds and couldn't find him, so I thought to check the only source of running water around.
There was no signs of my first partner anywhere. Could he have...did he leave? There wasn't anything that kept Pokémon in or out. That was why wild Pokémon could come and go as they pleased. Blue could have easily swam the river and left the ranch. There wouldn't be anything—or anyone—to stop him. Chelsea wouldn't have lied about him not being here, right? She would have said something about him disappearing. She wouldn't hide anything that major from me...right?
I started shaking, trying to hold everything back. I cupped my hands around my mouth. "Blue! If you can hear me, please come out! I'm sorry! I should have been a stronger Trainer for you! I should have-" I couldn't finish as light came from the corner of my vision.
"Krokorok, Crunch!" I barely dodged out of the way of the attack. The Krokorok, landed face first in the dirt, skidding a foot or two away.
"Who's there?!"
The figure came out, dressed in dark clothes and had a mask hiding half of their face. The insignia on their clothes, however, was unmistakable. Team Plasma. "Well well, not as distracted as I thought, though you didn't even know I was right there," the grunt taunted.
"Plasma! What the hell are you doing here?!"
They chuckled darkly. "Why else? Word had it that your Pokémon had been left at a ranch near Aspertia, so where else would the mark holder head for? Rather stupid of you to wander off from all your strong Pokémon." The Krokorok one the other side of me grunted as they got up, giving a toothy grin.
"Bold of you to assume I'm alone out here."
"Really? Then bring out a Pokémon if you're so confident." I let out a low curse. "Heh, I knew it. Now, why don't you come quietly? Don't want to have to break an arm. Then again, you only need the one arm."
"Rio!" a small cry came out. Out of the bushes, a Riolu hopped out, putting himself between me and the Krokorok. "Ri Riol!"
"The hell..?" I muttered, a bit surprised. Chelsea never made a mention of wild Riolu coming into the ranch. I thought they only lived out in Kalos since Sinnoh lost their population of wild Lucario and Riolu years ago.
"Ri Ri!" He got into a fighting stance, tail swishing angrily.
"Little runt. Krokorok, get rid of the nuisance. I'll get the target."
"Rok!" The Krokorok lunged at the Riolu while the Team Plasma grunt made a lunge for me.
(No One's POV)
Ren dodged the grab the Plasma grunt made for him. The Riolu, meanwhile, jumped up out of the way of the Krokorok who hit the ground hard again. That was when the Fighting-type landed hard on the Krokorok's snout, making them yelp. This made the Ground-and-Dark-type angry. They threw the Riolu off their snout to behind them. The aura sensing Pokémon managed to land on his feet only to have the Krokorok charge at him.
Instead of dodging this time, the Riolu held up his arms. The Krokorok bit hard on the closest arm which caused the Riolu to yell. Ren got distracted by the Pokémon's yell. The Plasma grunt them managed to tackle Ren to the ground, pushing his elbow in between the Trainer's back. "That's it, Krokorok! Now-"
The Riolu, pulling back his other arm, smashed the paw into the Krokorok's stomach hard. The Krokorok released what was in their mouth, gasping for air. Despite him delivering a powerful Counter, the Riolu's arm was starting to drip blood. He clutched the arm to stem the bleeding.
"What the?! Since when do Pokémon know to launch attacks like that?!" the Team Plasma grunt growled.
"Riolu, get outta here! Before the Krokorok gets their breath back!" Ren yelled.
"Ri Rio Riolu!" the Pokémon retorted. 'There's no way I'm gonna run away!' came the small voice in Ren's head. This made him gasp.
"How did...?"
"Grr, Krokorok! Get your shit together and kill that little pest! Snap it in half!" the grunt ordered.
The Krokorok, finally gaining their breath back, went in to get the smaller Pokémon back in their jaws. The Riolu grimaced, knowing he didn't have enough strength to hold against another attack like before. However, behind them, bubbles began to multiply in a spot. Suddenly, a large shape shot out of the water.
"Holy f***!" the grunt gasped.
"Blue!?" Ren gasped.
The shape landed on the ground, revealing the form to be a Samurott. A large scar marred the left side of his chest. The Samurott, Blue, sucked in a breath and released a torrent of cold air that blew the Krokorok into a nearby tree. The Pokémon hit the ground, fainted. The Samurott then turned to the Team Plasma grunt, huffing. The grunt yelped, getting off of Ren and running off. The grunt didn't even bother to grab his Pokémon.
Ren managed to get back onto his feet as Blue came up. "Blue, you're still here. Thank Arceus," he murmured.
"Sa Samu," Blue replied. The Water-type turned to where the Riolu was. "Sa Sa."
"Ah, shit! I forgot about the Riolu!" Ren hurried to the small Fighting-type as he sat down on the ground, still holding the injury. "Crap, and me without any first aid kits..." He carefully took the Riolu's arm with his right hand to see the damage. "Hold on, maybe I can-" The mark under the bandage flared to life, mainly the fire mark.
