Ragnarok

Note: Well, it's been a long, long time since my last update, but Chapter 12 is finally here. It's a tad long (17,000+ words), so it's quite the read.

There's a small intermission split for those who'd like to take a break from reading inbetween the chapter.

The chapter sums up a bit of info in a short amount of time, so I kinda didn't like that, but it still came through okay in my own opinion.

Please read, review, and rate my chapter and story. The more critique I get, the more I improve on writing my chapters in terms of quality.

Chapter 13 will come soon, I'll also attempt to keep this new schedule up, especially since Summer's coming.

With all that said and done...

Enjoy the read!

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1:07
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Small, rhythmic waves steadily crashed against the coastline to the small island far South of the Kanto region. Surrounded from all sides by the ocean and its delicate currents- on most days, at the very least- was this island, specifically, scattered around and about the rich, ocean blue. With it, a handful of other islands, other pieces of land only accessible by water vessels, or, in the case of the inhabitants of these islands, large aquatic Pokemon to ferry them across safely.

The sand turned dark at the coastline, slowly elevating toward the gravel and asphalt that had been placed nearby as a road by man many, many years ago. Near the beach, a moderate-sized dock, where ships were allowed to drop anchor and allow passengers access to the islands. A tiny sign greeted the visitors of this island, the first of many, making them feel welcomed as they strolled casually into town.

Even from the beach- hell, even from a fair distance away from the slice of land itself- one can spot the peak of a mountain, hot and ever active, supposedly home to one of the most powerful creatures on this planet.

"..."

He continued his trek up the mountain. His glare focused at the rising, natural staircase directly in front of him while his feet carried his body over the path to the highest point. The sea surrounded the elevated land on all but one side, separating the mass he was one from the larger piece of land it had become affiliated with by the population. Everyone in town knew of this mountain, and many would agree that it was the key reason for any passersby to justify a stop; any reason to get a rare chance of a sighting of that monster.

The electric mouse that housed itself on his shoulder rubbed its face with its paws, the rising heat from the natural spa and atmosphere of the area becoming irritable to a small degree. The trainer, devoid of any form of perspiration, continued the steady climb upward, never flinching. The power of the trainer's determination gave the small yellow rodent comfort as the two neared the top of the mountain, preparing for their final task given to them almost a week ago. The rodent wiped a bead of sweat from its forehead before nuzzling up to the trainer's neck, a form of affection that gave his trainer its message, loud and clear:

"I'll protect you from anything, even...them."

The trainer would've chuckled. Not even a week had passed, and they'd already done in two. Only one more remained...and he was sure that it roosted here, on the quiet and tranquil Knot Island. This beast, despite its intimidating features and power- at least to the weaker creatures- was on the same level as the other two creatures. In short: this Pokemon would be no more of a match than the other two.

A disappointing realization, if anything, to the trainer himself.

"..."

Kindle Road continued to shrink in size as he continued to elevate toward the top of Mount Ember. The monotonous patting sound of his shoes thumping along the ground almost lulling his brain toward an "auto-pilot" stage. He quickly shook his head, noting that he was practically at the top. Another minute passed by, and sure enough, the trainer found himself at the peak, looking down at the large body of deep blue that isolated the tiny little Knot Island. The skies above were devoid of any flying types, and there wasn't a single ounce of opposition on the way to the top of this mountain.

The Pikachu prepared itself, electricity jumping out from its red little cheeks. The trainer's emotionless eyes slowly scanned the area, looking for the last target he had been assigned to take down. The peak was isolated, a small walkway stretched straight down to the other side of the mountain opposite of the trainer- with its own set of naturally made stairs, despite that one would have to have come directly from Kanto to the reverse entrance to Knot Island; the remainder of the peak and the majority of the mountain inaccessible to the everyday rookie trainer due to the harsh terrain and sheer level of power the Pokemon in the area used to wield. Unfortunately, all of the Pokemon that once inhabited this small island had vanished, heading north to the Sinnoh region, seeking out the voice that called them. Even if they had been living here, none would oppose him, and that was something the trainer could say with absolute certainty, something that can rarely be said for gym leaders, or even members of the multiple Elite Fours that scattered the region.

Now, only one Pokemon target remained: the one he had been informed to wipe off the face of the Earth, and he was ready to do it without a moment's hesitation.

He then noticed that he had mistaken himself. Someone else was indeed on this mountaintop with him. The other figure stood from the opposite end, looking right back at him.

His eyes were met by a pair of fiery red eyes on the other side of the mountain, from the path that rose from the backside of Mount Ember. He knew who it was almost immediately by her angry, penetrating stare.

The girl from the other side of the mountain sized her would-be opponent up, fully aware of whom he was, what he was doing so far away from home, and how much danger she was now in. Her anger held back the one crucial fact however, that no matter what she wanted to do to him, as a member of the Government, she was nothing but a weak little insect when sized up to the only Master Trainer- alive- that stood before her.

She took a deep breath, realizing how suicidal it would be to take him on here, now, and straightened her outfit out. Her white blouse- with a flame design scattered about the edges of the sleeves- was hidden underneath a dark black coat, and finished off- for a very simple suit- with a pair of black pants, with a similar flame pattern spiraling up the pant legs.

"Who authorized this? I demand to know," Flannery spoke to the trainer, the rising tension ever-present in her words.

"..."

"You shouldn't be here. Who gave you clearance to come here?"

"..."

"Do you even understand what the hell you're doing? Who gave you this...abomination of a mission?!" Flannery asked, taking a step forward, letting her anger get the best of her.

The trainer slowly reached for a Pokeball, snapping one of five from his belt. His fist clenched around the ball, holding it out in front of his body and toward Flannery. He was ready for battle, and it didn't seem like the High Noon member was even the least bit threatening to him, nor was she even the slightest compromise to his assignment.

She followed suit, a Pokeball resting in each hand, both lowered to the ground.

"We really shouldn't fight, you know. However, if you want it that way..."

Suddenly, she felt it: A force so powerful that her speech was completely muted out by the hollow sound radiating from the entire area. The humming came quickly, slowly focusing in on Flannery's body. The mountain trembled in the force's wake, cracks forming on the surface near the peak. The waves of the sea that bordered the mountain shifted and funneled in unnatural directions and motions, as if an invisible force had been acting upon it. The trainer's Pikachu, empowered, braced itself for battle, the electricity it had been storing since they arrived on One Island firing in random directions from its body, eager to fight.

Flannery was outmatched, her body struggling to stay standing. She needed a reason to avoid the fight- she was still needed elsewhere.

"If you do this, you'll have the entire world after you, do you understand?" Flannery asked him, trying to keep her focus under the immense power- and doing quite well. "You can be as powerful as you want, but you can't stop an entire nation from hunting you down for treason. Not to mention that what you've done so far is a violation to the code of the New Age."

The humming slowed to a quiet buzz, continuing to disperse until it refused to register to Flannery's senses. The trainer kept his Pokeball out, staring back into those burning eyes, the rage from within him- not at her, or the government, but at the truth of the limitations to his power- stirring.

"By joining our ranks, you agreed to abide by all of our rules and regulations, and pledged yourself to the will of High Noon."

The trainer gave a regretful nod, knowing exactly what would happen should he disobey an order, or attack her, despite how much he wanted to.

"Abort the mission...that's an order," Flannery commanded the trainer, her voice bitter and violent.

"..."

Flannery's life was spared that day. The trainer was indeed powerful. More powerful than any other alive, but even he wouldn't be able to survive an onslaught by the High Noon. At least, not yet. As long as that flag- the fist gripping the Pokeball painted to look like Earth- waved above the skies of the four world regions, he was trapped. Trapped in a sort of "limbo" that he desperately craved an escape from.

He gave her a murderous stare, letting her know full well of his intentions, before putting his Pokeball back on his belt. His Pikachu, sensing his friend's fury, growled viciously at Flannery, the two trainers refusing to break eye contact.

Flannery returned her Pokeballs to the inside of her coat, both sides seemingly agreeing to put off any sort of ferocious battle that could've taken place on that day. With a swift movement, the two trainer's eyes broke their powerful link, the trainer turning away from Flannery, beginning his march back down the front side of Mount Ember, eager to return to Viridian City, hundreds of miles to the North, for a re-briefing with his boss.

He won't be happy to hear of this...development.

Flannery was sweating, panting heavily from the sheer power the trainer exerted.

"...my god. He...he just overwhelmed me," she considered. "I thought High Noon was the highest point, but...he's on a completely different level."

She glanced at the trainer walking down the side of the mountain, staying put until she knew for certain that it would be safe to leave her spot.

"Why do we have an agent like him? No one should be that strong. He's going to have to be restrained soon, or else..." she shook her head, trying to forget about that ominous look he'd given her for the time being. "Despite how strong he is, I doubt that he would have done this without being ordered by High Noon. Someone gave him the O.K. to do this, and I'm going to find out who. This type of behavior is unacceptable for the New Age."

She hopped down the steps that jutted out from the back of the mountain. "Damn...I could really use Cynthia's help about now," she thought, pulling out a brand new Pokeball from her coat. The ball was unlike the rest she had on her person. This one was marked a fiery red on both hemispheres, the color much more rich than that of a standard Pokeball. A seal on the ball allowed the occupant to be controlled by the ex-gym leader. She could only imagine the trouble she'd be in if anyone found out; it's illegal enough to wish to battle one without authorization...but capturing it was way out of bounds…

"I'm going to need all the help I can get; I only hope you can help me like she would have..." Flannery spoke to the container, and the flaming phoenix now sealed within...

----------

"Come on Noah, catch it already!" Jerry's voice shouted, excited by the heat of the battle.

Noah looked on as Turtwig continued to struggle against Geodude's might, both of them clashing heads over and over in a series of direct tackle attacks, neither side giving in to the other.

Geodude backed up, trying to catch his breath for the next set of attacks. Noah, seeing how exhausted the Pokemon was, went on the offensive. With a single order, Turtwig charged the beast, the rock type unable to react fast enough to the speedy little turtle. With a loud crash, Geodude was sent face first into the hard floor of the mining caves, still moving, but weak.

Noah quickly grabbed a Pokeball from his black belt- his present from his parents- and hurled it toward the Pokemon. With a clang against the rough exterior of the rocklike skin, the Pokemon was subdued, its life force sucked into the capsule in a bright shining light. The ball popped around on the ground for several seconds, giving the Pokemon a chance to break free, but it was to no avail. The damage from Noah's Turtwig was just too much for wild creature to handle. The Pokeball clicked, and Geodude was his.

"Yes! I got a Geodude!" Noah shouted, a grin widening on his face. He had just captured a Starly the other day, and having another fresh face in his team only fed his confidence. Jerry quickly followed suit, congratulating him on his latest capture with a pat on the shoulder as Noah crouched to pick up the device that was now home to his new Pokemon.

