Ragnarok

Note: Here it is, the last chapter of the prologue before the story really begins. This one holds the record thus far, breaking 8,200 words.

If it feels slightly rushed or pushed along, it's because you're right. I wanted to get the prologue over with so I could start with the story. I do however, hope the quality is still there.

Also, I use a strange language for a major character later in the real story starting this chapter. It's really easy to decipher, so I wonder how many people will try to decode the messages? Have fun. :)

Please review, rate, criticize, anything really. The more critique I get, the higher the quality of the story, simple as that.

So here we go, the end of the prologue! Enjoy the read!

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0:05
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It took place in the center of a field, surrounded by other cold and hardened gravestones, each engraved with the names of those from past generations of Sol, each also praised for their individual and amazing accomplishments. His eyes, trying desperately to find something else to stare at, wildly shifted from left to right. His mind was still in a terrible shape, even being aware of this fact himself, as he read off the names of past ancestors he had heard of from his loving parents.

"BERNARD SOL: MAY THE HEAVENS BLESS YOU - REST IN PEACE"

Noah tried hard to chuckle, but it was hopeless, at least on this occasion. Bernard Sol was famous for battling and actually defeating a Rayquaza some time long ago in the Hoenn region. He remembered his father showing him the tape one evening, the tape that recorded the report from the news when he was a child. If it weren't for what his parents had done in their combined lives, it would be without question to say that Bernard Sol would be the one Noah honored and looked up to as a hero. He shook his head, trying to erase the vision of his dad grinning as the tape played on the television, and looked for another tombstone.

"ISABEL SOL: THANK YOU, FOR EVERYTHING - LORD BLESS YOU"

Another story re-sparked Noah's memory. Isabel was one of Sinnoh Government's greatest detective agents. She was one of the first, if not the absolute first, to discover the existence of Darkrai, over half a century ago as a result of solving a epidemic involving nightmares. The only evidence of such an event came from the mouths of the elderly in Twinleaf, and an old newspaper clipping Vivian had kept for so many years, apparent by its yellow color and the damage to the material it was printed on. Noah couldn't stand being in the cemetery. No matter which way he looked, he saw an ancestor that brought back little, insignificant memories of his late parents.

Not to mention that he was in the "Sol Memorial", a special area of Twinleaf's small cemetery which honored each and every member of the family he was part of. There was no escaping reality at this point.

"They're really...gone." Noah muttered to himself, a handful of tears slowly ebbing out of his eyes. He turned forward once again. He was surrounded by...the entire town of Twinleaf. Everyone had heard the news the next day after the ceremonies at the Pokemon Academy, and funeral services had been announced the day following, throughout the entirety of Sinnoh. Noah couldn't count how many people had shown up. Twinleaf's population had been counted present, but what really burned away at Noah's heart was...

The line to pay respects to the fallen warriors stretched passed the outskirts of Route 201, and last he heard, even coming into contact with Sandgem town. Of course, Sandgem wasn't too far away, but knowing that there was a line of people stretching out that far...

The generosity was a main cause of Noah's tears, aside from the fact that the two people he loved the most were crudely taken from him. This, coupled with the fact that neither person's body could even be identified after whatever happened that night, forced on Noah's sadness. There wasn't even a body to look at; the coffins had already been sealed shut.

He sat on the only chair, merely feet away from both coffins, the chair reserved for the living relatives of the Sol family. He was the last one at this point, the very last Sol. The priest for the funeral, also in tears, stood behind a podium on the opposite side of the coffins. The line to pay respects to Noah and the dead begun to Noah's right. To make matters worse, the Pokemon of Twinleaf were completely inactive. Noah tried hard to believe that they were ignoring the ceremony, but he could feel it. Without a doubt, the Pokemon of Twinleaf were also mourning.

His belief was correct, to say the least. Swarms of Pokemon lined the borders into the forest visible from the burial grounds, and silently looked on at what was taking place. Groups of starly, shinx, bidoof, bibarel, and even staravia were all present and accounted for.

The priest opened up a thick and large white book, and raised his hands to the darkened, gray sky overhead. A necklace in the shape of an Arceus hanged from the man's neck. Noah noticed and dismissed it: he remembered the announcement by the government several months back: The discovery of Arceus caused an uproar in the religious community. He quickly threw this thought to the empty recesses of his brain, and strained to listen to the man's prayer.

After lasting what felt like two lifetimes, the priest dropped his hands, and finished his speech, Noah dropping out of listening back at the beginning, too busy still coping with the loss of his loved ones. The caskets shook in place as several workers began to attach them to thick ropes, beginning their slow and painful decent in front of Noah's eyes, with a touch of music playing in the background. Noah gripped his black slacks tightly, cupping the material into his fists as his parents faded from sight.

The prayer to Richard and Vivian over, and the coffins delicately placed into the pit; there was only one part of the ceremony left to complete. To Noah's side, resting in a transparent small vase, a single red rose. Noah knew what to do, and gently grabbed the rose in his hands, trying not to be injured by the thorns that hadn't been cut off prior. He slowly walked up to the pit, and looked at the caskets, trying to find any last words to say to their physical remains.

