Not going to have much luck, if the pokemon there are Gen 4, rather than Gen 2, on Route 30 and 31. Like SwiftRosenthal said, Route 46 has Geodudes, though no Phanpy, if the pokemon there are Gen 4. If it is Gen 2, keep an eye out for Poliwag. Ghastly, if you go to Route 31. Dunsparce is surprisingly good, at the beginning, since it has Rage, which gets stronger every time it hits.
Not going to have much luck, if the pokemon there are Gen 4, rather than Gen 2, on Route 30 and 31. Like SwiftRosenthal said, Route 46 has Geodudes, though no Phanpy, if the pokemon there are Gen 4. If it is Gen 2, keep an eye out for Poliwag. Ghastly, if you go to Route 31. Dunsparce is surprisingly good, at the beginning, since it has Rage, which gets stronger every time it hits.
OOC: Arise! Arise from the depths of the forums! At last, I have returned and I humbly apologize for the extremely late response!
IC:
The Top Percentage Rattata!
The routes around Cherrygrove City didn't yield much, to be fair. Even hours of searching only yielded Pidgeys (Hunny caught one) and Spearows (might as well, so I caught one), Caterpies (I caught that one too) and Weedles (Hunny caught that one), and a Ledyba (caught that one too).
Taking your advice to head back down to that little route up Route 29, a guard managed to stop us.
"Going up to Route 46, boys?" He asked while reclining on a chair and reading the paper. His feet were even on the table! Most relaxed guard ever? "There's been some Pokémon problems up there. I'm afraid I'll have to stop you here."
"What's going on?" Hunny asked.
The guard sighed and held up three fingers. "Let's put it this way. 3...2...1..."
There was a sound, like a whistle, then to our sudden shock, a trio of Rangers, a Charmeleon, a Poliwrath and a Machamp crashed through the roof of the guard building and landed in a groaning, charred heap, complete with swirly eyes.
"Last time I ever try deal with Tyranitars!" Gasped one Ranger.
"I'll never think of Aggrons the same way again!" Another Ranger groaned.
The third Ranger noticed us and suddenly grabbed me by the shirt, a terrified look in his face. "Don't go up there! It's a war zone!" Then he slumped with the others.
Hunny and I shared worried glances. "Hunny. What does that guide book say about Tyranitars and Aggrons?"
Hunny pulled out the guide book. "They're both extremely territorial and if groups of both species meet each other, they're always gonna go to war with each other. They even have an updateable count here. It's the nine thousandth time they've fought so far."
Just then, a strange sound that reminds me of the roar of the King of Monsters sounded in the distance and we made our exit back to Cherrygrove City. I swear it only took five minutes!
"No chance of getting a type effective Pokémon against Falkner, then." I sighed. "And I worry about that war. I hope we don't have to wade through that one day."
"Me too." Hunny sighed. "Well, I've got a Pidgey and you got a Spearow, so we can use them to practice against Falkner. We'll need the anti-air experience anyway."
I nodded. "And maybe I can train up my Caterpie. I hope I can manage to get it to become a Butterfree. It's a risk, but its Confusion ability should help."
"Oh, that reminds me, you're a psychic, right?" Hunny asked. "I remember those rocks you moved when Reika ticked you off."
"Yep. Come to think of it, isn't Fenny gonna be one one day?" I said, checking the Pokedex. Yep. Evolutionary line's accurate. "I smell a coincidence."
"'In my experience, there's no such thing as coincidence.'" Hunny quoted with a grin.
I threw a pillow in his general direction. He ducked It and ran out the door laughing.
Later...
In between training for Falkner, I faced the most terrifying Trainer in the region. The legendary Youngster Joey and his Top Percentage Rattata!
"Go, my T.P.R.!" Joey yelled.
"Fenny! Get that rat!" I yelled.
T.P.R., as he'll henceforth be known, started off with a Quick Attack, but Fenny was quick to retaliate, Howling to increase his strength, then Tackling and Embering until the T.P.R. was no more.
"Nooooo! Not T.P.R.!" Joey sobbed and recalled him.
"Why do you call him your top percentage Rattata, anyway?" I asked as I hustled him for cash.
"Because he is! His dad was a Typhlosion and his mom knew all sorts of Raticate moves and I've been training him because I want to show the world that even the "lowly" Rattata can make it to the top!" Joey said fiercely.
Hunny grinned. "Then come with us. We're also gonna make it to the top! I'm Hunny and this is Ness."
"Joey the Awesome!" He grinned.
I groaned. "No. No way we're taking him with us. He'll probably annoy us all day with his Rattata's awesome."
Unfortunately, I was hit with a double dose of Puppy Dog Eyes and I was unable to resist. Super Effective indeed. "Alright. Alright, he can come! Sheesh, you guys are like Geneva Convention violations with that move!"
The shorter kids cheered in response and I lowered my head in defeat with a sigh. I hoped I don't regret this...
Well, now we're on our way to Violet City, The City Of Nostalgic Scents! Will I get my ass whooped by Falkner, or will I be able to clip his wings for good? Find out next time on Taking a Bat to the Fourth Wall: Pokémon Edition!
Take note of that one sound I heard. It may or may not be important in the future.
That said, I'm fairly certain there'd be a movie franchise about a giant Tyranitar and a giant Aggron duking it out and trashing coastal cities somewhere in the world. They're eternal rivals, according to lore and 'dex.
Gold already got that Onix in his travels. No convenient type advantage Pokes are currently available for my first gym battle, I'm afraid. I'm just gonna have to farm those monks in Bellsprout Tower for xp and trust Fenny, Abby (Spearow), and Freebie (Caterpie) to carry the day somehow.
Welcome to Violet City: The City of Nostalgic Scents!
It was evening by the time we made it to Violet City's Pokemon Center. Joey and his Rattata, Hunny and his Chespin and I with my Fenny were ready to take on Falkner! Just one problem. When we arrived at the Gym, we unfortunately noticed that it was closed.
"He's a Flying master! He's probably got a Noctowl tucked away somewhere! Why the heck would it be closed?" I loudly complained.
"I don't know. Gym Leaders usually should be on call in case a Trainer shows up at midnight, though most don't." Hunny said. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see if he comes back."
"In the meantime, why don't we check out the tower?" Joey suggested. "I've heard the monks there like to challenge Trainers to prove their worth."
I grinned. "A worthy warmup before the gym! C'mon! Let's go!"
We headed north and crossed the bridge over the pond surrounding Sprout Tower. As we entered, a disturbing sensation came over me. "Oh, no..."
"Ness? What's wrong?" Hunny asked.
The foul sensation could mean only one thing. "Death."
The smaller boys gasped as I reached into my backpack and pulled out my Legendary Bat. I also released my Pokemon. "Stay sharp, guys. Something's very wrong here!"