"Let's head back to Oreburgh really quick. I want to heal my team before we head off for Floaroma," Noah said to Jerry, who gave no opposition to the idea. The two had been training all day when they had ran into the wild Geodude, and after a quick game of rock-paper-scissors, Noah went in for the capture. A quick rest was perfect for the time being.

Without another word, the two friends made the quick walk back to the city's Pokemon center, both of them with a shiny Coal Badge reflecting the light off of the lanterns that hung about the cave.

Geodude raised its arms in a panic, reaching for his trainer in vain, hoping he could somehow save him from certain death. Noah only looked down in horror as Geodude's face slowly vanished into the thick, gray pile of mud on the asphalt, that terrified expression staining the inner mind of the young Noah.

"Why...why didn't you help me? Why didn't you-"

Geodude's voice was silenced.

Noah's body shot straight up, a labored gasp escaped his mouth, his body desperately seeking fresh air. A white ball of fur was sent across the room, into a small clearing of the room, landing on the floor with a loud, painful thud.

"What the hell?!" Luna quickly retorted, almost instantly reacting from the sharp movement, rubbing the back of her head with her paws. "That hurt, you know."

Noah took a few moments to drink in the situation, immediately realizing that was he had just experienced was nothing more than a dream. He shuddered underneath his blanket, and lay back down, his head sinking into the pillows. He couldn't shake the image of his old friend...

He shook his head, completely blocking the image, but still relaying the other portions of the dream. When he came to that strange moment...with the man in black, he could do nothing else but scratch his head. He couldn't remember a single thing they had discussed the night before.

"Sorry Luna," he responded with a sigh, "-just had a really bad nightmare, that's all."

"Nightmare?" she almost immediately asked, before quickly linking with Noah through the artifact on his neck. "Oh, a bad dream? Of what?"

Noah quickly set up a defensive wall against Luna's presence within the Soul Plate. "Nothing important, just something random," he replied.

Luna yawned and stretched her legs and arms, her tail arching up as she pulled her body to its max before releasing a satisfied sigh, and went back to massaging the tiny bump on the back of her head, hidden by her rich, dusky white fur. Her stomach could be heard growling from the bed, through the pillow that weakly masked Noah's hearing. He felt it over their link, not only from her body, but from his as well. She was hungry, and nothing better could be said about himself.

Noah sighed, caressing his face with his palms before hopping quickly out of bed and to the washroom to rinse off his face and brush his teeth. He quickly unloaded his brush from the black bag he had taken with him, and started to brush while simultaneously carrying on a mental discussion with Luna.

'We'll go down to the lobby of the center, grab a quick bite to eat, and head through Route 202 and toward Jubilife. If you feel anything at all that may have something to do with the things that you lost, just let me know and we'll investigate,' Noah explained.

'Sounds easy enough.'

'Yeah. Hey, we can even train a little on the route to make you a little stronger,' he added on, 'and maybe even find some Pokemon that we can use to help us later on.'

'Okay,' Luna replied, a little less than excited about the concept, but willing to accept any help that was offered.

The pair was down the hall and back into the Sandgem Pokemon Center lobby within a half an hour- Luna having to wait for Noah to bathe and dress himself properly while she flipped the channels on the television wildly, unfamiliar with any shows that were broadcast in the morning. The lobby looked much larger than it had been the night before. The center was open space for any ER patients or Pokemon, while off to the side of the center of the room was the nurse's desk- the night nurse's shift must've ended, since the chair at the front of the desk was occupied by a different person. Off to the opposite side of the room were rows upon rows of booths for trainers to sit and wait at while their Pokemon were healed. A television hung from either side of the room, both on the same channel- the news station was already covering all of the major (but not so interesting) stories of the day.

Noah and Luna took a seat at a booth in the corner of the center, watching numerous other trainers slowly ebb into the chairs around them as they waited for the center to finish with their Pokemon. All in all, another seemingly mindless day on the job for the employees and trainers alike. Noah took a quick look around. Most of the trainers were young, possibly all rookies that had just started their trainer careers. He stretched his arms out, trying to ignore the incoming crowd.

Luna tapped her claw on the table. "Noah, I don't smell any food in here," she whispered so no one else would hear.

"Yeah, it looks like we woke up a little too late," Noah replied, looking at the clock that hung right above the nurse's desk. "It's already noon. We'll need to get some food elsewhere. Come on."

"...another breaking story is the whereabouts of High Noon member Cynthia-"

Noah quickly turned back toward the TV, as did all of the other trainers. The entire center, just a moment ago buzzing with small talk amongst the trainers, had been silenced the moment they heard the name. He and Luna stared at the reporter, who seemed disinterested in the story, likely just holding back his own personal thoughts toward the event.

"Cynthia, the High Noon representative of the Sinnoh region, has been missing for the last four days. The last time she was seen in public was during the rookie Trainer ceremony that took place earlier in the week in Jubilife City. If anyone has any information on her whereabouts, please contact us at..."

"That's not right," Noah said as the television displayed a picture of Cynthia, her flowing blonde hair covering an eye. He looked toward Luna. 'We saw her dead at my house the other day, didn't we?'

Luna scratched under her muzzle as the trainers began murmuring amongst themselves. 'I think so...the picture in the box looks an awful lot like the person we saw at your house,' she told him, shuddering. She quickly blocked out that feeling she had been inadvertently given from Noah when he saw that dripping corpse.

'The Twinleaf Police department even took her body away. Surely they would have been able to identify her.'

'Maybe...' Luna started, but slowly drifted off, not sure what to think.

'That's just...odd,' Noah finished, messaging Luna to start walking out the door.

"-for those who missed our broadcast two days ago, Cynthia was recently charged with treason against the World Government by intentionally leaking classified information to the Mezzanotte..."

Noah didn't stop walking, but hearing the reporter say that sent a chill down his spine. The Mezzanotte, he'd heard about that group before. Mezzanotte was a group of four outlaws who were once under the rule of the World Government, all occupied as a member of past Elite Four groups. He had no idea who was involved with Mezzanotte, or what their goals were, but what he did know was that High Noon considered them extremely dangerous to the region's safety, and labeled them criminals.

'But how and why would Cynthia even want to communicate with the Mezzanotte?' Noah asked himself. 'Treason against High Noon? Why would she risk something like that?'

The image of Cynthia's grinning corpse- at least, who he thought was Cynthia- made its way back into his head. He quickly shook it out as he and Luna made their way into Sandgem's City limits. The trip to Jubilife will take the entirety of a day, so he thought better to forget all of the business with the government for the time being.

"It's not something I should be concerning myself with too much anyways," he thought to himself.

Luna was treading several feet in front of Noah, trying to smell out the multiple aromas that teased her appetite. Noah laughed as she threw her head into the air, her eyes closed and walking in near circles, trying to home in on the most appealing scent.

'You got anything yet?' Noah asked.

'Yeah. I smell something good...really good,' she stammered, a little drool making its way down the side of her mouth. Noah caught up to her, looking for a place to eat that was nearby.

'There?'

Luna's eyes opened, finally identifying the location of the smell. '...Theeeeere...' she hummed, almost zombie-like. Noah had to stop her from charging the cafe several blocks ahead...

----------

The cafe near the beach was near empty, so it took no longer than ten minutes for Noah and Luna to grab their lunch, pay, eat, and head towards a series of Poke-marts.

'We just need to buy a little more supplies I forgot to get in Twinleaf, okay?'

Luna nodded. 'Like what?'

'Just some Poke-meal, and easy to make food for us to eat when we're in the forest.'

Noah took a glance at Luna's fur, still that dirty gray-white color, but with a fine, soft quality that he actually admired. All except for her tail, at least.

'Oh, and a brush for that thing you call a tail,' he joked.

Luna looked back at the appendage; trying to straighten out all of the damage she had done to it in the past few days by licking and flattening it out. Nothing she did to the tangled mess worked for very long.

----------

The exit to Route 202 was fenced in by the same type of gate that Noah and Luna entered through from Route 201. After a quick procedure with the security guard at the front of the gate, Noah and Luna were let into the forest.

The trees and foliage looked no thicker than the type of vegetation that decorated the trail of Route 201, but everything looked much smaller, since the path was squished in-between the lush greenery. The path wasn't open either. Trees towered above and over the two travelers, blocking most of the sun and blue sky from clear view. Every now and then packs of Kricketot could be heard snoring the day away. Luna's ears perked to every noise made within the area, from snapping twigs to rustling leaves whenever the wind gently blew. It was a nice day on the path.

"As long as we stay on the clear path, we should get to Jubilife in no time," Noah told his partner.

"Good."

Noah looked at Luna, who was focusing all of her attention on the surroundings, when he finally understood. "Are you sensing anything nearby?"

Luna shook her head. "Can't feel a damn thing. Noah, how deep does this forest get?"

"It goes a good distance if you stray from the main path." Noah checked his map on the Poketch. "There's a river a good mile down east, but that'll take us south of Oreburgh, and there's no direct entrance there, unless you want to go over the mountain range."

"Maybe...we might have to get off the main path."

Noah looked perplexed. "Any reason?"

"It's obvious, really. What if I can't read that far? Remember what we said? We're gonna have to look around every spot in this region for any sign. Following these man-made pathways won't do us a damn thing if everything's been buried off to the side somewhere."

Noah already knew it'd be impossible to argue, especially with someone as prone to hitting him as Luna seemed to be. "Alright then. I have a map on the Poketch, so we shouldn't be worried about getting lost. Besides," he added, "it would be interesting to see the real forest. I only went straight to Jubilife on my first run through here."

The majority of the day after the conversation was set to auto-pilot. The two of them walked into the shrubs and bushes, encountering numerous Pokemon, most choosing to attack Noah and Luna. Despite how tempered these wild Pokemon seemed to be, they were far weaker than Luna was, the cat-ferret clobbering most of them in one or two swift hits. Noah used each encounter as an opportunity to train Luna, coaching her through her attacks, and how to defend and dodge.

Another Starly plummeted to the ground unconscious as Luna, panting from her recent battle, stood over the body, victorious. Noah gave her a congratulatory pet on the head, prompting a brief purr from the creature. They had only gone half a mile into the forest at that point, and with the constant string of battles one after another, they decided to take a quick break.

Noah set out a blanket he had brought from home and placed it on the ground for both of them to sit down on. He opened up two bottles of water, and after teaching Luna how to hold and drink from it- a task that proved much more difficult than he had imagined- they chugged the liquid down.

"Not bad, Luna. You're growing stronger than any Pokemon I've seen in a long time."

