Watcher of Arceus

Author Notes:
-x- This will be used for scene breaks and for when the story switches to another character, but it does not mean that a new section of the story has started.
~xXx~ This will identify where each paragraph breaks.
‘Character Thought’
(Pokemon speech)
Disclaimer: Don’t own Pokemon, never have, never will. Only the idea and OCs behind the story are mine.
Co-author: Catsithx

~xXx~
Chapter 25

As clouds began to gather overhead, a group of rangers along with a swat team were gathering near the old water treatment plant, all the while a camera crew was recording anything that may be crucial for their story. Ken was….particularly livid that they were brought here. The swat commander had told him he had little choice, that they were supposed to be doing an expose on the operation. To Ken, it was probably the worst time it could happen. If they were not allowed to come along, it would raise to many questions as to why this whole operation was happening in the first place.

Thomas looked apprehensively at the camera crew, this was one of the last things he needed. Thankfully, he knew this trick to deal with such a problem. He had learned it in his previous lifetime while technology was just beginning to rise. With the limited amount of power he had access to, he was able to turn off most devices, but if his power was at its fullest, he would easily be able to fry any electronic. As he looked at the swat team and squad of rangers, he bit his lip, it just reminded him how he hated relying on others, he should be able to do this on his own.

A dark voice began to echo in his mind “And look at where it has got you. When you’re alone, you fail, just as helpless as a baby rattata at birth. Now don’t give your sob story, I’ve been in here along enough to know it. You do horrible on your own, you barely win at all, the only possible thing you’re good for is running. When you fight, you always seem to just sob and despair, whining like a hungry poochyena about how painful it is. Yet it is what you truly are, a warrior. Don’t give me that self-righteous tone that you’re not. You were made to protect all of the legendaries, and serve as Arceus’s sword and shield. YOU ARE A LIVING WEAPON! Get over your near dead race and stop running from what you really are. If you are scared to do what is needed to be done, then step aside and let me show you how things are taken care of.” The laughter began to fade after that, leaving Thomas clenching his fists from anger and frustration.

That is when reality hits him. The darkness is him. He wants nothing more to blame the enemy infecting him, but after what the voice said, and how he said it, there was no denying it. If it was really him, he would have it purged from him, or ask Arceus to banish it from his soul. Yet, he knew it was his own, darker side. It was something that all things with a soul had to live with. All the taint within him had down was merely let it make itself known. What you truly desire, and what you wish you could do. Even Radara was beginning to show signs of her struggle. He
had to control these dark impulses and prevent them from consuming him. He felt Rebecca try and soothe him with some of her aura, he smiled and gently stroked her back in thanks, but he knew it was still there, as it always would.

Ken walked up to Thomas, his face showing concern. “Are you sure you’re ready to do this?”
Thomas smiled a bit tiredly, but it was a confident one. “Yeah, I am. Look I don’t have my usual weapon on me and my only pokémon is Rebecca. You wouldn’t happen to have an extra riot shield or baton?”

Ken smirked and gave Thomas a steel baton from his side, having plenty of spares back at his truck. “It’s not much, but it is good for close combat, you know how to use it right?”

Thomas grinned spun the baton in his fingers a bit, remembering the training he gave Sarah with her own weapons. “Yeah, this will do just fine. Are you positive that you can rely on those maps you have?”

Ken sighed and scratched his head. “Honestly, no. I’m pretty sure we’ll have to keep in contact with Amy and her team. I know they get their signal out of the tunnels by hardline, and after it gets out of the tunnels, it hijacks the feed on a satellite after that. Normally we would be able to find it, but in a city like this, we may as well be looking for a needle in a barn of hay. This city was meant to be a huge metropolis of the future, and yet there are still secrets that people do not want to know. We have to go with what we got, and pray we can avoid any guards they have set up in advance. Until then, you’re with me. Up ahead there are three paths that lead deeper into the sewer system, so we’ll have to split up into three teams. We’ll take the one that looks like leads deeper into the city. Group B will take the sewer line.” That drew many groans from group B. “Look, on the bright side, you could get a grimer or a muk, it’s allowed.” That even drew more complaints from group B.

“As I said, group B will take the other path through the city. Also, I hate to do this, but radio silence will be in effect. Chances are, they would be able to hear our transmissions. Use only your psychic pokémon to communicate with each other. If you are ambushed and can’t handle it, pull out, as fast as you can.” The surprise on the men’s faces is very clear.

“We are not an attacking force, we will be underground in unfamiliar territory, and help won’t be coming for us and you all know why.” The men look at each other, knowing the harsh truth. The reporter pops up with a smile on his face.

“Ranger Ken, are you sure on your information on these so called illegal Pokémon battles? You seem to be a bit unsure.” He had his mic near ken, waiting for an answer.