The boys released theirs as well and now we had a small army to defend us.
Fenny sniffed around, then barked at me before running off. We followed him to a monk lying against the tower's moving platform. I went to the monk and kneeled, noticing the wounds on him. I placed my hands on him and noticed that his breathing was ragged. "He's still alive!"
That's it. Time to use my powers. "PK...Lifeup!"
A green glow surrounded my hands and entered the monk. The monk groaned and opened his eyes.
"Are you all right now?" I asked.
"I-I think so, son. Whatever you did, thank you." The monk said, then his eyes widened. "They...they came looking for a flute of some kind! We know nothing of what they seek, but the master...the master's in danger!"
I narrowed my eyes. "We'll stop them. How many are there?"
"Three of them."
I nodded at his answer and turned to my friends. "Are either of you good at hand to hand? I don't think these enemies will stop if we beat them in Pokemon battles."
Hunny nodded. "I'm a black belt in Judo and Karate."
Joey shook his head. "I'm no good at that kind of thing."
I nodded. "Alright. Joey, go find the cops and bring them here. Hunny, you're with me."
As I got up, the monk grabbed my arm. "Son, be very careful. The leader...has the power of Aura."
Hunny gasped and I nodded grimly. I knew what Aura was. Lucario's powers are based on it. It's psychic power, but with the Fighting element instead of Psychic. At least, that's how Red described it when I asked him about it. I just thought of it like Ki from Dragonball, which wasn't far off the mark considering what it can do.
"What's Aura?" Joey asked, looking at our reactions.
"We'll tell you later. Now take the monk and go!" I pushed Joey.
He helped the monk get to his feet and dragged the older man out. Strong kid. Now, let's get up to the top. Hunny, our Pokemon and I headed up the ramps, encountering barely living monks and even a few corpses. I delivered healing to the survivors and swore to avenge the fallen. As we reached the top, we heard voices.
"I will ask you once more. Where is the Azure Flute? I know you're hiding it here." A man spoke, his voice as calm as a silent sea. We peered around the door to view the man in question. He looks like a monk, with shaven hair and grey robes. Like any monk, really. He even has that Buddhist ring staff. He has two minions with him, both looking like standard-issue ninjas from the Fuchsia clan.
The Azure Flute...isn't that the thing you use to summon Arceus? I have no idea why they want to do that, but it can't be anything good.
The master monk shook his head, a Noctowl perched on his shoulder. "No. I know not why you seek the flute, but I do not know where it is. Even if I knew, I cannot grant you the Flute, for your heart is filled with nothingness."
The monk seemed to look sad. "I see. Perhaps my Woobat and Zubat can convince you otherwise. Supersonic, both of you!"
Two bat Pokemon were released from his Pokeballs and started screeching loudly. Even from here, we had to cover our ears. The monk staggered back and his owl Pokemon winced as well. "Don't let them daze you, Noctowl! Confusion!"
The Noctowl hooted, shook his head and his eyes glowed blue. The Zubat and Woobat were both caught in the aura of blue energy that characterized a Psychic attack. The Zubat got it worse, being part Poison type and they were both thrown back. The Zubat was recalled, leaving the Woobat alone.
"Take the minions." I whispered. "I'm going to save the old guy."
"Be careful." Hunny whispered back.
"Fenny, Ember!" I yelled, pointing at the Woobat as I charged up a psychokinetic attack and launched it at the evil monk. The monk nimbly dodged out of the way of my attack, but Woobat got hit. "Old man! Get out of here! The cops will come with a friend of mine! I'll take care of this chump!"
"Oh...Thank you, son! Come, Noctowl!" The old man ran for it as fast as he could, his owl flying ahead. Now it was just three vs two.
The minions sent out a Grimer and a not top percentage Rattata. Hunny promptly began taking them apart while I concentrated on the monk.
"You have interesting powers, boy." The monk said calmly. "But you're interrupting an important discussion between grownups. Don't interfere."
"Yeah? Considering all the dead bodies down there, I think not." I replied. "What you have done is evil and I'm here to stop you. Now, surrender and I'll have you treated kindly."
"A Void Monk never surrenders, boy." And with that, the monk began twirling his staff. As he did so, I felt wind swirl around the room. What the hell? Is he controlling the wind with his Aura?
A bluish energy swirled and launched at me in a wave. I was thrown backwards by the force. "Ugh!"
I instinctively tumbled in midair and landed on my feet. I saw my Fennekin fight off the Woobat by concentrating and launching a focused beam of psychic force at it. I grinned. Good work, Fenny!
Looks like Fenny's psychic powers were developing well. I turned back to the evil monk and shifted into a stance, before launching controlled streams of fire at the foe. He kept dodging, but in the confined space at the top of the tower, it was only a matter of time before he got...yes! A good fireball smacked him down.
At the same time, the ninjas attacked Hunny. Big mistake. One was hit with rabbit-style punches then thrown over his shoulder. He then moved and kicked the other one real nasty like and his Chespin and Pidgey made sure the enemy Pokemon were taken down for the count.
I moved to finish off my foe and knock him out for the cops, swinging my bat with practiced speed, but the guy was quick enough to recover and block it with his staff. Right away as we dueled bat to staff, I realized that this was a skilled, dangerous opponent to cross, fast and agile. Reminds me of Wolf, actually.
I think he thought the same of me, because he broke off, trying to get distance to use his weird Aura airbender-style attacks. I pressed the advantage, but damn if this guy isn't slippery!
The evil monk did several one-handed flips to the room's altar and held his staff out at me. Out of the corner of my eye, Hunny finished off the ninjas and picked up a ninja sword before joining me.
"It's over, buddy." I said as we pointed our weapons at his neck, our Pokemon growling at him, ready to strike at a moment's notice. "Surrender, now."
"Return." He called, returning his downed Pokemon. "I told you before. A Void Monk never surrenders. But as a sign of respect for your skill in facing me, know that I am Sage Laghima of the Void Monks, sent by Team Gaia to retrieve the Azure Flute."
Oh, hoh. There's a new team out there. One that uses ninjas and evil Buddhist monks to do their dirty work. And they want the flute, presumably to summon Arceus and capture him for nefarious deeds.
"I see. If you won't surrender, I'll have to make you surrender." I said, pushing forward. Just then, sirens came wailing. I smirked as I glanced at the flashing lights outside. "You won't escape us and the cops!"
"We'll see about that." The monk smiled. "Know this. The next time we fight, I shall send you into the void myself."
Well, if that isn't an ominous statement. Hunny and I shared a glance, nodded and we struck at the monk together. He jumped backwards and spun his staff again, summoning a powerful tornado that blew us off our feet again. Augh! We grabbed whatever we could as the winds blasted open the windows, and the Void Monk used the distraction to make his getaway, jumping out of one of the windows, flying away on a little nimbus cloud.
