Chapter 16:Sacrifice
Ghost-types are, in general, one of the queerest pokémon in the world. Their very existence is something that is shrouded in mystery, and befuddles even the greatest of scientists of the world. For one, ghost pokémon are, strangely enough, highly effective against their own kind, something that they share with the dragon-type and no one else. Even then, the former is much more puzzling than the latter.
For one thing, dragons are super effective against dragons not because they are dragons, but because the others aren't. By their sheer nature, a dragon is mostly capable of using electric, flying, fire, and water-based moves with an efficiency that borders the types themselves. Further, dragons also find it significantly easier to master moves of the other types like psychic, ghost, dark, ground, and the like. In fact, with the exception of the Fairy type, a dragon can, in due course, be able to give a tough fight and even win against a particular type, limiting itself to moves of said type. There is a reason after all, why the dragon type is considered the most powerful type among pokémon, and why a majority of the Legendaries are draconic in nature.
Bottom line. A dragon can use water-based attacks against a fire-type, like it can use dark-based attacks against a psychic type, or flying-based attacks against a normal type. The point is- because of the sheer versatility of the draconic kind, only a dragon can be super-effective against another, and no one else.
From that vantage point, the situation of ghosts are… remarkably complex. For one, a ghost-type doesn't boast of the sheer versatility of the draconic beings, nor is it immensely powerful against the other types. Dark types can, in eight chances out of ten, beat the crap out of the ghosts, and with the aid of certain… techniques like miracle eye and foresight, even the other types can offer powerful resistance against these… complicated creatures. However, it is seen ghosts are immensely vulnerable to attacks of its own type, the reason for which, is quite the matter of speculation.
Compared to what most laymen like to believe, a ghost-pokémon isn't necessarily dead. Of course, the ghost-type does have a lot of… linkages with the realms of spirits and the dead, but that is solely because of their own nature as other dimensional beings. Not only that, a ghost is like… an invasive shadow, an impossibility of sorts, an equation with infinite solutions and none of them being the right ones. In fact, most psychic-types tend to refer to the ghost-type as the otherworldly ones, the ones who tamper with the real world by merely existing in it.
And that was what Ash Ketchum was hoping to capture, as he ventured into the absolute blackness of the illusionary forest. He had spent a lot of time wandering between cities over the last month, and that included forests too, considering the abundance of forestland in Kanto. However, that was, in no way, comparable to the one he was in right now.
By nature, ghosts didn't appear in sunlight, choosing to stay hidden in the shadows and the darkness of old caverns, and of course, the dead of the night. However, with the entire ghostly-fog covering the forestland like an ever-deepening canopy, sunlight was the last thing someone would have in mind. It was only due to the soft glow emanating from Metagross's form, a subtle application of Flash that showed the path through the woods amongst the dense, nigh impenetrable foliage. Considering Ash's own state, Metagross had offered to give him a lift, allowing Ash to sit over his head, resting there, as Absol jumped through the dense shrubbery growing all around. Often, the disaster pokémon would stop, sniff around a bit, before continuing her prowl into the exhaustive land of the ghosts. Of course, there was a Hoothoot in their little group, hopping ahead on her single limb, hooting all the way through the pitch blackness.
He had purchased the obnoxious little owl for four hundred pokedollars, a murder on his finances, since he could have got two low-powered TMs or even a single pack of full-restores from any departmental store with that kind of money. Of course, Ash was barely in financial debt, considering the recent additions he had gained from the prize money at St. Anne, and the reward from Commerce City. However, he had put the entire money into a separate holding, wanting to save it for later, especially for extraneous conditions. The treatment at the Mirage Island Pokémon center had been paid for by the League, for which Ash was extremely grateful, else it would have charged him a hefty amount. With the impulsive decision to get himself a go0d saddle, and now this, he was left with a little more than a thousand pokedollars at best, and would have to start battling trainers on the road if he wanted to get himself and his pokémon good-quality food and resources.
"Hoothoot, don't keep on running ahead like that. We don't want to get lost." Ash yelled at the snotty little thing, which had the nasty habit of trying to jump up and peck at him whenever he asked anything. For a little owl that hopped around one a single leg, aiding trainers through the forest, Ash was beginning to think he had picked the shortest straw among the bunch.
And I spent four hundred on that too.
Metagross hummed softly, floating ahead. At least he and Absol were trustworthy, and Ash knew that he would always be able to depend on them. While Absol had been slightly wary of him after the first battle with Pidgeot, she had warmed up considerably, which translated to following his commands without much trouble. Besides, she seemed awfully thrilled at the prospect of a ghost-hunt, from what Metagross explained to him inside his mind.
"I have to ask," Ash questioned, "what exactly caused that entire brawl in the first place?"
The brawl, as Ash was referring to, meant the impromptu battle session between Kadabra and Metagross, one that happened on the third day of their training at the cliff. The two psychics were having a conversation for a while, before the tone shifted, and an impromptu battle had begun between them. Of course, Kadabra was a superior psychic, having honed his power and skill for years, compared to Metagross's miniature development, but the steel-type had other ways to pick up the slack. His powerful appendages and that perfected Meteor Mash to be specific. Needless to say, both psychics had gotten injuries, and Kadabra had been a wreck, as anybody would have gotten after having a meteor mash on the face- and Ash had to send them off to the center to get themselves treated. Whatever had started the entire thing in the first place was anybody's guess.
Ash felt a wave of irritation from his iron-leg pokémon at the mention of the event. "You don't need to talk about it now, if you want. I know Kadabra can be a real handful at times, but if you need to share, I'm always available to listen."
The iron-leg pokémon hummed again.
The psi accused me of being an overtly sentimental fool.
Ash arched an eyebrow. "I'm… not surprised. Kadabra has always been a rather… snarky one, right from the beginning.'
Really? One could hardly tell.
His trainer snorted at that. "What happened?"
Metagross considered it. The psi speaks the truth. Without realizing my complete potential as Metang, I chose to succumb to the lure of evolution.
Oh.
The battle with that fiery beast… he called me weak, and I wanted to strike him back. I wanted to win you the battle. For a moment, I lost control over my own awareness. I had much to learn as a Metang, knowledge that I would not acquire in many moons at minimum, and yet… I chose to succumb to the call of evolution, and embrace the power that it brought along.
"Will it have any… you know, negative effects on yourself?" Ash asked, concerned.
