Ragnarok

Note: Hello again, everyone.

It was one heck of an October and November for me. Tons of life stuff happened that prevented me from focusing on the chapter, but after some help from Iruni, I finally managed to pull through and complete what I feel is one of my favorite chapters in the last few updates.

Same 'ol, same 'ol here. Read, Review, and Rate. Reviews help me improve the story quality, and they help keep me going. Any additional information will be available on my Author's page.

With all that said and done, enjoy the read!!

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1:13 [continued]
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"What the hell’s going on here?"

"How long have they been in there?"

"Probably over half an hour by now."

"We should go in after them, they could be in trouble."

"We were ordered to stay put outside. They’ll be fine."

The chatter amongst the trainers increased in volume as the tension rose. Most of the Pokemon who had been guarding the trainers during their excursion threw themselves to the front lines only twenty or so yards from the entrance to the building. Nature held its breath along with the travelers, not a single gust of wind had blown through the valley since they had arrived. The windmills seemed frozen in time, bolted to the ground and waiting for the precious air that fed power to the town.

Noah's small group was no better off. Luna, Skai, and Monferno shoved them a distance away from the small structure before returning with the rest of the group of Pokemon. Luna's fur stood on end, her flesh underneath quivering with excitement, while Monferno's growls were audible enough to be heard by Jerry and the group. The primate's tail burned viciously, as if trying to threaten someone. Skai stood quietly, braced for some sort of impending impact.

An Ivysaur, Ninjask, and Primeape, all willing and ready for battle, fenced the building in on their right, while eight other Pokemon from the other trainers closed in the opening from their left. In this group, was Yuki.

Noah gave the group of Pokemon a scan. Incoming footsteps snapped him out of his little confusion as he turned to face a young man with a checkered blue pullover.

"Ginji, it's you," Noah responded almost immediately. "Yuki's not fairing any better?"

Mr. Gami casually shrugged his shoulders, as if what was going on had no bother on his mind. "Unfortunately. I have no idea what's come over her. She's never acted like that before."

"...We're finally here."

The group came to an abrupt halt in front of the Windworks HQ. The windows had been severely damaged and seemed ready to shatter, and the front door had been clearly ripped from the hinges. A drying pool of blood at the entrance welcomed the intruders.

At the sight, the Officer's voice dramatically changed, becoming more demanding and absolute, without any sense of friendliness, "The two of you, come with me."

The two unfortunate trainers nearly jumped at the man's tyrannical glare.

"Leave your belongings out here, and take all of your Pokemon. We need to inspect the interior for survivors. Move it. The rest of you stay outside."

The small trio had been inside no more than ten minutes before a loud shriek pounded into the awaiting cavalry’s ears. Noah's nerves went haywire in response to the horrendous sound of the victim's cries.

Then silence. Silence for the last twenty minutes. The Pokemon, obviously sensing that something was amiss, forced all of the trainers away from the building, instinctively protecting their leaders and friends.

"What could it be?" Lyn asked, frightened and vulnerable without Skai at her side. Jerry, reacting to Lyn's feelings of helplessness, inched ahead of her, trying to keep her behind him.

Noah focused his mind off of the ever increasing levels of hysteria around him, trying to communicate with his partner.

'Luna! Luna, what's going on?!'

He didn't get a definitive answer beyond several audible hisses from the Cat Ferret on the front lines.

'Luna, just tell me! What's happening?'

He spotted Luna's head twist around quickly, staring back at him with a glare that would've paralyzed any opponent with fear.

'Blood. Blood. Smell it? The blood. Can't you smell it? Hear it? Everywhere.'

Noah cut off his established link with her, backing away several feet while trying to comprehend what she said. A loud shuffle from inside of the yellow building cut off the trainers’ discussion. A peculiar sound, like a muffled clap of thunder, came from the opened door, loud enough to be heard. Then came another, and another. The shuffling inched closer and closer to the trainers and their line of Pokemon.

The creatures braced themselves, ready to tackle whatever challenge came bursting through the door of the headquarters.

A loud scream came from the front entrance, sounding as if it had come from an older man. It didn't sound like the others. This one in particular derived from pain, but hidden underneath the initial reasoning was a burning rage that came natural to a warrior on the battlefield. His bellows from inside of the building, against whatever strange monster awaited them, had the Pokemon adrenaline pumping through their veins. Whatever came through that door in a few short moments was going to feel the power of an unrelenting barrage.

A loud snap of wood grabbed the attention of everyone in the valley. Just to the side of the entrance, a dent in the wall had suddenly appeared. A silenced thud later, and the dent became something of a swelling on the edge of the building. A mysterious scratching sound started up from the inside of the swelling, rising in volume second by second. Just when Noah had thought it couldn't withstand the pressure any further, the dent in the wall exploded, sending pieces of wooden debris into the skies.

A large body came crashing down between the group of Pokemon and humans waiting outside. The Pokemon did not dare so much as a glance behind them with the threat still inside of the building. The mass on the ground groaned and rolled in place, flinching from the damage it received from the blow that shot it straight through the house.

Noah recognized the mass immediately as the Officer that had went to investigate the building with the two other trainers.

The humans quickly ran to the Officer, some of them opening their bags and looking for their first-aid kits while others tried communicating with him. Noah's group, being the farthest from the land the Officer had crashed upon, could only hear the voices of the trainers nearby.

"Officer! Officer!"

"What's wrong with him," another voice followed.

"Uuuuuuughh," the Officer moaned.

"His leg! Fix his leg!"

"Sir, what happened!? Answer us!"

The Officer finally mustered a response out of his trashed body, "...split up inside...I heard a scream...he came. I couldn't release...eon in time," a harsh wave of coughs erupted from his mouth. "I don't know...where they..."

Heavy footsteps slowly made their way to the entrance. The Officer staggered to sit himself up, several trainers helping to support him.

"...it's coming. New orders...eliminate...the threat. Eliminate."

The Officer groaned once more before losing consciousness. The trainers who had helped him up easily set him down onto the grass to let him rest. In his hand was a single, vacant Pokeball that had been crushed under some great weight.

"What could've done this?"

Noah turned back to the sound of the footsteps creeping closer. He could already see the form of the creature from beyond the opening. His stare caught Jerry and Lyn's attention, eventually catching Ginji's and the rest of the trainer group as well.

It stepped out onto the ground outside, the sun making its yellow coat of fur shine. Small patches of crimson stained its body along its fists and down to its forearms, dripping their way to its muscled midsection. Its striped black tail whipped around behind it, twitching in the air as its eyes feasted on the soon-to-be victims.

The Pokemon grinned wide, its teeth coated with the same color as its arms. The rods on its head gathered electricity at a rapid pace, eager to start the battle with the small group.

"Move it!" A cry from a trainer boomed to her Pokemon.

"He said to exterminate it! That's an order!"

"Exterminate?" Noah repeated, confused. Jerry shoved him on the shoulder as he and several other trainers ran past him to stand by their Pokemon.

"Yeah, as in kill. Trainer basics, Noah!"

There will be times where it's necessary to execute...

Noah nodded, thinking back to his actions against the wild Arbok. He had murdered the creature without hesitation after it threatened Luna, Skai, and Lyn's lives. This would be no different. He quickly dashed ahead to catch up with the others.

"An Electabuzz, and a powerful one. Just look at those muscles," Ginji muttered as he stood behind Yuki.

The Electric Pokemon, zoning in on Ginji's voice, did not hesitate to fire off an unnaturally powerful wave of electric energy. The attack landed only inches away from Yuki, bouncing harmlessly along the ground.

"Finish it off quick, then we can go," Ginji ordered, his voice bold and unaffected by the Pokemon's might.

Yuki barked as she charged directly towards the Electabuzz. The trainers seemed shocked at what seemed to be a display of complete recklessness. Another bolt of electricity came surging from Electabuzz's body, crashing down upon Yuki's head. It struck her dead on, a painfully loud scratching sound bursting forth from the attack that burned at Noah's ears. He looked on in horror as Yuki stood motionless, frozen in place by the might of the attack.

Yuki's body exploded into smoke, shocking everybody. The electric type widened his eyes, obviously not expecting such a reaction from his first victim. He stopped his Thundershock as the puffs of smoke rose high into the sky.

A small little plushy rested on the ground, torn in half with its stuffing hanging out.

'That move!' Noah screamed in his mind.

Electabuzz felt a swift, heavy claw rake itself fiercely across his neck. Darting away after having landed a fatal blow, the pink mongoose bolted back to its trainer. She seemed to be breathing heavily, but otherwise seemed undamaged from the onslaught.

A warm liquid caught his attention. He looked down to see that his yellow coated belly was being completely covered by blood. His blood. Electabuzz gripped his neck in reaction to the sight of his life dripping out of his body, his hands moist from his previous punching bags. His vision was already blurring as a result of the blood loss. He fell to his knees in disappointment, and then slammed into the ground below, drowning in a growing pool of blood.

It had all happened so fast. Most of the Pokemon were speechless after having watched such a quick ending to the battle.

"That's...that's it, right?" a voice came from the crowd.

"Yup, he's finished. Let's go," Ginji assured the rest of the group.

'Noah!'

Noah, finally getting a proper reply from earlier, quickly linked up with Luna, his heart still beating at a mile a minute. 'Luna!'

'You feel it?! I feel it! I feel it!' Luna motioned at the dead creature in front of them.