Damn, but he's hax! Hax, I tell you!
Afterwards, we were able to deliver our report to the police. They knew nothing of Team Gaia, which is to be expected, but they did eventually get in touch with the League, who notified me that Void Monks are a forbidden sect that worshipped a form of apocalyptic Buddhism that wants to send everyone into nirvana or the void, whether they liked it or not. Presumably, it involved the universe dividing by zero. Do not want!
Also, it turned out that Falkner and all of his Pokemon came down with the Pokerus flu, so I'll have to come back later when they're well again. Sigh. Looks like it'll be Bugsy, not Falkner, that's my first Gym Battle. At least I'll be well prepared for him.
One last bit of news. It's good, I promise! After visiting the Violet City Pokemon Center to rest up, the local Nurse Joy informed me that Fenny was getting close to evolving into a Braixen. "The Psybeam attack the species gains is a definitive indication that he'll be evolving within the week. I must say, it's faster than I'd normally expect. Are you a psychic as well?"
"Yes, ma'am. I am." I nodded.
"That must be it. The bonding between a psychic trainer and his Psychic-type Pokemon can accelerate growth. My recommendation is to start teaching him to use the three primary psychic abilities of telepathy, telekinesis and clairvoyance. Once he evolves, it'll improve his skills in and out of battle."
"Wow. That's good advice. You know a lot!"
"Of course! I'm Nurse Joy!" She smiled.
Well, that was a lively adventure. I learned the name of my foe and his organization, though there's still gaps in my knowledge, like what is Team Gaia trying to do with the Azure Flute? Why did they think the monks at Sprout tower had it? What do the Void Monks and/or Team Gaia want with Arceus? And most importantly, what's their next move? I've no doubt that I'll find out on my journey. Until then, this is Ness signing off!
P.S. Here's a picture of Sage Laghima, according to the police description. Next time, I'll beat him for good!
Um...you guys have any advice on handling nimble, faux-airbending jokers like him? He was tough to even pin down!
Well, the most obvious thing is to aim for the legs. Maybe get a Ground-type that can use Earthquake or Magnitude, and a Flying-type that can attack him, if he jumps to avoid it. Other than that... maybe a wide-area attack, like Surf?
Hello, Shadow Slade, at your service. Forgive me for the numbers, it's an old name, and typing it like that was force-of-habit instead of an actual name.
You want advice on dealing nimble, air-based enemies? Ground them; force them to stay down. You want to restrict their movements, make sure they can't do shit.
Obviously, Pokemon type advantages of Electric attacks would work wonders, especially a Shock Wave so you don't miss. In addition, using Gravity or Smack Down to stop their hopping, unable to jump around and escape.
A few movement-restricting attacks like Fire Spin or Wrap would also do wonders.
Of course, if you, personally want to take them down, you have your PSI powers. An attack from your PSI powers would come straight out of left field; and can definitely take out a target by pure surprise.
Also of course, they're a group; this'll give them knowledge that you can perform said abilities.
I re-read it a bit; you've already shown off your PSI powers to the enemy, and you still haven't taken him down. You might want to have saved that; but sudden D&D quality monks is an unexpected obstacle to fight, anyway.
It's like the Fire Nation. Except replace fire with void.
Fire isn't going to help very much in this case, you could blast away or misdirect fire attacks with a strong enough wind gust, and it seems that unlike the game versions of the Team whatever-the-fuck, they're actually competent. And since it's the usual evil team, Psychic Type's going to get ruined by their eventual Dark-types everywhere. Seeing that your PSI powers will also fall under that typing, you might get SOL'd in future fights if you don't have items to cover that.
They sent one of their Elites right out the gate to get a single objective, but they didn't equip him with a full, proper set of Pokemon? The enemy might be pretty damn good at aura use and the like; but they might be as incompetent as Team Rocket when it comes to Pokemon.
Team Gaia huh? Bet they wanna do something silly like wipe out humanity to save the environment.
Hunny's got two Blackbelts? Of course he does. Makes sense when you live on a death world.
The Void Monk must have been hardcore to take you both on. Get stronger, get a Pokemon with an anti escape move like Block and hope that he ran away for a reason.
OOC: Ness used Revive on the thread! The thread was revived!
Wool of Thunder, Hear My Roar!
Several days passed after the fight with Sage Laghima, and the three of us decided training was in order after fighting off those evil ninjas. Especially Joey. He kept on coming late to the bed in the Pokemon Center, battered, bruised but excited. When we asked him about it, all he can tell us was, "It's a surprise for them!"
I hoped it was a good surprise, if you get my drift. Now, the three of us started heading down Route 32. Along the way, a herd of Mareep wandered by, so I decided to catch one.
Leaving my friends to look for other Pokemon, I had Fenny drop low to the ground and we both made like one of those documentaries for the herd. Let's see if I can remember what to do from those.
Let's see, the wind is blowing east, so we adjusted our path so that we're not smelled by the electric sheep, then found some bushes to hide under. Oh, yeah, not a bad place to scope out the potential.
According to the guide book, healthy Mareep has electricity running through their wool as blue sparks when they rub against each other. So according to the herd I see, there's quite a selection of Mareep lowing and sparking. Ignoring the mothers and calves, the old ones and the lame ones, I set my eyes on a young, but strong one. Chances are, it's already known Thundershock. A worthy challenge. I grinned.
"See that one Fenny?" I whispered, pointing to the target. "We're gonna get it. Here's what I want you to do..."
Contrary to what you see in the anime and closer to what you see in the manga, the Trainer doesn't just sit back and give orders. He's expected to work together with his Pokemon and trust them as they trust him. That includes the times you go Pokemon hunting.
The Mareep in question was a female. You can tell by the pink coloration and the smaller horns and bulb on its tail. I was going to hit Mareep with my Caterpie's String Shot to trap it, then use Fenny to finish it off. But I had to flush it out and separate it from the herd, and that means Fenny has to chase it around for a while.
I swear, that grin on his face made me almost rethink that idea. Well, he is a fox. Okay. I moved into position, crawling to a vantage point and released Caterpie. "Okay. When I say go, use String Shot."
"Pie!" Caterpie was happy to be of use and nodded.
Then we waited. Fenny was getting pretty good at stalking, but I felt the stirrings of impatience nevertheless. Calm yourself, Ness. All in due time...
And sure enough, I felt the zap of psychic power being unleashed as Fenny hurled a Psybeam at the target. The Mareep yowled in shock and looked around, only to see a small fox attacking it. The Mareep huffed in disrespect and charged, going for a combo Thundershock-Tackle at Fenny. But Fenny was trained well and dodged with Quick Attack and went for an Ember. That caused a small stampede as wool and fire didn't mix well. Laughing himself silly, Fenny herded the Mareep towards his Trainer's hiding spot. Just a bit closer. Closer...
