TEEN: - Ongoing Pokemon XD: Shadow Generation (PG-13)

[Aqua]

Pokemon XD: Shadow Generation
A new generation of Pokemon will begin...​

So welcome! Readers and reviewers, fellow writers, mods and admins. Wherever you may stand on this forum, or wherever you may be from, I welcome you to my fanfic. This is my first, and it is mine, entirely mine. I go by the name of fuzzyqwilfish on the SPPf (serebiiforums.com in other words), and so some of you may know me from there. If you are from SPPf, I encourage you to read this fic here or there, as I will still be posting on SPPf still, but also here. And if you are not...I still encourage you to read this. I am actually hoping that many new readers from this forum will start reading this, as well as some readers from SPPf, or members of there that have overlooked this.

This is my first fic I've written, yes my first. The beginning may start out a bit sketchy, but I guarantee it will get better along the way. I do also plan on writing more fics, as I enjoy doing this and have many other ideas stored in my mind for maybe even sequels to his story!

So yeah, by now, you've probably read this and are either saying 'I'm not reading this if he can't get to the story quick!' or maybe, 'get on with the story and stop lecturing us!' so that's exactly what I intend to do. And with the support of some people, this story has been great so far, and maybe even better with more help! So go ahead...just scroll down below and read it.

 

[Aqua]

Prologue

Pokemon XD: Shadow Generation

Prologue

It was a peaceful day in the Hoenn region. In fact, not only was it nice in the Hoenn region, but all across the world in every region. People and their Pokemon played together and enjoyed the nice day. It was a day to sit back, relax, and enjoy everything ongoing. For one boy in particular, it was going to be a day he’d remember for quite awhile.

The boy’s name was Will. He and his friend Mac were both enjoying the hustle and bustle of the Battle Frontier. They both were 15 and had lived in Hoenn their whole life. Neither of them had ever even gotten to the Elite Four, a group of Pokemon Masters who were the top in Hoenn. Will and Mac were even invited to the Battle Frontier to battle with the top ranks. Will had beaten none of the Frontier Brains, another group of Pokemon Masters who held symbols only true masters could gain. In total, seven symbols are made. Each symbol represents an attribute a trainer should have. He was on his way to receiving the Tactics symbol.

There Will stood, Poke Ball in hand, waiting inside the huge dome structure and inside the arena. He spun the Poke Ball in his hand as the announcer inside the Battle Dome announced the coming of his opponent. His opponent was a young girl named Tiffany. This was Will’s final opponent before facing the Dome Superstar, and hopefully winning another symbol. A bell rang, signaling to begin the battle. “Aerodactyl, go!” Will yelled out, throwing the Poke Ball onto the arena. An enormous gray prehistoric bird-like creature burst out of the ball and roared.

“Let’s go Clefable!” Tiffany yelled out, mimicking Will’s actions. A large pink fairy-like creature stood eyeing the prehistoric bird. “Clefable, start out this battle with a Reflect!” Tiffany yelled again to her Pokemon. Clefable waved her hands together a few times, then a near invisible wall of light stood in front of her.

“Nice choice, but not going to work on my Aerodactyl.” Will said to Tiffany with a smirk. “Aerodactyl, use your Brick Break and destroy that thing!” Will pointed at the Clefable, sitting there and awaiting its demise. The Aerodactyl dove right for Clefable with its awesome strength and destroyed the shield Cefable created. The fairy Pokemon with a cry slowly fell in pain. Clefable had fainted.

“Clefable is down! Tiffany has one more Pokemon and Will still has two!” The announcer said, now standing up off his chair.

“Well, Clefable went down easy, but how’s about this next one. C’mon Venusaur!” Tiffany threw a Poke Ball and out came a large green Pokemon with a Plant on its back. The Pokemon looked much like a turtle because of this giant plant, and roared at the Aerodactyl to begin the battle.

“Give us a challenge, Aerodactyl try using a Curse attack to start off, followed by a Wing Attack right at that Venusaur’s side!” Aerodactyl did as he was commanded and used the Curse attack. Aerodactyl felt as if he could hit things harder now, and he could withstand more hits, but also felt as if the attack had left him slower. Aerodactyl went in for an attack straight at the opposing Pokemon’s side, as he was instructed to do. He held one wing and…The Venusaur unleashed a beam of intense light that hit the other Pokemon dead-on. Aerodactyl fell in pain, as he had just been hit by a Solarbeam attack, the most powerful of all Grass-type attacks. As the limp Pokemon was sprawled out on the floor, he took one last Bite at the grass-type Pokemon, hopefully giving some advantage for the next Pokemon. “Good job Aerodactyl, you did all you needed to do. That big plant is tough, but no match for the runner up!” Will yelled out again with a smirk on his face.

Returning his Aerodactyl to his Poke Ball, Will also threw another Poke Ball out, inside was the Pokemon Heracross. This giant beetle-like Pokemon was indeed a sight. Heracross has one large horn in the center of its head, along with wings to transport it short distances and claws on its hands and feet. The normal coloring of Heracross is actually a deep blue, but Will happened to catch one that was purple instead. This different coloring only meant that it was a much rarer Heracross, no other differences at all. Tiffany’s Pokemon stomped its foot on the ground and roared, as Will’s returned the favor. “Make this part short Heracross…use your Megahorn!” Will yelled at his Pokemon.

Heracross reared back and put his head down in a firm position. Tiffany’s Venusaur charged up for another Solarbeam, as Heracross went in for attack. Heracross hit the Venusaur in the head, leaving it with severe damage. “Great Heracross, now use a Brick Break while it’s stunned!” Will yelled again to his Pokemon. Heracross gladly obeyed and struck Venusaur hard. Venusaur didn’t get up.

“This match goes to…Will!” the announcer yelled out with enthusiasm. Will jumped up in glee as his Pokemon did the same. As for Tiffany, she walked away very sadly, but learning now what she had to do in her future battles. “Will, please come up to the announcer’s table. The Dome Superstar will be here momentarily.

Will did as he was instructed and approached the table, healed his Pokemon and as he was about to turn and stand I the arena again, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking behind him he saw the announcer gripping his shoulder with a mischievous smile. The announcer ripped a mask off to reveal that he indeed was the Dome Superstar, Tucker.

“Tucker!” Will said with a slightly puzzled face. “Why are you dressed as the announcer? Are you going to battle me now?”

“That’s what I intended on doing. But if you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’d like to get out of this outfit. I’ll meet you at the arena to battle.” Tucker walked back a few feet and unzipped his outfit, as Will walked back to the arena. Within a few seconds, Tucker was at the arena also, facing Will in his usual costume. He wore white and light purple clothing all over, with what looked like wings on his back, making him look a lot like a butterfly. “Alright, I’m ready. This will be a two-on-two battle as usual. No announcer, no switching, no healing or items. Ready? You better be! Go on out and start us up, Swampert!” Tucker threw a Poke Ball into the field. A blue Pokemon walking on all fours with a fan-like body part going down its head and back. The Pokemon roared and used a small Water Gun attack, revealing that it was of that type.

Will threw his Poke Ball out without any dialogue. The Pokemon Walrein came out, also a water-type. Walrein also stood on all fours, although it had fins instead of feet because it was a walrus. It also had a large white tuft of fur on its face as sort of whiskers, and two large tusks. “Walrein, start us off using a Defense Curl, then another if you have time.” Will called over to his Walrein.

“A nice strategy, Will. Try this one on for size though, Swampert use Dynamic Punch!” Tucker called out to his Pokemon. Walrein rolled up into a ball as best he could, then did it again to increase his defense and to increase his evasiveness. Swampert got ready and stood on two legs, holding his arm up in the air. He charged forward and shot his fist out towards Walrein but missing the Pokemon barely. Walrein knew what to do now, even without Will’s command. The Pokemon started to roll in place somehow, then as it was at the apex of increasing its momentum, unleashed itself at Swampert. Swampert took massive damage, despite its type resistance to the Rollout attack. “Swampert, use a Seismic Toss!” Tucker yelled to his Pokemon with a smile on his face.

Swampert dove towards Walrein, who was still rolling at his opponent and doing increasing damage. Swampert landed right on Walrein and picked it up over its head, then tossed the Pokemon near where Will was standing. “Good idea, Tucker. Pick up the opponent when it can’t attack you eh? Well then the gloves are off. Walrein, go in for an Ice Beam attack, and follow up with a Belly Drum if there’s time.” Will knew exactly what to do next. The only thing he was worried about was if Tucker figured it out as well. Will’s Pokemon lifted his head up and shot a great beam of ice through the air, hitting Tucker’s Swampert right in the stomach. As Swampert was hit, its body went suddenly limp. It suffered from severe frostbite and was completely frozen. Tucker looked at his Pokemon in astonishment. The look told Will that it had never happened to him before, he seemed speechless.

Walrein followed this attack up with a Belly Drum, increasing its vigor and morale, but hurting itself immensely. Walrein had reduced himself so that he was half fainted, one good hit would do the trick. “Nice job Walrein, and freezing Swampert as a bonus? Great! You know what to do next, Earthquake!” Will shouted over to his Walrein, who nodded in agreement. Walrein jumped as high as it could for a large and heavy Pokemon, and slammed the ground with all its might. Dust flew everywhere as the Pokemon hit the ground, the field was now ridden with cracks and rocks. When the dust cleared, both Will and Tucker looked at Swampert. The ice encasing the Pokemon was destroyed, Swampert had fainted.

Tucker reluctantly returned his Pokemon to its Poke Ball, and threw another into the field. From the Poke Ball, a Metagross came. Metagross is a Steel and Psychic type Pokemon with a blue body and a large silver X on its face. The Pokemon stood on four legs with claws on the bottom, making it look much like a spider. Metagross began its part of the battle with the same attack Walrein had just used, Earthquake. The steel Pokemon stomped onto the ground with all feet consecutively, doing the same as Walrein had done. Dust flew everywhere and Will could hear the cries of his Walrein. When the dust cleared, Walrein appeared, fainted. Will returned his Pokemon to his Poke Ball and thought about the next Pokemon to go out. His decision was to go with his Aerodactyl, and so he threw a Poke Ball out to release the Pokemon to the field.

Aerodactyl immediately and without warning or command shot through the air and drove his body into the metal hull of Metagross. Metagross shrugged the attack off and returned the attack with one of its own. It folded its legs, making it look much like a rocket, and dove into Aerodactyl with the same force. As the prehistoric bird fell down onto the ground, the opposing Pokemon moved over it and came down on Aerodactyl hard. Metagross ended up using the attack Thunderpunch, knocking Aerodactyl out. “What! NOO!” Will cried out as he fell to his knees. he sadly returned Aerodactyl as Tucker returned Metagross and walked over to Will. He put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and helped him get up.

