EVERYONE: - Ongoing Pokemon: Shining Nightmare

[Glajummy]

Hello everyone! I'm new to this forum so I decided to post my fanfiction here to get a good start.

Please Note: I'm not a fan of Pokemon constantly saying their name to talk. Therefore, in this fic, all Pokespeeh will be translated straight to english. You will know when a pokemon is speaking when the quote begins with a <, and ends with a >. You'll understand once I post the other chapters.

Pokemon: Shining Nightmare


Prologue: The Plan To End All Plans


Far south of Kanto and Johto, a new region arrived in the Pokemon world. More of a collection of islands than a region, Tetrago stood alone in the desolate sea. A small island, plainly named Zero, is stationed in the middle of four larger islands. With the masterful bridges recently built to connect the Main Islands to Isle 0, a league was created to promote the idea of Pokemon training. Tetrago was the perfect region for this, as each island housed different environments. After the shipment of necessary items, trainers of all shapes and sizes came to explore the region. Nightmare CO, the company mainly responsible for the building of the bridges, gained instant publicity. Of course, this was simply part of their plan...


***** Three Years Ago *****


The sun has yet to reprieve Isle 0 of its shadowy curtain. The landscape is nearly unrecognizable to normal trainers, with its vast amount of trees and mountains overpowering the land. Just one, small city flourishes in this quiet island. The only source of light from this time of day, the city can be seen from the equally as desolate Main Islands. However, unbeknownst to others, the city— named Slate— was at its liveliest.

In the middle of Slate stands an enormous, black building. It towers over all surrounding structures, as an older brother watching over his younger siblings. However, on this night, the building was empty except for four people. Four very important people...

A long, rectangular table stretched across a room, dimly lit by a single lamp. All the windows were blocked with black, lacy curtains. There was no clear entrance into the room, but there were four people seated at the table.

The man seated at the end of the table closest to the windows wore a white overcoat with black pants. Half his face was hidden behind an oversized pair of glasses, and the other half by his curly, black hair. He sat in his chair in a slouched position, as if examining the table.

The man sitting across from him was pretty much his opposite. He sat in an upright position and his orange suit was clearly visible, even in the barely lit room. He was stroking his short, black hair with one hand while fashioning a vibrant grin. He was famous in the Kanto region for being Giovanni— the eighth Gym Leader, but never Giovanni— the leader of Team Rocket.

On the left side of the table sat a young male, grinning even more than Giovanni. His scarlet, spiky hair made him look like some young superhero. He wore a black, hooded sweatshirt with matching jeans. His childish face seemed to stare into nothingness as he ignored the people around him. It was blindingly obvious he was still in his teen years.

And finally, the male sitting across from him wore a blank expression on his face. He wore a white suit with matching pants, along with a pair of white gloves. His gloved-fingers fondled together as if he were in deep thought. His long, straight, black hair stretched down to the small of his back. All eyes were on him.

“I see that you’re fond of the plan, Giovanni. And so are you, Erebus. But what about you, Ethan? I can never decipher your expression,” said the man dressed in white. He then stood up from his chair and fished inside his pockets with both hands.

“It sounds nice,” Ethan simply replied as he motioned to adjust his glasses. He didn’t even attempt to glance at the man he was speaking to.

“Forget Ethan, I think the plan is awesome!” the youngest one spoke this time. Giovanni couldn’t help but roll his eyes and mutter, “Kids...”

Erebus glared at Giovanni, but before he could retort, the man in white spoke again. “I have no need for your opinion, Erebus. As a member of my company, you will do what you’re told, no matter how high your rank is.” Erebus calmed down immediately. “Now I will show you one of the results of this plan.”

As the man said this, he pulled a black and white ball from his pocket. With the press of a button, the ball grew three times bigger. He grinned at the orb for a few seconds before pointing it at the middle of the table and pressing the button once more. Instantaneously, a red beam shot out from the now opened ball. In no time, the light began to take the shape of a fish before fading away.

At almost three feet in length, the common Magikarp flopped helplessly on the table. However, there was nothing common about this Magikarp. Unlike the norm, this Magikarp was covered in golden scales that magnified the room’s light so it reached every corner.

“Behold,” began the man with his hands raised to the ceiling, “the Shiny Magikarp!”

“So, the ‘machine’ works now?” Giovanni’s grin immediately returned.

“Shiny?” Erebus asked with a chuckle. “Since when did you start using my uncles’ lingo?”

“Actually Erebus, the League of Kanto, Johto and Tetrago recently approved the word ‘shiny’ to apply to any Pokemon whom is born with an abnormal appearance. It has made Dragon-Master Lance even more popular,” Ethan said in a hushed tone, again not looking up. Erebus replied with a childish gagging noise.

“Calling himself Dragon-Master Lance, now? God knows my team of dark Pokemon would grind his ass in a battle any day!” Erebus shouted to no one in particular. At that very moment, a black dog jumped onto his lap from under the table. Its ears were pointed like a fox’s and yellow rings covered some parts of its body. Erebus raised a hand and began to stroke his Umbreon’s fur.

“Grind his ass?” Giovanni’s facial expression looked a little taken back. “I swear, you kids make up the weirdest phrases these days.” For the first time, the man in white laughed.

“So Seth DOES have a sense of humor!” Erebus said, regaining his cool.

“That’s Boss to you, Erebus.” With that, Seth returned the Magikarp to its Pokeball imprisonment.

“Now on to the rest of the plan.” Seth cleared his throat before continuing, “Ethan and Erebus, I recently gained valuable information that both Team Magma and Aqua are extremely close to completely their goals of capturing legendary Pokemon. It is your job to find out where they’re headed, get there first and capture those Pokemon. That’ll teach them to deny my request for an alliance. Luckily, Giovanni, you accepted. Your task is to capture not only the legendary birds of Kanto, but also the legendary dogs of Johto. That shouldn’t be too hard with an army of Rockets behind you.”

“And what about Sinnoh?” Ethan asked, taking all this information much easier and faster than the others.

“I will personally take care of Sinnoh. Team Galactic has yet to recover from its collapse.”

“And I’m guessing you plan to use the ‘machine’ to alter these Pokemon’s appearances and make them Shiny as well? So what, big deal! It’s been proven that Shiny Pokemon only have physical differences. They have just as much power as a regular Pokemon,” Erebus finally said.

“Oh no, these Pokemon are much more different!” Seth couldn’t help but fashion his own grin. “My machine also alters their DNA to always have them at their best fighting potential. Allow me to demonstrate.” He pulled out the same ball once more and released the Magikarp again.

“A tackle would be much appreciated.” It sounded more like a request than an order. Nonetheless, the Magikarp made one last flop before throwing itself into a distant wall. It smacked into the brick with a loud thud and fell to the floor. However, what was left of the wall was simply amazing. The neighboring room was now visible through the large hole in the wall. Once again, Seth returned the Magikarp to the ball, but this time with a malicious smirk on his face. “We will have an army of supped-up legendaries. Then, we move onto the final phase of our plan.”

“Which is?” Giovanni and Erebus asked in unison.

“Humph, no need to spoil. You’ll find out when we get there.”


***** End of Prologue *****

 

[Glajummy]

Well, here's the first chapter. A little long since I had to fit a lot in it.

Chapter One: From Fantasy, To Dream, To Reality


Everon Town looks pretty much like any other mountain town: Many hilltops, twisted roads, and a few houses destroyed by recent rockslides. The only oddity is the large sign at the entrance to the town. What does it say? Nothing much, just: ALL TRAINERS ENTER AT OWN RISK!!!

If you haven’t gotten it yet, Everon Town has something against Pokemon-kind. It all started ten years ago when a mysterious Absol entered the town. Many passengers greeted the black and white wolf with affection, but it just continued through the town, muttering something under its breath. The day after this mysterious visit, Everon was plagued with a series of unlikely disasters. The citizens were quick to blame the Absol. In days, they had Pokemon’s head brought back to the town as a trophy.

Unknown to the people of Everon, though, Absols have an uncanny ability to predict danger. Its walk through town was more of a warning than a threat. After the League of Tetrago was created, it urged Everon to relinquish its horrible views toward Pokemon. This, however, only resulted in the hating of both Pokemon and Pokemon Trainers. Surprisingly, this is where our story begins...


**********


On the steepest hill of Everon Town, the Rowley family calls this high elevation “home”. Living in a relatively small house, this family of three lives pretty isolated from the rest of the town. Actually, the only thing they have in common with the other townspeople is their dislike for Pokemon. Well, at least Mr. and Mrs. Rowley shared this dislike.

“Wake up! Pika Pikachu! Charmander Char!” The sounds echoed through the small room. It was a relatively plain room, with a desk in one corner and a small bed in another. Many books were stacked on the desk and papers were hanging out of an open drawer. Written on one of these papers was a single word: Pokemon.

“Wake up! Cynda Cyndaquil! Blastoise Toise!” These sounds were coming from an alarm clock to the left of the stack of books. Then, out of nowhere, a rolled up sock smacked into the clock, causing into to fall off the desk. As soon as it hit the floor, the noise ceased.

“Damn! I hope I didn’t break it.” said a voice in mid-yawn from the bed. As the covers were pulled down, a teenage face was revealed; no older than fifteen. He fashioned dark blue hair that covered most of his forehead. His azure eyes starred up at the ceiling for some time until he finally got out of bed. He stood at about 5”8 tall as he walked over to the alarm clock. Upon picking up the clock, an important-looking computer chip fell off from the back. Seconds later, he noticed the clock’s hands had stopped moving.

“Just great! This was the only Pokemon alarm clock left in town! But I bet dad’ll be happy it’s gone...” he said, muttering the last part to himself.

Taking one last look at the clock, he noticed that it stopped precisely at 12:00.

“Damn, why is Mom always messing with my stuff? I’m four hours late!” he thought to himself as he raced to the closet next to his bed. It didn’t take long for him to get dressed, as he just wore his normal attire. His lavender shirt was barely seen through his favorite maroon jacket. He quickly tightened up his loose jeans with a belt his mom bought him the previous week. After rolling up his sleeves (revealing the colorful underside of his jacket), he slipped on some gloves with three of the finger slots cut. Even though it was fairly hot outside, he threw on a scarlet scarf that seemed to flow behind him, although there was no wind. He nearly walked out of his room without putting on his new pair of sneakers. Lucius Rowley can surely be considered as the oddball of Everon.

He rushed downstairs and out the door, not even checking if his parents were still home. He took advantage on living on the highest hill of Everon and overlooked the town for a few seconds. Even at this time of day, the town was pretty quiet. There were few cars on the twisted roads, and he could see that the park was virtually empty. Not that anyone would play in that Rattata-invested place. However, it was important to Lucius, as this was the only place in the town where Pokemon thrived. He smiled as he watched the Rattata play on the slides before running down the road. Their small, purple and white bodies maneuvering around these man-made objects. Just how it should be...

“I doubt Kyle’s still waiting at the fountain; I better go to his house.” Lucius thought to himself, turning on the corner of a familiar street. As he neared the third house on the block, he saw that a young man was exiting the house. He wore a black jacket with flames on it and matching jeans. He also wore what looked like a red pilot’s helmet, even more so because of the goggles strapped onto it. His brown hair was the same color as Lucius’ jacket and his eyes were a lighter shade if blue than Lucius’.

“Hey Kyle! Sorry about earlier, I overslept.” Lucius exclaimed as he slowed to a stop.

“Don’t bother with the excuses,” Kyle said in a low tone. “I waited a whole two hours for you, and you were the one who told me to be there at eight!” With that, he walked right past Lucius and down the block.

“C’mon man, don’t be like that!” Lucius cried, trying to catch up with his friend. “Look, I’m here now. Let’s talk.”

“Hmm... fine, talk,”

“Okay,” Lucius took a deep breath before beginning. “You know the town festival is tonight, right? Well, supposedly everyone is going. Everyone except us, that is. This is our chance to go to the town gate and check out the Pokemon!”

“Dude, you know that place is off-limits!”

“Well, duh! That’s why we’re going while everyone’s at the festival.”

“I don’t know, it sounds a little dangerous. Even for you, Lucius...” Kyle stopped infront of a store labeled: EVER-MART. “This is my stop. But hey, if you come up with a safer plan, call me up.” Without even a simple good-bye, Kyle rushed into the store.

“No way, is Kyle softening up on me? Nah, he must’ve been joking! I’ll go drop by his house later!” Lucius reassured himself before walking off into the distance.

A few people were gathered around the town square, probably getting ready for the festival that night. Lucius, however, didn’t even spare them a passing glance. He knew that the festival celebrated the town’s cleansing of Pokemon.

“Maybe those bastards should go check out the park.” the young rebel thought to himself before walking back up the hill to his home.

“I’m home!” he shouted as he closed the door behind him. His father, Mr. Rowley was seated a few feet away from the door, reading a newspaper. He wore all black, even on a hot day like this. His eyes were exact duplicates of Lucius’, but it didn’t contain the same “glow”.

“Shouldn’t you be at the festival?” Mr. Rowley said in a deep voice, not even lowering his paper.

“Very funny dad, you know I never go to that thing.” Lucius voice sounded a little irritated.

Mr. Rowley let out a deep sigh before his reply. “What do you plan to do with your life?”

Lucius was taken back by the sudden question and took a seat opposite his father. “What do you mean?”

“What are your dreams? It’s a fairly simple question, son.”

“My dream? My dream is to leave this boring town and do some real exploring, have real fun, and have real Pokemon!” Lucius realized what he said a little too late.