"Now! String shot!" I yelled, feeling the time was ripe. Mareep was nimble, I could tell you that. As soon as Caterpie let loose with sticky thread, Mareep jumped away in time. "Fenny, box her in! Caterpie, mark your target! Lead her and shoot!"
Kazap! Fenny yowled in pain as electricity went through his systems. Clearly, the electric ball of wool wasn't going down without a fight! Fortunately, the Fennekin had plenty of fight to trade with and hit Mareep with another Psybeam. That hurt quite a bit and as Mareep shook off the psychic blast, a spray of sticky thread worked its way all over the wooly beast. Mareep growled, shocking the thread and trying to blast its way out. But it was slowed down by the thick thread and that was more than enough for...
"Good work, Caterpie!" I grinned. "Fenny, finish it!"
Now here's the tricky part. You can't push a Pokemon battle too far, whether you want to capture a Pokemon or not. Though they generally respect your strength either way, you lose "respect cred" as I like to call it, if you're the type of idiot to just beat them into submission. It's poor sportsmanship and the mark of a ill-mannered Trainer to do that. Not to mention Nurse Joy would scold me for excessive battling. On the other hand, you don't want to let up your attacks and find out that the Pokemon in question has enough juice to fry you. And believe me, they will target the Trainer if they could. They ain't stupid, after all.
Flames licked all over the Mareep until I cut it off with a strike of my hand. An empty Pokeball was in my hand as I saw that it was on the edge of exhaustion, but still willing to give one last hurrah if it meant winning against me. That's when you start throwing balls. I gave the Mareep a respectful nod for a fierce battle, then threw the ball. Now comes the moment of tension.
The Pokeball hit Mareep and within seconds, transformed it into energy and sucked the contents within it. You kinda have to wonder sometimes how that'd feel like. Maybe a swirly drain kinda thing? Not that I'd want to experience it. It'd probably be weird. Anyway, I stared at the Pokeball, hoping that it's good...
1...2....3...yea--POP! Mareep freed itself, promptly breaking the ball with the force of its freedom. "Aw man! That was too close!"
Mareep slyly 'baaed' at me, as if to say 'nice try, buddy!'
I frowned, trying to think of how to keep that little electric sheep in the ball. Ah, lower its defenses. "Fenny, Tail Whip!"
My Fennekin compiled, whapping Mareep across the snout. It sneezed as the tail brushed against her nose and I used the opportunity to throw another ball. This time...
1...2...3...DING! "YEAH! Pokemon capture complete! Great work, guys!"
Fenny and Caterpie danced a jig while I levitated the ball, seeing the tiny form of Mareep inside. "You've fought well, Mareep and almost won. I think you'll do great with me."
Mareep looked up at me and baa'ed. It probably wasn't sure, but I could see that it at least respected a Trainer stronger than itself. I guess that'll have to do.
Now let's go find the others.
-----
As it turned out, Hunny and Joey also got a good haul. Joey first. You would expect him to stick with Rattata all the way through to the end, but we managed to convince him --and it didn't hurt to remind him of Team Gaia-- to branch out, so he captured a Bellsprout and a Sentret. Yeah, that's right. TPR defeated his own natural predator and made the ferret Pokemon his bitch.
Hunny, on the other hand, caught a Wooper. "Easiest catch I ever made. Found it sleeping under a rock and just dropped a Pokeball on it."
"You sure you didn't catch a Slowpoke by mistake?" I joked.
"Ehh...nope. Just a lazy Wooper. Don't worry. I'll make sure he gets in shape. What about you?"
"Got a Mareep. Was pretty tough for a while, but I prevailed!" I grinned.
"Cool. Hey, you know what should we do?" Joey asked. "We should check out the Ruins of Alph. I hear there's weird Pokemon in there!"
Ah, the Unown. That would probably be an interesting little side trip before we head into the Union Cave that connects Route 32 and 33. Surely nothing can go wrong here!
...
...
Who am I kidding? This is Unown we're dealing with! The unexpected is their stock in trade! Looks like I'll be telling you all about the weirdness to come...if I live long enough to tell. See ya around!
We've got problems. Big problems. I'll tell you what happened in a minute.
We came to the ruins of Alph, or at least the "secret" entrance. The puzzle was different from what I remembered, as expected. More difficult, with sixteen squares instead of nine, for one. But I loved a good challenge and eventually, the puzzle revealed an Omanyte and mysterious words etched into the wall that said, "They possess power to sense with mind and reject outside."
Ooh. Nice. The words faded away and a small portion of the wall popped out. Looking over it, I realized that it was a Helix fossil!
"Ooh! You can find a scientist to recombine it into a living Omanyte!" Hunny exclaimed.
"How does that even work, anyway?" I wondered as I put it in my backpack.
"Who knows? The wonders of science, I guess." Joey shrugged. Then the room started rumbling. "Whoa!"
The floor, and the three of us, fell through a hole. We yelled for a while until we landed in a painful pile in the middle of what looks like a giant temple.
"Where are we?" Hunny asked as he rubbed his head.
"I don't know. I think..." I said, as I was somehow drawn to strange hieroglyphics on the walls. I ran my hand over them, feeling a strange energy course through them. "It feels weird."
Suddenly, one of the hieroglyphs started glowing and came alive. Startled, I yelped and stumbled back. "Waah!"
"That's not a hieroglyph! That's an Unown!" Hunny exclaimed.
The little creature squeaked affirmatively, seemingly happy that it was recognized. It floated around my head, and I got the feeling that it was because of my powers.
"It's kinda cute." I said. The Unown closed its single eye in a clearly blushing motion.
"Hey, don't Unown usually travel in packs? Where's your buddies?" Joey asked.
The Unown suddenly transformed into an exclamation point and then drooped.
"Did you get lost? Or separated?" I asked. The Unown bobbed up and down, clearly nodding. "Separated, then. What happened?"
It transformed into letters rather rapidly. If I can make my best guess at what it was saying, it was with its fellow Unown when an explosion happened, startling and scattering them. Then as they headed deeper to find shelter, they started going missing. All it knew was that a strange wind was involved as it narrowly escaped being caught in it.
Hmm. That's an interesting story indeed. I had a suspicion that it wasn't a natural explosion or a natural wind. I relayed the story and my suspicions to my friends.
"Hey! Don't worry about it! We're Pokemon Trainers and we're here to help!" Hunny smiled. "We're on the case!"
"We'll help you find your friends! And if that wind happens, we'll stop it!" Joey boasted.
I grinned and nodded. "Yeah. That's what we're here for! Don't worry! We'll get to the bottom of this!"