Noah's gasp caught Lyn's attention. He looked at the blood of the Electabuzz, where Luna had specifically pointed with her claws. Droplets of black were sprinkled throughout the Pokemon’s fluid, and were beginning to stir.

'No! It's...like the Arbok!'

Lyn’s eyes seemed to water. “No, not this again.”

"It's not finished!"

Ginji turned around at Noah's outburst just in time to see what, to him, was the most unnatural act he had seen in his life. The blood was disappearing from the dirt and grass. If the strange black tint to the blood was any indication, it was flowing...back inside of the Pokemon.

"What in the hell..."

The Electabuzz's blood soaked fist twitched as the blood was absorbed by its body. A low-pitched grumble made Ginji and Yuki's pupil's dilate, along with the rest of the group, as the enemy picked himself up off of the ground with ease. The Pokemon, seemingly as good as new, stared back at Ginji with a menacing, obsessive stare.

"hatW ewrop...ecin evmos."

"That...that voice again too," Noah gasped.

He turned to Lynus, knowing that she was the only other person in the group besides Noah, Luna, and Skai to have ever heard that voice before. To Noah, the sounds coming from the creature were no difference than from what everyone else was hearing, but the meaning of the words came to him loud and clear.

"It's taunting us."

Electabuzz didn't give them any chance to regroup after the strange incident, charging its body directly at Yuki's. His fist roared with energy, small jolts bursting from his knuckles as he gathered up more power.

"Yuki! Block it!"

Hearing Ginji's command, Yuki threw her paws out in front of her. Electabuzz's earth shattering fist came crashing down upon a small, transparent bubble. Yuki struggled with the bubble as it shuddered in place, displacing all of the electric power all around the battlefield. The Pokemon and trainers all backed away as the bolts skipped and blasted into the ground, kicking up rocks and small debris.

Electabuzz's battle cry could've shattered the heavens. Its fist refused to puncture the Protect, but the force he was exerting was throwing Yuki off of her balance. With another burst of strength, the demonic creature was able to lift Yuki off of her paws and sent her and the bubble crashing into the ground several feet away. Yuki's body bounced violently off of the bubble before it deteriorated.

"eBy won, abby lrgi."

The rods on Electabuzz's head gathered more electricity, firing it directly at the now vulnerable Yuki.

"Get outta there Yuki!"

The pink ferret, too exhausted from putting up her Protect, struggled to get to her feet. The bolt would prove too fast to avoid with her injury.

A strange, window shaped mirror suddenly appeared in mid-air. The lightning bolts collided against the barrier, struggling to force it down.

"Electabuzz is running low on electricity," Noah told Ginji. "He must've poured all of his energy into knocking out Yuki's Protect."

Yuki, now having the time to pick herself up, quickly dashed back to Ginji's side. Once out of harm's way, the mirror disappeared, letting the bolts collide with the empty spot on the ground.

Irritated, Electabuzz turned to the sky. Right above where Yuki had been tossed was a crescent shaped stone with large, red eyes.

"I'll thank you when this is over!" Ginji waved to the Lunatone hovering in the sky. The enemy growled angrily, its target now the Pokemon so bold as to stop his fun.

Electabuzz charged its fist with electricity again, catching the attention of the trainers. As soon as the energy had been collected, it fizzled out, surprising the Electric Pokemon.

"He's weak now! Attack!" Ginji shouted to the crowd.

Another trainer issued a command to his Pokemon. A pale, orange scaled Pokemon with a skull on its head charged the Electabuzz, its bone club armed and ready. The enemy turned its attention to the Marowak one moment too late, the thick end of the club slamming into the side of his face. A bone-shattering crack made some of the trainers cringe as the opponent fell for the second time.

"Marowak, get back, now!"

The Pokemon and trainers stared on, waiting for the Electabuzz to revive just as it did the last time.

"I eesmde to avhe denrueasmitde yuo. wHo fun!"

A slow, grizzly grinding sound came from inside of the monster's head, meeting the expectations of the trainers.

"How the hell...?" Ginji stared on in disbelief. The Electabuzz stood back on its feet, bellowing.

"Can't this thing die?!" Another trainer shouted out.

"Yes, it can!" Lyn announced out without thinking.

Electabuzz turned its attention towards Lyn's direction. His eyes locked with Noah's artifact as he scoped the group.

"Ahhhh," it sighed, as if it was satisfied. "'re'ouY eerh. wNo I acn EALLRY aply."

Noah's stomach felt as though it flipped when the Pokemon spoke directly to him. He stared back at it, wanting the wretched creature out of his sight. He could feel a burning sensation coming from Luna in the form of a powerful urge, a lust for a missing piece of a much needed puzzle. He wanted to shred this demon apart just as much as his partner.

The grin stretched across Luna's face widened at the thoughts of the incoming battle. She was itching to fight in order to claim her prize.

Struggling to filter Luna's sensations from his own, Noah snapped to his senses, straining in his attempts to control the incoming urges from Luna's body.

'LUNA! Control it! Remember what happened before!'

Noah's voice echoed inside Luna's mind, reminding her of her near death experience in the past. Her devilish smile didn't disappear, but her head was already beginning to clear as a result of his intrusion. Her breathing slowed down.

'...I'm fine, thanks.'

"You say you can kill this thing?" Another trainer asked towards Lyn.

"Yes, we can," Noah answered for her. "It's been done before."

"Then how?" Ginji replied.

Noah, Luna, and Lyn simultaneously gulped. "I...don't know exactly."

"Nice."

Electabuzz, no longer interested in their idle conversation, flexed its massive arms while making an attempt to charge more electricity. The group's attention snapped right back to the bulbous yellow Pokemon. Tiny bolts of energy sparked in between the rods on Electabuzz's head, gathering together and growing larger with every passing moment.
Another trainer on the other side of the field had just prepared a command to her Pokemon when Jerry grabbed her attention with a wave of his hand. Without saying anything, he put his index finger to his lips, followed by a quick point back to the Electric Pokemon.

Electabuzz was as confused as several of the trainers around him when the bolts he had gathered suddenly fizzled out of existence. His eyes widened as he grunted in disbelief. He quickly tried gathering a full charge, greeted again by a small jolt no more painful than the sensation of static.

"That's it. He's out of power," Jerry spoke with a smirk of confidence, "now we can take him down however we want."

"eb hgirt acbk, ybba," the monster pointed towards Luna, giving her a disgusting smile that sent a shiver down her and Noah's spine. Not wasting his time, the Pokemon was true to his word, turning his back to the trainers and beginning his hasty retreat back inside of the Windworks Headquarters.

A gentle breeze began to blow against Noah's back, his red vest shuddering against his body as the strength of the wind began to pick up. A stinging, ethereal sensation poured over his skin, seemingly passing through his body, carried by the increasing gust.

"Look, up there!"

A younger trainer pointed directly at one of the turbines surrounding the group. A small, purple object was ominously positioned right next to the giant blades, bobbing in the air almost playfully, staring back at the gathered group yards below.

"It's over here, too!"

Noah turned to his side, another purple sphere appeared against yet another turbine, floating gently around the machine. Being slightly closer to Noah than the other, the features of this strange purple object were more defined. It had two thin, black strings swaying from side to side below the purple body. Two beady black holes surrounded a yellow, x shaped design on its "face", and a playful little white cloud bubbled atop its head.

The Drifloon began to appear along the other turbines, the chilling air picking up with every additional balloon-ghost that was spotted.

"The turbines! They're spinning them!" Jerry shouted to the group, the rest of the tiny militia finally snapping to the Electabuzz's plan.

Ginji and Yuki had no regrets as they both darted straight into the building in search for the Electric Pokemon. Noah, Jerry, Lynus, and the rest of the group quickly followed suit, the wind on the outside beginning to spin the turbines with ease.

The interior of the building didn't leave much to the imagination. It reminded Noah of the streets back in Jubilife: Every perpendicular hallway off to either side of the group branched off of the main hall they were traveling down. It was similar to the roots of a plant, in which smaller hallways branched off of these perpendicular halls, each one holding several small offices or supply closets to store materials.

A majority of the left side of the building was already severely damaged from the battle that had most likely taken place between the Electabuzz and the Officer, several holes and slashes decorating the branching hallways, while debris were scattered all along the floor. Papers, documents, and leaking water drenched the flooded ground in several spots.

Noah made very little effort to keep his attention on a wide river of drying blood coming from one of the rooms opened to his left. The rest of the group was no more hesitant to ignore it for the time being. The orders were clear: eliminate the hostile Pokemon.

The hallway forked up ahead, a worn down sign labeling both ends of the hallways. Noah caught sight of Yuki speeding off to the left with Ginji right behind her, heading to what was labeled as the "Main Generator".

It took the party no more than ten seconds to finally breach the threshold that lead to the generator room. Surprisingly, the room was incredibly spacey. There was plenty of running room with the generator more or less positioned in the corner. Along the sides of this gym-sized arena, were ladders that reached up to the ceiling of the room. Catwalks were positioned at separate levels of height, completely bordering the open space.

Sure enough, a quick glance towards the generator revealed the familiar yellow Pokemon, his hands resting on the exterior of the giant device.

"wBlo esom fo hatt weets uijec ym awy, syob."

The sound of the wind outside could be heard through the walls in the building, rattling the glass windows. Bitter to the touch, some of the wind came sneaking in through the shattered openings in the front of the structure.

The generator buzzed and hummed as it began to quickly gather energy from the collective turbines on the outside, whose blades began to spin viciously from the effect of the Ominous Wind attacks by the Drifloon. The trainers quickly reacted before the Electabuzz could drain any of the gathering energy from the machine.