"I'm going to miss you two." Noah stammered, trying to keep his voice from breaking. "You were...everything I ever wanted in my parents. Thank you..." Noah couldn't stop from crying now, it was simply too much to keep contained inside. "Thank you...for everything. I'll...

I'll miss you...everyday."

Noah, finally able to say what needed to be said, proceeded to drop the rose into the grave, letting it drop in between the two coffins, resting in the dirt below. He forced his body back to his seat, and rested. Now, the entire line would be able to pay their respects to the two.

He saw everyone make an appearance from Twinleaf, but it was the celebrities that really affected his view on his parent's past life the most. Again, he saw Cynthia make an appearance, along with others whom Noah simply identified by their names in his thoughts.

'Roark...Fantina...Volkner...Professor Rowan...Flint...Bertha...Lucian...'

"Well known, obviously." Noah told himself as numerous peoples walked up to him, either patting him on the shoulder or nodding while telling him an alteration of the phrase, "I'm Sorry."

Noah's eye caught on to a girl in particular who walked up to him. She had her blonde hair bundled up under a dark black bonnet hat, and was wearing a formal black dress for the occasion.

'Bebe?' Noah thought to himself, before he remembered something from the day of the incident.

"Find Bee...?" Noah wondered. Was his father trying to say 'Bebe', or was her name really Bee? Unfortunately he missed his opportunity to ask, realizing that she had already vanished when he looked up to wait for her variation on the phrase: 'I'm sorry'.

"Th' hell?" he told himself through the drying tears on his cheek. He quickly glanced around; she was gone.

"Noah." a voice spoke out to him. He quickly turned around to see Jerry looking at him from the grave.

"Listen, I know you're going through a hard time right now, and..."

'If that isn't the understatement of the century.' Noah thought, in a vain attempt to amuse himself.

"...well, if you ever need anything, I'm always around downtown Twinleaf. I'll be happy to help you in any way..."

"Thanks Jerry, I'll keep that in mind." Noah replied, feeling a small bit of relief. Finally, not just some variant of 'sorry your mom died and your dad melted,' but someone actually willing to help Noah make his way through this problem. It's no wonder Jerry was so popular here in Twinleaf Town. He was so damned generous to people he didn't even know.

"Well...I guess I'll leave you alone for now. Like I said, if you ever need someone, just hunt me down."

"Sure."

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Hours later, Noah found himself at a five-star hotel back in town, a temporary place until the damage to his house was cleaned out for an entirely new home. Noah never thought of his parents to be as rich as they were, before he heard the news of their will.

"All items kept intact after our death shall be given to our children, divided evenly amongst themselves. If, under the circumstance, we have only one child at the time, he/she will inherit all belongings, including all monetary assets." a man read from the document, word for word. Noah didn't think too much of it until the gentleman informed him of exactly how much money he was going to inherit.

"It's as if they knew this was coming." Noah told himself, taken aback by the large sum of money left to him. Immediately he had ordered for a reconstruction of his old house, and stored the rest of the money for another time. Simply put, the inheritance was enough for Noah to live three full lifetimes from.

The suite door slammed shut behind the man after he packed up the signed documents Noah had gone through, leaving Noah, for the first time in his life, truly alone. He looked around the room. A nice, comfortable bed, a few couches to rest on, a large bathroom, a television set that rested in the wall, all decently lit with the gentle touch of the lamps scattered on the walls of the room. To finish, a PC was left to the side, connected to go online, of course.

He threw himself onto the soft bed, letting his body sink in a ways before opening his eyes to stare back at the ceiling. Emotionless, he continued to stare for moments on end, before finally considering where to go from here.

"I could just...get a job and live in Twinleaf." he said. He turned toward a small backpack that he had brought with him to the hotel, of all of his possessions that remained intact after the fire, or, the items he had on his persons during the entire event. He opened it up, and let his hands sift through all the junk he had brought with him. He emptied everything onto the bed. Only one item survived the fire. A card, from his father, with his personal information on it, including his ID and password into his accounts.

Noah let a soft laugh escape. Richard wasn't one known for his ability to remember his own ID, after all. He'd check his father's information some other time, it really wasn't important to him anymore anyways.

The other two items that fell onto the bed he had received on that day: His Twinleaf Academy Diploma, still shining brightly against the light in the room, and...

The gift his dad had given him before he left the house. He had completely forgotten about it. Picking it up, he reexamined the cheaply done wrapping of his father, looking at the tag. 'With love, mom & dad.' it read, breaking Noah's heart even further. He rubbed his free hand across the face, putting the gift back onto the bed, still wrapped in the silvery foil before going to the PC and sitting at the chair.

A phone was hidden on the other side of the PC, resting on the computer monitor's side. He stared blankly at the screen, still unsure of what to do. Sitting in front of a PC all day was a habit Noah had from studying for exams and the like back at the Pokemon Academy.

"I...I could be a trainer..." he suggested. The idea, if presented before his parents’ death, would've without doubt, thrilled him. Right now however, it was one of the last things that should've been on Noah's mind. "The new season starts when I turn sixteen next year." He could still do it, but right now he was too busy dealing with his loss to truly consider going on a journey.

