Ragnarok

Note: I deeply apologize for exactly how ridiculously late this is. Been quite the busy man as of late, what with College work and the like. This chapter may have some issues here and there with typos or whatnot, but I'll be sure to fix them as soon as I have the time. That, and they shouldn't be a grave issue, at best.

One-shot is still under production, and I'm in the middle of plotting out a Christmas One-Shot as well. Whether or not it will coincide with Ragnarok is still a mystery.

As for the next chapter, hopefully, within the month. As always, read, review, and rate. The quality of this story depends on your reviews! :)

With that, enjoy the read!

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1:05
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A slender bodied woman hesitantly walked through the metallic, long winded hallway, a large, muscular man with frightening red eyes at her side, a stern look on his face. Their footsteps, the only sound besides their natural breathing, sounded off a rhythmic series of clicks and clacks as they approached the next set of security clearance shutters.

The doors blared loudly, cameras whirling back and forth, scanning the digital image of the two warriors before the metal shutters immediately swung open from the sides, allowing them entrance to the next long-winded hallway with a new set of I.D. clearance at the end of the hall.

The young lady sighed out of frustration, a countless number of thoughts swimming through her mind, unsure of how to approach the situation. She looked to the tall man that walked next to her. His walking speed was slower than hers, but his stride was of such great length that he seemed to keep up with her irregular pace. His face, still and icy cold, stared into the empty space directly in front of him, acting more like a machine than a living being.

She could read him like a book regardless. Despite his “hard-to-read” expressionless face, she realized that he was just as troubled as she was. Their boss was the only other person on earth that could probably read his mind solely based off of his facial movement. She almost immediately understood why he would try his best to hide his emotion at this point, suggesting to herself in her mind to do the same.

The boss wouldn’t be pleased at the new information they had to report. Their lives soon to be in the hands of such a cynical and maniacally unstable mind caused her body to mindlessly shiver in fear. Realizing the tremors her body gave off, the man pivoted his head toward her, but not looking directly at her.

“Snap out of it. Even in his presence, you must not show fear.” Cratos’ deep voice muttered.

“Oh, and I suppose you’re doing so much better than I am?” Eris responded, her unsteady blue eyes shifting directly toward his face.

“I’m not the one shaking.” He smirked.

“Shut your damn mouth.”

“Just shake it off. The sooner we can get the status report done, the sooner we can get out of that place.”

“I know, but it’s just that…he’s…not normal, you know what I mean? He doesn’t even seem to be human when he gets mad.”

“Just try not to think of it.” Cratos started to rub his hairless scalp with his large hands, trying to ignore her whining. “Think of something else during the report if you absolutely need to.”

“What do you do to keep such a steady face?”

Another set of shutters opened in front of them, the final set only feet away, a large yellow “G” hovering above the last door, wooden with a gold knob. To get past all of the security clearance codes, hordes of guards, and get to his office without so much as a notice otherwise, you’d deserve the chance to open the door that lead to his front desk.

“He frightens me…he crosses me as somewhat of a, what’s it called,” he tried to recall, snapping his fingers near his waist,” something short of a psychopath. It doesn’t help either that he has a brilliant and twisted mind; it makes him almost unpredictable and practically spontaneous. It’s terrifying to know that we’re working for a man who could kill us at any moment’s notice without any justification, other than being disappointed.”

“So…how do you deal with this kind of situation?”

Cratos chuckled under his breath, his hand gripping the knob and twisted it clockwise, the door clicking as he swung it open. “I don’t.”

The darkness on the other side of the opening slowly pulled the pair into an enticing trance, begging for them to approach from the inside of the tainted room. Their bodies, now motionless save for their legs, stood perfectly still and upright, arms at the sides of their bodies. Cratos' right foot lifted off of the tile floor, hovering several eye-blinks in the air before hitting the ground in front of his body. His left foot followed, his body passing the threshold, Eris slowly dragging behind.

The door shut from the outside as the two passed on. They stopped again, a small distance from a well-sized brown desk. A black chair was facing in the opposite direction, staring off into the night sky through a small window behind the seat.

The sky was painted almost a midnight black, strange that the sun would set so soon on this specific day. The darkness loomed over the wilderness, the only sign of human life being the building Eris and Cratos currently occupied. There was an awkward silence in the open space outside of the building's parameters, as if all forms of life were preparing to listen in on what was about to unfold.

The chair made a brief movement, as a pale, white hand stretched from the opposite side, the body attached to it still out of plain sight to the pair. The hand motioned toward the desk, grabbing a small wine glass filled halfway to the top with a bright, red colored wine. The drink vanished behind the chair, the man facing the darkness of the outside taking a light sip before placing it back onto his bare desk- the exception being a small lamp that was turned off, and a notepad- all without turning around. The chair motioned, rocking back and forth at an even, steady pace, almost like a constant pendulum, swinging from side to side.

A spectre-like voice came from the chair, bouncing off of the glass and toward Eris and Cratos.

"Cratos...status report." it spoke nonchalantly.

The brute took several seconds to respond, breathing in the chilling ambience of the room, his breath visible in the air. "Sir, Mr. K's kept his end of the bargain. Cynthia was reported deceased several hours ago."

"Good...now, about her Pokemon."

"K reported to have 'taken care' of them all...but." Cratos paused in mid-sentence.

"But?"

"He also has reason to believe that one of them was missing prior to her execution."

"Is that so?" the man asked politely. "Do they know which one?"

"Yes sir; it was her Lucario that was reported to be missing. K believes that he might have escaped as she was captured..."

A small hum could be heard radiating from the chair. "If I recall correctly, wasn't it you and Eris who put Cynthia into submission?"

Eris gulped.

Cratos answered unwillingly. "Y-yes sir."

"And you didn't bother to check her person for her team?"

"Sir, she DID have her Lucario with her, she used it in battle! I just...assumed that..."

"Stop."

"Yes, sir?"

"...nothing more on the subject. Inform Mr. K that our agreement is dismantled if he doesn't get rid of that creature."

"Yes sir."

The air in the room seemed to have frozen in place. The temperature in the room felt as though it had sharply dropped several degrees, and the light humming became almost unnoticeable.

"What about the boy? Noah is still contained within Twinleaf Town, correct?"

Cratos remained quiet, Eris preparing for their punishment.

"...curse your incompetence!!" the man hissed. The humming grew deeper, shaking the interior of the room before vanishing again. The hand reached, again, for the wine glass.

"He's been spotted by the media, sir. He's currently on Route 201, and should be arriving at Sandgem within the next twelve hours."

"...and why haven't you stopped him?" the voice crept out, back to its eerie melodic form.

"Our entire squad is still missing from the night of the ambush sir, and the fight with Cynthia's team heavily damaged our own. We were incapable of safely approaching him at the time. Even a policeman's Growlithe would take us down..."

"That really isn't an excuse."

A cracking sound caught Cratos' attention, before the shattering of fine glass broke the conversation. Pieces of glass scattered onto the floor from the chair's place, raining down near the armrest.

The chair pivoted to the side, showing the side of Cyrus' face, his expression void of all but silent anger. His right hand had several shards of glass pressed deep into his flesh, fresh blood trickling down his fingertips, dripping onto the tile.

"Take another squad..." Cyrus started, "and the moment you are able, I want to you incapacitate the boy. I don't want him advancing any farther than Eterna, you understand?"