The skills we learn as Metang, get better when we evolve become Metagross, and even then, it takes years to naturally hone them to superlative degree.
"But you didn't learn them back then." Ash understood.
I did not, and hence, lost my chance to evolve those abilities as well. I will have to learn them from scratch. There is a great shame in saying so… trainer Ash, that I'm probably, the weakest of all that is Metagross.
For a moment, Ash felt like he would drown in the negative emotions outpouring from the iron leg pokémon. "I'm sorry…"he tried, "If I had simply returned you-"
I do not blame you, trainer Ash. There is more to power, life and battle to all that is Metagross, and I had forgotten that in my indulgence. Sad to say, it is something I have to reap myself.
"What about TM's? Can't they… you know…" Ash tried. On the one hand, he felt real bad for his pokémon. On the other hand, the more rational part of his mind couldn't help but wonder just how powerful Metagross had the potential to become, if Metagross was calling himself the weakest of all. Pidgeot had mega-evolved, and even now, Ash was sure that Metagross could probably give her a tough battle.
I guess that is what happens with pseudo-legendary pokémon.
Those might aid, but the road is long, and I have to cover a lot. I'm sorry for disappointing you, trainer Ash.
"Don't worry, Metagross." Ash smiled, touching the iron-leg pokémon's head with his palm, "I'll never be the one to express anything like disappointment at you."
Another soft hum emanated from the steel-type.
"Hey Absol?" Ash asked suddenly. "What do you think of Kadabra?"
The disaster pokémon paused on her tracks, let out a snort, before continuing to walk ahead.
She says that the psi speaks loud, but fails louder.
Ash snorted. "Don't be like that. Kadabra is my mom's strongest pokémon."
Absol snorted at that.
"I'm serious. He's spent over a decade honing his skills as a psychic. Mom once told me about it. If there's anything that a psychic can know, Kadabra knows it. I doubt there's even a single natural move that he cannot perform to perfection."
I have to ask, if only to quench the void-using feline's curiosity, why hasn't the psi evolved to his final form?
Ash almost snorted. His personal problems aside, Metagross was remarkably smug. "Well, I'm not sure, but Mom always said that that the distinction between the Kadabra and the Alakazam stage is a significant difference of power, nothing else. Kadabra has no need for all that extra power, considering that he's spent the last decade lounging in the house or chitchatting up with Professor oak's Alakazam.
Absol snorted at that.
Maybe your mother sent him to you as punishment?
"I… doubt that. Mom must have had her reasons." Ash murmured. He had wondered why in hell she had sent Kadabra of all pokémon to aid him, considering psychics were usually the vulnerable ones when faced with ghosts. Of course, Mr. Mime would be hardly any better, and Kirlia was chummier than a Delcatty. Considering his situation, sending another dark-type from Professor Oak's own was a better prospect—especially if he could have gotten Oak's Mismagius. Ghost or not, that thing was cool.
"Either way, it's not like getting into a few fights will promote evolution in Kadabra. The bastard carries an Everstone on his person at all times.
He must be really past the call of evolution to need an Everstone.
"Guess so." Ash muttered, "Hey why did you-?"
He stopped. Something had happened. For one, Hoothoot had stopped its incessant noise. Absol had stopped its snooping, and was sniffing… something in the air.
Metagross.
The otherworldly ones… they are in the air… non-corporeal. My limited awareness senses their presence, but only that. The feeling is… saturated all around us.
Shit. Ash cursed inwardly. Of course, inside a forest engulfed in ghostly energies, the ghosts were likely more powerful than outside. It would be more difficult to capture them here.
Should have planned for-"Yak!"
Metagross suddenly created a psychic barrier to prevent Ash from falling off, as he zoomed upward, narrowly missing the immensely-thick roots that came at them, tearing through the earth, as vines shot up from random directions, wanting to capture them.
"Vine whip?" Ash yelled. "How in earth is a grass-type-?" He couldn't manage to finish his words before a large tree-trunk expanded, shooting towards metagross, only to be stopped by a powerful punch from the iron-leg pokémon. Meanwhile, Absol was having a hard time, jumping past the suddenly rising tree-trunks and roots the likes of which she had never faced prior to this. Using successive psycho-cuts and shadow-claws could only help so much.
Hold still. This is going to get difficult.
"Can I help?" Ash almost yelped.
The rampaging beasts could be of aid now.
Ash almost rolled his eyes at the reference, before somehow managing to get what he needed from his belt. "Rhydon, Crawdaunt, Gyarados… I need help!"
The red light inundated the deathly blackness of the woods, as the humongous serpent took shape, followed by the rock-type. Crawdaunt snapped multiple vines viciously with his pincers, before reaching the ground.
This is otherworldly activity, trainer Ash.
"Great. Ghostly activity that controls the forests? What are we dealing with?" Ash wondered, before Scott's words came to mind. "Right.' He checked the Pokedex quickly.
Ghost pokémon in non-corporeal form. No data available.
"Damn!" Ash yelled. "Never mind. Metagross, use flash, full power. Ghosts hate light. Gyarados, hyper beam next time something big strikes us."
The draconic serpent roared, twisting and tearing through the trees, as it fired successive bursts of hyper beam into the darkness, shattering away the branches and roots before they even made it to Ash. Rhydon was having the time of his life, slamming into the earth, as powerful seismic waves traversed the entire area, which seemed to do the trick.
Instantly, Ash could hear audible groans all around him, as a reddish hue appeared in front of him. In a matter of seconds, a powerful sphere of concentrated ghostly energy shot towards him, only to be deflected away by a single psycho-cut by an enraged Absol who growled, before sending out a powerful dark pulse into the darkness.
Another groan was heard amongst the rustling of the trees.
Where is that Hoothoot now? Ash mentally snarled. "Metagross, use psychic and bring the owl back."
An indignant hooting mess came flying through the air before landing on the ground. Somehow, managing to lift itself up, Hoothoot glared at him, its eyes displaying its incessant wish to peck at him. Ash however, had other plans.
"Use foresight on that thing." He pointed towards the reddish hue in the dark. "Else I'm leaving you behind."
That… seemed enough incentive (or threat) for Hoothoot to start working. With a prolonged hoot, the owl pokémon used its foresight to maximum effect, revealing the ghost responsible for so much damage. Standing in front of them, was a pokémon that looked like a tree, only one that had come back from the dead to haunt other people.