A trainer shouted an order to her Ivysaur. The seed Pokemon's vines sprouted from its back without haste. Gripping the ground tightly with its claws, the Ivysaur sent its appendages to attack the charging Pokemon.

Electabuzz was growling contently as he felt his internal battery recharging. He continued to allow the energy to pour into his being, completely ignoring the stinging sensation of the vine whip on his back. Slits of fur on his back were whipped clean off, the attack proving to be fruitless as the mysterious creature's wounds sealed shut almost as soon as they had been ripped open.

Frustrated, the trainer ordered the Ivysaur once more, this time, sharpened leaves fired from the plant. Right behind the Razor Leaf, another trainer's Primeape quickly followed the attack towards its intended target.

Electabuzz's recharge process was cut short when he spotted a large splash of his own blood splatter against the generator. The Razor Leaf sliced cleanly through him, his right arm recoiling and separated from the exterior of the machine. Before he could even manage to turn around, he felt a powerful blow to the center of his back. The power behind the attack forced his other hand off of the generator, disconnecting him successfully. He felt two large hands clutch him by the tail, and drag him away from his power supply. Unable to recover fast enough to resist, Electabuzz was at the mercy of the Primeape. With a bold battle cry, Electabuzz was seemingly lifted off of the ground with ease, and was sent hurling into a wall to the side of the generator, his body slamming into the surface with an ear deafening thud. His body collapsed in on itself immediately following the impact.

The blood that was dripping from his shoulder had disappeared once more. Still trembling from the impact, the Electabuzz picked himself up off of the ground, his eyes narrowed and focused directly on the Primeape before reminding himself of his true target. His head turned slowly towards Luna, his eyes locked onto her body.

"tNo as cuhm sa I anwtde..."

Noah looked on as the rest of the trainers readied for what was looking to be a long, drawn out battle. His thoughts quickly focused on the turbines and the generator.

"Jerry, Lyn."

The two of them looked right back at Noah. "What's up, Noah?" Jerry asked.

"We need to get rid of those Drifloon. This thing will just keep recharging so long as we leave those Pokemon alone."

"...you're right. At the very least, it will severely weaken him. Electabuzz are far too dependent on electric attacks."

"Exactly," Noah reassured the group.

"So," Lynus added in, "we stop the Drifloon, and the Electabuzz gets weaker?"

"That's the plan."

"Noah! He's coming!" Ginji's voice shattered their group chat. Noah turned back to the scene ahead of him, Electabuzz recklessly barreling towards the Cat Ferret. His fists were clenched tightly, electricity bursting throughout his forearms.

"Luna, don't touch him! He's channeling electricity!"

Luna easily saw the Electabuzz's left hook coming due to the enemy's terribly slow attack speed. She quickly side stepped away from him, leaving his fist to swing wildly at the open space no longer occupied by Luna's body. The built up electricity in his fists was instantly released, a thick line of energy erupted and collided nearly instantly with the wall behind Noah's group. A small section of the wall was charred almost completely black.

Electabuzz did not give Luna a chance to breath, jumping right back towards her with another charged fist. Again, his slow movements projected his intended target, allowing Luna to avoid him with ease. Another portion of the room's wall turned black almost instantly.

Luna smirked, spotting a huge opening after he whiffed his second Thunder Punch. Hearing Noah's order almost simultaneously, Luna's claws extended as she raised her arm. She brought her razor sharp weapons down across Electabuzz's stomach, slashing straight through his belly, his blood splattering along the floor. Luna jumped back quickly, retreating so the enemy would be unable to counter.

Electabuzz fell to his knees, his hands trying desperately to cover up the wound. His face twisted with pain as he cried out.

He didn't catch a glimpse of Lynus' mantis Pokemon speeding towards him with his giant scythe extended. Swiftly, Skai made a deep gash across his throat, more of the helpless Pokemon's blood spraying from his pathetic, beaten body. Unable to focus, the Electabuzz fell to the ground once again.

"...this is frustrating. He's only going to get right back up...and we'll be at square one all over again," Noah noted, struggling to remember how he had managed to rid his group of the Arbok before.

Jerry's voice echoed from behind him. "He won't be down forever. He's going to keep getting energy as long as those Drifloon are on the outside. We need a group to go out there and stop those Drifloon from feeding this thing more power, now!"

Ginji spoke up first, pointing one at a time to several trainers, "You, you, you, you, you, and you, come with me. We'll take care of the Drifloon outside." He looked back to Noah, Jerry, and Lyn. "I'm sure you guys can handle things in here?"

Jerry nodded back at him, "Sure, so long as you can handle things out there."

Ginji quickly dashed back out of the exit, calling Yuki to his side. She gave one last glance at Noah's party before disappearing behind the walls.

From the pile of blood and fur, the Electabuzz coughed, the healing process already kicking in. Noah ignored his chuckles.

"I'st eplhosse, oSl."

The young man shuddered at the monster, looking back at the trainers that stayed behind. His group quickly ran over to the other trainers, their Pokemon all lined up to fight against the threat.

"He's gotta have some sort of a limit," Jerry spoke to the group, "he can't have infinite power. The sooner the group outside cuts off his power supply, the faster we can end this. Just keep wearing him down as much as each of you can, alright?" Everyone else agreed.

Luna, Skai, and Monferno lined up with the rest of the trainer's Pokemon. To the side of the Ivysaur and the Primeape from earlier, were two additional Pokemon. One of them, a speedy little bug, whose wings fluttered so fast that they seemed almost invisible to the untrained eye. The other resembled a gremlin of sorts, with diamonds for eyes, and purple colored skin that was freezing to the touch. The Ninjask and Sableye were poised and ready for battle with the rest of the group.

A chuckle filled the room, coming from the pile of bloody yellow fur ahead of the group. The Electabuzz's antennas swelled with glowing energy. He lifted his body, leaning his weight onto his left knee, a smile on his face.

"xclEntle. heT yarpt si epsedtara. emTi orf eht ealr show..."

'Noah...do you feel that?' Luna called out to her partner. Noah sent a confirmation back at her. Through her bond with him, he could feel her urges to fight spike. It took almost no thought for Noah to realize what was happening to her.

'He's trying to coax you in, Luna. You need to resist it. Charging into his range is exactly what he wants.'

'Goddamn it...how is he doing this...'

Luna's claws quivered with anticipation as the Electabuzz finally managed to stand on its two feet again. Without a single ounce of fear in his glare, his fists rose poised and at the ready. His eyes kept a steady connection with Luna's.

"ouYer' enim, abby!"

==========

Outside, the wind was blowing steadily; the Drifloon had eased up on the Ominous Wind to conserve their energies. They continued to bounce around in the air near each individual turbine, struggling to keep control in the air thanks to the wind they had summoned. Their tiny strings had been tied around the towering section of each turbine, keeping them successfully in place.

A powerful stream of water rushed high into the air, aimed directly at one of the Drifloon perched on the turbine. In an incredible display of precision, the Drifloon was nailed square in the face with the powerful water gun. The poor balloon Pokemon struggled to keep a grip on the turbine, but the force of the attack quickly drained its strength, and it was forced to release its hold. The stream shoved it from the turbine and directly into the ground, drenching the tiny little body.

A Quagsire, with its empty-headed smile and beady round eyes, slowly clapped its fins together in celebration. The trainer next to it gave Quagsire a pat on the head for an excellent job.

Near another tower, a pink colored Zangoose ferociously climbed another one of the turbines, the Drifloon atop the structure only able to watch on in horror as the Cat Ferret made its way to the apex.

"Forgive me, but these are my master's orders," Yuki whispered, her claws pulsating with a dark energy. Her sharp weapons collided with the delicate, soft body of the ghost Pokemon, puncturing it with its dark energy. A rush of cold air burst from what was concealed inside of the Drifloon as it slothfully slid down the edge of the turbine.

Ginji stared on at the scene of the other trainers doing their part. Behind him, at another turbine, a Muk was firing its filth at another target. At the same time, to Ginji's side, a swarm of razor sharp petals came from a tiny Bellossom, the attack showering another enemy in cuts.

Ginji's face showed signs of concern. Yuki had since returned to his side, trying to grab his attention.

"Ginji, what's the matter now?"

Ginji shut his eyes for a moment, deep in thought, before he decided to speak. "Something not right here. Look at the Drifloon. Notice anything out of place?"

Yuki had felt as though something was amiss as well. "Yes. Umm...they're not fighting back at all."

"Exactly. Why aren't they defending themselves? They're just letting us tear them apart."

The remaining Drifloon had been eliminated during the time that Ginji and Yuki were pondering on this, the trainers returning to the center of the Valley before reporting their status. Ginji nodded to each one, but refused to return to the group inside the headquarters just yet.

Another breeze of cold air came bursting through the valley, the turbines spinning uncontrollably from the sudden shift. Several trainers from the militia almost tumbled over themselves due to the ferocity of the wind.

"What the hell was that?!" Ginji shouted in surprised.

"...Mr. Gami," one of the younger trainers addressed him, "how did they-"

Ginji turned back to the field of turbines. Sitting atop each individual machine, was a tiny purple balloon. They all chirped delightfully while they mindlessly swayed back and forth in the gust.

"They can heal too?" The wind picked up once more.

==========

The side of Luna's mouth was stained with her own blood, her fur standing on end from the electrical charges she had taken so far in battle. Her anger and frustration rising, she headed straight into battle.