The phone blared loudly, an onscreen message telling Noah the obvious. Slightly startled out of his chair, Noah picked up the phone, squishing it against his ear. He had told the hotel services to deny any calls made to his room that night.

"What do you want?" Noah asked rudely, the interruption bothering him.

"This is Bee." an incomprehensible voice said from the other side of the connection. Noah's eyes widened at the name. Suddenly, all of his frustration and anger disappeared, anxious to hear what Bee had to say. "I've been in touch with your parents for quite a long time, at least for the better part of a decade. After what...I heard happened, I decided to dig up an old file Richar- I mean, your father, requested me to send to you should something happen to him. You ARE near a PC, right?"

"Yes. I'm at the-"

"Relax, I know WHERE you are."

Noah jumped a bit. "W-where are you?"

"You won't find me, at least not yet. I'm not in Twinleaf at the moment anyways."

"Who the hell are you?" Noah asked.

"A bit touchy tonight aren't we? Guess I can't blame you."

And just like that, the phone clicked, a dead tone the only other presence connected to the other line. The PC returned to normal for a few moments, informing Noah that the line had been broken.

"How does she know them...or me, at all?" Noah questioned, a sense of fear rising, believing that someone has been watching him from some unknown location. It sent a chill down his spine to even consider.

The silence was broken by the PC, which made a beeping noise that again, startled Noah's delicate senses. He turned toward the monitor, a digital letter flying to the front of the screen.

"VIDEO MAIL HAS ARRIVED. EXECUTE FILE? YES - NO"

Noah without hesitation, clicked yes. The letter opened up on screen, stretching to the size of the monitor, a large black window engulfing the entire desktop. A video started to play. It was a recording of a Pokemon Battle, crudely being broadcast by none other than Vivian Sol herself, Noah's mother.

She was sitting on a chair to the side of an arena at a mysterious Pokemon Stadium. She moved the camera from one end to another. Noah looked on, the camera shifting from an unrecognizable trainer, to his father, both in the middle of a heated battle.

"Hi honey!" Vivian exclaimed. "Look!" she quickly shifted the camera to view the battle. Noah's father had just released a Gligar for the next fight, his opponent's Pokemon was obviously tired out. The scoreboard behind the two came into focus, showing that Richard was decimating the opponent, still having one Pokemon left in reserve, the other trainer having none. Richard issued an order, and within seconds, the other Pokemon had been clobbered to the ground, instantly defeated. The crowd cheered, the camera actually vibrating from the volume of their yelling. Richard gave a “thumbs up” to his wife, and quickly marched toward the camera.

"Hey Noah, looking good!" his father mused, before the video turned to static. Noah's jaw slightly fell open. All that build-up, for this? He was about to close the window before he heard his father's voice come from the PC again. The video regained focus, his father and mother sitting on their old couch in the living room of his now burned ruins of a house.

"Noah. If you're watching this, then we have left this world for what lies beyond." Richard and Vivian said in unison.

'Damn typical.' Noah thought to himself. Their cooperation was the reason they were called the Legendary Sol Duo. This, yet again, brought two words into Noah's mind: How? Why?

"We're not going to have some long winded speech about what to do, or anything like that. We just want to share a few words with you." Vivian waved to Richard, his father quickly walking out of camera view.

"Well, I'm not quite sure what to say at this point, Noah. You've done so well so far in your life, and you know that we will support you no matter what you do. You've made both your father and I really proud to be your parents. Like we said, if you are indeed watching this right now...we've passed on. I...I can't begin to imagine what you must be feeling right now..." Vivian said, tears visible through her pixilated face. "I just want to let you know that I...we love with all of our hearts, and not even death can take that love away. I wish for you to have many happy and loving times ahead. Don’t be sad for the rest of your life. Live.

Good-bye Noah, and good luck, I'm rooting for you!"

The camera was promptly shifted again, focusing only on Richard now, his mother's soft sobs heard from off screen.

"Hello, Noah," his father said, "I don't want to repeat what your mother has said, so I'll just get down to the details of my little segment.

If anything I regret, it would be...being gone before your journey begins. I...I apologize if I'm unable to see you off. Don't give up, no matter what happens. You're a Sol, and you, Noah, are a powerful and strong willed person, with a heart full of passion and courage that will surely help you long down the road." Richard rubbed his chin, obviously thinking of something else to say.

"Oh, and if I have indeed passed before you graduate...open the gift." A long and deep silence from the video kept Noah's eyes glued to the monitor.

"Well, my time is up, Noah. Go out there, and show Sinnoh- no, the world, what a Sol is truly made of!!"

The video quickly filled with static, ending the parents’ speech. Tears rained from Noah's face, onto the computer screen and keyboard below. He quickly spooned his hands into his face, trying to fight back the hurting feeling that simply took control of his spirit during the entirety of the video. Seeing his parents again, alive and well in that video, gave him a sort of sad happiness that was somewhat foreign to Noah.

"How...how could I be smiling...?" Noah said through a gentle grin, tears quickly swerving to avoid his lips.

"Noah? It's Bee again." the video continued to play. Noah shot his head back up quickly to the screen. Static was all that was visible, but Bee's voice came in crystal clear. "Sorry that I had to ruin the moment, but I just want to add one more thing."