Mr. Rowley lowered his read and looked his son in the eye. “Pokemon? Those atrocious little creatures? I didn’t raise you to believe in fantasies! Now, give me a real answer.”

“That was a real answer,” Lucius said coldly as he stood up. “Do you know I’m five years older than the average trainer!?” He obviously didn’t care about his tone anymore.

“Do you know that the average trainer doesn’t live until age twenty because of some freak accident!? You kids don’t understand how dangerous these things actually are!” Mr. Rowley’s voice was also rising.

Lucius was surprised by his father’s knowledge and gave no come-back.

“That’s what I thought,” Mr. Rowley said, focusing once again on his newspaper. “I expect to see you at the festival. Don’t show and that laptop of yours is mine.”

With nothing else to say, Lucius marched up to his room. Believe it or not, though, this was no easy feat. With every step he took, he felt a part of his dream... his fantasy was breaking apart. Why didn’t his parents understand him? Why didn’t anyone understand him?


***** Later that night *****


Lucius lay on his bed, fully dressed, and stared at his ceiling. His face expression told that he was in deep thought. Suddenly, he reached in his pocket and grabbed out his cell phone. He quickly searched his phonebook for Kyle’s number.

“Hey Kyle, you said call if I have a new plan. Well, I have a new plan!” Lucius said enthusiastically into the phone.

“Well... tell me, already!” Kyle said quite impatiently on the phone.

“Okay, okay, calm down. I was thinking; we’re both interested in Pokemon, right? Well, what’s stopping us from learning more about them!? I’m tired of playing a trainer on my laptop; I want to be a real one! So, what do you say?” Lucius pressed his phone against his ear, anxious to here his friend’s delight.

“Say about what?” Kyle sounded as if he needed to hear it twice instead of asking as if he didn’t hear correctly.

Lucius, however, gave in to his excitement. “Let’s become real trainers! Catch and train actual Pokemon! Let’s do something with our lives!” Lucius still had an anxious expression on.

“Stop joking around, Lucius! At first, these rebellious ideas were fun, but now you’ve crossed the line. We can’t just leave our families! Do you have any idea how worried they’d be!?”

“No, I don’t,” Lucius replied extremely coldly. “All we need to do is look out for each other! We’ll return to Everon one day!”

“No, Lucius, count me out. Besides, this conversation is wasting my time; I’m in a rush.” Kyle sounded very sure of his final decision.

“In a rush? In a rush for wha—” Lucius didn’t need Kyle’s answer to figure this one out. “The festival? You’re going to the festival!? You traitor, how could you!?”

“I’m thinking realistically, Lucius. I’ve come to accept the town that we live—” Kyle’s voice was replaced by a dial tone. Lucius kept his thumb on the “End” button long enough for his phone to completely turn off. He put the phone back in his pocket and hopped off his bed.

Cursing under his breath, Lucius rushed over to his desk and picked up his light brown backpack, knocking over a few book in the process. He stuffed his laptop and enough clothes to last three days, including an exact replica of his current outfit.

“I’ll buy new clothes when I reach the next town... wherever that is.” the teenager thought to himself as he reached for a small box in the back of a drawer. Inside was a stack of money and piece of paper labeled: Money saved up for new laptop. He counted through the stack three times, coming up with an amount above $1500.00 every time. He had mixed feelings of joy and sadness; joy because he had enough money for clothes and supplies; sadness because it would be some time until he got a new laptop. He threw his backpack on and took one last look at the room before finally leaving.

He wasn’t sure if he was happy or not that his parents had already left. Although they did annoy him at times, he wanted to see them at least one more time. Reluctantly, he exited his house and locked the door behind him.

From his current position, he could see the bright lights and flashes from the festival. All those people; dancing and celebrating the fact that they were free of Pokemon-kind. Only yards from the party, the swarm of Rattata was still playing in the park. Their adorable, small bodies enjoying life without a care in the world. Two different worlds, so close together; but in reality, never farther apart. It was all up to Lucius to decide which one he belonged to.

“Mom, dad, Kyle... good luck,” no matter how hard he thought, he had no more words. With that unofficial good-bye, Lucius walked off for the town gate.


**********


The infamous sign that made Everon feared by trainers around the region, and quite possibly, the world, was now in Lucius’ field of view. As he read the words over and over, he realized how badly he needed to complete this quest. How badly he needed show his town that Pokemon were just as significant beings as humans.

The next sign to show up was the one he was anticipating all evening: You are now leaving Everon Town. Behind this was a hill steeper than the one Lucius’ house sat on. As Lucius approached the sign, he saw a limp figure on the ground beside it.

“Is that... is that what I think it is!?” Lucius whispered to himself as he broke into a run. He knelt beside the creature and was at a loss for words when he examined it in full. Its body was shaped like a wolf’s, especially the way it was curled up in a ball. Its fur was completely white, except for its pointed tail and curved blade-like appendage sticking from its head. At his feet, an Absol laid, looking badly injured. It didn’t take long for him to find the patch of fur dyed a crimson red. He reached his arm out for it when his ears were filled with an excruciatingly loud bang and a metal object zoomed past him face. It seemed like slow motion when he realized the object was a bullet.

“So you’re this Absol’s trainer? I gave the stupid thing a warning shot and it jumped up and fell on a pretty sharp rock.” The old, raspy voice came from a few feet away. He wore a brown ranger uniform and a large, sickly green hat. Clasped in his sweaty hands was a large hunting rifle.

“What the hell is your problem?! You could have killed me, you idiot!” All of Lucius mixed emotions had finally reached their boiling point.

“Well, I was aiming for that beast next to you. I wouldn’t intentionally kill a human, but if you protect that monster, my hand just might slip...” Lucius saw the smirk travel across the ranger’s face. Without a second thought, he leaped with all his might for the injured Pokemon.

BANG!!!

Lucius’ body was wrapped around the Absol by the time the gun went off, and he felt like they were flying. He nearly snapped his neck as he turned back just in time to see the bullet miss him by inches. However, his feeling of flying was over before he knew it. In fact, it became quite the opposite. The two bodies plummeted until they hit the steep hill and began rolling uncontrollably. Every time he got a chance to look at his left arm, a new cut had appeared. No matter how hard he tried, the pain was too much for him to continue holding the Absol. Reluctantly, he released the Pokemon. Upon doing so, the Absol managed to open its eyes just in time to meet Lucius’. Time seemed to stop as the two looked into each other’s eyes, as if staring into each others past, present and future.

Then, to Lucius’ surprise, the Absol reached out its palms and grabbed onto his shirt. Now the Pokemon was protecting the human. In this position, no matter how much the two rolled, their eyes were always locked. The longer he looked into the nearly black eyes, the less he felt the immense pain. Before he knew it, the hill had gone rather flat and the two halted to a stop. Lucius’ body lay on the ground and the Absol struggled to stand over him.

Lucius’ eyesight began to blur until finally, everything went black. Complete darkness and absolutely no sound. Well, almost no sound. Before going completely unconscious, Lucius could’ve sworn he heard the Absol whisper, “<Thank you, human...>”

 

[Glajummy]

Don't be intimidated by the length of this chapter! Most of it is simply dialogue, with a very short action scene. I'll be sure you make it up in the next update.


Chapter Two: Lucius and Lilith


“-ey... –oung ma-... wake up, young man.” The voice was faint, but Lucius was sure someone was talking to him. He felt the warm touch of a human hand brush against his naked shoulder. It was an enormous effort for him to simply open his eyes. A woman with scarlet hair and a vibrant smile was leaning over him. He seemed to lose track of time as he stared into her cerulean eyes, and he couldn’t help but notice her nurse wardrobe.

It was then that he was reminded of the events that just took place. He quickly sat upright, nearly knocking the nurse off her feet. He began observing his surroundings, but it seemed he was in a particularly normal room. The walls were painted white and a red carpet covered the floor. There was only a single window, but Lucius could see that the sun had risen some time ago. There was another bed in the room, but Lucius could hardly make out what was lying in it. Looking down, he saw that both his jacket and shirt were removed, and many discolored patches of skin were visible. While turning his head to view the rest of the plain room, a sharp pain shot down his spine, and he immediately fell back on to the bed.

“Don’t make any sudden movements!” cried the nurse as she rushed to Lucius’ cringing body.

“Wh—where am I?” Lucius moaned in pain.

“Huh? Oh you’re in Andrea Town’s Pokémon Center.” The words seemed to pierce him like a blade. Pokémon Center... He had seen the word on the internet before. Where these centers existed, Pokémon and Pokémon Trainers were abundant.

“Can—you—hear—me?” the nurse said slowly, her eyes bulging out of their sockets.

“What? Oh, sorry. How— how did I get here?” Lucius asked, still lying on the bed.

“Quite a miracle, actually!” the nurse said with enthusiasm, as if she had been waiting for the moment to tell the story. “I was having one of my regular, boring shifts when suddenly a bleeding Absol comes barging into the center, barking about some half-dead human! I offered to fix it up a bit, but it insisted that I come for you. So I called up some of the villagers and the Absol—”

“Wait, you understood a Pokémon!?” Lucius shouted, risking another attempt at sitting upright. This time, the pain didn’t come. A frown quickly traveled across the nurse’s face, as it was obvious that Lucius stopped listening at that point.

“Humph! I thought someone would be interested in how their life was saved, but if you’re really that clueless; anyone with a strong connection to Pokémon-kind can understand PokéSpeech! Naturally, for us Joys, knowing their language is essential for the job!” Nurse Joy said with a chuckle.

“Joys?” Lucius said; scratching his head and looking a little lost in the conversation.

“Some trainer you are! No wonder your Absol was so hurt, you’ve obviously never went to a Pokémon Center to heal it!” Joy said in a sort of accusatory tone.

“Absol! Where’s the Absol!? Is it here?” Lucius said instantaneously.

“Calm down, young man! Your Absol is right there, and she’s fine!” Joy was pointing at the second bed in the room.

Without even thinking, Lucius hopped out his bed to greet his savior. Unfortunately for him, the moment his feet hit the floor, his knees buckled like that of a puppet. It didn’t take long for him to fall flat on his face. Pain coursed through his veins and the spot on the carpet where his stomach landed glinted with crimson liquid.

“Oh my! You’ve re-opened one of those cuts! Let me help you get back on the—”

“I want to see the Absol...”

“What? I don’t think I heard you clearly.” Joy said as she knelt beside the teenager, ready to help him up.

“I want to see the— my Absol. You understand don’t you?”

Joy sighed before answering. “You trainers are all alike. Okay fine, just wipe up the blood.”

With one of Lucius’ arms wrapped around her, Joy lifted her patient up with ease and dragged him over to the Absol’s bed. It was curled up in the way it had been the previous night, apparently sleeping now. After handing Lucius a fresh handkerchief from her pocket, Joy walked over to the door and raised her hand, signaling she’d be back in a few minutes.

Lucius held the handkerchief against his cut with one hand, and stroked the Absol’s neck with the other. It looked so peaceful, as if the other night was just a walk in the park. Lucius couldn’t help but smile in this light of perfection.

He began to move his hand to the Absol’s ribcage when it opened its mouth and whispered, “<Oh no, don’t stop know. It was just getting good.>” She had a distinct femininity in her voice.

Lucius, however, was caught off guard. He quickly pulled his hand back, nearly causing him to fall once again. It was blindingly obvious now that what Nurse Joy said was true, but what did this mean about him? Did he have a strong connection with Pokémon-kind?

“<I guess no pleasures last forever,>” the Absol sighed as she raised one of paws and began rubbing her neck. There was no doubt now, Lucius must've had this connection. Of course, there was always the possibility that he was going crazy.

“He—hey. Are you okay?” Lucius asked, reproaching the Pokémon.

“<Maybe I should be asking you that,>” the Absol said, pointing one of her claws at the handkerchief. It had gone completely red and was now unable to absorb the blood escaping the cut.

“Huh? This is nothing, the nurse will be back shortly anyway.” Lucius was extremely impressed on how calm the Absol sounded. It was as if she woke up in hospitals every morning.

Then, with one flawless leap, she jumped off her bed and landed gracefully on the floor. Lucius watched her walk around the room a few times before she finally stopped infront of him.

“<Is there any particular reason you’re staring at me like that?>” she said, quite irritated.

“I’m sorry; it’s just that... last night, you were hurt so badly. Now I barely see a scar!” Lucius was still amazed he was having a conversation with a Pokémon.

“<Hey, what can I say? That lady is one good doctor,>” she answered with a sort of shrug. Lucius slowly dragged his feet back to his bed, where he sat down and examined the Absol. When he became comfortable, he began.

“What exactly were you doing at the town gate anyway?”

“<I go there every few human months or so. However, that’s the first time I saw a human use a weapon like that on me.>” Lucius guessed she was talking about the gun. Truth be told, he didn’t even know that anyone in Everon owned a gun. “<Why exactly were you there?>” she asked, drawing closer to him.

“Taking control of my life...” Lucius replied, although he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Nurse Joy re-entered the room. She was holding Lucius’ shirt, jacket and scarf in one hand, and in the other, his backpack. There were many stitched up places on his clothes but all he cared about was that he could get dressed.

“It’s nice to see you’re both okay. You can leave tomorrow, but feel free to get some fresh air!” Nurse Joy said as she placed everything on the bed. She sifted through her pocket before pulling out a rather large bandage. She placed it on the re-opened cut before helping Lucius put his clothes back on.