Electabuzz was dealing with Primeape when he caught a glimpse of a white ball of fur charging back at him. He laughed under his breath and his attacks whiffed against the battle-savvy fighting type.

Primeape's fist came crashing down into his face, the pig monkey Pokemon following suit. The Electric Pokemon roared fiercely, letting loose a wave of electric energy that coursed through Primeape's fist and into his body. The poor creature cried in agony, his fist unable to pull away from Electabuzz's face during the devastating Thundershock.

Now open to attack, Electabuzz swung its fist around, and sank it deep inside of Primeape's white fur. Not giving the monkey a chance to retaliate, he kicked it aside, moving his attention back to Luna as the previous Pokemon rolled uselessly out of his path.

"How the hell is he so strong now!? I don't understand!" Jerry shouted as his Monferno dashed forward to support Luna. One of the trainers was tending to their knocked out Ninjask, who had been demolished by a ferocious Swift that chopped up its wings, and now without Primeape's support, the group's strength had been weakened from seven to five. Ivysaur was still in peak fighting condition, but only because the Electabuzz had yet to make an attack on the grass Pokemon.

Aside from her bleeding lip and fur, Luna was still in good fighting form. Monferno had taken a blow to the face earlier, and whenever Skai managed to sneak in another gash, it would heal up almost immediately, making his surprise attacks meaningless.

Electabuzz braced himself as Luna closed in the distance, swinging her claws down into his stomach. She raked cleanly across, sending fur and flesh to the floor with another fearsome Slash attack. The Electabuzz grunted while his blood came oozing from the wound, but used the gash to his advantage. He quickly spread his arms out, his fingers stretched to their limits as his antenna pulsated with energy.

He quickly shifted his target, throwing Luna's focus completely off. Throwing his arms out in front of him, Electabuzz unleashed a hailstorm of sharp, flying stars, each one heading straight for Monferno.

The target responded almost immediately, his body engulfed in flames within a moment, spinning faster as his attack gained speed. Many of the stars were swallowed up by the chimp's flaming defenses, reducing the effectiveness of the attack.

The Flame Wheel disbursed, leaving a grounded, downed Monferno gasping for air. Blood dribbled down its right shoulder and legs, the source of each wound a glowing star that had been shoved into his body. The stars, finally running out of energy, faded out of sight, revealing the minor punctures they had made to Monferno's body.

"Monferno, are you okay?"

The Pokemon responded to his master, grunting confidently as he caught his breath again.

"You son of a bitch! I'm your target right now, not him!" Luna barked, her words masked by her native language.

"Hey ardgnli, ayl ffo eht sunilst. yM thmoer saw a asint," the abomination teased. Luna hadn't noticed that one of his arms had been glowing with more electric energy. Although much more faint, it still held a respectable threat level given his immense, physical strength.

"Luna, move it!"

Luna's eyes quickly ran down Electabuzz's moving arm, spotting the electric cluster now gathered in his hands. The ball rammed straight into Luna's side, exploding in a dazzling display of energy. Luna's fur kicked straight back up as her body was swallowed up by electric energy. She stumbled back, her vision spinning around while struggling to regain her composure.

'Duck!' she heard Noah's voice shout into her mind.

Luna, clenched her eyes shut as she crouched as low to the ground as she could. She heard the swing of a mighty fist, the edge of her enemy's fur grazing her ears. Instinctually, Luna counter attacked, swinging her powerful arm straight into his gut. Electabuzz gasped as the air escaped his body, giving Luna another chance to attack.

Capitalizing on this, Luna extended her claws, slicing yet another opening along his midsection, creating an incision that ran parallel with her previous slash. His cries brought assurance to her mind. Luna required space to breathe. Realizing this, she rammed both of her paws into him once again, trying to push him away.

Her paws stopped at the same moment they had collided with his body. She opened her eyes, her vision still blurry from the attack earlier. Even as bad as her vision was, she could see the villain's smile stretched across his face, blood caked across his belly and chest.

His arms were wrapped around Luna's paws, pulling her in to prevent any escape. Luna struggled to push him away from her, panicking when she saw energy pulsate from his body.

The trainer's all simultaneously issued a command, Ivysaur, Skai, Monferno, and the Sableye all charging Electabuzz before he could unleash hell upon the helpless Cat Ferret.

"Let me go, god damn it!"

"D'tno sgtugel. m'I oatub ot tup no a whso!"

No one could predict what the Electabuzz had planned. Electricity now coated his body, the Electric Pokemon ensuring that every drop from his internal reserves was being charged into this next attack. Prepared, he released a giant field of electricity that quickly spread in a small area around him, encasing himself, Luna, Sableye, and Ivysaur, the latter two closer to him than Skai and Monferno.

Noah, Jerry, and Lyn had to block their eyes from the spectacle, the bright rays of energy that surged from the Pokemon too extreme for them to witness. Ivysaur and Sableye's cries of pain could be heard over the attack.

Noah called, 'Luna!' The only response he received was in the form of a sharp jolt of pain that ran throughout his body. He flinched while the shock wave began to die out, Electabuzz's energy completely empty once again.

Sableye, being the closest one to Luna at the time, was completely wiped out, sprawled on the floor, twitching as the electricity continued to surge though its body. Ivysaur stumbled in place, trying to regain its composure, only taking minimal damage due to its typing.

Luna, the closest to ground zero, was on her knees, held up only by the Electabuzz's grip on her paws. She was completely knocked unconscious.

"Skai! Get her away from him!"

"Monferno, he's out of power, finish him!"

The mantis gave no second thoughts when he heard his master's voice. With unimaginable speed, he dashed towards the Electabuzz, the Electric Pokemon still recoiling from the power of his own attack. He felt a sharp sting on his arms as a single, sharp blade ran through his fur, blood staining the edges of the scythe. Skai didn't waste time in slamming his body into Electabuzz's, forcing his grip off of Luna's paws. Skai quickly grabbed her with the dull ends of his weapons and wasted no time pulling her away from the battle.

"Damn," Noah muttered as he pulled out her ball, her body vanishing from Skai's grip as the beam of light surrounded and sucked her into her container. "What the hell is this thing made out of? How can we deal with it...?"

The thought that panicked Noah the most at this point in the fight was the idea that Luna was the only Pokemon that he had that had displayed any ability for taking out enemies like this. Now that she was out, the group was trapped with an enemy that was ridiculously hard to control.

Monferno, true to Jerry's orders, focused his strength into his fists. The distance between him and his target shrank to mere inches away. A crunching sound echoed in the generator room as Monferno's fist collided with Electabuzz's skull, the bone audibly cracking from inside. Quickly backing up to avoid any possible attacks from the Pokemon, Monferno retreated to a safe distance, Skai and Ivysaur hurrying to support him, his dried up blood stained his burning, red fur.

Another chuckle from the heap of filth. Noah's eyes widened as the Electabuzz moved around on the ground. It slowly crawled backwards, making contact with the generator. The machine continued to hum as the Pokemon fed off of its energy once again. The mysterious black droplets began to work their magic on his body again, The damage dealt by Luna and Skai beginning to seal up, while his skull reworked back into its proper shape. Lynus shivered as the bones snapped back into place and the flesh sealed the blood back inside of his body.

The Electabuzz was breathing heavily, but had not one single scratch upon his body.

"This is a losing battle," Jerry ominously uttered under his breath.

==========

"Yuki! Break out and reel him in!"

The Zangoose struggled to free herself from the couple of strings that had tied themselves tightly around her dazzling coat of fur. They squeezed against her flesh, pinning her arms to the sides of her body.

Caught from the corner of his eye, Ginji spotted a yellow and brown figure teleporting back and forth. Giant swells of white energy flew straight through the path the Psi Pokemon made during his teleports, crashing into the ground and erupting on impact, kicking up dirt and rocks. The cunning Pokemon clutched his spoon tightly in his hand, focusing his energies on another incoming swell. His spoon bent at the same time that a visible, transparent shield appeared in front of him. The attack withered as it ate through the barrier, completely harmless once it had fully passed through the sheet.

Yuki, using every ounce of power that she had in her, snapped the strings wrapped around her, a tiny little whimper coming from the Drifloon the strings had been attached to. The bits of string that were still connected to the balloon Pokemon's body were beginning to retreat when Yuki's paws grabbed at them. The advantage now hers, she apologized to the helpless Pokemon before pulling him towards, yanking on the cord whenever the Drifloon struggled against her powerful might.

The frail little creature was helpless as it fell to her might. The distance closed to a mere feet away from each other, Ginji gave the order to finish it.

Yuki bowed her head towards her prey, her fur bristling with a very peculiar energy. The source of the attack channeled its way into her paws, gathering together to form the attack. The Drifloon, seeing what Yuki was planning to do, struggled harder to avoid the incoming pain.

The thunderbolt quickly shot through her paws, passing into the tattered strings of the Drifloon, and into its body, the might of Yuki's technique causing the poor thing to twitch violently in the air. It fell in a heap to the ground shortly afterward, small surges of electricity still being discharged through its strings. Yuki retreated back to her trainer, short on breath and strength.

Elsewhere in the valley, a Drifloon was pinned against the ground by a rotting pile of sludge. The Muk seemingly growled at the pinned sentry as his toxic essence made its way through Drifloon's ghostly body, the potent poison slowly sucking away at the Pokemon's life. The struggling weakened until all resistance completely stopped. Exhausted, the Muk slothfully dragged itself to its trainer's side.

