The Path of Sacrifice

Psy/Cere: I will explain the shiny thing as well as solve the Sand Attack Spammage. It\'s not as if Moonlight was gonna win without it.



Raw: Well. She won by a miracle of Arceus. xD And again, I will explain the Shiny thing.



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Celadon Poke Mart; the dream of all fan girls. Given loads of money, the large building was a haven for all females. Trainers came from all over Kanto to this city, just to shop here, and hope to win their lot at Game Corner. Gary wasn\'t terribly excited, but Angel, who had noted to herself that she had to stop by the Rocket Hideout, was more than excited for the both of them. She knew they had an amazing selection of TM\'s here, and she could cash in and fancy up her two pokemon, as well as get herself her Ninetails, finally. She was sure over-using Sand Attack would grow to be annoying, and it wasn\'t really a true way to win. So, coupled with her orders to show up with strong pokemon, into the pokemart she went.



"Excuse me!" called out a cheery voice from behind the welcome counter. "Excuuuuuse me!" Angel stopped, and turned her attention to the sickeningly sweet woman. "We don\'t allow loose pokemon in here, unless it\'s a seeing or hearing aid! I\'m sorry."

"What?" Angel spoke, adding a trademark deaf-lisp to her voice. "I can\'t hear you."

"...Never mind! Have a nice day!" the woman in blue shouted, as if it would help, waving Angel away. As soon as they were out of ear shot up the stairs, Gary shot Angel a shocked look.

"That was terrible, making that woman think you\'re deaf!"

"I\'m not about to force Moonlight into a pokeball if he hates it. He isn\'t a slave, he\'s my first pokemon, he\'s my baby. Would you cram a pokemon in a pokeball if it didn\'t like it?"

"Well, no...But why are we here, anyway? Shouldn\'t we be over at Game Corner?"

"You\'ll see..." she smirked, stepping up to the cheery lady behind the congenial TM counter.



"Hello, and welcome to Celadon City. How may I help you?"

"What TM\'s do you have?..." Angel replied, more to herself than anyone else, craning her neck to look into the display case.

"We just got the full shipment in, ma\'am. I believe we have quite a lot. If I listed them, we\'d be here a while. But, if you see something you want, then I would snag it; we only have one or two of each extra TM that isn\'t our usual supply."

"Do you have a compatibility guide?..."

"Yes ma\'am, right here..."

"Oh brother, are we gonna be here an hour?" Gary muttered.

"Fine; go get me a fire stone if you want something to do!" she spoke back. Gary frowned and wandered off, noting to himself to shut up next time.



Of course, the minute he got back, Angel had passed over a mound, of not all, of her change. In return she picked up a small paper bag with what looked to be a good size of TM\'s. Curiously, he tilted his head, as he pulled the fire stone from his pocket.

"You buy the entire stock or somethin\'?" he muttered, walking along beside her as she headed to the stairs to leave.

"Not quite," she laughed, as Moonlight stared carefully at the paper bag. What on earth was she going to teach him? "Let\'s just say I\'m making an effort to show up with some strong Pokemon. Not to mention I have to go take down Erika while I\'m here." Gary rolled his eyes. It might have been a little early to use TM\'s, but he wasn\'t the trainer. He also wouldn\'t evolve a Vulpix this fast, but she did have the stat growth early - not that it mattered once she hit level 100.



"Breon?" Moonlight murred, snuffling at the bag. It didn\'t smell like anything that would teach him anything new.

"Oh, these work when I put them on your head, they just kind of seep in like osmosis, I think..." she explained, reaching in her bag for the first TM. It\'s color was pink, and on the label atop was a "29". Gary\'s eye rose. What was her plan?

"Breon!" Moonlight exclaimed, as the disc\'s color turned a flat blue/gray, and the number vanished. To his surprise, within his brain in place of his Sand Attack, was the knowledge of some assault of brain power. Something called \'psychic\'. So that was how those things worked, he mused. Then, the second one was placed on his head - a dark purple one this time, with the number 30. This time, in place of his Confuse Ray, was a new, large, swirling mass of energy called \'Shadow Ball\'. With those two, any pokemon would be lucky to get close. Then, finally, a third disc - a white-gray one with a \'15\' on. And, erasing his Quick Attack was a move not that unlike Psychic, but this one was much stronger, and used body energy instead of brain power - it was Hyper Beam, and he had the feeling that the move would end up leaving him too weak to move right away.



"There we go, Moonlight! Your new move set - Bite, Shadow Ball, Psychic, and Hyper Beam!" Angel grinned, tossing the old TM\'s over her shoulder. "Now nothing should be able to beat you, not even a fighting type!"

"Nothing HAS beaten him." Gary pointed out, though mostly marveling over the impressive move set. That left little holes, except level and an abuse of his low speed. For a beginning trainer that only learned about training a few days ago, she was a natural, it seemed.