“Please, allow me to lead you outside,” Joy insisted as she walked over to the door and waited for Lucius and the Absol. After the two looked at each other for approval, they followed Nurse Joy out of the room and throughout the center. It turns out they were on the second floor, and that the first was where all the real business took place. There were many rooms with different labels, but they the one that caught Lucius attention the most was the one that read: No Trainers Allowed! He caught a quick glimpse of the sign that plagued the entrance of Everon Town. Upon reaching the room containing the exit, they noticed the T.V. in the corner of the room was surrounded by a group of people.

“Hey Joy, you gotta see this!” shouted a voice from the crowd.

“You don’t mind...” Joy couldn’t seem to finish her sentence. It took Lucius a while to figure out what she was trying to ask.

“Oh no, it’s fine. I might as well see what's going on too!” Lucius said enthusiastically. He believed he heard Absol let out a deep sigh. Ignoring the Pokémon, he rushed over to the T.V.

A middle-aged woman in a wrinkled, red suit was covering most of the screen and she was talking extremely fast. Her blonde hair looked very messy and her makeup was very sloppily put on. This was, unmistakably, a breaking story.

“This is Christie Palmer of Tetrago with confirmation of the mass arresting of both Team Magma and Team Aqua members in the region of Hoenn. According to police, they acquired a few reliable tips on where the two organizations would meet next. By getting there first, the police were able to ambush the teams and come one huge step closer to ending all this gang violence. The leader of Team Magma, Maxie, was able to escape, but the leader of Team Aqua, Archie, is now in police custody. Before he was taken away, he shouted, ‘It was all his fault! He betrayed us and he will betray you! He took Groudon!’ Police were unsure of whom Archie was talking about, so they dismissed the statement.

So, why are we airing this in Tetrago? Well, it was none other than Team Nightmare, of Nightmare CO., that tipped off the police in the first place. Their leader, Erebus Orpheus, led the entire ambush and is probably as famous as his uncle, Dragon-Master Lance. I can only imagine the amount of publicity Tetrago will get after this operation. Once again, we owe much to the brightest light of this region, Nightmare CO.”​

No one spoke during or after the report. Nurse Joy, however, must’ve felt a reckless reaction come on as she grabbed Lucius and dragged him away from the crowd. As soon as they left the center, they could hear cheers of joy and pride flood throughout the place.

“So, this is Andrea Town? No wonder I haven’t heard much about it, it’s pretty small,” Lucius said as he observed the town. Everon was at least three times bigger than Andrea, and Everon isn’t even that big to begin with. The entire area was surrounded by mountains and it was impossible for Lucius to tell which one he came from. The ground looked like a mixture of concrete and desert sand. He was forced to squint his eyes so no sand would enter them. Almost all the houses were built completely of wood, save the blue and white building labeled: Poké-Mart.

“Aren’t you going to put your Absol in its Pokéball?”

“Uh... of course I am. I just don’t feel like looking through my bag at the time,” Lucius said with an unconvincing smile on his face. Joy, however, didn’t bother with arguing and returned to the center.

“<What the heck is a Pokéball!? It sounds like some kind of torture machine,>” the Absol asked worriedly.

“Calm down, Absol—”

“<Name’s Lilith, for your information,>” she interrupted in an annoyed tone. Lucius understood, as he would be angry if someone kept addressing him as “human”.

“Okay— Lilith— I’m Lucius. Anyway, according to the internet, a Pokéball is a device used to keep Pokémon under the watchful eye of their trainer by keeping them in a convenient little ball.”

“<Oh my Arceus, it is a torture machine!>” Lilith cried. Lucius laughed and looked down at his new friend.

“<You know it’s rude to stare, right?>” Lilith said, turning her face away from Lucius’.

“I’m sorry, I was just thinking...” Lucius said as he came to a stop.

“<What’s wrong?>” Lilith questioned, actually sounding a little worried.

“Well, I was wondering, where do you plan to go tomorrow?”

“<Me? I just roam around really, no real goal in sight. However, if I go back, I’m sure I’ll have to cross paths with some strong Pokémon...>”

“There is another option. You could always come with me,” Lucius suggested. Beads of sweat trickled down his face as he was anxious for an answer.

“<And where exactly are you going?>”

“Absolutely everywhere,” Lucius said simply. A smile ran across the two faces at precisely the same time.

“<I don’t see why not. I can tag along with you for a little while at least.>” That was all Lucius needed it hear. He had finally done it. Technically, he caught his first Pokémon. His journey was finally able to truly begin.

“<You’re staring again!>” Lilith barked. Instead of apologizing, Lucius merely laughed.

“Hey, kid with the Absol! You’re the one who fell down the mountain, right?” the masculine voice came from a middle-aged man running toward the pair from the Pokémon Center. He wore a plain, blue shirt and jeans that were ripped in many places. The original color of his sneakers was unknown due to the vast amount of material hanging off the footwear. It must be hard to live in Andrea.

“Uh, yeah, that’s me...” Lucius answered a little frightened.

“I find it really amazing that you could survive such a tragedy. Usually when someone doesn’t wake up for four days, we classify them as ‘dead’.”

“Four days!?” Lucius was a surprised by how long he had been out of it. It then occurred to him why his legs were so weak earlier.

“Hehe, seems Joy went a little easy on you and didn’t tell you how long you were out. Well, that’s not why I came here anyway!”

“<Well, why did you come here?>” Lilith said, joining in the conversation.

“Lilith, I don’t think he can—”

“I want to challenge you to a Pokémon battle!” the man said standing upright and looking Lucius directly in the eye. The teen dared not accuse him of joking.

“Uh... let me think about it!” Lucius quickly said before pulling Lilith away. He waited until they were out of the man’s earshot.

“<You humans are such barbaric creatures! Forcing Pokémon to fight your battles!”>

“Hey, we help out too! We tell our Pokémon what to do and what moves to use!” Lucius argued.

“<Uh... Why, exactly?>” Lilith asked, a bit confused. “<I mean, we know our moves better than you do. And wouldn’t it be better just to react on instinct?>”

“Look, on my laptop’s virtual trainer program, the trainer MUST give commands. Trust me; it strengthens the bond between Pokémon and trainer.” Upon saying this, Lucius wondered what happened to his laptop in the accident. He fought the urge to look in his backpack, fearing he’d see it broken into hundreds of pieces.

“<Fine, whatever. I’m just saying, you don’t really have any trainer experience...>” Lucius took this as an acceptance to the challenge and went to go confront the older trainer. As he walked back to his Pokémon, he noticed that the sun was beginning to set.

The man excitingly grabbed a red and white ball from his pocket. By pressing the middle button twice, he first expanded the ball, and then released the Pokémon inside. The red beam quickly took the shape of a snake before fading away. Its scales were colored a light purple and it was about six and a half feet in length. Its tail swung madly in the air as it hissed at Lucius and Lilith.

Lilith approached the Ekans with caution, before letting out an intimidating, low growl. Lucius wasn’t sure if it was okay to battle right in the middle of town, but now was his chance to test how much he knew. He saw Lilith’s growl taking some affect on the Ekans and decided now was his time to strike.

“Okay Lilith, this move never fails me on my laptop. Get ready, and use Hyper Beam!” Lucius screamed, pointing very dramatically at Ekans. Everyone, including Lilith, simply froze.

“<You’ve gotta be kidding—>” she was unable to finish her sentence due to lack of air. Her amazement at the command just given to her gave Ekans enough time to finally get on the offensive. By now, Ekans had its entire body wrapped tightly around Lilith’s.

“<Watch, as I sssslowly ssssuffocate you,>” Ekans hissed as he tightened his grip.

“I don’t get it!” Lucius cried. “It always worked on my laptop!” The other trainer couldn’t take it anymore and burst into laughter.

“<You.... idiot...>” Lilith managed to murmur as she got one of her paws free. Not even attempting to wait for another “bright idea” of Lucius’, Lilith dug her claws deep into the scales of the Ekans. The Pokémon screamed and writhed in pain before finally loosening its grip. Without hesitation, Lilith ran back toward Lucius and took a short breather.

“Why didn’t you use the move?” Lucius asked furiously.

“<Do you know how advanced a Hyper Beam is? Stop listening to your laptop thingy and start thinking like a real trainer.>”

“I thought someone as lucky as you would be a good trainer, but it seems I was mistaken.” The man was still laughing when he told Ekans to go for another Wrap. The serpent slithered across the desert-like terrain, drawing ever closer to winning the battle with each passing second.

“Think like a trainer, huh? Okay, Lilith, just stay put,” Lucius ordered, grinning.

“<Don’t fail me again, Lucius,>” Lilith thought to herself as she readied for the attack.

Ekans was just a few feet away from Lilith. He halted infront of her for about half a second before throwing himself into the air and uncurling his body. His yellow underside might have made contact with Lilith’s back if Lucius hadn’t reacted.

“Quickly, to the left!” he instructed at the perfect moment. With all her gracefulness, Lilith leaped to the left, causing the Ekans to slam hard onto the ground.

“Now, before he gets up, Quick Attack!”

Lilith slanted her figure downward like a cheetah stalking its prey. Then, with an unprecedented burst of energy, she shot her body forward in a reckless charge. As the Ekans lifted his head up, Lilith slanted her head to the side so when she made contact, the blade-like appendage would be able to cut across the snake’s face. However, she never got the chance to make contact.

“Ekans, use Screech!”

A high-pitched scream engulfed Lucius’ ears, who dropped to his knees from this unbearable sound. When he finally dared to open his eyes, he was lost in a state of shock from seeing Lilith in the same state at him; her two front paws clasped against her ears. Ekans was lingering ominously above his defenseless opponent, now fashioning a menacing grin.

“I’m disappointed, kid. Ekans, finish her off with a Poison Sting,” instructed the other trainer, who wasn’t even paying much attention to the match at this point.

Ekans slowly lowered his jar and inhaled a great amount of air. Then, along with an exhale, a barrage of purple barbs flew out of his mouth. They pierced Lilith’s left-front leg with ease and she trembled with each impact. The blood seeping from the puncture wounds was dyed a sickly green and looked oddly thick. Moments later, the limb showed no signs of life.

The dreadful sight caused Lucius to let out a horrific cry before running to comfort Lilith. The older trainer, however, had seen enough. The Ekans’ body had been engulfed by the same red light before he was warped back into the Pokéball. Lucius wrapped his body around Lilith’s and pulled out each poisonous barb one by one. He didn’t even notice the trainer approach him.

“Pulling them out won’t do much good. Return her to her Pokéball and go back to the center,” the man insisted before turning away.

“Wait!” Lucius cried, “I don’t have any Pokéballs! I’m not even an official Trainer yet. Please, can you just help me?” He no longer cared if these people knew the truth; he would do anything at the moment to insure Lilith’s safety.

“Not an official trainer, huh? It’s illegal to battle if you have no Pokémon-related occupation. But, I should have expected this when you asked for a Hyper Beam.” The man quickly reached into his pockets and handed Lucius a Pokéball. “This one is an extra. Just press the white button and tap the ball against the Absol’s body.” Lucius followed as instructed and he watched Lilith’s figure shrink with a flash of red light.

With that, he picked himself up and darted toward the Pokémon Center he had just left.


**********


“Oh, you’re back already!” Nurse Joy shouted from the counter as Lucius burst through the front doors and ran up to her.

“It’s Lilith... She’s hurt!” Lucius exclaimed while also struggling for air.

“Huh? Who’s Lilith?” asked Nurse Joy, quite confused.

“The Absol! She’s poisoned and I need help!”

“Oh my— just stay calm. Hand me her Pokéball, I’ll take care of it from here.” Lucius nearly forced the ball into Joy’s chest as he handed it to her. She grabbed the orb and hurried into room labeled: ER – Pokémon and Humans.

With a loud slam of the door, Lucius was left alone in the eerie silence. The people watching the television from earlier had left; Lucius was to face this burden alone. Why did he react like that when he saw the Ekans attack take affect? He had only known Lilith for a little more than two hours, and he already risked his well-being for her. That Ekans had more than enough time to release another round of those Poison Stings, but Lucius wasn’t even thinking about that. But why? He was always known to be a reckless one, but this was different... It felt different...

Was it because he had already developed a strong friendship with his companion?

... Or was it because he knew that if Lilith was seriously injured, it’d be a huge step back in his dream of becoming a Pokémon Trainer?

He slowly walked over to a sofa in the corner of the room and sat down to contemplate these questions. He felt the walls around him begin to close in with each passing minute. He was in a run-down village with his home or any other Pokémon no where in sight. In truth, Lilith was his ticket to happiness. Then, Nurse Joy reemerged into the room.

“She’ll be fine, all she needs now is a good night’s rest,” said the nurse in a tone that could soothe the entire Earth. It wasn’t over yet... his dream could still prevail. The reassurance flushed over him like a tsunami wave, and he basked in the ambiance of the moment. To him, this was destiny. Fate must’ve decided years ago that he was meant to become a Pokémon Trainer, and possible, something greater.

“The room you slept in is still empty; you should stay here tonight!” Nurse Joy insisted. Lucius didn’t need to hear that twice and graciously accepted the offer. Nurse Joy went to go fetch Lilith’s Pokéball before leading Lucius up to his room. She handed him the Pokéball and closed the door behind her. Lucius stared at the device in his hand, afraid that if he opened it, Lilith would have changed her mind about traveling with him.