"Ginji...Ginji look!" Yuki called out to her beloved master, pointing back at the smoldering Pokemon she had just downed. Ginji's attention turned away from the other trainers' progress to the sight of the dead Drifloon rising back from the grave. The eyes seemed to blink as the burns disappeared and the strings reattached themselves. Yuki, still panting, took her position in front of her trainer, prepared to fight the same creature yet again.

"This just doesn't make any damn sense! How are they doing this?"

The other Pokemon in the field showed signs of their own fatigue. The Drifloon's battle skills were poor, but the energy required to continuously down them was beginning to take its toll on the battling Pokemon. They were quickly becoming too exhausted to keep up.

Ginji heard the sound of a Marowak cry out from a distance, most likely struck by another Drifloon's ominous wind.

"We're losing control." He thought back to the group on the inside. "The Electabuzz is the same way on the inside." The turbines continued to turn with every Ominous Wind the ghost types summoned. "And he keeps getting more and more energy. How do we stop them if we can't kill them?"

Ginji caught sight of another trainer, their current battle put on hold when their Lunatone had extinguished their respective Drifloon.

"You there!"

The trainer turned to him, alert and ready. "Mr. Gami!"

"Run back to the generator room. Tell the group in there that the Drifloon can't be killed! They heal up just like the Electabuzz!"

The trainer refused to question Ginji, calling the crescent shaped Pokemon to their side as they disappeared behind into the hallways of the structure.

"Yuki, can you hang on for a little while longer?"

Yuki turned back and smiled sweetly, "Master, haven't we been through worse?"

==========

Monferno was sent sailing across the room, his eyes glazed over and his body failing to respond to Jerry's orders. Van Tussel quickly returned his Pokemon to its ball before any more damage could befall his comrade.

Ivysaur couldn't handle Electabuzz from such a close range, taking blow after blow to its body and skull. It thrust its body out of the path of another electrically charged punch, barely managing to evade, and extended its vines. It swung them down hard across the side of Electabuzz's back, a thick red slash ripped his back in two. The Electric Pokemon flinched, hissing at the impact while staring back at the Ivysaur with bloodlust beginning to boil in his eyes.

Ivysaur's trainer ordered another wave of vine whip, the Pokemon raising its whips several feet into the air before snapping them back down towards the Electabuzz. At the same time, he quickly stretched out his hands, the appendages whipping ferociously at his palms. Cursing in his own strange language, he clutched his fingers around the vines.

Ivysaur panicked, sending out several waves of Razor Leaf as Electabuzz savagely pulled Ivysaur into him. Electabuzz ignored the cuts that began to appear on his face, arms, legs, and body, oblivious to the amounts of blood that were streaming from the wounds.

"aoGnn dens uoy to Masr, abyb!"

Electabuzz passed both vines into his left arm, and in one swift, powerful motion, tugged Ivysaur up to his body. Now at point blank, and his right arm free of obstructions, he swung his fist underneath Ivysaur's jaw, electricity pouring from his knuckles as the uppercut perfectly connected.

Ivysaur was sent flying towards the ceiling before arching back towards the ground, and landed harshly on a catwalk several flights above ground level. Ivysaur groaned as its vines slowly crept back into its body. With its strength vanished, its body sprawled out along the walkway as it lost consciousness.

A sharp sting ran across Electabuzz's back, with blood quickly following and spilling out. He lurched forward from the strike, feeling a presence a distance ahead of him. Falling to one knee, Electabuzz followed the trail of blood left behind by the swift attack, tracking it to a shining blade.

Skai wiped the blood off of his arm with a swing. The blood splashed along the floor, sinking into the ground for a second before springing to life. It retreated back to its source, pouring back inside the wounds from the countless razor leaf attacks and vine whips.

Electabuzz was given another clean slate, but struggled to catch his breath.

"Look at him, Jerry," Noah quietly noted. Jerry turned back to Noah. "Just look. Haven't you noticed anything?"

Lynus, the only trainer in the fight that still had a functioning Pokemon, made sure to listen in as Jerry replied, "I see it too, Noah. He's healing up all of the damage we give him just fine...but the more he heals up, the more exhausted he becomes."

"Are you two saying that we should try and force him to recover?" Lyn asked the two young men. Noah nodded his approval of the strategy- as if they hadn't been doing so all along. Lynus' attention shot back to her guardian.

"Skai, we need you to cut him up as much as you possibly can!"

Skai acknowledged his trainer's request, raising his arms in preparation.

The battlefield was quiet, save for the unsteady breathing from all of the Pokemon and trainers in the room. The tension collapsed as Skai nearly disappeared, charging towards Electabuzz with a Quick Attack.

Electabuzz instantly responded by gathering electricity for another Shock Wave. Skai, realizing what he was planning, beat his wings harder as he glided right above the ground, swiftly closing in on Electabuzz. He pulled a scythe to his side, and quickly sidestepped to avoid colliding with the opponent. His weapon slid gracefully into the opposing Pokemon, ripping his tender flesh. The impact forced the Electabuzz to drop control of his shock wave, electricity bursting and discharging around an enclosed space.

Skai was unable to avoid the attack that Electabuzz dropped, feeling the sting of electricity numb his exoskeleton. Skai stumbled forward, trying to shake off the strange sensation. He didn't hear Lynus' call to dodge. His head swung violently to the right as a fist grazed clean off of his snout. Skai fell to the ground in a daze, trying to focus his mind.

Angered, Skai picked himself up. He caught the sight of a healing Electabuzz, the deep mark Skai had made just moments ago vanishing. Frustrated, he charged back at the Pokemon, intending on sticking to the orders given to him by Lyn.

Another punch came from his left, easily dodged with Skai's agility. Face to face, Skai raised his scythes into the air and brought them both down on Electabuzz's respective shoulders with a chopping motion. His scythes jammed themselves inside.

The electric type snapped, bringing his hands up to grab Skai's arms. With a single pull that forced the scythes to Electabuzz's back before popping them out, he rammed the mantis with a vicious head butt, blood finally escaping from Skai's jaw.

Lyn's guardian refused to let the collision bewilder him any further. With his arms free, he darted right back to Electabuzz and sliced him across his belly. The villain quickly answered back with a punch right in between Skai's eyes, forcing him to stumble back a foot.

Reacting immediately, Skai dragged his weapons down Electabuzz's arms, sending more blood splashing to the ground. The enemy's wounds started to heal as his answers to Skai's mindless battle tactics kept wearing down the insect.

"Skai! BACK OFF!" came a familiar voice, breaking the concentration Skai had. Instead of taking yet another attack from Electabuzz, Skai dodged, giving him another quick slash across his back as he retreated back to Lynus. Once he was a safe distance away, he fell to his knees, supporting himself with his arms, the fatigue beginning to wear out his body.

Electabuzz healed up the minor wounds, his glare directed completely at the mantis, a murderous desire filling his corrupted mind.

Footsteps from the hallway gave away the trainer's presence before they entered the room. Noah recognized them immediately from the Lunatone's appearance right behind its trainer. The trainer gasped for air from the dash they had made from outside.

Noah reacted immediately, "How's it going outside!? Have you managed to stop them!?"

The trainer struggled to talk through their deep breaths, "We tried! But...they...keep healing...like him!" The trainer directed Noah to the Electric Pokemon ahead of them.

"What?! How in the hell are we supposed to deal with this then!?" Jerry fumed as he grabbed another Pokemon from his belt.

"We...can't hold them off forever out there," the trainer continued, focusing more on Jerry now, "they keep...coming back. They're knocking out everyone's Pokemon! We're running low. Eventually..."

"Got it," they heard Noah. He seemed to have figured something out. The Electabuzz, uninterested in the conversation, and with no threat beyond Skai stopping him, started to recharge at the generator once again, the rest of the party unable to do anything but watch on as all of their hard work evaporated into oblivion.

Noah bluntly gave the trainer his idea, "Destroy the turbines."

Jerry's jaw dropped. "Are you absolutely insane, Sol!? Do you know how much those things cost to bui-"

"They're not worth the price of losing a trainer, or their Pokemon, Jerry," Noah sharply replied to him. "The Drifloon and Electabuzz can heal. The turbines can't. Without the turbines, the generator's useless. Without the generator, Electabuzz's threat level plummets."

Jerry agreed. "That's all just perfect Noah, except how do we deal with this...healing factor?"

Noah looked to Luna's ball. "We need Luna. As far as I know, she was the one in our fight with the Arbok that managed to take him down. We need to hold off until her strength comes back if we're going to rely on her."

"There's really no other choice. None of our Pokemon are really accomplishing anything by fighting these strange Pokemon," Lynus continued.

"So, go tell everyone outside to destroy the turbines. Got it?" Noah asked.

"I dton' keil ebing letf tou fo a plna," a voice eerily hissed from the other end of the room. Electabuzz had fully charged itself, his sights on the new trainer who was beginning to make their way back to the valley. Noah hastily grabbed at his other Pokeball, hurling it towards the direction of the trainer.

At a frightening speed, Electabuzz fired off a powerful Thundershock from his antenna. It whizzed right through the empty space in the center of the room before colliding with something small, yet tough. Spare electricity kicked off of a black, metal hide that extended from a short, thick appendage. The hide shivered in place, shaking off the electricity it endured for the trainer. The message escaped through the doors, Electabuzz's desire to give chase blocked by this new obstacle.