The light changed into a small flame that burnt away part of the bandage and circled around Ren's wrist to the Riolu's arm where it connected with the wound. The wound glowed for a minute before sealing up, leaving only a small scar. Ren, Blue, and the Riolu all looked stunned at the display. "Uh...okay...why the hell did it just now show that it can do that?!"
"Ren!" he heard Yusei's voice call. Not long after, Argen came crashing through the bushes with Yusei right behind. "What happened here?"
"Uhhh...long story."
(Flashback, N's Castle)
Charlotte managed to skid herself to a stop, going down on one front knee because of the heavy damage she had taken from N's Archeops. "Charlotte! Are you okay?" Ellis asked, going right to the Gogoat's side.
"Prrrnnn," she responded, getting back upright.
"You should give up and step aside. You're only getting your Pokémon hurt," N called from the other side.
"Ngh..." This isn't like any normal battle. Any time I get a Pokémon in that has the advantage on one of his, he has another tank the move and fire back with something strong against mine. This wasn't how he battled before. This is more like a battle out of the old history texts, before rules were regulated. He felt Charlotte nudge his shoulder. She gave a snort and pawed the ground, showing she was still willing to fight as long as he gave the order.
Ellis's expression regained its determined one. "As long as my partners are willing, we're not giving up! Not until we bring sense back into your head!"
N sighed heavily, shaking his head sadly. Foolish Trainer...I really thought you were different, Ellis. But it really does look like I've been wrong the entire time. "Fine then. Archeops, finish the Gogoat." The Archeops let out a screech, flapping into the air.
"Shit, hold on, Charl! I'll-" Before he finished, his Tyranitar charged forward as the Archeops flew toward them. He managed to grab the fossil Pokémon, leaving them to flail in his grip. The Tyranitar threw Ellis a look. He nodded. "Mason, Crunch! Send 'im packing!"
"Rawr!" Mason opened his jaws, crunching down on the Archeops' tail. He whirled the Pokémon a bit and threw the Archeops right back to N's side of the room. The Rock-and Flying-type was revealed to have passed out from the force.
"My friend?!"
"Rrarra!" Mason roared in victory. Okay, got one of his fast hitters down. If we can keep things going, we can get that Zekrom down soon...hopefully.
Unbeknownst to them, another Trainer was making a run for the throne room. Ren, followed by all his team out of their Poké balls, came skidding down the hall while clutching the straps of his shoulder bag. He ran into the room, yelling, "Ellis!"
The yell caused the older Trainer to freeze. He whirled around to see Ren and his Pokémon standing at the entryway. "Ren?!" he gasped.
"We came to help! The Gym Leaders are already taking care of the sages and grunts!"
"Sim Simi!" Pyre—Ren's Simisear—nodded eagerly.
"Kroo?" Gecko went up to where Zach and Spirit were resting. The Nidoking let out a weak smirk while Spirit looked a bit worried. The Krookodile noticed one of N's Pokémon coming up and let out a low warning snarl, getting into a fighting position.
"Ren, hurry and get out of here," Ellis said. "This isn't your fight!"
"But I can't just let you do this by yourself! If there's even a slight chance of helping, then I'll-" Something zipped past them, crashing into the far wall. The brothers looked, Ren letting out a cry of panic and horror. "Gecko!" He ran over to where the Krookodile laid, slumped and not moving. A pool of blood started to form underneath. "Gecko, no no no! Please, hold on! Don't do this now! Not after everything!"
Ellis whirled on N. "What the hell?! I thought you said you were wanting to help Pokémon, not kill them!" The green-haired Trainer didn't answer, his cap hiding his features. "Say something!"
He raised his head, eyes looking cold. "If it's in the name of freedom, sacrifices must be made. Either through life or death, I will see to the Pokémon's release from captivity."
"You can't be serious..." Ellis spared a glance to his brother. The rest of Ren's team were surrounding their Trainer and fallen comrade. Ren laid on top of Gecko, sobbing into the Pokémon's back. Ellis gritted his teeth, turning back with a fierce expression. "Mason, Stone Edge!"
"Rrawr!" Mason roared, punching the ground hard. Several sharp stones erupted from the ground, heading for the Pokémon that had killed Gecko: Zoroark. The Klinklang floated down to take the hit only to be blown back from the powerful hit. Even not being effective on the Steel-type, the Klinklang was down. The attack had also knocked out the Zoroark.
Ellis sported the same dark glare his Tyranitar partner had. "No more messing around, N. You're going down."
(Present Day, Ren's POV)
We spent a few more days at the ranch. I wanted to make sure the Riolu's arm really was fully healed. I'm still unsure how the mark was able to do that. I had heard about some gifted Trainers able to heal their Pokémon through touch, mostly one from Viridian City, but I never heard of any others able to do the same. I made sure to update Chelsea and Yusei about the new little 'ability' of mine, in case it ever popped up again.