Luna licked around her mouth for any water that dripped into her fur. "I definitely feel stronger than I did coming in here. It's strange."

"That's how training goes. Pokemon grow stronger much faster than humans do, it only takes several days for Pokemon to become amazingly powerful. Just keep it up, you're doing very well."

Luna blushed a little, flattered at the compliment.

"You've already learned to use Fury Cutter too."

Luna nodded. She remembered the feeling of learning the new technique. It was like getting a jolt of inspiration, as if she had finally managed to remember something that she had forgotten long ago. She quickly tore through the wild Pokemon with ease afterward.

"-and learning Swords Dance so early too? You'll be destroying opponents in no time."

The two finished their drinks, Noah putting the empty bottles back in his backpack to refill later. There was something strange about the forest.

"Don't you think it's a little eerie, Luna?"

"What?"

"Look around us. For the last two hours, we've been getting attacked by wild Pokemon almost constantly. But ever since we took a break...nothing."

"Maybe we just got lucky? Maybe they don't want to fight us anymore?"

"I don't know. Let's get our stuff together. I want to get to the river so I can fill up these empty bottles."

Luna watched as Noah put the materials away. They had almost nothing to talk about the entire day. Most of their conversation, if not all of it, was about Luna's battles. Noah must've picked up on this, because his question couldn't have been more appropriate to break the silence.

"So Luna, you've been staying up late to watch television?"

Luna replied almost immediately. "Oh yeah! It's so amusing to watch."

"That show you saw at my house, do you watch that same show all of the time?"

"It's my favorite, but I just hit the buttons until something catches my interest."

"I don't see how you can watch that stuff. I have a hard time getting interested in things like that."

"It's really colorful..."

Noah chuckled. "Just don't watch too much. TV's actually a bad thing if you watch too much of it."

"I don't see how."

Luna's mind went to the soap opera she'd been watching since she was taken to Noah's house. Seeing the people in the box act in such strange ways was...funny to her.

"Keep your guard up, Luna."

Luna lazily answered back. "There's nothing here, though."

"Exactly."

Luna's eyes opened up, remembering what she had seen the night at the Pokemon Center. "Oh, Noah!"

Noah flinched, almost waiting for the forest to attack them the moment they let their guard down. He hadn't told Luna, and he didn't think she was feeling it from him, but he was becoming paranoid. Something about the innards of the forest made him uneasy. The grass and trees were losing that lively green color seen on the route, and were transforming into a dull, brown color. Some of the grass around them dripped strange, purple tinted dew that caused Noah's steady breathing patterns to jump and hesitate.

Luna, oblivious to everything around her unlike Noah, kept talking. "On that show I was watching last night, the people in the box kept saying that word 'love'."

"Is that so?"

"What is love? They kept doing strange things and kept saying it was for 'love'. Is it some kind of food, or something?"

Noah was unsure of how to reply. He let out a long "uhhhhhhhhh", giving him time to process the question and think of a reply.

"I don't...I mean, it's like..."

"Yeah?" Luna pushed on, stopping Noah in his tracks by placing her front paws on his waist while standing in front of him.

"I...I don't think I can answer that." Noah finally spoke. Luna, disappointed in the response, continued her onslaught.

"Are you sure you don't know?"

"N-no, I don't."

"How come?"

"I'd really rather not talk about this. Maybe later?" Noah tried getting her to stop.

"But I-"

"Is hatt hwo I tinhk it si?"

Noah and Luna, flustered, looked around them, trying to find the source of the sharp hiss they had just heard. Luna was more active in the search, patrolling the area around the two.

"That voice...that voice..." Noah whispered to himself. "It's the same one..." He remembered last night, the thing that banged along the window, he remembered that man with blue hair. "God...oh god..."

Noah had no time to fall apart there. He felt a surge of adrenaline, not from himself, but from the link he shared with Luna. Before he could take in the situation, Luna darted off madly into the trees. Noah, not letting a moment pass him by, quickly gave chase, feeling a strange sense of urgency in the voice through the link.

His feet carried him over the dirt and tall grass, his arms and head ramming into branches of towering trees, only trying to keep up with the furry white thing charging straight ahead, toward what appeared to be a clearing. No Pokemon came out to intercept him, nothing but the sound of his feet slamming against the ground and his panting kept him company as he fell more and more behind Luna.

The clearing opened up almost immediately, Luna had finally come to a screeching halt. A few seconds later, Noah ripped through the threshold, right behind Luna, staring back, unknowingly at the moment, at the source of the sound.

The opening stretched for quite a ways down Noah's left and right, a river visible behind the strange creature, the water rushing southbound, toward the open sea. Boulders and rocks scattered in and around the river, proving disastrous for any unfortunate creature should they plummet into the vicious roaring rapids.

Noah felt something within his and Luna's connection. It was faint, but it felt like some magnetic force, pulling them toward the creature. Noah's eyes had yet to get used to the sunlight above, trying desperately to identify the creature.

"Luna, what are you doing?" Noah asked, feeling anxiety from their bond.

"This thing...I feel something from it," she replied in a violent tone. Noah could hear her growling at the creature, ready to strike at any moment. Her fur stood on end as the creature finally came into sight.

It was a long, purple Pokemon. A hood portraying a facial pattern rested below its head, the body of the snake coiled near a rock by the river. Its mouth was dripping blood, possibly from a fresh kill recently.

"Arbok?"

The snake gave what seemed to be a sadistic grin. "Arbok? Yeah...I guess you can call me that."

Noah jumped in place. "Wait. Now...I can understand what you're saying?"

"And you couldn't before, stupid boy?"

"No...I understood before...but now I can understand you as you say it. But why?"

The snake chuckled to itself. "I can't believe it. This is exactly why you're so far behind. Pathetic. You realize how long I've been waiting? I've had to kill to keep myself entertained for so long..."

"Kill?"

"Must I spell it out for you, boy?" Arbok hissed as his body slowly moved to the side, almost hypnotically. There was a lump of flesh coiled by the snake's tail. Noah tried to see what it was from the distance. He didn't have to look for much longer when he saw a human hand coming from a pocket of the snake's coiled body, gripping hard at the body.

"They're so funny when they try to escape."

Noah's skin grew pale, trying to ignore the rest of the young trainer's body as the Arbok released it. Several other bodies coated the ground behind the Arbok, but in front of the river. Noah couldn't figure out what they were, but it was clear to him that he and Luna were in danger.

"Luna," Noah said, "we need to get out of here."

"NO," Luna boldly spoke, her playful tone somehow now enraged. "I need to fight him...I need to..."

"Why? I don't understand."

"My goodness, you're hopeless," the Arbok turned around, looking down at the river. "Orders are orders though."

The Arbok turned back to Noah and Luna, bearing his fangs and inching closer to the pair. "It's time to die, Noah..."

"You...know my name?"

He wouldn't get an answer. Luna tore across the ground, slamming head on into the unsuspecting Arbok, fangs and claws at the ready. Before Noah could react to Luna's actions, the mongoose had the snake pinned to the ground, snarling with an intimidating glare on her face, sizing up her foe with her free claw.

The Arbok hissed, not a plea or a whimper under the might of the beast- more of a chuckle at her rash action and very weak first offensive attack.

"And this is how you expect to win?"

With a fluid motion, the Arbok's tail coiled around the root of Luna's own tail, and with strength that shook Noah in his place, sent Luna several feet away with a whip-like toss. Her body landed with a thud, but no serious damage was given.

"Luna! Wait!"

"I have to fight him!"

Luna charged straight back into the waiting cobra, bringing her claws back in a vain attempt to strike. Arbok swiftly shuffled aside, easily dodging Luna's pathetic, thick minded approach. Luna stumbled forward when her claws swung down onto nothing more but air, Arbok's counter unseen from her eye.

She felt a sharp pain coming from her left arm. Noah darted toward the two warriors as Arbok's fangs slowly tore through the delicate upper layers of her flesh, Luna's eyes shut from the agony she was thrown into. The burn of the Arbok's natural poisons could be felt in her veins as her blood began to pump the substance throughout her body. It wouldn't affect her, physically, and would overall do no real harm, but the sensation of the creature's poison flowing through her body made her freeze up in the moment.

The fangs stopped digging, the pain subsiding for the moment from the adrenaline. Luna turned to see her partner, Noah, with a knife running straight through the center of the creature's neck from behind. Arbok stood, incapacitated, as did Noah, unsure of what he had just done. His face was losing its color faster and faster, and he had no idea of how much more he could take.

Arbok suddenly jerked and thrashed about, tossing Noah and Luna off to the side, the knife still stuck deep in the creature. Luna and Noah regained their composure as the snake flopped to the ground, twitching as a result of the wound.

Noah felt it, in their bond: the need to attack again. He grabbed Luna by the undamaged shoulder to keep her from recklessly charging back into the fight, despite the opponent’s position.

"...that was...unexpected."

"...what?" Noah gasped.

Arbok's body vigorously trembled for a moment. What appeared at first glance to be blood, sluggishly seeped out from the wound in a small dose. As Noah looked on, he noticed the crucial difference between what he saw, and what he'd naturally see as blood: the liquid was a cluster of purple and black, with a quality of density and thickness to it that blood could not share. The oozing substance dribbled along down the wound of the snake, surrounding the knife as it flowed.

The knife twitched in place, gently at first, but with each twitter, the force behind the motion grew.

Noah and Luna could only look on in shock as the knife nearly blasted out of the wound at an incredibly velocity. The item shot passed Noah and Luna a fair distance before being nailed onto a tree several feet away. The duo turned back toward the supposed dead Arbok.

It was alive and well, standing before them as it had been before the fight started, with a sort of smirk on its face. The wound had completely vanished.

"That was quite the surprise, Noah. However, it'll take more than that to get rid of me..."

Luna was now more hesitant to attack, despite the force that was drawing her in, tempting her to unleash her fury.

"Noah," Luna asked, resisting the temptation, "what do we do now?"

Noah racked his brain for an answer he desperately wanted, but couldn't find. Noah's breathing pattern turned into a series of short spurts; he was losing his edge.

The enemy, noticing the drop in Noah's guard, decided to aim for the trainer. The cobra bent backward, almost in a complete circle-like shape, building up his attack, then opened his jaws wide open. A grimy, purple wad of an acid-like liquid came swirling from the opening in the snake, heading solely for the boy.

"Noah, you idiot, move!!" Luna shouted at her trainer. With not a second to spare, she jumped toward Noah, her arms quickly wrapping around him, covering most of his front as the acid approached. Their bodies shifted to the right from the force exerted by Luna's strength, but the acid's distance was too wide.

Luna howled as several splashes of the acid landed on her face- in her eyes, mostly- and near her wound. This new stinging sensation was almost too much to bear for the rookie Pokemon, the acid eating away at her tender, soft spots. Her attention was now completely on the pain and her inability to see through the acid.