The audio went dead for a moment, before Bee's voice broke the suspenseful silence.

"Don't get involved with High Noon."

With that said, the video shut off, closing on its own. The letter on screen was immediately trashed and deleted from the PC's memory. Noah was speechless for several moments, several tears still drizzling down his face. He stared at the PC for minutes at a time, waiting for any more mail, but nothing came to satisfy his need.

"Open...the gift?" Noah told himself, repeating what Richard had ordered him to do. He looked back at the foil-wrapped gift on the bed, slowly grabbing it with both hands, eyeing the present once more. His hands quickly undid the wrapping, anxious to see what gift his parents had left him. The foil was finally removed, revealing a long, slender brown box. Noah slowly gripped the lid, and looked into the thin box to see what the gift was.

His eyes began to tear up one final time, his decision of what to do with his life completely settled at the same time. He lifted it toward the night sky, eyeing his brand new trainer's pokeball belt.

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1 Year Later...

"Noah! Keep it up, only one more to go!" Jerry's voice rang out into the Pokemon Arena. Noah nodded to Jerry, smirking as he shot his hand toward his belt for an empty pokeball. He returned his bruised and beaten Turtwig back into its ball as the referee announced the obvious.

"The challenger only has one pokemon left!" the referee sang out. Noah was completely confident that the battle was already won. He directed his eyes back at the orange-haired woman staring him down, her Roserade obviously exhausted.

"Brace yourself!" Noah announced to Gardenia, throwing his last pokemon into the match. The pokeball erupted, the light taking its usual form in the center of the arena. It began to take the shape of a medium-sized gray bird, designed with a large beak and a funny-looking crescent shaped peak on its head. It stretched its wings out wide, shouting its battle cry. Gardenia knew that the match was over.

"Staravia, you know what to do!" Noah said, pointing directly at the Roserade. Staravia snickered under its breath. This was almost too easy. Putting one leg back, it sprinted upward, with enough thrust to force it into the air above the arena. The Roserade could only look on as Staravia circled around it from the ceiling.

"Try bullet seed!" Gardenia ordered, obviously frustrated by the obvious type disadvantage. Roserade struggled to stretch its arms to the sky where Staravia was, trying to carefully aim its attack straight at the avian pokemon.

"Don't give her any opportunities! Finish it!" Noah told his pokemon. Staravia nodded, suddenly diving out of the sky, plummeting right toward the plant-like creature. The grass pokemon yelped as it fired several seed-like projectiles toward the bird. Staravia began to spin in the air, the distance between the two opponents drastically shortening with each passing second. Roserade's defeat was clearly settled when the bullets bounced easily off of Staravia's body. It didn't even have time to react before the attack rammed hard into Roserade's body, putting Gardenia's last pokemon out of action. It spun in place from the impact with the large bird, pitifully tumbling onto the ground, twitching a bit from the damage dealt.

"The gym match is over, the challenger, Noah Sol, is the winner!" the referee announced over an awe struck crowd, most of them shocked that yet another trainer defeated Gardenia with such ease. The gym leader rushed to her Roserade's side, lifting it into her arms.

"Do you mind if I take her to the Pokemon Center first?" Gardenia asked Noah.

"Sure. As a matter of fact, I'll go with you. Your pokemon aren't the only ones that are damaged." he replied. He waved Jerry along from the stands, the rich and famous young man leaping from the top of the bench he sat on, and onto the arena below. Both followed Gardenia to the outside of the Eterna Gym, all three rushing to the Pokemon Center.

"Excellent job Noah!" Jerry continued to praise, the only thing breaking the silence between the three besides their pounding footsteps.

"Yeah, but I think I overdid it a little." Noah replied, pointing to a small amount of blood drizzling down Gardenia's slender legs.

"It was already weak, so I can understand a little, if it were to bleed." Jerry said.

"Sorry if I overdid it." Noah told Gardenia, who was already pulling up ahead, obviously worried about her Roserade's health.

"It's fine, as long as we can get her to the Pokemon Center within a few more minutes." she snapped back.

"Perhaps it's better for you to not make any unnecessary conversation." Jerry noted. Noah could only titter at the remark as they continued their quick sprint through the screen-doors of the Pokemon Center.

"Ugh, again Gardenia? You have to calm down with these battles." the nurse mused. "Two in one day, both with injuries like this? It's not healthy for them."

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Noah and Jerry marched out of the Pokemon Center an hour later, both of them raising their new Forest Badges toward the evening sun, watching them shine brightly in the last few rays the sun had given off. They blindly continued to walk ahead, watching as the few people in the streets at the time stared, realizing what the two trainers must've done to receive the pieces of metal.

Noah and Jerry tossed the badges into their respective cases, signaling the completion of the second step on their journey.

"We should celebrate." Jerry suggested. The idea hadn't occurred to Noah even once before hearing Jerry, and right now it felt like a really good idea.

"Okay...where?" Noah questioned. Both of the still rookie trainers scoped the surroundings. This section of the city seemed abandoned for the most part. Noah questioned the reasoning behind putting the Pokemon Center on the opposite side of the town, in the slums, from what it seemed.