“Listen Will, it’s alright that you lost. I’ve lost many a time as I’m sure you have too. We just have to get over it and find our mistakes so we can make them better. Life goes on.” Tucker said to Will. Will looked up at Tucker and smiled, nodding his head. “Now go on, it looks like your friend is waiting for you in the stands.” Tucker went on. Will ran to the stands where his friend Mac was waiting. He was wearing his usual; jeans and a blue shirt, with a cap he wore backwards. Will was also wearing his usual; jeans and a red shirt, and a red bandana. Once Will got there, Mac just started walking to the exit, Will followed.

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Outside the dome, Many other trainers were walking around and some even battling. The silence between the boys was broken when Mac started talking. “So, you lost. It was a close match though, I saw it all from the stands. I didn’t do so hot at the Battle Pike either. That place gives me the creeps. Well, where to next?” Both of them let those last words hang for a bit, then as Will was about to speak up, his Pokenav rang.

The Pokenav is a device that allows trainers to store other trainer’s numbers on it, and talk freely throughout the world. It’s small enough so that it can fit in a person’s hand, and it has a built in map and Pokedex, another small device that’s used to identify Pokemon.

Will picked his Pokenav up, pressed a few buttons, and held it out for him and Mac to see. It was Will’s father, Steven Stone. ‘Mac, Will, come to Rustboro now. I have some bad news. A criminal organization is infiltrating the Devon building. They’re calling themselves the Shadow Rouges. I’ve arranged for a boat to arrive at the Battle Frontier…BEEP’ Will reattached the Pokenav to his belt and turned to Mac.

“Well, you heard it all we have to go! C’mon that ship is probably waiting already.” Will said to Mac, who nodded and ran to the dock with Will. They flashed their tickets to the captain, and boarded for Rustboro.

Just who is this criminal organization called the Shadow Rouges? What exactly do they want from Devon?

 

[Aqua]

Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Rouges in Rustboro

Rustboro. A gleaming city in the south-west part of Hoenn. Many Pokemon trainers receive their first badge here, which symbolizes their hard work and determination. Rustboro also happens to be the city where the Devon headquarters is. Devon is a company that works with many things, most of which have to do with Pokemon, although some involve new gadgets for trainers, such as the Pokenav. The head of this company is Will’s father, Steven Stone. Even as the son of Devon’s president, Will doesn’t get any extra attention, but he likes it that way.

As the ship from the Battle Frontier pulled in, about two dozen people exited, including Will and Mac. They had no intention of dawdling, as they knew that they had to help the Devon building as soon as they could. The two weaved through the crowd and into the heart of Rustboro. From here they could see the Devon building, its stone structure and cathedral windows gleaming in the sun. At first glance nobody could tell that the building was being infiltrated, whoever the thieves were were good. Will and Mac tried the front door, not expecting it to open and yet it still did. Inside, nobody was at the registration booth but a strange man in a black outfit. The man stood up, revealing that the outfit was a black T-shirt and pants with odd shoes and his hair cut short. The man also had sunglasses on, which seemed odd because it was a nice and sunny day. “Hey, you two, what do you want?” The man asked in a somewhat deep voice.

Will stood in front of Mac. “We’re here to see Mr. Stone for an important…errand.” Will said in a confident tone. The man just shook his head suspiciously knowing that he was lying.

“Mr. Stone is already in a meeting…An important one. I’m sure I can show you the way out though.” The man threw out a Poke Ball and out came a Donphan, a small gray and black elephant-like Pokemon. Will returned the first move with a Pokemon of his own. He too took out a Poke Ball and his Arcanine came out. Arcanine is a very large dog-like Pokemon, with fur and a mane of fiery colors. The man laughed at Will. “Bah, that pathetic thing is no match for my Donphan.”

“Whatever, lets just get this over with and done. Arcanine, Flamethrower!” Arcanine jumped out towards Donphan in an attempt to intimidate the foe, then fire poured out of its mouth and onto the opposing Pokemon. Donphan fell back and looked up at its owner. The man nodded his head in approval and Donphan quickly rolled up into a wheel. The elephant-like Pokemon rolled towards Arcanine and hit with great strength, doing massive damage. Donphan continued rolling towards Arcanine, going faster every time. “Arcanine, don’t take this! Use an Extremespeed then try Curse.” The outcome of this looked good for Will. Arcanine reared back and jumped into Donphan like a bolt of lightning. Donphan had fainted.

“Wha? How is this…You’re not going to save the President if you battle like that. I was a warm-up. Let’s see you win against the elite forces up on top.” The man ran out of the building after muttering these words. On his way out, he dropped an item of some sort. Will picked it up and examined it as Mac went to see the computer the man was looking at. The computer had information about what the item Will had in his hands was.

“Hey Will, check this stuff out. It seems that those glasses are called the…Aura Reader. It says that if you put them on you can see special Pokemon called Shadow Pokemon. These Shadow Pokemon were actually once real, but a criminal organization in Orre called Cipher managed to turn them evil. This organization tapped into the Pokemon’s hearts and closed the door to it. Because of this, the Pokemon were turned into fighting machines and their strength went up. It is however, possible to catch these from other trainers, by means of this device called the Snag Machine. The Snag Machine was destroyed after it being used, then was remade by a scientist by the name of Professor Krane. Another machine of his was the Purify Chamber, which purified Pokemon of their Shadowness upon being in there for a certain amount of time. The schematics for this machine and the Snag Machine itself were sent to Devon years back. It seems that the only way to identify Shadow Pokemon is with the Aura Reader, but some other person can see them as well. Oh, look it goes on about the Aura Reader. The Aura Reader apparently was sent here with the other items to Devon two years ago because thieves in Orre wanted to get their hands on it. They sent it here and locked it up so it wouldn’t be touched again. The Aura Reader is used by putting it on your eyes, like normal glasses. It apparently responds to highly concentrated energy, so when a Shadow Pokemon is near, it becomes identified immediately.” Mac continued scanning the page for any other details. Will took the Aura Reader and put it on; it was quite a nice fit. The Aura Reader just fit over Will’s ear and a small screen simply moved in front of his eyes to examine the Shadow Pokemon.

“Wow, this is one good item to have around. If that man had this though…then he must be part of that organization the Shadow Rouges. If this is true, then what happened in Orre a few years ago is going to happen here. Mac, we need to help my dad now.” Will and Mac ran up the stairs to the next floor of Devon. This floor was for scientists to do their research and tests for new technology they created. Nobody was inside of the room but two more people in the same outfit as the man they first saw was. Will and Mac both knew that this meant they were part of the Shadow Rouges. At first, the two Rouges didn’t notice Mac and Will enter the room; they were both just staring at the computer screen. When the screen went black, one of them took out a disc and stored it carefully in a case.

“Woah! Where did you two boys come from? Did you see us copy the data from that computer? Well, like it matters much. What’re you two going to do about it? If you’re smart though you’ll get out now. We won’t harm you if you do.” The mysterious person, who appeared to be a girl, took out a Poke Ball. She dropped it onto the floor and her Pokemon came out. It was a Golduck, a blue Pokemon that looks much like a large duck-monster with a jewel on its forehead and four fins, two of which it stands on. The other Rouge took out his Poke Ball too. From his Poke Ball came a Rhyhorn, a rock-beast with spikes lining its body that stood on four legs. The Aura Reader immediately responded to this Pokemon. The Rhyhorn was a Shadow Pokemon.

“Ah, so I see you’ve found the Aura Reader. You also appear to have found us out. Yes, we are the Shadow Rouges with our trusty Shadow Pokemon. This Rhyhorn is one of them as I’m sure you know. As long as you don’t have the Snag Machine though, you’ve got nothing you can do about it.” The man said, confident in his abilities with a Shadow Rhyhorn.

“Oh, you mean a Snag Machine like this one?” Mac held out a machine that appeared to fit on one’s arm quite easily. There was also a small tube to store Poke Balls for catching the Shadow Pokemon. “Here Will, you use it. You know how bad I am at my aim, and besides you’re better than me as for our Pokemon.” Will took the Snag Machine and fit it on his right arm, his dominant one.

“Thanks, but I thought was illegal to steal a persons Pokemon, how does this abolish the law?” Will asked in a puzzled voice.

“Well, It said on that computer screen that your Poke Balls are turned into Snag Balls. These Snag Balls have the ability to penetrate through the forces that keep a trainer’s Pokemon within the Poke Ball. With this, you can snag the Shadow Pokemon and purify them in the Purify Chamber.” Mac told Will. Will looked at Mac and nodded, then took out a Poke Ball with his Gengar out. Mac looked at Will again and then took out his Crawdaunt.

Golduck and Rhyhorn eyed the human-sized purple ghost and the crab-like Pokemon, both teams of Pokemon glared at each other ferociously, awaiting the command of their trainer. “Gengar, Shadow Ball that Golduck!” Will shouted out his Pokemon’s attack, making the first move.

A great ball of dark energy formed around Gengar and shot like a bullet towards Golduck. “Endure!” the girl yelled out just as the attack hit her Pokemon. Golduck held his arms out and braced the blow, leaving Golduck with a strand of energy. “Now Cross Chop, you know which one.” Golduck flipped over Gengar and right up to Crawdaunt. The duck Pokemon held its arms out and held them there for a second, charging up for the blow it was about to unleash.

“Hah, not on my watch. Surf!” Crawdaunt jumped and stomped down onto the ground, a wave of water following its action. The wave hit Golduck head-on as well as hurting the Rhyhorn so much it would faint soon. Golduck however, fainted upon impact with the wave.

“Grr…Fine! We won’t go easy now. We gave you a chance to run but you turned us down. Time to bring up the next guy.” The girl sounded aggravated. She sent out her next Pokemon, a Noctowl. This Pokemon looked very much like an owl, with a crest on its head in the shape of two horns. The Pokemon hooted loudly and spread its wings out. “Now Noctowl, Wing Attack on that Gengar.”

“Not before my move, Snag Ball go!” With this, Will threw a Poke Ball from the Snag Machine right at the Rhyhorn. The Snag Ball hit the Rhyhorn and engulfed it in the ball. The Snag Ball then clicked once…twice…three times…Rhyhorn was caught! The Snag Ball returned to Will where he put it onto his belt.

“M-my Rhyhorn! You Snagged it, and for that, you’ll pay! Let’s go out, Seaking!” Out from the Poke Ball that the man threw came a goldfish-like Pokemon with a single horn on its forehead. It managed to stay upright while on the ground. “Now Seaking, Ice Beam! I don’t want to see that Gengar again!” Seaking breathed in a large breath of air, then expelled it out in a beam of ice that shot out towards Gengar. Gengar was hit with severe damage, but got back up from the blow.

“Alright, return the favor and use a Thunderbolt, Gengar!” Gengar put its hands together as bolts of electricity were sparking from its hands. The Pokemon thrust out its hands and the bolts were crackling towards Seaking with amazing speed. Seaking also took massive damage, but got up.

“Crawdaunt’s turn! Now, Crunch on the Seaking.” The large crab dove towards Seaking and opened its mouth wide, biting down on Seaking with great force. Seaking was down and out.

