Chapter 11: Isabella
A/N: I usually outline a chapter before writing it. This time I've tried outlining some future chapters before writing them. I prefer my normal method, it fits me more.
Chapter 11 START
"You know, when I revealed my true form to you, I didn't expect you to react like this."
"Hush! Now lift your other leg." He did what she said, scared of what would happen if he didn't. He was still in his Zoroark form for the last 3 days despite having enough dark type energy to transform into his human disguise. Right now, at this very moment, Sarah was grooming him to perfection, cutting irregular-length hair, dealing with his mane and chest hair, and polishing his claws. It felt weird at first and he was going to say no, but when she showed a face reminiscing of his mother, he chose to be smart and allow her.
"I'm surprised you're so good at this. It's like you've practiced many times before."
"My parents gave me the responsibility of grooming their Pokemon when I turned seven, so I've gained a lot of experience…and done, so what do you think?"
"Holy Arceus." He walked to the pond and saw his reflection in the water. It was like he was a whole new Zoroark. He thought he was keeping himself well groomed by himself, but what he's seeing is a Zoroark fit to perfection. Even his claws looked pristine as they reflected the sun's light. He gave the human behind him a thumbs up.
You may be wondering, 'how did N get comfortable with a human despite his reaction from the last chapter?'.
(Two days earlier)
It was a day before N's secret was revealed. Of course, no one showed any difference to him, despite his new appearance, however, he acted completely differently. He barely talked, never had his usual bright smile, and he kept eyeing Sarah as they walked together, even keeping a fair distance from her.
Once she had noticed, the corners of her lips drooped. N hated that expression from her, it doesn't belong on someone as kind hearted as her. I can't believe I'm doing this to my friend.
They took a break at a large clearing which had an incredible atmosphere with the sun being high in the sky and some Pidove nests built on the neighboring trees. She placed her bag down and brought out the inflatable ball she used when they played volleyball in the cove.
"Theodore, can you play a game of ball with Athena and Anubis for a bit?" He, at first raised an eyebrow, but when he saw her frown, he understood what she meant.
I need to talk with N alone.
He nodded as he was interested on what would happen. She starts to think. What's good for keeping your mind off of something, an activity me and Athena used to do? Oh, I know.
She got out a large plain notepad and a set of crayons.
"What are you doing?" N asked. She shoved a ripped-off paper and the set of crayons.
"We're going to draw."
"Excuse me?" She sat down and drew. He didn't know what she was drawing nor did he care, he wasn't about to join her. "This is childish."
"Sorry, what did you say?" She said with an innocent smile that wasn't menacing at all.
"N-nothing." He stuttered. He showed fear from the command of the human and the aura she was displaying. She immediately felt guilty, not meaning to scare him.
He sat down on his hindquarters…
"What do I draw?"
"Whatever you want. It could be an oran berry, it could be a tree, or how about that Pidove nest? I'm drawing a meme right now."
He didn't know what a meme was. He mused, with nothing coming to mind. He decided to take her suggestion and draw the oran berry. He imagined all the intricate details and then drew it on the paper. He first started with the stem and then onto the body itself. He smiled. He was getting hungry for a juicy juicy oran berry.
His earlier caution was fading. He relaxed his muscles that were preparing him to flee at any notice and carried on drawing.
"How's it going?" Sarah asked, looking at his drawing. It was a bit of a mess with squiggly lines and poor colouring, but that didn't matter. She saw his smile and his relaxed posture. Mission accomplished.
"It's pretty good. How about yours?"
"Ta-da!" She showed her drawing of a fat Athena munching on a cookie. On the top and bottom were the sentences. Yeah, if you'd stop me from eating all the cookies. That would be great.
They both laughed at how ridiculous it looked. She ripped out another paper for him. This time he remembered a funny memory and drew it.
"There was this time when Eevee was messing around with a horse pipe and Braviary turned it on then it splashed him in the face, and he was screaming as he held onto it for dear life as the hose was jumping around and spraying everywhere." They laughed. This carried on for an hour which they both didn't realize had gone past.
She saw that he was back to his usual self except for a small amount of discomfort.
"N, I meant what I said. Everything will be okay, you don't have to worry about humans hurting you."
"I know, but don't worry. I'll soon get my disguise up and everything will return to normal." She sighed. "Something wrong?"
"No, I mean, kinda. You won't be able to be around humans without being your true self and that seems wrong to me. It feels like you're running away from the problem rather than dealing with it."
…
That left an impact. I'm not running away from my problem, I'm just keeping another security measure for myself. But doesn't that show fear? He knew it did and didn't like it.
Theodore was at the side while the 2 kids played catch between themselves. He played for a bit then felt as though Sarah was taking too long. He thought it was going to be a conversation but Sarah did a whole therapy session with N. He was currently looking at his notepad and tried repeating the words he'd written. They were the basic words one could say in English.
"Th…Weave." His throat was hurting and he was starting to get a headache. He tried his best to counter the instinct to go into pokespeech as he said the word. He was happy though that he made some progress. It was only the first day and he managed to get out a few words despite how raspy they sounded. It was like learning Arabic all over again.