"Yes sir, but with all due respect, why not just kill the boy? It would save us a lot of energy, rather than trying to just weaken-"

"That's none of your concern, Cratos. Do as I say, or you will suffer the consequences."

Another minute passed by, Cratos hanging his head at his own failures, Eris, several steps behind him, shaking.

"But I wonder..." Cyrus' voice trailed off. "What exactly is the boy doing? For what reason is he leaving Twinleaf Town now?"

The Galactic boss shrugged the thought off, not wanting to let someone as pathetic as Noah irk him for long.

"Moving onto the last subject...Eris, report. Now."

Eris, nervous and full of fear, approached the desk, at about the same distance as Cratos currently stood. She clasped her hands together, seemingly as if she was praying, and locked eyes with her boss.

"No report yet on the actual status of High Noon itself, but the Sinnoh Government has been in a state of panic as of late, due to Cynthia's passing. They'll most likely take the same course as Johto, and for the time being, allow for Hoenn and Kanto's power to govern until they find a suitable replacement."

"So Lance's death has been confirmed?"

"Yes sir."

"Excellent. This only makes things that much easier for me to handle."

Another moment of peace passed by, Eris glad that she was able to report the good news, when compared to Cratos- despite the fact that she was just as guilty as he when it came to the capture of Sinnoh's Champion.

"And the project? Have they extracted all the information from that island off of the West coast?"

Eris suddenly remembered. "The group has failed to report as of late sir."

Cyrus remained quiet, his bleeding started to slow down.

"I'll send for a report as soon as possible, sir." Eris added.

"See to that immediately." Cyrus responded.

"And...Johto?" Cyrus quickly continued, not wasting time.

"I’m sorry sir? What about Johto?"

Cyrus' eyes twitched a bit, aggravated at the lack of insight onto the subject. "Nothing…yet. I want you to keep in good contact with our Johto Division. Something interesting is going to happen quite soon.

I want all information about any incidents given to me as soon as there's a new development."

"Yes sir."

Everyone's breathing pace dropped back down to normal. The humming was completely silenced.

"You two are dismissed...and don't think that I'll be giving you second chances..."

Eris and Cratos bowed their heads toward him.

"Yes sir." they said in unison. They quickly shuffled toward the door, when Cyrus' voice stopped them in their tracks.

"...as soon as you bring me more wine."

"Uh...y-yes sir." Eris replied. "Would you also like a... a medic for your wound?" She pointed to his cuts in his palm, the glass still in place between the folds of flesh.

"That won't be necessary, now go." Cyrus responded. The two commanders acknowledged this, and the door shut close behind them, leaving Cyrus to himself for several more minutes, until his wine came.

He rested his hand onto the desk palm upward, staring at it with an intensity he'd only shown several people before.

His hand twitched in place, blood starting to pool at the center of his palm, Cyrus focusing on the wounds. One by one, he picked the shards of glass out, sharp signals of pain ringing into his brain.

With every sensation of hurting he felt...he smiled, wider and wider. Once all of the glass was gone, he stared at the still open wounds, blood now dribbling over and through the webbings of his fingers and onto the desk. His flesh began to shift unnaturally, but not against Cyrus' will. The folds of skin shifted in place, opening up even wider, a dark substance slowly pouring out in place of Cyrus' essence.

The pool in his hand started to drain back into his wounds, almost reversing in the pattern it came bursting out at. His hand now clean, with the exception of the dried blood on the backside of his hand and fingers, the dark substance clenched the skin, squeezing the opening shut, seeming to mold the skin together. The open cuts were instantly shut, the dark matter sinking back into his skin. He chuckled under his breath as it vanished from plain sight, his hand back to its perfect shape, not even a scar or scratch where the damage had been dealt.

"I'm improving."

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The water was frozen in place, crystallized to near perfection, creating a vibrant and absolutely beautiful scene of tranquility within the cave. As the hardened ice continued downward, toward a slope at the coast, the ice would begin to soften, and even further than that, liquefy. It joined with another river of water rapidly flowing parallel to the first mass of land off the coast, and continued through a pair of large and heavy boulders that naturally blocked entry into that opening.

Someone had breached this small sanctuary long ago. He had returned, this time through orders given back at the Indigo Plateau. In complete honesty, he didn't see a reasoning to do this, he'd already been here and done all he needed to do.

What he was about to do was nothing more than a cruel overkill of a job he had taken care of almost two decades ago. He didn't like it: the atmosphere, the job description, what he was about to do was just...

A waste of his time.

The boulders protecting the cave's innards were quickly shattered by a large creature, instantly returned to its Pokeball the moment the chunks of rock fell into the rapids. Another bright flash of light, and a large blue tortoise emerged, landing in the water, having no problem dealing with the naturally hazardous currents. The trainer quickly landed on the back of its shell, avoiding the water, and pointed to the ice-sculptures and small island of land dead ahead of the pair.

Seconds later, the aqua Pokemon tore through the water, almost splitting it in half with its amazing speed and ferociously thick and powerful arms, the ground below the water visible for several moments before the water on either side came crashing back into place. The trainer quickly leapt into the air, returned his powerful creature into its container, and landed on the hard-frozen portion of the water.

A humming sound, incredibly high pitched at first, didn't faze the trainer; he knew he wouldn’t be welcomed, especially in this hellhole. He continued to walk, heading toward the coast of the land, as the humming's pitch dropped sharply in bass. The ice nearest to the water began to crack in several places as the trainer shortened the gap, his target already dead in his sights, not afraid, but willing to protect itself, and very cautious.

The trainer took his first step onto solid land, past the sharp pointed ice sticking out of the ground and water, making sure he was leveled properly to the floor, before reaching for another Pokemon that awaited his orders on his trainer's belt.

The target looked back at the trainer, a mixture of revenge from the past encounter and his rage from the trainer’s intrusion both radiating from its bright red eyes. It stretched out its glamorous wings, particles of ice showering down on either side, a battle cry echoing throughout the interior of the cave, the sound bouncing off of the walls and frozen portions of the water.

Even the battle cry, along with the ferocity the Pokemon was displaying, was somewhat elegant and beautiful; something to be admired by all other forms of life, like a melody from a Poke Flute.

The Pokemon flapped its wings, strong gusts of air bursting from the source, blasting straight toward the trainer, screeching as it rushed through the empty space.

He gave off an intense glare, and- as if it by the ferocity in his look alone- the wind split into unnatural paths around the trainer, turning at absurd ninety-degree angles before making impact with the walls of the dark cave, the rocks and boulders collapsing from the force of the wind.

The large bird spread its blue-feathered wings for battle, its long, flowing tail lifting toward the air to intimidate, its cooing hiding its hatred for the trainer. He had only grown stronger...much stronger...since their last confrontation.

The trainer's hand reached down, grabbed a pokeball, and hurled it toward the creature, the ball opening up around half the distance toward the elusive monster. The light diminished, revealing the creature that destroyed the boulders several hundred feet behind him.

In the light's place, between the trainer and the Legendary One, a red-orange dragon-typed species, with a tail burning bright, illuminating the cave with its embers. It prepared itself for battle, stretching out its claws, steam and heat creeping out of its deadly jaws.

The trainer didn't even have to shout a command. No, he was far too powerful; something as primitive as giving out commands to his partners never necessary for his battles. His Pokemon were linked perfectly with his being, mind, body, and soul. Both envied no other Pokemon or human, the entire team striving toward a single goal, cooperating with one another to achieve their purpose.