“No, Seaking! I’ve done all I can.” The man sighed. Meanwhile, Noctowl had flown into the air above Gengar and Crawdaunt and hit Gengar with a Fly attack. Gengar somehow withstood the blow still, and used another Thunderbolt. The impact of the bolts had the same effect on Noctowl as it did on Seaking, Noctowl was knocked out.

“What? How could you two have…done that? We’d better tell the others, now!” The two then ran up to the third floor, not taking the time to even look back. Mac and Will returned Crawdaunt and Gengar to their respective Poke Balls, and took off after the two. On the third floor, about half a dozen other Shadow Rouge members, and the two that Will and Mac had just defeated, were standing in the back of the room. Will could see his father behind them, his arms held behind his back by one of the Rouges. The two Rouges from the second floor had gone up to a man not dressed like the others. He wore a blue and black shirt with black pants and sunglasses on.

The man then shouted and pushed the two Rouges aside. “What!” The man had a deep voice. “You two defeated some of my forces to get up here? That’s touching that you’d come all the way up here to save your father, Steven, but it will all be in vain if he doesn’t tell us the information we need!” The man turned back. He took a step aside so the Rouge holding the Will’s father could step up. Steven and the man faced each other. “So Mr. Stone…You know what I want, and I need it now! I’m running out of precious time here, if you don’t give me the answers I need then I will show you and your son true terror! Neither of you will even know what hit you when I’m done with you!” The man now realized that he had been shouting at Steven the whole time and was up against his face. He calmed himself down and paced around Steven a few times. “Now…I need the information you possess about Pokemon DNA. Give it to me kindly, and we’ll be on our way. Refuse and…I’ve told you the outcome. Now where are the documents?”

Steven breathed deeply. “I…Will tell you…The information is on my computer there, check under the file called ‘Beta’ it should be there.” The man in command looked at one of the Rouges and closed his eyes, nodding barely. One Rouge took out a Poke Ball and released his Pokemon Magneton. Magneton is a Pokemon with three separate parts to it. Each part has an eye and magnets on it. These Pokemon can create highly unstable electric fields.

“Thank you Mr. Stone. Lagro let go of him, its okay.” The Rouge named Lagro took his arms off of Steven and stepped back. The commanding Rouge stepped up to the computer and clicked on various things. He inserted a disc and took it out moments later. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Stone. We will be on our way now.”

“Not so fast!” could be heard by the stairs. A woman no older than twenty-five could be seen, holding two Poke Balls. She took out the Pokemon inside, both were Golems. Golem is a Pokemon with a round, rock-hard body and arms, legs and a head coming out of it. It somehow manages to keep itself upright on these legs, meaning they must be incredibly strong. “You’re not going so far, Shadow Rouges. If you want to get out, you’ll have to get past these two also.”

“Hmm…Roxanne, so you’re going to stop me eh? Well I was ready for this, and besides…I have what I need right here.” The man held up the disc. Behind him, Will and Mac had also taken out their Pokemon. Will had taken out his Heracross and Mac had taken out his Crobat. Crobat is a purple bat about the size of a tall human. It has feet that it uses as wings and two other wings, making it a powerful flyer.

“Err…Cedric, look behind you. The kids have their Pokemon out too.” One of the Rouges muttered to the commander, whose name was indeed Cedric. Cedric looked around to see that none of the other Rouges knew what to do either.

“Well, I bid you farewell, everyone…Exploud, Hyper Voice! Now use it, Seenig!” The next thing that happened was a blur. Sparks were now flying around Magneton, so much that the lights went out. Magneton was returned in a quick light and all that could be heard was an enormous roar and a boom. The roar was from the Exploud, and the boom was from the hole in the wall that Exploud had made with its loud roar. Once all the people had covered their ears and closed their eyes from the horrible sound, Exploud was returned to its Poke Ball and the Shadow Rouges flooded out of the Devon building. Everyone had escaped.

---

About an hour after the horrible attack on Devon, the building was up and running and the power restored. Steven had even hired a person to repair the gash in the wall. The police were questioning Roxanne and some of them were looking for traces of the Shadow Rouges. Once they were done, Steven and Roxanne decided to tell Will and Mac everything, in Steven’s office.

Steven told them everything. “Well, you two have heard of Orre, the Snag Machine, and the Aura Reader obviously because you read the files we have on them downstairs. The organization called Cipher that you read about was the first organization to create Shadow Pokemon like the Rhyhorn you have. Once Cipher had struck Orre twice, it was decided that all items used in the capture or purification of Shadow Pokemon be stored here, in Devon. It is likely that the same thing that happened in Orre will happen here, only now we are threatened by the Shadow Rouges. These Shadow Rouges are a mysterious bunch…All we know about them is that they need the DNA documents for creating Shadow Pokemon. The schematics for the Purify Chamber were transported Mossdeep City. It is likely that the Shadow Rouges will strike there next. Will, Mac, go there as soon as you can and make sure you can defend the Purify Chamber schematics. If these Shadow Rouges are as ruthless as Cipher, you’ll now be embarking on a great quest to save Hoenn. This journey will not be easy…I assure you that.”

Mac and Will are in for a great journey now. They now know who the Shadow Rouges are and what they plan on doing. Their next stop leads them to an island town, but will the Rouges really strike there?

 

[Aqua]

Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Guided by the Ship

Will and Mac turned away from the Devon building, the building that had been destroyed by the Shadow Rouges. The two walked back towards the docks, where they had just been that afternoon. It now was night time, hardly any passengers would be on the ship now. Mac stepped forward and flashed the ticket to the captain. Will did the same. The both decided to rest up a bit, and headed into their own cabins. Inside each was a bed, vanity, and a Pokemon healing machine.

Will put his Poke Balls on the machine to heal them, then took them back and put them onto his belt again. He sat down on his bed and closed his eyes. My dad was right, this is going to be a long journey to stop the Rouges. With luck, we’ll get to Mossdeep before them. already things were racing through his mind. He had to calm himself somehow. Then he opened his eyes and stepped out of his cabin. He never bothered to take off his belt, or get dressed for bed, and he had no idea where he was going. Looked at a sign on the wall, Will decided that the main deck would be a good place to just relax.

---

On the deck, a lone man was standing there. The man was cloaked in a black coat, not showing any of his body. Will just stood next to him and looked over the railing into the sea. The man turned his head only slightly, then back to its original spot. “Beautiful, isn’t it.” Will spoke up. The man nodded slightly. “Everything about it is just so…relaxing.” Again the man nodded. Will decided to take one of his Pokemon out for some air. He took his Aerodactyl out of its Poke Ball, who glided over to the railing and perched on it. The man seemed interested in this. He turned his head quickly to examine Will’s Pokemon, his hood falling of in the process. Will looked at him closely, then backed up a few steps. The man was Cedric, from the Devon incident. “Why are you here?” Will asked in a frightened voice.

“Hmph, the same reason as you. I plan on going to Mossdeep to see the Purify Chamber.” Cedric took his cloak off and threw it into the water. “You are so right…The water, it is beautiful at night. The way it rolls over and over…how it can change its mood in an instant…” Cedric looked back at Will, then looked to see that they were closer to Mossdeep. It could be just barely seen, a small object in the distance. Cedric then took his hands off the railing and took out a Poke Ball. “But if I wish to get off alive, I’d best be going now. If you’re smart, you’ll join me.” Cedric threw down a Poke Ball and out came a Skarmory, a steel bird about the height of a human with a horn on its head and wings of steel as well. Cedric jumped on and looked towards the captain, nodding. The captain looked down, pressed some buttons, and jumped off the ship onto a Crawdaunt of his own.

---

Mac woke up. He didn’t know what it was exactly, but he got up and dressed. He took his Poke Balls and attached them to his belt, running out towards the deck.

---

Will looked around. Several other people jumped off the ship onto their own water Pokemon. He knew that these people were Shadow Rouge members. “What is this all about, Cedric?” He asked the man.

“I was hoping you’d ask, it wouldn’t be much fun if you didn’t. We are planning an attack on Mossdeep City, for the Purify Chamber. We want it to be destroyed. And now Will, I must say goodbye.” With this, Cedric started flying towards Mossdeep.

“Oh no you don’t” Will muttered, jumping on his Aerodactyl. “Let’s go Aerodactyl, We’re not giving up without a fight!” Cedric looked back at Will with a smirk, then circled once for Will to catch up. At the moment that Will took off, Mac had come up onto the deck with his Crawdaunt. He looked at Will, then at the Rouges swimming on their Pokemon. He jumped onto his Crawdaunt and dove into the water.

“Cedric! Fight me now you coward!” Will yelled towards Cedric, who looked back.

“Coward? This is all part of our plan, this my boy, is not cowardice. And if you wish for a fight, then we’ll have one! Skarmory, Sky Attack!” Skarmory’s eyes lit up and then the bird dove towards Will and his Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl was hit hard, and flew downwards to adjust its balance.

“Well then, Aerodactyl, go in with a Dragon Claw, follow it up with a Curse.” Aerodactyl did a flip, then shot into the stomach of Skarmory, grabbing it and scratching at the bird. Aerodactyl then went back under Skarmory and powered itself for its next attack.

“Hmm…very well done, Will. But you wanted a good fight, and I’ll give you one. Steel Wing, Skarmory!” Skarmory flew down beside Aerodactyl and bashed into it with its wing, not giving Aerodactyl any time to think. Aerodactyl used another Curse attack, then shot upwards, wanting the Skarmory to follow. Skarmory followed and spun around several times. The Pokemon and the trainers were now flying inside a low cloud. Neither could see, and all that they could do was fly straight until the cloud ended. “So Cedric, how do you like my battling?”

“Very well done, you fight like your father. I should know, I fought him once in his earlier years…You’re very much like him Will.” Through the clouds Will could see Cedric muttering something to his Skarmory.

---

Mac was surrounded completely. The Rouges had encased him in a barrier of ice. He and his Crawdaunt were standing on the ice floe that they had created, drifting in the waves. “Well Crawdaunt, see what you can do about it. Brick Break!” Mac’s Crawdaunt hit its claws together, then rammed the wall of the ice encasement with them. The ice had nearly broken, another hit would do it. Crawdaunt did the same as before, breaking all of the ice this time. As the floe of ice broke, Mac jumped on Crawdaunt, then thought of an idea. “Crawdaunt, Ice Beam! Make a path with it!” Crawdaunt lowered its head, gathering ice particles from the air, and shot out the beam, turning the water before the two into ice. As Crawdaunt finished its attack, it felt a strong blow of water hit it. Mac turned around to see a Rouge with a Tentacruel, an abnormally sized jellyfish with about eighty tentacles. Mac jumped off his Crawdaunt. “Well, you want a battle, we’ll have one. Ancientpower!”

---

Skarmory used an Agility attack, boosting its speed. It then opened its mouth wide. Great amounts of energy were being stored around its mouth. Will was fast to see the attack Cedric had chosen. He had his own strategy though. The two were still in the fog of the cloud, all that could be seen were each other’s shadows. Cedric looked over at Will, then saw him drift out of sight. “Hmm…Hold up Skarmory…” Cedric looked over to the other side, Aerodactyl could be seen there. “Okay Skarmory, now use it.” His Pokemon again stored massive amounts of energy around its mouth, then released a Hyper Beam at Aerodactyl. The shadow of Aerodactyl disappeared upon impact with the beam. Aerodactyl had just used Double Team. “So who’s the coward now Will?”