He lowered the ball to his pocket when it suddenly began shaking and expanded on its own. Lucius was sure what was to happen next and dropped the ball to the floor and scurried a few feet away. Upon making contact with the floor, the ball opened and emitted the red light. Lucius could see Lilith’s body begin to take form; first her wolf-like physique, then her pointed tail came into shape; and finally, her crimson eyes came into view.

“<You... How could you!>” she yelled, tackling Lucius to the ground.

“I— I’m sorry! I didn’t mean for you to get poisoned!” Lucius apologized, pushing his hands against Lilith’s under-belly. Alas, he was unable to throw her off.

“<Poisoned!? I’m mad because you put me in one of those contraptions!>” Lilith raised one of her paws at the ball lying on the floor. Lucius stopped struggling at this point, even though it would’ve been rather easy for him to push her off with one of her paws already up.

“That— that’s it!? If it wasn’t for that contraption, you probably wouldn’t be here right now!” Lilith ignored the reasonable come-back but got off Lucius anyway, who quickly got to his feet.

The Absol slowly walked over to Lucius’ bed and hopped on it, paying absolutely no attention to the teen. After calming down, Lucius picked up the Pokéball and carefully approached the Pokémon. He lifted his free hand and slowly began stroking Lilith’s neck.

“I thought you were going to change your mind after that failure of a battle earlier.”

“<Hey, you seem to be forgetting that I agreed to come with you before I even knew you wanted to become a Pokémon Trainer. And besides, that last minute dodge was a brilliant move.>” Lilith’s words comforted Lucius’ mindset a great deal. If every trainer supposedly found their perfect match when they chose their starter, then Lucius certainly found his.

“Now that that’s all said and done, mind getting off my bed?”

“<Hmm... nah, I like it. I think I’ll sleep here tonight,>” Lilith replied with a smirk.

“Or you could sleep in here,” Lucius shot back, holding up the ball in his and hand and fashioning a smirk of his own.

“<Okay, okay, you win...>” Lilith succumbed to the idea of being placed back inside her Pokéball. As she hurried over to her bed, Lucius began to get comfortable in his own. He didn’t bother undressing as he stared at the ceiling, imagining what the next day would hold. Even though his battle was short-lived, he couldn’t deny the fact that it was fun. All thoughts pertaining Everon were pushed to the back of his mind and ideas of his journey zoomed throughout his head. It didn’t take long for him to fall into a much-needed sleep.


***** The Next Morning *****


Lucius slowly opened his eyes, only to see pair of azure eyes staring back at him.

“Uh, Nurse Joy... were you watching me sleep?” he questioned a bit frightened.

“Oh no, I’m sorry! Since your leaving today, I took the liberty of adding a medical kit and sleeping bag to your backpack,” she replied with a light blush.

“Umm... thanks.” Lucius glanced at Lilith’s bed and to his surprise, it was empty. “Do you happen to know where Lilith is?” Lucian asked, sliding off the bed.

“Ah, yes, I saw her early this morning. She’s probably getting some fresh air outside.”

“Okay... and, Joy, thanks for everything!” Lucius said, smiling like a five-year-old.

“No need for thanks, um...?” It then occurred to Lucius that he never gave her his name.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot! My name is Lucius Rowley!”

“Okay— Lucius— feel free to drop by anytime. Directly north of this center is collection of mountains that are relatively small compared to the others. Just follow the path between the two smallest mountains and you will happen upon Sage City, where I hear a Pokémon Gym resides.”

“A Pokémon... Gym?” Lucius said, his head tilted to the side. It was amazing Joy didn’t find out he wasn’t a real trainer yet.

“Yeah, if you can defeat the Gym Leader, you get a special badge. Badges are a great way to show how strong you’re becoming as a Pokémon Trainer. If you’re able to collect all eight badges of this region, you qualify to participate in a special tournament held every year in Tetrago.” It was obvious that Lucius needed some time to take all this in, as his face expression didn’t change for a few seconds. When he finally comprehended everything he nodded to Nurse Joy, got his things, waved good-bye, and exited the center.

“<You're such a heavy sleeper!>” Lilith accused as she saw her trainer leave the center. “<I must’ve called your name like, a whole five times.>”

“Hey, at least I’m here now, right? Our next destination will be Sage City, which is north of here,” Lucius stated, turning to the south at the same time. He became aware of what Nurse Joy spoke of when he saw two mountains that were fairly smaller than the one’s surrounding it.

“<Well, let’s go then!>” Lilith encouraged as she ran off into the distance. Lucius could only smile in delight as he watched the Pokémon that set his journey off and, unbeknownst to him, the Pokémon that would become the most important factor of his life...

 

[Magma Krystal]

i really like this! please keep writing!:drool:

 

[Glajummy]

Oh, wow. I didn't think anyone liked this...


Chapter Three: A Friend Indeed


“<ARE WE THERE YET!?>” Lilith complained as she dragged her feet along the rocky ground. “<We’ve been walking around these mountains for two whole days, and no offense, but you’re starting to smell...>”

“HEY! We’re just a little lost, but we’ll find a way out soon! At least we stopped at the mart before leaving town, or else we’d have no food... And I’m wearing deodorant!” Lucius shot back, his frustration clearly noticeable through his voice.

It seems Nurse Joy didn’t mention the fact that the mountains she pointed out weren’t exactly the easiest place to trek. A thick fog covered the high elevation, and every few minutes, Lucius would trip over a rather sharp rock.

The pair was now struggling to climb up an area of the mountain that seemed to have no ledges to grab onto.

“Which one did you grab on to?” Lucius asked as he dangled off the side of the mountain.

“<That one; to your left.>” Lilith, who was now at the top, pointed out. Her sharp claws made it easy for her to climb up the treacherous mountain-side. Lucius, however, was having no such luck.

He tried to jump to the ledge, only to miss it by mere inches and fall down to another ledge, ten feet lower. He cringed as his back smashed into the sharp rocks and quickly stuck he hand up his shirt to see if he suffered from any cuts.

After making sure he was okay, he looked up for Lilith. Whether it was from the pain or the fog, it was extremely hard to see anything.

“Lilith, are you still up there?” Lucius’ voice echoed in the silence. Finally, Lilith’s faint voice answered.

“<Yeah. Think you can make it up here?>”

“I doubt it. It’s too dangerous for you to jump down here, especially with this fog... Just continue along the ledge, I’m sure we’ll meet up sooner or later!” Lucius ordered a little-too-eagerly.

“<If you say so, I have a bad feeling about this.>” Lilith replied before following her instructions. Lucius opened his mouth reply, but after thinking about it, he simply took his own advice and continued across the mountain-side. He occasionally glanced up at Lilith, but all he saw was a fog that seemed to only get thicker.

This went on for at least another two hours but Lucius and Lilith never crossed paths again. A little worried, Lucius called to his friend:

“Lilith, are you there!?” he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. He waited an entire minute for a reply, but all he got was an eerie silence. Lost and alone, the teen began to panic. He bent low and swiped his hands across the ground until he found a well-rounded rock. After feeling it up a bit, he tossed it up to where Lilith should have been.

The rock disappeared into the fog, only to reappear ten seconds later and hit Lucius dead in the face. The pain, however, was the least of his worries. He knew he threw that rock at least twenty feet high, but it still came back down. There were only two explanations. Either his ledge was going lower, or Lilith’s was getting higher. Either way, the outcome would still be the same; he and Lilith were separated.

Lucius felt his knees buckle and lazily fell to the floor. Cursing and punching the ground, his eyes slowly began to water.

“She’s gone... My only Pokemon... My only friend.” Lucius couldn’t restrain his emotions no longer and finally broke into tears. This was it and he knew it. His journey was over, end of story.

“<Hey, are you okay?>” asked a childish voice from the shadows. Lucius quickly wiped his tears away, fearing that a small boy would pop out of no where and see a young adult like him, crying. However, the shape he saw approaching was definitely not human.

A small cat approached him, its blue fur shining even though the sun was barely visible. It had relatively large ears and its golden eyes seemed to be hypnotizing. Half-way through the feline’s body, its blue fur abruptly went black. Finally, its tail ended in what looked like a four-pointed star. Lucius had never seen a Shinx up close so it took a while for him to respond.

“Uh, yeah... I’m fine.”

“<Wow, you can understand me. You must be a Pokemon Trainer. So, why were you crying?>” the Shinx walked closer, less alert knowing that Lucius understood his kind.

“Me? Crying!? Don’t make me laugh!” Lucius quickly retorted as he got on his feet.

“<These big ears aren’t for playtime!>” he said with a very childish tone.

“Humph, whatever! What are doing out here all alone anyway?” Lucius was quick to change the subject.

“<I got separated from my big brother. But we Shinx know these mountains like the back of our paws!>” he answered, checking the back of his paw as if making sure he really knew what it looked like. Suddenly, an idea struck Lucius.

“Hey, do you know how I can get to the city?” Lucius asked, kneeling down at the Pokemon’s height.

“<Yes, I just came from that way. I can show you if you want! My brother will probably go back there when he doesn’t find me here!>” the Shinx said eagerly. Lucius was a little skeptical of the idea, as all he wanted were directions. Also, he had no intention of going to the city just yet. He was hoping Lilith had found her way by now.

“Know this place like the back of your paw, eh? I don’t see why not little guy!”

“<Yay, thank you! My name is Nicholas, but my brother calls me Nick!>”

“Oh, um, hello Nick. My name is Lucius.”

“Lucio? What? It sound nice but it’s kind of hard to say. Can I call you Lucy?”

Lucius frowned at the nickname given to him, but he didn’t want to argue with such a young Pokemon. He nodded in approval and followed the glowing Pokemon through the haze.


**********


The farther the pair walked, the clearer the weather became. Soon enough, Lucius didn’t even need the glowing body of Nick to maneuver the pass. However, he didn’t want to abandon the child. Every once in a while, they would hear a voice calling out to someone. Each time they heard it, they voice only got louder. Finally, they were able to make out what it was saying.

“<Nick, are you there!?>” The voice sounded a lot like Nick’s, only a little older.

“<It’s my brother!>” Nick cried before running off in the direction of the voice. Unsure of what to do, Lucius tried to keep up.

Finally, lying at the edge of a ledge was Nick and another Pokemon. Its yellow fur looked brighter than usual because of the light emitting from Nick, and its tail zigzagged like a lightning bolt. From Lucius’ perspective, he could’ve sworn its bright red cheeks were pulsating as it glared at the human. It didn’t take a Pokemon Master to know that this Pokemon shared no relation to the Shinx family, what-so-ever.

“Your brother’s a Pikachu?” Lucius asked, trying to piece this impossible puzzle together.

“<What’s it to ya, punk!? Family isn’t always blood, you know>” the Pikachu sounded extremely angry for some reason. Suddenly, Lucius could no longer feel his legs and dropped hopelessly on his face.

“<Not funny, Ken!>” the Shinx screamed, smacking his ‘brother’ with his forehead. Ken simply brushed him off with his tail.

“<Indeed. Not funny at all.>” whispered a familiar voice from above. Although Lucius couldn’t turn his body around, he was absolutely sure who made the remark.

Jumping off a higher ledge, Lilith landed directly in between her trainer and Ken. By now, Lucius lost track on how much he owed this one Pokemon.

“<Back off fur ball, leave the kid alone.>” Kid? She could have at least stood up for him a little better. Ken, however, took a step back. He knew better than to pick a fight with a Pokemon owned by a trainer. Only if he knew their battling capabilities...

“<Look, me and my bro don’t want any trouble. Just leave us alone!>” Ken finally said.

“<Brother? Reality check dude, that’s a Shinx! And don’t give me that ‘Family isn’t always blood’ bull either.>” Ken gritted his teeth as Lilith grinned. Lucius knew that if he actually decided to attack, they were done for. Struggling to his feet, he was quick to gain control of the situation.

“Can you just direct us to the city and we’ll be on our way.”

“<The city? That’s easy enough; you can see it from this ledge. Come, look.>” Ken insisted, moving Nick to the side. Lucius smiled at the fact that he would soon be out of this place. He quickly walked over to the ledge.

“Thank you very much. See how easy life is when Pokemon and humans—.” Lucius was cut off after being struck in the back. He turned around to see Ken falling back on the ground from an obvious head butt. However, there was nothing Lucius could do about it. Before he knew it, he was plummeting into the seemingly endless fog.

Back on the ledge, Lilith could only stare in awe.

“<YOU FREAKIN’ PSYCHO-PATH!!!>” she cried, running over to the ledge. She starred into the unknown, hoping her trainer would suddenly bounce back up.

“<You’re still not funny, brother.>” Nick groaned, a little less worried than Lilith had hoped.

“<AM I THE ONLY THAT SAW THIS ******* PUSH A HUMAN OFF A LEDGE!?>” she exclaimed, her blood reaching its boiling point. Ken just shrugged and laughed a little.

“<Calm down, there’s a spring down there. By now, the kids probably more relaxed than hurt.>”

“<And what if he misses said spring>” Lilith retorted, unsatisfied with the reply.

“<Hmm... never really thought that far.>” Ken said, scratching his head.

“<You idiot!>” Lilith screamed before jumping off the ledge herself. Ken and Nick watched as she suffered the same fate as her trainer.

“<I’m going to go check on them!>” Nick said unexpectedly.

“<Since when did you start worrying about others? You’re going to stay right here!>” Ken said angrily. Nick, however, paid him no attention.

“<If you leave now, don’t bother coming back!>” Ken shouted, although he doubted Nick heard it. The Shinx was halfway down the ledge by now.