The metal hide opened up, revealing two sharp rows of teeth and a slimy, gray tongue. The yellow colored creature below observed the foe with its dazzling, ruby colored eyes.

"Sorry. You need to deal with me before you get to play outside," Koko mocked him with a playful smile.

"hS'e tiyn! Leik a etuc qsomtiuo."

He gave Koko no additional thought, ignoring her and making way for the exit. He wasn't expecting a giant jaw to appear right in his line of vision. Surprised, Electabuzz lost his focus, watching as the jaw came swinging into his face, smashing him into the floor. Flustered, Electabuzz stumbled to get back on his feet. He looked around for the small, yellow creature, but she seemed to have vanished into thin air.

He looked down, his shadow pooled underneath his body. Again, he didn't foresee the jaw to appear so suddenly from the ground, not so much as scratching the floor as it reached out and smashed into him again, sending him tumbling back even further.

Electabuzz felt flat on his back, his eyes wide open and in shock. The bruises beneath his fur healed faster than they formed. He was still reeling in the disbelief of how much power and agility such a tiny, bulky creature had in its possession.

"...an nayongin qsomtiuo."

A flash of light appeared next to Koko as she backed away, giving the two sides room to analyze one another. A small, green skinned Pokemon poised side by side with her, its hide as tough as rock.

Jerry returned the ball to his belt, him and his Larvitar ready to tackle the Electabuzz with Noah and his Mawile. The Electabuzz, at the sight of a creature exactly the same size as the former, let out a snarl of irritation.

"Just don't bite down on him, Koko! There's something wrong with his blood! Avoid biting him, and stick to your battle style!"

Koko heeded Noah's words, bracing herself as a wrathful Electabuzz came barreling down upon the duo. In his rage, Electabuzz sloppily tossed out a strong punch towards Koko. She quickly threw her secondary jaw out in front of her like a shield, letting the jaw absorb the impact.

"Hehe. Thanks mister. That tickled," Koko smiled back at her opponent, her typing proving to be a huge advantage to withstanding his blows. Dumbfounded, Electabuzz, with his hand still in contact with Mawile's body, began to channel electricity down his arm.

Larvitar hopped towards Koko, shoving the Electric Pokemon's hand away and gripping onto his body in her place. Electabuzz let loose a powerful Thundershock that was sent into the rock skinned Pokemon. Larvitar easily shook off the useless electrical attack, completely immune and unharmed.

Still latched onto him, Larvitar crawled up and onto Electabuzz's head, grabbing hold and pulling on his antenna. Struggling with the gremlin's massive weight and attacks, Electabuzz tried another, minor Thundershock to try and stun him. The small Pokemon didn't so much as flinch when the attack was sent through his body, pulling and twisting the Electric Pokemon's appendages any which way. Unable to handle the irritation much longer, he reached up and grabbed onto Larvitar, attempting to pull him away from his face.

Koko's eyes twinkled and her jaw twitched as an opening the size of the sun appeared square in the center of Electabuzz's body. Her jaw swung behind her as she charged, her battle cry increasing in volume as the distance to her target closed. Electabuzz, upon hearing the tiny munchkin's voice, looked back to the ground as the Mawile snapped her head around, bringing her massive horn barreling down on his stomach, the attack covering his entire upper body.

The force of the attack caused Electabuzz to stumble backward, Jerry's Pokemon hanging onto his antenna while Koko made for another swing at the creature. She collided yet again, a gasp of air rushing out of the target as he tried to cope with the double team. Concentrating, Larvitar continued to pull and tug on his head. A third swing came pounding down onto Electabuzz's body, finally lifting him off of his body and onto his back.

"weSety, eroyu' ebmigonc a apin ni eth ass."

He lifted himself back to his feet with very few problems. Keeping an eye on Koko, he grabbed Larvitar from both sides of his body and began to pull him from his skull. Electabuzz screamed as Larvitar's grip tightened around his antenna, fighting through the pangs. For a moment, Electabuzz seemed to pause to gather strength, and in one sweeping motion, he yanked Larvitar from his head, antenna be damned.

Larvitar's eyes widened at the sacrifice the Pokemon had made, the antenna still gripped tightly in his hands. Now in his grasp, Electabuzz malevolently beamed at the helpless Pokemon. Koko hesitated, rushing over in an attempt to save her comrade. The Electric Pokemon dropped Larvitar, bracing his body as the tiny green Pokemon fell towards the ground.

His leg swung around ferociously, slamming into Larvitar's side. The blow cracked the outer layer of natural armor, and sent him several feet in front of him, landing directly in Koko's path. The victim's eyes were in a state of shock, his body frigid and useless. Jerry immediately called him back to his ball.

Koko's eyes flared with anger as she stared down the healing brute in front of her, ready to take him down.

==========

"Are you kidding me?! Did he seriously suggest that?" Ginji asked the trainer who had just reappeared from the headquarters.

"Yes Mr. Gami! He said it was the only way we'd be able to stop the flow of energy to Electabuzz inside the building!"

A solid shot of energy came from a nearby Drifloon. Ginji and the trainer stared it down as Yuki leapt into the air to intercept it. She raised her arms and thrust her paws towards the blast, a powerful barrier nullifying the entire attack.

"How are they doing inside?" Ginji continued.

"Not doing any better. They might actually be worse off than us. Very few of their Pokemon were still able to fight when I left."

"Then there's no other choice. Run and send the message to the others. I'll get rid of the turbines here."

Nodding, the trainer took off down the now ruined path, Lunatone constantly sending up barriers as incoming blasts from the floating Drifloon made attempts to slow him down. Yuki approached her master again, worn down from the battle.

"I can't Protect forever, master. What's the plan?"

Ginji looked down at his Pokemon. Her precious pink fur was darkened and stained by the dirt, her tail a tangled mess. Her eyes, however, continued to shine a beautiful golden color. He rested his hand on her head, scratching her affectionately behind her ear. Yuki purred as his hands ran through her fur.

"Yuki. The braces."

She instantly understood, nodding gently as she started to dismantle the grip the Macho Braces had on her arms. They fell to the floor in front of Ginji, denting the surface with their mass. Yuki rotated and stretched her arms, trying in vain to groom the fur hidden underneath the two limiters.

"You know what to do, right Yuki?"

"Positive, master."

Yuki took in a deep breath as her sharpened claws extended slowly out of her paws. Seemingly with a mind of their own, they unsheathed to the farthest point as a mysterious silver coat began to run down their base to the tip. The strange coating instantly hardened, her claws now shining in the remaining sunlight.

She stared straight ahead at the turbine where one of the many Drifloon had been attacking them. It stared back with careless eyes, swelling as it prepared another attack. Yuki started to trot towards the turbine, picking up speed with every passing moment. Drifloon, no longer intent on waiting to store more energy, fired off another Stockpiled blast of energy towards the Cat Ferret.

Suddenly, Yuki's body seemed to vanish from view as the attack slammed into the vacant space in the ground. The Drifloon panicked as it struggled to relocate its target. A pointed object tapped the Pokemon on the back, causing it to turn around curiously at the sweet smile Yuki gave it.

"Forgive me."

Yuki's claws stretched back before coming down on the Drifloon. The solid steel coat only increased the effectiveness of her cut, and without the additional weight to keep her down, Yuki's Metal Claw cut effortlessly through the Drifloon, tearing it to shreds as it floated lifelessly to the ground. Not wasting another moment, her claws came down on the turbine itself, slashing through the neck of the machine right below the tip. It was a clean cut, the attack completely shaving off the upper part of the machine.

Yuki jumped off of the turbine with her powerful hind legs, forcing the upper half to teeter before falling completely off of the machine, rendered powerless.

Ginji's partner repeated this incredible performance with the additional turbines in Ginji's area, the young man watching as each and every turbine near and far began to fall over, crumble, burn, or freeze to a stop. Ginji looked back towards the entrance of the headquarters.

"We'll be there in a second guys, so just hang on until then."

==========

Another incoming Thunder Punch collided with Koko's extra jaw, sending a terrifying amount of electricity into the tiny Steel type. Koko's eyes remained focused as she withstood the attack, keeping her attention on the Electric Pokemon.

Electabuzz was slowly forcing her into a corner with his constant assault of electric attacks, sending a Thundershock in front of her whenever she made an attempt to roll or dart to the sides to find a way out. His fists pumped full of energy again as he made for another Thunder Punch.

Koko nearly froze as his leg came sweeping below her instead, a clever fake out to a Low Kick attack. She jumped into the air as his foot brushed past the emptiness beneath her. Using the opportunity, she disappeared from sight, utilizing her Faint Attack to retreat.

She reappeared behind Electabuzz, sprouting from his shadow. Her jaw weathered and scratched up from the beating she endured, flung around and smashed into his back, pushing him into the wall he had previously locked her onto.

He growled as his arms lit up again. A flurry of stars fired out of his hands, targeted at Koko. Quickly, she tossed her jaw in front of her, hiding behind it as the edges of the swift attack scraped against her jaw's hide, only dealing minor damage. She shuddered from the increasing discomfort from the attack.

His freshly reattached antenna began to glow with intense energy.

"Koko! Get out of the way!"

Koko's reaction came too late, a powerful Thundershock making contact with her tiny body from the other side of the room, sapping away at her strength. She cried out as she fell into a heap on the floor, her breathing harsh as Electabuzz approached her.

"doebyoG, bayb."