He took out his Pokedex again, hoping it would work this time. Luckily, it seemed to work out this time around.
Trevenant. The Elder tree pokémon. Through its roots, it exerts control over other trees. A deadly curse falls upon anyone cutting down trees in forests where Trevenant dwell. It will trap people who harm the forest, so they can never leave.
So this is Trevenant eh?
"Rhydon, use earthquake. Full power. Gyarados, hyper beam."
Foresight was a normal-type move, one that made a ghost-type vulnerable to moves of all types. Thus, the hyper beam, coupled with the powerful earthquake was enough to send the Trevenant out of commission, as it groaned loudly before falling down onto the forest floor.
Without a second thought, Ash threw one of his ultraballs at the pokémon, instantly sucking it in, as the ball wiggled for a first and second time, before settling with a ding.
Ash sighed.
Wait.
That was strange. The ball should have come back to his hand post-capture. That was a specialty of the ultraball technology. He would know, he had read all about it ever since its release. The ball in question, however, simply remained where it was, down on the forest floor.
Odd.
With no further attacks coming from any direction, Ash requested the steel-type to bring him down, as he stood on the damp ground, his walking stick in hand for support. With cautious steps, he slowly moved ahead towards the pokeball, Gyarados encircling all around him, looping through the branches, ready to attack at a moment's notice.
Everything's… too silent.
Ash bent to pick the ultraball from the ground, extended his hand, but then stopped. "Absol, is there anything around me?"
Absol grunted, shaking her head.
Being here has made you overly paranoid, Ash Ketchum.
Hi fingers graced over the ultraball, touching its sleek outer covering as a tingling sensation appeared on his fingers, before a swarming wave of nasty energy engulfed his entire body.
Ash Ketchum let out a scream.
As a dark-type, Absol had always been able to slip through the powers of the all-knowing-ones and the otherworldly-ones, such were the powers of the void. Her very nature clashed with both types, while maintaining a distinct difference. Psychic-types were the ones who could manipulate the world around them, change things, and thus, liked the concept of order in the world. For a psychic, a ghost was a representation of something that was the antithesis of order-a being that literally defined chaos, something which merely by its existence, tampered with the state of order of any natural environment.
Dark-types, or the void-users, were remarkably different than that.
While a ghost-type was invasive chaotic-energy given form and sentience, a dark-type was conceptualized nothingness in a natural system. They couldn't be figured out, couldn't be contained, and couldn't be broken or shielded against by use of their psychic awareness. It was almost akin to try containing oil with a silver spoon. No matter what one did, the oil would overflow.
Unless of course, the oil amount was too small, and the spoon, too large.
Not that it was possible. With the exception of an immensely powerful Alakazam or perhaps, an ancient pseudo-legendary like Metagross, it was virtually impossible for a psychic to even contain a dark-type (a remarkably weak dark-type) though psychic powers alone. That was exactly why Absol had wondered about the true nature of this… Mewtwo pokémon, who had scared each and every pokémon on the trainer's team, even the nigh invincible Pidgeot.
The battle with the ghost-type that Absol had just had, had been pretty educational. Slipping past otherworldly energies was one thing, but doing the same while trying to dodge grass-type moves? Now that was different. Confusing. Ghost-attacks made no difference to her back at the mountains, and she knew how to handle the rock-types up there pretty well. This however….
Absol decided that her perspective required a lot of changes. If even the nigh-invincible avian made no hesitation in declaring that she required a lot more training, then it must be supposedly true that Absol required training herself as well. The crustacean in the team was a pathetic waste, with no great skill save his raw, brute strength. The void in him was in traces, and the crustacean required training in that. Maybe the trainer would know something about it? She would have to ask the all-knowing-one since he was the one having meaningful conversations with the trainer most of the time.
However, that was for later, and not of priority right now. Absol sniffed, smelling the presence of otherworldly energy all around. But then again, it was everywhere, growing consistently with every single feet they had traversed into the forest. She saw her trainer slowly walk towards the pokeball that now held the captured ghost. Perhaps now she could get some practice, learning to defend herself around ghosts as well?
"Absol, is there anything around me?"
Absol was… surprised. She had expected the trainer to turn to the hulking all-knowing-one. Most humans tended to work better with the psychics, bonding in their mutual love of order from chaos. Dark-types and ghost-types were… treated with caution. For Absol, it was no different, considering her own… premonitions regarding the onset of disasters. Then again, her trainer was different.
Very, very different.
When Ash Ketchum had released her out in the crowd, she had somewhat… anticipated, a look of shock on his face, which she had gotten too, before the trainer had returned her back to the pokeball, not taking her out for the next couple of days. As an Absol, it was her duty to alert the world about her premonitions, often doing so without caring for herself. Destiny always made sure of that anyway. After staying in suspended animation for over three days, Absol had begun to think that her trainer blamed her for the destruction that had come over the ship, as she knew it would. The fact that her trainer had released her on top of that cliff, surrounded by large, powerful and vicious pokémon, Absol had feared for the worst. Her owner was injured, and in all possibility, was going to torture her because of it, blaming her for the destruction and devastation that should have come after her release.
She had been dead wrong.
"I… I just need to say that, I wish to thank you for your contribution…"
"After you showed up, we got a little time to prepare ourselves for the attack on the ship. I don't even want to consider what would have happened had we all been caught unaware."
"So… I just want to thank you for warning us in advance."
It wouldn't be too far off to say that she had been literally floored with shock. Not only was the trainer grateful for her aide, he was even thinking that she might judge him unworthy because of his… fragile state. It had… endeared Absol to this trainer. Even then, just to keep her pride, she had declared an intent to battle, which she did, and had a good time showing the prideful all-knowing-one his place, but then the trainer took things a little more seriously, and literally wiped the floor with her, courtesy to that avian.
And then he had asked for her aid for a ghost-hunt.
Bottom line. Absol loved her trainer.
She discarded some of the more… odd images that came to her mind, before a soul-wrenching scream reached her ears, screams that could only belong to one person on earth.
Her trainer.
In hindsight, seeing an odd behaviour from something so rudimentary as a pokeball should have been alarming in the first place, especially considering the location. The moment his fingers touched the surface of the pokeball, he felt a slight tingling on the surface of his fingers. Almost instantaneously, he felt something shift, before paling as he saw a reddish hue form on the forest ground just below his feet, before engulfing him, as a wave of powerful energy slammed into him, pain coursing through his veins.