**********


Lucius heard another splash after his and he quickly turned around. He was delighted to see Lilith had jumped in after him. Then, suddenly, a thought came to mind.

“Did he push you in too?”

“<Like I’d let some little rodent push me around. Too bad you can’t say the same.>” Lilith chuckled as they swam back to land. Soaking wet, the two continued, this time however, they couldn’t be walking any closer together.

“<Lucy! Are you there!?>” cried Nick’s childish voice. Lucius shuddered, thinking he was with Ken.

“<Aww, I think someone lost their little girl. Let’s go help—.>”

“NO! I mean... It’s none of our business, ya know?” Lucius said, rapidly waving his hands.

“<Is that you Lucy!? I’m coming!>”

“<That voice sounds famil—.>” Lilith ended there when a small feline jumped from the darkness and landed on Lilith’s back.

“<You...>” Lilith whispered, turning her head so fast that she nearly scratched Nick’s face with her extra appendage.

“<Found you, Lucy!>” Nick said happily at Lucius. It took some time for the teen to notice that he was here alone.

“Simmer down, Lilith.” Lucius said, patting Nick on the head with a smile.

“<I’d expect you to be mad, seeing as his ‘brother’ kind of pushed you off a mountain...>” Lilith grunted.

“<I’m sorry about Ken! He has a bad sense of humor. He’ll be mad when I go back to him...>”

“Then don’t go back.” Lucius said, holding Nick in his arms like a mother would her baby. Both Nick and Lilith were at a loss for words.

“Me and Lilith could use some company, especially after what happened today.” Lilith couldn’t argue with that.

“<Are you serious?>” Nick asked, his voice squeaking from the excitement. “<You want me to be one of your Pokemon?>”

“It’s all up to you, Nick.” Lucius pulled out an empty Pokeball he had bought from the PokeMart two days previous. After expanding it, he showed it to Nick “Just touch the middle button if—.” Lucius didn’t even have time to finish when Nick nearly slammed his head into the button. The small cat was sucked up and didn’t even struggle with the capture.

Lucius looked at the sphere in his hand and grinned in satisfaction.

“I CAUGHT A SHI—.”

“<Yeah, whatever. Just call him out so he can lead us out of here. I know that’s the only reason you caught him.>” Lucius glared at Lilith for her remark, but didn’t argue. In fact, he did exactly what she said and called Nick out. Eagerly, he led them out of the mountain-maze.


**********


“<Here we are!> cried the young feline as he came to a stop. It was late, but Lucius could see lights in the distance; a clear sign that Sage City was near.

“You did well, Nick. Take a rest.” Lucius returned him to his Pokeball and stuffed the orb in his pocket.

“So, how do you like the new teammate?” Lucius asked, looking at Lilith.

“<Meh, he’s okay, I guess. He did get us out of those darn mountains.>”

Lucius smiled at his Pokemon, who only smiled back and began walking forward.

“Lucius! No way, is that you!?” shouted a voice that nearly made Lucius break down. He quickly turned in the direction of the voice and stared in amazement. Standing before him was Kyle, wearing the same exact outfit on the day Lucius left Everon; only this time sporting a backpack similar to Lucius’.

Lucius slowly walked backward as if the person infront of him was a ghost. However, this ghost was able to run to him; touch him; embrace him...

“This is incredible! Dude, the whole town’s been looking for you!”

“Ky— Kyle... How did you get here!?” Lucius stammered, still not believing what he was seeing. The fog must’ve been playing tricks on him. But the fog dissipated hours ago...

“I left a few days after I heard what happened. You were trying to save that Absol, right!?” Kyle asked, sounding as if he had seen Lucius only yesterday. Kyle released his grip from Lucius and examined his friend thoroughly. Lilith walked up to the two, interested in what was happening.

“Dude, why are you wet?”

“This is impossible... It took me days to get through this mountain! How is it possible you’re here, right now!?”

“I took the road, of course!” Kyle laughed, pointing at a nearby sign stating: This way to Andrea Town. Lucius glared at the sign, infuriated that the fact he actually walked up the mountain. It was then that Lucius noticed the red and white ball hanging off of Kyle’s belt.

“Okay, please explain EVERYTHING to me!” Lucius said, still looking at the Pokeball. Last time he talked to Kyle, he resented the idea of simply playing with the species.

“Fine, here it goes.” Kyle took a deep breathe before continuing. “After hearing you fell down that mountain, I just had to see if you made it out alive. A few nights ago, I snuck out the house with all my stuff and trekked down that very same mountain. After searching for your body for a few hours, I was sure that you had survived the fall. I then came upon a small town called Andrea, where I overheard the Nurse and some guy with an Ekans talking about a kid with blue hair and an Absol. My brain just went into action and I demanded they tell me which way you went. After doing so, the Nurse insisted I sleep over and the guy challenged me to a battle. I accepted the offer but told the guy I wasn’t a trainer. He made some weird remark and said at least I could admit it. Anyways, the next day, I met that guy again and he gave me a Pokeball for my journey through the mountains. He said I could use it to delay any Pokemon that was bothering me. As luck would have it, I managed to capture the Pokemon. And, well, here I am! That road had a few trainers and I got a little experience in real battling!” Lucius’ eyes were almost completely out of his head by the time Kyle finished his story.

The teen was filled with mixed feelings about the situation. He missed Kyle, even though their last interaction wasn’t exactly friendly. However, if he told Kyle off, he might go back to Everon and tell his parents where he was. Finding Lucius was his initial plan after all.

“So, you headed for Sage City, too? I want to test out that Gym!” Kyle said enthusiastically. Lucius was happier than his face expression told. He and Kyle were on the same journey, why not complete it together?

“Yeah, I am. Why don’t we go together?” Lucius asked, now sharing the same smile as his friend.

“<Oh sure, don’t bother asking for my opinion...>” Lilith whispered. Lucius had forgotten she was even there.

“Oh, sorry. Would you like it if I came along?” Kyle asked, bending over so he was right in Lilith’s face. Lucius was a little jealous that Kyle could also understand PokeSpeech. Just another thing they had in common...

“<Doesn’t matter to me, just don’t get in our way.>” Lilith replied coldly as she walked away again.

“She’s a sweetheart...” Kyle said sarcastically before turning to Lucius. “Hey, how about a battle? I wanna see how you’re fairing in your journey so far.” Lucius wasn’t too sure if a battle was a good idea. Kyle did say he had practice while walking down the mountain road. If Lucius lost, he knew Kyle would never let it down. Finally, he came up with an excuse.

“I’ll battle you just to test out my newest Pokemon. So yeah, if you win, it doesn’t really count.”

“Suit yourself, I just thought you’d want to use your strongest Pokemon. Anyways, go, Bruce!” Kyle cried, throwing his Pokeball in the air. From the red light, a silver beetle-like Pokemon materialized. Its head was shaped like a shield and its large, blue eyes stared at Lucius in confusion.

“<This our next victim, boss?>” the Aron asked. Lilith grunted at the statement and urged Lucius to use her instead.

“Its okay, Lilith. Nick can handle this... I hope.” Lucius said, releasing his Shinx.

“<Huh? What’s going on?>” Nick asked, rubbing his eyes with his paws. He was probably asleep.

“A Shinx? The Absol would have faired better. Aron, Tackle!”

The armored Pokemon charged at Nick, lowering its rock-hard head.

“Nick, dodge and Tackle back!” Lucius instructed.

“Why?” Nick questioned, turning to Lucius.

“Nick, pay attention!” Lucius, however, was too late. Bruce’s head smacked right into Nick’s side, causing him to skid across the hard ground. He was nearly submerged in rocks by the time he stopped.

“<Ouch... you’re a meanie!>” Nick yelled as he got back on his feet.

“Nick, we’re in a battle! Now, use Bite!” Lucius ordered, his voice hinting with regret. Lilith only laughed.

The Shinx rushed at Bruce with a speed that even caught Lilith’s attention. Nonetheless, Kyle was able to make a command before Nick made contact.

“Stay put and use Iron Defense.” he said in a tone much less stressed than his opponent’s. Lucius didn’t even think to call off the attack as he saw no difference in Bruce’s appearance. Big mistake...

Nick crunched hard of Bruce’s shell, or at least he tried to. The second he bit down on his enemy, a loud crack filled the ears of the trainers.

“<MY TOOTH!>” Nick cried as he ran back over to Lucius. Bruce just stared with his emotionless face.

“He’s distracted Bruce, finish it with a Mud Slap!” The Aron followed his commands without hesitation and kick his small legs against the dirt, causing some small rocks to smack into Nick’s back. The inexperienced Pokemon fell to the floor from the barrage, beaten.

“That’s zero for two...” Lucius thought to himself as he called Nick back into his Pokeball. Lilith opened her mouth to comment on the battle but decided against it when she saw her trainer’s face expression.

“Another victory, good job Bruce!” Kyle complimented as he too recalled his Pokemon. “Next time, I want to face that Absol of yours.”

“<You can count on it.>” Lilith whispered just loud enough for Lucius to hear, and for Kyle not to.

Lucius’ face expression didn’t change on their way out of the mountain pass. As the landscape took on a grassland aspect, the adolescent trainer seemed to have something on his mind. Surprisingly, he wasn’t even thinking about the battle. Kyle, the only person that understood him, was now with him. Just how he wanted it from the beginning...

He glanced from Lilith to Kyle to the Pokeball still in his hand and grinned at how his life was turning out. This was his new life. He understood what Ken meant by family not only being defined by blood. The people that took care of him in Everon, they were just care-takers to him now.

This was his family.

 

[The Pig King]

Amazing work. There's so much originality.

 

[Magma Krystal]

yes, this is great. I love how you let the pokes speak, because it definently made Shinx and the other pokemon better characters.:drool:

 

[Glajummy]

Chapter Four: Moonlight in the Morning


Sage City was now in clear view as the teens packed their sleeping bags and continued their walk. The city was an amazing site to the travelers, even though there were much bigger metropolises in the other regions. The buildings towered much higher than that of Everon’s. A sinister-looking, thick haze enveloped the city, reminding Lucius of the ordeal he just went through in the mountains. Many vehicles swarmed in and out of the city, and as they got closer, they saw how much more technologically advanced this place was than Everon or Andrea. A grin appeared on Lucius’ face for no apparent reason, which in turn, caused Lilith and Kyle to back up a little. Unbeknownst to them, Lucius was simply happy that the world of Pokemon was better than the inferior world of Everon.

“Sorry to interrupt your little daydream, but I think we should head straight for the Pokemon Center. I’m sure your Absol is tired and your Shinx is still a little hurt.” Kyle said, smiling at Lilith. This morning Kyle allowed Bruce to walk among everyone else. The emotionless Pokemon seemed to be in a state of suspended animation, as it just stared into to space.

“<First of all, the name’s Lilith. Second, the squirt’s name is Nick. Third, if you want to be my friend, just don’t talk. Fourth, put that Aron away! He’s creeping me out!>” Lilith barked, stopping in front of Kyle. Although she was in Bruce’s line of view, he didn’t even budge.

“Don’t mind her Kyle; she’s grump in the morning.” Lucius said, subconsciously rubbing Lilith on the head. Her facial expression completely changed as she put on a fake-grin for her trainer’s delight.

“<Hey boss, when can we have our next battle?>” Bruce asked very unexpectedly. Lucius and Lilith gaped at the Pokemon talking for the first time that day, but Kyle was unaffected by the question.

“Hopefully soon, buddy.”

That was the last thing anybody said for some time. Then, suddenly, a shady figure ran swiftly across the grassland.

“Did you guys see that!?” Lucius shouted, abruptly stopping to a halt.

“<I sense a dark presence...>” Bruce whispered coldly as he jumped in front of his trainer.

“<Weirdo,>” Lilith thought to herself, also getting in front of her trainer.

The four stared into the distance, expecting the figure to reappear. After about a minute, Lucius believed they were in the clear.

“Let’s hurry up! The city can’t be more than ten minutes—.” Lucius discontinued his statement as he saw the green blur in the corner of his eyes. He motioned to Kyle, who had also noticed it, and then charged at the figure.

Suddenly, a large insect leaped from the semi-tall grass. As it moved into the light of the sun, Kyle immediately noticed the mantis outline. Its wings were flapping faster than the trainer’s thought possible, and the entireties of its arms were two sharp blades. Like most bug Pokemon, its body looked as if it were separated into sections. Lucius raised his arms above his head through instinct, but the Scyther simply flew by him; its fierce eyes focused on the flames of Kyle’s shirt.

“Bruce, Mud Slap!” the trainer ordered, his tone unaltered by the sudden appearance of danger. Very obediently, Bruce kicked up a large amount of dirt that succeeded in stopping the mantis’ assault. The accumulated dirt halted the vibration of its wings and the Scyther fell on its back.

“<You’re a fast one,>” he commented, getting to his feet and sharpening his blades against one another. “<But as long as you stay on my territory, I won’t let out!>”

Without leaving anytime for Kyle to reply, the Scyther charged once again. This time he was going at least twice as fast as his initial attack. Even though it was last minute, Kyle was still able to retaliate.

“Iron Defense!”

Unsurprisingly, Bruce intently followed his commands. The sound of metal converging filled the desolate air, and the two trainers, along with Lilith, covered their ears. The two battlers, however, seemed unfazed. As Lilith looked up, she saw something unusual in Bruce’s eyes. The cerulean orbs seemed brighter than usual and a little livelier. She knew at that moment that somewhere under that expressionless mask, there was a smile. Bruce was having fun.