"This shouldn't happen, but if you block me from my desire, you must be dealt with. Come."

Someone had spoken, the voice coming from no particular direction. The words, had any other person or low-leveled creature been present, would've sounded like gibberish being tossed into the air.

However, the trainer, his Pokemon, and the beast yards away could understand.

"The nerve of you, coming back all this way...how DARE you mock my power?!"

The humming sound grew deeper, more support from the inside of the cave beginning to collapse, almost the entirety of the ice beginning to crack and fall apart into different geometrical shapes and sizes. The battle would have to be short; the cave was preparing to collapse from the three beings' simple presence.

The large bird decided to make the first move, almost disappearing from normal eyesight, firing off into the sky straight above. The three crests extending from its head shined a bright white color momentarily, before the creature fired off a large beam of blue energy from its open beak, heading straight toward the trainer's Pokemon.

Charizard, letting out yet another battle cry, finally decided to make its move. It lowered its head straight toward the ground, opening its jaws for its attack, as the beam quickly homed onto its target. Suddenly, the dragon exhaled a thick black smoke onto the cave floor, the unstable air current quickly scattering the smoke around the field, hiding the giant lizard from view; even its trainer's eyesight was useless.

This wouldn't stop them however, the connection they had was too powerful. Charizard, hidden in the smoke, took control, shifting toward the very back of the cave's hard ground. The trainer quickly jumped atop the creature, both taking flight as the attack from the enemy slammed into the floor, freezing the entire surface the three were standing on moments ago.

The legendary one decided to act quickly, flapping its great wings, swirling the air around it violently, allowing the gusts to rotate faster and faster, a twister manifesting in the current. With a final push, the twister was sent to the direct center of the field, hoping to clear the field for a better view. The twister proved to be effective, as most of the smoke was blown toward the waterway exit, with some small portions still visible around the battle field.

The creature and trainer were gone from plain sight. The legendary one panicked, searching for where the target was located. It was too late, as Charizard's hard-scaled body slammed into its back, a loud snapping sound cracking into the air, the attack forcing the bird's wings straight back on reflex, the momentum carrying over to the Pokemon. Physics took its natural course, the creature nose-dived, slammed into the hard-icy floor almost an eye-blink later with a bone-shattering smash, small icicles sent in many directions, almost resembling a splash.

This wouldn't stop the creature though- it was a legendary one for reason. Ignoring the pain coursing through its spine, the creature shot out of the crater that had been made, the thrust from its initial jump enough to carry it within feet of its target. It spread its left wing to its side, the Charizard and Trainer both only realizing the creature's proximity. The edges of the creature's wings began to glitter with water particles, before instantaneously freezing over, sharp shards of ice forming at the tips of the feathers, resembling a claw shape.

The Trainer only had moments to react. As the bird's wing came slashing toward Charizard, the Trainer leaped off of Charizard's back, the lizard-Pokemon shifting its momentum to give the trainer enough force to move out of the way of the attack. The Charizard wasn't too lucky however, the ice shards quickly tearing into its body from the top of its right shoulder, diagonally to the lower portion of its belly. It’s thick, reinforced scaled splitting apart like tearing paper.

Blood splattered into the air, sizzling on impact with Charizard's dim-lit tail embers, or freezing upon contact with the bird Pokemon.

The trainer glared as he was sent into the air above the Pokemon, his anger rising, but not a physically sign whatsoever revealed upon his face.

"..."

Charizard's tail suddenly burst with energy, burning a bright color of what seemed to be white, the entire cave blinded in light. Its body starting to emit heat in all directions, melting the ice on the ground below, along with the claws the bird made seconds ago. With a brutal cry, the Charizard used the momentum brought along by the creature's attack to swing its body around in mid-air, its now brightly lit tail stretched outward.

Articuno didn't even get the chance to turn its head toward the attacking direction; the thick mass of Charizard's tail slammed right across its head, sending it spiraling straight into the cave's back wall, rocks flying from the impact zone.

The cave was already giving in, the foundation already beginning to collapse, large gaps in the floor forming.

The Charizard regained focus, bracing itself for battle as the Trainer finally descended, landing on the Charizard's back with a light thud.

Articuno, bleeding from its right eye and beak, stared back in disbelief, still in the crater that had formed. Its body was a mess of dirt and burnt or wet feathers, the magnificent pure color of its white chest slandered with its own crimson essence. The bird was finding difficulty controlling its emotion, frustration giving away to anger, and anger giving away to recklessness.

"I refuse to allow someone like you to defeat me again!!"

The legendary bird's eyes began to glow an ominous dark color, the bird quickly pouncing out of its resting spot, quickly perched atop one of the only icy stalagmites remaining on the collapsing floor. The effects from its combination were already being felt: its body slowly began to recover.

The Trainer caught on to its strategy; both trainer and Pokemon knowing that the next move will prove unsuccessful, they charged headfirst to attack. After all, how can one possibly counter an attack that reads the next move?

Charizard closed the distance the two creatures had, the blood from its wound flowing toward its feet, dripping off of its claws and sizzling in its tail. It raised its head straight at the creature, opening its jaw, and fired a large blast of Flamethrower, soaring and spreading, making chances of escape as minimal as possible.

Articuno waited as the flames approached ever closer, the heat from the attack alone draining its remaining health. Just as the flames began to lick the edges of the bird's feathered wings, Articuno instantly vanished, showcasing its amazing agility.

The legendary Pokemon appeared instantly, flying in a circle around the focused attack from Charizard, disappearing and reappearing consistently, making its movements near impossible to follow for the Charizard and Trainer.

Articuno warped feet from the pair, and without hesitation, stretched its wings out, roaring a sharp and hideous tone, unlike the creature once marveled as a thing of beauty.

A great wind forced itself from Articuno's body, colliding instantly with Charizard and to an extent, the Trainer. The trained Pokemon couldn't handle the attack, falling backward in mid-air, the trainer tumbling off its back. Charizard almost instantly froze over in ice, hovered for a moment, and then fell straight downward.

The Trainer grabbed the Charizard's ball, and quickly recalled the creature as he fell helpless toward the ground. The light surrounded the dragon, and re-sealed it inside.

Articuno decided to seize the opportunity, and quickly fired another beam of ice-energy toward the descending trainer.

The trainer struggled to grab another Pokeball off of his belt as the beam approached. He quickly grabbed the ball he was looking for, and released the creature inside. The ice beam collided with a creature’s hide moments before the trainer could hit the ground below.

A bulky, massive Pokemon appeared, almost untouched, on the floor below, the trainer bouncing off of its incredibly large gut before safely landing to the side. Articuno didn't get much time to analyze what Pokemon it was before another bright light re-sealed the creature.

The trainer smirked, throwing out yet another pokeball into the battle, the ceiling beginning to rain down rocks upon the warriors.

A small purple feline-looking creature appeared, stretching its limbs and forked tail, ready for battle with the massive bird.

The trainer signaled an attack almost immediately, the catlike Pokemon instantaneously reacting to the invisible order. It dug its claws into the unstable ground below, a large beam of psychic energy firing off of its ruby-colored gem atop its head at an amazing speed.