Ash Ketchum let out a soul-wrenching scream, as he felt the foreign energy literally burn his nerves, as his muscles contracted and squeezed, making him feel pain the likes of which he had never felt before.
An extremely bright light inundated the entire scene as Metagross fired up his Flash ability to maximum effect, before inundating the entire region with his psychic power. As Ash felt the pain slowly recede away, he was able to somehow hold himself from falling on the ground, as the shadows left him, receding away to the darkness of the woods further ahead, before belching hot, scorching flames towards Ash.
That was when something unexpected happened.
A blur of white suddenly jumped in front of him, before waving the crescent-like horn on her head in a twist, sending powerful psycho-cuts in the opposite direction, deflecting the raging flames. There, in front of Ash, guarding him protectively, and glaring at the ghosts, stood Absol, her horn glowing with the sentient darkness that her type thrived on.
"Absol…." He muttered. "Thank… you."
Absol grunted back in acknowledgement. She didn't deserve a thanks, not when she had been lax in her duties, her negligence allowing the otherworldly ones to have a shot at her trainer.
Trainer Ash, are you... all right?
"Metagross?" Ash whispered, half-delirious. "What just happened to me? I feel… strange, weak… my body's no longer paining, but it seems like my energy is slowly leaving me."
You have been cursed.
Cursed? Ash paled.
By the otherworldly one. Do not worry. You will be all right. The void-using feline, me… and the rest of our travelling companions will see to it.
The…. Thanks. I feel… I feel sleepy.
Do not sleep, trainer Ash If you do, the curse will increase in potency. If you sleep, you will die. Do not sleep.
Irrespective of the general idea, Ash Ketchum didn't really prefer dying. Not like this anyway. Alone, cured, in the middle of the forest, just like the ghost-trainer had… surrounded by his own pokémon without no one able to save him.
Trainer Ash?
I'll… I'll stay alive… awake, I mean. Don't worry.
That sounds like a good attempt at persuasion. Keep going and you might succeed.
Wise ass. Ash couldn't help but feel slightly amused, even at such severe condition. He slowly pulled himself up, as he stared at the numerous reddish hues all around them, encircling them like Pidgeotto around Catterpie.
Pidgeotto… what a connection!
Gyarados let out a powerful roar, and threw out a hyper beam towards the general direction, only to be intercepted midway by a sphere of concentrated ghostly energy, as several dozen- no wait, hundreds… hundreds of ghosts surrounded them from all sides.
And standing in front of them, facing an enraged Absol, was a Gengar, backed by two identical-looking Haunter on either side. Ash mildly noted that a majority of the ghost population surrounding them were tiny wood trunks, with ghostly faces on them—Phantump, he guessed—though there were quite a number of Trevenant as well.
"Gen…. Gar!" The shadow pokémon drawled audibly.
The pokedex activated automatically. Haunter. The gas pokémon. Haunter is a dangerous Pokémon. If one beckons you while floating in darkness, you must never approach it. This Pokémon will try to lick you with its tongue and steal your life away. Because of its ability to slip through block walls, it is said to be from another dimension.
There was a 'bing' sound before Dexter spoke again.
Gengar. The Shadow pokémon. Gengar's relationships are warped. It has no interest in opponents unless it perceives them as prey. It apparently wishes for a traveling companion. Since it was once human itself, it tries to create one by taking the lives of other humans.
"Haunter…. And Gengar?" Ash stammered, watching at the three ghost pokémon standing before him.
Wait… three? Could they be the same three Haunter… that once belonged to that trainer?
Gengar muttered something ominous in its own tongue. Ash didn't understand what it was, but it was something that made Absol literally shake with rage. Her entire body was now glowing something shadowy…
They are asking you to release the otherworldly tree that you captured.
"And if I don't?" Ash challenged weakly.
Then they would slowly the life out of you… and apparently kill us as well.
There was no choice. Even dealing with that lone Trevenant had taken him to fetch some of the hard-hitters from his team. With the entire ghost community after their lives… saying no would mean a delayed and horrific death.
"I'll release it." Ash answered without hesitation. "Nothing is worth more than the cost of my friends' life."
Your trust is appreciated, trainer Ash, but we are able to take care of ourselves.
"No, Metagross." Ash countered. "I have had enough. I already caused a lot of problems by challenging Mewtwo. I cannot keep doing like this, putting your life on the line just for the sake of my pride." He turned towards the Gengar, observing how the shadow pokémon was a little taller than himself, almost closer to a little less of six feet. Even the two Haunter looked slightly taller than him.
Ash slowly reached down towards the pokeball, only for something soft to beat his hand away.
It was Absol's horn.
"Absol?"
The white feline grunted, shaking her head. She turned around, facing the shadow pokémon, before grunting something. Whatever it was must have been extremely significant, since Ash felt their leer almost double after Absol made her statement.
The three otherworldly ones in front… are the leaders of this… community, trainer Ash.
I kind 'a got that already. What did Absol say?
She challenged the Gengar. The most powerful one here.
Ash's eyes had turned to saucers. "Over what?"
Captivity. Should she win, the Gengar would be subservient to you.
What? Is she insane? Why would-?
If she loses, then we fight for our lives and get out of the forest. Either way, we do not surrender.
Metagross hummed softly, before speaking in his native tongue. After his… declaration, Rhydon, Crawdaunt, and even Gyarados made their own declarations in a cacophony of voices.
"Hey, what are you guys all saying?" Ash asked, confused.
That we agree with Absol.
A pokeball on Ash's waist automatically activated as red light shot out, releasing Kadabra, who instantly raised his spoon in defense, looking at the multitude of ghosts surrounding them from all sides.
What did you get me into this time round, midget?
Metagross sent a psychic message, as Kadabra sighed, before raising his head, and voicing his own agreement.
"You too?" Ash asked weakly.
Pride, midget. Pride. Pride of a psychic. You wouldn't understand.
Right.
Ash looked up, as the Gengar looked positively murderous, before yelling back something.
They said that the curse running in your body will slowly engulf you, draining you of your life force, the longer you stay in the forest.
And?
And that the shadow will play with the feline slowly, making her watch as life trickles out of you.
Ash gulped.