"Listen, you wait here, I'll find us somewhere good to stay at and party!" Jerry told Noah, pounding his chest with his fist in confidence. Noah replied with a nod, giving Jerry the "okay" to take off running down the streets, questing for some place to eat, drink, and have a good time.

Noah on the other hand, had nothing else to do. His team was fresh from the center, and from what he could see in this dark side of town: buildings, all which were boarded up, the few exceptions already closed for the remainder of the night. He sighed, slightly irritated that he didn't suggest looking for some place to hang out at together. It would've definitely proven to be more efficient. He ultimately decided to let Jerry have his fun as Noah turned around, looking for a place to sit, before reminding himself exactly where he was again. Again, he sighed, resting himself on the edge of the sidewalk, laying his belongings to his side. He stared at the setting sun, looking back at what had happened since the day of his parents' funeral.

After he opened up the gift from his parents, he immediately decided to tread on, and became a Pokemon Trainer, to make sure the gift he was given didn’t just rot on his shelf. No, he would follow through his parents last request at, what he believed to be, any cost. He rushed to the starter giveaway early to be one of the first to pick out his first pokemon, before the rush could kick in, when the dew in Twinleaf would disappear into the morning air.

He wasn't surprised to see Jerry hanging around outside the complex that early in the morning, and having nothing else to do until the doors unlocked, they began to converse, something Noah had never truly picked up on. Of course, he loved every moment. From studies, to hobbies, and even to what starter each would choose, Noah had never felt this type of connection to anyone before. He and Jerry immediately became friends, even going as far as agreeing to journey together as partners and rivals.

Noah instantly agreed. Having such a high leveled partner would quickly beef up his pokemon's strength whenever they called for a battle, not to mention having a fellow rival gave you something to strive for when you had to compete against each other. Jerry, keeping true to his promise to Noah on the day of his parent's death, accepted the invitation from Noah with glee, happy that he could help Noah in any way possible. He even let Noah choose his starter first when they both realized that the door to the building they had been sitting at for hours swung wide open.

Noah was always fond of Turtwig, compared to Piplup for Chimchar at least, so his choice was simple. Jerry on the other hand, continued to struggle for what felt like hours with the option of the water penguin or the fiery primate. Hopeless, he childishly picked his out via "eeny-meeny-miney-moe", selecting Chimchar, all to Noah’s amusement, and both separated back to each others house to pack up on supplies, before meeting again at Route 201.

They easily tore through any competition along Sandgem and toward Oreburgh. Noah decimated Roark with his Turtwig; the same unfortunately couldn't be said for Jerry. Picking Chimchar forced him to capture a Budew to even stand a chance. He quickly evolved it through practice with Noah before taking on the Rock Gym Leader, winning with ease as a result from the battles.

At this point, both trainers had two badges and three pokemon each. Noah looked down at his black trainer belt. Turtwig, Staravia, and Geodude; all very powerful, then thoroughly remembered Jerry's team: Chimchar, Budew, Kricketot. Noah even remembered laughing at the pathetic bug pokemon before watching his geodude fall to its powerful Bide. He couldn't help but laugh at his own stupidity, reinforced by the fact that he should've known not to attack it while it shined bright white.

"Live and learn, eh?" Noah would tell Jerry after any battles they lost, which were already few and far apart. Still both acknowledged that neither of them were the tops in the region, which made becoming stronger that much more to strive for.

Noah continued to reminisce on the days past, unaware that a man and his cohort, shrouded in darkness, were watching him from the alley across the street.

"Sir, are you sure this is going to work?" the grunt asked, the answer being a slap to the face, knocking the grunt down.

"Why must you continue to question my methods?" the man scoffed.

"N-no reason, I apologize sir!"

"Now sit back and relax." he muttered in an unusually deep voice, frightening the grunt. "You did bribe the trainer, correct?"

"Yes sir, I've done everything you've told me."

"Good. Then enjoy the show."

Approaching footsteps snapped Noah out of his memory trance and back into reality. A trainer stood in front of him, a bit younger than Noah, but with a face of confidence Noah knew all too well at this point.

"You want to battle then, huh?" Noah asked the trainer, stretching as he stood on his feet again.

"You got that right!" the trainer said with a seemingly fake enthusiasm, blood already pumping for the oncoming battle. "Let's just make this real quick alright?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Make it a simple, one-on-one battle. Whaddya say?"

"Perfect, I have a celebration to get to in a little bit anyways."

The trainer threw his pokeball first, the same white light coming forward, taking the shape of a shinx.

"Heh, no problem!" Noah replied to the pokemon, albeit a little cocky. He quickly sent out his Geodude, the rock pokemon thrusting its giant fists into the air in anticipation. Thrashing a shinx was just what it needed after being swept by Gardenia earlier in the day.

The shinx dashed toward geodude as fast as it could, the levitating hunk of rocks purposely looking away from the battle to provoke the opponent. At the last second, geodude forced all of its momentum into its fist, slamming right into the shinx's face, sending it reeling onto the floor. The shinx quickly jumped back up, obviously wanting more. Geodude yawned, trying to show disinterest to frustrate the little blue pokemon further. Shinx growled, charging its current, electricity cackling from its fur. Again, the pokemon charged headfirst into battle, geodude floating in the air, waiting for an opening. Shinx quickly jumped onto Noah's pokemon, unleashing its built up electric attack.