“I tell this on ever mission, anything could happen. Also, I hate writing to families that their son, daughter, husband, wife, father or mother has died in the line of duty. It’s never easy to send people into deadly situations, but someone has to do it, and if I can reduce the chance of someone getting hurt or dying I will do it. On that note, you’re with group B, they brought you, they’re responsible for you.” Ken shoved the reporter towards the other group. The man glared at Ken, but didn’t reply and merely turned away as group B began to tidy themselves up as best they could.

As Ken returned from that little scruff, he noticed two new personal to his group. A male and female he had never seen before. “Names.” Is all he says to them, his tone frank. He had noticed Thomas eyeing them, while Rebecca looked as if she was ready for an ambush right here.
“I am Robert from the Main office, this is Sheryl. We were assigned to back you up, these orders came from the top.” Both of them looked too ridged to be rangers, Ken had to guess military.
“You’re with group A.” Ken replied.

“But sir, we were told to-“

Ken cuts him off before he can finish “You’re with group A. I am in command here, not top brass. And I know why you are here, to spy. I couldn’t give two flying sperrow shits about your orders. You will do as I say or you can stay here. Understood?”

Both look at each other, Robert went to say something but Sheryl stopped him. “We are sorry sir, but you are right, our orders come from the top, but in the operation, the field commander’s orders are absolute. We will follow your orders, but we have to report this to the top, it will not look good for you sir.”

Ken just had to laugh at that. “If they wanted me gone, I would be working in the arctic by now. I get results, and that’s all they care about. Now get moving green horns.” As they leave, he signals a ranger from group A. “Keep an eye on them.” He whispered “I don’t trust them, usual spies from the top don’t act like that. They also don’t tell who they work for.” The other ranger nods before he rejoins group A.

After Ken double checked his gear, he walked over to his group and Thomas “Ok kids, time for a field trip. Remember to hit the bathroom now because we aren’t stopping at McEats on the way.” Many had to laugh at it, one even said ‘Yes daddy.’. Thomas smiled at the humor. Once everything was set, they moved into one of the three tunnels, Thomas more than determined to save Radara and the others.

~xXx~

As group A leaves, Robert grabbed Sheryl and harshly whispered to her “We were told not to let the demon out of our sight, why didn’t you fight more to stay in that group?!”

Sheryl looked at him with an extremely harsh glare, if looks could kill, he would be dead. “My orders are to follow him, but not make contact. I cannot blow my cover. He would had attack us if he knew what we were, if not his lapdog lucario would have seen right through us. If you are discovered be him or his Pokémon, you break off and go for help. You do NOT MAKE CONTACT! He and his kind are the reason we exist, to stop his evil. He is the last for a reason, he is the most deadly and clever of them all. You think he has survived for so long because of luck? Too many of us have underestimated him and wound up dead. I will not. Until I get the order, or I have a full squad of elite knights with me, I will not make contact. As you won’t. Also, if you ever grab me like that again, I WILL shove your weapon down your throat so far that when I shove your Pokémon up your dead ass they’ll get impaled by it. Understood, SQUIRE?”

He shook a bit, before he gulped and nodded “Yes, I do sir.”

“Now hurry, they already don’t trust us. We end this underground operation, then we resume our mission.”

~xXx~

As Xent walked down the corridor to the arena, he couldn’t help but think about the discussion he had with the absol bitch….

-x-

“So, you are the one that was brought in with the others.” The absol said as she rested on her mountain of pillows.

Xent paused for a moment, this wasn’t the first time he had heard a pokémon speak English, Felicia had a Blaziken who could do the same.

The absol tilted her head, curiosity sparking in her eyes. “You don’t seemed surprised, you’re the first who hasn’t been.”

Xent looked down at his make shift arm sling, the last battle he had a cactnea tried to use pin missile to take out Zia. Had it connected, Zia would have been killed. Before he got in the way, he threw one of his butterfly knives at it. The knife connected, but not fatally. The pin missiles though, they left his right shoulder in bad condition. After they won the battle, the wound was still bleeding, bad. He asked his flareon to use ember on it. Reluctantly he did, and while it did hurt like a bitch, Xent knew it was better than losing energy to blood loss, and the pain had given him a bit of a wake up call.

“I have experience in odd situations, let’s just leave it at that.” He said, his voice revealing restrained anger.

“Oh I would find it hard to believe if you didn’t.” she smiled innocently, which made Xent’s gut clench more in anger. There was nothing more he wanted right now than you beat the living hell out of her.

“So, why did you call me here?” he asked with a growl.

“Oh, you just peaked my interest, seeing as you nearly killed yourself saving your zoroark, There’s only a few I know who would do that.” She turned over in her bed, just like a kitten in play. “Do you know who you are fighting in the next round by the way?” she asked with a small smirk, knowing the answer already.

