Chapter 20
"Who...are you?" Dan questioned, still in shock from what happened.
"My name is unimportant." The man replied. "What is important right now is that we win. Carname, Spindril, Tyzer, Elketric, help Umbrellad out!" The man threw four Pokeballs into the air, revealing three new Pokemon and a familiar one to assist the grey Pokemon with the umbrella. The first of the new Pokemon, Carname, was a small tyrannosaurus, proportioned like a child rather than a fully grown one, and had a very short, undeveloped tail. It was a bright yet deep red in color, and had a yellow circle on top of its head. It let out a roar, and the claws on its hands and feet began to glow as if on fire. The second Pokemon, Spindril, looked like a rather large brown spinning top. Two curved, scythelike silver blades stuck out on opposite sides of a shallow black crevice that went all around the circular shape of the Pokemon, and they whirred all around it as it spun. It had two angry black eyes above this crevice, and had no mouth. Third was Tyzer, a Pokemon that looked like a white tiger with jagged black stripes. Its red eyes glowed as it beared its long fangs, made of ice, much like its claws. It whipped its two tails around as four short spikes made of ice rose from its back. The man's five Pokemon lunged out in different directions, joining the fight and making short work of every enemy Pokemon they faced.
"Woah. He's good." Bobby noticed. While the group's Pokemon were able to take down their opponents in three or four attacks, the cloaked man's Pokemon appeared to be knocking out their opposition in one or two. With the help of this new ally, the group eventually won, leaving nothing but trainers and a room of fainted Pokemon facing them.
"No! We-we...We lost! How did we lose?!" Kyle asked in disbelief.
"This isn't good! The boss will have our heads for sure!" Aaron exclaimed.
"No! Not my head! My pretty hair is on my head!" Omar added.
"We have no choice! We must retreat once again!" Ryan informed the rest of the Team Rocket members. "But mark my words, staff holders, next time the staves will be ours!"
"In your dreams!" Elissa mocked as the Rockets returned their Pokemon and threw smoke bombs, disappearing.
"So. That just leaves you guys." Matt said, reffering to Paris and Brandon.
"Let's get out of here!" Paris shouted as he got up from the rubble of the collapsed balcony.
"You have been allowed to live too many times already." The cloaked man remarked, catching Paris' attention. "It's about time someone takes you out for good."
"What?!" Paris thought, turning his head slightly.
"Behold my strongest Pokemon! Duskarrion, kill that man!" The man reached into the hood of his cloak, presumeably reaching for a Pokeball worn on a necklace as many modern trainers wore. He threw the Pokeball into the air, revealing the large vulture Pokemon that Michael had had at the Power Plant. The vulture flew forward, extending its talons and clawing at Paris' skull. The Pokemon continued to attack, bringing its victim to the ground.
"Stop it!" Brandon exclaimed, trying to pull the bird off Paris himself, as his Pokemon had all been defeated.
"Dusk!" The Pokemon cawed, turning and digging a claw into Brandon's chest, on the side opposite the heart. Instead of continuing to attack like it had with Paris, it merely flew away, landing on the cloaked man's shoulder.
"You should probably get that treated at the Pokemon Center. Fast, if you want to live." The cloaked man said matter-of-factly. Brandon got up, clutching his chest, and ran out the door. "As for your friend...Carname!" The small tyrannosaurus Pokemon let loose a Flamethrower attack, completely incinerating Paris' body.
"You...how...why..." Dan said, incapable of even forming a question.
"No need to thank me." The man interrupted him. "The staves must be protected."
"Protecting the staves? Are you from this town?" Tess inquired. "I don't think I've seen your face...or, well, your cloak, before."
"No. I am not from this place." The man replied. "And I must be going now."
"Wait!" Bobby exclaimed. "Where did you get that Duskarrion? They're supposed to be extinct!"
"Endangered, not yet extinct." The man answered. "A few are still alive. This is one of them."
"We know that a few still live." Bobby told him. "One of our frien...no...enemies...has one. And we were told that they have the power to make their owner evil."
"Duskarrion and its younger forms merely have the power to manipulate negative human emotions." The man corrected Bobby. "If a trainer has no negative emotions, there is nothing to be manipulated."