Noah couldn't help but cock his eyebrow, feeling that his pokemon was probably doing the same. Geodude scratched the side of its head with a single finger, trying to completely ignore the opponent’s attack. The blue pokemon jumped off of geodudes head, not expecting him to counter immediately following its attack. Geodude's thick and heavy hand grabbed the shinx by its two back legs before it could escape, squeezing them together to injure the little pokemon further. The shinx cried out, feeling the pressure continuously build, crushing both of its back legs. After hearing a slight pop from the opponent's limbs, he let his hand open, releasing the shinx onto the ground in front of him.

"Wha? I thought you were weaker..." the other trainer spouted.

"Electricity doesn't work on geodude, friend. At least, not electricity this weak." Noah lectured, like in many of his previous battles. 'Live and learn', and all that: we wanted to spread the philosophy. "You're obviously not up to my level yet. Geodude, let's finish this."

Geodude replied in his native language, reaching down for the shinx's small black tail. He gripped the appendage with both arms, lifting its body off the surface of the pavement by levitating slightly higher than usual from the ground. Just like an Olympic athlete in a hammer throw event, geodude started spinning the shinx in a circle around his body, the pokemon's helpless little body shifting the air around them, kicking up some dirt from the street in the progress. With an amazing display of strength, and to the dismay of the other trainer, geodude let go of the little helpless pokemon, its body shooting off toward a nearby tree. Shinx’s back slammed hard against the stump of the tree, ripping some bark off from the sheer force of the attack. It was out cold.

"Good going geodude, I think that's a new team record!" Noah praised, giving his pokemon a congratulatory high-five.

The man in the alleyway smiled devilishly. "I've never tried this on a pokemon before. This will prove vital to my experiments..." He looked back at the grunt, who continued to stare blankly at the battle he had witnessed. "Now, look on in awe," his palm opened in front of his body, "and behold my amazing power..."

The grunt jumped back in fear. A strange substance began to materialize from the ground in front of the man, floating up and slightly above his palm, levitating. It formed into a small oval shaped ball, growing larger and larger in mass until it was the size of a tennis ball.

He snapped his fingers together, sending the ball of dark mass shooting straight toward the battle, and toward the unsuspecting trainer.

The goo quickly shot across the street, around Noah's body, underneath the geodude, targeting the other trainer.

Noah jumped from the burning sensation he had just felt, geodude following right after.

"Wait, that wasn't just me?" Noah asked geodude, getting an affirmative from his pokemon. Before he could question any further, he heard a cry from the tree where the shinx had been knocked out. Noah looked on as a strange and murky goo wrapped itself around the trainer's face, the boy screaming, his hands trying to tear the mass away from his body. Noah stopped his movement, his breathing halted at what he was seeing. The substance started to shrink into the trainer's mouth, inch after inch. Leftover fragments of the substance dripped out from the boy's mouth, and onto the grass below. The black mass hissed, scurrying around like a maggot.

The trainer smiled, grabbing the substance in his hand, squatting down to his shinx.

"What...the...?" Noah said aloud, trying to get the trainer's attention. "You okay?"

"Never...felt...this...happy..." the trainer dribbled out of his mouth. Noah walked back a ways, startled by his decaying speech. His voice began twisting and turning, the concept alone blowing Noah's mind away in an attempt to comprehend the noise spewing from the trainer's mouth. It sounded...forbidden.

"You need help." Noah told the trainer. He was about the turn around to go find Jerry before he heard a deep and twisted voice come from the trainer's direction.

"Ughughuhguhguguhg....."

"What's wrong with you?"

"..hun.gry...nee..d....."

Noah again had a hard time grasping what he was saying. It was incomprehensible, but somehow...Noah still understood what he was saying.

"I lwil rmrude oyru earstde esdnirf...od uoy keli ot eelf apin? Oe'nstd...eth wlarincg ontiensas...fo yagno e.m.ka...yuo...ph.p.ay? Rfovree nntawgi ermo? I...I love it."

That did it. Noah could feel nothing but his instinct rushing through his mind. He wanted to run, oh yes, run far away from this freak. But...his fear wouldn't allow him to do so. The voice alone felt like something only imaginable in dreams. No, nightmares. The sound had a strange effect on Noah's body, besides the obvious fear and paralysis he felt. He felt a warm liquid slowly making its way down the sides of his face, and over his lips. His nose and ears were bleeding out.

"n...o...a...h, n..o..a..h, n.o.a.h, N.o.a.H, NO.aH, NOA.h, NOAH, NOAH!!" the voice thundered into his ears, eerie visions of twisting faces forcing themselves inside Noah's head from the trainer. He turned around, trying to look away from the trainer, but there was no place to turn toward. The slums, they were deteriorating, the walls of the buildings started to bleed, staining the streets in the crimson red liquid.