Noah could feel the pain through the bond, almost as if he'd been hit dead on like she had. He could feel his brain screaming, going absolutely berserk over the feel of the imaginary acid, his body was near paralyzed and immobile.

"L-Luna..."

"Bye..."

The Arbok wasted no time. He ferociously tore towards Luna without worry or fear. Luna felt his presence drawing near, and made a puny effort to retaliate, swinging her right arm madly into the space in front of her. Arbok's slender body quickly out maneuvered her attack, and with all of the force he had built up from the dash, collided straight into her belly with all of his built up force. A loud thud sounded off of the mongoose's body and echoed into the air around them. Luna was sent sailing into a nearby tree, ramming up against the bark. Saliva shot from Luna's mouth, and with another moment's pass, she fell unconscious onto the forest floor, leaves slowly fluttered down onto her body from the branches above.

The pain passing through their link instantly shut down, Noah's senses finally starting to kick back into high gear. His head was spinning, and he was unable to stand just yet. He looked back at the snake, who had begun slithering toward Luna's defeated form.

Arbok looked back at Noah, then to Luna. He gave another hideous smile, fangs exposed.

"You want her? Go get her."

Arbok's tail, in a manner similar to earlier, wrapped around Luna's midsection, and with a snap, flung Luna's body into the rapids with a hollow splash.

Something haunting, from the first night he'd met Luna, came to the front of his thoughts:

"Our souls are bonded, Noah. I don't know exactly how it'll work, since this is the first time I've ever experienced it as well, but from what I can already tell, the link we share is vital to the both of us."

Noah's heart stopped. "If she dies..."

"The clock's ticking..."

Noah didn't hesitate; he quickly threw his entire mass straight into the rapids, after her limp and beaten body.

He could feel the power of the river behind him, throwing him into numerous rocks and sharp edges, cutting his body at every turn the body of water took. He struggled to keep up with Luna, her head constantly bobbing above and below the water's surface.

'No...NO! I won't let this happen again! Not again!' Noah's thoughts yelled back at him, giving him the power necessary to keep his own body afloat.

The power of the river would prove to be too much. His body slowly began to weaken from keeping himself stable- or what he thought was stable- his legs slowly giving out under the pressure of the water. Luna was slowly fading farther and farther down the river. She didn't have much time left.

"She'll drown," Noah said, trying with all of his willpower to keep afloat.

Luna passed a border, invisible to all but Noah and Luna. Noah felt something burning from the plate on his chest. Noah didn't even get the chance to blink before he felt something crawl around and about his body. He couldn't see it, but he felt a strange entity clutching the bracelet, and at his being. An appendage wrapped around his chest, limbs, and neck, and squeezed. He didn't physically feel anything against his chest, nor any part of his body, but every single drop of energy he might have had from that moment vanished with the clutch of the entity, the strange force draining what vigor he had summoned from his own willpower.

"...No..."

Noah slowly started losing control of his senses. The world around him fell silent and vanished into darkness.

A strange new sense of touch...a tight grip, pulling him somewhere. He felt a rough terrain rubbing harshly against his body...

----------

INTERMISSION

----------

He felt strange warmth sneaking up his legs, his body covered by a rag trying desperately to keep him warm. His neck and arms itched as if he'd been overexposed to the foliage on the ground. Noah's body twitched, jolting his eyes wide open. He sat up, the initial shock of practically dancing with death earlier in the day still unprocessed. His mind sluggishly woke his body up as he examined where he was. It was incredibly dark, with walls inclosing the entire area. Another piece of large cloth made for a makeshift window of sorts, the flaps shivering from the gentle breeze coming from what he hoped was the exit. A small campfire was aglow several meters away, the source of that welcoming, wound-healing heat. The smoke easily made its way toward the flap, being sucked out into the nighttime sky.

His head was pounding and his body continued to ache. Bandages covered up his arms and legs, along with a small portion of his chest. Dry blood stained the strange-looking bandages: most of them were a strange brown color, and felt like a second layer of thick skin. Noah grazed a bandage with one of his fingers, shuttering when he felt the soft layer of the material. His memories of earlier in the day finally came back to him in full.

"Luna."

He heard someone talking outside of the opening. The chatter seemed distant, but still within the boundary of the small cave. Noah could feel Luna's connection stirring about in the Soul Plate.

"Thank god she's safe," he sighed, honestly thinking more of his own safety at the moment.

The banter from beyond the cloth had come to a halt. Noah waited for a moment to see if the chat would continue, trying to identify a mysterious voice he heard beyond that of Luna's recognizable character. A precious melody, instead, came flowing into the cave. One of the two voices from outside started to hum a sweet melody, every note of the beloved voice stroking Noah's ears, coaxing him to approach. Unable to resist the temptation, Noah stood up- slightly crouched from the lack of height within the cave, stretching out his body as he did so. With an unheard yawn, Noah made his way beyond the cloth, pulling it to the sides to allow him an exit.

The outside of the cave was small and secluded. The vegetation was blocking any normal person from even noticing the cave. He turned back to look at the cloth. On the opposite end, the cloth was painted a dark black color, making it appear almost completely camouflaged with the darkness a cave would naturally show after sunset. Turning back toward the outside of the cave, Noah identified Luna almost immediately, laying stretched out and relaxed against several rocks near the den. A similar bandage to Noah’s was wrapped around her shoulder, where the Arbok creature had sunk its fangs hours ago.

To Luna and Noah's left was the source of that beautiful tune. A girl, more or less his age, sat there, a bowl in one hand, a stone in another. Her olive skin rugged from past struggles, her hair, unevenly cut short, was jet black like his own, her green eyes hiding under the veil of the dark skies. Her body seemed built, much like a hiker or an athlete, and she wore worn out tennis shoes with a large brown jacket-like cloak hiding away her outfit underneath: a white long-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of worn blue jean shorts. A small bag rested at her feet, looking to be made of the same material as the cloak she wore.

A hushed grinding could be heard coming from the stone and the bowl in her hands, nearly drowned out by the song coming from her near flawless voice. Noah shuffled closer to the two, knocking several pebbles around on the ground. The girl's song came to a halt, and Luna quickly turned around, tail wagging when she saw Noah standing there, stretching again after being able to stand up straight. The girl put the bowl and stone atop the bag.

"Took you long enough, sleepy-head," Luna teased him.

Noah was unsure of whether or not he should be glad that she was safe, or to be angry at her behavior during the fight that nearly cost her her own life- and quite possibly his. He decided that he would talk to her about it later on, and not ruin the moment.

Noah flinched a little. "I'm just glad you’re safe and back to normal."

"Yep," Luna said, patting her wound, "dumb thing doesn't even hurt because of what Lyn did."

"Lyn?" Noah questioned. He turned toward the girl that had just stood up. "So that's your name?"

Lyn turned around, a smile on her face. "My real name's Lynus, but Lyn's just fine."

Noah could sense something behind the smile, not from the Soul Plate, or from Luna's instincts over the bond, but from his own clairvoyance. He could see something beyond that smile that he almost instantly related to.

He would know, he did it himself plenty of times on his short journey with Jerry years ago.

"I guess you were the one who saved us then, right? Thank you," Noah replied.

Lyn shrugged. "It wasn't really a big deal. I had caught a glimpse of your friend here floating down the river. Getting her out wasn't too bad since the river in that area I was in was weaker than upstream, but I saw you coming right along as I dragged her out of the water."

"So...how'd you get me too?"

"I didn't. Skai did."

"Skai?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, here, let me show you."

Lyn quickly went back to her bag, fumbling around for something important to her. She quickly stood back up with a familiar object in her hand. A Pokeball, slightly aged, rested in her hands. She pushed the button on the front down, the capsule opened inside of her cupped hands. A bright light illuminated the area for a moment, and then vanished, leaving a new creature in the group's presence.

The Pokemon was a dark shade of rich green, the insect's wings flapped furiously for an eye blink while it examined the new creatures standing before it. Attached naturally to its two powerful arms were a pair of deadly, keen-edged scythes that gave off a glare, even in the darkness.

"Skai is my guardian Scyther," Lyn explained, "he was given to me by my parents in order to protect me. He's the one who pulled you out of the water."

"Is that so? Well, thank you very much for saving our lives. I don't think there's any way we can compensate for this."

Lyn smirked at the statement, and looked back at her Scyther. "Skai, this is Noah and Luna, they're friends, okay?"

Scyther nodded quietly, understanding her every word.

"You'll have to excuse him. He's not too talkative, and he takes his duty very seriously."

"That's perfectly fine, but," Noah said, "how did you know our names?"

"Luna told me."

Noah looked at Luna, who could only give him a goofy looking smile in return. He rubbed his hand into his face.

"I thought we agreed to not having you talk to other humans."

Luna returned to the rocks, resting her face toward the sky, playing with her tail to pass the time by. "She asked me a question, and I answered. You were unconscious anyways, and who knew how long it would be before you woke up." She bopped her tail around with her paws, dropping the conversation. "Besides, she's just one person, and she already promised not to tell."

Lyn broke the brief silence. "The medicine I gave the two of you should have you guys fixed by tomorrow morning, although you, Luna, will have to be careful with that shoulder. It'll be a little tender for another day or so after the bandages are removed tomorrow."

Luna continued to play games with her tail, bringing it up her body and into her mouth. "'Dash fine wish' me," she muffled through her fur.

Lyn went back to her post, Skai leaning against the cave's outer wall right beside her, scythes resting at his sides. Lynus picked up her bowl and stone, and continued to grind.

Noah sat down to the side of Luna, who was now wrestling with herself. "Luna, maybe you should stop that. It's probably the reason your tail always looks so untamed." Luna ignored him.

Lyn went back to humming as she continued to grind the substance down in the bowl. Noah listened for awhile, watching her do her work, trying to figure out exactly what was in the bowl. Lyn looked up, noticing Noah's interest in what she was doing, still humming, and gave him a gentle smile.

"You wanna know what I'm doing?" Lyn asked, almost trying to get Noah to reply.

"Sure."

Lyn reached inside her cloak, opening it down the center. A multitude of pockets were sewed into the inner layer of the cloak on both sides, some bulged with herbs, some completely empty. Noah curiously stared at her as she grabbed a small bottle from one of the pockets. She removed the piece of cloth- again similar to all the others- from the top of the container, and gently poured a peculiar red juice into the mixture. She quickly returned the bottle to the pocket and closed her cloak, continuing to mash the substance until it began to turn into a kind of paste.

"I'm making medicine."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's my 'thing'."

"You seem to be very good at it. You know exactly what you're doing?"

"Of course I do."