He first asked Sarah if he could use her pokedex's audio feature but she refused which shocked him, saying that they were invaluable and that she would get into a lot of trouble with Professor Juniper if anything happened to it. They weren't expensive nor hard to make, but it would show a lack of responsibility for the trainer. Whatever, he'll just learn it himself.
It became evening when they packed up.
"You aren't changing back into your human form?"
"You were right, if I don't deal with this issue of mine then I'm just running away from the problem. I have to face it."
"Well, we're here to give you our full support."
"Thank you." She placed a hand on his head and ruffled it. He blushed and gently pushed it away. Even though his mane was soft, she knew he could do better and she had a plan.
(Present time)
"Eevee, Braviary, what do you think?"
"You look handsome N," Braviary said, but Eevee wasn't having it.
"Yo, what the hell! You get a girl to grope all over you and clean you to perfection yet I'm the one actually looking for a mate to kiss and cuddle with all day. How does this make any sense, where's my 5 star treatment." N blushed.
"What did they say?"
"They said I looked lovely and stuff. Anyway, you said you wanted my help with Anubis."
"Yes, can Eevee help him learn Swift? He almost lost a battle against a Whirlipede and you said he needed to learn a range attack yourself." Eevee instantly started to stroke himself on Sarah's leg while giving the cutest eyes ever. She squealed.
"I need to give you a makeover too. Will you help him?"
"Eevee! Ha, too easy!"
"Theodore and Athena, you'll be training together again. You've seen her battle and know what she needs to improve on." He sent her a two-fingered salute and told Athena to come along. Athena responded excitedly as she knew his training sessions were always valuable.
"So kid, I hope you're ready. Swift is a difficult move to learn, but since your kind deal with aura, it should come naturally to you."
"What does aura have to do with this?"
"It's because the move uses an energy link to lock onto your opponent," N said to Anubis and Sarah. "I'll explain it more during the practice, but it's like a homing missile. Once the projectiles are charged, you create the link and they will follow them. Your aura sense lets you naturally read a type of energy so it should be simple to learn."
"That's useful." Sarah smiled. "It's isn't a powerhouse of a ranged move just something to chip the opponent down when we can't get in close. How does that sound dear?"
"Riolu!"
They spent a while on the move, explaining, practicing, and adjusting it. He was able to harness the normal type energy as he already knew Quick Attack and only had to direct the energy into his hands instead of his legs. Once he got that under control, he had to send a link from the energy to the opponent. He grew frustrated when he wasn't able to do it.
I don't know what that means, how can you link the energy to your opponent? They said this should be easy for me since I'm an aura user, but I'm still not getting it.
"You can do it Anubis, take your time."
He stopped growling when he heard Sarah's shouts of encouragement/ They took a ten minute break where he was able to clear his head.
"This is the hardest part. I can't explain it further as it's not like any other move. This one doesn't miss. Once you've got this then you've pretty much learned the move."
He was struggling, still not getting it. He used his aura sense for a moment and that's when he realized what the issue was. The link was aura. All living beings have aura even ghost types it was just that the Lucario line was the only one that could manipulate it. The other species who use this move must be using a very tiny amount of manipulation for the energy to attack like a homing missile.
He swung his paws that held the normal type energy. It took the form of many stars which was the balance of offense and stability. They varied in size and flew towards Eevee. He tried to dodge them but no matter how agile he was or where he went, the Swift attack kept following him until it hit.
After the dust flew, it showed Eevee with only a bit of dirt on his fur. He is one tough cookie. Sarah thought.
"Congratulations, you've learned Swift." N clapped as Sarh ran to pick him up and give him her signature hugs. "And in a day too, you're a quick learner."
"What do you expect from a member of Team Sarah. He'll become the strongest Lucario in the world…eventually. Let's finish this training session with a few sets of our evasion exercise then a jog, what do you say?"
"Rio!" He was pumped, ready to tackle more.
(With Theodore and Athena)
"So what are we learning this time? More evasions or maybe secret attacks. Can we learn how to make cheesecake?" She said, gidding on the spot.
"No."
"Awww."
"Today we'll do something simple. We'll carry on evasive training but you can use mystical fire to push me back. It will help you be more efficient with your dodges and for you to get used to your new attack. How many times did you use it against the duck twats?"
"None."
"So you've only used it once. Alright, let's start." He quickly swiped at her. She just barely dodged as a few of her green hair had been cut.
"H-hey!"
"Your opponent won't give you all the time in the world for you to evade. Remember how the Ferroseed yesterday used Bullet Seed and you couldn't dodge them all, well this is part of the reason why." He went in for another swipe.
"Oh yeah, well take this!" She converted her water reserves into hydrogen and let it spark. It burned through the air in a spiraling pattern and grew larger until it narrowed on Theodore.
He managed to dodge the attack easily as it took her a while to bring it out. This pattern carried on where she would evade using her whole body from her legs, hips, and even shoulders. It eventually got less fatiguing to do them as she got used to the attacks and adjusted her dodges for whichever direction he was coming at her from. She also brought out a Mystical Fire whenever she could with it taking less time to charge during the training session.