In return, Absol simply snarled, and sent a powerful psycho-cut towards the Gengar, who turned incorporeal, allowing the psychic attack to literally pass through him, without dealing any damage.
The feline said she'd enjoy tormenting the shadow day after day, every day after he's subservient to you.
When did my life go so crazy?
A precise moment in time is difficult to ascertain. All that is Metagross believe that life is a cumulated product of several million choices, compounded upon each other over the passage of time.
I didn't ask for clarification. Ash sighed, staring hopefully at Absol, who seemed to have taken a place some fifteen feet away from Gengar, as the ghosts drew away from the duo, not wanting to be corrupted by the energies of the void-using feline.
I wonder if Absol will obey my commands right now.
She is a user of the void. The conceptualization of an impossibility, even for the otherworldly ones. I believe it is a rationally correct approach to sit and watch.
…. Awesome.
This is nothing like it ever expected it to be. Ash thought to himself, as he rested on top of Metagross's head, the steel-type slowly injecting his psychic power inside his body, to resist the effects of the curse that Gengar had placed upon him. Meanwhile, said Gengar was standing opposite Absol, with the entire ghost community watching from the side-lines of what was possibly going to be a battle-onto-death match.
Suddenly, Gengar's eyes turned red, as the pokémon turned incorporeal, vanishing into the darkness, only to be replaced by several illusory versions of it, surrounding Absol on all sides. Laughing maniacally, the illusory Gengar conjured up Shadow Balls, all of them aimed towards the Absol in the middle, whose horn was raised up, concentrating dark energies to extreme proportions.
With a yell, the shadow balls shot towards the Absol, who simply radiated out a dark aura out of her body, as the shadow balls shattered upon contact, proving the immunity that dark-types enjoyed over ghost-type attacks. Angered, the illusory Gengar raised their claw, which glowed deadly purple, before launching into Absol from all sides.
Absol lowered her horn, as the illusory ghosts attacked, sweeping through the ground, her fully-charged night-slash in effect, and the illusory forms vanishing upon contact. She almost cringed in pain as the ghost's claws—lined with poison from the very ground- slashed past her fur into the tissue. That however, did not neutralize the glee, knowing that her dark move had managed a direct strike at the ghost.
The illusory form faded as the real Gengar once again appeared into view, her large, red eyes gleaming with unbridled ecstasy and rage at the same time. The attack was a success, and soon, the dark-type would fall to the effects of the poison. However, Gengar hadn't escaped without injury, as she could feel the negative energies of the void-user spreading through her clusters of chaotic energy. If not tended to, then it would resist her ability to turn incorporeal at will, which could be a problem. Either way, the void-user and the human weren't getting out of the forest alive. Gengar would make sure of that.
She stood straight, grinning maliciously, as she gathered the otherworldly energies from the ambience all around to trigger the next attack.
First point to us both. For now.
Ash watched with horror as Gengar slowly converged the ghostly energies from the forest around him, from the ghosts around him, as he created powerful, deadly, scorching flames within the gap between his claws. Then, the shadow pokémon glowed for an instant, repeating another double-team attack, only this time, all of the illusions were preparing for that fire-type move.
Will-o-wisp. Ash remembered. Deadly, and extremely difficult to put down, these ghostly flames were of the fire-type, and yet, almost invulnerable to water-type attacks. Absol might be a dark-type, but no amount of darkness could protect her from raw, primal rage of fire.
Ash coughed, barely noticing the trace amounts of blood that shot out his mouth.
Absol gathered the raw energies inside her physical form. Ghost-types were tricky, but that, in a way, made them predictable of sorts. She would just need to predict things correctly to get out of this situation. She could see the powerful flames gathering all around her, and knew it very well that suffering a direct hit from those flames would ensure absolute defeat, and a pending death.
That wasn't an option.
There was only one thing that could deal with the impending disaster, and it would require a good amount of power to pull off. Chances were, that after conducting it, she'd fall unconscious, leaving her trainer alone amidst the otherworldly ones.
No, that too, wasn't an option.
That left only one way out, and Absol wasn't sure if she could do it in the first place.
She sent a sideward glance at her trainer, who coughed. She recognized the smell, almost reminiscing the coppery taste of human blood.
Blood? The curse of the otherworldly one needs to be stopped, and quickly.
Absol made a decision, as her eyes began to glow an ominous grey.
Gengar meanwhile, had enough time gathering the ghostly flames as she projected them towards the dark-type feline, content in the belief that she would be roasted in them. What happened however, was something none of the ghosts had ever anticipated.
"Whoa… what is that?" Ash muttered in surprise, looking at Absol. The white feline had raised her horn like a sword, radiating an immensely dark aura out of it, before quickly spinning around twice, and projecting the darkness outward, almost like a tornado of darkness, intercepting the ghostly flames which met their match, and got deflected from the powerful gusts generated by the sudden attack.
Swords dance. Ash checked the pokedex. A frenetic dance that raises attack power, used in both offense and defence.
Whoa… she is using the swords dance to deflect the flames back towards the illusory Gengar. But that means-
Before Ash could finish comprehending that statement, Gengar's eyes glowed with frightening rage as she witnessed her own attack deflected back at her. It was a ghostly move and hence, would affect her, but at the same time, the winds would not. That meant, that the feline inside was vulnerable to physical attacks should she manage to overcome the flames and strike her.
A challenge. Just like the old days.
And Gengar jumped, head-on into the flames.
She could have turned herself incorporeal to allow the flames to pass through her, but doing so would immensely shorten the time she needed to hone her poisonous claws for a final strike. To perform the fatal attack, she would have to accept a fatal injury. That was acceptable, since it would mean a win. Once Absol was dealt with, the human was free game.
Not that he isn't, anyway.
The powerful flames scorched the shadow pokémon, who somehow managed to hold her own screeches of pain, instead turning her pain and anger into focus, as her poisonous claws sharpened to great lengths.
Just a little more.
She crossed through the flames, through the wind, sailing past the ineffective wind, as she slashed with one arm towards Absol, who just as expected, halted the move with her horn, which was submerged in negative energy. Gengar grinned, raising her other arm, as she shoved it towards Absol's gut, ready to see her entrails shoot out from the other end just after the strike would end. The shadow pokémon's arm shot towards the white fur, the claws glowing with poison-
And stopped.
Just like that.