“We don’t get told who our next fight is, or is your time up hear making you head all fuzzy like your fur?” Xent retorted.

“Oh you’ve got a mouth on you, guess I won’t tell.” She stuck her tongue out slightly “But I will tell you the rules of the round. You see, we like to keep the ratings up, so we need something here and there to spice things up. In your next fight, your Pokémon and the opponent’s Pokémon will be put up for auction, and if you win, you get to keep your Pokémon that haven’t been auctioned off yet. If you lose, well, you’ve seen what happens to the losers.” She laughed, tossing back her mane “But if all your Pokémon are auctioned off, both of you go free.”
Xent’s eyes widened with rage, clenching his fists as anger flooded his veins.
“….You…bitch…” He snarled. She was about to laugh before he hollered “THEY ARE MY FAMILY YOU FUCKING CUNT!” He took a step forward. “I will find them, if you sell them off, I will find them, I will search the pits of hell if I have to, and when I find them, I’ll come after you. I know who you are, what you and your trainer went through. You think you both know pain? You think you know darkness? You don’t fucking know it, but when I find you, I will make you both very well acquainted.” He growled, at this point his burn was beginning to bleed a bit from his clenched muscles.

At this point the absol snarled back, getting on all fours. “You know nothing about us!” she screamed. “I had no choice but to bring you here! If you want to blame anyone, blame the liepard!” She growled, her claws digging into the pillows.

Xent paused for a moment before he growled “Forced to do something? Well, I guess you are just a tool then if you do what you’re told.” He said, his nails digging into the flesh of his palm. “You are no better than the people you hate and exiled you. I WILL find them if you sell them, and after I do, I will make you regret not even fucking trying to resist.” At this point, Xent turn and stormed towards the door, and kicked it hard, it didn’t budge, but the sound it made was like thunder echoing throughout the room. The door opened, the guard who had escorted Xent here looked a bit perplexed as to what made that sound.

The absol watched as Xent left, infuriated and angered, so much that her claws were beginning to cut right through the pillows beneath her. “That fool will learn his place.” She growled, but she soon grinned. “I just can’t wait to see his next match.”

~xXx~

Xent, Zia and his flareon all walked down the familiar tunnel to the battlefield, Xent having ripped away his sling so he could at least use his arm somewhat. The guard that escorted them here only laughed when Xent had asked who his next opponent was, this didn’t bode well with his thoughts. He wanted to shut the guard up, but he was more focused on this final battle. What the absol said was still ringing in his ears, as if whoever he was facing was going to be his kryptonite. As they walked down the tunnel, Xent looked at his pokemon beside him, they had seen much better days, likes himself. Zia had a few slash wounds across her upper body, while his flareon was still weakened from the thunderbolt he had taken last round. He himself had done things like this before, but on a smaller scale. Street battles were one thing, but this was sealed off from the surface world. If there was one thing he really hated, it was being caged in. As they reached the platform, it finally dawned on him who his opponent was.

“…No…please…no…” he muttered, but when they rose into the stadium, his fear was confirmed, there, on the main screen of the stadium, was his gear, Thomas’s gear…and Sarah’s gear, pokemon and all. “Damn it no…NO!” he growled, gripping the crowbar in one hand and his knife in the other until his knuckles turned white.

“Do not worry, boy, they will arrive soon enough. Today, you fight for freedom, aren’t you happy?” The voice came from somewhere above.

Xent growled a bit, looking at his companions to find them resting as much as they could, he couldn’t blame them. “You fucking bitch, I’LL MAKE YOU REGRET THIS! AND THAT FUCKING LIEPARD TO!” He yelled as loud as his throat would allow.

The absol only laughed at his threat, leaning her head over the railing “Oh but first, you must make it out of this arena, boy. Do you think you can win?” Her gaze then shifted to the other end of the arena. ”Oh look, here’s your opponent now.” She grinned.

Xent turned his eyes to where she was looking, and felt his stomach drop, he felt his grip on his weapons loosen a bit. He didn’t want to fight them, it was the last thing he wanted to do. He wondered, would she fight him? Would she kill him to save her pokemon?

That question was answered when he saw the look in her eyes. They were desperate, tired and worried, he could see her continuously glancing over at the screen where her things were on display.

“Sarah…please don’t…” he thought to himself.

“And…BEGIN!” The absol said over the speaker in the most perky tone.

Radara and her meinsho charged in.