"Take this." Theodore charged a Shadow Claw and went behind Athena, ready to swipe her across the face.
This time she was ready. She turned and unleashed the largest fire she had ever produced that covered her entire vision.
Theodore was shocked at its size and didn't react in time before the flames had encompassed him. He groaned when they disappeared and left him with some scorch marks.
Awww crap that hurt. Damn it! He removed some of the scorched fur. Athena ran over.
"I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SORRY!" She cried out. "I forgot that ice types are weak against fire type attacks!"
That explains why it hurts so much.
Theodore took a deep breath before letting it out, the pain becoming a small afterthought. He charged up his Shadow claw again and backhanded her to the ground.
"I didn't say we were finished. That was a nice attack though, I'm impressed, but now..." She didn't like his manic grin. "I don't have to hold back so much." He charged a second Shadow Claw and she gulped.
He stood back and carefully observed her. He didn't leave her field of vision either. His eyes widened when he remembered the technique from the book in Nacrene City, the one about forgotten moves. He hadn't practiced that since leaving the gym.
He started to slowly walk around and kept his eyes dead on her. His muscles tensed as they adjusted to copy the walking motion he had gone through previously. By the seconds, he was starting to become a replay of what happened a few seconds ago.
Athena, in the middle of the clearing, watched him, confused as he kept walking around her, but she kept her guard up. She knew how he was.
Is it me or are things getting blurry?
Seeing the repeated motions gave her a sense of nausea. A headache was growing the longer she watched him. It became sickening. She huffed in place and went on to a knee to keep herself steady.
Theodore, seeing his chance, dashed. She couldn't respond, the part of the brain that controlled instinct refused to function and she literally didn't know a move to counter him. She couldn't even be steady enough on her feet to dodge and took the hit, letting out a small scream when two Shadow Claws simultaneously slashed her chest. She fell to the ground and felt too sick to get up.
He immediately fell to the ground and screamed in agonizing pain as his muscles started to cramp up. Athena, hearing her brother's screams, shot to him and shook off all nausea.
"Are you okay!?"
The cramps started to relax as he huffed on the floor. He let out a small laugh which became full blown. It creeped Athena out and she backed away slightly.
This proves my theory. The reason why Pokemon can't learn the forgotten moves anymore, even champion level ones, is because of their brains. They learn a maximum of 4 moves as an instinct, but my brain isn't completely a Pokemon's. I'm not limited to the mental capacity they have which means I can learn this.
It was his only second training session yet he had gotten Cadence Illusion to work. It will take some time to get his muscles used to the motions but once mastered, it will become a dangerous weapon.
"I think we're done for the day. Well done." She smiled from the praise but…
"What was that move just now, it made me feel ill?"
"It's called Cadence Illusion. I learned about it from a book in Lenora's library."
"That's awesome…hey, you wanna sing again."
"What! No, I mean ye- no I-" He wouldn't bring himself to do this childish act again, but his heart, as if it was intoxicated by a drug, was trying to convince him otherwise. He was curious. What if he didn't follow his heart, how would he feel?
Athena looked at the floor with the corners of her lips drooping. She would rather sing with a friend than by herself.
A new feeling he hadn't experienced before entered his heart. It was the same one when he first chose not to ruffle Anubis's head when he was so proud of beating Lenora except it was much worse. His stomach churned as he sat at the base of a tree. He watched Athena sing and dance, but it was not in her usual spirit. He kept getting thoughts of how he was being a dick to her. But I'm just being superior. He tried to focus on something else.
Hah, take that champions. I'm able to learn a technique that even you ca- His thoughts were interrupted when it was sent back to Athena's sad face. Fucks sake, stop it. The stomachache was getting worse like some weight was pressing down on it and it became too uncomfortable.
He got up. The whole experience only lasted only a minute yet it made him walk to Athena.
"Yes?" She stopped in the middle of a lyric.
"Shut up. I'm picking the song this time." She immediately brightened up.
"I knew it!"
"I said shut up!"
"Oh right, sorry."
"Let's see." He mused. He couldn't remember many aside from a few from his childhood and he didn't want to sing those. There were a few in the background his colleagues in the laboratory played that he sorta liked. He clicked his fingers.
"This is called 'don't stop me now'. I hope you're ready for a treat."
"Bring it."
And a treat it was. She was used to listening to something casual and relaxing, and this was her first time listening to rock. It pumped her up like never before, perhaps even more than her battles. The adrenaline rush and joy they both felt as they danced around each other while singing was incredible. It was ironic how the lyrics mostly represented what they were thinking. 'Don't stop me now' and 'I'm having such a good time'.
Again, they didn't know how long it lasted, and when they became too exhausted to continue and fell to the ground, they were shocked to find everyone else standing at the side watching them. Theodore flushed, not from what he was doing, but from the fact that everyone was watching him.