"So...what kind of medicine is it?"

"This paste is for Luna's wound on her arm. It's pretty deep, so it'll take a day or two more to fully heal. This'll keep it from getting infected."

"How did you learn how to do that?"

"I came from a long line of herbalists back in Fuchsia City. I was trained by my parents to cure the sicknesses of Pokemon that the customers brought in after battles with the local gym." Lyn chuckled to herself. "It was always the same story. They'd get destroyed by Koga, and all of their teams were poisoned. The Pokemon Center would always run out of antidote and couldn’t restock fast enough to meet demands, so it was up to my family to supply natural medicines to cure the leftovers."

Lyn dipped a finger into the paste, and tasted it. Her face twisted for a quick moment before returning to normal. She quickly washed her mouth with a bit of water she quickly pulled from the inside of her cloak.

"Just...right," she choked through her teeth.

Noah gave a light chuckle at her reaction to the bitter taste. "Wait...you said you're from Fuchsia? That's all the way in the Kanto region. What are you doing out here?"

Lyn quickly bottled the new paste. After a quick cleaning, her bowl and stone were placed back in her bag. "You really want to know why I'm out here?" she asked, her voice suddenly laden with a strange misery.

"If that's okay, then yes."

Lyn thought it over for a minute. "Fine. I suggest that we go back into the cave, it's getting too dark, and we need rest."

Noah quickly grabbed Luna's attention by poking her side, pointing back to the cave. Luna, Skai, Lyn, and Noah all retreated into the caves just as the wind slowly began to pick up from the outside.

Scyther, being shorter than Noah, was able to lean up against a wall standing while the ladder three sat around the small campfire. Lyn began her story from the very beginning; Skai tuned it out, having heard it so many times before...each time filling him with more anger than the last…

----------

Five Years Ago

A young girl in the backseat of the compact car stretched her arms toward the sky and yawned, rudely awakened by the constant bumps and lack of smooth terrain to drive on. Her father and mother were up front, quietly murmuring to each other, trying not to wake the girl up. The fourteen year old Lynus made her presence known with another long, drawn out yawn. Sleep was still a possibility, as her body was exhausted from the trip overseas, and as much as she wanted to go back into her little dreamland, she couldn't help but take a good look at the surrounding environment. They had been traveling in the season of fall, and most of the leaves were already shedding onto the grassy floors below.

"Mom, how much longer?"

Lyn's mother took a quiet glance at the teenager. "Relax Lyn, we'll be in Jubilife in no time. This is the home stretch."

Lyn relaxed a little more, digging her body into the comfort of her seat, the seatbelt cradling her growing mass. "That's good," she sighed. "Can you wake me up when we get there? I'm gonna sleep for a little longer."

"Sure."

Lyn grabbed her brown cloak, given to her by her mother. The cloak was passed down from her grandmother, and her mother before, for as long as Lyn could remember. Being fond of herbalism herself, Lyn was given the cloak when she turned ten, the same time she had decided to go into the same type of work as her mother. She still remembered grabbing hold of her mother on that day, telling her how much she loved her as she gripped her mother's sides with all her might.

Lynus could still feel her mother stroking her flowing black hair that reached her waist on that day, as she fell asleep with the cloak draped over her like a blanket. Her bag of equipment rested at her feet: a small bowl, a spoon-shaped tool for mixing and grinding, and several berries and herbs for practice. The warmth that the cloak gave was unique only to her, and soothed her body back to sleep within no time at all.

What felt like minutes, in Lyn's dream state, passed by, the pleasant journey finally coming to an end. Thoughts about Jubilife's eccentric city-life and people scared Lyn, but excited her at the same time. Who would she meet, what exciting things can the booming city that had it all provide that the old-styled city of Fuchsia failed to deliver upon? She gleefully smiled in her sleep.

A strange, numb feeling above her right eye sent her back into reality. Her eyes were still closed, but she could feel herself. Her body was different, not in feeling, but in placement. She was no longer sitting, not even slouching off to the side like she'd usually do on long car trips. She was on her side, on a tough, rocky surface, and could feel the grass beneath grazing her through the sleeves of her long sleeved t-shirt. Her eyes flashed open and she pushed herself up to a sitting position. Her eyes strained to focus on a strange light several feet away, and her head pounded. She put her index and middle fingers on each side of her head and massaged her temples.

Sharp pain came pouring into her mind from her right temple after coming into contact with it. She fidgeted, pulling her arm away. A warm, red liquid coated her fingers. Her eyes, now focused on her fingers, identified it as blood, staining her fingers and running slowly down into her palm in one or two drops. She lightly put her fingers up to her right temple again, and felt a warm spot of blood on her head. Another sharp pain came from the spot.

Lyn gasped as the pain receded for the moment, her head still hurting. She looked back to the light. It was an uncontained fire, wrapping itself elegantly about a small car's front side, which was crushed against the trunk of a thick tree off to the opposite side of the route. Lynus quickly got to her feet, almost falling off balance from the pain that resurfaced again from her head. She felt the cloak that was wrapped around her almost fall off before grabbing onto it. All of the pre-made medicine was shattered, or scattered on the grass, sucked into the soil, while most of her herbs were missing, most likely blown away or hidden among the grass and weeds.

"Lynus, are you alright?" she heard the voice of her father call out to her from across the road. Her father was sitting up against a tree. Blood ran from his nose and mouth, but otherwise he seemed okay. He still seemed delirious.

"Dad, what's going on?"

"I-I don't know," he said over the fire. "One moment we were driving down the road, then the next thing I know..."

"Where's mom?"

Her father, just like Lyn before him, got to his feet almost immediately, the realization pouring over him. "I can't see her from here! Look for her on that side!"

Lyn stumbled around, looking for her mother amidst the fire and the broken glass scattered on the road. She heard her father reaching for his Pokeballs within the coat. Grabbing one, he released a large, green mantis-like creature to help look for the missing mother.

It didn't take long for the group to stumble upon Lyn's mother. She was laying face up, awake, and breathing, but her breath was labored and stunted, as if she was suffering from asthma.

Lyn and her father ran to the woman, Scyther following close behind them, looking around for anything unusual. Lyn checked her body for any fatal wounds. Nothing short of a few scrapes and bruises scattered about her body, except for one strange cut at the side of her neck. Two small holes penetrating beneath her skin, a peculiar discolored liquid spilling out.

"Dad, look at this!" Lyn called out.

"What- it looks like she's been bitten by something."

"So, she's poisoned?"

"Looks like it," her father said nervously, "Lyn! You still have that medicine, right?"

"Yeah but, it's in the car," she replied, looking back at the fire that had now spread to the front two seats.

"Stay here with your mother. Skai, come with me."

Scyther followed the man back to the car to retrieve the medicine that was held inside Lyn's bag. It wasn't too difficult for the two of them to grab the bag from the backseat and return to Lyn's side.

"You can make some sort of cure, right?"

Lyn knew he would ask, as her father had no knowledge of the practices of herbal medicine that came from her mother's side of the family. Nervous, she looked back at her mother, eyes shut, wheezing out each breath.

"I-I think so, but I'll need time to make some. Everything I have in my cloak is ruined."

As if on cue, a sound permeated the air around them. A shrill, high pitched roar echoed off of the trees, terrifying the fragile group. Lyn's eyes widened and her head hammered down harder, the pain almost impossible to ignore. The bleeding from her temple had come to a stop, but the blood had yet to dry.

Her father looked back at the direction from which the sound came. "I...I remember now! Something came from the woods...something long but big. It broke through the window on your mother's side. It tried attacking me too, so I swerved off the road trying to get it away, and..."

Another cry came from the same direction, drawing near.

"We have to find a safe place first. I don't know what it is, but it doesn't look like it wants to leave us alone. C'mon, Lyn!"

Lyn's father grabbed her by the arm and helped her up, then proceeded to lift the light weighted woman in his arms. "Skai, keep an eye out for that thing. We could lose it in the forest."

"What about Jubilife?" Lyn asked.

Her father started into the trees, Lyn and Scyther following only a foot or two behind.

"It's too far to make it there on foot, and the only way in is through the main route. It'll be too easy to spot us out there."

A third shriek broke the sound of the family running, now farther away from them, as they escaped toward the sounds of a rushing river.

The sun was draped behind the mid-afternoon clouds on the next day. Lyn's father had supplied breakfast that morning in the form of wild berries, courtesy of the Pokemon they had on hand. Lynus had been applying the medicine she had created the night before on her mother's cuts all night and into the morning before she ran out.

"How's your mother doing?"

Lyn looked back at her father with a confident smile. "She'll be fine, the poison seems to have become tame since I treated it. She'll be back to normal by tomorrow morning."

"Thank god. Thank you so much Lyn. You're wonderful"

He gave his daughter an affectionate hug and a kiss on the head before letting go. He released a single Pokeball again, the green mantis exposing itself once more to the world with a fierce cry.

"Skai, listen importantly," the man started, "I'm going to go look for help with the other Pokemon. It's your job until I come back, to protect Lyn and her mother, no matter what the cost, understand?"

The mantis gave a light nod. Lyn was handed Skai's Pokeball before her father made a quick walk into the woods and out of sight.

Time passes...first seconds. Minutes tick by...minutes become hours, signified by the yellow orb in the sky, making its descent over the trees above.

Darkness came, accompanying the night as usually. Critter Pokemon came crawling out of their caves and dens, looking for food in the black environment.

Lyn didn't say anything, she couldn't. Skai was silently patrolling the area around her, watching the other insects and animals keenly in the woods while her mother was still resting up from the strange "attack" they had been through. The small noises that went bump in the night startled Lyn, fear for her fathers whereabouts rising higher and higher, onto a new level.

She couldn't take this kind of eerie feeling surrounding her body. She crawled to her mother, body shivering with fright, getting closer to that warmth, that false safety she truly believed in. Like a child, she turned her head toward her mother's body and she lay beside her, burying herself into her mother's shoulder, shutting her eyes tight in a weak attempt at ignoring the sounds. Skai constantly made himself known by flapping his wings and speaking out softly here and there, if only to comfort the young teenager for a few seconds.

The last thing she recalled before falling asleep for the night, another high pitched hissing sound. And it was growing closer.

The next day, the mother wakes up to a shivering child in her arms. She quickly remembers the accident, and pokes at Lynus until her eyes open. After a quick recall about what had happened up until that point, the two were up and searching for the father with Skai.

They had no encounters with violent or protective Pokemon; something that disturbed the group. Without the noise of the fauna and flora, they felt truly alone in the wilderness, with whatever might be out there. The search stretched for the entirety of the day, and still, no sign of the father. Lyn and her mother considered calling out for him, but that would also attract trouble, something that they couldn't afford at the moment with that beast lurking around and about.