~xXx~

Ken was mentally cursing to himself as they worked their way through the tunnels. Every time they went down a different waterway, Thomas said they had to turn back when he sensed surveillance cameras. What made things worse was the fact that he hasn’t heard from the other squads, even with the psychics at work, which could only be the work of a jamming device. With the lack of communication, they had no idea how the other groups were doing. The only reassurance he had was with Thomas’s lucario, who with her aura sight allowed her to see the other teams. She continuously updated him whenever he asked, saying they were fine, but just as confused as his group was. Since the other groups had not encountered any trouble by now, he could only assume they both were off course while they we’re headed in the right direction, if the cameras they kept dodging were anything to go by.

Now though, they had reached a fork in the tunnels. While he debated which way to go, a pair of shadowy hands came from the ink black darkness. They quickly reacted, pulling out their weapons and their pokemon readying themselves to attack.

“STOP! Don’t attack.” Thomas shouted at them before turning towards the darkness from which the hands appeared. The hands receded into the darkness before a figure floated out, revealing something Ken never though he would see in his lifetime. Darkrai, Lord of Shadows and Nightmares. What caught Ken off guard though was what Thomas said to him.
“Why are you here?”

Darkrai begins to laugh darkly, his voice echoing throughout the chamber and sending a terrible shiver down Ken’s spine, as well as the rest of his men.

Thomas and Darkrai stared at each other, as if they were letting their eyes do the talking.

-x-

“Why are you here?” Thomas asks with a growl, gripping the baton in his hand.

‘It is always fun to play with you, Soular, I never tire of it. Oh do not give me that look watcher, I know your name but I care not for it. I know YOU as Soular. You do not see me with a new name each time I am reborn into this world. Though I wonder, how much fear I could instill with a name such as Ted. Look out! Here comes Ted, Lord of Darkness. It doesn’t have the same ring as Darkrai does.”

Darkrai looks at the rangers, grinning as he sees them ready to attack. “You should tell them to calm down, otherwise I may do something…interesting to them. You know I have more than enough power to smite them from this earth, my old friend.” Though he has no expression, the rangers could feel the laughter ringing from him, shaking their very core.
“I will ask again, Darkrai. Why are you here?” He asked with more venom in his voice. Thomas builds up a charge in his right hand, but holds it and hides it was best he could, the rage building within him was overwhelming.

Once more, he looks at Thomas with dancing humor in his eyes. “You mother sent me to look after you…child.”’

At that, Thomas lunges at Darkrai. Rebecca and Ken both quickly grab him, holding him to prevent inciting anything to cause a massive battle.

“My my, quite a temper you have. I can see the years have done nothing to cool it, watcher. I was sent here to help you, despite what you may feel towards me. I am here to make sure you get to that arena in one piece, and deliver a message to you. You must save her before she falls into complete and utter darkness. One that you seem rather lost, I’ll guide you to your destination. Come, follow me.” After he finished speaking, he melded back into the shadows just as smoothly as he exited them.

Thomas bites his lip before letting out a long sigh. He explained to the rangers that Darkrai was here to help them, and that they could trust him…for the duration of this situation. Many rangers of the group were perplexed how to take that, though. Ken assured them that they would be fine though, but in the back of his mind even he was having second thoughts.

Ken walks up to Thomas and pulls him to whisper in his ear. “You know what you’re doing, right? I am putting the lives of my men in your hands.”

Thomas looks at Ken and sighs. “The worst case scenario would be leaving you here and being seen. He hates me the most, believe me. He was told to come here by someone that he ‘respects’. If he was sent here though, it is much worse than I imagined. We NEED his help if that is the case…”

Ken looks into his eyes, and what he sees disturbs him. As always, Thomas’s eyes betray him, showing so much more then they should. It only leaves him wondering what Thomas is.
“I trust you Thomas…I just hope my trust pays off in the end.” He looks towards his men, memorizing their faces. “Alright ladies, fix your skirts and come on. If he was gonna kill us he had plenty of time to do so. We have a mission to do, so let’s get it done.” He said with a slight growl.

All of them nod, but the fear in their eyes only diminished slightly. They all followed Thomas into the blinding dark.

And closer to their goal.

~xXx~

A man, garbed in a black, sleek suit exits a limousine near the old town. He spots where Ken’s ‘people’ are. He smiled, know he would be cutting the lifeline to his greatest assets. Two SWAT vans pull up. The doors flew open before men in full riot gear file out and stand at attention in front of the vans.

“Men, we will be attacking a known internet porn source. They have child and pokemon material in there. You are to detain them by any means necessary. Do you all understand?”

To which the men all shouted. “YES SIR!”

He made sure the units he had were ones who never asked question, and did what they were told. His smile only broadened as he thought of the big bonus he would get at the end of the year.
“Alright men, MO-“ he was cut off by a siren of some kind, and tries to figure out where it is coming from. One of the men shouts as he sees flames rise from the building.

The officer in charge looked as if his face was going to explode, along with his bonus.