The Unown squeaked happily, looking forward to being reunited with his buddies.
"Alright. Where was the last place you saw 'em? Maybe there'll be a clue." I asked.
The Unown went this way and that, then it made another exclamation point and rushed over to a particular hole. It bobbed up and down, wanting us to follow. And so we did, running through a dizzying maze of ruins and hieroglyphs, following the squeaking little thing, though not quite knowing to where. All I could think of was that Poo would love this place. He loves to learn the history of ancient sites, after all!
Then, as we started down another corridor, we began to hear voices. The Unown raised another exclamation point and led us to a small hole in the wall. The voices grew louder and I began to make out words.
"--thankful for your timely assistance. Now the Unown will surely be ours." The voice said, clearly exasperated.
"It was no problem. I, Sage Naraku, am more than glad to help." The other voice said. "And together, we shall surely bring Nirvana to the world."
Nirvana. That person is a Void Monk! But it isn't Sage Laghima, but a different guy with an ominous name indeed. Getting a read on this one was difficult. All I could get was something more ethereal than Aura, something that reminded me...of a ghost.
A shiver went up my spine at the sensation. Ghosts. Why did it have to be ghosts?!
The two talking men stepped into a light and I could see them clearly. The Void Monk Naraku was different from Laghima. Where Laghima was bald and wore the simple grey robes of a travelling monk, this guy had white hair with a topknot sprouting out the back of his head and was rather young for someone who called himself a Sage. Maybe few years older than myself. He wore deep blue-black robes tied with a white sash and a white, sleeveless, cloak-like garment that billowed like a cape. He kinda reminded me of Captain Hitsugaya from Bleach except obviously batting for the wrong team. In his right hand, he held the staff of a Buddhist monk, a shakujo, tapping with every step he made.
The second guy was more like a businessman with close-cropped blue hair. A white sweater over a dark shirt, white slacks, and most importantly, a cape around his shoulders. A blood-red "R" was stenciled on his right breast.
We shared frightened looks. There was no mistaking it. Team Rocket is back, and allied with Gaia. From the way they talked, they not only knew about the Unown, but were responsible for the explosion and the capture attempt. And from the looks of them, they looked like high-ranking members of their respective groups.
This was bad. There was no way we could fight these guys. Even if we were evenly matched, it'd destroy the Ruins, the Unown home, and with what looked like a Ghost Master, even I wasn't sure of my own PK-powered chances. I'd probably have to rely on Fire and Lightning, as I never quite mastered Freeze, something that I'd probably have to rectify in the future. The only saving grace was that there were other Unown besides our friend still free, but how long that will last, I don't know.
The two men continued conversing as they strode off and thankfully didn't notice us. I let out a slow breath that I didn't realize I was holding. That was close. The Unown pointed the way where the men came from.
I gulped. That's probably where the Unown are. And the enemy. Okay, onwards. Sneak, sneak, sneak...
Rounding a corner, we found another corridor. This one seemed to lead deeper into the cave. So deep . Then, a strange force started pushing us. Our Unown began panicking and I realized something was up when a strange wind picked up, blowing hard enough that it was difficult to to maintain our footing.
"What's going on?" Joey yelled, holding onto his cap, lest it blew away.
"What's with all this wind?" Hunny shouted.
"I have no idea!" I yelled back, doing likewise for my cap. Suddenly, squealing and panicking Unown flowed helplessly past us and I had to telekinetically hold ours to keep it from following them. I had the sudden feeling that they were flowing towards something than being blown away like a Gust attack. For one thing, the wind was too steady to be a tornado attack even though it was rising quickly. I remembered the words of those two guys, analysed them for what ninjas in another dimension would call 'underneath the underneath' and came to a rather obvious solution when you think about it.
Something down the corridor was working for the evil Teams, sucking up the helpless Unown and trapping them to be used for whatever evil ends the Teams want them.
"It's probably a Pokemon doing this!" Hunny yelled over the moaning gale.
"But what kind?" Joey asked.
"Ghost type! Has to be!" Reaching out with my powers, I sensed the same feeling in this wind as from the Sage. An ominous wind, you could say. "A powerful one!"
Just then, the wind suddenly howled, tripling in strength. We braced, but it began shoving us all farther down the corridor. I lost my grip on the Unown and it sailed squealing into the gloom. "No!"
No time to mourn, because the wind's got Joey too, cap and all!
"Heeeelp!!" Joey yelled as he flailed in the air. Hunny lunged to grab his arms, succeeded, but the wind carried him off as well, clearly not heavy enough for the job. I made a grab for Hunny and just managed to grab his ankles.
"Hold on, Ness!" Hunny yelled.
"I'm tryin'!" I yelled, bracing my feet against the ground. But it was all for naught and I was blown off my feet too! "Waaaaaaa~!"
Three yelling, terrified young Pokemon Trainers were sucked through what felt like miles of tunnels until a vast cavern opened up. With the increased space, the wind fell in strength and we fell with it, landing on the ground pretty hard, but unfortunately, it blew away my cap! Nooo!
Grabbing anything we could manage, we finally saw the culprit as the Unown, my red cap and Joey's blue cap seemed to stretch out and disappear swirling into a big black orb. The orb slowly shrunk between a pair of spectral hands that belonged to a rotund Pokemon that looked like it was made of grey mummy wrap, and the wind ceased for now. Then it noticed us, a single red eye looking hungrily at us and I stumbled back in terror.
"Dusclops." Hunny shivered in terror. "So that was the Unown trap. What are we going to do, Ness?"
"I don't know." I said grimly, reaching for my Pokeballs and my baseball bat. "But I'll be damned if I let it suck us in without a fight."
"It'll be a short one. Dusclops are fully evolved just on their own. Do we even stand a chance?" Hunny asked. "It's twice as strong as Chesty and Fenny together, even without the type advantage!"
"T-then we stack the deck in our favor." Joey exclaimed.
Oh, boy. He's so scared he's gone and cracked.
He grinned at us, brave but terrified all the same. "Don't worry about me. I've got a plan. There's a reason I've been training that Sentret I caught so hard."
So that's why he's been so exhausted the last couple of days since the Laghima incident. "I knew I would face ghosts someday, so I trained it to use two specific moves. Plus...here."
He rummaged through his backpack, pulling out a small bag and handing it to me. "When I went to say goodbye to my Grandpa since I'm going on my journey, he gave me this. Said to use it only for emergencies."
I looked into the bag and my eyes widened. So did Hunny's. "Rare candies?"
"Yep." He grinned. "There's five in there. One for Metapod to evolve. One for Chesty and Fenny to evolve. And two more for super-emergencies. At the second level, they might juuust have a chance if my plan doesn't work and it starts chasing you. You'll need Butterfree's psychic attacks and spores, too!"