"Dad...where are you?" Lyn choked, small tears forming.

Her mom reassured her that they'd find him soon enough. "C'mon, let’s head back to the river, we'll look again."

Her voice, warm and welcoming as it was, hid her own fears and panic, for her child and husband. Lyn wouldn't notice, but her mother was shaking almost as much as she was while they made their way back to the river. This night was clear, a full moon illuminating the ground. The sounds of the mighty river could be heard several feet away.

They crossed through into an opening toward the river.

Lyn could see it right away, and the smell...that god awful smell.

Flies were already gathering around the corpse of Lyn's father, his body flat against the ground, his head to the side, his cold and frozen expression of fear staring straight at Lyn, piercing the darkness around her. Lyn's mother ran toward her fallen other, leaving Lyn under the care of Skai. Lyn's eyes locked with the man's, unable to break free, captured by his horrid expression. Through the darkness...

...it almost looked like he was smiling. Almost.

"...poison," her mother cried, identifying a similar bite mark on her husband that was recently inflicted upon herself. She found several dozen more scattered about his body.

A noise from the other side of the river caught the attention of the two, even over the thrashing of the night river. The shadow of a large snake loomed overhead.

"You...bastard....look what you've done!" the woman shouted at the creature, whose eyes stared right passed the woman and straight at Lyn. With a hiss, the long winded snake made its way through the river.

A flash of light immediately followed the creature's move. A Charmander, still young and albeit, not trained well, stood before the creature wading through the river, ready for battle. The mother tossed another Pokeball at Lyn, the horrified girl catching it at the last moment.

"Lynus...listen very carefully," the mother started as the fire lizard darted toward the foe, its tail burning brightly. "Take that Pokemon, and Skai, and run...run as far away from here...please."

Lyn hesitated. She wouldn't leave her mothers side. The loss of her father...she couldn't lose her mother too...

"Mom...no..."

The snake pounced on the small reptile, the two grappling for superiority, both Pokemon growling to intimidate the other. The mother looked back at the young girl.

"LYNUS, NOW! GET OUT OF HERE!!"

Lyn did as she was told, and tore off running back into the woods, scrambling about whenever her cloak snagged onto a branch of some tall grass. Skai was right on her tail, and she gripped the Pokeball in her hand as hard as possible, her other hand holding her bag.

She heard the loud hissing from the beast, but from so close, it almost sounded like...words...

"I knhti I lwil veah nuf hiwt uoy. lIl aemk resu ouy do ton evale hsit reosft. How sode htta suond?"

Lyn ran even faster, a stream of tears flowing down from either side of her face.

Lyn ran into a dead end, a large rock formation in front of her that stretched for some time on either side, most likely due to the mountain formations from the east. Several old Pokemon dens, abandoned, were scattered about the wall. She returned Skai into his Pokeball before squeezing into one of the tunnels, in a fetal position, and hid for the rest of the night. Another sinister hiss came from the world outside.

"Don't rryow, I tonw likl oyu ety. Hginst wouldn't eb nuf fi ouy edid. Besides, I eavh ot iwat for mih..."

She heard a horrible sound, one worse than any ferocious creature could make.

A mother's shrill, blood-soaked cry sounded off like an alarm into the sky, reaching Lyn's hiding place. She forced herself quiet, shutting her mouth with her two hands, the tears not stopping, wetting most of the surface she lay on.

Lynus cried until the darkness of the cave put her to sleep.

----------

Present

The fire died down, but still held onto that flare that lit up the room enough to see the faces of Noah and Luna after Lyn told her story. Luna gazed on at Lyn, who know had her knees wrapped by her arms near the fire. Noah stared deeply into Lyn's rich, green eyes.

He could see it, the part of her that he recognized almost immediately; the part that he saw reflected through the mirrors back at home practically everyday for three years. The part of her, this sadness, that reminded him of a young boy who still couldn't let go of his past. He pitied her for having to go through what seemed to be the same experience of loss, yet felt a connection to her. Noah couldn't stand it, his hands clenched silently onto his pants- he couldn't allow anyone else to feel that way...

"Ever since that day, that Arbok- no...that thing- keeps me trapped in the forest. He doesn't even want to try to kill me, or else he'd have done it by now. He just wants to make sure I never leave this place, and he messes with me, like I'm his little play-thing. It's so..."

Lyn began to sob quietly again. Noah continued to look on as she talked, Skai turning his head away.

"I just hate this...helplessness."

Noah finally decided to speak out. "Trainers come by this route every day, how come you haven't asked anyone to help?"

"Quit being so stupid." Lyn retorted. "That monster kills anything I come into contact with that breathes. Pokemon, Human, everything. He just wants me to stay here, caged like a damn rat. He's even almost killed Skai on a few occasions." She looked toward her guardian, who was still facing the other direction. "If I lost him, I wouldn't know what I'd do..."

"Could I ask you something else then?"

"What?"

"Why would you go this far, to save us, and to tell us your back story and all?"

"That's easy." Lyn said, burying her head into her knees. "He'll find out that you're here with me. Once he does, he'll kill you the first chance he gets. If you're like everyone else, you'll be killed, so it doesn't matter whether I've vomited my life to you or not.

Noah flinched at how morbid her comment was, but could understand exactly what direction she was coming from.

"So," he responded, "you want to get out of here, but you need to get rid of him first, right?"

Lyn sniffed to clear her nose. "Mmhmm."

"...and Luna and I have no choice in the matter. If he's gonna try to kill us, we're gonna have to fight back regardless."

"Right."

A quiet moment. Noah had decided what to do the moment her story had ended.

"We'll help you."

Lyn looked up at him. "What?"

"How strong is your Scyther?"

Lyn looked back at Skai, who continued to look away, as if he was ignoring the conversation. "He's pretty powerful. He's almost able to go toe-to-toe with that creature. I have another Pokemon, but it's not really...built for fighting. It'd be killed in seconds."

"What is it?"

Lyn dug into her bag, pulling out another Pokeball. Pushing the button on top, she released the content next to her. A small, red rock with spots was now on her lap. After several moments, yellow tentacles exposed themselves to Noah and Luna from holes within the rock, along with a long neck with two beady eyes attached to a small head.

"A Shuckle?" Noah said.

"Yeah. His name is Soki, and was passed down from my mother, just like my cloak. He isn't used for battles, though."

"So, what does he do?"

"Shuckle can actually use their bodies to ferment berries and create high quality berry juices. I use the berry juice in my mixtures, so I guess you can say that Soki is my helper when it comes to my herbal medicine making."

Noah nodded, and assessed the situation with the monster. "If we use Scyther and Luna, there's a small chance that we'd be able to beat that thing..."

"You think so?"

"You said Scyther almost goes even with that thing. Luna hasn't had much battle experience outside of yesterday, but she's pretty strong. I'm sure we can beat it."

"You really believe we can beat that strange creature?"

"Luna and I fought it earlier today in the afternoon," Noah turned to Luna, the mongoose lowering her head and scratching behind her ear. "Luna was a little too anxious, so we were beaten and tossed into the river."

"That explains why Luna had that poison in her body." Lynus replied.

"Yeah. I'm sure if we actually fought it rather than recklessly thrashing about, we could do some damage."

"So if Skai and Luna both teamed up, you think we could take him down?"

Noah looked at her, right back into her green eyes with his brown. Lynus, for a second or two, felt a bizarre force radiate from Noah's being, something that made her throat tighten up.

"We'll kill that thing, and get you out of here."

Lyn wouldn't argue. Even if they didn't decide on this, they'd end up fighting it anyways. "Okay, we'll hunt tomorrow, when your wounds are healed."

Lyn threw several handfuls of dirt on the remaining fire to put it out, the entire cave going black. "It's time to rest."

"How will we find it tomorrow?" Noah asked, laying back to get more sleep. He could already hear Luna snoring away behind him.

"We just have to walk toward Jubilife's entrance. Eventually he'll come."

The group remained silent for the remainder of the night. Skai continued to patrol the cave's entrance, just incase that wretched creature decided to end the new friendship before it could even start.

Lyn's thoughts raced in her mind, the thought of freedom sounding nice, but her confidence was still a bit waning.

'I hope this doesn't end like all the others,' she thought. 'This boy...Noah...seems different though. That look he gave me...'

----------

It didn't take much effort from their new friend to wake Noah up the next morning. The sun hadn't even risen yet, the sky still a mixture of cool blues from the night before. Noah rubbed his eyes, trying to see the scenery around him within the cave. The fire was long since put out, all of the smoke having escaped through their slumber. Lyn smiled as she opened her cloak, pulling out what seemed to be a handful of berries.

Lyn passed the berries off into Noah's hand. "Try these. They're not much, but they'll wake you up in no time."

Noah didn't question them before popping a few into his mouth. His tongue went berserk as the sweet flavor and cold feel of the juice from the inside of the berries clashed between his jaws. Noah's mind jolted awake almost immediately.

He looked back at Lyn, who was already making her way outside of the cave to stretch. Noah followed her outside, giving Luna more time to sleep. Skai, who had been up all night guarding the group, watched him carefully as Noah made his way to the exit.

Lynus took off her cloak, dusted it a bit, then quickly slipped it back over her body, making sure not to drop any of her ingredients. Noah reached his arms up to the sky and yawned, letting the blood rush through every inch of his body.

"This is it." Noah told her as he stretched a little longer. Lyn pulled out a bottle of water from her cloak, and slowly drank the contents down to the halfway point before passing it off to Noah. He drank the rest of the refreshing liquid before handing the bottle back to Lyn.

"I really hope it is," she finally responded, "I'm just tired...so very tired of this."

'I won't let him get away with this,' Noah thought to himself. '...and Luna seems to have some business with this creature as well...I wonder if it's a stretch to ask it some questions...'

"Wake up your Pokemon, we're leaving as soon as we make a stop by the river for more water." Lyn began to hum the same tune she had sung the night before, Skai quickly coming out of the cave and to her side as she sat and waited for Noah.

Noah shuffled back into the cave to wake Luna up, passing through the mouth and toward the blanket that blocked off the rest of the passage. Luna was curled into a semi-circular ball on the floor, purring. Her breathing was content and rhythmic; her body getting the full nights needed rest. Noah approached her, noticing the bandages on her shoulder loosening from Luna's movements in her sleep. Her fur seemed twice as dark on this day, seeming more gray than white on this day.

Noah took extra notice to the fur that was matted underneath her eyes.

"Was she...?"

Noah didn't have enough time to think much about it, Luna's body fidgeting and waking due to his presence. Her eyes blinked open rapidly, Noah taking a few steps back to let her sit up and stretch, rubbing the same moist area underneath her eyes, the wetness something she seemed to ignore.