“Coward? This is all part of my…plan…” Will laughed at Cedric. He then dove in to try and use a Wing Attack. Skarmory was too fast for him and struck him with a Steel Wing. The Aerodactyl disappeared, another double. “Now, Hyper Beam!” A large beam shot towards Cedric and his Skarmory, hitting them hard.

“Now Skarmory, Swift over in that direction.” Cedric pointed to where the Hyper Beam attack had come from. Skarmory shot several small star shapes in that direction. They had hit another double. “Ah…So trying to confuse me by throwing your voice eh? A fine idea…But you’ll have to do better than that. Agility!” Skarmory became even faster now. Within seconds, four Aerodactyls came towards Cedric, they had surrounded him. “Wait for it…Wait…” Cedric muttered to Skarmory.

“Okay, now another Dragon Claw.” The sound could be heard from above Cedric now. He was taking a chance at this next move, but it would work out any way. The four Aerodactyls spun around and dove quickly towards Cedric.

“Dive down now Skarmory!” Cedric yelled before the Aerodactyls hit him. He and his Skarmory dove below the attack of the Aerodactyls and each hit each other. They all disappeared, revealing that they were doubles of the real one. “Good, fly up now and use Steel Wing.” Skarmory did as instructed and flew upwards. It quickly jerked its wing upwards, hitting an Aerodactyl. This was the real one. “Hah, no more games now Will, I’ll finish you now. Hyper Beam!” Skarmory gathered more energy and shot it at the real Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl was hit hard and flew down to adjust its balance, as it had done before.

---

Tentacruel sent out a ball of sludge that hurdled towards Crawdaunt. The large crab was hit, goop from the attack lining it like a thick membrane. “Good, now follow up with a Wrap attack.” The Rouge commanded his Pokemon. The man was Lagro, the man who was holding Steven hostage from in the Devon building. Tentacruel spun around towards Mac’s Crawdaunt and grappled onto it tightly. Things didn’t look too good for Crawdaunt.

“Argh…Crawdaunt, hang in there. Try using…Crunch! Yeah, try Crunch on one of the tentacles!” Mac called to Crawdaunt. Crawdaunt opened his mouth and bit one of the tentacles wrapped around it. Tentacruel lurched back in pain, letting go of Crawdaunt. “Good, now use another Ancientpower!” As if from nowhere, rocks hurdled towards Tentacruel. Each rock hit hard, Tentacruel nearly lost its balance and almost fell into the water. The Pokemon regained its balance and started spinning furiously now. It was attempting a Rapid Spin attack. Tentacruel ended up hitting Crawdaunt, doing little damage. Crawdaunt however, had a trick up its sleeve. The crab Pokemon ran up and jumped towards the opposing Pokemon, crushing down on it with its claws, it had just used a Counter attack. Tentacruel had taken considerable amounts of damage, but managed to hold on amazingly.

“Alright, we’ve had enough playtime. Use another Sludge Bomb, then use Barrier.” Largo commanded Tentacruel, his voice sounded annoyed. Tentacruel flung another ball of sludge at Crawdaunt, then created a barrier of near invisible light around it.

“Crawdaunt, Protect!” Crawdaunt also created a barrier, which surrounded it completely. The Sludge Bomb attack that hit the shield just hit it and fell to the ground. “Good, now use Brick Break to destroy the barrier, then use Crabhammer!” Crawdaunt rushed towards the giant jellyfish and smashed both claws against the barrier, breaking it immediately. It then jumped up above Tentacruel and smashed both claws against the soft top of Tentacruel. Tentacruel fell down in pain, fainted.

“Hmph. Well like that one mattered.” Lagro pouted as he returned the Pokemon to its Poke Ball. “Now go, Scizor!”

---

“Dive down, Aerodactyl! We’ve got Cedric on the run!” Will shouted to his Aerodactyl. The clouds hanging low had died down, giving both trainers the ability to see again.

“You wish!” Cedric yelled from below Will. He pointed up when Will wasn’t looking. Skarmory flew up towards Aerodactyl majestically, wings beating in a rhythmic way. Aerodactyl then felt a sharp pain in its stomach, Skarmory had used a Drill Peck on it. Aerodactyl went hurdling down, towards the surface of the water. “Hahah! Foolish boy.” Cedric yelled to Will. The ship was still moving towards Mossdeep, which was still far off in the distance. At the rate Aerodactyl was going, it would hit the ship extremely hard. Down Aerodactyl went, Will still on its back calling it to wake up, because Will knew that Aerodactyl had merely lost conciousness temporarily. Soon Aerodactyl had awoken, shaking its head to completely wake. It started flapping its wings with great strength, flying upwards at Skarmory.

“And who’s the fool now, Cedric?” Will yelled at Cedric before ramming into his Skarmory. Aerodactyl hit Skarmory in the stomach with a Double Edge attack, slightly hurting Aerodactyl as well as doing substantial damage to Skarmory. “Now, Bite!” Aerodactyl caught Skarmory’s leg in its mouth as it fell, then bit down, hard. Skarmory cried out in pain, but it still had plenty of energy left to battle.

---

The steel and bug type, Scizor, raised its two red claws. They both glowed white and then Scizor glided over with its wings, giving it exceptional speed. The Pokemon spun around twice, then unleashed a Rock Smash attack on Crawdaunt, instantly knocking it out. “Fine, so you defeated him. Go, Aggron!” Mac threw a Poke Ball, and out came a large rock-monster with a steel plated body and two horns on its head. “Now Aggron, use Earthquake!” Aggron jumped and landed down on the ground with great force. The impact broke the ice floe into dozens of pieces. Scizor and Lagro were left on individual pieces of ice, as well as Mac and Aggron.

“Wahahah! Now you’re at a disadvantage kid! That Pokemon of yours weighs a whole lot more than my Scizor, and Scizor can glide on water freely, unlike that monster.” Lagro laughed again. What he said was true though, Aggron was at a disadvantage. “Use Metal Claw, Scizor!” Scizor glided over the ice and water beautifully. It jumped and flipped once, then crushed a claw down on Aggron with great force. Aggron nearly lost its balance, but got up and used a Seismic Toss. Scizor was gripped and thrown across the ice and landed on its back.

“Good, use Headbutt!” Aggron reared back and then jumped, turning itself so it would land on its head. The beast hit the bug and steel Pokemon extremely hard, doing more damage because of its horns.

---

“Whirlwind!” Cedric yelled out. Skarmory obeyed and blew a large gust of wind towards Aerodactyl, who flew back about ten feet and missed using its Bite attack. “Now follow up with Aerial Ace!” Skarmory took its body and made it look much like a missile. It flew through the air gracefully, then hit Aerodactyl in the wing. Aerodactyl shrugged it off, and tried its own attack.

“That’s the idea, Aerodactyl. Use Flamethrower, now!” Aerodactyl flew up towards Skarmory, then grabbed the steel bird’s foot with its tail. The prehistoric monster turned its head to Skarmory’s body and blew out intense fire and heat towards it. Skarmory screeched in pain, and used a Metal Sound to try and stop its foe. Aerodactyl closed its eyes and its flight pattern became mixed up, leaving it vulnerable for attack.

“That’s the way Skarmory! Strike back with another Metal Sound to really mess it up.” Cedric laughed evilly. Skarmory screeched incredibly loudly again, the horrible noise echoing through the night sky. Will held his ears as Aerodactyl shook its head in pain. Neither could take it, but Cedric seemed somehow unaffected by it. Will looked out the way Aerodactyl was facing, towards Mossdeep. The island town was only a short distance away, if Will could survive just a little more, he would make it. The only thing he was worried about was Mac, would he make it too?

---

“Enough! I have no time for this!” Lagro looked ahead at where the ship was now. It was a good distance away from where they were, still sailing towards Mossdeep. “Scizor, come here!” Scizor obeyed and glided over to where Lagro was. Lagro took out a Super Potion, a spray-type medicine that heals wounds that Pokemon receive. He sprayed it on his Scizor, then threw the medicine out into the ocean. Lagro hopped onto Scizor and signaled goodbye to Mac. Mac returned his Aggron to its Poke Ball then, and took out his own Scizor. He jumped on as well, and glided over the water towards the other man. Lagro looked behind him, astonished that the boy would follow. Both sped up, and raced in front of the ship.

---

“Hyper Beam!” Both trainers yelled in unison. Aerodactyl and Skarmory both gathered energy around their mouths and unleashed it at the same moment. Both managed to avoid it in the same way. “Now Wing Attack, and another Hyper Beam!” Again they both yelled it out in unison. As the two Pokemon started gathering energy again, they spun and hit each others wings, both loosing their balance and flying off in the other direction. Because of this, the Hyper Beam from both of them flew off in the entirely opposite direction. More fog appeared as they flew even faster, both duos racing to get to Mossdeep first.

“A fine battle we’ve had, Will. Unfortunately for the both of us though, it must end here.” The fog subsided. Will and Cedric were now side by side, both Pokemon glaring at each other. The two trainers however, looked at each other not with anger, but with blank faces. Neither showed any emotion. Cedric looked down and saw the city below him. He smiled not evilly, but in a friendly manner. Taking his hand off Skarmory, he saluted to Will. “This is my stop. It should be yours too.” And Cedric dove onto a sandy beach to the side of Mossdeep. Will followed, but landed on the grass in the middle of Mossdeep. Nobody was out, no lights on. It had to be at least midnight, if not later. Mac ran up to Will and grabbed his shirt.

“Will, follow. Now!” Mac then ran towards a tall building set on a mountainous part of the town. Will ran too, bright lights were guiding him along, the lights coming from behind him. When he had reached Mac, he ducked down and shielded his eyes as Mac had done. The next thing he heard, was an ear-shattering crash and explosion.

Not the kind of welcome the two adventurers had expected, but they made it to Mossdeep. What is the plan of the Shadow Rouges from here on out? Only time will tell…

 

[Aqua]

Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Rouges Strike Again

Fire. The whole town was lit up by this element. Various houses lit up too, the citizens inside confused at what it was. Some people were even brave enough to adventure out of their houses to see this sight.

Will and Mac remained on the ground, but uncovered their eyes. The ship they were once on, was destroyed. Will returned Aerodactyl to its Poke Ball, as Mac returned his Scizor. They were both exhausted from the long day before. Slowly they drifted to sleep under a tree beside them…

---

As the sun rose, many of the families got up and out of their houses first thing. They looked at the ship, still stuck on the sand bar. The fire had been put out. Will and Mac began to wake up too. Mac woke up first. He nudged Will’s shoulder to wake him too, he didn’t wake up at first. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and stretched. “Wha? Is it morning?” He asked still in a dazed mood.