Articuno shifted its body weight around, but the movement was a second too late, the beam colliding straight into its face, strange colors and intensities of light blinding and confusing it. Overall, the attack failed to injure Articuno, the bird shaking its head to try to regain balance. The legendary one finally understood the purpose of the attack when it was unable to remain steady in the air for more than several moments, its body weight constantly shifting from left to right, throwing off its balance. The trainer made it impossible for it to stay at the advantage in the sky.

The battle had to be finished now, before it made a stupid mistake.

Articuno instinctively braced itself, slowly descending back to ground level, hovering ever so slightly off the breaking ground below. The humming in the air deepened more as Articuno began to build up strength for its final attack. Focusing its attack dead ahead, Articuno fanned its wings outward, its talons digging into the ground. A large shockwave pulsated from its body, carrying rocks and large boulders along with it, forming what resembled a tidal wave that came crashing toward the trainer and his fresh Pokemon.

"It's over."

The trainer's pokemon jumped backward several feet, almost touching the tips of its trainer's shoes, preparing to defend. The Pokemon's breathing suddenly slowed, almost to a complete stop, its racing heartbeat inching down to a calm and easy rhythm. It exhaled, its nerves and senses at alert, but soothed as the wave charged full force, only inches ahead, the shockwave almost touching the creature's forehead.

Mind and body prepared, both the trainer and his Pokemon glared at the wave, the hum in the cave exponentially jumped in size, the Pokemon's eyes deepening to an intense blue color, its massive storage of psychic energy being released all at once.

The shockwave disintegrated, the rock formation almost immediately shot straight back at Articuno, although not necessarily focused at the enemy; the main goal being just to protect themselves from the fatal injury the attack would have caused.

Articuno, shocked at how much power the Pokemon exerted, failed to react to the projectiles flying back at itself, a boulder slamming straight into its beak, forcing its head against the wall behind it yet again, deepening the crater and increasing the blood that splattered across the field in front of the legendary one.

The bird, now panting, adrenaline beginning to cease, lay in the wreckage, almost completely weakened from the last attack. The pain from Charizard's first charge increased tenfold, Articuno's instinct forcing it to cry out in agony. It tried to force itself back to a standing position, but felt a force holding it back. It turned its head to the side to see what was blocking it with its left eye, the damaged one unable to open due to the Charizard.

A large stalactite had pierced a large section of its left wing, pinning it successfully to the back wall of the cave. It must have stabbed it when it fell from the ceiling of the cave after Articuno crashed into the wall. The pain wasn't evident until it tried to move its left wing, the sharp part of the rock tearing through some of Articuno's weakened layer of feathers and flesh. Its eye widened, knowing what this meant for the result of the battle. The pathetic creature shifted its attention toward the trainer, who was almost completely unscathed, a bit of dirt and melting ice from his shoes the only evidence that he had been here; it hadn't done any real damage at all, and with all this pain building inside of its body...

The feline Pokemon was gone, apparently returned after its last attack. Articuno didn't see a bright light after he had returned it, yet a new Pokemon stood by the trainer, a distance away, even smaller than the previous opponent.

This small creature would deal the finishing blow.

Articuno could only watch in horror, as the creature began to build up an electric charge, the humming inside the cave increasing momentarily, the invisible force mysteriously giving the charge more juice. The electricity cackled and, to the Articuno's capacity of hearing, shrieked like a banshee, randomly shocking smaller objects, except the trainer, around the Pokemon. Once the charge was fully built, the humming completely ceased, the drop in power so intense that the cave entrance completely caved in, the water current almost completely emptying out into the sea beyond the entrance.

The creature started, charging its opponent with the electric current continuing to scream around the Pokemon. Its small yellow body became completely engulfed in the deadly yellow-white aura, merging with the large mass of moving lightning energy. The Articuno, with one last chance, tried to force its wing from the wall, only tearing into the skin some more.

"...please...you can't..."

The Articuno was about the cry out again from the pain, before the little mouse Pokemon collided head on with the legendary Pokemon, slamming perfectly with the target, directly into the heart. The small Pokemon's momentum forced Articuno's body yards deeper into the wall, forcing the pinned wing to instantly tear clean off, a fountain of blood following shortly behind.

The head of the attacking Pokemon sank deeper than naturally possible, making direct physical contact with the heart through the skin and bone. Articuno's eye shot open, the sensation of its heart literally being touched throwing it into a sense of body-numbing shock, and almost unconsciousness. As if the pain wasn’t enough, the electric current was finally released into the target.

The victim's control of movement was the first to go. Then, as the charge released only began to increase, its breathing became labored. The energy output only grew stronger; forcing the body to develop burns that would naturally, in humans, only occur after the person in question had already died from the power of the attack. Unfortunately, Articuno would suffer through the entire experience, having a stronger body and spirit suddenly became the one thing the once beautiful creature despised the most.

It wished for death.

The attack finally reached its maximum output, the ventricles of the heart unable to respond naturally to the heartbeat. The walls of the organ shifted violently, and then completely shut down. Death was instantaneous- at this point- for the poor creature. Articuno's breathing came to a violent halt, its eye became steady, the iris quickly fading, and its head dropped. The battle was over.

The small Pokemon was subconsciously called back to its Trainer. The Pokemon, feeling no remorse what-so-ever, scampered back, not a drop of the legendary one’s blood marking its fine yellow fur, quickly jumping onto the Trainer's shoulder, its favorite spot.

The cave in its entirety began to collapse, with the trainer still inside. Without hesitation, he quickly called out the giant blue tortoise Pokemon, instantly climbing onto its back once more as it landed in the rapids that lead to the exterior of the entrance. The trainer turned back around, getting a good look at the defeated legendary Pokemon.

An eye so swollen that it was completely closed off...a beak that had been smashed in completely... burns from the electricity evident from its tarnished feathers and darkened talons... blood streaming from the portion of its body that used to house its left wing...the disconnected wing still twitching from the instantaneous-ness of being ripped from the body, still pinned to the stalactite...a new, flowing stream of blood flowing from its nose, mouth, and its still eye...and a large concave dent where its heartbeat had completely ceased.

Such a pitiful sight.

"It's a shame..."

The Pokemon and Trainer came shooting out of the Seafoam Islands as they finally gave in to the damage on the interior, collapsing into nothing but rubble.

"One...down..."

----------

Jerry's frame descended into the depths of Twinleaf Town behind Noah and Luna, his rich, colorful frame and outfit out of their range of vision from atop the hill.

"So, you're positive about this Jerry guy then, right?" Luna spoke out.

"Definitely. He's my best friend."

"He sure does look reliable enough. I could sense his confidence and determination by the look he gave off in his eyes."

"Yeah. That's how we both were back then. It seems as though he hasn't changed at all. Good times." Noah reminisced.

"Noah, the sun's setting already. Weren't we going to try to make it to the next city before sunset?"

"It's not a long walk from here, Luna. From all of that running we did trying to get away from the media earlier, it'll only takes about thirty minutes."

Luna sighed, rubbing her muzzle with the backside of her claws.

"Besides," Noah continued, "we still have to discuss some things."

"Like what?"

"Like catching some Pokemon."

Luna quickly looked in the other direction. "Why are you so intent on capturing innocent Pokemon?"

"We already talked about this. We won't last long out there if we don't get a team to help keep our strength up." Noah explained.

"We can't just ask them?"

Noah slapped himself in the face. "Are you joking, or are you really that stupid?"