"Mornin..." Luna slurred from her mouth with a yawn.

"Morning Luna. Now come on, we've gotta go already."

The two exited the den, meeting up with Lyn and Skai before the group head back toward the river.

Noah discussed strategy and approaches to the group as they made their way to the river as fast as possible, which didn't take much time at all. The river was the same as always, the waters rushing down the stream with incredible power. Water constantly splashed up against the side of the river, muddying up the ground that hugged the inner walls of the rapids. Lynus released Soki and the three Pokemon drank their fill of water, as Lyn filled up several empty bottles with the clear water. She hand fed Soki several berries, while plopping another one inside the vacant hole in his shell. Skai and Luna both feasted on what remained of Lyn's berry reserves.

Lyn and Noah took a deep breath, preparing for the fight only minutes away.

"Ready?" Noah asked the group, each replying with a nod before Soki was returned to his ball.

Lyn led them toward the direction of the main route that led to Jubilife City, again, not taking more than several minutes. The sun's rays were barely making any sense of influence on the sky above as they grew closer and closer to Route 202.

"Don't hold back, but don't get too anxious either."

Noah looked at Luna, and began talking to her through their link.

'That thing that happened the other day...that strange feeling you said you had. You have any idea what that was?'

'I don't know what it was,' she replied, not reacting to his voice inside her mind, 'but it felt like it was calling me toward it, like an attraction.'

A thought came to Noah's mind. 'Those things you said you lost. Do you think that Arbok took it? With what I know about you, it wouldn't seem too bad to believe that you might be able to sense what you lost.'

'Took it? I'm not sure. I lost them, but I don't recall if he took them from me or not.'

'So, he found what you lost?'

'It seems more likely, if that feeling I'm getting is because he has what I lost.'

'So if that's the case, we have business with him anyway, despite what he's done to us or Lyn's group in the past.'

'Speaking of which, exactly why are we helping her?'

Noah looked down at Luna. 'Besides the fact that we have to personally deal with the Arbok too? Because I feel like it, that's why.'

Luna chuckled to herself, catching Lyn's attention. She quickly just shrugged it off, looking around the trees that grew high into the sky.

"He always has his eye on me somehow." Lyn told Noah. "He probably already knows you're here with me. He'll wait until we're vulnerable before attacking, so stay sharp."

Noah nodded before re-connecting with Luna. 'You felt his presence before we saw him. Can you feel it now?'

Luna focused for a bit. 'Yea...it's much weaker than it was yesterday, but it's still here, and it's still calling me to it.'

'Luna, listen carefully. I know that it's difficult to control yourself, but please, try to ignore or contain your instinct when you feel it getting stronger. I'll try helping as much as possible too.'

'Okay. I'll let you know when it gets closer.'

'We'll be ready.'

'Lyn's right though, Noah. That thing is closing in on us, fast. I can feel the signal. It's still weak, but it's growing, fast.'

Lynus pointed directly in front of them. "There's a large clearing ahead. It'd probably be easier for us to take him on there. He'll be too hard to hit with all these trees in our faces."

A thought quickly dawned upon Noah as they made their way to the clearing. "Lyn, I have a question to ask."

Lyn turned to Noah, clearing the last patch of shrubs. "What is it?"

"You fight with Scyther, so I'm sure you've cut up that snake at one point or another, right?"

"Yeah."

"When Luna and I fought it, I managed to stab it in the back, but something freaky happened-"

"So you know about that too!?"

"Yes. Somehow it managed to heal. I know for sure that Arboks can't do anything like that, at least, none of the natural Arboks."

"It's the main reason I can't kill it."

"Damn...we should've thought more about this before we came out here..."

The two of them stopped in mid-walk, the Pokemon at either side of the trainers following suit. The area around them was large in size, almost the same size as a standard Pokemon Stadium's battle area.

"This is a reserved area for trainers who wish to battle off of Route 202," Lyn told Noah, pointing to a man-made route off to the side. "that path will take us directly to Route 202, and right near the Jubilife entrance gate."

Without warning, Luna yelped, putting her front paws onto the ground, hissing back at the forest.

"Luna! What's wrong!?" Noah quickly realized what was going on. "How close is he?!"

Luna failed to answer.

"Luna, please, focus!" Noah said. Luna's face softened up slightly, but kept staring into the bushes beyond the open field.

"He's coming...fast."

Lyn and Skai tensed up, Skai looking in all directions for the enemy. Noah kept his attention on Luna.

"Where, Luna?"

"He's coming...from over there," Luna said, her eyes focused on the direction the Arbok was supposedly attacking from.

The field around them was silenced, only the sounds of their breath permeating the morning air around them. Luna started to growl back at the forest.

"He's closing in..."

Noah and Lyn looked around, still unable to notice a large, purple snake approaching.

"HE'S HERE!!"

Luna reacted almost instantly, diving right in front of Noah. The ground beneath the group's feet rattled and broke open. A large violet creature burst from the opening in the dirt, fangs extended, making its way to Noah. Luna's reaction came just in time, her body crashing into the snake's with enough power to force the remainder of the snake's body out of the tunnel and onto the field. Luna, fighting her urge to keep her instinct in check, gave him a quick scratch across the face before bounding off of the Arbok's body and back toward the group.

Even Skai had to wait several moments before realizing what had just happened. When it was clear what the snake had cleverly done, the trainers stepped back several feet, Noah drawing out his knife again- just in case. Skai lined up with Luna, ready to take down the beast.

"Clever little girl you have here, Noah..."

"There's that creepy voice..." Lyn murmured to Noah.

"Arbok, for what reason are you doing this?" Noah asked.

"Doing what? Teasing the girl, or trying to kill you two?" It teased. "Although I'm a bit impressed honestly. I thought I killed you two already."

"It'll take more than a toss into the river to beat us." Noah responded, despite knowing that they would’ve been killed if not for Lynus.

"Wait, you can understand it?" Lyn wondered.

"Later, Lyn," Noah responded to the side.

The snake chuckled again, rubbing the small scratch with its tail. "I can see that."

"Fucking with the girl? That's just for my own amusement. You however...it's my duty to make sure that you don't pass this point."

Noah clenched his teeth at the monster's remark about Lyn. "Your duty?"

"I was assigned to this point to kill you, or be killed by you. Either way, my job is complete."

"By who?"

"Hehehe...I'll never tell."

Luna interrupted. "And what's with the energy you give off?"

"So that's how you found me then, isn't it?

"Why do you give off that energy?"

"It's because I have it."

Luna's eyes suddenly started to burn, a mighty inferno raging behind those pure-white eyes.

"I'll show you."

Noah felt his artifact vibrate from his chest. He picked it up from his hands, looking at the two coin-like plates that replaced two of the empty sockets that surrounded the medallion. One of the empty sockets was glowing, black light flashing from its socket, a strange heat brushing up against Noah's face.

"What's going on, Noah?" Lyn asked.

A strange urge took over Noah's body, coming almost completely from Luna's link, completely dominating his own feelings. He looked to Lyn.

"Lynus...we must kill this thing."

The creature smiled as the trainer locked eyes with its own. He made an unheard command to Luna, who openly obeyed, darting toward the creature.

"Let's see if a rookie like you has what it takes!"

----------

Lyn gave Skai a command, the insect taking to the skies and charging the snake as Luna did.

Arbok quickly reacted, releasing an ear-splitting screech that stopped both Pokemon in their tracks, Skai taking more damage from dropping onto the ground, skidding to a stop. Not wasting any time, the snake headed straight for Luna, her ears still ringing from the attack.

Noah's voice boomed into her mind, dominant over the screech that echoed inside of her ears. 'Luna, behind you!'

Luna reacted quickly, jumping away just in time to dodge the snake's jaws. His fangs clamped down on nothing but air as Zangoose landed inches away from the attack. Taking the opportunity, Luna bounded back toward the target, her claws at the ready. Arbok felt the claws graze against his rough scales as he shifted to the side, barely dodging the attack.

'Keep the pressure on him!'

Luna landed back on solid ground after her attack, the monster uncoiling itself to control a larger area around its body. The two sized each other up before charging head on into one another’s attacks. Luna quickly gripped at the earth for a moment before strafing off to the side at near blinding speed, forcing the snake to stumble in place. Luna started to speed up, changing angles at such a speed that the creature was unable to predict her movements.

'There's a weak spot on its side!'

Luna acknowledged the message, shifting her movements almost completely behind the hood of the creature. She slammed into the side of the Arbok's hood, the creature hissed in pain as the two of them headed toward the dirt. The snake, however, whipped its tail quickly around the mongoose, taking her with him. He smashed into the ground, quickly rebounded, and squeezed his body around Luna, constricting and suffocating her.

"Luna! Fight him off!" Noah screamed back.

Luna's breath quickly shortened, her body crushed under the immense pressure of the snake's body.

"Relax...it'll be over soon..."

The Arbok felt a presence quickly storm up upon him from behind his body. He quickly released Luna and ducked, a large, sharp scythe barely missing the snake's neck as it cut through the emptiness. Arbok countered with a light head butt to the attacking mantis Pokemon, Skai stumbling back a few feet.

Luna, who had gone unnoticed after Skai's surprise attack, took the opportunity to attack the snake. She fully extended her claws, and with a stabbing motion, sent both pairs straight into the body of the snake, in between the "eyes" of the pattern on the Arbok's belly.

The monster was stunned into silence, slowly looking down at his wound, wincing when he saw those large black claws stained with its fluids. The blood that ran down Luna's claws and stained the base of her fur was of a dull maroon-like color, with a strange jet black coating several dribbles here and there.

Luna removed her claws and took several paces away from the enemy, far enough to avoid and react to any attack. Skai had regained his balance and stood on the opposite side of the Arbok, closing him between the two Pokemon.

"That...hurt a little..." the snake smirked. The excess blood that had started its way down Arbok's body stopped flowing, as if frozen in place instantaneously. Smiling as it happened, the snake's essence started to seep back into the wound, the holes from the claws forcing themselves closed as the last drops sunk back into his body.

"Much better..."

"What the hell is this thing?" Luna asked Noah, knowing he had no answer.

"It does this with everyone," Lyn said, "everyone I've known has been able to wound it..."

"-but it just keeps recovering..." Noah finished. "How do you kill something like that?"

Arbok didn't give them any more time to ponder the question. He focused his energy straight onto the culprit responsible for the damage. Opening his large jaws, the Arbok fired a round of acidic venom straight at Zangoose.

Luna jumped to the side of the attack, evading it easily. Several more shots of acid came from its mouth, zoning in onto her. She quickly stepped backward to evade every single attack.

'Luna, get away from there!'