"No negative emotions? You just killed a man!" Dan exclaimed.
"A man that was already dead many times." The cloaked man replied. "What I did, I did in for justice and the common good."
"Can't argue with him there." Matt agreed.
"Until our paths cross once again...farewell." The man said, returning all his Pokemon except Duskarrion to their Pokeballs. He walked out the door of the cathedral and boarded his Pokemon, flying away.
"So, uh...we should probably clean this mess up." One of the gym trainers suggested. The fight had left pews broken, carpets ripped, and columns crumbling, not to mention the fallen balcony.
"We'd be happy to help you out." Tatiana volunteered.
"Alright. Let's go get our Pokemon healed at the Pokemon Center so they can help us." Tess decided. "And on the way back, we can stop at my house and get that Pokemon egg I promised you. Which of you should I give it to?"
"What kind of Pokemon is in it?" Tatiana asked.
"Well, I think I'll give you a Togepi egg." Tess replied.
"A light type...I think Elissa should have it." Bobby suggested.
"Yeah, I agree." Matt agreed.
"Alright, Elissa it is!" Tess exclaimed. "And...Tatiana, was it? After we're done cleaning this place up, we can have our battle!"
"Sounds good!" Tatiana confirmed.
"Hey, look!" Dan pointed to the group's Pokemon, which they hadn't been paying attention to since the incident with the cloaked man. Shoink, Tricerower, Monkick, Newater, and Dewleaf had begun to glow with the light of evolution. Shoink grew larger and fatter, and became more like a large swine than a pig. Its tail grew larger and fell to the ground, heavier than before, just like the rest of its body. The glow faded, and several designs like lightningbolts wrapped around the Pokemon's body, with a dark thundercloud design on the top of its back. Electricity flowed between its lightningbolt shaped ears and around its feet, which also had lightningbolt shaped growths sticking out of their backs. Tricerower grew larger as well, and shrubs now sprouted out around its legs and tail. Several dark green streaks on its body were revealed as the glow faded, and its flowers had grown more mature as well. Monkick's hands and feet continued to grow, and its tail shrunk to a point where it was nearly nonexistant. It took on the features of a gorilla more than its previous monkey-esque form. The glow faded to reveal a red headband and two red armbands. Newater grew larger, stopping at a length of about three feet. Small white cannons sprouted out of the holes at the center of the dots on its back, and water shot out of these new growths. Dewleaf grew larger, and its body puffed up like a round bush or shrub. Its arms and legs became partially enveloped by this, so they appeared shorter. It's head became round and shrubby as well, and snow coated the top of its head and body.
"Shoink has evolved in Electwine!" Bobby's Pokedex informed.
"Tricerower has evolved into Tricerub!" Dan's Pokedex added.
"Monkick has evolved into Gortial!" Matt's Pokedex chimed in.
"Newater has evolved into Gunewt! Dewleaf has evolved into Snobush!" Tatiana's Pokedex told her.
"Awesome!" Bobby exclaimed.
"Congratulations to all of you." Tess congratulated. "Now, let's go heal our Pokemon."
"Alright, are you ready?" Tess asked Tatiana as the group walked back into the gym. Cleanup had taken quite a while, and it was already dark outside.
"Yeah! Let's do this!" Tatiana agreed.
"Just like the rest of the trainers in this gym, this will be a double battle." Tess informed Tatiana. "I'll start with Umbreon and Shineon!"
"Bouldiurn, Cruscat, I choose you!" Tatiana responded.
"Umbreon, Faint Attack!" Tess ordered. "Shineon, Illuminated Headbutt!" Both Pokemon ran forward, and Shineon began to glow as Umbreon disappeared. Umbreon reappeared behind Bouldiurn, striking it with a dark attack, while Shineon slammed into Cruscat with a light attack.
"Cruscat, Magnitude!" Tatiana commanded. "Bouldiurn, Rock Throw!" Cruscat slammed the ground, sending shockwaves out that hit Umbreon. Meanwhile, Bouldiurn hurled a large rock at the dark Pokemon telepathically, damaging it further.
"So, you're teaming up on one of my Pokemon, huh?" Tess noticed. "Well I can do that too! Umbreon, Faint Attack! Shineon, Illuminated Headbutt!" Both Pokemon dashed forward, hitting Bouldiurn with their respective attacks.