“Yeah, we must have fallen asleep without noticing. The fire is put out, and none of those Shadow Rouges are in sight.” Mac replied, still looking around for any of the Rouges. His stomach grumbled. “Hey, got any food by any chance? I’m starved.”

Will stood up and stretched again, as Mac just stood up. “I’ve got nothing. Look over there though, there’s a restaurant, why don’t we stop in.” The two started walking away from the building on the cliff and more towards the center of the city. The people there were still awestruck by the sight of the ship on the sand bar. People inside were even looking out into the sea at the ship, or any other ships that could be approaching. “Mac, go look over there for any sight of the Rouges, I’ll get us something to eat.” Will muttered to Mac, who nodded in approval. The two split up then, one for the window and one for an empty table.

“So, you and your friend don’t seem surprised about this.” A lady approaching Will said. She clearly was one of the employees.

“Nah, we don’t have a preference for this sort of stuff.” Will replied. A man in a raincoat left then, Mac also turned to look at Will at that instant, then turned back to the window.

“Well, I don’t like it one bit. A small-time town like this doesn’t need that much attention. Granted however, this is a well known and popular town.” The employee chuckled to herself at saying this. “But anyways, what’ll you have? Or are you just here to sit?”

“No actually we are here to eat, I’ll have bacon and eggs, my friend will have the pancakes. Just a water for both of us.

The waitress left and as if knowing, Mac came to the table and sat before Will. “So anything?” He asked immediately, eyes focused on the people outside.

“Nah, just an employee. I’m taking it you got the same results”

“With the exception of the employee, yes.” Will laughed, Mac focused more outside. “Do you think…maybe they already left? Maybe…that they got to the Purify Chamber and then escaped?”

“Well, it’s possible, but I’m going to have to doubt it. More people would be ranting about it. We’d probably be taken with them too. We were plain in sight.” Will looked up at the waitress as she gave them their water. Will nodded to signal ‘thanks’ and Mac didn’t budge. “Did you hear anything at all from anyone?” A silence fell between the two, then Mac replied.

“Nah, nothin’ just people wondering where it came from.” Neither talked, the conversation had ended. Soon the waitress came again to give them their food. Will nodded again, but Mac didn’t. As Will began eating, Mac picked up his fork and started talking, as if to nobody. “What…what if…some of them were still here.” His mouth was full of food, and he swigged it down with water, then continued talking. “What if…Some of them were here before our arrival?” Again he filled his mouth, then swigged it down. “If the Rouges had planned the ship to crash…then they may have had some Rouges waiting for us…from the ship…or already…here…” He let those last words sit there, then finished up his food. Will soon had finished also.

“That could be. Chances are the Rouges had this attack planned for quite some time, so it could happen.” Will looked over to see the waitress on the walkie-talkie that was clipped to her apron, like all other waitresses. She started talking in what appeared an angry state, then sighed and nodded. “Mac, I believe you were right, we have to go now.” Will and Mac stood up and the waitress ran over to them.

“Sit, sit. Please relax. There’s no rush at all.” Both pushed their ways through her arms and ran out the door. She followed. “NO! I told you to stop, so stop…NOW!” She held out a Poke Ball and threw it. A Gyarados came out, its blue body all wound up like that of a snake. It opened its mouth wide and roared in intimidation. “Now Fire Blast!”

The Gyarados closed its eyes and spat out intense heat, moving fast, but not too fast. The fire was situated in the form of a Chinese symbol, or at least it appeared so. The boys ran and jumped into the sea, the fire immediately extinguishing. “So what do you say, tip or no tip?” Mac then said. The two opened their Poke Balls, and out came Crawdaunt and Walrein, ready for action. The two jumped on the Pokemon’s backs and pointed out towards sea a bit. Walrein created an ice floe and sat on it, while Crawdaunt arrived on shore with Mac by its side.

“Okay, Walrein stay here for the moment, I’m going with Mac and Crawdaunt.” Will dove into the water and swam to shore, seaweed in his pockets. “Ice Beam!” Will yelled. Walrein shot out another beam, it was moving fast and right at Gyarados. Gyarados was hit hard and on its side, then shot a glare at Walrein.

“Well, first they eat without paying, now they want a fight! Fine then, use Shadow Rush, Gyarados!” The waitress yelled. She threw down her costume to reveal being a Shadow Rouge.

“Shadow Rush…Oh! Why didn’t I think of it!” Will put on the Aura Reader and confirmed that Gyarados was Shadow. Gyarados lurched back and then bolted forward, its snake-like body allowing it to move quickly. Walrein had no time to react, and was hit off the ice instantly, the ice shattering. Both Pokemon were in the water, facing off. Walrein instinctively used a Surf attack, doing little damage, then moved closer to a rock wall.

“Hyper Beam!” Gyarados moved forward and looked down, charging the beam up. All it took for Walrein was a good Water Gun in the eyes and the plan fell into effect. Gyarados’ Hyper Beam hit the rocks above the two, and right over Walrein. It flung them towards the other Pokemon in a motion much like that of Rock Tomb. Gyarados fell down in pain, then lurched up.

“Good! Now take it over here with another Surf!” Walrein pushed Gyarados forward and onto shore. Will threw a Snag Ball at it, and the large beast was encased within it. The ball clicked once…twice…three times…But it escaped at the last moment! It let loose another Fire Blast, doing minimal damage to Walrein because of the type differences with it, and its special ability, Thick Fat. Another small Water Gun was shot at Gyarados and another Snag Ball was thrown. It clicked once…twice…a third time and…A perfect Snag!

“Augh, how! My Gyarados, it was so powerful! NOO!” The Rouge ran towards the large building on a cliff top. This was the Space Institute.

“Let’s go Mac, they’re there…I know it.”

With the appearance of another Shadow Pokemon, the two are hot in pursuit. The next stop-The Space Institute!

 

[Aqua]

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Institute of Shadows

Will and Mac peered inside a window of the Space Institute. Cedric, along with his lackey Lagro, were telling other Shadow Rouges what to do. The conversation couldn’t be heard from outside, but when all the Rouges dispersed, the two had gotten the main jist of it. They lowered themselves so they were out of sight from the Rouges inside, and looked at each other. “So, got a plan Will?” Mac questioned.

“Yes but we’re going to need a catapault, a heavy-duty vacuum, some smoke bombs, and two Philly cheese steaks.” Will and Mac laughed quietly. “But on a more serious note, no I haven’t got a clue.” Will pointed up as the two then suddenly heard a banging noise. Inside the building, people were getting into costumes that looked like various people who would be minding their business around the town. Again the two lowered themselves as Will whispered the plan to Mac.

---

A few minutes after the Rouges in costume came out and into the hustle and bustle of the town, one Rouge went back in, holding a hostage. This Rouge went inside the Space Institute, and through the doorway into the office where Cedric stood. “Cedric sir, I’ve received a captive, one of the boys from before.”

“Good, good. But I told you all not to take hostages! It may have blown our cover. Anyways, let’s see…Ah yes! I remember you. You’re that boy Mac, correct?” Mac nodded as he was let go from the grasp of the Rouge, and onto a chair. “But where is Will? I surely would have liked to see him here as well.”

The Rouge looked up at Cedric. “The other boy got away, other Rouges are looking for him around the coast.”

“Well, for everyone’s sake let’s hope that he didn’t find the factory.” Cedric looked out to the coastline. But for now, let’s deal with his friend. Mac, what do you propose we do with you? Well first, your Poke Balls.” Cedric held a hand out and the Rouge handed him six Poke Balls. “You took his Poke Balls too? Well, I’m impressed, most other Rouges would’ve just given me the boy.” Cedric put the Poke Balls on the windowsill behind him.

“What are you gong to do with my Pokemon!” Mac shouted. He stood up, but Cedric pushed on him so he fell back into the chair.

“Well, I plan on making them Shadow Pokemon. I’ve seen them in action Mac, I know how strong they are. They would be excellent for the head of the Shadow Rouges.” Cedric flipped a switch on the table between Mac and himself. “You see this? I’ve now called upon all the Rouges in Mossdeep to come here. They should be arriving soon to take your Pokemon to the factory.” The Rouge went over to the window to see all the Rouges running to the Institute, trying not to look suspicious.

Mac looked over to the Rouge, who laughed a bit. “You wish!” He then shouted, whipping off his costume to reveal that he was Will. “Go Walrein!” His Pokemon shot out of the Poke Ball and an Ice Beam was shot over to the doorway, where the Rouges had just arrived. They ran for the door, but it was too late. Cedric, Will, and Mac were trapped inside the office with their Pokemon. It was then that Cedric also laughed.

“Very well done Will. I must say, you and your friend here did fool me. But I still have Mac’s Poke Balls that you handed me so easily!” Cedric held up one Poke Ball for both to see.

It was now that Mac stood up and laughed. “You think we would actually give you my Pokemon? And so easily? Well then my friend, you are sadly mistaken.” He lifted up the bottom of his shirt to reveal that he had his Poke Balls there the whole time. “Those ones are empty!”

“Ah, very well done. But tell me now. I must know everything you did to get here.”

Will answered by telling him it all. “Well, we first peered inside the Institute, where we saw the Rouges getting into costume. It was then that I remembered about the Rouge dressed as the waitress, and how she left her costume by the restaurant. I retrieved that and dressed up as her. As I did this, Mac went and got six Poke Balls from the Mart. I ran over to him and made it look like I held him hostage, and took him to you. You know what happened from there though.”

Cedric began clapping his hands. “Very well done you two. If only the members of the Shadow Rouges acted and thought like you. We could use you here, with us. Come and join us Mac, Will, we need you. With your superior Pokemon handling skills and your brains, you two could be highly ranked upon Hoenn. What say you?”

“As good as it sounds Cedric, NEVER! Why would we do that, and betray all of Hoenn, including out families?”

“Well do as you wish, but I must be leaving if you’ll excuse me. I have all I need from here.” Cedric whistled loudly as he punched the window, glass shattering. Then he jumped out the window and ran over to the coastline. From the ice barrier came Lagro, just as Cedric had whistled for him. Before any other Rouges could get in though, Will sealed the doorway shut with an Ice Beam from Walrein.

“So you dare defy the might of Cedric? He is far stronger than I and for disobeying him, I shall pummel you both!” He did a backflip right out the window and onto a raised plateau nearby the Institute. Will and Mac followed, without doing a backflip. “Wahahah! Let’s go you two! I’m not going to lose, I’ve been bestowed different and even stronger Pokemon than the last time we met!”

“Will, let me handle this goon, just give me the Snag Machine and I can take him down.” Mac was handed the Snag Machine and stepped forward. “Okay Lagro, you’ll be fighting me and only me! Let’s see if those Pokemon you’ve been bestowed are strong enough! Go on out, Xatu and Venusaur!” The Pokemon Xatu came out first, a Pokemon like a bird, but with psychic powers. It’s stomach has the pattern of a face that could be mocking someone. The other Pokemon was Venusaur, the Pokemon Tiffany sent out against Will in the Battle Frontier.