Absol leapt out of Gengar's range, raising her maw, and fired a powerful dark pulse towards the shell-shocked Gengar who couldn't fathom what had just happened. One moment Absol was there, ready to be butchered. The other moment, she herself was trapped in what seemed to be a mesh of psychic energy.
Absol lifted her maw, and fired what was possibly her strongest attack, right at Gengar's face, the psychic traps completely transparent to it, as the sphere of concentrated dark energy slammed face-first into Gengar, who let out a screech of agony, before the sheer momentum of the dark pulse sent it slamming into the earth.
Absol reared her head high.
Second point to me.
"What…. Was that? How did a third attack just come out like that?" Ash murmured, completely overwhelmed at how Absol had cast a perfectly executed psychic attack between two consecutive dark attacks.
You misunderstand, trainer Ash. Even someone as accomplished as the feline cannot lay a full-powered psychic trap between two full-powered dark moves. It is… not compatible.
Then… how?
Future sight.
Future sight?
It is a move we psychics can perform, in which we manipulate psychic energies through time and space, to a time in the future. When the time arrives, the attack manifests in the real world, unexpected. That… is future sight.
Whoa… Ash was completely overwhelmed. If a dark-type could use future sight this effectively, Ash shuddered to wonder what would happen if a pure psychic type like Metagross or Alakazam would use it.
It is very powerful, but equally draining. The further you send it into time, the exponential the consumption of energy. The feline must be tired already, but the battle is won. Things should go smoothly from here on out.
As if to contradict his statement, the Gengar raised her head, glaring at the feline murderously.
- Well, for some definitions of smoothly, I suppose.
Absol almost lost it when she saw the murderous, bright red eyes of Gengar suddenly light up, as the shadow pokémon pushed herself up, before dissipating into dense fumes, which zoomed all around, absorbing the ambient energies of the forest, gathered ghostly energy into itself, before slowly condensing back into her corporeal self.
Absol stepped back. There was no hope now. Even if she would manage to land another successive attack, Gengar would simply absorb the ambient energy from the surroundings to boost her power. There was no other end to this fight except an imminent, brutal, humiliating loss.
But she wouldn't go down.
Absol would fight to her last breath.
The white-furred feline snarled in fury, ready to pounce at the ghost before her. She gathered momentum for a powerful night slash, ready to propel herself and-
"Use dark pulse, full power!"
A volley of spheres, all of them concentrated with dark energy, showered into the area from all sides, towards the unsuspecting community of ghosts, right in the centre of the attack. None of the ghosts would escape out of this.
No one.
Far in the shad0ws, Executive Butch smiled.
Sometime ago.
"Is it ready?" Butch questioned for the nth time. Just like the Boss had said, the use of those… crystals had literally made themselves… almost invisible to the ghostly-senses, just like dark creatures themselves. Further, he must also have incomparable luck, Butch mused, to have come to attack at a time when the ghosts were engrossed in a single event, in a closed, specific location. Placing the grunts at appropriate geographical points, and by extension, the Umbreon packs as well, they had created a literal kill-box.
Butch smirked. Ironic, that they were using the setup to capture ghosts.
"We're ready, sir. Targets locked on."
A silly grin floated on Butch's lips. "Use Dark Pulse. Full power."
Call it her super-sensory perception of upcoming disasters, or merely her sixth sense, but Absol simply leapt to her side, sprinting towards her trainer, who, still sitting on top of Metagross, paled in horror at the dark pulses falling towards him and the rest of the pokémon. The steel-type hadn't even cast shields, knowing very well that no amount of psychic shield would stop an attack.
This was a kill-box, ensured by someone out there to make sure that the ghosts, and by extension, her trainer, would be injured beyond comprehension.
She leapt towards her trainer, her horn brimming with dark energies, ready to deflect any of those spheres that might come remotely close to them, hoping that the rest of her trainer's pokémon would be able to survive the attack as well.
It was… unnecessary.
A huge draconic shadow engulfed her, her trainer as well as the other pokémon beside her, as the mighty sea serpent let out an angry roar, encircling her powerful, draconic body around them to shield them from the incoming foray of dark energy. From the screams, it was clear that the serpent was being hurt, the only hope being that her draconic scales would go a long away to cancel out the momentum of it all, though a more selfish part of her was gleeful that she and her trainer were now safe.
At least for now.
If only the same could be said about the ghosts themselves.
Unknown to their perceptions, the dark pulses slammed into them, the ghosts noticing it only too late as the innate negative energy literally inundated their senses, turning them weak and incapable of turning into non-corporeal form.
"Another!" Came a loud, foreign voice, as another set of volleys shot off, falling towards the crowd in the center. Few ghosts could manage to avoid it.
"Capture the phantumps!" the man in the shadows yelled. "Every single one of them. Leave the rest to the Umbreon." He stepped forward from the shadows, inciting a gasp from a certain trainer beneath a Gyarados, who recognized the man- Butch yelled, "I'll handle whatever else is left behind."
And several flashes of red light manifested the pokémon he had brought with him.
Ash gasped in shock as he recognized the man in the shadows, stepping up front. It was the same Rocket executive with the absurdly powerful Magmortar- one who had defeated both Gyarados and Rhydon with a single move each. And now, he was there with an army of- Umbreon, Ash realized—and grunts on all sides, possibly to capture all the ghost pokémon over here.
Just like back at the ship.
He wouldn't let them do that, knowing very well that once the ghosts were dealt with, he and his pokémon would come next, and considering that he and Metagross had thrown the man off the deck, there was little chance of the man ignoring and letting them be.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that.
"Aid the ghosts." Ash commanded, much to everyone's surprise. Even the vicious Gengar looked at him with surprise in her red eyes. "These guys are Team Rocket. They will capture you and then force you to obey their commands." He addressed the ghosts. "Be careful."
The Gengar looked at him with an inscrutable expression, before grinning widely as she sprang towards Butch, only to be stopped by an even larger ghost, standing on her path.
Another ghost type? Ash lifted his pokedex.
Dusclops. The beacon pokémon. Dusclops's body is completely hollow—there is nothing at all inside. It is said that its body is like a black hole. This Pokémon will absorb anything into its body, but nothing will ever come back out. It hypnotizes its foe by waving its hands in a macabre manner and by bringing its single eye to bear. The hypnotized foe is made to do Dusclops's bidding.