“Now, while your body’s still hard, Tackle!” shouted Kyle, whose voice sounded a little uneasy for some reason.

Neither Lucius nor Lilith could make out the sudden change in tone, until Bruce finally acted. Bruce lowered his head in a fashion more suitable for a Headbutt, rather than a Tackle. Nearly doubling the attack’s power with the lasting effects of Iron Defense, Bruce slammed his head into the Scyther’s abdomen with unprecedented force.

It almost seemed like slow motion as the mantis was shot back just as fast as he approached, and skidded lifelessly on the ground, halting near Lucius. As he and his Pokemon looked at the bug in awe, Kyle only watched in horror. If bugs had bones, his would have surely been decimated.

“No! Not again!” he cried, swarming his belt buckle for Bruce’s Pokeball. Although the attack was a little harsh, Lucius thought he was over-exaggerating. This was, of course, before he noticed that Bruce was still charging at his clearly beaten opponent. Without thinking, Lilith jumped in front of the battered Scyther, but to her surprise, Bruce simply sped up. That was when it hit Lilith. The hidden smile wasn’t from happiness, but bloodthirsty delight. He was inches from impact when Kyle jammed his Pokeball button and the red beam engulfed his Pokemon.

“Lucius, quick, capture it for me!” he shouted, his tone now back to normal. Without hesitation, Lucius gently tapped the Scyther with one of his empty balls, and the capture ended without the simplest of struggles. As he handed the ball to Kyle, he couldn’t help but notice the remarkable fear in his eyes.

“Dude... what the hell was that about!?” he shouted, finally taking in the whole situation.

“<Yeah, get to explaining! And what did you mean by ‘not again’?>” Lilith added.

“I’m— I’m so sorry guys. Back at the mountain— on a deserted part of the road— we met up with a trainer looking for a battle. I agreed to what turned out to be a really intense and fun experience for the both of us. That is, until Bruce started getting a little too engulfed in the battle. Before I knew it, he was disobeying my commands. The battle ended with my opponent carrying off his bloodied up Geodude into the thick mist. Do you have any idea how hard it is to make a Geodude BLEED!?”

Lucius pondered on the story before replying, “Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”

“I was afraid you’d be too scared to travel with me. That’s why I wanted you to use your Ab— I mean Lilith. I knew her attacks would be very weak against Bruce’s defenses, making the battle very unexciting. If Nick knew any electrical attacks, we might have had a problem,” he answered truthfully. Lilith grunted at the comment of her being “weak”.

“<Oh no you didn’t!>” she screamed, completely ignoring the story. Lucius shot a glare and motioned to her Pokeball. She only looked down in shame.

Lucius opened his mouth to apologize on behalf of Lilith’s comment, but decided against it when he heard a faint sound. It seemed to be coming for the direction of the city and closer to them. As he listened longer, he was able to make out the noise. A siren...

At that moment, a white and black police car pulled up from the grassland and stopped in front of the trainers. The loud siren continued to ring, even as the front door opened. Out stepped a grown woman wearing a blue and white police uniform with a matching hat. Her aqua hair fell to her shoulders and her maroon eyes were filled with anger. In her gloved-right hand was a pair of black binoculars.

“I saw the entire thing! You two are busted for Pokemon cruelty!” she screamed, placing the binoculars in a compartment on her belt and reaching for her hand gun. “Roll all your Pokeballs over to me and slowly walk over here. Also, return that Absol to its Pokeball.”

Lucius glanced at Lilith, who grumbled an “<Okay,>” and returned to her Pokeball confinement. He rolled over his Pokeballs, and Kyle followed shortly after.

“Now toss me your Trainer Cards!”

“Trainer... Cards?” the words seemed to choke Lucius before they came out as sounds.

“Illegal battling and capture!? What, you smuggling drugs too?” she dug her hand into a case next to her gun’s. When she pulled her hand out, she was holding two handcuffs. “Slowly, walk over here with your hands up!”

Kyle followed submissively, but Lucius hesitated. Why? Why did destiny choose to end it this way? After falling of a mountain, getting lost, then falling off ANOTHER mountain, his journey would end with a jail sentence? And those charges— they sounded severe. He had no idea how this one was going to work itself out.

“Hey you, ya deaf!? Get over here!”

Lucius was thrown back into reality. As he looked up, he saw that Kyle was already cuffed up and pushed against the car. He had no choice but to follow in suit. After getting cuffed himself, the officer forced the two into the vehicle. She slammed the door behind them and Lucius tried to look through what turned out to be a tinted window. After getting in the driver’s seat, they headed for the city.

Lucius sulked in the fact that the windows and high speed prevented him from any sight-seeing. Neither he nor Kyle talked for the entire ride. Technically, it was Kyle’s fault, but Lucius didn’t want to argue. Within the hour, they arrived at the jail.

Their door swung open and the officer jumped into the back seat. She was holding two blindfolds.

“This’ll teach you to mess with Officer Jenny! I can’t allow you to see where you are, just incase you somehow escape.” With that, she tied the blindfold around the teen’s eyes and guided them into and about the building. Finally, she pulled the blindfolds off, pushed the two into a cell, and locked it.

They were in a cell consisting of only one bed and a toilet. The white paint was chipping off the walls and the top left corner looked like it was harboring asbestos.

“Welcome to your home for the next seven days, boys. Your sentence hearing will be next week, where you’ll be trialed and probably spend much more time here.” Officer Jenny said with a smirk. She walked away, leaving the two in silence. Lucius could barely make out his backpack and Pokeballs on a desk opposite the cell.

“How do I get in to these messes!?” he cried, lazily dropping himself onto the bed.

“Lucius... I’m so sorry. You don’t belong here, it’s all my—.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. It’s okay, seeing as I’m technically an illegal trainer anyway. We need to find a way—.” Lucius bolted up when he heard the door open again. Both he and Kyle ran over to the bars of the cell, expecting to see Officer Jenny. However, what they did see caught them off guard. Especially Lucius...

A light skinned, young female entered the room, no older than the two teens. A cobalt cap rested atop her head, similar to that of Kyle’s. Her silvery hair, which reached her shoulders, reflected enough light to give her face the appearance of that of an angel. Her eyes had the same shade of blue as her hat and she seemed to not notice the trainers inspecting her. She wore a tight, violet shirt with the word “Moonlight” written across it in a darker shade of purple. A black undershirt could be made out through her revealing purple shirt. Her blue jeans were fastened with a brown belt with chains hanging off of it. Lucius drooled at the perfection that he was just graced with. Kyle, on the other hand, was focused on the object attached to the end of the black necklace she wore. It was a Pokeball.

“Hey you, help us out!” Lucius blurted out, startling the girl.

“Huh? What are two guys your age doing in jail?” her voice had a little edge to it. It only turned Lucius on even more.

“That crazy cop arrested us for not having our Trainer Cards!” Kyle shouted, leaning against the bars.

“Don’t forget nearly killing the Scyther.” Lucius thought to himself.

“Hmm... it’s a shame cuties like you have to be criminals.” she said softly, stepping closer to the cellblock. Lucius caught a whiff of her aroma and nearly collapsed from the fragrance.

“Come on; is this the face of a criminal?” Lucius said in a suave tone, smiling. The girl smiled back.

“I guess not... So, you want to get out of here?” she asked, walking over to the desk with their bags.

“What do you mean?” the two asked in unison.

“Hehe, you guys must be tourists. It’s a yes or no question.” She grabbed something from the desk and Lucius heard the sound of jiggling keys.

“Yes, please!” Lucius quickly answered. After several tries, she found the correct key and unlocked the cell. Lucius and Kyle hesitated to exit their prison.

“Why are you doing this? Are you trying to set us up for an ambush or something? You can get into serious trouble for helping us out.” Kyle exclaimed.

“Didn’t you notice that you guys are the only prisoners here? This is a fairly new jail; cameras not even installed yet. And trust me, this city is nothing without me.” She winked at the end of her sentence, and whether it was from his infatuation or because of the current situation, Lucius felt he could trust her.

“Come on Kyle, I’m not spending my journey in some cell.”

“You must be kidding Lucius. This is dangero—.”

“Don’t even think about finishing that sentence! I’m not the one harboring a bloodthirsty Pokemon around with me!” he retorted coldly. He could see the sudden anguish in Kyle’s facial expression, but he didn’t care. Grabbing the cell door, he carefully slid it open and stepped out into freedom. Kyle followed without a word.

“I don’t know how we can thank you! I’m Lucius and this is my traveling buddy, Kyle.” the eager teen said as he quickly ran up to his rescuer.

“Name’s Artemis and I wish I could tell you more, but we should really be getting out of here!”

After grabbing their belongings, the three ran out of the small jailhouse. As Lucius stepped outside, he came to an abrupt stop. The city building soared into the clouds and lights flashed in all directions. The city air gave Lucius the impression that sunset was near and wondered how long he was trapped in that cell. The streets were flooded with automobiles of all kinds. The sidewalks were choked with both humans and Pokemon of all shapes and sizes.

“Now’s not the time for sight seeing!” Artemis screamed, tugging on Lucius’ jacket. Her touch knocked him back into reality, and he followed her down the block.

They ran and ran, but weren’t being chased. Officer Jenny must’ve been back by now, and such severe charges meant she was probably looking for them. So where was she?

On about their fifth block, Artemis stopped for what Lucius believed to be a short breather. However, when he glanced up, he saw the red and white building they were stationed at. The trio entered the Pokemon Center, which suddenly went silent. Lucius feared it was because word leaked out about him being at-large, but then he noticed that all eyes were on Artemis. They approached the counter where a nurse with scarlet colored hair stood. He recognized her and once.

“I didn’t expect to see you in Sage City.” said the blue-haired teen, leaning on the counter.

“Excuse me sir, I don’t believe we’ve met.” Nurse Joy replied. Her eyes were still trained on Artemis.

“Don’t mind him, Nurse Joy. Do you think you can give these guys a room and heal up their Pokemon a bit?”

“Of course, Artemis. I’ll need to see your cards.” Joy finally looked at the two trainers.

Artemis quickly spoke up before either could reply, “Joy, would I hang out with illegal trainers? Their Pokemon are really hurt and could use some healing.” She grinned childishly, but Nurse Joy quickly relinquished her idea to inspect their Trainer Cards. Lucius and Kyle simply stared at each other in confusion. They handed Nurse Joy their Pokeballs and she retrieved the room keys

“Last room to the left on the third floor.” she murmured, her hands shaking as she handed the two keys to Artemis.

Without another word, she signaled to the two trainers and headed for the stairs.


**********


“Well, here you go!” Artemis shouted as she swung the door to their room open. It was very much like the Andrea center, except the second bed was large enough for a human. “Stand right there and don’t move!” she quickly added.

She dug in her pocket and pulled out an orange device that resembled a cell phone. She pointed it at Lucius and Kyle’s faces and pressed a button twice.

“Okay, that’s all. I’ll be heading home now, and expect a surprise later.” As she moved for the door, Kyle stepped forward.

“I can’t take this any longer! Why are you doing all this stuff for us? The only thing you know about us is our names! We can be real criminals, you know!”

“Hehe, let’s just say I like to ‘exercise my power’. And about the criminal thing,” she walked up close to Kyle and moved her lush lips to his ears. Then, with a faint whisper that Lucius barely heard, she said, “I like the bad boys...” And then, she left.

“Dude... she is so HOT!” Lucius squealed after several seconds.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Kyle said, walking over to his bed. “There’s just something about her...”

“Yeah, her HOTNESS! I so call first dibs.”

“Oh, grow up! No girl will like you with that stench!” Kyle shouted. Lucius knew that he’d only be lying if he argued and hurried off to the shower room.


*********


It was about four in the afternoon when Nurse Joy entered their room with a tray of Pokeballs. He couldn’t explain it, but Lucius immediately knew which balls belonged to him. Kyle reluctantly retrieved his teammates.

“I did the best I could for your Scyther, but he was hurt pretty bad. He’s the main reason why it took me so long to come up here. Maybe you should see how he’s doing.” Nurse Joy suggested.

“Uh... I think what he needs most is some rest. Maybe later.”

“Suit yourself,” Nurse Joy fished her front pouch and pulled out two laminated, rectangular cards. She closed the door behind her and whispered, “Artemis told me about how you two actually lost your Trainer Cards in a mugging. She provided me with pictures from her PokeNav and I made these for you.” She flipped the cards over, revealing pictures of Lucius and Kyle that obviously were taken without them knowing. Lucius looked at the card as an answer to all his future problems. This was his proof. He was officially a Pokemon Trainer. Nurse Joy began to exit the room but Lucius called her back.

“Hey, what’s the deal with Artemis? I mean, why was everyone looking at her?”

“Well, the answer to that question should be obvious to people who she claims to be her friends.” Nurse Joy replied, looking a little confused.

“Uh, well, she’s beautiful and all. But even the little girls were looking at her!”

“That’s kind of the reaction you get when you and your brother run the Sage City Gym!”

The jaws of both trainers fell to the might of gravity and dropped. A Pokeball attached to Lucius’ began to rumbled and open. Lilith shot out and observed her trainer and surroundings.

“<What’d I miss?>”


***** End of Chapter 4 *****

Aww, no suspensful ending... DEAL WITH IT! (J/k)

 

[Pseudonymiss]

OMFG! *faints* I had to blink about a million times before I could tear my eyes down the page to review.