~xXx~

Amy’s fingers flew across the keyboard, trying every second to reestablish communications with the teams in the tunnels. Her worry only grows with every moment she tries, their signal was completely cut off, as if they had simply vanished. Even if there was meters and meters of concrete between them, she should at least be able to get a broken up signal from them.
A vagrant who camps down on a lower level of the building comes running up the stairs, out of breath. He was basically the watch dog for her and the rest of the people working here, in case any trouble showed up.

“T-There are 5 O’s near here, and they look like they’re ready to storm a castle!” As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone started downloading files from the servers as quickly as possible. Once they had the downloads running they began burning all the papers and evidence near the main entrance. Some begin calling 911, saying there is a fire in 5 various locations around the city to cause confusion in deployment. One member opens a briefcase with a device in it that fills it up for the most part. “Amy! How long should I set it for!?”

She flustered for a moment, trying to roughly estimate the amount of time they had and the time they needed. “Ah um…20 minutes should be as long as we can spare….Is everyone gone?” She begins to cough from the smoke building up from the fire. Luckily, they were in a rather old building, so there was a lack of a sprinkler system to stop any fires.

The young man coughs and nods “Y-yes, I think we will be the last to go down the chute.” He smiled halfheartedly. As they ran through the halls to the escape chute, the young man knew they all would have to lay low for a while until Amy or Ken contacted them. The man quickly slips into the chute feet first, sliding out of sight for the moment. Amy grabs a string and hesitates a she stands at the entrance. She finally collected her nerves and went in, yanking the string and tearing the chute from the 4th floor, it falling down behind her. She quickly took in a deep breath as she braces for the rather stench filled impact. Just as she did so, she hit a large pile of garbage bags, which provided as good a camouflage as anyone could get in an old town. The man quickly helped Amy from the pile, looking as the flames rose and as the sounds of sirens echoed throughout the town.

“Come on we have to go, I don’t know the range of that device, and the last thing we need is your data to get wiped.”

She nodded, knowing that they have done everything they could to leave no trace.

~xXx~

The fire chief tried to stop the special detail of rangers and global police from going in, but they finally were able to convince him that if he wanted to keep his job, he had better let them inside. The fire had delayed them for at least 18 minutes, time that probably burnt any physical evidence. As he received word from his superiors that whoever was in this building had hacked into the local government’s files and collected evidence of bribes they received. They wanted the hackers, the files or both, anything to stop from themselves getting exposed. His superiors were fools who had no idea how things should be run, yet that was why he was here, doing the dirty work. Now it looked as if Ken had joined up with a group of freak conspiracy theorists, and was a very serious threat to his superiors. Unfortunately, it seemed as if the group was more prepared than he thought, seeing as the building had been set on fire, most likely covering their escape, he just hoped they hadn’t all left yet. He had to give them credit though, it was clever. They finally got to the third floor, the water pokemon having gotten most of the fire under control. He began to search for any information until a bright flash emitted from the very room he was in, blinding him for a few moments.

Once the flash receded and his vision came back, he growled “What the hell was that?!” He grabs his radio and tries to contact the people downstairs, but it’s not working, nothing more than a paper weight now. He asks one of the men with him to radio below and ask what they see. The officer tries, but finds his radio doesn’t work either. He quickly searches the rooms and finds the one with a lot of appliances and electronics, but they’re all fried. His fists clench and shake in rage as it builds within him. He shouts in anger and kicks a burnt chair, it crumbling from the blow.

“DAMN YOU TO HELL, KEN!!!” he roared.

~xXx~

Xent quickly dodges a slash from Radara, she caught the bottom of his shirt though, and cuts it to ribbons. Her eyes flashed and he felt a blast of psychic, knocking him off his feet and making the wind rush out of him. He quickly reacted, flipping back, doing a somersault before landing, but he quickly fell to one knee, trying to get the air back in his lungs. Zia had been beaten by Sarah’s mienshao quickly due to her fatigue and type disadvantage, his flareon trying to defend her as best he can. He risked a quick glance at the monitor, seeing his pokemon were up for auction after Sarah’s.

A few minutes ago, he tried to reason with her, trying to convince her he could find all of their pokemon, he had sworn on his soul left and right, but she refused to believe him, the sight of her pokemon getting sold off was clearly driving her mad. Xent felt it to, every second only filled him with more dread as the poke balls were sold one by one. Xent snapped back to reality when Sarah commanded her mienshao and Radara to attack together.

Zia and his flareon move to try and defend Xent as he recovers, but their fatigue and lack of nutrition and medicine had started to really take its toll. His flareon’s attacks had little distance to reach any more than 10 feet in front of him. Zia could no longer sustain any illusions for more than a few seconds.

Radara was using physical attacks now, actually tackling Zia with her psychic powers almost tapped out. The mienshao focused on Zia, but even he was lacking any real strength to take her out.