"Avoid looking into its eyes." Ash commanded, sending his team forth to battle against the Executive's pokémon. He turned towards Gyarados, who was obviously in pain. "Thank you, Gyarados. If not for you, I'd be dead. Get some rest." He raised his pokeball, sucking the pokémon back in. Plucking out the rest of his pokeballs, he let loose.
Hell came to the forest.
It was surreal. In the pitch blackness of the Forest of Illusions, the majority of the ghostly species—Phantump, a ghostly species that possesses fallen tree trunks, were getting attacked from every side by vicious Umbreon, quickly followed by getting sucked into those characteristic black pokeballs that Team Rocket used. By the looks of it, they seemed like an unregistered, and slightly weaker versions of the Ultraball, but nevertheless, did their job with ease. On the other hand, the Trevenant population, reduced to less than ten, were fighting back some of the Umbreon, raising roots and branches to slam towards the grunts, even succeeding in tearing through some of the men—killing them instantly, though the latter couldn't be said about the Umbreon, which were much more nimble than their owners.
Meanwhile, Gengar and the two Haunter shot towards the Rocket Executive, with Gengar—despite her already tired disposition, was fighting a losing battle against a clearly more powerful Dusclops, who seemed to be empowered with dark-type moves as well. With the already existing dark-type energy inside her body, the battle was becoming more and more difficult for the shadow pokémon.
The two Haunter had jumped to kill the Executive, only to be intercepted by two Houndoom, belching out flames at the gas pokémon, who instantly pushed away, having to engage the fire types. The dark types barked, belching out more flames towards the pokémon, who tried to counter with shadow balls.
"Bah!" The executive barked. "Useless vermin. Magmortar, burn them to crisps."
And the giant spitfire pokémon came into view, sprouting flames all over, propelling fireballs from the two cannons its upper appendages had transformed into. The fireballs fell all over the place, setting fire to the trees, much to the ghosts' screeches, seeing their haven being destroyed to ashes.
"Poliwhirl, use water pulse. Crawdaunt, bubble beam. Clear the flames!" came Ash's voice, who somehow managed to stand on the ground, holding his hand close to his mouth, coughing out at random, spewing out more blood each and every time.
"Rhydon, tackle that Magmortar. Lairon, help him." Ash paused. "Metagross. Leave me here. Rhydon needs your help. Kadabra-"
I can do better from a distance. Let Metagross do the brawl. I will protect you and deal damage from afar.
Ash considered it. "All right." He turned to the ground. "Shelgon, Charmander… don't hold back. Fire with everything you've got. We need to stop that man." He held his final pokeball in his hand. "Go, Pidgeot!"
And the entire battle stopped still for a moment, as the overly large avian appeared in the air, screeching angrily at her trainer's condition and the fighting all around.
Ash coughed more blood, pointing towards the Rockets, snarling as he did. "Wreak havoc!"
Ever since his evolution from Bagon, Shelgon had been lesser and lesser of his trainer of date, though that was partially true since Ash had been in a coma for three days. Not that Shelgon really minded, because Shelgon were, by nature, programmed to stay alone inside caverns, waiting in patience for its inner metamorphosis to finally finish, so that he can evolve, spread his wings and soar over the skies. However, the metamorphosis was far from completion at the moment, which meant that Shelgon was now limited to his extremely heavy body, his movements much more sluggish, and his ability to tackle into opponents, changing speed and direction midway nigh impossible at the moment. In fact, it would perhaps be correct to say that the Shelgon-state wasn't an evolution at all- at least from his own perspective—it was more like a cocoon-stage, one that signified that his wish to fly was now near. However, just like the night is darkest before dawn, similarly Bagon lost its somewhat limited abilities as a Shelgon, having to wait until it could evolve into a Salamence, where a multitude of abilities would be available to him.
As unfortunate as it was, the present situation didn't seem to fit into his fold of perception. Here was he, standing alongside Charmander, trying to do his level best to strike at the Umbreon who were awfully nimble, more than they had any right t0 be. No thanks to his anatomy, he was forced to stand still and belch dragon breath attacks at the enemy, hoping it would strike true, while the other pokémon belonging to his trainer were fighting the immensely powerful ones out there, and from the looks, weren't faring very badly. Even Ash himself looked remarkably ill, and even then, the remarkably dense trainer was standing quite close to where the main fighting was going on.
At least the psi pokémon standing beside him would protect him.
Probably.
Shelgon corrected his statement.
The night is darkest before it turns absolutely pitch-black.
With Metagross and Rhydon doing their best to deal with that annoyingly powerful Magmortar, the two Haunter had left their flank, to use their ghostly abilities on the grunts, using their claws to literally tear through the grunts, digging into their entrails whenever getting the chance, along with the occasional hex and dream-eater to regain some of their power to carry out the next attack. Unlike Gengar, they had never evolved, choosing to stay in their state, happy to follow Gengar's commands after Ethan's death. A part of them could somehow… relate to how the human was behaving right now—fighting alongside his pokémon against opposing forces, even at the brink of death. Perhaps… perhaps there was a slight possibility that this particular trainer was more like Ethan and less like the robbers that had robbed him of his life?
The Haunter duo focussed their ghostly energies, getting in tune with the ambient energy of the forest. It was time for them to use their powers to the fullest.
Pidgeot was loving it. As Pidgeotto, her air slashes needed to be smaller, precise, so that she could focus the shockwaves enough to actually weaken the opponent. Now though, it was hardly a matter, since she could automatically channel energy at much higher quantities without battling an eye. The air slashes tore through the grunts, sometimes even slicing them into halves, a fate that some of the Umbreons shared with them as well—though, Pidgeot couldn't help but notice that majority of the Phantump population had already vanished—captured- she translated, which meant that victory was pyrrhic at best. She would need to do some damage control.
At least towards the grunts' side of the battle, so that she could begin to deal with the Executive and that annoying fire-breathing abomination of his.
Quickly deciding on an approach, she raised her wingspan, manipulating the ambient ghostly energies of the forest, and began to weave a devastating combination.
Metagross slammed another powerful meteor mash into Magmortar, this time striking true as the monster fell to the back, only to lift one of his cannons and blast scorching flames at him, the flames literally slamming him to the ground, as the Magmortar jumped off the ground, ready to end the battle with a powerful body slam. The funny thing was, even Metagross knew it. After that kind of firepower hitting him, a single body slam from that giant of a fire monster would send him reeling into unconsciousness.