Noah was unable to return her, the distance too far for the signal to reach from his Pokeball. He watched on in horror as Koko was zapped with an even stronger force of electricity. The Electabuzz's reaction to Koko's twitching on the ground was that of delight, watching her writhe, utterly powerless to stop his onslaught.

Abruptly, his attack came to a stop, his body running low on electrical energy. Irritated, Electabuzz quickly made for the generator once again, leaving Koko to recover on the ground.

"Koko, come on, get back here!"

The yellow critter trembled as she managed to force herself back to her feet. She looked back at Noah with the same glare that she had given the Electabuzz earlier.

Though he wouldn't be able to understand her without Luna around, she replied to him, "I can handle this." Refusing to return to her ball, Koko relaxed her body, her eyes locked on the Electabuzz in front of her, her breathing labored and weak.

"It's not nice to treat a lady like that," Koko spoke to Electabuzz. He ignored her, resting his hands on the generator. His eyes widened and his grin turned completely upside down.

"...ngeo?!"

Jerry caught the expression right away, and the lack of electricity coursing through the Pokemon's body only meant one thing.

"The turbines are out! Ginji's group stopped them!"

Electabuzz palms started to scratch down at the generator, his patience with this battle and his minions shrinking. He turned around to face Koko, who seemed more than eager to take him on now.

"Out of energy?"

He exposed his sharp fangs as he ran towards Koko, his fists both clenched. He raised both of his arms into the air, bringing them both down onto Koko's jaw, hammering the shield with remarkable strength. The little deceiver groaned as her exhausted body struggled to stay standing from the force. With the help of her hands, her jaw shoved his hands back, pushing them to his sides and leaving him wide open. With her tiny claws, she scratched the thick surface of his body, bringing his hands to his gut in reaction. She then pulled her jaw to the side, and with a full spin, pounded her weapon into his stomach, crushing his hands between his body and her metal horn. As he doubled over, Koko jumped into the air, stretching her jaw above her head. Her jaw collapsed onto the back of his head, clubbing him into the tile floor, spilling blood from his mouth along the ground.

"Back up Koko!"

Koko obeyed, stepping back to await the next phase of battle. Electabuzz's blood once again receded into his body, his face looking brand new despite the damage. His breathing was decrepit and pitiful, his body trembling under its own weight.

"Look, Jerry! Lyn!"

"I see, Noah," Jerry replied.

"He's getting tired, finally!" Lynus announced to the rest of the group.

"yWh? lAl ti aekts si fro you to egiv up, os ywh tond' yuo syat wdno?"

His voice, to Noah, seemed much less threatening now that he was struggling to keep control of the battle.

"The lack of electricity, combined with the damage he's taken...it looks like the toll on his body is finally showing," Jerry continued.

Footsteps came rushing down from the hallway at the exit. Electabuzz's eyes widened out of fear as a white blur came rushing at him from the end of the hall. A heavy weight scraped against his body, his blood spraying from the wound now burdening his left shoulder. The team inside looked around for the culprit, spotting Yuki perched on one of the catwalks surrounding the room. Electabuzz fell onto his knees as the group from outside came dashing in, exhausted and sweating from their skirmish.

His wound healed up immediately, but Electabuzz's body violently twitched as the flesh sewed itself back together. He picked himself back up to his feet, his fist clenched as he prepared himself for what could only be described as torture.

"Noah, Jerry, how's it going?" Ginji almost nonchalantly asked them, seemingly ignoring the opponent.

Noah sighed in relief. "He's run out of power, and we've weakened him considerably. We just can't keep him down."

"Yeah, the Drifloon out there were the same."

"Were?" Noah's eyes widened. "You mean you-"

"Oh hell no," Ginji interrupted. "They're all recovering as we speak, I'd bet. We just managed to work around them."

Only two Pokemon remained available for battle from Ginji's group. A young trainer's Kadabra and Yuki herself. Kadabra positioned itself aside Koko, concentrating its psychic energy.

"...omce."

Another chilling breeze blew through the group, one too familiar to Ginji by now. He looked up, not surprised that the pack of Drifloon had made their way through the infrastructure of the building to help support their "boss".

"We're outnumbered again...and there's only so much we can do," Ginji muttered. "What’s it gonna take to lay these things out for good?"

The Electabuzz charged once more, the Drifloon following after him, firing off a wave of Stockpiled energy towards Koko, Kadabra, and Yuki.

Yuki avoided the blasts with incredible ease, while the Psychic type protected both Koko and himself with a psychic barrier. Koko thanked him kindly before bracing for the Electric Pokemon. He came wildly at her, careless in his attacks as he practically threw his arms at her unintelligently. She avoided them with great ease, making sure to scratch and slam him back with her own attacks whenever the opportunity appeared.

Yuki ran to the opposite side of the arena, coming to a pause as she clung to the catwalk, calling out to the group of Drifloon. Her jaw opened, unleashing a blast of freezing energy to collide with several of the balloon Pokemon, freezing them as they plummeted to the ground below. Immediately, she leapt into the crowd of remaining Drifloon that managed to avoid the attack. Her claws pulsated with dark energy as she slashed her way through the remaining sandbags, the dark energies cutting away at their bodies and leaving them tattered along the floor.

Electabuzz felt a large impact from Koko's jaw slam into his back before a powerful psychic blast forced him back into the generator with a harsh thud, downing him yet again. The Drifloon continued to spawn as he recovered and gathered himself.

"God damn it! There's just no end to this nonsense!" Ginji began to lose his temper.

'Damn it...what can we do?' Noah stressed, commanding another Feint Attack as Electabuzz approached Koko once more. She executed this with ease, Kadabra's aid helping to force him off of them again as Yuki continued to keep the Drifloon's attention. The three Pokemon were tiring, and their possibility of winning was almost nonexistent at this point. The rest of the trainers awaited the end.

'Let me out.'

Noah almost jumped when he heard a familiar voice ring inside of his head.

'Who...who is that?' Noah tried responding back. Her voice was similar to Luna's, but with a distinction that separated it from his Pokemon. It was much more regal by nature, with a smooth tone and an air of confidence, rather than arrogance, filling every word it spoke. Again, Noah spoke through his connection, 'Who's there?'

'That's not important. You need me. Now let me out.'

Noah quickly reached for Luna's ball, expanding it to Jerry's surprise.

"Noah, what in the world are you doing?! Luna can't fight!"

Noah ignored his friend's objection, turning the ball off of its stasis mode and letting it rip itself open, a beam of powerful white energy forming into a familiar furry Pokemon.

Luna blinked her eyes rapidly, shielding them from the artificial light as she adjusted. She turned back to Noah with a loving, caring smile.

'I can handle this...but this body is bruised up quite a bit. I need you to tell them to create an opening for me.'

Noah refused to question such a magnificent voice. Stunned, but at attention, he obeyed her command.

"Lyn, Jerry, think you guys can cover her at all?"

Lyn nodded with absolution, Jerry hesitant before reaching for his ball with Misdreavus.

"You want us to cover her?"

"Yeah. She can take down Electabuzz. She just needs that opening."

Jerry and Lyn quickly agreed to the plan, having almost no other option. Two more Pokeballs erupted, releasing a Roselia and Misdreavus, both braced for the finale.

"Ginji! We need Koko, Yuki, and Kadabra to cover her!"

Ginji looked back at Noah, perplexed. He spotted a battle damaged Luna bracing herself for an approach, and nodded back at its trainer. "This better work, Sol!"

Electabuzz's eyes flashed, his interest in the entirety of the battle vanished as he felt Luna's presence from across the room.

"Ahhhhh...ethre ehs is. Teh erpcsuio omerht. Oemc aypl twih me won."

Luna's eyes sharpened, focusing only on Electabuzz, attracted to him by an unseen force. "uYo orpo dihlc. Fvoeirg em rof hwat I'm uotba to do."

Noah felt heat radiating from his chest. He glanced down, his pendant beginning to glow in the center. His mind raced back to Route 202, to the moment right before Luna murdered the Arbok in the forest.

'This is exactly the same...almost exactly the same.'

A strange hum, almost musical, began to file into the room. The trainers could feel a faint, weak quiver coming from the air around them and the ground below. The intensity of the humming and vibrations became more distinguished as the volume grew.

"NOW!"

The Drifloon all shifted their charge straight towards Luna on Electabuzz's order. Thrown off by this sudden shift, Kadabra and Koko struggled to keep up and stop their attacks.

Several Stockpiles came raining down on Luna as she raced towards the Electabuzz. Dozens of blasts fizzled out in mid-air thanks to the Kadabra, but his waning mental strength refused to allow him to deflect any more beyond that point.

Misdreavus fired off volley after volley of Psybeams to match the blasts, while Rei launched a series of magical leaf attacks to take the hits for Luna.

Determined, Luna closed the distance on the Electabuzz, discharged energies and leaves raining all over the arena. Yuki was darting around, attacking both Drifloon and Stockpiles as fast as she could, but the Drifloon's constant healing factor made it impossible for her to stop them all.

A spare, unblocked blast closed in on Luna, the Cat Ferret continuing to run ahead, bracing for the impact.

Suddenly, from Luna's feet, Koko leapt into the air, bursting from Luna's shadow. She curled her body and threw her jaw out in front as the blast collided head on, sending her flying violently into the ground, smashing and cracking several tiles on impact. Koko sprawled on the floor, falling unconscious almost immediately.

Luna looked at Koko, almost in horror, before she heard her own voice boom into her thoughts. 'She will be fine, go! Do not waste the opportunity she has given us!'