"What about you, Joey?" Hunny asked. I had a strange sense of foreboding.
"Joey. Don't do it. We'll find another way." I pleaded.
He shook his head. "Sometimes, a guy has to make a decision to save everyone. I'm making it. And you're not going to stop me!"
"Wait! What are you gonna do?" Hunny asked. "Tell me!"
He ignored Hunny and locked eyes with me and refused to let my gaze go. And stared. "Go. Make a plan. Escape and get stronger. Just don't forget me or the Unown!"
It then dawned on Hunny. "NO! Joey! We'll beat it together!"
I broke his gaze. "He's right. We have to retreat and he's going to give us the chance."
Hunny started to cry. "But he's our friend!"
"That's why I'm doing it. And stop it. You're gonna make me cry too!" Joey turned his head away, fighting the tears. "And don't worry, Ness. I'll make him cough up our caps somehow!"
"Don't worry about it. Just do what you've gotta do--WATCH OUT!" I sensed a warning and pushed the boys down, getting a Shadow Sneak attack in the gut, slamming me into a rock. Oww! That hurt!
Damn, that bastard's not even letting us say goodbye properly!
BATTLE START!
"Sentry! Foresight, then Baton Pass to TPR!" Joey yelled, backpedaling to gain some space as I got up and ran for it with Hunny.
Dusclops threw a Shadow Ball attack, but the small boy dodged it, rolled and threw his Pokeball. Sentret came out, his eyes glowing blue. The Dusclops winced as it felt the move hit. Suddenly, a baton popped into existence and Sentret grabbed it. TPR released himself and grabbed the baton, then his own eyes glowed and the Dusclops winced again. With his job done, Sentret returned to his Pokeball.
My eyes widened at the choice of moves. Baton Pass is a pretty high-level move for a Sentret to learn. For Joey to teach it that so early...wow.
"Quick Attack, then Bite like you've never bitten before!"
As Hunny and I ran, I managed to sneak a look at TPR. He blitzed, then charged onto the monster's face and clamped tight with his sharp jaws. It actually hurt, judging by the way Dusclops howled. Yes!
"Great work! Again!" Joey cheered as the two of us reached the wall edge. Undaunted, I grabbed Hunny, hauling him onto my shoulders, then started jumping on the stalagmites like, well, a psychic kid who can do wall jumps like that, trying to get to one of the exits before the Dusclops noticed we're gone. Damn shame that we don't have an Escape Rope or anything like that. I better invest in some if we make it out of here.
"There!" Hunny said, pointing to an exit hole. I jumped there and looked back as I distributed the Rare Candies as Joey suggested. Unlike the games or the anime, Rare Candies take around ten minutes to take effect, so we'd better prepare to run, come what may.
TPR was still in the fight somehow, but I could see that he was hurting as narrow scrapes from an Ice Punch took its toll on him. But Dusclops was hurting as well. Not as badly, but he was bleeding ghostly ectoplasm with every Foresight-powered Normal or Dark-type attack TPR knows. Oh, there's a Pursuit Attack! Hah! That's for all the Unown you've captured!
"NOW! The move your dad and mom gave you! FLAME WHEEL!" Joey yelled.
Whoa. That's an Egg Move! It's official. Joey really has a Top Percentage Rattata. He's such a gutsy, rowdy little rat that I dared hope that he might even win this!
I grinned as I realized what I just thought and yelled, "JOEY! HIS NAME IS ROWDY!"
Joey looked up at me, processing what I just said. Then grinned and gave me two thumbs up. "Rowdy! FLAME WHEEEEL!"
The Rattata formerly known as TPR enjoyed its new name, that I could tell. It closed its eyes and when it opened, even I could tell his eyes burned with righteous fury as his tail glowed with orange flames. It charged the Dusclops, who clearly couldn't believe that he was being assaulted by such a powerful little rat. And the Flame Wheel...struck hard!
CRITICAL HIT! RIGHT IN THE KISSER! Dusclops stumbled back as flames licked its face.
"YEAH!" Hunny and I cheered.
But it all turned downhill from there. Dusclops was brought to the yellow, but he certainly wasn't out yet and he was furious now! One fist burst into flames and another crackled with ice. Then as Rowdy the Rattata went in for another Quick Attack, Dusclops retaliated.
POW! Ice came first.
SIZZ-POW! Then came fire. The double-punch smashed Rowdy into a stalagmite and Joey ran, jumped and rolled Rowdy out of the way of a Thunderpunch that would have finished it for good. As it was, Rowdy was almost out of the fight and I promised then and there to buy a Focus Sash for him.
Then Dusclops grinned and disappeared. I didn't want to watch what was about to happen, but I owed it to my brave young friend...
Joey recalled Rowdy as Dusclops reappeared behind him, grinning as victory neared. Oh no...
"Behind you, Joey!" I yelled.
"Run!" Hunny yelled. Joey looked behind him, panicked and started running.
But it was too late. A strange, whistling sound occurred as it formed its signature attack, a combination of Shadow Ball and Gravity, if I'm not mistaken. Knowing what was coming, he started running to grab something.
They say anyone who sees the spectral flame inside is sucked in immediately or his spirit is instead. That, I can safely say, is mythbusted, since I could see a tiny light in the center of the orb. But the part about Dusclops being a black hole that can suck in anything in general? Confirmed. Bloody fucking confirmed.
Joey put up his hands to block the dust blowing into his face, bracing himself as the black hole snatched at him, his yellow T-shirt and blue shorts snapping harshly against the powerful gale. The more he struggled, the stronger the black hole got until he lost his footing and tumbled helplessly towards the black hole. Then he seemed to stretch out, swirling around the orb...and...and...that was that. He's sucked inside Dusclops, joining the Unown. Dusclops shrunk its attack and then turned a single eye at us, grinning madly.
I gulped. We're next if we don't get out of here!
"Is he...is he..." Hunny sobbed as I grabbed him and ran as hard as I could.
I reached out with my psychic powers, sensing Joey's signature. It was difficult work, since I could also sense a lot of other signatures (the Unown), and the Ghost typing made it difficult...but I nodded my head. "He's okay. For now."
"Then Team Rocket and Team Gaia's got him..." Hunny said sadly. "And the Unown."
I sighed, nodding. So much for being heroes today. "Yeah."
"Then we need to hurry and find their lair and stomp them flat and kick that Dusclops' butt once and for all."
I shuddered at the thought of facing that walking black hole of doom again, but nodded. "We'll do it together."
I knew one thing for sure as we ran like hell was behind us.
Forget mages. To be a Pokemon Trainer, is to walk with death. Some way, some how, I'll get Joey and the Unown back out. If I had to jump in myself, I'll do it. I owed it to that kid.
I just had to get stronger first.