"tlteab...won!" the trainer screeched, the high pitch painfully stabbing at Noah's ears. He shoved the substance in his hand mercilessly into the unconscious shinx's mouth, standing up and staring back at Noah with those strange empty eyes and unnaturally large grin.

"Those eyes..." Noah muttered. The lens, iris, and pupil were all completely absent, giving Noah a front row seat to the anatomy of the inner eye. Thankfully for Noah, the trainer was too far away to really see what it looked like, even though the fact that there was a gaping hole in someone's eye was already discomforting. "What are you?! Answer me damnit!"

"I'm...nothing." The trainer spoke, the sharp smile not leaving his face, as if permanent. The shinx's body began to twist and turn as the substance began to infect it. The creature wailed loudly into the night, more so from rage than anything else, before being enveloped in a dark light.

"JERRY! JERRY!!!" Noah called out.

"NOAH!" Noah heard a familiar voice call out. Noah forced himself around, the haunting images still pounding themselves into his memory. Tears, made entirely out of fear, mixed with Noah's blood, both trailing down his face. Jerry was making his way down the street as fast as he could, his Chimchar running by his side, already prepared for battle. The two had seen what had been happening to the trainer, both oblivious to the bleeding walls and deteriorating background. No, only Noah could see it.

"We can't have this now, can't we?" an icy voice said from beside Noah. He turned to see a tall, dark man standing by his side, startled that he didn't notice him earlier. The man brought his hand up above his head, over his sharp blue hair, and snapped his fingers back at the trainer.

Another shriek ripped from the boy's mouth, distorting the space around Noah. He felt the distortion, falling over from his loss of balance as a result. Noah opened his eyes, realizing what the "thing" had done.

Jerry was completely motionless, paused in mid-step, along with his pokemon.

"Now," the man told Noah to his ear, "You WILL battle the specter, if you want this to end."

Noah looked back at the trainer, still smiling at Noah through his bright white teeth, and at this point, empty sockets for eyes. The trainer looked back down at his partner, the darkness that cluttered the little pokemon spreading apart, all of it flowing into the trainer. In the pathetic and weak shinx's place, a fearsome looking Luxray, it too with eye's completely missing, bearing its fangs. The images that continued to pound into Noah's permanent memory doubled, the voices becoming more indistinguishable, yet more understandable.

He looked back at the trainer, who faced Noah directly. He started to creep toward Noah slowly, Noah trying to stutter back, but couldn't. The man laughed at Noah's fear, holding him against his will. The man yelled something to the alleyway, the grunt from before running out quickly, trying to look away from the trainer, obviously affected as well.

"Release all of his pokemon, NOW!" the man ordered.

"Y-yes." the grunt said, blood starting to drip from his nose. He quickly reached for Noah's trainer belt, releasing his Turtwig and Staravia, each immediately paralyzed with fear at what they were released to battle against. The grunt quickly shot back to the alleyway, away from the battle.

'Lucky...bastard.' Noah thought. He looked back at the trainer, taking this long to realize he was face to face with two large, empty eye sockets, even able to see to the back of the inner eye. Noah fought off a scream, biting his tongue and shutting his eyes to the unnatural blasphemy, only to be greeting by more twisted faces, as if the images were printed on the inside of his eyelids.

"You're a fortunate one, trainer." the man told Noah. "You're the first to witness this reaction from a pokemon to the substance." Just like that, the man disappeared from sight. Noah looked around quickly for him, ignoring the fact that the trainer was back at the tree, prepared for battle. Time was still motionless around him, evident from Jerry's position. Noah tried to breathe in, his lungs almost denying him the oxygen he so desperately needed.

"FIGHT ME!" the voice from the trainer yelled. Noah and his pokemon both began to cower, the concept of such an existence...existing...forcing the will to fight right out of their spirits. The newly evolved luxray snarled and growled, positioning itself for the fight.

"IPR STI CKGFUNI ARHOTT UTO!"

Noah's eyes shot wide open. This wasn't a battle. It was an execution.

The luxray shot forward, almost disappearing from eyesight before rematerializing in front of staravia.

"Staravia! MOVE!!" Noah forced from his throat. It was already too late. Luxray's jaws shut tightly around the bird's throat, and with one swift motion, ripped out the cartilage, blood sent in a stream from the bird's neck, all before it could even react to luxray's movements. Staravia's mind went numb as blood started to flood its lungs. It fell lifelessly to the floor.

"ELTM TI OT EHT DNRGUO." the voice ordered again. Luxray wasted no time wiping staravia's meat off its fangs. Electric current quickly built up, firing straight at geodude. Noah tried screaming again, but it was no use. His voice had been completely cut off with the world. Geodude was struck hard by the lightning. The rock-type pokemon second guessed the luxray's strategy, deciding to counter on its own, before realizing that it was literally immobile, stuck on the ground in which is rested from earlier.

"ECIWT EHT TAEH FO EHT NUS."

Geodude couldn't escape his imminent death as he continued to melt into the ground. He didn't even get a chance to scream before his mouth was welded to the surface of the pavement, matching its murky gray color.

Noah tried to cry out for his pokemon, his friends, realizing again that his voice had gone completely mute.

"ONW...SHINFI!"