Xent was squaring off with Sarah, still trying to convince her that he could find them, she just needed to trust him. But he could only see insanity in her eyes as tears streamed out of them “FIGHT YOU DAMNED FOOL!” She screamed. She attempted to round house kick him, but despite Xent’s fatigue had much more experience in close combat. He blocked with his shorter crowbar, intending to just wound her.

She couldn’t stop the kick and her leg collided with the metal, sending a shock of pain through her. She quickly back stepped, trying to gain some distance between them before he could take the advantage. Xent stayed back though, watching her put most of her weight on her left leg.
“Sarah! Listen to me please! I WILL find them! I swear it! Please you ha-“ She rushed him again, this time getting assistance from Radara. He felt a force push his right leg out from under him, sending him off balance. Sarah took the opportunity and quickly wrapped her arm around his neck in a headlock. He grunted, feeling her constrict his neck with all her strength. He gasped for air as she constricted his wind pipe, trying to pull her arm off him. She had a greater advantage though, and he couldn’t muster enough energy to pry her off.

“I-I’m s-sorry S-Sarah.” He said. Radara’s eyes widened slightly as she gave Sarah a warning to let go, but it was too late.

Xent brought his legs out from under him, letting Sarah support his entire body weight. She did not have the strength though, and was forced to let go. In that moment, Xent planted his feet back on the ground and elbowed her hard in the stomach before quickly sending her back with a kick to her stomach, but not hard enough to seriously hurt her. He coughed and wheezed as he tried to catch his breath. “T-Thomas, if you’re g-gonna play hero, now is a good time…” He panted. Not a second after, he heard a loud explosion, and the sirens go off.

~xXx~

The absol watched in anticipation while Alex laid next to her, watching as the fight unfolded. Xent had more experience fighting, that much was sure, but he was stalling. They couldn’t hear his voice over the sounds of the battle, but it was clear he was trying to reason with Sarah still. Alex kept an eye on his absol though, when she betted on someone, they usually lost, it’s what he noticed over the years. In this case, she betted on Sarah’s team, mainly due to that espeon who was still putting on quite a show even in her rugged condition. Seeing that Xent wasn’t going in for a killing blow, they sold another poke ball.

Another reason she had chosen Sarah was because once her poke balls were sold off first, she would go nuts. Her assumption was right, once her last pokemon was sold off, she went ballistic, trying to get past Xent’s defenses as he back pedaled away from her attacks. More than once he had noticed Xent having to regain his balance after getting hit by an invisible force, he would guess it came from the espeon. He glanced at some other screens that weren’t showing the fight, and noticed that some of them still showed static. The technicians he had sent earlier didn’t report back yet, and saw the reason why. Rangers and SWAT personnel were closing in on their location.

“Dear, it looks like we’ll have to leave.” He sighed, motioning to the monitor. She turned her head to the screen and frowned, looking down.

“All good things must come to an end, I guess.” She sighed.

A large explosion sends vibrations through the floor. She hopped off her pillow and pressed a button that activated the intercom all over the facility. “To all personnel, Rangers have infiltrated the perimeter, you are all dismissed of your duties, take what you want but at your own risk. You are all on your own now.” She stated. “Oh and one more thing, release all the Squads and tell them to have the time of their life.”

Alex walked up behind her and put a warming hand on her mane. “We have to take our own leave.” He sighed “But, with the money we’ve gathered, we should be secure for a good long while.” He smiled.

She looked up at him with a soft smile, gently nuzzling his hand “So long as you’re with me, I don’t care where we go.” She said before walking over to another control panel. “I guess we should let them go then, since it doesn’t matter anymore. They did make it entertaining though.” She said. The door slams open and both of them whip around, fearing it’s the Rangers or SWAT. Instead, it’s the luxray. He gave them a hurt look though, as if to say, “You forgot me.”

Alex had to laugh a bit “Are really that afraid of the espeon?” he asked, to which the luxray nodded. Alex chuckled and called him back into his poke ball. They back their supplies and money, leaving as the wall closes behind them.

~xXx~

Ken looked at his digital watch, it had been a few minutes since they all had entered the darkness, but it felt like an eternity. For all he knew, Darkrai, the God of Nightmare and Shadow could be leading them into a deep, dark hole. He needed to know where they were. “When are we going to get-“ The shadows faded, and he saw where they were.

Everyone was quiet, as if they were surprised they were finally out of the inky darkness. The Rangers looked at the guards who were standing at a large, metal gate. Thomas is the first to move attacking the second the shadows fell, quickly taking down the guards before they could grasp a whole team of SWAT members and Rangers just came out of the darkness of the wall.
Everyone calls out their pokemon, as if Thomas’s actions had snapped them out of their stupor. As everyone begins to do so, Darkrai decided to be the first to knock, blowing the 6 inch thick door off its hinges.