----------
OOC: This was difficult to write precisely because it's so terrifying to me, but it had to be done. I had a phobia about black holes since I was a kid and I really struggled with the writing because of that fear. So yeah, that's why it took a while this time. Well, that and working on my other RPs. Check out The New Age of Heroes sometime. [/totallynotshamelessselfpromotion]
Oh, and you know that other Taking a Bat on SB? Yeah. Plot bunnies are multiplying again and this time, they've turned into vampires to feed on my muse. It's time to restart it and it's the perfect season to do so, even though I know how weird it may seem to have two parallel stories with the same SI involved. Then again, Hiver does the same thing, so I guess it wouldn't be too bad.
...
Fucking hell. Dementors. I gotta write about Dementors too. And in that world, they have an Emperor who is a magical black hole like ol' Dusty here. Fuuuuuuu--!
But you don't need FEAR to put the fear of Arceus into your enemies. You just need to stack the deck in your favor and Baton Pass is the one move that can truly bring hell, provided you get the preptime to pull it off. Of all the moves in the game, Baton Pass is my favorite for that reason and that reason alone.
Don't worry, though. Though the price was high today, Joey and Rowdy the TPR won't be gone forever. He'll have to catch up a bit, but the endgame will be awesome incarnate, I can tell you that much.
But yes, I'd say this was a Crowning Moment of Awesome if I ever saw one, though I don't like to toot my own horn about such things...
Oh yeah, before I forget, I've updated the other Take a Bat on SB. It's also now in Creative Writing, so go check it out.
Doesn't sound heroic or anything, but you try fighting a fat Ghost type that's out for Trainer munchies.
As we ran, it turned out that Dusclops wasn't the only enemy that took notice of us. The enemy definitely noticed our fight earlier and were moving to block us, but we're not letting those sorry pajama-wearing rejects get the best of us!
"I've had it with these freaking ninjas!" I yelled as I deflected flying shuriken from Team Gaia's ninjas with my bat and dodged attacks from various 'evil team' Pokemon. "Get'm, buddy! Show 'em what you've got!"
In a flash of light, what came out wasn't Fenny anymore, but a bipedal fox with a stick in its tail that he plucked out to use like a wand. Braixen. A Zubat got in its way, Astonishing Fenny--Braixen (going to need a new nickname, stat!) but fortunately, he didn't flinch, letting loose a Psybeam that put it down in one hit from the stick. Now that's some psychic magic!
A Raticate loomed, but Hunny's new Quilladin moved in and Pin Missiled it to death. Well, figuratively.
Then more shuriken and kunai came rushing in and even I couldn't block it all and oww ow ow ow! Hurt like a bitch!
"Owww! Hate those things!" Hunny winced as he, too was hit by them. Braixen didn't look too happy either, but Quilladin just grinned and bore it. Guess being a living pincushion gives some resistance to the things.
But we had to power through the pain. I began using PK Lifeup to heal our wounds, then pushed, sending a blast of telekinetic force that earned me satisfying screams of surprise as ninjas were hurled wherever they didn't like. Take that, buttmunches!
Then I felt it. A fresh breeze. For a moment, I panicked as I thought Dusclops was starting its black hole attack to finish us off, but it felt different. Like fresh air different. I grinned. Oh, we were close...closer...closer...
And we burst out into the night, plunging into the forest adjacent to the main route.
"We're safe, are we?" Hunny gasped as we ran through the forest southwards, trying to reach the small town below Union Cave, where maybe we can find help.
But as I felt presences in the trees jumping above, then left, right and behind us, I was almost certain he was wrong. "No, Hunny! Keep running!"
But then we burst through a small clearing just a couple miles from safety. We could even see the lights of the village...but as close as we were, we were still too far.
We skidded to a stop as a giant red eye appeared out of the gloom, followed by the fat form and spectral hands of a menacing mummy Ghost. Dusclops, and no longer damaged, I could tell. Dammit. Its Trainer obviously healed it. I gritted my teeth. This was going to be another difficult fight.
"No. Oh no..." Hunny cried out.
"Keep yourself together. We'll find a way through this..." I said as our Pokemon took point, growling at the Dusclops.
At the same time, the ninjas I felt earlier came to a stop, surrounding the clearing in a way that would have us get hit by their ninja weapons and Pokemon (Poison types, this time, from the slimy sensation I felt) no matter which way we went. No matter what, I sensed we weren't going to get out of this well.
And then it got worse, for a figure in a cloak ghosted into view. It was the Void Monk from before, the high-ranking member of Team Gaia talking with the Team Rocket member.
"Ah. So you two were the cause of all the commotion." Sage Naraku smiled thinly as he eyed us. "Interesting that you managed to survive my Dusclops. Few Trainers can survive its Black Hole attack. But your little friend was caught, I take it? My Dusclops informs me that the little rat was caught in the trap I made for the Unown. He is displeased that the little rat managed to hurt him despite being quite a bit weaker, but it doesn't matter now. Soon, the rat will be no more. Just another meal for it...and so will you."
Dusclops licked its chops and I fought down a burning desire to burn it into ashes.
"You are interfering in matters that are beyond your childish imaginations, boys. I cannot allow anyone to interrupt our plans for the world. I'm sorry to say, but you'll join your friend in the stomach of my ghost, slowly fading away into nothingness, your souls used to ignite the spectral flame within." Sage Naraku grinned at the disgusted and terrified looks on our faces. "Even if by chance you escape me, it would not matter, for your little friend will be gone by the next full moon. Thirty days of suffering, trapped in a dark dimension from which there is no escape, and then he will fade into nothing, absorbed by the spectral flame. One with nirvana at last. The Unown, of course, are a different story."
"You bastard." I growled. "You let him go. You let them all go, right now!"
"Yeah! Or else!" Hunny yelled, shaking his fists at the Sage. Our Pokemon growled in agreement, but the Dusclops remained unfazed.
"Or else what? Team Gaia's Ninja Corps tells me you possess psychic abilities, boy. Potent ones. But they will not save you now. You will only be allowed to feed my Dusclops. Or perhaps you might even last long enough to watch our masterpiece unfold, thanks to the Unown's unexpected aid." Sage Naraku grinned nastily. "With them, the Lord Arceus shall be in our grasp and then all will be nirvana...alas. I've said too much! My apologies, but the end comes now! Devour them!"
"Not on your life! Fire Spin!" I yelled.
"Needle Arm!" Hunny yelled as well.
A tornado of fire surrounded Dusclops, trapping and burning it. Then shining green needles slammed through the fire and pinned the ghost up and down its body. I grinned as the Dusclops burned, the grass attack feeding the flames, but then it faded as two Shadow Balls smashed through the flames and hit our Pokemon. Quilladin took the blow better, shielding his arms, and Braixen had guts, getting up even after that blow.