The Starly resting on the nearby trees were frightened into the darkening sky above by a loud clap.

Noah, red-faced and in the dirt, rubbed the fresh mark Luna had made on him.

"Damnit! That hurt!"

"You really have to learn to respect me Noah, how else are we going to get through this crazy world?"

"That wouldn't be the issue if you just let me catch several Pokemon!"

Luna, still turned the other way, crossed her arms across her chest, patting the ground impatiently on the dirt road. Her tail swung around and around, her mind deep into her own thoughts, trying to assess the situation.

"Fine." she said, almost sounding defeated.

"What?"

"I said fine."

"Just like that?"

She quickly added on, dashing Noah's optimism with five words, "But I'm not helping you."

Noah continued to look on at her, somewhat surprised, angry and confused, all at the same time, of her decision.

"You've got to be out of your mind!" Noah burst. "I can't catch wild Pokemon on my own!"

"That's your problem, not mine."

"You're sadistic."

"And you're pathetic."

Noah, having no retort, or any reason to continue to bicker with his furry new friend, decided to go along with it.

"Well...I guess I could give it a try."

"There we go."

Over the next hour or so, not a word was spoken between the two. The Starly slowly regathered at their nesting sites once more, the mark from Luna's attack starting to swell ever so slightly on Noah's cheek. He rubbed it gently, trying to ease the pain, all the while giving a nasty glare toward Luna's direction.

She, for the most part, kept looking the other way, but could feel his presence looming overhead. Whether bitter more about the argument or the slap in the face, she didn't know, but then again, neither did she honestly seem to care.

The march toward Sandgem was interrupted when Luna stopped completely in her tracks, held in place by a scent in the breeze that was gently blowing.

"Luna? Something wrong?" Noah asked.

"I...I'm picking something up." she answered back in-between sniffs of the air. Her natural instincts inherited by the Zangoose began to kick in.

Luna suddenly got on all fours, sniffing around madly, trying to find the source of the scent. Noah stood by anxiously, an ominous feeling weighing his body down.

The tall grass by Noah's feet shuddered.

Luna's body quickly jumped toward Noah, knocking him down, along with her.

A small stream of lightning shot right passed the front of Noah's face, the heat from the energy warming the end of Noah's face as his back hit the ground. Luna landed on top of him, before immediately leaping off, using his body as a spring, and landing on all fours a distance away from the grass.

Noah wiped his face to rid himself of the unpleasant hot sensation. "A thundershock?!"

"It came from the grass!"

"Shit, it's a group of Shinx!"

Noah's guess was correct. Knowing that their cover was blown, a dozen or so Shinx came slowly out from behind the tall grass on either side of the road, approaching their prey.

Noah quickly analyzed their movement patterns, letting his prowess back at Pokemon Academy kick in.

"They're...hunting. We're their prey!"

"I can see that." Luna said, already trying to figure a solution out.

The Shinx circled around the group, closing off any possible escape routes that Luna and Noah may have already been plotting.

"Shit, they've got us completely surrounded and outnumbered."

"So? I'll just kick their asses, right?" Luna replied back, stretching her arms, warming up for combat.

"Luna, stay put. If we cooperate together, we could-"

Noah turned to Luna. She was gone, already charging the Shinx directly in front of the two.

"She...ignored me?" Noah's face turned grim, the blood- or lack thereof- turning it a pale white color.

A handful of the Shinx cut off the circle, and reformed, encircling Noah and Luna in two smaller formations.

"Luna, you idiot!!" Noah shouted.

"Fight them!" she replied.

"With WHAT!?!?"

Luna didn't respond, already preparing a slash attack at her own target.

Six Shinx surrounded Luna as she closed in on the one that was directly in front of her. Without a moment's thought, she threw her claw straight at the little blue cub.

Just as the attack connected, the Shinx's little body gave off a surge of electricity, passing it onto Luna. The wild Pokemon was sent several feet into the air before landed roughly on the ground, while the electric current momentarily paralyzed her body.

"What the...I can't move!"

The Shinx picked itself back up, while two more charged the vulnerable Zangoose. Luna braced herself as the two Shinx both collided into her body with a double tackle attack, lifting her off of the ground and sprawling onto the dirt road.

The paralysis quickly wore off, Luna regaining control of her muscles. Another Shinx wasted no time to let her recover. It jumped toward the knocked over meal, opening its wide jaws to take a large bite.

Luna reacted quickly, rolling out of the way as the Shinx landed, missing its target completely. She retracted, springing toward the Shinx, grabbing its body in one of her paws. Luna quickly swung her arm in a semi-circle around her head, before thrusting the Shinx straight into the ground, the dirt kicking up from the impact. The Shinx was out cold, but not before its static once again, paralyzed Luna's body.

The five remaining Shinx, finally aware of the strength Luna had at close quarters, decided to unleash a series of thundershocks to the mongoose, rather than charge it head on. The electricity poured into Luna's body, stinging and forcing her body to move out of her control. Luna fell to all fours again, the attack taking its toll on her body. The Shinx ceased the attack for a brief moment, waiting for a response.

Luna unleashed her energy in a quick series of bursts, quickly regaining control of her body, before vanishing from the Shinx's sight. Before they could even react, Luna grabbed one of them by the tail, and swung it straight into another Shinx, causing the static from the two Shinx to paralyze each other before it could be transferred to Luna.

Not wasting any time, Luna dashed around the remaining three Shinx, all of which were unable to predict her movements. An eye blink later, another Shinx was sent flying from a tackle to its head by Zangoose, the speed and momentum transferring to the small Pokemon. The last two Shinx fired another series of thundershocks toward the revealed enemy, barely missing the target as she jumped out of reach.

Panicked at the quick drop in their numbers, the last two Shinx carelessly started to fire electric attacks off in every direction, hoping that their weak attempts at a counter would prove successful.

The front end of a claw came slashing down across one Shinx in the face from what seemed to be the air. Fur was sent shooting into the air, more hitting the ground, moist with fresh blood. Shinx cried out, falling onto its belly, trying to cope with the stinging sensation on its head from the wound.

The last remaining Shinx didn't risk attacking anymore, it was apparent that they were outmatched in the scenario. It raised its head high into the air, screeching, asking for the rest of the pack to make a hasty retreat. The injured jerked their legs, picking themselves off of the floor. Ignoring the damage they had been dealt, the weakened Pokemon scurried back into the tall grass defeated, the rest of the pack that, unknowingly to Luna, attacked Noah darting away almost immediately. Luna had won the battle.

Panting, the victorious mongoose slowed to a stand, picking itself up onto its hind legs, claws drooping down, trying to catch her breath.

"That...pant, pant...that wasn't too hard...pant...right Noah?"

Noah lay on the ground a good distance away from her, his body sprawled and weakened from taking in multiple small sparks to render him momentarily immobile. His body had no real damage, the Shinx hadn't had time to sink a single fang into him before Luna made short work of their allies, so the damage was simply minimal.

"Damnit Luna, this is why you wait." Noah grunted, dissatisfied with the current situation. His body starting to twitch, the feeling in his limbs slowly starting to return.

"Why didn't you fight back?" Luna asked, still assessing her own damage. Nothing that a bit of rest over night couldn't fix.

"Exactly WHAT do I fight back with?"

"Claws?"

Noah's arms conveniently fell under his control just in time for him to throw them right in front of Luna's face.