Luna prepared to dodge another string of acid, getting ready for another leap backward before hitting something hard, something rooted to the ground. She looked back to see that she'd been backed up into a tree, and before she could react, she could feel the acid grip onto her fur, burning the skin underneath.

She yelped as the acid did its work, forcing her to the ground. Arbok took charge, preparing to finish off the furry white mammal.

Scyther's wing beat furiously as he launched himself at the foe. With a command from Lynus, Scyther closed his eyes, relaxing his body as his wings took him closer to the enemy. He felt a moment, a spark of energy exploded from within his conscience, and his body shot forward with an increase in his natural speed.

It took almost no time at all to catch up with the creature, who had no time to react to Skai's approach. He raised his arm above his head, focusing all of his energy into the blade, and swung the weapon down right above the snake's belly, landing almost perfectly on the Arbok's body.

The blade slammed into its flesh, cutting straight through the thick hide with relative ease, before swinging out at the angle Skai had attacked, forcing him to spin full circle in the air. Skai took no chances, and flew toward Luna, protecting her.

Arbok's body fell limp to the ground, twitching about, while his head, the eyes still surprised, plopped several feet away, closer to Luna and Skai. The black-red blood started to gush out of the openings.

"Is Luna okay?" Noah asked from across the field.

Skai gave him a confident nod, helping Luna to her feet. The burning sensation still pained her, but it was slowly and steadily weakening. They looked back at Arbok, waiting to see if it would recover again.

"You two are starting to piss me off..." the voice came again, startling the group. The eyes continued to stare at the Pokemon, its face twisted into a maniacal grin.

The blood from the body, again, stopped flowing, slowly forcing itself back into place. His head, however, decided to show them exactly what they were up against. Once all of the blood from the body had crept back, the body thrashed wildly, rolling toward the two Pokemon.

The tail swung back, then came across the back of the Arbok's still removed head, launching it straight at Luna. The body quickly dashed toward Skai as the group's attention turned toward its flying head.

Luna and Skai were completely blown away in shock, unable to dodge either piece of the body. The fangs of the Arbok sunk deep into Luna's arm as she brought it up to protect her body, while the Arbok's other form quickly wrapped around Skai's midsection, forcing his arms to his sides to prevent him from attacking.

Luna could hear something coming from the creature's fangs, a strange pulse of energy. It quickly became a painful jolt. Moments later, it exploded into a furious attack of electricity. The thunder fang's attack coursed throughout Luna's body, numbing her entire being. Luna's body hit the floor quickly as she lost feeling in her feet and arms. She struggled to pick her head up as the snake's fangs released her arm, small pockets of blood made invisible by her fur's patterns. The head sluggishly crawled over to the rest of the Arbok's body, which was crushing the mantis with as much force as possible.

Skai's agony echoed above the clearing, the sun's orange flare slowly breaching the vanishing point of the sky. The head quickly reattached itself to its body, only to squeeze even harder on the Scyther's body.

"This time, you won't escape. I'll crush your bones until they're nothing but dust," it hissed.

"Skai!" Lynus screamed, running toward the Arbok.

"Lyn, wait!" Noah shouted at the girl. He felt helpless again, even with the knife; it wouldn't matter, especially if the creature could just heal itself again and again...

Unnoticed by any of them, Noah's medallion began to glow as the sun finally made an appearance above the trees.

"Luna!" Noah shouted across the field, Skai falling unconscious under the pressure. "STOP HIM!!"

Arbok's eyes widened, the slits stretched as far as possible inside the snake's tiny head. He felt Luna's claws inside his body once more, not as deep as before, but, for some strange reason, five times as painful. His head looked from Skai's still crushed body within his coils, to Luna, her face shrouded from the ears down, a new sort of presence radiating from her that instilled fear.

"The plate...and the mantis...give them back." Luna ordered, her voice suddenly different. Her voice was elegant and beautiful, but also containing a raging storm of fury.

"Those cuts...how did you..." the Arbok stammered as the claws dug out of the new holes on the Arbok's body.

The snake dropped Skai onto the floor, the mantis' breathing weak and labored. Lynus ran over and hugged the Pokemon, looking over it to assess the damage. The blood from the snake had changed- the black color that dripped out along with the natural reds was gone.

"Go on...recover...just like the last time..." Luna taunted.

The snake waited for its body to do the same process as the numerous other times, but nothing came. For almost a full minute, nothing happened. Arbok felt his body weakening, his body seemingly growing pale from the blood loss. For the first time since it had been given this special mission, Arbok was scared for his life.

"It...Why won't it do it!?" he shouted, frustrated. Luna stood up, licking the blood from her claws.

Luna slowly walked up to the Arbok, stepping straight through the bloody puddle that soaked the ground below. Arbok backed away, trying to create a distance between the two, but it was hopeless, as his body began to give in. The snake's coils rested on the floor until only his head was hovering, tremors going through the snake's body.

"Now...as I was saying..." Luna started. Noah felt a strong force quickly blow through their link, a force that nearly knocked him off of his feet.

"ruersenrd eht eltpas!"

Luna braced herself, then shot forward with an immense power. Arbok didn't have time to blink as Luna's claws made their way into the pattern on Arbok's hood. The pain magnified for a moment as Luna braced herself against the ground. With a roar, Luna's claws swept back to either side of her body, slicing off the Arbok's upper body once more. The creature's limp body slapped the floor, queuing more blood to pour into the ground.

The power that swept through Noah's link with Luna instantly shut down, and their link was lost. Noah looked over the field, running past Lynus, who was speechless throughout the entire ordeal. Luna panted and gasped for air as her energy drained away from her from the attack. Her mind lost complete control of her body again, and she fainted, just as Skai had done.

Noah made it over to her and lifted her head up.

"Still breathing...thank god."

He heard something else's labored breaths coming no more than two feet away. He turned to see the Arbok, as pale as ever, looking straight at him.

"Hehehe...I didn't think you'd be able to handle this...it looks like you have what it takes after all."

"What...how are you still alive?"

"...and you still have no idea what you're up against. It's so pathetic...and to think I lost to you two..."

"What are you talking about? What the hell is going on!? And what was that healing that you did!" Noah asked, trying to squeeze the questions out of the snake's final breaths.

"I bet you'd love to find out, huh? Hehehe-" the snake coughed and gagged as the blood started leaking from the side of its mouth.

The snake spit up a strange object. It almost refused to shine in the sunrise. The small, coin-shaped artifact gave off a deep blue-gray color, tempting Noah to touch it. As he approached it, the coin began to glow, turning into a small ball of light. A strange buzzing sound could be heard from the light as it began to float into the air. It spun around Noah several times before colliding with his chest, knocking him back slightly. When he looked down onto his medallion, another empty socket had been filled with the coin.

The Arbok chuckled. "I'm just the first of many. My only regret is not being able to see the stupid look on your face when the day comes."

All was quiet. The fight was finished. Lyn had several tears coming down her face as she hugged Skai's unconscious body.

Noah stroked Luna's fur on her head, knowing that she'd make a full recovery once they got to the Pokemon Center in Jubilife.

"Put Skai in his Pokeball, we're heading to Jubilife to heal these two." Noah told Lynus. She did as she was told and returned Skai to the ball and hid it inside her cloak.

Noah hesitated, but quickly reached for a pokeball.

"She's gonna be mad at me when she recovers, but at least she'll be okay..."

Luna's body disappeared inside of the once unoccupied ball.

----------

The two trainers hastily made their way to the path exiting the field, heading straight to Route 202 and Jubilife City. It only took minutes before they could see the gate barrier straight ahead.

"Noah...?" Lyn spoke.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you...thank you so much for helping me."

Noah smiled, knowing that her troubles in the forest with that beast were now long gone.

"So, what'll you do now? Live here in Jubilife?"

The sun finally revealed its entire body over the two trainers as Lyn gave Noah a big grin. Before he could react, she gave him a big hug, wrapping her arms around his body, constricting him, much like Arbok had done to Scyther.

"I owe my life to you. I'd still be in that forest right now if it wasn't for your help."

"Err...yeah..." Noah stammered.

"So...can I come with you, until I've paid my debt?"

Noah couldn't say a word.

"I'd be a valuable person to have on your team. I can make medicine, and I have a strong Pokemon too..."

"Th...That’s fine and all...but don't you have some family to return to...here or back at Kanto?"

Lyn continued to hug the boy, not answering his question. A gentle breeze came through the area, the trees swaying with the wind and leaves floating off into the air.

Noah understood, gently smiling and grabbing Lyn's shoulders, prompting her to let go. He got a brief flash of the young boy from the reflection that came off of her face.

"...Okay."

"Thank you Noah, you won't regret it."

----------

*************************
Name: Lynus (Lyn)
Type: Human
Height: 5'6''
Age: 19
Weight: 155 lbs.
Eye Color: Green
Hair Style/Color: Dutch-Boy styled, with bangs hanging slightly below her chin from her forhead; Black
Body Type: Physically fit and very sturdy.
Outfit: Plain white long-sleeved shirt, blue jean shorts that end right below the knees.
Other Items: A torn brown cloak wrapped around her neck, made of Pokemon skins and furs. It flows down to her knees and covers her entire midsection, but splits at her waist. It has several pockets on the inside of the jacket for herbs and medicine. Also wears a brown bag around her shoulders for larger items.
Hobbies: Humming, experimenting with medicine.
Homeland: Fuchsia City, Kanto
Personality: Calm and very friendly.
Bio: A young girl born and raised in the Kanto region, she and her family move to the Sinnoh region for a better life when she turns 14. However, on their way through the forest outside of Sandgem and toward Jubilife, they are attacked by a powerful creature. During the struggle, Lyn's parents sacrafice themselves in order for her to escape. For the last five years, Lyn and her Pokemon have been trapped inside of the forest, tormented day and night by the constant attacks on her from the creature. Lyn's fondness for medicinal herbs back in Fuchsia City finally shows its use, she uses her extensive knowledge to keep her team healthy and ready for battle against the creature, and to cure sickness when it arises within her team. She learns to utilize herbs, local fauna, and berries to create medicine through several practices in Fuchsia (curing many poisoned Pokemon that have fought Koga's team). She waits for the day that she'll finally be able to escape the creature, and the forest which have taunted her for the past 5 years.
Weaknesses: Lyn's Weaknesses lie in her teams lack of type advantages. Half of her team is weak against fire type attacks, and most of her team focuses moreso on defensive battling. Her strongest partner, Scyther, is the fiercest fighter of her group, and more often than not, the moment her Scyther falls, her team falls apart. She loses composure when frightened, and doesn't know how to deal with stressful situations successfully, usually resulting in her Pokemon making very hasty and predictable movements.
Pokemon Team: Scyther (Skai), Shuckle (Soki)
Threat Level: Minimal
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