Sorry I can't read all of the chapters so far yet, I need to do an assignment, but while I'm here, I'll give a brief review.

As BlazikenEX has said, there is so much originality and you have great talent. Punctuation, grammar, and everything is practically flawless. But, not to mini-mod or anything, but when you post the name of your chapters, they shouldn't go over the size of 3 [I think]. Titles of your fics can be that font you have used, but otherwise, everything else should be the maximum of size 3 font.

But all in all, oh my friggin gawd this fic is good. And it's interesting that you haven't used the main characters like Ash and Pikachu etc, because it honestly, gets a little old sometimes. Your plotting and absolutely anything is overally great - especially how you portrayed Absol's persona.

Man, I'm so sad because one, I can't stay longer to read more, and two, my review is soo crap because I get so speachless [or textless] after reading a fic, let alone that I suck at reviewing! ><;;;

Well, I g2g do that assignment, but as soon as I finish, I'll be sure to read your other chapters in a flash!

Keep writing your good chappies of yours and Keep Smiling!

a_f

 

[Glajummy]

I'm glad you like it. Here's Chaper 5!

Chapter Five: One's Dream, is Another's Nightmare


Lucius stared at the dull ceiling above him. Kyle was fast asleep by now and Lilith was lying on a blanket near his bed. Nurse Joy had brought them a radio T.V. earlier that day, in light of them being Artemis’ special guests. Artemis, the Sage City Gym Leader... Unfortunately, it could only tune into the local news; something that interested neither of the trainers.

The teen twisted and turned but his attempts to get comfortable were all in vain. There was simply too much on his mind. He was hoping he could get to know Artemis better before leaving Sage, but as fate would have it, he had to battle her.

“Calm down, Lucius! She’s a gym leader, you got no chance with her... but she is your age...” His conscious fought with itself endlessly until he couldn’t take it anymore. With a jolt of energy, Lucius sat up, grabbed his pillow, and threw it in some unknown direction. It hit the radio T.V. hard, which suddenly came to life.

“And now, we go to Karen West for an update on our newest segment, ‘Kanto Watch’.” said a male, probably in his twenties. The screen switched settings and the camera was now recording in a white hallway filled with paintings and certificates. There was a woman in a blue dress holding a microphone. Her blonde hair covered some of her face, but Lucius was sill able to see her blue eyes.

However, she was the least of his interests. Standing next to her was man well known through the Pokemon world. His scarlet hair spiked backwards and his eyes burned with the ferocity of a true Pokemon Master. He wore a black and red jumpsuit and a cape that dropped to his ankles. Lance’s name and achievements were posted all over the internet, so it was only natural that Lucius noticed him immediately.

“Allowing us a very exclusive view of Kanto’s Hall of Fame, Dragon Master Lance has also agreed to answer some questions about the incident at Indigo Plateau yesterday.”

“Please, Karen, call me Lance.” The reporter’s cheeks flushed with blood and she nodded. “Well, as you may or may not know, the infamous Team Rocket caused a lot of commotion at this summer’s Pokemon League Challenge. Halting the burning of the torch, Team Rocket attempted to steal our beloved Moltres, a legendary Pokemon that appears at the beginning of the tournament every year or so. They nearly succeeded too, if it weren’t for me and a few hundred skilled trainers. To my knowledge, there were no casualties and Moltres is now in my custody.” Lance held up a black and white Pokeball with a yellow “U” on it. “Of course, I’ll release him when all the commotion dies down.”

“Wow, Dra— I mean, Lance. Only a trainer as skilled as yourself could tame such a ‘hot’ Pokemon!”

“Aw, you’re much too modest Karen. From what I hear, Tetrago is producing some top notch trainers these days. I may have to go check it out.” Again, the reporter blushed.

“You here that!? Lance may be coming to a city near you! This is Karen West with another update on ‘Kanto Watch’. Out.”

The screen went back to the anchor man, but Lucius didn’t get a chance to hear what he had to say. A silver crescent went straight through the T.V., slicing it in half. Lucius traced the attack back to where Lilith was sleeping.

“<Stupid human machines, waking me up...>” she grumbled before going back to sleep. Lucius’ eyes went back to the destroyed T.V. and he made a mental note to remember the attack for the battle up ahead. With his mind now focused on the events happening around the world and the fact that Lance praised the beginning trainers of Tetrago, Lucius was finally able to sleep.


***** The next morning *****


“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY T.V.!?” screamed an enraged voice from the bedroom. Lucius forced his weary eyes open and caught sight of something no man should see. Nurse Joy in the morning...

Her hair was curled up in two frizzy buns and she still had a green facial cream smothered all over her face. Her normal nurse attire was replaced by red footy pajamas with Chanseys plastered all over it.

Lucius looked over the side of the bed and to his surprise, Kyle wasn’t in his bed. He quickly glanced down to see if Lilith was still there; she was.

“You!” Nurse Joy screamed, pointing at Lucius. “What have you done to me T.V.?”

“Sorry, it was a mistake.” Lucius replied in mid-yawn.

“Mistake? It’s cut in FREAKIN’ half!” She was holding each half in the air. “I don’t care if you’re Artemis’ guest, you’re paying for this!”

“Okay, okay; how’s this?” Lucius said, grabbing a hundred dollar bill from his pocket and handing it to Joy. To his amazement, he was now left with only $700.00. Nurse Joy inspected the bill before placing it in her pocket.

“Now that that’s over, your friend told me to tell you to be at the gym by 11:30 AM.”

Lucius quickly glanced at the digital clock.

11:45 AM.

“What the hell! Why didn’t you wake me up?” he shouted, jumping out of the bed, not caring if Nurse Joy saw him in his boxers.

“Well I came in at 11:15 but for thirty minutes, I was wondering how you could possible destroy a T.V. like this.” she answered, her tone back to normal. Lucius had his pants and shirt on by now and was slipping on his jacket.

“<Aren’t you going to [/I]bathe?[/I]>” Lilith mumbled as she stirred from all the commotion.

“No time, Lilith! We’ve got a big battle ahead of us!”

“Battle!?” The word rejuvenated the wolf and she immediately got to her feet. “Time to kick some serious butt!”

The two quickly exited the Pokemon Center and hurried down the busy street. Many people darted out of the way once they caught sight of the “disaster” Pokemon. Lucius noticed this and merely ignored it.

“<So where are we headed?>”

“Sage City Gym. Kyle’s going to be mad that I’m late!”

“<Well, at least you know your way. >”

Lucius suddenly came to a screeching halt. “DAMNIT!!!” he screamed, realizing he didn’t even ask Nurse Joy for directions. His outburst gained him many peculiar stares.

“Hey, you!” cried a female voice from the surrounding crowd. Officer Jenny burst from the collection of Pokemon Trainers and business men, pointing dramatically at Lucius.

“Gah! Run Lilith, RUN!!!” he ordered, forcing himself through the crowd. Lilith’s agile figure sped past him and he tried his hardest to keep up. He took the chance to look back but Officer Jenny wasn’t behind him. He began to call out to Lilith when he heard the sound of a motorcycle start up and a siren sound off.

“What the hell’s up with this lady? It’s not like we killed any body.” the frightened teen thought to himself as he increased his speed. He looked forward for Lilith but she wasn’t there.

Did she abandon him? Didn’t she care what happened to her trainer? These questions plagued Lucius’ mind as the roar of the engine and alarm of the sirens got louder. Lucius gradually slowed down until he was pretty much power walking. He was never one for much stamina. He decided on his fate on only wished that Kyle could somehow get Artemis to help him out of jail again.

Then it happened.

A dark figure grabbed onto his shirt and dragged him into an alley way. Lucius struggled to release himself from the beast’s grip but he was simply too tired. He stared at the street from the dark alleyway, expecting to get mugged, killed or both. Officer Jenny sped right past the dark passage and the sound of the sirens steadily went down until they finally disappeared.

“<That was a close one!>” cried whatever was holding him captive. He recognized Lilith’s voice in an instant.

“You scared me half to death, you know!” Lucius screamed, getting to his feet. He wasn’t even sure he was screaming in the right direction, as the alley was void of almost all light.

“<Punk... anyway, let’s get out of here. So... which way is out?>”

“This way, of course!” Lucius said confidently as he picked a direction. It wasn’t even five seconds before he bumped into a wall.

“Okay, new plan.” he said after recovering. He grabbed Nick’s Pokeball and released the glowing cat.

“<Lucy!>” the Shinx squealed as he ran up to his trainer and began snuggling his leg. “<Oh, hello Lily.>”

“<Lily?>” Lilith question in an irritated tone.

“Let it go Lilith, he’s still a child. Nick, do you think you can lead us out of this place?”

“Sure thing Lucy!” he answered, quick to take the lead.


**********


A variety of Pokemon lived in the desolate passage, most of which big enough to probably eat the small Shinx. Lucius was a little skeptical about letting Nick lead until he saw him bite down hard on a Rattata that refused to step out of the way. Lucius praised the small cat for its bravery. That is, of course, until he began hearing weird hissing noises. Out of the shadows, Rattata and Raticate began surrounding the trio. Fighting a swarm of rats was not part of Lucius’ plan for the day, and the teen bolted down the rest of the alleyway with his Pokemon. Before they knew it, Nick’s light was replaced by that of the afternoon sun and they were back on the street.

“Oh man, we’re so screwed! Kyle is going to hate me!”

“<It’ll be okay, Lucius. Look, why don’t you call up that little box he carries around? I believe it’s called a ‘cell phone’?>” Lilith suggested.

“I’d love to but my phone was destroyed back when we first met and I don’t see a pay phone anywhere!”

“<We could ask the people in that big building over there!>” Nick said, pointing his tail at a dome-shaped building directly across the street. It was painted in many different shades of purple and a group of people (whom Lucius could recognize as trainers) were hanging out outside the structure. Across the building, big, green letters were built on and spelled out: Sage City Gym.

“Oh...” Lucius said, scratching his chin. He bent low and patted Nick on the head before returning him to his Pokeball. Then, with Lilith by his side, he crossed the street.

“Wow, you’ve got an Absol! You’ve pretty much got this match made, then!” exclaimed a trainer from the crowd. His blonde hair stuck out of his cap and he wore blue shorts and a blue shirt.

“Oh yeah, and why is that?” Lucius asked, intrigued by the conversation. Lilith walked into the crowd and modeled her beauty to the youngsters.

“<Bow to your queen, foolish humans!>” To her surprise, a few kids actually bowed.

“It’s because a dark type Pokemon’s body secretes an invisible aura that deflects all non-physical assaults. According to these guys, this is a psychic based gym.” said a voice from behind him. Lucius hesitated to turn around before staring into Kyle’s angered face.

“Kyle, I’m SO sorry! Joy woke me up late, and then we got lost, AND THEN we got chased by that officer! We escaped her only to bump into some crazy rats... that chased us too.”

”Maybe because of the stench.” Kyle thought to himself.

“Wait... Officer Jenny!? Dude, you have to be more careful.”

“Well, I didn’t know where I was going! How did you get here anyway?”

“I had Ajax fly from above and scope the area. Didn’t take long with his speed.”

“Ajax?” Lucius and Lilith (who was now listening to the conversation) said.

“Yeah, you know; my Scyther.” It sounded as if he whispered the last part.

“<So, you finally met the guy face to face. How’d it go?>” Lilith asked. The other trainers were still staring at her.

“Not too well; we didn’t talk much. He followed my orders just as obediently as Bruce, but even we talk sometimes. I tried to apologize for hurting him so badly but he just said I caught him fair and square. Then he flew off. Am I a bad trainer or something?”

“Of course not!” Lucius quickly answered. “When me and Lilith first met we— well actually, we hit it off from the start! But me and Nick— well, we got off at a good start too... hmm; maybe you are a bad trainer.” Lilith, Kyle and the surrounding trainer’s all glared at the blue haired teen.

“Thanks for the pep talk. Let’s just get this over with...” Kyle grumbled something inaudible under his breath before pushing through the gym doors.

“Anytime, buddy!” Lucius shouted as he followed his friend.


**********


Lucius observed the gym with great astonishment. It looked even bigger on the inside and all the ceiling was one, giant tinted window, allowing very little light into the room. A large, chalk outline of a regulation battlefield covered most of the floor. The left side of the building was painted bright colors while the right was painted in many purples and other dark colors.

“More victims for today?” pondered a male voice from the shadows. A teenager, probably their age, stepped toward them. His silver hair was spiked backward, making him look like some super hero. His blue eyes brought reminiscent flashbacks of Artemis’ pupils. At first glance, it seemed his head was floating. In fact, he was simply wearing a black suit with matching pants. “What? You beginners can’t ‘lose’ enough?”

“Apollo, leave them alone!” yelled a voice that almost made Lucius piss his pants. From out of the darkness, Artemis stepped out. “Oh, it’s you two! This is my brother, Apollo.”

“Art— Artemis, it’s nice to... uh... see you again.” Lucius stammered. Kyle rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Lilith quietly walked over to him.

“<Is that ‘her’?>”

“Yeah, that’s her.”

The two trainers stepped onto the battlefield, along with the two gym leaders.

“Sister, you really need to stop hanging out with these loser trainers. It’s bad for our reputation, you know?” Apollo said obnoxiously.

“Who you calling a loser, you... loser!” Lucius barked, his hand curling up into a fist.

“Nice comeback; shall we begin?”

“Hold up a second!” Kyle said, stepping forward. “I see you don’t have a judge today. Would you mind explaining the rules a bit?”