"Just keep attacking Umbreon!" Tatiana exclaimed. Her two Pokemon attacked again, weakening Umbreon severely.
"Let's finish it off with a Faint Attack!" Tess ordered. "And Shineon, you can hit the Cruscat with Illuminated Tackle!" The two Eevee evolutions ran forward for a third time, attacking again. Umbreon's faint attack managed to knock out Bouldiurn, while Shineon's attack weakened Cruscat further.
"Cruscat, finish Umbreon off with a Take Down!" Tatiana commanded. "Glorca, let's go! Hit Shineon with an Aurora Beam!" Cruscat rammed into Umbreon, knocking it across the field and rendering it unconscious as it hit the wall. Glorca emerged from the Pokeball, launching a rainbow beam at Shineon and hitting it with the ice type attack.
"Umbreon, return! Disastruct, come on!" Tess exclaimed. "Shineon, use Light Beam! Disastruct, Slash!"
"Glorca, counter the Light Beam with an Aurora Beam!" Tatiana immediately responded. Shineon shot a beam of light out at Glorca, which was countered in midair by an Aurora Beam. The two blasts hit eachother and caused a small explosion, doing no damage to either Pokemon. Meanwhile, Disastruct ran forward, but was caught off guard by the explosion and was sent flying off course.
"This is your chance, Cruscat! Hit it with a Slam!" Cruscat ran forward, slamming into the Pokemon that was already flying across the room, changing its course and sending it into the back wall.
"Disastruct, get back up and use Razor Wind!" Tess ordered. "Shineon, protect Disastruct while it prepares to attack!"
"We've got to stop it from attacking!" Tatiana informed her Pokemon. "Glorca, attack Shineon with an Aurora Beam! Cruscat, run in around Shineon and hit Disastruct with a Slam!" Glorca shot out a rainbow beam again, causing Shineon to instinctively counter with a Light Beam. Meanwhile, Cruscat ran around the concentrating Shineon, knocking Disastruct into the air once again.
"Disastruct, launch the Razor Wind! Shineon, hit Glorca with an Illuminated Tackle!" Tess commanded. Disastruct did a flip in midair, launching the Razor Wind attack as it landed back on the ground, on its feet. The attack hit Cruscat, dealing massive damage and knocking it out. Shineon ran forward, slamming into Glorca with a light type attack.
"Glorca, finish Shineon off with Aqua Tail!" Tatiana exclaimed. "Snobush, come on out and use Razor Leaf!" Glorca slammed its tail down, taking out the nearby Shineon in one swoop. Snobush appeared from its ball, launching a wave of leaves that sliced at Disastruct.
"Alright, Shineon, you did good! Return!" Tess shouted. "Go, Blissey! Use Egg Bomb! Disastruct, use Slash!" Blissey pulled an egg from its pouch, hurling it at Glorca. The egg exploded, doing quite a bit of damage. Disastruct sped forward, slashing at Snobush.
"Glorca, Aqua Tail!" Tatiana commanded. "Snobush, Powder Snow!" Glorca slammed its tail down once again, dealing severe damage to Disastruct. Snobush began shaking, causing snow to fly out and damage Disastruct.
"Blissey, use Egg Bomb! Disastruct, use Slash!" Tess ordered. Both Pokemon attacked Glorca, leaving it with very low health.
"Glorca, finish Disastruct off with Aqua Tail!" Tatiana exclaimed. "Snobush, hit Blissey with a Razor Leaf!" Glorca slammed its tail down once again, knocking out the dark Pokemon. Snobush launched out razor sharp leaves again, hitting Blissey.
"Blissey, Egg Bomb!" Tess commanded as she returned Disastruct to its Pokeball. Blissey threw an egg at Glorca again, knocking it out.
"Glorca, return!" Tatiana exclaimed. "Munchy, let's go! Use Super Fang! Then use Razor Leaf, Snobush!" Munchy dashed forward, biting Blissey and cutting its HP in half. Snobush followed up by launching a wave of leaves, damaging Blissey further.
"Blissey, use Softboiled!" Tess ordered. Blissey broke one of its eggs, causing a light to flow out and heal it.