On the last day, I decided to sit out with Blue a ways from the house. Emerald had come up and curled around my neck. It had felt like forever since Blue and I had sat together like this. The last time I was here, he was stuck in rehabilitation with little hope of fully recovering enough to move by himself. Chelsea had taken the Krokorok the grunt left behind to try and calm them down, possibly to try and release them into either the wild or a sanctuary. Or maybe to even have on the ranch.
I better tell him... "Blue..?"
"Saa..?"
"I...I'm sorry I can't keep my promise to you back then. I know you really wanted to compete in the Pokémon League, but with how Chelsea said your condition is like...I don't want to risk your life any more than it's already been risked."
(Blue's POV)
I lifted my head off from my front legs. Ren had apologized to me, like he feels that he failed as a Trainer. I never wanted him to feel like that. I knew he wasn't ready back then and accepted that he didn't want to take on the Gyms since his brother was doing that at the time. Even now, though, I didn't blame him. I never would. The only ones to blame were Team Plasma as they were the ones aiming to force people to suit their ideals. I might not be able to be with Ren on a trip to the top, but I can at least support him.
I nudged his arm with my snout, making him look at me. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Ren. You're my partner, my Trainer. I never could blame you for anything that happened, the same way Ellis wouldn't have," I stated, even if he couldn't fully understand me.
Ren blinked a bit, smiling after a bit. "You telling me to keep my head up, huh?" he said.
"Well duh. I only want you to be the best you can ever be, even if I'm not the one at your side to help. League Challenger or no, I'll support your path!"
He placed his hand on the side of my neck, stroking my hair. "Thanks, pal."
I nodded, then looked to the Snivy draped on his neck. The Grass-type popped open an eye. "Hey, you."
"Yes..?" the Snivy drawled.
"I'm going to count on you to take care of my Trainer here, you got that? He might be a bit difficult, but he only needs a nudge in the right direction. You up for it, am I going to have to ask that Riolu?"
The Snivy puffed his cheeks in irritation. "Pah! I can handle such a task! What do you take me for? A sloucher? I'll make sure his name is in every history book the humans have at the end of this journey!"
I gave a small smirk. Well, at least his heart is kind of in the right place. "Good. I don't want to have to expend any more breath in a Blizzard if I have to."
"Pff, threatening me? I've had worse from the bloody Basculin in the ponds."
"Em, I can't breath," Ren gasped, pulling on the Snivy's tail.
"Hey, don't kill him either!" I warned.
"Says the one threatening to blast a Blizzard while I'm on our Trainer's shoulders," Emerald retorted, loosening his tail.
(Next Day, Ren's POV)
"Seems the Riolu is wanting to follow you," Yusei stated, looking behind us.
"I don't even know why. Don't they only go after capable Trainers?" I replied, waiting for the Riolu to catch up.
"Well, he clearly sees you as one. You did mention that he jumped to your aid against that Plasma guy."
"I guess, but..." The Riolu came jogging up, stopping at my side and looking up at me expectantly. "Um...yes?"
"Ri Rio!" The Riolu pointed at my belt where I had the Poké balls for Emerald and Jason.
"Are you...wanting to join?"
"Ri!" 'Yes!'
I yelped a bit. "What the hell is with that voice?!"
"Voice?"
"Yeah, it happened once while I was being attacked with the Riolu."
"Sounds like telepathy."
"I thought only Psychic-types could do telepathy?"
"Not always. Sometimes when a Pokémon has the capability of learning any moves that are Psychic-type can also learn it, though I can't recall Riolu being able at this stage. Only Lucario."
"Well...I guess since he's already confirmed..." I pulled out an empty Poké ball, kneeling down in front of the Riolu. "You sure about this?"
"Lu!" He smacked the button, causing it to open and take him inside with red light. It only shook once before a click was heard.
"That was...fast."
"Looks like you've got a good counter for the first Gym."
"Mm...yeah, but I want to make sure everyone is on par, not just Auren."
"Is that the name you're giving the Riolu?"
"That's the first thing that popped into my head. Names don't always come to me very well, considering my name theme for starters being colors."
"Even if it's a strange name, it's unique at any rate. Now, time to head out to train for your Gym battle."
"Right."
A/N: Ooof...yeah, I lost a Pokémon to N in that final fight. I also lost one only to him in my original Black Nuzlocke some years ago and none to Ghetsis (not so much in the run I base the flashbacks on) which I don't know how I was able to do, given how many I kept losing just grinding (seriously, I love Zebstrika but facing one in the wild is not fun at all!). Anyway, next chapter should feature Ren's first ever Gym battle! Wonder who he'll be leading with, hm?
(Also I guarantee I'm gonna forget that Ren could heal Pokémon X'D Maybe I should make it that there's only a certain number? Or that it can't be ones close to going into the beyond? Let me know which one sounds better! I'm always open for tips for writing! Also, don't forget the poll to figure out where Ren and Yusei should head for next!)