"You don't have any psychic power?"

"Why the hell would I have that?"

Luna shrugged her shoulders. "You still have fists?"

"I'm not exactly in top shape. Besides, they were faster than me, and I was completely outnumbered and surrounded. What COULD I do?"

She didn't reply, scratching underneath her jaw with her claw.

"I don't seem to be injured too much though," Noah continued, paying close attention to his hair- which had shot straight up from the electric attacks. "How about you? Are you okay?"

"Nah." she answered almost immediately. "It'll take more than several jolts and tackles to take me down."

"Then I guess this time was okay...but we have to be more careful next time."

Luna was already turning the other way. "Oh, I'm sure it was only a fluke-"

"I'm serious Luna. I could've been killed."

"But you weren't, right? So it's okay-"

"You don't get it, do you?"

"What is there to get? We were attacked, we succeeded."

"Only because of your brute strength and their lack of organization did we win. Had they been smarter, stronger, or more in numbers, who knows what could've happened! I was only several moments from being eaten alive!"

Luna thought his words over, her paws rubbing her cheeks as she pondered.

"There's also this thing." Noah directed to his necklace, with two plates set into place. "Whatever it is, it connects us to one another, and allows us to communicate the way that we do.

What would happen if I died Luna?"

"Hmm. You know, I have no way to know for certain." Luna said, her tone reverting from that spunky and somewhat dimwitted tone from her victory, to that soft-sweet voice he had heard on that night. "...You're right. We're going to have to be more careful in the future."

"Exactly. This was just Route 201 too. The Pokemon on the other routes are occasionally stronger, and if Jerry was telling us the truth, that which I'm sure of, then the road ahead is only going to become more difficult."

"Yes."

"So we're going to have to really cooperate with each other, okay?"

"Yes."

Noah was surprised, half-expecting her to interject in any way, as unreasonable as it could've been, possible.

"I can't fight these creatures. I'm only human. I need partners like you to rely on to survive out here." Noah decided that this was a perfect time to remind her of their argument earlier.

"And, hypothetically speaking, if you were to be beaten, what would I do?"

Luna stayed quiet; her body turned the other way.

"We're going to need others, like Jerry, to help us through this. You are strong, that's for sure, but there is no way that we are guaranteed to succeed if I just have you. We need a team."

"Come on Noah, we need to get to the next 'town', right?" Luna asked.

Noah hadn't realized that the setting sun was almost completely gone, their shadows stretching unreasonably long out in front of them, pointing them down the winding trail to Sandgem.

"We need to go." Luna added, starting to walk down the path. She quickly turned her head to the side, looking at Noah, who had just started to pick himself up off of the ground, the full effects of the Shinx's attacks finally wearing off.

"Tell me again. Exactly how do you go about catching other creatures?"

Noah stared back at her. 'That was quick...she had a good mind, but she's so ignorant of how things work...' he thought.

"If I tell you, will you help me?"

Luna gave him a quick smile. "Yeah, sure."

Noah caught up to her, and began to explain the ways of a Pokemon Trainer.

---

"So, in short, to catch the other Pokemon, you need me to weaken it, and then you catch it with those...pokeballs?" Luna repeated after the entire explanation, not to mention the seemingly endless amount of knowledge that poured from Noah's lips about Pokemon Training in general.

"That's right. That shouldn't be too hard for you, right?"

Luna made a devilish little smile. "Of course. All I have to do is beat the ever-living crap out of the enemy. That shouldn't be too hard."

"But remember. We have to be cooperating with one another."

"Right."

Noah took a quick glance at his artifact hanging off of his neck again, when an amazing idea lit up his eyes.

"Luna."

"Hm?"

"We can speak through our minds."

Luna raised an "eyebrow", confused. "Yeah, we learned that back at the lake."

"Don't you know what this means?"

"Uh...yeah, but just for clarity, can you remind me? I forgot." Luna jested.

"To become a formidable team with any one of your Pokemon partners, it's imperative to try to learn to cooperate as quickly as possible. Yes, trainers can give out orders in combat, but blaring out attacks or simple movements gives away possible approaches for most trainers."

"Mhmm?"

"Psychic trainers are naturally more formidable than any other, because they can communicate with their psychic typed Pokemon through simple telepathy. This ability that you and I have-"

"It's basically the same concept."

"Right, except it doesn't sap any of our energy, unlike the psychic types, who need to keep that link open with their trainers in order to get orders. What I'm trying to say, is that with enough practice, you and I can have almost perfect synchronization. That alone will make us harder to predict during battles in the future. All we have to do is learn how to stay linked during battle, and react to each other as quickly as possible."

"That sounds easy enough."

Almost coinciding with their new discovery about their abilities, Noah and Luna, at the same time, halted for a second, disturbed at an entirely different development- a change in climate and atmosphere- around them, before continuing their track, which had now straightened to lead directly into the entrance gate to Sandgem.

"You know then?" Noah asked.

"I've known for awhile, I could smell it. How did you know?"

"I know plenty about how they act when it comes to hunting. Oh, and I also read your thoughts, and they only confirmed what I already knew."

Luna fought back the urge to hit him; the situation was too urgent for that kind of horseplay. Her voice, again, reverted to that angelic quality. "Don't go into my head unless I allow it, understand?"

"Fair enough. I want my own privacy to not be held ransom." Noah joked, provoking violence from Luna.

Both were correct. The Shinx had never retreated from the encounter earlier.

"Shinx never stop stalking their selected prey. They'll hunt it down to the ends of the planet. If their attack is unsuccessful, they back off, and wait for the prey to show an opening in order to strike. They also call in more, and with each attempt, continue to weaken their prey until it is taken out."

Luna was concerned. "I can't tell exactly how many there are, but from the smell...there's easily more than double the amount earlier.

"So what should we do? Attacking a group so large would be suicide."

"Let's think for a moment."

A bit of tall grass quickly shuddered.

'Don't react...it's possible that they think that we have no idea that they're here. If we stop, they're more likely to attack. Don't leave yourself open, but don't show that you are more alert either, got it?' Noah thought, sending it to Luna.

Luna sent him a reply. 'Agreed.'

'Sandgem is only a good two-hundred yards ahead.' Noah informed her, pointing down the road. Sure enough, the tops of the buildings deep into the town were visible. Directly ahead of them, a large wall that enveloped the city, with a small opening that kept wild Pokemon outside of the town. 'If we can get over to the gate, we'll be safe.'

'You know the Shinx won't let us off that easily.'

'No doubt. They'll attack at the last possible moment. And with how dark it's become, it'll only make things more difficult.'

Noah was right. The sun had already gone to rest, and this particular night turned out moonless, as a large mass of clouds were brought in from Northern Sinnoh.

'The darkness'll make it more difficult for me, at least, to navigate.'

A plan of action finally formed, one so brilliant and cunning that Noah almost broke "cover" just thinking about it. 'I got it.'

'I'm listening.'

He telepathically sent the layout for the plan into Luna's mind. As the plan was explained down to the very last specific detail, Luna fought back giggles left and right, not at the absurdity of the plan, but at exactly how precise and ridiculous the plan sounded.

'It's very creative, but don't you think it's a tad...excessive?' she asked back.

'Don't worry, it'll be fine. And without the moonlight, or any bright city lights, it'll only make your part of this thing even easier, so there shouldn't be any complaints from you. If anything, my parts the most dangerous and risky.'