Like Trainer, like Pokemon.
We ordered our Pokemon to attack again, but this time, they winced from a strange blue aura that surrounded them and locked down their movements. Dammit, they've been Disabled! And now the bastard's revving up for another offensive. I winced as Thunderpunch smashed into Braixen, shocking him and unluckily enough, paralyzing him as well. Quilladin continued to show his stuff as he dodged an Ice Punch and hit Dusclops with a Vine Whip, though it didn't hurt all that much. He switched to Pin Missile, but the Dusclops managed to dodge that one and hit him with a Shadow Sneak.
"Psybeam!" I called, hoping that I could get Braixen to fight through Paralysis. And...success! He managed to fight it off and hit Dusclops. I grinned, feeling the rush of battle as Hunny and I slowly started to find our tempo, using our two to one advantage to keep Dusclops from swallowing us.
I focused and used PK Healing to remove the paralysis from Braixen, who gave me a nod of thanks. "You're doing great, Braixen! Just keep it up! We'll get Joey out of there in no time!"
"You too, Quilly!" Hunny nodded firmly.
"Hmph. You've fought well, boys. If you were stronger, you might defeat Dusclops and free your friends. But this is the end! Destroy them! Earthquake!" Sage Miroku ordered.
Our eyes widened in shock as Dusclops moved into a stance and stomped the ground, sending a devastating shockwave that knocked us all down. Quilladin took the blow but still hung in there. Despite the Grass typing, that Earthquake took a lot out of it! But Braixen...my poor Braixen was knocked right the hell out.
I sighed and recalled him. Mareep's not going to survive that and she's still new to the team. So it's either Spearow, Butterfree or Ledyba. All three will be vulnerable to Thunder and Ice Punch, but I needed to stay in the game somehow. So, I'm gonna take a chance with Spearow.
Decision made, I reached for my Spearow's Pokeball...but Dusclops wasn't going to wait for it. I sensed the warning, but it was too late as it disappeared and reappeared, socking me in the gut with a Shadow Punch, then another one that sent me sprawling, agony blossoming from the strikes. I fought unconsciousness, aware that if I went out now, it was all over. I focused through the pain and struggled back to my feet, glaring anger and hatred at the Sage for his audacity to break the Trainer laws.
"Ness!" Hunny yelled and ran to help me back up as Quilladin shielded his master from attack, fighting off Dusclops' attacks, then turned to the Sage. "That's illegal! You can't do that!"
"Did you really think I would allow your friend to call out his next Pokemon as if it was some kind of children's game? This is the real world, boy!" The Sage replied in a lecturing tone. "We of Team Gaia will do whatever it takes, whatever it takes to bring nirvana to all things. Ah, I tire of children thinking that life is fair! Finish this, Dusclops. Devour them!"
"Grab hold. We'll hold out as long as we can." I said to Hunny, who nodded fearfully and recalled Quilladin, then took my hand. We'll fight it as long as we could, hoping for a miracle, but as it was, all I could think of was that at least we might find a way back out if what Naraku said about being stuck inside there a month or so before fading away was right. Or maybe wait for Team Gaia to make a mistake and let us back out, but they seemed too smart for that.
Oh. There's an idea. PK Starstorm. I won't be able to cast much else if I used it, but it's the only chance I've got. Desperate plan set, the two of us felt the ominous wind rise as Dusclops began its Black Hole attack, then braced as it pulled at us stronger, snagging at our clothes.
The wind rose to a deafening moan and we slid forward a foot...two feet and more. Desperately, I raised a PK Shield, but even that wasn't enough to prevent the inexorable pull and we slid closer and with each foot closer, it grew more difficult to fight it.
Hunny, the lighter of the two of us, yelped in fright as he yanked forward by a powerful gust, but I grasped his wrists with both hands. "Don't let go!"
"I won't!" I yelled back. I set my will, and slowly, painfully, stepped backwards, pulling against the suction. Maybe I could snag a tree or something if I was lucky.
Still, the suction grew more powerful and even my strength wasn't enough. My heart pounded with stark terror as Hunny and I slid towards the black hole again, and then...
"Wah!"
"Oh no! This is it!" A stumble. Just a small one. But it was enough as I lost my footing, and a final gust sent the two of us flying, the hole seeming to grow as it filled our vision and...
Suddenly, shuriken-like objects hit the Dusclops and something brown and grey slammed into it from the side, slashing it several times with sharp talons. Wait, talons?
The sudden attack cut the black hole off and we found ourselves hitting the dirt hard, sliding a few feet and earning some grass burns. "Ow!" "Oof!"
Then, fast-moving blurs attacked the ninjas left and right and a huge brawl began. I heard the sounds of Pokemon fighting and steel clashing with steel.
Then, the Sage came under assault by a fast-moving shape that seemed to attack him from all sides. He swept his staff, blocking the blows as fast as they came, too fast for me to track save for a hint of cold, hard steel. But the Sage was too good to get killed outright and ordered a retreat for his men and that meant Dusclops as well. Soon, the battle was over, with corpses littering the ground.
It all happened in seconds and Hunny and I just stared at the scene in shock. One second, I was just seconds away from being sucked into a Dusclops-induced black hole stomach and the next, somebody saved our bacon, so you forgive me if I'm feeling a little out of it.
That somebody turned around and the hood of the figure's cloak fell away, revealing ominous red eyes that flared with power framed by short black hair and a bloody ninja sword in one hand. Next to the figure stood a frog-like ninja that was proud of its skill in driving away the Dusclops and the Sage, a brown and grey insect called Nincada, and a small Bellsprout that shinked its sharp leaves, watching for its next opponent carefully.
"Still as idiotic as always, boys. How a lowly Dusclops got the best of you, I'll never know. I guess you're still weak. You'll never beat the Gyms, much less the Champion, at this rate." A familiar voice rang out as the red eyes retreated into coal-black ones and a smirk sprouted as a flashlight lit up a very familiar face.
"Nice to see you again, Reika Sharin." I managed to grouse out.
"Gee, thanks a lot. I thought we were goners!" Hunny gasped.
"You almost were. It was only luck that I made it in time. I feared you lost even so, but there's no accounting for luck." She said, casually wiping the sword in the grass, before sighing. "I'm sure you'll have a lot of questions, but all of those can wait til we get to Union Cave Village."
"Fine." I sighed. "Might as well, since my Braixen is down."
"Just don't slow me down." Reika said, then made a hand motion. The shadow figures began picking up all evidence of battle and flitted away like...well, ninjas. "Let's go."
Reika retreated, heading down towards the village.
Hunny and I shared the same questioning looks, then followed. What a strange, terrifying day it has been...and I had a feeling that the days ahead are about to get a whole lot stranger.