"Now it\'s your turn! Go, Slaugher!"

"....Vul..." the tiny-voiced pokemon yipped, as her pokeball let her out.

"Gary, the Fire stone please!" she put out her hand, as Slaughter watched. She was about to evolve; would it hurt? Her little two foot figure would change, but would she like it? She really had no say in the matter - but her friend, that Umbreon did. He chose to. She couldn\'t; but that was the life of pokemon, sometimes. Angel bent over once Gary gave her the stone, and pressed it to the flesh of her little fire fox.



"Vul!..." she squeaked, as her figure began to glow a keen white, and grow. A few people nearby had stopped to watch the pokemon evolve, a few young trainers marveling as they witnessed their first pokemon evolution. As the glow stopped, Slaughter gazed over herself. "Nine..." she mumbled, amazed at her silver fur, her long tails, her ears, her sight, everything. She was as tall as the Umbreon was, to the ear. She did dwarf him now, a little, but not by much. His ears were just as high as hers was, but hers were smaller.



"Breon..." he spoke, which basically meant wow, as he tilted his head. The little fox pup wasn\'t a little fox pup anymore. His ear moved off to the side, as he gazed at her. She was pretty. Very pretty.

"Nine?..." she questioned at his lingering stare. Did she look that terrible?

"Hah! Looks like Moonlight has a crush." Gary mused, smirking softly as he crossed his arms over his chest. Moonlight shot him a look that said \'be careful, here\'.



"Oh come on, boys." Angel muttered, pulling out another TM. How many had she bought, Moonlight wondered, as he sat on his haunches to watch. Slaugher blinked as her new trainer placed a round, orange disc with a \'35\' on it, on her head. Before she could squeak, she noticed her tail whip attack was replaced by a fire-breath attack, like a Charizard should have, called Flamethrower. It looked dangerous. Then, without wasting time, her human used another TM, this time a light purple one with a \'06\' on it. Then, her Ember was replaced with a Sickening purple mist attack named Toxic. That would get her lovely silver fur all mucky, but it meant more grooming. A fair trade off. Next, a disc colored white-gray with the number \'15\'. Then, replacing her Quick Attack was a massive, scary looking beam of energy called Hyper Beam. It looked tiring. And finally, the last disc, a silver one with a \'23\' on it. Now, her Confuse Ray had vanished, and in it\'s place was a fast whirling attack of hardened-fur tails. That was going to be hard to make hit, but if it did, the opponent better watch out.



"There. Now you\'re all done, Slaughter! Flamethrower, Toxic, Hyper Beam, and Iron Tail! Now nothing except a water type can give you trouble!"

"Vul!..." she replied, puffing her chest out proudly. Moonlight nearly stumbled over his own feet standing up as she did.

"What now, oh brilliant one?" Gary asked, for once not being sarcastic.

"Now, we go take on Erika, then see what those schmucks at Game Corner have to say for themselves.



* * * * * *



"You wish to challenge me?" the Gym Leader spoke in a calm, happy voice, as she had been the last few minutes of her nattering on. "Oh, I had no idea. I will warn you that I won\'t go easy on you - and, your friend must not help."

"I wouldn\'t dream of it!"

"I will use three pokemon. Are you ready?"

"Yes!" Angel exclaimed, placing her hand on Slaughter\'s pokeball. "Moonlight, sit this one out." she spoke, as the pokemon got into a leap-into-battle pose. He blinked. Of course she was going to use the fox; he should have known better.

"Go, Weebinbell!" Erika exclaimed, tossing out her camouflage toned ball. The three foot pokemon burst out, and held a blank look as it waited on the battlefield. This time, for a challenge, Angel decided not to use her scanner - that is, unless she had to.

"Go, Slaughter!" she exclaimed, casting out the ball. The Ninetails burst onto the battle field, glancing silently back at Moonlight. Her first battle would be in front of him, it seemed. She flicked her gaze back to the Weebinbell, who watched the fire fox carefully.



"I should have known. Weepinbell, Sleep Powder!"

"Don\'t breathe, Slaugher! Use Flamethrower!"



Almost as a blessing, the lower-level fire pokemon\'s speed came as an advantage, and the fire managed to singe away the powder, and collided straight into the plant pokemon. Erika frowned, though she had expected it.

"Go, Ivysaur! Sleep powder!"

"Slaughter, again!" This time, the grass pokemon launched first, but only by a second. As the fire slammed into the grass pokemon, the sleep powder fell on Slaughter. She tried her best to not inhale, but she had to breathe after a few seconds - and promptly fell asleep.



"Ivysaur, Sludge Bomb!"

"Saur." the pokemon replied, and launched a slimy mass of poison at the fox. It struck hard, and the poor, sleeping, lower level pokemon was nearly knocked out.