“Well you idiots come on! We’ve got a job to do and it’s not gonna get done with us sitting here!” He yelled. His men cheered in response and began to quickly go into the facility. Ken sees Thomas and Darkrai…arguing if he saw right. He could only wonder what they were saying.

~xXx~

“WHAT THE HELL DARKRAI?! We needed the element of surprise!” Thomas began, his fist clenched in anger.

“You have little time to save them, Soular. I know you feel who I am talking about. Now go.” Darkrai says as he floats in front of Thomas with his arms crossed. Thomas only wondered who he was talking about for a few brief moments, but then he felt her. Radara. She was here, and close. He turns on his heels and sprints quickly down the hallway, he can feel her, after so long. Radara was afraid, very afraid. He needed to hurry.

“Go save her, Watcher, and those you call friends. Your mother needs you to be strong, for you will not like what you will learn. Forgiveness will be needed for many, and her.” He said slowly, floating back into the darkness from where he came.

~xXx~

The rangers and the SWAT team spread throughout the base, finding many trainers. Most of which were crying, happy to be rescued, claiming they were forced to fight. Some ran off in a hurry, knowing they could not give a good reason for being there. Something bothered Ken though, there was a lack of fighting and resistance. “There should be more hostiles…whe-“ A roar echoed throughout the stone halls. He cursed, he shouldn’t have opened his mouth.
The battle was one of the fiercest he had ever experienced, though the wild pokemon weren’t numerous, the sheer power they held made up for it.

Just as he was about to order Greg to deal with an arbok, a dragonite comes out from nowhere and slams him into the cold, stone wall. Greg gasps as pain shoots through his body and the wind is knocked out of him. He tries to regain his footing, turning his gaze upward to see the dragonites already upon him. The dragonites prepares to crush him, but is then blindsided by an aura sphere, followed by 4 more. Thomas leaps high into the air, smacking the dragon right across it’s snout, bending the baton from the impact. The dragonites stumbles, then falls down the ground, out cold.

“I think I broke it, sorry about that.” He said, tossing it aside taking a light breather with the hall empty. He still wasn’t completely over the poison, but a quick shake of his head and a few seconds breath easily cleared up the blur in his eyes. He heard something above him though, and quickly moved over, a falling pipe just barely missing him.

As quick as he was to move out of the way though, he leaned up against the wall hard, only to fall through the damaged section into another room. He grumbled as he got up, Rebecca already at his side helping him as he turned to look into the room, finding something he never would have guessed he would ever find again.

Thomas walks through the room, ignoring the shelves and boxes filled with all sorts of odds and ends. Rebecca could only guess that this was where the group that took all the trainers stored everything of value that they had on them. She moves behind Thomas, unable to see what got his attention, but his eyes were definitely on something as they moved, being just a bit short to see over the boxes as they moved.

Thomas just grinned as he picked up what he was found. He didn’t care what this group was doing with it, all that mattered was that it was now once again in his possession. He looked over the weapon, a halberd made of the same bluish metal that his own blade was out of. It was easily his own height from the tip of the spearhead that topped it, all the way down to the large sphere that served as its counterweight. The blade was still sharp, in the shape of a crescent moon, and in the middle of the shaft was some sort of bulge, but Thomas knew what secret that held as well.
“Well Gala… let’s see if all that training you put me through with this paid off.” He stated quietly to himself as he heard a growl behind. He closed his eyes just for a second, muttering something, before quickly raising the counterweight and thrusting it back, planting it right in the stomach of a haxorus, only to turn and slam the side of the halberd over its head.
~xXx~

Sarah hangs on for her life, trying her best not to look at the raging waters below. Xent tries to reach Sarah, reaching out with his crowbar. Despite the extra reach, Sarah can’t get a grip on it. Her mienshao keeps trying to tell him something, but he can’t figure out even with the gestures he was making.

He then heard a voice he hated to hear, for the main fact it was in his head. ‘He said grab his legs, and with his fur extensions he can reach her.’ It was Radara, Xent could only assume she got the collar off. He heard Zia’s familiar growl as she tore her own off and stomped it into the ground.

Xent quickly grabs the mienshao’s legs and lowers him as far as he can. He calls for Zia to hold him in place before returning his eyes to the situation below. Sarah grabbed onto her mienshao and hung on for dear life. Xent, with the help of Zia, began to pull her up. Xent and Zia fall back, giving them a final pull and brought them back over the edge. Sarah grabbed her mienshao and hugged him close, crying uncontrollably. The mienshao turned his head and stuck his tongue out at Xent, giving him a smug look. Xent had to laugh at that, before letting his head rest back.
Xent grabs his collar and tears it off, throwing it over the edge. He was about to close his eyes until his flareon howls out, sliding past them. Xent gets on his hands and knees as quickly as he can, raising his gaze to see charizard approaching them. “Son of a…you can’t be serious.” He growled. Everyone tries to rise to meet the beast before them, but their bodies are at their limits. Xent then sees a blue blur shoot past him, rushing to meet the charizard. Not far behind, Thomas followed to assist Rebecca.