“Oh, how silly of me. At least someone has their head in the game.” Apollo took a deep sigh before continuing, “This will be a tag team battle in which each trainer uses one Pokemon. Not only must you rely on skill, but you must also trust your partner to hold his own while also supporting you. Of course, you must return the favor. Both Pokemon of the opposing team must be knocked out to win the match. Doing so would land you with the Celestial badge.” He held up a badge that shone even in the dim light. The badge was circular and had a grey crescent engraved into it. The rest of the badge was a combination of many reds and oranges. Lucius stared at the badge with the ferocity of a tiger in his eyes. There it was, a few yards away. One of eight badges needed to prove himself as the best. Many emotions— joy, uncertainty, and of course, fear flooded his system like a hormone. Out of the two battles he’s had, he lost both of them. In what sense could he possibly beat a gym leader? Let alone TWO!

“I really don’t have all day. Take care of them, Aaron.” Apollo said in an uninterested tone as he retrieved a Pokeball from his belt and lazily pressed the bottom. From the red flare appeared an orb with spines projecting from all its sides. Its dull eyes looked like they pierced Lucius’ mind as it stared aimlessly at him.

“You got this one, Lilith!” he encouraged.

“<You know it!>” she cried, running onto the battlefield.

“Don’t underestimate these guys, Apollo.” Artemis said with a wink to no one in particular. Lucius blushed nonetheless. She unclipped the Pokeball from her necklace and tossed it in the air. A Pokemon shaped like crescent moon was conjured in an instant. Its crimson-red eyes were just as lifeless as Aaron’s.

“Don’t fail me now, Ajax!” Kyle said, calling out his Scyther. The mantis appeared on the field with its blades crossed and eyes closed. He looked over at his opponents, then Lilith, then Kyle. A questioning looked was on his face.

“Lilith, the Absol, is your partner. You ready for a battle?”

“<Fine.>” he said, not really answering the question. He was quick to turn his gaze from Kyle.

With a snap of Apollo’s fingers, the lights suddenly turned on and Lucius observed his surroundings thoroughly. There was nothing new, except for a large speaker in the corner. Without warning, a robotic voice reverberated throughout the room.

“BEGIN!”

Artemis was swift with her commands. “Luna, give ‘em Rock Throw!” The Lunatone dropped from her state of levitation and slammed her body onto the ground, kicking up many rocks and pebbles. With a pink aura surrounding them, the debris froze in mid air and sped toward Lilith.

“Lilith, take out those rocks with... that move you used last night!”

Although it took a couple of seconds to understand what he was talking about, Lilith readied her attack with a tilt of the head.

“You really think I’m going to let you pull that off? Aaron, Fire Spin!” A small fireball appeared before the Solrock, growing larger with each passing second.

“Ajax, Agility and Pursuit on the Solrock!” Without any signs of accepting or declining the order, Ajax uncrossed his blades and darted toward his opponent with unparallel speed. The bug’s claws nearly made contact before he became surrounded in a pink aura, like the one encasing rocks headed for Lilith.

“Luna, move him in line of the Fire Spin!” Like a puppeteer, Luna moved Ajax in Aaron’s direct line of fire. Now completed, a tornado of fire shot out from the fiery sphere, consuming both Ajax and Lilith. The controlled rocks entered the inferno and Lilith’s screams only grew louder.

“Damn, I got nothin’! I should have known better than to think I could beat these guys...” It was hard for Lucius to cope with reality. What would Artemis, Kyle or Lilith think of him if he forfeited? What would they think if he took too long to forfeit? The cries of Lilith brought him back into reality and he instinctively groped his pockets for her Pokeball. He was sure she would thank him later.

“<You haven’t won yet!>” Lilith suddenly cried from the firestorm. A silver blade shot from her position and cut in to one of Aaron’s spines. The Solrock ended his onslaught and let out what sounded like a cry of pain. Scorch marks streaked across Lilith’s fur and Ajax’s exoskeleton. The two Pokemon, however, looked as if they were never more pumped up for a fight. Lucius dropped the Pokeball back in his pocket and smiled at the sight of his friend.

“Lilith, Bite on Solrock before he recovers!”

“Luna, Harden and Tackle!”

The black and white wolf dashed toward Aaron as the Lunatone charged toward her with her refined body. It seemed like the interception would be a success until a green blur appeared before the moon Pokemon.

“Pursuit!” Kyle shouted; his voice was filled with confidence. Luna was much too slow to react and Ajax pushed her back with a swipe of his blades.

Aaron was just regaining himself when Lilith leapt in the air and bit down hard on one of his spines. Even with her scorched fur, Lilith was still able to finish off her strike with a graceful twist of the body. Aaron slammed hard into the ground, displacing many rocks. This time however, the rocks just fell back to the Earth.

“That’s... that’s impossible! Aaron, get up!” Apollo bellowed. The Solrock stirred a little, but failed to elevate off the ground. Looking down in shame, Apollo recalled Aaron back into his Pokeball. He finally did it. He won his first battle.

“Who’s the loser now!?” Lucius teased sticking his tongue out at Apollo. Lilith mimicked him with a similar gesture.

“We’re not done yet, guys!” Kyle called, cutting the mockery short. Luna was blasting toward Lilith, her eyes bustling with vengeance. To her dismay, Ajax halted her assault once again.

“Finish this with a Wing Attack!” ordered Kyle. A smile appeared on Ajax's face, one that was not like Bruce's menacing smirk; he was truly enjoying the battle. His wings and blades spread far and wide and he spun around rapidly, cutting deeply into Luna’s skin. She let out cry similar to Aaron’s. And like the Solrock, she fell to the ground.

“<And that’s game.>” Ajax said coolly raising one of his scythes to Kyle. A new brightness shone in the young trainer’s face. Lucius was quick to notice this.

“Maybe he’s not a bad trainer after all...”


**********


The four trainers met in the middle of the battlefield and all shook hands.

“That was an awesome battle! You guys did really well.” Artemis congratulated, which caused Lucius to go bright red.

“You did well too, Artemis.” Kyle said, returning the compliment.

“It seems I’ve misjudged you, Lucius.” Apollo said, stepping forward. “You both deserve this.” He held out his hand and two badges sparkled in the spotlight. Each trainer picked up their symbols of victory and held it tightly in their fists.

“Before I forget, take this too!” shouted Artemis. From her pockets, she took out a large wad of cash.

“Oh no!” Lucius shouted. “I can’t take your money!”

“But I can!” Kyle quickly said, grabbing the reward. “Hey don’t we get a TM too?”

“A what?” Lucius asked, confused.

“Do you ever use your laptop for actual research? TM stands for Technical Machine. It’s a device used for teaching Pokemon new moves. It’s custom for leaders to give the trainers that beat them a TM.”

“Correct,” Apollo began, nodding at Kyle, “but we don’t have any yet. We’re a fairly new gym, hence why there was no judge. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must notify the League of Tetrago of your victory. Good luck on your journeys.” With that, Apollo walked toward a back door in the gym. Artemis, however, stayed behind. His eyes may have been playing tricks on him, but Lucius thought he saw tears accumulating in her eyes.

“Whoa— are you okay?” he asked worriedly.

“Who, me? Yeah, I’m fine... it’s just, this was my last battle as gym leader here.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve decided to go on my own from now on. Explore Tetrago and maybe the other regions.” An uncontrollable smirk stamped itself on Lucius’ face immediately.

Kyle must’ve noticed this, since he asked with a sigh, “We’ll be leaving tomorrow morning. If it’s not too early, maybe you could come with us to the next town? It would be nice to have someone who knows where all the other gyms are!”

“Go with you guys? I don’t know... I have to think about it. What time are you leaving?” she answered, unable to make eye contact with the disappointed Lucius.

“By 12:00, we’ll be at the city gate. Ajax says he knows where it is. From there, I guess we’ll just follow instinct to find the next town.”

“Okay, got it. Just in case I don’t show up, good-bye.” Still not looking either trainer in the eye, she followed her brother in to the back room. Lucius looked on to the room, his eyes filled with great sadness. Something Artemis would have seen had she look up at him.

“<Sorry to cut this little moment short but I think me and Ajax should really be fixed up. I think I actually WANT to go in my Pokeball.>” Lucius chuckled at Lilith’s attempt to change his mood. He recalled the battered Pokemon and, with Kyle by his side, returned to the Pokemon center. Little did they know that as they slept for the day that could make Lucius’ life; across the world, lives were being shattered...


***** Later that night – The Hall of Fame *****


The white walls of the magnificent symbol of greatness were burning down to the ground. The frames of the greatest trainers ever to walk the Earth— scorched to oblivion. A chorus of screams and a lively blaze engulfed the surround area. Bodies lay unconscious or dead— some in a pool of blood— in a place praised by Pokemon and trainers alike. One of these bodies was that of a severely beaten orange dragon. Leaning over the lifeless Pokemon was Lance, his eyes bawling with waves of tears. A few yards away, Erebus watched his uncle whimper over his dead companion. Beside him was a tan dinosaur with spines running down its back. The rabid Tyranitar roared in its victory.

“I— I don’t get it. Why, Erebus, WHY!?!?” Lance screamed, still holding his Dragonite.

“Oh cry me a river,” the young male grunted. “You were too naïve to even notice what your own nephew was up to! You’re family and all, so I don’t want to kill you. Just hand over Moltres and—.”

“MOLTRES! That’s all you wanted? You barge in to the most sacred of places, kill the league’s guards ruthlessly, and torture your own uncle for a POKEMON!?”

“What can I say? I’m an over achiever.” Erebus answered with a chuckle. “Your silly dragons had no chance against my army of shiny dark Pokemon.”

“How is it possible that you can have so much shiny Pokemon? And their power is much too strong for their state to be a natural occurrence. What have you done, Erebus?” Lance questioned, finally getting to his feet.

“Nothing that concerns you, uncle. Just hand me Moltres and I’ll be on my way.”

“You want him that badly, eh? Well, TAKE HIM!” Lance shouted, throwing a black and white Pokeball in the air. Erebus shuddered as the ball opened and the red light took the shape of the majestic phoenix. Its fiery wings spread wide, Moltres screeched at the humans before it. Glaring at Erebus and his Pokemon, Moltres dropped its beak and a flurry of white orbs began collecting in its mouth.

“Tyrant, Hyper Beam!” Erebus ordered without delay. The merciless beast opened its mouth in the same fashion as Moltres did. First kicking its head back, the Tyranitar shot a white-hot beam of concentrated energy at the bird.

Amazingly, on a moonless night like this, Moltres collected enough energy in no time flat for a perfect counter-attack. It dove low to avoid the beam and released one of its own on the exhausted dinosaur; this one with a yellow hue. The Solarbeam struck Tyrant dead on the blue patch on his chest; that was his weak spot. The Pokemon was blasted in to the opposite wall of the hall, obviously defeated. Moltres screeched in triumph, Lance glanced at his fallen Dragonite, almost saying “That was for you,” and Erebus simply grinned. Not even recalling his Tyranitar, he reached for another Pokeball; this one purple and white.

“Just quit it, Erebus. No Pokemon can stand up to Moltres here!” The phoenix screeched again, this time in agreement. The spiky-haired young adult burst out in laughter.

“Uncle, uncle, uncle... You should know by now never to underestimate me!” With that, Erebus threw the ball in the air and a blast of confusion, anxiety—and most importantly— terror, hit Lance.

Were his eyes playing tricks on him? The Pokemon just released from the Pokeball must’ve been some kind of machine.

But whether he was right or not, one thing was certain. This battle was lost.

A Pokemon (if you could call it that) made of what looked like gas levitated before him. White smoke was unraveling out of what probably was its head. A pink chain covered most of its face, but Lance could still see those lifeless, blue eyes. It seemed the legend of Darkrai wasn’t a legend at all. However, something was odd. In the legend, it described a black spirit with a red chain; this one was blue. The legend also stated that Darkrai never attacked without reason, especially on a moonless night ...this one was different. Something in its eyes told Lance all he needed to know. This Darkrai was playing for keeps

“A little gift from the boss. He finished his Sinnoh round up a little early, although he missed a few Pokemon.”

Moltres took no chances with the phantom and began collecting energy again. Darkrai raised a simple finger and with a flash of red light from the tip, Moltres lost control of the energy. The fire bird tried continuously to restart the Solarbeam, unknowing of the danger rapidly approaching. By the time it actually regained control, Darkrai was hovering menacingly before it and a frightened Lance.

“<You were foolish to challenge my greatness. Let your souls pay for your mistakes in the Dark Void.>” whispered the Darkrai in a raspy voice. It clasped its hands together and as it pulled them apart, it seemed to be tearing the very fabrics of space and time. Lance stared at the ripple as it only got bigger and bigger, eventually consuming all matter around him, even light. He felt as if split in two as conscious separated from him.

Back in reality, him and Moltres fell to the ground like rag dolls. Erebus walked forward to retrieve Moltres’ Pokeball when his phone rang.

“The police are collecting outside of the building. You might want to get out of there.” said Ethan’s emotionless voice from the phone.

“How much?” Erebus asked, facing Darkrai.

“At the moment? About thirty.” Erebus grinned at the answer.

“Darkrai, go have some fun while I clean things up over here.”

Without another word, the specter went off to complete the dastardly deed given to it.


***** End of Chapter 5 *****


Yes, I know neither Lunatone or Solrock have genders but Artemis being an important character, I didn't want her calling her Pokemon "it" all the time. Next update may be late since I'm working on something else.