“I’m okay with fighting one of you, but the other may need to come in to help you when I’m done with you! Go Dusclops and Glalie!” Dusclops came out, a Pokemon of the ghost type with one eye and hands without arms. Wisps came out of its back like a cape, flowing in the wind even though there was no wind. Glalie came out next, a Pokemon looking much like a white and black meteor with two spikes coming out of its head. It has large teeth below two large blue eyes, but no jaw. “Use Hail, Glalie.” The Pokemon opened its mouth and roared while spinning around as it floated above the ground. A hailstorm appeared, hitting all Pokemon many times, but damaging all but Glalie.

“Use Sunny Day Xatu, I never saw hail in the forecast.” Xatu moved its head side to side many times, then spread its wings out. The hailstorm cleared, with the sun taking its place. The rays beat against the land making every Pokemon warm. “Good, now both of you use Solarbeam on Dusclops!” Both Pokemon let loose a great beam of light, hardly using any time to charge up.

Just as the Pokemon let loose the beams, Lagro called out to his Pokemon. “Dusclops, use Protect, Glalie use Ice Beam on that bird there!” Dusclops managed to protect, but it was still hit partially by one of the beams. Glalie however, went in for another attack, full-fledged and right at Xatu. Xatu swayed as it was hit, holding its ground and stopping the Solarbeam attack. Xatu stood upright again, it was still in the battle despite the might of the attack it was hit by. “H-How? That Ice Beam should have done so much-Xatu should have fainted!”

Mac chuckled, surprised that Lagro didn’t take the time to look closely at his Pokemon. “My Pokemon has a Focus Band on. Xatu is now holding on with a strand of energy left!” Lagro looked at the Pokemon closely then, noticing that it had a red band on its head, making it look like it knew karate. “Now use Double Team Xatu, Venusaur use Solarbeam.” Xatu closed its eyes and split into four of itself, then moving around to confuse Lagro. Venusaur took another beam and released it onto Glalie this time. Glalie was pushed backwards from the force of the hit, but shrugged it off despite the raw power of it.

“Well my Dusclops also happens to have an item on. It’s called the Shell Bell. Dusclops, use Fire, Ice, and Thunderpunch! Glalie, you use Flash first.” Glalie’s eyes flashed and then a flash of light appeared, blinding Xatu and making the real one shrug its head. “Dusclops, hit that one on the left!” Dusclops drew Xatu close with its mind, then slammed down on it with a fist of fire. It withstood the blow from the band, but Dusclops followed up with an Ice Punch to the stomach, which it also withstood. A hit to the face by a Thunderpunch knocked it out though.

“Wow! Xatu come back, come out Scizor! Now start us off right away with Steel Wing!” The red bug-like Pokemon came out and ran towards Glalie, like a blur. Glalie couldn’t foresee it, and fainted.

“Fine, come out Claydol!” A Pokemon looking like a large floating voodoo doll came out, with about eight eyes on each side of its body and two detachable arms. “Use Psychic on that Venusaur!” every other one of Claydol’s eyes blinked, then the others as Claydol used Psychic. Venusaur was lifted off the ground and pains shot through it as the Pokemon was thrown to the ground.

“Grr, Venusaur destroy that with Solarbe-” Mac was cut off by Will who started to talk to Mac.

“Mac, don’t be so hasty. That’s a Shadow Claydol there. Snag it, don’t beat it! I’ll go get the Poke Balls in the Institute, you deal with Lagro.” Mac nodded, getting back to the battle as Will hopped on his Aerodactyl and flew up to the Space Institute.

Well if I can’t beat that thing, I’ll beat the other one! Venusaur use Sleep Powder on the Claydol. Scizor use Swords Dance.” Venusaur shook itself around a bit, releasing strange pollen into the air and towards Claydol. Claydol fell to the ground and closed all eyes, everyone knew then that it was asleep. Scizor held out both arms and waved them around elegantly, prepping itself for the next attack by doing this.

“Heh, a nice try there but now, my turn! Claydol, Claydol! Grr…why won’t it wake up? Well then, Dusclops you attack. Use Future Sight.” As Claydol slept away from the battle, Dusclops closed its eye. Waving its arms around, a pink aura surrounded it and it opened its eye again, the aura fading.

“Okay Scizor, Venusaur, now it’s your time to shine. Venusaur pick up Scizor with Vine Whip. Scizor you use Iron Defense a couple times.” Scizor curled into as close to a ball as it could, and hardened itself three times, then stood back up. Venusaur picked up the now completely silver Pokemon and held it up over everyone. “Good, now Scizor, use another Iron Defense. Venusaur, after that, slam Scizor down on Dusclops.” Venusaur twirled Scizor around a bit as Scizor used Iron Defense. It was then that the master plan commenced. Venusaur slammed down Scizor with all its might, Scizor taking no damage from this because of how many times it had used Iron Defense. Dusclops fell down on its back, fainted.

“Okay, so you beat two of my Pokemon. Two are still left! Go, Venomoth!” A moth about a foot shorter than Mac entered the field. “Use Silver Wind on Venusaur!” Venomoth fluttered its wings and bobbed up and down a few times, summoning a wind and powdery sort of attack. The wind was fast and powerful, nearly knocking out Venusaur.

“Mac, here! Take the Poke Balls, just be careful because these are the only six we have.” Will was overhead, riding on his Aerodactyl and throwing the Poke Balls to Mac, who caught them all.

“Right, well then, let’s take this Claydol down slowly. Scizor, use Silver Wind also. Venusaur, if Claydol wakes up, use Sleep Powder.” Scizor summoned the same sort of wind Venomoth had, hitting Claydol square in the head and waking it up. Venusaur obeyed the command of its trainer and used another Sleep Powder to put Claydol back to sleep. Okay guys, good job. And now…Snag Ball, go!” From the arm with the Snag Machine on it Mac threw a Poke Ball, which turned into a Snag Ball. It engulfed Claydol and closed again. The Snag Ball clicked once…twice…three times and…Claydol was snagged! “Yes! Now finish that Venomoth up, and this battle. Use the same strategy as you did with Dusclops. The strategy ended up working again. Venomoth had had Scizor slammed down onto it and fainted.

“Gragh! First you disobey Cedric, then you snag my Claydol, and then you beat me! Those Pokemon weren’t strong at all! I must go back to the factory and tell Cedric of this!” Lagro fled the scene and behind a few buildings, Will and Mac couldn’t see where he went from there. Before leaving so quickly though, he dropped an item on the ground, the Shell Bell. Will picked it up and looked up, noticing that it was late and they should head inside an inn for the night, they had a big day ahead of them.

After beating Lagro and finding the Shell Bell, the two now must go off to find this factory the Rouges speak of. All the two need now is to figure out where it is!

 

[Aqua]

Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Cave of Shadows

After a full nights rest, and a hardy breakfast, Will and Mac were off again. Before leaving the restaurant they asked a waitress (This time real) where they could get information about the Shell Bell. The waitress had no information for them about it, not even a place where they could get information from somebody else. Realizing it however, Will called up his dad via Pokenav. ‘Hello?’ could be heard on the other end, by Steven of course.

“Dad! Hi, Mac and I need some info, can you tell us about this?” Will held the Shell Bell up to the small screen of the Pokenav for his dad to see.

‘Hmm…Why yes actually I do have info on that. You clearly know that it’s called a Shell Bell, correct?’ Will nodded his head. ‘Well the Shell Bell is a rare sight nowadays, it’s an item for Pokemon to hold around their neck…or whatever body part can keep it held on. While holding it, a Pokemon automatically heals itself when attacking a Pokemon. This occurs somehow because of the sounds it emits, it increases the vigor of the Pokemon…or something of that sort. You can have these made by a man in the Shoal Cave, by means of four Shoal Salt and four Shoal Shell specimen inside the cave. The cave is due north of Mossdeep. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting son. Good luck!’ The Pokenav screen went blank.

“Well then, looks like we’re off to the Shoal Cave!” Will turned to see Mac and his Hitmonlee sparring. Hitmonlee is a Pokemon of the fighting type. It has extremely long and powerful legs, and not as strong arms. Its body is where the eyes are, baring no neck or mouth of any kind. Mac was fighting with his arms only, while Hitmonlee was fighting with only its legs.

“Ok Will, just let us finish this up. It’s the final round. Whoever knocks the other down will win the practice match. Got that Hitmonlee?” Hitmonlee nodded to signal yes and in one fell kick, knocked Mac down. It then put one leg on Mac’s chest and held a hand out proudly. “Yeah yeah, don’t get cocky! So where did you say, the Shoal Cave?”

“Yes, take out Crawdaunt, its a little ways away.” Mac called back Hitmonlee and sent out Crawdaunt, as Will sent out Walrein. The two walked to the shore and jumped on the backs of their Pokemon, crossing the sea to the Shoal Cave. Within minutes, the two were on land outside of the cave entrance. Calling back their Pokemon, the two stepped inside the dank interior of the cave. Nobody was inside but an old man looking into the cave even farther, with a sad expression on his face. He looked over to Will and Mac, sighing.

“If you’re here for a Shell Bell then I’m sorry, but I’ve got no time now. Some band of shady characters came in here and told me to make them as many as humanly possible.”

“And where did these people head off to? Did they go farther into the cave?” Will asked. He put the Shell Bell he held in his pocket.

“Yes, they went in deeper. That hole there should take you right to them. I hear mechanical noises there every so often.” The man pointed to a hole in the side of the cave. Red and blue lights could be seen in there, obviously a machine of some sort.

“Thank you. Don’t worry about them too much. By the time we’re done with them they won’t bother you any more at all.” With that last comment, Will and Mac headed into the hole to see what was inside. A large machine was indeed there, it took Shadow Pokemon on one conveyer belt on a side of the machine, and what appeared to be the Shell Bells on another. The Shadow Pokemon and the Shell Bell were transported into the machine and soon out the other. This was when the lights turned on and noises could be heard. When the Pokemon came out, the Shell Bell was fused to the Pokemon’s chest. Will and Mac were amazed at this. The mere thought of fusing things with Pokemon was absurd. Then a laugh could be heard from above. It was Cedric.

“So Will, Mac, do you like it? I call it the Shadow Infuser. You clearly know what it does, but the effect is simply marvelous. The Shell Bell is fused to the Pokemon, and made of the purest of minerals. When the Pokemon attacks, it gains a decent of amount of energy from it. This works well seeing as Shadow Pokemon act ferociously towards others, making them healthy almost all the time. So you like?” Cedric asked the two in a friendly manner.

“No, I hate it. The whole Idea of it is just…inhumane! Why even do it? Why even make Shadow Pokemon!” Will answered quickly, and not in a friendly manner at all.

“Why make Shadow Pokemon you ask? Well I told you. They’re ferocious fighters, we could use then to take over Hoenn, even the world some day!”

“So Cedric, that’s the whole plan? That’s why you’re doing this? To take over the world? Well I won’t let you. Now are you going to fight, or run again?”

Cedric laughed briefly. “Hahah, no Will, I’m not. I’ll have the pleasure of letting you fight the real Admin in charge of the operation in here. Mitoro, come here now!” He looked back to a crowd of people. One stopped talking and walked towards Cedric.