They laughed and after a moment, he joined in. It's only been 2 weeks and these guys are making me do things I would never ever do. He didn't know how to feel about that. He was still the superior being he always was so he chose to ignore that thought for now.
After 4 more days of trekking, they reached the mountain where Sarah decided to camp out.
"S-sarah, I don't think that's a good idea."
"Nah, it will be fine." She got her flashlight out to start exploring the giant cave. She gloated, wondering what sights she would see inside. "I came on this journey to see things and that's what I'll do, even into the unknown."
She was only accompanied by her 2 children Pokemon. Theodore stayed with N because he knew he was right. The cave had the perfect temperature and dimensions to be infested with a certain nocturnal creature.
The trio soon came screaming out as they were being chased by a small swarm of Whoobats. It only took a few slashes of Theodore's and N's Shadow Claws to scare them off.
"I told you you shouldn't have gone in there," N said.
"Hmph." She pouted while crossing her arms.
It was 6 days later when they had reached a huge clearing. According to Charen's map, there was supposed to be an old abandoned windmill here, but no, now there was a colossal cube of a building. Its outside was pristine as if it was newly built with the many large windows reflecting the sun's gaze into their eyes. They had to cover their eyes.
"What is this place, this isn't Castelia city is it?"
"No, it isn't." N closed his eyes, concentrating. Flashes of purple encompassed his body as it morphed back into the form Sarah was familiar with. "Let's go in and see."
"New mall, grand opening." She narrowed her eyes at the sign, but they widened when she read the next line. "Huge discount." She grabbed N's hand and ran inside, just barely scraping the automatic doors as they opened.
"Excuse me, ma'am." A workman had stopped her. "Can you please put 2 of your Pokemon away, it's on the sign right there."
In her excitement, she missed it. It said only 1 Pokemon can accompany a trainer, it had to be under 70kg and around an average human's size. She clicked her teeth.
"Anubis, I know I said I wouldn't put you in your pokeball, but-"
"Riolu." He clicked the button of his pokeball and it sucked him in. She always kept him out to prove her promise that she wouldn't abandon him yet he let himself in immediately. She smiled.
Now who do I pick?
She looked at Theodore who already wrote in his notebook.
THE DEAL
She sighed.
"Athena, I'm sorry. I know you hate your pokeball, but can you just do it for today please." Athena was reluctant. She hated the makeshift habitat of her pokeball. It was a small forest with a hut similar to a village of Gardevoir and Gallades. It wasn't even a cozy hut, it was just boring, but she did it anyway for Sarah's sake.
N's pokeball broke and out popped Eevee. He sniffed the air and licked his lips.
"There's nothing that smells better than free stuff." He ran off before N could call him back.
"So first we're obviously going to the clothing store, it's the most important store in existence and I'm going to need someone to help me carry the shopping." She said before looking at Theodore. He saluted before yeeting it out of there towards where Eevee ran. "Oh well, luckily for me I still have another big strong man to help me."
She dragged N yet again to his displeasure. The clothing stores all ended up being a disappointment. There just weren't enough cute ones and the ones that were weren't in her signature colors, pink and purple. N suggested she try different clothing for once, but she strongly refused. You only wear cute clothes in those colors, if you don't then it will be the start of armageddon.
Maybe try a different store she thought, but the same ended up happening in them too. In the end, she didn't buy any which was a first for her and a huge relief for N. She wanted to prepare more for her journey and stocked up on rations and camping stuff. When she was at the pokefood store, she was shocked.
There are so many options. She mused. There were some that she didn't know existed like the ones for certain typings. She picked up a tin for dark types.
"This would be good for Theodore. Hey N, would you like one? I've only ever seen you eat human food."
"No thanks Sarah and you're right. I'm too used to human food from my upbringing and hate any artificial Pokemon food."
She bought a bunch for her Pokemon, taking full advantage of their discounted prices. She moved to the jewelry section, hoping the discounts would allow her to buy something. She didn't know that there were items that could improve a Pokemon's abilities, she thought it was illegal to do that. N verified that artificial improvements on a Pokemon were regulated to an extent, but they can't be used in gym battles or tournaments.
"Hello ma'am, do you happen to be a trainer?" The woman on the counter asked.
"I am."
"Well, would you be interested in these elemental charms, they help most Pokemon with a certain typing improve their respective typing's attacks and with the mall's grand discount, they only cost $2000."
Sarah's eyes popped out of her sockets. $2000! Her funds were high right now with no losses in battle and even she couldn't afford something like that. That's supposed to be a discount? Do you know how much cake I can buy with that?
"Don't bother trying to sell her one of those, she would never be able to afford it," Someone said, a few meters behind her. It was a voice she was very familiar with.
Oh no.
"She probably lost all the money her parents gave her from losing all her battles."
Oh no. Please please please no. God, don't forsake me with her
She slowly turned to see the hag.
"Isabella."
"Hey Sarah, It has been quite some time and you're still alive?" Isabella walked to her face with a wide smirk.
"I'm standing right in front of you, aren't I?"
N, seeing Sarah getting angry, decided to intervene and stand between them.