"Slaughter, wake up and use Flamethrower!" To her luck, Slaughter did wake up, but panted hard as she struggled to get back on her feet.

"Ivysaur, finish it with another Sludge Bomb!" Slaughter inhaled her breath for the expulsion of fire as the Ivysaur started to form the orb of grime. The mucky goop flew through the air as the fire left Slaughter\'s mouth, and overcame the Ivysaur. But, the Sludge bomb struck it\'s target as well, and both pokemon collapsed to the ground, out cold.

"Return!" both trainers called out, the twain vanishing from the battlefield.

"Go, Moonlight!" Angel called. This was getting close; she\'d expected a clean win with her Ninetails. She was under-leveled, and that probably cost her a three-move win.

"Go, Vileplume!" Ericka cast out the ball, as the little one-foot pokemon was sent out. Angel blinked. THAT was her final pokemon? "Don\'t be fooled," the leader spoke, seeing Angel\'s expression. "This little flower is packed full of power."



Angel had to. She pressed the button on her scanner.

"SCANNING. Skipping previously scanned pokemon and fainted pokemon. There is one pokemon present; Vileplume, female. This pokemon is of Level 38 with a mild nature, and the following moves; Synthesis, Body Slam, Giga Drain, and Solar Beam."



"Thirty eight? Better be careful Moonlight! Use Psychic!"

"Vileplume, use Body Slam! Paralyze that pokemon!" Moonlight had the speed advantage - the Vileplume had much less speed. Even if she had a nature that commented speed instead of special attack, she would have been slow. As such, Moonlight let loose his beam of psychic energy. The Vileplume jumped up to use it\'s body slam, and caught the edge of the attack. She began to spiral head over feet as she flew on. Moonlight skipped back easily, as the floral pokemon landed face first into the ground.



"Moonlight, again!" Angel commanded, pointing out at the Vileplume. Moonlight launched a second Psychic, which hit the flower hard. The Vileplume tried hard to grapple onto the ground, but the sheer force of the mental energy proved too much, and the pokemon slammed hard against the gym wall.



"PLUUUUU!" the pokemon exclaimed, staggering to it\'s feet with weary eyes.

"Giga Drain, Vileplume!"

"Finish it off with a Hyper Beam, Moonlight!"

"PLU!" the flower barked, as a set of roots grasped onto Moonlight\'s feet.

"Breon?" Moonlight blinked, staring at his feet.

"NO Moonlight, Hyper Beam!" Angel corrected, shaking Moonlight back into focus. He could feel energy leaving his body and into the Vileplume, who managed to recoup a little - enough to regain energetic - looking eyes. But her tell-tale wounds were still present - she was still in the yellow.

"Umbreeee...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!" Moonlight screamed, as he charged, then launched the massive beam of solid energy. It struck the Vileplume, whom was pinned against the gym wall again. The beam cut off as Moonlight collapsed onto the ground, exhausted. He hadn\'t thought that move would tire him this quickly, but it did.

"....Viiii." the female flower groaned, her eyes swirly.



"Well, I must say I am impressed." Erika spoke, quietly recalling her pokemon. "When you sent out that Ninetails, I was sure I would win - but, that Umbreon is special. I will overlook the simple fact that he is illegal; your pokemon deserves it. I concede to you the Pokemon League Rainbow badge." Angel proudly accepted the badge, and placed it on her collar with the rest - minus, of course, the cascade badge, which still hung pinned on Moonlight\'s ear. She turned to leave, and got halfway out the door, but the Gym leader placed her hand on her shoulder. Angel turned, to find Erica holding a camouflage pattern ball.



"Wait. I want you to have this pokemon. Grass types are a blessing; You will need pne some day." Angel blinked.

"Are you sure? You can\'t just...give away a pokemon, can you?"

"Yes I can," Erika spoke, placing the ball in her hand. "And I will. I expect to see you in the Pokemon league."

"Thank you, I will take care of it. What is it? What is it\'s name?" Erika merely smiled, as she shut the door in Angel\'s face. "I guess it\'s a surprise..." she mused, fingering the pokeball.



"Well didja win?" Gary replied, bouncing up off the ground. He\'d been forced by the women to stay outside, the pigs.

"Yeah, and Erika gave me a pokemon. I have no clue what it is or it\'s nickname...But I guess that doesn\'t matter since it\'s not a traded pokemon..."

"So send it out."

"I planned on it. Go, pokeball!" Angel threw the ball, and eagerly awaited the result. She had needed a grass type. The mass that came out of the ball was not a Bellsprout. It was not Exeggcute, nor was it Bulbasaur. No, it wasn\'t even a grass type. The pokemon that Erika had given her was...



"Aeeeroooodaaactyyyyl!"



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Yay for longer chapters.