'So, the minute they reveal themselves-'

'Yeah.'

'Got it.'

The pair made their way ever so much more closer to the gates that lead into Sandgem Town, every passing second stretching out as they waited, preparing for the Shinx to strike.

The suspense filled the air, Noah's body bracing itself, the ends of his fingers feeling warmer than usual, sweat dripping off of his forehead- although to be fair, the walk to Sandgem wasn't exactly easy on the body.

The grass rattled again, as the herd beyond the borders of the road scuffled back and forth, getting in position for the moment Noah and Luna reached the gate.

'Now.' Noah sent to Luna.

The predators in the grass could only look on, confused that the Zangoose had just bolted away from her supposed trainer, heading toward the gate, looking anxious to get inside as soon as possible.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing!?" Noah faked a shout.

It was more than enough to provoke the Shinx herd. The threat to their next meal had run just out of bounds of their positions in the grass. It would prove almost too easy to get rid of the human, than focus entirely on the Zangoose afterward. It was a mistake the cat ferret wouldn't live to regret.

The pack of wild Pokemon pounced from beyond the tall, weeded grasses that lay beyond the trees on either side of the neatly laid out road to Sandgem, quickly circling around the defenseless creature. Noah tried to step back, not realizing the flashing beam of light behind him. He quickly turned around to see yet more Shinx, encircling him yet again, in the same formation as earlier in the evening. Their fur brightened to near sun-colored yellow, electricity beginning to build up in their hind legs, generating energy for the attack.

"Luna, a little help?" Noah vocally called out, looking toward the gate to Sandgem. His Pokemon was gone.

"Oh...shit." he mumbled.

The Shinx took no time to size him up; there were more than plenty of Shinx to take him out despite the lack of order in the pack. One Shinx charged from Noah's right side, opening its jaw to take a quick bite. Noah threw his hand out, hitting the Shinx out of the way before it could clamp down on his arm.

His movement was too slow. Another Shinx from his left spotted and opening, and charged, firing off a thunderbolt. The electricity collided with Noah's legs, forcing him to his knees. His muscle control below his waist vanished, unable to will himself back to his feet.

It was over. The Shinx all charged in one instant, Noah's vision blinded by different shades of blue and black fur.

Noah reacted almost immediately. Using his arms, he swiped away at a large portion of Shinx- they were, after all, quite light- and forced an arm deep inside of his black backpack, almost invisible in the night. He grabbed a small, plastic container, and ripped open the top as fast as possible, as the Shinx quickly began to pile on top of him.

He could feel teeth ripping into his legs from below, the pain completely ignored at the moment. He held the bottle up above himself, above the Shinx atop his body, then tipped it over and waved it around, the liquid substance spilling out, soaking Noah and the predator's bodies.

The Shinx quickly backed off, somewhat blindsided by what they just experienced. Then, a terrible realization kicked in:

The smell...the smell was rancid...almost unbearable. The Shinx started tearing up, the terrible sensation forcing several of them to fall unconscious.

Noah picked his body halfway up, the paralysis from his knees down still apparent. He took a quick headcount of the enemies remaining.

"I didn't think it'd be so powerful, there's only a handful left." Noah said. "Luna, go now!"

The ground thumped in quick succession as a force came barreling from the road that led to Sandgem. The Shinx tried and failed at turning to see the oncoming obstacle, the stench from the substance Noah poured on them all too much to bear at the moment.

Luna, charging full force, tackled through two of the immobile enemies, forcing them to the ground unconscious. Acting fast, she used her speed to disappear from plain sight, preparing her assault on the easily distraught cubs.

Two more Shinx, standing side by side, dizzy from Noah's surprise attack, couldn't detect Luna's presence right behind them. She quickly grabbed their heads, and slammed them together before they could realize what was going on. They fell onto the floor unconscious, along with their pack members.

"One more left!" Noah announced, finally able to get back to his feet as the electric attack wore off. The last Shinx stood right in front of him, refusing to double over from the stench, angry at the dirty trick Noah had used to gain the upper hand.

Shinx roar startled all of the Pokemon in the area, awakening the flying types, sending them into a sea of panic. Luna appeared right besides Noah, a close-pin pinching her nose shut- a somewhat silly and childish look on her part, preparing for Shinx's opening attack.

The leader of the pack suddenly began to glow bright, electricity building up in its body. Its body slowly began to change, its legs growing longer, tail growing brighter, and its fur parting into long, black whiskers on its face. The bright light faded, a large, intimidating lion blocking the pair's way into Sandgem town with another fierce howl.

"Noah, what in the world is that?"

"Damn it." Noah cursed. "It evolved into a Luxio. This one's going to be a little more difficult to take out. Just remember, cooperation is the key."

"Got it."

The Luxio quickly adjusted to its new body, and quickly sprinted over to Luna. The mongoose Pokemon pushed Noah aside, the young adult barely dodging the bad end of a fierce tackle attack.

The Luxio grinned, pivoting its body at an incredibly sharp angle, slamming into Luna instead, her body spiraling to the edge of the road.

'Luna!'

'I'm fine, I'm fine!'

'To your left!'

Luna didn't bother looking, instead sprinting straight ahead, dodging another tackle attack from the enemy. The Luxio collided head on with a tree, forcing several leaves from their branches, raining onto the Luxio's blackened fur.

Luna stared the Pokemon down, her balance regained, focused on taking him out.

'Luna, I want you to try something.'

'Hurry up and tell me.'

The Luxio charged again, straight toward Luna in a straight line. Luna quickly dodged, the attack, moving to the side. The Luxio pivoted again, charging head on. Zangoose quickly detected the movement, and charged into the young lion, colliding with its large jaw, holding its mouth open with her powerful claws.

'Luxio is evolved, and much stronger than the Shinx, but look...it's still avoiding me.'

'Yeah, and?'

'The repel is still working then. It forced you to knock me away to keep the stench from distracting it.'

'So, if I can get closer to you, it won't attack?'

'No, that's not it. It doesn't seem too shy about running into my area. However, we can use that to our advantage. Get close to me, and when it approaches, I want you to try and hold onto it.'

'Okay.'

Luna twisted her claws, sending the Luxio into the ground while she pushed it's face into the dirt. She quickly let go, jumping back several feet, only a yard or two away from Noah, waiting for a counter attack.

She didn't have to wait long. Luxio rapidly leapt to its feet, and charged again, trying to intimidate through its battle cry. Luna waited, carefully watching as the attack grew closer and closer.

"You're mine!"

She jumped into the air, only several feet, and came down right on top of Luxio. Before the Luxio could fight back, she quickly bit into his neck, and wrapped her arms around his head and neck. The Luxio quickly fell to the ground, already preparing to let loose a strong electric attack.

Noah wouldn't allow it. He grabbed the bottle, now almost empty, save for about a half a cup left in the bottom and charged toward the Luxio. In one swift motion, he shoved the bottle over its muzzle, the liquid repel inside of the bottle splashing into its mouth, onto its nose, and staining his new black and blue coat.

Luxio hissed and yelped, the stench hurting its acute sense of smell, rolling around in the dirt. Luna let go, rolling back toward her partner, the pin still keeping her from suffering the same fate.

The smell was simply too much, even for a stronger Pokemon like Luxio. After a few more moments of tumbling and twisting, Luxio grew dizzy, and, the world spinning around him, fell into a pile of heap on the road, unconscious with its pack.