That however, was not an option.
He watched the body of Magmortar, which shot high up into the air, propelled by his flames, before stopping in mid-air, and using the full might of gravity to end up on him. Metagross concentrated on the previous day of his training, on the one single move that his trainer had made him learn, practice and repeat nonstop until he could pull it right.
And Metagross began to glow.
Psychic power flooded through him, reinforcing the steel-typing in him to power up what could be considered in many ways, the ultimate steel-type move.
Flash Cannon.
His entire body flooded with raw power, as he shone like liquid light, before concentrating all that energy into the X on his front, almost demanding an outlet to destroy. Metagross gave it one.
Magmortar.
The shaft of liquid light slammed into a surprised Magmortar face-first, stopping his downward descent and instead, pushing him further upward until the light died out, and Magmortar, now wounded, fell from the sky, speeding towards the earth. Meanwhile, Metagross concentrated his remaining energy into his top-right appendage, and just when Magmortar was at his own height, slammed a full-powered Meteor Mash into him, sending the spitfire pokémon tumbling down the earth, before striking against a rock, which cracked instantly.
Rhydon, it seemed, was merely waiting for this, as he made an excited roar before slamming his feet on the ground, sending an earthquake, that shocked the hell out of most of the pokémon standing there, including and specially, the injured Magmortar.
Just how he liked it. Rhydon grinned.
Metagross let out a mental sigh. Maybe there was a chance for them after - the thought died midway, as he saw the fire monster slowly push one of his appendages up.
Oh come on. This is simply unfair.
Ominous wind. A powerful wind-based attack in which the caster channels ghostly energy to flow with the wind created, to attack the opponent. The attack is useful against those who are sensitive to ghostly energies—humans, psychics and the like. However, some ghosts-types, like Gengar, have the ability to use will-o-wisp, or ghostly flames to combine with ominous wind to create a more deadly combination. One, which in terms of a fire-attack, is more devastating than a full-powered flamethrower, and in terms of ghostly attacks, leaves little for the opponent to do beside groaning in pain.
However, neither ominous wind and will-o-wisp separately, nor any combination of them thereof, could ever hope to match that which then manifested inside the Forest of Illusions, courtesy to the mega-evolved Pidgeot.
Using her innate ability to shape the air currents, Pidgeot literally manipulated the ambient ghostly energies to her will, channelling them into specific paths just like ominous wind, only this time, it was in the form of a twister.
An extremely large, extremely powerful twister of swirling ghost energy.
With one single pair of beats from her wings, Pidgeot directed the ominous-wind-twister into motion.
"Ha!" Butch laughed. "The kid never learns. Magmortar, they have high hopes on that twister. Burn their hopes like the previous time."
Magmortar, who seemed to get up and stand, no matter the attacks on its person, grinned maniacally before belching huge torrents of flame into the twisters.
That, in hindsight, was a mistake.
As Pidgeotto, she was able to create twisters, but controlling them once formed was beyond her scope and ability. However, the increase in strength that Pidgeot had gained post her mega-evolution was beyond her own comprehension. With little effort, she took the swirling disaster- a fusion of Magmortar's powerful flames coupled with the twister of ghostly energy—and directed it towards the grunts and their pokémon—literally evaporating them once the swirling monster ravaged past them. In exactly twenty seven seconds, not a single grunt, nor his Umbreon, were left alive and standing. In fact, they weren't present there at all.
Only if that were the end of it all.
Pidgeot gave another sweep, once again manipulating the currents, changing the path of the fiery tornado, which now turned towards the Rocket chopper, as the fire tornado lashed against it, before breaking off and exploding out with the Rocket chopper.
Butch was traumatized beyond comprehension. His chopper was destroyed. The grunts were dead. The Umbreon packs were killed. Even his own pokémon were on the verge of losing. The only good thing was that the mission—capture the phantump population—had been a success, since immediately after capture, those black pokeballs automatically vanished, teleporting back to the base as they were programmed to do.
Now he just had t0 kill this kid and then escape from here. "Gaaah!" He roared in unbridled fury. "Kill that bird, Magmortar. Burn her to the crisp!"
Magmortar would, but then he was stopped by Butch, pointing towards something else, much more higher in priority, that had begun to take place.
The two Haunter, despite Pidgeot's own acquisition of the ambient energies of the forest, had been busy concentrating on otherworldly energy, fuelling themselves with the ambient energy of the environment. One of the features of ominous wind is that it raises the powers of any nearby ghost, something that the duo had used to maximum efficiency, when Pidgeot created the twister.
Gengar was busy battling with the Dusclops, with either of them suffering from injuries, the former more than the latter. The Houndoom had been dealt with already, the sneak attack with venoshock more than enough to take them out of commission, leaving the Magmortar, who was being dealt with by the hulking Metagross and Rhydon, as well as that overwhelmingly large avian. That left Dusclops, who looked considerably weakened after battling with Gengar.
The Haunter duo concentrated their energies together, creating a mass of pure chaos, moulding it into a spherical shape, creating one of their most potent attacks.
The shadow ball.
The duo grinned, before projecting the shadow ball towards the Dusclops, who also forced out a shadow ball of his own- the two colliding forces of otherworldly energies trying to get the best out of the other, creating a collision in the middle, with either end doing their best to propel it further. Gengar was almost unconscious, but somehow… just somehow, she managed to pick herself up, and channel her remaining power to augment the Haunter duo in their shadow ball, pushing the collision towards Dusclops now. From a corner of her eye, she could observe the human trainer—who looked almost dead on his feet- reminding herself to remove the curse off the human. He was a good one, she knew now. After all, his and his pokémon's contribution were not inconsiderable, not by any length. Besides, the battle with the white-haired feline needed to be considered as well-said feline now having joined with the tadpole who was doing his best to get rid of the flames.
"Magmortar!" Butch sneered, making sure that all of his pokémon (save Magmortar, and of course Dusclops, who was pushing the shadow ball backwards) were back inside their pokeballs, "get ready!" He released a single Abra, who looked surprised at being summoned. "Get ready to teleport." The Executive sneered. "Magmortar, use fire blast on that shadow ball collision."
"NO!" Ash yelled, racing towards the collision, which was only a couple of feet away from Metagross and Rhydon.
Magmortar concentrated on a ball of the hottest fires, before propelling them into the ongoing collision.
And the world was consumed by light and fire.