"Calm down ladies, can't you see you're making people uncomfortable." The staff worker awkwardly walked away from the counter.
"You're right N, sorry I acted out of order," Sarah said.
"You're name's N? Mine's Isabella, Sarah's cousin…unfortunately." She mumbled the last part.
"Then as her cousin, you shouldn't be making her feel uncomfortable. Could you please leave us alone?"
"Of course, she has to rely on someone else to stand up for her, she could never do it herself. How's the Pokemon journey, I bet you haven't got any badges. I've already got 2." She showed her badge case containing the Striaton and Nacrene Ctiy's gym badges.
"Hah, well I've got them too so in your face." Isabella was gobsmacked. H-her getting the same amount of badges as me when we started our journeys at the same time, Impossible, she got lucky, that's what happened.
"Hmph, just don't get in my way." She took the escalator to the upper floor. Sarah stomped through the mall.
"Where are you going?" N asked.
"To our room in the Pokemon Centre already."
"You could at least explain what that was all about. I've never seen you so angry at someone except Team Plasma."
"I hate her everything; her face, her attitude, and just everything urghh even thinking about her annoys me. She's always thought she was better than me just because I couldn't succeed much in class while she was the best at everything. Well, I'll show her." She took a deep breath once she realized how she sounded. "Let's just find our Pokemon and get out of here." Her entire mood was ruined.
(With Theodore and Eevee)
He followed Eevee and now they were both casually walking around the mall, checking out the stores.
"What should we get first bro, man's thinking he should get a hat like that one," Eevee said pointing at a hat next to the store clerk. It was an Eevee hat with ears pointing out of it.
"Okayyyy, how are you going to get it without any money?" Theodore asked. Eevee smirked.
"Watch a master at his work."
The store clerk saw an Eevee jump onto her counter. It sat on its hindquarters, wrapped its tail around its body, and gave the widest and most cute eyes ever. She squealed, all professionalism leaving her.
"Aww." She stroked its head.
"Eeveeeeee."
"You know what would look good on you, this hat right here." She got the hat Eevee was pointing at a moment ago and put it on his head. "Now you go and show off that hat."
"Eevee! Thank you!" He jumped off and left the store, leaving a stupified Theodore who broke out of his thought and followed him.
"H-how?" He asked.
"You just have to pose a certain way and widen your eyes. Some of the stoic ones require a dance."
"You manipulated that store cleric emotionally." Theodore grinned giving Eevee a fist bump. "I loved it, so are you going to do this more?"
"Yep. I'm feeling thirsty." He looked towards his next victim.
About an hour later, they walked through the jewelry section while wearing a whole array of stuff like the new sunglasses they got. Theodore was zipping on his blueberry slushy.
"So what happened was *zip* I went back home, pissed in some water balloons and scared them off. *zip* But bro, I didn't get caught because it was in a park, so if you ever get pissed off by someone then do something like that…or throw some shit at them like a gorilla." Theodore said.
"Nice dude."
"You know what Eevee, I like you. There aren't many people I like so take that as a compliment. You remind me of the roadmen from Britain, where did you get that accent from?"
"I got it from Nimbasa City where I freeloaded of the locals. The Purrloins there didn't appreciate that though. I either fought them off or kissed them and then fought them off."
"So not from your family?"
"I'm a single cub and my parents were taken by Team Plasma to be sold. It's how I met N on his mission to free Pokemon from their clutches. I don't get upset easily but that was the worst day of my life."
They were now walking in silence.
That's a dick move from them. Eevee's so chill, why do that to him? Sure it may be sadistic but… not him okay. After being with him for an hour, he found his presence to be comforting which isn't something he's experienced from someone other than his parents.
Sarah came storming with an angry face he rarely saw from her. N followed behind. Did she not get any clothes or something?
"Come on you two, we're going to the Pokemon Centre and- where did you get all this stuff from? You know what, nevermind, let's just go."
Theodore and Eevee looked at each other before shrugging.
They went to sleep that night with 2 of them staying awake; Sarah and Athena. Athena wasn't able to sleep while sensing the anger within her trainer. Sarah, seeing this, explained.
"I saw Isabella in the mall."
"That explains it," Athena said aware of her cousin's behaviour.
"I hate her." Sarah sheathed. "Ever since I was little, I've never been good at anything. I've always needed help from my parents while she was able to excel at everything. We were born in the same week yet she crawled before me, talked before me, and walked before me. When school started she still excelled. We were once close, you know, and she helped me out in classes. After a while, she started to hang around her friends more and distance herself from me." Sarah took a deep breath before carrying on.
"And then came the insults. At first, it was a small joke but then it turned to bullying. She was able to do everything herself and I couldn't do anything without someone elses help. When we both left on our journeys I told her I could do this myself."
Athena sent a small flick on her head with psychic energy as they sat on their bed.
"Ra Ralts Ralts come on stop thinking about her. Ra Ralts we're on this journey to become the strongest not to muck about with annoying dummies."
Sarah saw her stern glare and could tell what she was saying.
"You're right Athena, we shouldn't be carrying on with this nonsense."