“What do you want from me? Are the two here?” Cedric nodded. “Well then, let me at ‘em!” Mitoro jumped down from the loft he and several others were on. He landed with his feet firmly on the ground in front of Mac. He was a tall man, fit also. He had a brown tank-top on which was open down the middle, allowing everyone to see his chest. His brown hair was long, but not too long and he had loose jeans on. “Well then you two. You wish to beat the Rouges? Not that easily. Which one of you will I be fighting?” He turned his head from Mac to Will.

“I’ll be fighting you. Where will it be?”

“Right here!” Mitoro did a back flip to back away from the two a bit. Mac handed the Snag Machine to Will again, who put it on his arm. He had forgotten completely about it. “Aww, fixing yourself up just for this one battle? How sweet. Now time to rock your socks!” Mitoro quickly threw two Poke Balls as if from nowhere. Out of one came a Golduck, the other a Golem. Golduck was completely normal, not Shadow. Golem however, was Shadow and had the Shell Bell fused to its chest.

“Well then, I won’t go easy. Go Heracross, Zangoose!” Will’s shiny Heracross came out of the Poke Ball lively and energetic. Zangoose came out with its claws flipped on the palm of its paws. It’s white and red scarred fur showed the battle wounds it had, like all other Zangoose.

“Oh, a shining Heracross eh? That don’t impress me. I’ll still rock your socks! Golem, Rock Tomb, you know where. Golduck, Seismic Toss!” Golem sent out rocks from the ground and threw them in a line between the two duos of Pokemon. Golduck leaped forward and hurled rocks ferociously towards Will and his Pokemon. Zangoose dodged all that were thrown at it, but Heracross was hit several times. The last one that was thrown at Heracross, it managed to catch.

“Wow! Good job, now return fire with your own Seismic Toss!” Heracross threw it in the air and caught it to bet a better grip, then hurled it straight at Golduck. It hit square in the face, knocking Golduck onto the hard rock ground. “Great! Continue hitting them. Zangoose, use Swords Dance. Heracross, stand in front of Zangoose and cover by using Counter.” Zangoose waved around its arms in a rhythmic way, while Heracross stood guard in front of it.

“Don’t let them charge themselves up! Golem, go in right away and use Rollout. Golduck, get Heracross away from Zangoose.” Golem started rolling, faster and faster as time went by. Golduck distracted Heracross by squirting it with water, then repeatedly making crude gestures towards it in an attempt to use Taunt. The Taunt was successful and Heracross ran over to Golduck while lowering its horn. Golem let loose the Rollout attack at once, giving Zangoose enough time to choose one quick attack. It furiously tore at the ground, it was soft where it was, and dug a hole large enough for Golem to fit into. It jumped quickly out as Golem rolled straight into it. Golem was stuck inside the hole rolling in place as Zangoose used another Swords Dance.

“Good idea Zangoose! Now just wait for it…” Golem realized it wasn’t going anywhere and stopped rolling. Zangoose had stopped using Swords Dance as well. “And now! Shadow Ball!” Zangoose let loose a ball of dark energy right at Golem as it looked up. It hit Golem right in the face, stunning it for a second or two. “Alright, now keep it there with Rock Slide!” Zangoose took out its claws and dug up rocks from the ground. The rocks were hurled at Golem, leaving it trapped in the hole and hurting it a bit. “And now Zangoose…leave the rest to me!” Will threw a Snag Ball right at Golem. It clicked once…twice…three times and…a perfect snag! The rocks that encased Golem in the hole fell down, nearly covering the hole completely.

“Well well, you are as tough as Cedric says. I can have some fun with you! Go Sandslash!” Out of the Poke Ball came a fairly large shrew with a spiked back and scythe-like claws. It clashed the claws together a few times and started up a sandstorm as if knowing what to do from the get-go. “Heheh, good Sandslash, good. Crush Claw on whatever you see.” Sandslash took a readying position and stood in one place waiting. Will walked over to Zangoose and whispered to it what to do, without anyone else hearing.

“Heracross! Use Swords Dance now. Wait until something comes near and use Megahorn.” Heracross waved around its arms and swayed its horn a few times. It noticed after doing this that Golduck had left the area. It took the readying position anyways and stood waiting. As if from nowhere, Golduck came up from behind Heracross and used a Cross Chop attack. It made its arms form an X shape and struck Heracross hard in the chest. That didn’t keep Heracross from attacking back though. It lowered its horn and tried ramming into Golduck at full force. Golduck used a Seismic Toss to grab Heracross by the horn. It swung around the large bug and flung it into a cave wall. While all this happened, they both lost some energy from the raging sandstorm.

Zangoose knew what it had to do. It knew what to do to beat Sandslash, but it decided to go with its own plan now. It created several illusions of itself, utilizing the attack Double Team. Some of the doubles went one direction towards Sandslash, the others a different way. Sandslash heard the steps of a Pokemon nearing; it looked around for a silhouette only to find nothing. At the next instant, it heard a sound, the sound of a hurt Pokemon, Zangoose to be exact. As it cried softly from the sandstorm, Sandslash dug up rocks from the ground and hurled them at the direction of the sound. The sound stopped, but another could be heard from behind, not a cry though. Another dark mass of energy was hurled towards the Pokemon, but Sandslash swiped at it with its claws to get rid of it. More sounds of pain could be heard, more rocks hurled, and more doubles disappearing. Soon only one Zangoose and one Sandslash remained eyeing each other through the sandstorm. Sandslash struck first, quick and to the stomach. It followed up with another Slash to the face. Zangoose was thrown down onto the ground as the sandstorm subsided. It looked up at the large shrew and got up staggering. Firing another Shadow Ball at the Pokemon, it was hit by a blow to the back, the Shadow Ball missing its target.

“Zangoose come back. Heracross you too. I must say Mitoro, the battle is now down to a five-on-four match, either of us could win from here on in.”

“Actually the match is a four-on-four, I only have four Pokemon left. I intend to win though.” Mitoro fired back an answer with a smug look on his face.

“You will try, but fail. Go Gengar, Walrein.” Will’s ghost and walrus Pokemon came out, one roaring the other snickering. Sandslash and Golduck returned the favor by doing the same. “Gengar, use Thunderbolt on Golduck. Walrein, take down Sandslash with Ice Beam.” Walrein and Gengar jumped into battle quickly, shooting their attacks at the specified Pokemon. Both Golduck and Sandslash were knocked out by those attacks.

“Argh! What is this all about! You certainly have turned the tides on me Will, but it’s not over yet. Go Swampert! Pupitar!” Out of the Poke Balls came two Shadow Pokemon with the Shell Bell fused to them. Pupitar is a Pokemon who looks much like the cocoon of a monster of some sort, nearly immobile and gray colored. “Now Swampert, use Shadow End! Pupitar, use Shadow Rush!” Pupitar threw itself into Walrein with as much power as it could. Walrein was hurt badly but got back up. Gengar on the other hand, was hit by the raw power of Swampert as its arms crushed down on the Pokemon. Gengar fainted and both Shadow Pokemon felt reenergized from the attacks.

“Well then, Gengar is down, but it tried its best. Go Aerodactyl” Aerodactyl came out stretching its wings, and then flew to the ceiling of the cave where it perched. “Use Hyper Beam!” Aerodactyl let loose a powerful beam of energy at Pupitar, who Endured the hit. Will set a Poke Ball into the Snag Machine and threw it at Pupitar. The ball clicked once…twice…three times and…Pupitar was snagged!

“Fine! So Pupitar went down easy. Swampert, use another Shadow End.” Swampert raised its arms again and pounded them down on Walrein, who Endured the hit just in time. It returned the blow by using Blizzard, blowing cold wind and snow onto Swampert, but missing completely.

“Alright, then Aerodactyl, use another Hyper Beam.” Swampert was hit from the beam right in the chest but not knocked out yet. Will threw a Snag Ball at it, engulfing Swampert. It clicked once…twice…but Swampert got out!” It took its rage out on Aerodactyl by using Hyper Beam, knocking Aerodactyl from its perch and onto the Shadow Infuser.

“No, no no! Swampert, don’t do that! We can’t have the Shadow Infuser broken now! The Shadow Captain will be so very very mad!” As Mitoro went on about how angry his leader will be, Will threw a Snag Ball at Swampert. The ball clicked once…twice…three times and…another Snag! “No! I must get out of here now! The Shadow Captain will not like this one bit! He may even disband the Shadow Rouges! Everyone evacuate, evacuate!” Mitoro ran out of the cave, cursing many times. Many Rouges including Lagro and Cedric left also, so Will and Mac felt they should get out too. Recalling Aerodactyl and Walrein, Will ran out the cave entrance with Mac quickly after the Rouges did. The two saw the old man and helped him out too, they knew now that the Shadow Infuser was going to explode! At the outside of the cave, none of the Rouges could be seen at all, and the silence outside was broken by the explosion. Left outside the near destroyed Shoal Cave, Mac and Will went back to Mossdeep with the old man and stayed at his house for the night. Who knew if the Rouges were really disbanding, but the two fell asleep wondering if it were true.

The Shadow Rouges disbanding? Is it really true? What about the Shadow Pokemon? And the Purify Chamber? Will and Mac will soon find out if it’s true or not.

 

[Aqua]

Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Frontier Fun!

After the night at Old Man Shoal’s house, Will and Mac were summoned to Rustboro by Will’s father. Within a half a day they were there, standing right before Steven Stone.

“So the Rouges claim they really are disbanding?” He asked the two.

“That’s what one of the Admins said, just after Will beat him. We did manage to snag his Shadow Pokemon, but most of the ones they used the Shadow Infuser on were hauled out.”

“Well then boys, I believe you made quick work of them. Something tells me however that they will be making a comeback in the near future. Until then, you two are free to do as you wish. I will simply need your snagged Shadow Pokemon to avoid them running loose or something of that sort.”

Will handed Steven the Shadow Pokemon in their Poke Balls and Steven then put them in a high security vault with various rare minerals and gemstones. “Yes! Mac, you know what this means right! We’re going to kick some Frontier butt!” Will and Mac slapped high-five and got ready to leave.

---

At the Frontier, many of the trainers were gathered around a single spot, right outside the Battle Pike. Will and Mac ran over there to see what was going on. A slightly chubby and bald man wearing a tropical attire was standing with a microphone. Behind him were seven adults, one of them Will immediately recognized as Tucker.

“Hello Frontier guests! For those who don’t know me or who just arrived, I’m Scott, founder of the great Battle Frontier! We have great news, the Frontier Brains have been complaining about not many people challenging them. We’ve decided that we’ll lower the battle limit to getting to the Brains to 5 battles! Only 5 battles to reach the Brains now! You will battle five trainers, get your Battle Points, then go on to fight the Brain of the facility. If you beat the Brains, they will award you even more Battle Points! There is however, one catch. I hold here in my hand a list, incredibly long at that.” Scott held up a scroll for all to see. “Only our senior trainers here at the Frontier may go by this rule. By that I don’t mean only elderly, but rather people who have been with us for countless years. I will now read off the names of those eligible to do this, come up and get your Deluxe Pass when I call you.” He began reading off the names alphabetically.