Another figure was caught in Luna's eye running alongside her. Yuki had caught up to Luna, the two Zangoose making eye contact with one another.

"Ms. Luna. Take the chance once you see it."

Yuki said nothing else as she pulled ahead, heading straight for the Electabuzz.

Electabuzz wasn't expecting Yuki, his attention shifting to her as she came within feet of him. Under pressure and with no other options, he swung at her, missing completely as Yuki easily ducked under his hook. She grabbed both of his arms and pinned them to his sides.

Then, she executed the most surprising attack any of the trainers had seen that day.

Yuki planted a kiss right on Electabuzz's cheek.

“You know…from up close, you look absolutely sexy,” Yuki spoke in a voluptuous voice. Winking seductively, and with every fighter save for Luna paused with the shock of what had just occurred, Yuki quickly jumped out of harm's way. Electabuzz was frozen with disbelief. His face was turning bright red as his eyes followed Yuki's graceful form back to her trainer, a heavy warmth flooding his body.

Reality came rushing back to him with the grisly sound of blood splattering.

"You were wide open," Luna told him.

Electabuzz slowly looked down at Luna. Her claw was buried deep within his own body. The humming sound had vanished the moment her claws made impact with his body, and the entire room was silent, including his minions.

"...that's..." Electabuzz stuttered. "That's cold blooded..."

The blood started pouring over Luna's claws as she pulled them out. He fell onto his wound, letting the blood pool around his body as he struggled pitifully on the ground. The black specks in the Electabuzz's blood were visibly disappearing, a sizzling sound pouring from the Electabuzz's body fluid.

"...it's not healing..."

"Yes. You're finished."

Suddenly, Noah felt the link between him and Luna severely weaken. His companion fell to the floor silently, her body nearly collapsing in on itself. His pendant's glow quietly dulled before shutting off.

Ginji looked on, puzzled. "It's not getting back up...Is it over?"

The Drifloon that were hovering around the arena came raining down onto the floor, the life completely sucked out of them.

"Yes, it's over, Ginji."

"Someone go get the Officer from the front of the Valley! We need to contact High Noon!"

Noah walked up to Luna, resting himself on his knees to look over her. She was heavily damaged from the electric attacks earlier, but there didn't seem to be any serious damage to her. He saw something shiny resting on her bloody claw, its sheen grabbing his attention. He picked it up and examined it. It was a tiny yellow disc, the same size and shape as the three smaller plates on his pendant. Almost instinctually by now, he grabbed it from her, and snapped it into one of the slots aligning the Soul Plate. It pulsated, strikingly similar to Electabuzz's electric charge, before fading like the rest of the plates.

"...please..."

Noah heard the voice of the victim several feet away, the bond between him and Luna sufficient enough for him to continue to understand the Pokemon's speech. Noah just stared back at disbelief, amazed that the Pokemon continued to live.

The trainers behind him were beginning to leave the room, their work complete. Jerry and Lyn remained rooted to where they stood, waiting for Noah to retrieve Luna. No one was aware of the fact that the creature continued to survive.

"Please...water..."

"...what? You should be dead by now..."

"Please. Water."

The voice coming from the Pokemon was absolutely sad. It reached a hand out to Noah, gripping at the bloody ground. Noah looked back at the Pokemon. The face said everything:

Electabuzz was crying. Tears were running down its face, matting the fur down two similar paths. It continued to reach out towards Noah, pleading for him to satisfy his request.

Noah hesitated. Electabuzz was completely immobilized, so it was impossible for it to really hurt him. Why it was asking for such a strange request bewildered the trainer. He pulled his bag off of his shoulders, reaching inside and pulling out a fresh bottle of water. The Electabuzz coughed up a thick splatter of blood before wheezing in a mouthful of air.

Noah carefully poured some of the water into the Electabuzz's gaping maw, the Pokemon reacting to the sensation by lapping up whatever spilled out, gulping down every drop he possibly could. He looked up to Noah, the tears making his eyes shine.

"Th....than-"

The Electabuzz's head drooped before plopping back onto the floor.

Noah was completely speechless. The bottle in his hand shook, creating ripples in the remaining water.

==========

Four Hours Later

Many of the trainers that had fought alongside the Officer at the Valley Windworks had already been released upon request. Ginji was still being questioned by other officials at High Noon, while Noah, Jerry, and Lynus waited kindly for him at the edge of the Valley. The sun was still hanging nonchalantly in the sky above them, preparing to embark on its descent behind the mountain range in the distance.

Valley Windworks was riddled with High Noon Officers, several of them surveying the damage done to the turbines- said damage impressed Noah- while others scribbled information down on several papers concerning the headquarters.

Unfortunately, the battle wasn't without casualties. Wheeled out of the damaged building was several body bags; the victims of the initial attack done by Electabuzz to the Officer and the two trainers he had brought along to inspect the building. Having more than two bags signaled to Noah that some of their Pokemon were unable to survive the ordeal as well.

It brought back terrible memories. Noah's mind raced when the image of smoldering rock came to the head of his imagination. He shuddered and pressed his eyes closed with his fingers.

Ginji and Yuki came walking up to Noah's group after their series of questions had been completed.

"Well Noah, I don't know how you did it, but you did it. Yuki and I have to thank you for being able to pull through and saving the group." Ginji stretched out his hand while Yuki kindly bowed to the young trainer.

Ginji snagged Noah's hand and gave him a powerful, stern handshake. "Where is your group headed now?"

"Eterna Forest, and then Eterna itself," Noah answered.

"Ah, I just came from there. I'm headed back to Floaroma myself. Going to spend some much needed vacation time in Canalave. After I take down the Gym Leader, of course. Let me give you some advice for Eterna Forest."

Jerry jumped at the opportunity, "Any information would be great, Mr. Gami."

"Stick together. The Pokemon there have gotten frighteningly powerful. It's probably the second toughest route Yuki and I have been through...since Snowpoint, at least."

Noah acknowledged the suggestion. "Thanks Ginji. We'll be sure to keep our group together."

“You’ll have to teach me that attack as well someday, Noah. The one you used to take it down.”

Luna had been looking back at the headquarters during the entire conversation, not wishing to participate with anyone. Ever since she had been revived, she was acting very peculiar. She didn't want to eat, and she barely even answered Noah when asked a question. He decided it was best to let her cool down before he tried talking with her.

Yuki approached Luna as Ginji began to walk off.

"I wish you and your mast- Noah, good luck, Luna. Be safe out there."

Luna shrugged back to her, without making eye contact. "Mmm."

Yuki was stumped on how to reply, opting instead to give Luna a quick bow before running back to the side of her trainer.

"So what's gonna happen to Windworks?" Noah asked Jerry as Ginji and Yuki disappeared behind the masses of High Noon Officers.

"What else? They gotta repair it. Clean up the damage, all of that rubbish. They'll probably raise security too. That report they're filing for this place is gonna be a big deal for High Noon.

"How so?" Lynus asked.

"I'm sure that every trainer, us included, reported during our questionings about the healing factor of those Pokemon. That's not a natural process, Lyn. Once High Noon hears about this in full, they're going to flip."

"They can do so much about this when they find out what that recovering substance is, and how it works."

"Exactly. It's going to be absolutely crazy in the next few weeks. I guarantee it."

The group, no longer wishing to extend their stay, looked on towards Route 205 ahead of them.

"A quick stretch and we'll be in the Eterna Forest in no time," Jerry announced. Weary from the battles of the day, and their minds racing through what they had experienced, the group began their march down the route.

==========

A familiar trainer kept a firm, powerful hold on the Charizard he was riding, the giant dragon soaring over the skies of western Kanto, passing over the aged Victory Road and heading towards Johto territory. A yellow, electric mouse was seated right in front of him, keeping his hat in between its tiny paws.

Aware of where he was, he nonverbally signaled his steed to speed up as they passed beyond the Kanto-Johto boundary line.

In his red and white jacket, was a specially designed Poketech, with the insignia of High Noon etched on the back of the device. On the front screen was a single command, sent directly by the commander of this new mission:

Interrogate Gold.

==========

*************************
Name: Yuki/Zangoose (Ginji's)
Type: Pokemon/Normal Type
Height: 4'05''
Age: 3 Years old. (21 Zangoose years)
Weight: 108 lbs.
Eye Color: Gold
Hair Color: Pink and Bright White Fur
Body Type: Zangoose body build
Outfit: Basic Zangoose body build. The zig zag patterns on her belly are softer, as well as her arm patterns. She does not have an eye pattern, but her ears and tail are both tipped with pink. Her eyes are outlined with pink fur, and a portion of her left ear has a ring of pink fur surrounding it.
Other Items: Two Macho Braces on her arms, and a bag on her shoulder that holds her toy and several travel supplies.
Hobbies: Exploring the world with Ginji. Holding on to her toy Seviper.
Homeland: Snowpoint City, Sinnoh
Personality: Timid, Shy, Kind
Bio: Born and raised in Snowpoint City as Ginji's only Pokemon, Yuki's strength quickly increased over a short period of time thanks to his training. Yuki respects and enjoys Ginji's company, and he helps her by trying to aid in overcoming her shyness to the world outside of Snowpoint City. Using winnings from countless battles and Gym victories, Ginji focuses all of his attention on Yuki's strength. She travels with him to see the world, and to help him achieve his dreams.
Weaknesses: She is only a single Pokemon. Though versatile, she can be overwhelmed by numbers and type disadvantages.
Pokemon Team: ---
Threat Level: Moderate
*************************