"Ralts. Thank you, you agree. Now let's go to sl-"
"We'll beat her tomorrow in a Pokemon battle. Once we destroy her to pieces, she can never use anything against me ever again and we'll make of fun of her every time we see her. Thank you, Athena, you're awesome." She quickly covered the duvet on herself as her emotions reflected intrigue and happiness. Athena just stood there.
"W-what, that wasn't what I meant at all."
(The next day)
Isabella was about to walk through the doors and go through the route to Skyarrow Bridge. She was checking her bag to see if she was prepared.
"Food check. Water check. Pokefood ch-"
"Hey!" She turned around. It was Sarah who stomped her way to her before putting a finger to her face.
"This is the day it ends. No longer can you say I'm worthless. I, Sarah Grace, challenge you, Isabella Grace, to a Pokemon battle."
…
"Okaayy." She pushed her finger out of the way. "Did you have to say it so dramatically?"
"Yes!"
"Either way, I'm glad you came to challenge me. Now I have an excuse to beat you. There's a battlefield at the back of the mall. Just make sure you don't start crying when you lose."
They both went to their sides of the field. N was at the side watching despite not wanting to. He only stayed there to make sure the situation didn't get too crazy with how abnormal the cousin's relationship was. There was no referee, but both knew what the rules were.
"This will be a two on two battle. You interrupted me when I was about to leave so we'll make this quick."
"I'm fine with that. Theodore, come on stage."
"Weavile." He jumped to his place
"Servine, end this quickly." Isabella clicked her pokeball and out came a long, thin-bodied, lizard-like creature. It was green with a pale underbelly and had short stubby limbs.
"Woah, is that Snivy evolved."
"Yes, because I actually received a starter from Professor Juniper."
"I wanted Athena to be my starter."
"Really, because I remember you applying for a starter and failing the tests to get one." You could hear the grinding of Sarah's teeth.
"Theodore, be a dear and pummel this fool." She gave a sadistic grin which he copied. "Tell you what Isabella, I'm so confident I can win that I won't even command my Pokemon. He'll beat you all by himself."
Her opponent had an eyebrow raised before sighing.
"So foolish. To be this confident after winning only two gym badges, but it's fine. I'll bring you back to the ground. Servine, start this off with Vine Whip."
Two long and thin whips came out of Servine's yellow collars and went towards Theodore. Theodore summoned his Shadow Claws and parried the attacks. Servine recoiled from the sharp slashes on his Vine Whips and retracted them.
Isabella clicked her teeth.
"Fine, if that doesn't work then use Energy Ball." He charged a green ball of energy which rocketed to Theodore. He couldn't react in time to dodge and put up his shadow claws to block the attack.
"Aaahh!" He fell to the ground. He quickly got up.
"I guess your Pokemon does need help after all," Isabella said.
"We'll see about that," Sarah said.
Theodore charged his Shadow Claws and ran towards his opponent who stayed in the same spot the entire time. This Pokemon is based on snakes which explains its very short limbs. It won't be able to move quickly and will have a hard time dodging. It's probably been specialized in long-ranged attacks if Isabella is as smart of an individual as Sarah says she is. As long as I get in close then I'll win.
"Use Protect." Servine put up its short arms and summoned a barrier around himself which stopped Theodore's double claw attack. Theodore stood there and kept slashing to no avail. The barrier was a perfect sphere.
He slowly traced it, blue sparks of energy following his claw. This is pure energy. He's bringing out his energy similar to an electromagnetic field, but there's its weakness. If it's a sphere then it will pop like a balloon if even slightly penetrated. His left Shadow Claw vanished and he pulled back his right one. He had to do this perfectly. He sent his strongest punch which was focused on the middle claw of his Shadow Claw. It was strong enough to form a small hole on the Protect.
Servine's concentration broke when the shield broke. A small flurry of Shadow Claws left cuts on his body.
"Don't just take it. Wrap him with Vine Whip and throw him away." His Vine Whips coiled around Theodore before he could react and he was thrown to the opposite end of the field. "Now, Leaf Storm." He conjured a storm of leaves that span around him. He then directed it at Theodore who yelled in pain as the leaves' sharp edges cut him while some were like rocks and pounded him.
"Theodore!" Sarah yelled.
"It's not too late to forfeit," Isabella said. "It was to be expected that this would happen."
"He's tougher than you think, you'll see."
"She's right." Theodore got up. "Now I'm pissed." He ran to Servine again.
"Don't let him. Use Vine whip to keep him at bay. You don't need to damage him." Theodore dodged them, but couldn't get close every time he did. "Use Leaf Storm again."
Theodore got hit by the attack and fell on one leg. He was getting pissed off. He couldn't get close and being at range would put him on the road to losing. He didn't have any moves other than Shadow Claw and he, being an assassin type Pokemon, couldn't take too many attacks.
He looked at his surroundings, at the battlefield composed of thick sand. Then an idea hit him. Snakes like Servine have thin bodies, so they will have small lungs. If he could get him to use his energy on his special attacks then Theodore would have the opportunity to get in range.