“Wow Mac, only 5 battles! Awesome! We qualify for this too, we’ve been here for seven years, since it opened! Too bad this didn’t happen sooner, we would’ve had probably all the symbols by now!” Will heard his name being called, so he strutted proudly up to get his Deluxe Pass. A few moments later, Mac’s name was called and he did the same. Minutes after, the crowd subsided and people went to the countless facilities. One crowd of people still stood outside the Pike though.

“Hey you two, you up for a battle?” A trainer dressed in red called over to Will and Mac. “We’re having a little battle club sort of thing going on here. You simply wager however many Battle Points you want, then someone else out of the group will battle you. You win, you get their Battle Points and yours, lose and you lose those wagered. So you in for joining the club? Consider yourself lucky, it’s only for senior members.”

“Hey we’ll join, what do we need to do?” Will stepped forward, Mac behind him.

“Nothin’ special. We just need your Pokenav entered into our system and vice-versa, and you can keep this emblem in your Deluxe Pass.” Will and Mac exchanged Pokenav info, and then the two received a pendant in the shape of a circle with a Premier Ball symbol in the center. “Welcome to the Premier Squad guys, the only one of its kind. I’m Matt, the head of this thing. We have a stadium set up for all our battles and stuff. Follow me and these guys to our battling location, the Artisan Cave!”

---

When the group of people arrived at the cave underneath the Battle Frontier, they noticed several Smeargle wandering around. The Pokemon looked much like people wearing artist berets and had a long tail with the tip of a paintbrush. “Why here?” Will asked Matt as he looked at the various Smeargles.

I fought some guy down here before, the Smeargles seem really interested and amused at the battles. None of them mind, or even try to attack you. They go along with their business, with some staying to watch. Ah, here it is, the Artisan Stadium.” Everyone sat at the bleachers made of stone except for Matt, some Smeargles joined. Matt went up and stood at a podium in front of the bleachers. The stadium was a standard stadium size, the boundaries carved in about three inches wide. “All battles today will be one-on-one. So who will accept the first battle? And what will they wager?” Matt asked the group. A man in a yellow vest with matted down hair stood up.

“I’ll go, I wager ten Battle Points!” The man stepped forward to the podium and placed his Battle Points on it.

“Good, now who will be his challenger?”

“I will!” Mac stood up and went up to the podium. He also placed his Battle Points on it, then faced the other man.

“Okay so the battle will be Orte against Mac, each wagering ten BP. Please step into the stadium.” The two stood at opposite ends of the stadium, both clutching a Poke Ball. “The battle has now begun!”

“Go, Rhydon!” Orte sent out a large rock beast with a long tail and a drill between its eyes. It had a rock body that made it heavy, but very strong. Rhydon had an item that looked much like a crown on its head, an item called the King’s Rock.

“Alright then, go Xatu!” Mac’s Xatu came out showing no emotion, just standing silently in one spot. “Start us off with a good ol’ Psychic!” Xatu waved its wings to one side, then the other. Then it held both wings up and its eyes glowed white. Rhydon was lifted off the ground and it felt pain in every part of its body, then it was thrown against the wall. Smeargles and people cheered, including Will.

“Don’t take that crap from that little bird! Rock Slide now!” Rhydon shook its head and dug up some rocks from the ground and cave walls. It flung them at Xatu with extreme force, but little accuracy. By bending slightly, Xatu managed to avoid all the rocks flung at it.

“Well now, let’s show that Rhydon really what we can do, shall we? Use Future Sight, then Wish.” A pink aura surrounded Xatu, then its eyes lit up that color. After the aura had subsided, Xatu looked up towards the ceiling and a sparkle appeared in each of its eyes.

“What are you doing just sitting there? Go in immediately with a Seismic Toss!” Orte seemed angry now. Rhydon rushed forward with amazing speed, considering that it was large and heavy. It slammed up against Xatu and hit so hard it flew into the wall behind it. After regaining its strength, Xatu flew back over silently as if nothing happened. Before landing in front of Rhydon, Orte called out another command. “Now use Crunch!” Rhydon grabbed the bird and crunched down on its left wing. Xatu cried out in pain, although the Seismic Toss attack did more. It was that moment that Xatu’s plan went into affect. The Future Sight that Xatu had foreseen struck Rhydon in the mind, Rhydon fell back holding its head and shaking it. When Xatu came down to the ground, its Wish had come true also. It regained some energy from it. “What! Is that possible in any way?” Orte asked, very frustrated.

“Completely possible and legal. Now Are you going to continue fighting, or just sit there and complain?”

“Why you little…Try this then! Rhydon, use Icy Wind!”

“Dodge it Xatu!” Xatu flew out of the way of the wind that Rhydon blew with its powerful lungs. It missed Xatu and hit the wall behind it, covering it in a slippery sheet of ice.

“Just as planned. Now Body Slam!” Rhydon shot its chest forward and hit Xatu hard. The bird was flung backwards and hit the wall of ice. It bounced back to Rhydon somehow from the ice. “Heheh, use Mega Punch!” Rhydon wound up for the hit and Xatu was flung back again. This time the ice shattered and Xatu fell to the ground, hanging on by the Focus Band.

“We can still take this guy! Psychic!” Xatu wanted to obey but couldn’t. The attack hit so hard and thanks to the help of the King’s Rock made Xatu flinch.

“Don’t defy the King’s Rock! Now finish this with Stomp.” Rhydon leapt forward again, and stomped its foot down on Xatu. Xatu cawed in pain, then dropped its head. It fainted. “Yeah! I take crap from nobody punk!”

“The match and BP goes to Orte!” The crowd cheered, but Will clapped sadly. As Mac returned Xatu to its Poke Ball, Orte stepped before him and stuck a hand out. The two shook hands and smiled.

“Great battle man. I can see why Scott chose you so early.”

“Hey same man. You battled ferociously out there. I’ll be wanting a rematch with you soon enough.” The two went back to their seats and sat as Matt asked who wanted to battle now. A girl stood up on the bottom of the bleachers and placed the bet of twenty Battle Points. She wore a red shirt and black shorts with a red and black hat on. Will shot out of his seat and accepted.

“Good, now we have two more battlers, Kelsey and Will. They’re fighting for a total of forty BP! You may begin when you get to your side of the stadium.” Will and Kelsey stood at opposite sides of the stadium and threw their Poke Balls out. Will sent out his Zangoose and at the same time, Kelsey’s Seviper came out of its Poke Ball. Seviper is an old rival of Zangooses, dating back to when they first appeared on earth. Seviper is a snake that also has battle wounds from previous ancestral fights. It has long fangs and a large barb at the end of its tail. Kelsey’s Seviper had a larger tail than normal ones.

“Woah, why does your Seviper have a bigger tail than normal ones?” Seviper hissed at Will.

“I made it hold the item called the Poison Barb. All the poison type attacks it uses are stronger, and it hits harder with its tail. I see yours has the Scope Lens on.” Zangoose hissed. It was wearing a device on its head that was much like a helmet, but covered one eye. The eye that was covered had infrared vision built to kick-in when it becomes dark; the other one had a magnifying lens on it. The lens is made for seeing places where attacks would do critical damage on opposing Pokemon.

“Well then, this should be quite a battle, don’t you think?” Will’s Zangoose and Kelsey’s Seviper hissed again.

“Yes, this should be quite the match. How’s about you start us off then Will, kay?”

“My pleasure. Just don’t think that I’m going easy on you. Zangoose, Slash!” Zangoose flipped its claws out, ready for action. It showed much rage in its eyes as it ran swiftly up to Seviper and jumped. It spun around, outstretching one claw as it did so. Seviper was hit in the face as Zangoose landed, retracted its claws and did a back-flip.

“Now strike with Poison Fang!” Seviper rushed forward suddenly, startling Zangoose and Will. The snake bit down on Zangoose with its fangs, trying hard to inject it with venom.

“Hah, that won’t work Kelsey. Zangoose has the ability of Immunity, preventing poison of any type from infecting Zangoose. Now show that snake who’s the boss around here! Seismic Toss!” Seviper tried biting down again on Zangoose, but Zangoose pushed against it hard. Seviper was more shoved than thrown up away from Zangoose. “And now, use a Shadow Ball!” As the snake flew through the air, a ball of dark energy was hurled at it, hurting it further. The crowd cheered for Will’s nice combination of attacks.

“No, Seviper! C’mon and show this guy your real power now! Flamethrower!” Seviper positioned itself above Zangoose and looked down at it. Opening its mouth, flames shot out towards Zangoose who was showered by them. The attack propelled the snake up a bit, and it fell beside the Pokemon that was now afflicted with a burn. “Hah! Now who’s the boss? I think that would be me over here!”

“Yeah we’ll see ‘bout that. Aerial Ace.” Zangoose was hurting, but still commenced with the attacks it rushed forward and struck Seviper hard, sending it flying back. “Now unleash a Fire Blast!” Zangoose jumped up and crossed its arms. Fire in the pattern of a Japanese symbol was sent from its arms and right at Seviper. Dust and smoke filled the cavern, and when it subsided Seviper had fainted.

“What? I lost all those Battle Points!” Will returned Zangoose to its Poke Ball and walked over to Kelsey.

“Hey, it’s okay. You fought well; I think that if you concentrated more you could win.”

“Thanks, Your Zangoose is tough. May I ask though, what other Pokemon do you have?” Kelsey returned Seviper to its Poke Ball.

“Well let’s see. I have obviously a Zangoose, a Walrein, an Aerodactyl, a shiny Heracross, a Gengar, and a Magmar.” The Magmar he was referring to was a Pokemon of the Fire type. It has a long tail with spikes lining its back, a sort of spout to shoot flames from, somewhat sharp claws, and two wisps of fire coming from the top of its head. It has a red and yellow coloring.

“No, way! My team is a Seviper, Glalie, Shiny Kabutops, a Scizor, a Banette, and a Typhlosion! Pretty much the opposite of what you have!”

“Woah, well I guess that makes us rivals now then.”

“Yeah, and that friend of yours, Mac, he fought with my brother, Orte. That makes them rivals then too! Woah, this is getting creepy.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. Well, I’d better get my Battle Points now then, I’ll see you later.” Will started walking over to the pedestal where their Battle Points still were.

“Wait! I’ll go with you. My seat is on the bleachers anyways. Tell me more about your Pokemon.” The two walked out of the stadium grounds, talking about Will’s Pokemon. Will received his Battle Points and the two sat back at their seats. More battles went on, and then it was near night time. Everyone had to get out of the Artisan Cave to find the place they normally stay at to get ready for bed. Tomorrow would be a new day with new battles awaiting them. Maybe even battles with the Frontier Brains!

After joining the group called the Premier Squad, Will and Mac both have rivals. Where will the battling take them from here though?