"We have to take it out before it can heal itself!" Tatiana explained. "Munchy, use Crunch! Snobush, use Razor Leaf!" The two Pokemon attacked, leaving Blissey close to being knocked out but not quite defeated yet.
"Use Softboiled again!" Tess commanded. Blissey healed itself again, but it was obvious that if the two Pokemon continued to attack, it would be defeated.
"Just keep it up! You'll get it eventually!" Tatiana encouraged. Sure enough, Snobush and Munchy continued to attack, eventually knocking Blissey out.
"Blissey, return!" Tess shouted. She walked over to Tatiana, opening her hand to reveal a small badge shaped like a Yin Yang. "Here. The Yin Yang Badge." She explained. "And here. This Technical Machine teaches Yin Yang Blast. And this Hidden Machine teaches Surf."
"Thanks." Tatiana thanked her, accepting the gifts.
"You guys should go. I'm sure that if you stay here, Team Rocket will come back again."
"Yeah. And we've got to keep looking for Michael." Matt added.
"Michael?" Tess inquired.
"Yeah. He's got the grey staff." Bobby replied. "He left us a while ago, and he's been up to no good."
"Then you must find him!" Tess exclaimed. "If someone with one of the staves turns to evil...it could mean chaos for the entire world. You must go!"
"We will. Thanks again for your help in the cathedral." Bobby thanked her. "Let's go, guys!"
"Alright, so, at the end of Route K is the Neverending Chasm." Dan explained, reading the guidebook. "There are two ways to get past this long canyon. You can take the Chasm Guide's private jet, which runs once a day, or you can go through the series of caves that run through the mountains that surround the canyon."
"Well, we should probably take the jet, if we can." Matt pointed out, even though it was obvious.
"Yeah." Bobby agreed. "But we'll deal with that when we get there. We've still got a ways to go in Route K." The group continued to walk through the route as it became increasingly mountainous. Suddenly, a Pokemon dashed into the group's path, eager to fight. It appeared to be a blue and white wolf, and upon further examination, its flaring fur appeared to be fire. This firey fur flared all over its body, including its legs, its forehead, and its tail. It beared its fangs, snarling at the group.
"Wolflame. The White-Hot Pokemon." Bobby's Pokedex informed. "Wolflame's fur burns with an intensely hot flame of over ten thousand degrees farenheight. It attacks by flaring up its fur and burning everything around it.
"I'm going to catch it!" Bobby claimed. "Electwine, let's go!" He threw the electric swine's Pokeball into the air. "Just don't touch it! Use attacks that aren't physical, like Discharge!" Electwine took this as a cue, using a Discharge attack that hit Wolflame. The wild Pokemon responded by running forward, biting at Electwine with a Fire Fang attack. Electwine launched a Discharge once again, this time paralyzing its foe. Wolflame attempted to attack again, but was held back by its paralysis.
"Finish it off, Electwine! Use Thunderbolt!" Bobby ordered. Electwine shot a bolt of lightning from its head, shocking the Wolflame and taking it down. Bobby immediately threw a Pokeball, capturing the defeated Pokemon.
"Good job!" Elissa congratulated.
"Alright! Let's keep going!" Bobby exclaimed.
"He already left? Aww, man!" Tatiana said, disappointed. The group had arrived at the Chasm Guide's hangar, but a sign on the door said that he had already left for the day and would be back tomorrow.
"I guess we can wait here, there's a Pokemon Center right nextdoor." Matt suggested.
"No. We don't have time to lose." Bobby replied. "We've got to find Michael, so we've got to go through the caves."
"Bobby's right." Dan agreed.
"Alright...let's like, get going then, I guess..." Tatiana suggested, leaning on Dan's shoulder.
"Okay, everybody, don't let your guard down." Bobby informed the group as they walked toward the cave entrance, which was very close to the hangar. "This looks like exactly the kind of place where Team Rocket might ambush us."
"Yeah, but we'll beat them again anyways!" Elissa exclaimed confidently. "So let's go!"
---
Note: Even though I've had Pokemon use it several times before, I never really mentioned, Light Beam is, of course, a move made up for this story. So is Yin Yang Blast.