"Use Energy Ball and put your all into it. We'll end it with this last attack." Servine charged his strongest Energy Ball which was double the size of his previous one. Theodore grinned. He grabbed 2 fist fulls of sand and sent them scattering everywhere. He kept sending more and his side of the field had become a cloud of sand which covered him from view. Sarah raised an arm to cover her eyes, wondering what her Pokemon was doing.
Servine sent the attack into the cloud. It missed by a mile. He huffed a few times.
"What is this? Use Leaf Storm to blow it away."
"Servine!" He sent a large attack that blew the cloud away. To everyone's shock, Theodore wasn't there.
"W-where is he?"
"We Weavile I'm right here bitch." He casually walked from out of nowhere.
"Use Vine Whip." Servine needed to take a moment to regain his breath. Leaf Storm is his most energy draining attack and his body wasn't getting enough oxygen around with his tiny lungs. He still brought out his whips and attacked. Theodore easily dodged them as they were slow. He brought out his Shadow Claw.
"It's time to die." He lunged.
"Use Protect." Servine put up the barrier that wasn't as powerful as before. Theodore easily penetrated through it and slashed the Servine. He kept attacking and pushed his claws in deep. Once Servine's hemaguard layer started to feel a small amount of penetration, he fainted.
"Tch, return Servine. Listen, you got lucky, you understand." Isabella said.
"You sound like a loser." Sarah stuck out her tongue.
"Your Weavile only knows one move that's why he had to use that trick to beat Servine, but he'll need more than that to beat my Sawsbuck."
She summoned a Pokemon that was a more muscular version of a reindeer. It had shorter but sturdier horns with pink flowers growing on them.
"Go Sawsbuck, use Energy Ball!"
Theodore dodged it as he sprinted towards her with a Shadow Claw ready. Isabella smirked in a way Sarah didn't like.
"Quickly use Double Kick!" He was startled when Sawsbuck turned around. Her hindlegs charged with fighting type energy and they powerfully kicked him. Theodore, just barely raising his Shadow Claw, managed to decrease the damage of the attack on his chest, but was still sent crashing to the edge of the arena.
"WHAT!" Sarah shouted.
"Don't you know, fighting type moves are super effective against ice types like your Weavile. I told you he won't beat my Sawsbuck."
"Come on Theodore, get up." He wobbled out of the debris. He was breathing heavily. The attack felt like it broke his ribs. He grinned in a very sadistic way that everyone found abnormal and discomforting. He slowly walked around the Sawsbuck, his movements being like a recording played on replay. He was concentrating incredibly hard on getting his muscles to move perfectly.
W-what the!? The Sawsuck thought. I-I feel…
She fell to the side as the nausea forming in her head became too much. She barely managed to hold in the lunch she had earlier. The 2 other members of Team Sarah had to look away from Cadence Illusion as they too started to feel a headache forming when they kept staring.
Now! He charged his Shadow Claws and relentlessly attacked her. He caused many slashes on her face.
"Sawsbuck, get up! I don't know what he did but you're stronger than that. We can't let them win."
"Sawsbuck!" With 1 last slash, Theodore jumped back as she got up. She needed a moment to steady herself but shook her head and got rid of the remaining nausea.
"Yes! Use Megahorn and end this." Isabella said. "Megahorn is a bug type move and is super effective against your Weavile."
"Oh no! Don't let her hit you with that. Dodge it!"
Theodore dodged to the side as she charged past. She kicked off the wall behind him and charged again. Theodore felt a huge amount of force hitting his back. He fell face front onto the floor.
"And it's all over," Isabella said as Theodore didn't get up. He didn't move at all but Sarah could see that he didn't have swirls in his eyes, showing that he hadn't fainted.
"No, it's not, get up Theodore, I know you can do this." He lifted himself to his knees and then wobbled on his legs.
"Wow, you're Pokemon is more resilient than I thought. I guess you do deserve a bit of credit for raising him well, but it's time to end this. Sawsbuck, Megahorn."
Theodore clenched his teeth. There's no way he's going to lose to an overgrown reindeer. An instinct came out. It was similar to what he felt when he fought that Beartic, but this time, instead of feeling darkness rising from his soul, it was a chilling cold. It rose from his throat. An organ that was like Athena's located under his lungs generated liquid nitrogen instead of hydrogen.
It is obtained when decomposers in the intestines form ammonia. They go to this organ to be turned into nitrogen. He naturally let it out and it formed a beam that froze Sawsbuck's body into an icicle and stopped her charge. Everybody was once again surprised.
"Don't stop, use her lack of mobility to attack!" Sarah said. He barely had any energy remaining so he had to end this now. He jumped to her back, using his hooked feet claws to stay on her, and brought down as many Shadow Claws as he could. Sawsbuck tried to break through the ice and attack back but she couldn't break through. Even though it was his first time using the move he put all his nitrogen reserves into that attack.
After a minute, Sawsbuck fainted.