Noah and Luna could only stare on, grinning with a gleaming sense of satisfaction that they emerged victorious, despite the odds.

"I can't believe that went so well." Noah told her.

"I can't believe that actually worked." she replied.

"Repel is supposed to be sprayed around the trainer to keep weaker Pokemon at bay. I didn't think it'd be so potent in its liquid form.

You hurt? You took quite the tackle to the chest."

"I'm fine, it's only skin deep." Luna assured him, focusing on the blood that started to stain the outside of his jeans. "How about you? You took several of the Shinx herd's bites."

"It's fine. We just have to go to the Pokemon Center in Sandgem Town. They'll fix us both up right away."

"Sounds good."

Noah started to chuckle. "Man, seeing that one evolve scared the ever-living crap out of me..."

"That was so strange..."

"You've never seen an evolution before?"

"So that's what that is?"

"Yeah. Certain Pokemon can evolve to become much stronger. The Shinx evolved into a Luxio, in this case. You don't really see Luxio in this area.

I guess the Migration is really screwing with the natural habitat."

"Amazing." Luna started to look at her own body. "Noah, will I ever change?"

Noah looked back at her, before realizing that she had no prior knowledge of Pokemon evolution.

"I don't think so. From what I know, Zangoose don't evolve at all."

"I see. Well, I'm fine with that, this form is all I'm going to need." she gloated, showing off her cocky side for once.

"Yeah." Noah looked at all of the downed Pokemon. "I would consider catching one of them...but...it doesn't seem right to get one while they're down."

"But they are weakened, right? So you can catch one."

"They are weak, yes, but they are unable to fight back anymore. I like to give them a fair chance."

"Are you kidding me?" Luna asked. "You realize how hard it's going to be to weaken an enemy without knocking them out?"

"Yeah," he replied, "that'll make the capture that much more sweet." He looked ahead, the gate the only thing blocking them from entry to the next town.

"Come on Luna, let’s go to Sandgem."

The two wasted no time, getting to Sandgem, an easy feat after taking out the Luxray's pack. The gate acknowledged their presence, and opened, giving them access to the city beyond.

Their minds now acting as a team, and morale as high as could be, they must brace themselves for the future. Now, their adventure can truly begin...

----------

A festival was erupting, long ago planned, and calculated, without any dictation over the festive civilians. It was a cleverly set-up event.

Cheers erupted from the crowd, many of the older men and women lifting alcoholic beverages into the dark night sky, the children playing with noise-makers, everyone in a blissful frenzy.

The citizens of Olivine City were going to be up for the entirety of the night, celebrating nothing in particular with such intensity. The floor felt as though it was shaking from the cheers from the crowds, people dancing in the streets and blowing balloons into the air. It was a spectacle that only came once every lifetime for a person, and to take part in one would blow one's mind into the clear skies above.

Even Cianwood fell to the powerful spirit, only a small boat ride away across the ocean. Lights and fireworks could be seen rocketing into the midnight sky, Olivine's residents continuing to cheer some more, for what exactly, no one could answer.

Asking a citizen from either port town would just have the answer in the form of a cold mug of beer shoved into your lap.

"Relax, it's a party, go nuts!" is a common response you might get if you asked them a question.

As for why the sudden randomosity of a large-city-sized party to begin from nothing-ness:

"Because we can."

Truly a free spirited town. Or, a lonely, dull town who's only source of income came from these massive shindigs. That could explain why they continued to somehow manage their income, sans the shipping businesses.

It just so happened to be on this night, and this night in particular, that would shift the entirety of the world onto the severity of the Great Migration.

Beneath Olivine's multiple streets, paved sidewalks, reaching all the way to the high escalation of the Ampharos Lighthouse, a sudden pulse of mysterious energy erupted from across that small body of water. The energy continued to leak into Olivine from Cianwood, forcing most of the citizens to the floor with its awesome properties. The citizens were speechless, unable to decipher exactly what was going on, most of the liquor and children's toys falling onto the floor, glass mugs shattering and toys snapping into pieces.

Rocks and pebbles, along with any items that fell from the party-folk, vibrated wildly on the floor, moving across the roads left, and right, left, right, left, right.

Then came that deep sound. A rumble, as if it was coming from the center of the Earth itself, followed by a low humming sound that forced the children to scream in pain, their small ears too delicate to such an intense sound. The lighthouse cracked at the foundation, but still remained steady; the gym and nearby resident houses shook to the core, windows breaking, doors loosening, and bricks literally being forced from the house's structure.

Blood started to drip out of the ears of all the residents, the humming only increasing in intensity. These poor souls: they're the lucky ones.

The humming completely stopped. The force that kept the civilians down on the ground completely vanished without a trace. Everyone, dazed and confused, looked around at the small beating the town had just endured. It was as if a small earthquake had gone off.

A woman's scream shattered the ominous silence, her hand pointing to the immediate problem.

The civilians all turned, almost in unison for those who saw her gesture, toward the sea, out toward their friendly neighbor.

Lost in a sea of flames and smoke, death inevitable for the poor inhabitants who happened to be taking residence on that piece of land. A large silhouette of a monster hid behind the smoke, barely visible, but enormous enough to see without the need of lenses. A fierce cry scratched and tore at the uneasy stillness of the air, before the creature vanished into the opposite side of that island...

Then came a bright flash of light…

And just like that, Cianwood, as well as all the residents aboard the city, where wiped clean from the world.


----------

*************************
-Name: Noah Sol
-Type: Human
-Height: 5'8''
-Weight: 180 lbs.
-Age: 19 Years
-Eye Color: Brown
-Skin Color: Tan/Mid-Brown
-Hair Style/Color: Untamed; Black
-Body Type: Moderate build, with a small trace of muscle, but nothing too noticable.
-Outfit: Dark Blue Jeans, with Black and White running shoes, with a plain Black t-shirt, and a red vest.
-Other Items: A peculair golden medallion on a necklace, with 16 sockets, and a black Trainer's bag.
-Hobbies: Surfing the web, cooking, training his Pokemon.
-Homeland: Twinleaf Town, Sinnoh Region
-Personality: Bold and Courageous, and very Cunning.
-Bio: An incredibly well endowed student whom graduated from the Pokemon Twinleaf Academy. He was deemed a prodigy in the making during his youth, before he threw away his dreams of becoming a great trainer like his legendary parents. He aspires to try, for the third time, to becoming a master through his endeavors with Luna, and has sworn to help her in recovering her mysterious lost items. Even though he never advanced too far, his knowledge of Pokemon is astounding from even an advanced trainer's perspective, and he uses clever tactics in battle over brute strength.
-Weaknesses: Noah's critical thinking seems to suffer under extreme pressure when put in dangerous situations, most likely a result from the trauma he was put through in his teenage-years. He's also resorted to becoming a hermit, and partly developed anti-social patterns and attitudes, avoiding any conflicts with anyone outside of his living space. Luckily, much of his negative quirks can be fixed with conditioning. With time, and a bit of closure from anyone who can get close enough to him, he should be able to recover from these behavioral patterns. To defeat him in combat, one must be prepared to outsmart and overpower his team in a majority of the aspects of battle. Despite how smart he is, his team is nothing short of mediocre at the time of this documentation.
-Pokemon Team: Luna, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?
-Threat Level: Minimal
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