Luxray, showing a sort of mercy for the last victim, growled at Turtwig, giving it fair warning of its oncoming attack. Turtwig stood its ground, trying to focus on attacking the Luxray.

'Turtwig...don't! Run!' Noah screamed in his mind. Turtwig was strong, but even with the progress he had made through the past few weeks, he was no match for the large, brutal hyena-like creature.

Luxray charged toward turtwig at full speed. Turtwig mustered all of his courage, and charged back at its fierce enemy. Luxray ran clearly past the small turtle, not making an effort to attack. Turtwig stopped in place, and turned his head around to see where the beast had run off to. He knew he made a fatal mistake the moment he felt the monster's jaws clutch onto his skull. Luxray fiercely jerked its own head to the side, a loud, ear-splitting snap of bone and meat being the result of such force. The battle was over.

"P.A.T.H.E.T.I.C. JUST...GIVE UP...THIS.NONSENSE!" the voice roared after Noah's swift defeat. The luxray returned to its trainer, both continuing to send images into Noah's head. Rotting corpses infested with insects burned and scarred their way into Noah's mind. The bleeding from his nose and ears began to come to a halt, making way for the tears he started to shed for his pokemon.

‘Why?’ Noah thought, finally having the ability to fall to his knees.

The trainer smiled, ignoring his luxray, who had just fallen to its side, lifeless.

"HMM...YWH EDEDIN...?" the trainer questioned to Noah, before following his pokemon, and expiring onto the floor next to the tree his shinx had fainted at just minutes ago.

All of the pressure from the mass suddenly vanished from the area. Noah could here Jerry's footsteps increase, possibly as a result of what he had just seen in the change of a blink. Noah looked over at the trainer again. Nothing but two bubbling piles of dark mass was all that greeted him, returning old memories...

...memories of his father, melting away helplessly in front of him.

Sirens began to wail in the distance. Why did the police always show up...too late?

"NOAH!" Jerry screamed. He grabbed Noah's arms, and forced him to his feet, pulling him away from the bleeding staravia and the motionless turtwig; the geodude wouldn't even be able to be identified, looking more like a speed-bump on the road than a pokemon. "It's over, the police are coming..."

Noah's eyes suddenly changed. He felt something re-awaken inside of him. Despair returned, covering his body from head to toe.

'You couldn't be more right...' Noah's thoughts trailed on. 'It's over. I...just wasn’t cut out...to be a trainer.'

The Pokemon Center, which was only a block away from where Noah had been the entire time, burst open, Gardenia and a few other trainers and nurses rushing to the scene. There was no explanation for what they had seen. One moment, a friendly battle between two trainers. Then, as quick as a flash, the grizzly sight that lay out in front of Noah's body. Some witnesses would later claim to have literally missed the event by blinking.

Ignored yet again by everyone, including the police cars that had just arrived, Noah's necklace, the gift from his father prior to Noah's departure from his house on...that night, began to glow a deep black that clashed with the incoming darkness the setting sun had brought about.

"Why...? Why does this keep happening? I was…so close this time…" a voice in Noah's heart weeped out in desolation. "I'm awake...just tell me when...please…

…I’ll stop this."

Noah dismissed this, letting Jerry and the few policemen carry Noah's body into a nearby car which would take him to the police station for questioning. He felt the car start up, and could feel his body shift with the car's movement. His voice still somehow muted, all he could do was inaudibly cry his way back to the police station.

'Damnit...just...damnit.’

----------

"Sir...what in the hell was that?" the grunt asked, cleaning his own blood off his face as they approached a helicopter hovering over the building they stood atop.

"The greatest discovery known to man, discovered by Dr. Kuma Helio himself..." the man replied as the aircraft slowly descended atop the building. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a document, re-scanning over it for the millionth time.

"Are you happy now?" the man asked, talking to the paper. The grunt looked the other way, questioning the man's sanity. "He would've been better off dead."

The man shifted his eyes quickly to the grunt, then to the helicopter door as it opened up for him.

----------

"Please...please...don't hurt him." Richard pleaded with the figure standing over him. "I love him...my wife loves him. I...I'll give my life for his safety..!"

The man stood over his defeated foe, deciding on a compromise.

"You have yourself a deal.” He decided, eager only to see Richard’s corpse, something he’d been trying to achieve for years now. “However," the man added, cupping his hand, a black material beginning to form, "he will NEVER leave this town...he will be trapped in Twinleaf for the remainder of his days. His fears and experiences will make sure of it."

Richard nodded, realizing what this meant. "Just please...let him live."

"Very well." the man said, releasing the substance into Richard's already chopped and cut remains. The man began to walk away from Richard's body, a fire making itself apparent back at the house. The man nodded, his grunt had done just what he ordered. Before his march back up the hill, the man turned back around. "Oh, and one more thing…

If he were to, say, intentionally get in my way...

...consider our little deal null and void."

----------

The man looked back at the grunt as the helicopter he boarded began to fly off into the night sky.

"Give the orders to the Commanders! They know what to do!"

"Yes sir!" the grunt replied, running back to the staircase that led back to ground level.

"I've won, Sol..." Cyrus jeered, his lips curling upward out of satisfaction.