"Noooo! I can't believe it. How did you win, I bet you cheated yeah that's it. You've given him a special item, haven't you? The next time we see each other, I'm bringing a referee and then I'll show you who is truly the better trainer." Isabella recalled Sawsbuck which caused Theodore to fall. She then stormed out.
Sarah rushed towards her friend and saw that he had fainted. She smiled and stroked his shaman hair before recalling him. Thank you, Theodore. She would take him to the center and get him healed with the instant recovery machine but first.
"Yes yes yes yes yes! I did it, I did it, oh yeah, who did, it was me." She danced.
"Sarah." N called out. "That was reckless to send him to fight by himself especially when he only knew one move at the time. You saw how he almost lost at the end. If he didn't learn Ice Beam in the nick of time you would have lost."
"Yeah, whatever. I won at the end and showed her her place." N just sighed. He knew that if she kept this cocky attitude up then she'll eventually get humbled. "After getting Theodore healed, let's go to Castellia City unless you have something you want to buy here."
"I'm good."
"Then let's go." After the Pokemon Centre, they found a large pathway with a sign at the side saying that it leads straight to Castellia City. It was being used by everyone who came to see the new shopping mall.
Garland Pov:
Oh my god, I can't believe it! I'm on my first mission. I shall achieve my lord's request and bring him the Pokemon he would like to improve. After the therapy sessions I went through in the last few days where I adjusted to my new body parts, I was sent to a city inhabited by Pokemon with their human counterparts.
I felt incredible. When I woke up from the surgery I immediately felt the difference. It was like there were walls in my mind that had been lifted and now I was able to see the world in a new light. Sure, I lost most of my memories, but who cares, I now have the ability to manipulate nature.
I landed on a rooftop in Nacrene City where I was told there would be low-level Pokemon; the ones who were more likely to take up my offer. I looked at the buildings surrounding me that were filled with many types of artwork. Unlike before when I couldn't care about anything other than pure strength, I now held admiration and a deep curiosity for them. I looked at a man creating a sculpture using a drill. My lord did teach me how some machines work before I left.
It uses a motor that works by alternating electricity against some magnets. It causes it to rotate. The drill bit's helix shape allows it to lift material away from the jp;e being drilled. As the bit ro- no, focus on the task at hand.
Despite my curiosity of the man's work, I had a mission to complete. But where would I find some Pokemon away from their trainers hmm…
I saw the park where there was a gathering of trainers, and their Pokemon ate together on the side. I flew to them.
"Errr, I, ummm errr." Crap, what do I say? This was one of the negatives of the human part of my brain. Emotions like nervousness had increased tenfold.
…Dang it, what do I say!?
I just stood there like an idiot. Screw it, I'll let my instincts do it.
"H-hi everyone." Some heads turned towards me. "Umm my name's Garland and I have a-an." I sounded so pathetic right now. I lifted my chest and stood straight. "I have an offer to make you all. My lord has been merciful and decided to improve you for free just like he did with me."
They went back to eating their food, completely ignoring me except for a Scyther. I continued but with a small surprise.
"An example would be this," I spoke in human language. Now that got everyone's attention. "Impressed? I didn't even have to learn how to do this, my lord just gave it to me. Along with that are so many more improvements like this sword, look how badass it is, it's way better than the celery stick I had before. Imagine being able to talk to any human you wish to or being to take down those gym battles with ease. My lord can grant this and more, so what do you say?"
"I like that." A Tympole said. "Did you say it was free?"
"Yep, all you have to do is leave your trainer and come with me." When I said that, aside from the Scyther, all heads turned away. The strong feeling of hatred surged within me. "Seriously! You would abandon this much power because of the love of your trainer."
The Tympole simply said, "Yeah."
He was stupefied. His hunger for power that came with his new human side made him think of this situation as being absolutely insane.
"Your offer." The Scyther said. "Of power. Will it allow me to defeat even the strongest of dragons?"
"Of course. You want to join!?"
"I think I do. I joined my trainer to become strong but we've lost to the local Gym for the third time in a row. I know he loves me but I want to become strong. It's not right for a Pokemon to not reach his full potential due to his trainer's lacking skills."
"And I couldn't agree more. Come, we'll go immediately. You have no idea what's coming for you."
Chapter End
I've decided to keep the villain side mostly its separate thing with only a few encounters with the main cast. In the future, both sides will get together over time and merge.
PickleTickler: Theodore saw Pokemon BW as a child and doesn't remember much. He does know the creation trio, including Arceus, as most fans would know. However, he doesn't think about Arceus because it was Shinigami who brought him to this world and his best bet is to go to the Pokemon who can control space and time, Palkia and Dialga. Thanks for the compliment.
Lusamine: When it comes to Sarah and N, he did say he was only staying with her till Castellia City. He will come back again, but there won't be romance between the two. Sarah is twelve and I can't bring myself to do a whole romance with her at that age despite what the Pokemon world's standard of an adult would be. It's the same with Athena, she's around two months old and even though Pokemon mature way faster, it's not enough to compensate for Theodore who is over twenty. Although, your points are great and I'll keep them in mind if I do decide to do romance.