Xent chuckles and shakes his head, happy to see him for once. “About time, hero.”

~xXx~

Alex and his absol quietly move through their escape route, making sure not to leave any signs of their passing. She stops him and begins to growl at the darkness. A human figures walks forward, carrying a liepard.

“Move it, bitch. I will NOT let you touch him. I did as you asked.” The air around them begins to swirl as she forms a twister around them. From what he was seeing through, she was using her full power.

The liepard merely laughed, shaking her head. ‘Do not fear. I am here to merely say thank you. You have done as I asked word for word, and you have my thanks. Just so you know, I would never deprive the world of a love such as yours. Still it is a forbidden love, but I will let society deal with you. Now run along young kittens, go live your life for what it’s worth.” She chuckled darkly.

Both Alex and his absol move around the human and liepard cautiously. Once they were past here, they made a full sprint away from her, fearful she may change her mind at any moment. Her ears twitched as she heard clapping coming from the darkness. Her human pet acts on command, quickly pulling out and unloading a weapon to where the sound was coming from. The source is soon revealed as Darkrai floats out of the darkness.

‘Tell you boy toy to settle down, Naria. I’d hate to lose my temper and make you find a new fuck toy.’ Darkrai smirks.

‘It has been a while, old friend. Did she send you? To try and fail to make me come back?’ She scoffed at Darkrai, flicking her tail.

‘You know your companion’s fate was not her fault. Nothing could have saved her. Blaming Soular will accomplish nothing.’ He told her.

‘LIES!’ She hissed fiercely. ‘SHE COULD HAVE SAVED HER! INSTEAD SHE LEFT US! SHE LEFT US IN FAVOR OF HER MOST LOVED SON! Do not tell me he is not her favorite! How else could he have lasted so long?!’ She demanded. ‘He was PROTECTED by her. Yet we receive no such protection. My companion…SHE DIED TO PROTECT MY INCARNATION! I never knew my old self…I was denied that. I was expected to die after I was born. No, I will live, but I will take all that he loves from him. And once the world is burning before his eyes and everything he treasures is gone, I will kill him then, letting him have the knowledge that he has failed Arceus, HIS mother. Then, my revenge will be complete. I knew she would send you, you were my only friend among the legendaries. Only you understood. Though you still serve her, I still see you as a friend, Darkrai, but do not try to stop me. I would hate to kill you. My powers are back, I am no longer suppressing her power anymore. Tell Soular…I am the one he truly failed.’ She then looked up to the man. ‘Let us go, our time is short my love.’ He nods in response and begins to walk off with her.

Darkai sighed, shaking his head as he watched them leave. ‘Naria…he has suffered just as much as you…’ He then fades back into the darkness once more, as if he was never there in the first place.

~xXx~

Rebecca tried to take down the rampaging Charizard, but with her weakness to fire and the sheer power of it, she was having a lot of trouble. Whenever she and Thomas saw an opening, they would try and rush in to take down the flame lizard, but it would quickly raise its guard and prevent them from advancing. They continued this deadly dance of flames, Rebecca having a few close calls. Thomas sees it eye his friends behind him and quickly tells Rebecca to fall back and protect them. The Charizard only grins at this action, licking its lips as he stared down at Thomas.

~xXx~

The reporter had never been happier in his entire life. After 5 years of reporting about pokemon battles and contests, he was given a chance to step up and he nailed it. It was a fluff piece more than anything, but if he played it right, he could be assigned to more exclusive jobs. He was called out due to a supposed raid that the Rangers and SWAT teams were carrying out, but it turned out to be so much more. Thomas, the hero of Salton City, was there. The reporter refrained from approaching Thomas though, the lucario was very protective of him. The only person who she let near was the leader of the Rangers. Once the teams had been set up, they went into the tunnels, sadly he wasn’t allowed to go with the team Thomas was with. He cursed his luck, thinking he was going to miss out on the scoop of a lifetime. It was then the explosion was heard, shaking the concrete around them. With a new direction to go at last, he and the team quickly got to the source of it. As he followed, he could just picture the big bonus he was going to get for this.

As they got closer, the sounds of battle became louder and louder. Once they finally reached the source, it was like an image from a war scene. Pokemon and human were fighting in a fierce battle, stray attacks going everywhere and shattering chunks of concrete. The reporter was more than happy to stay back and let the rangers do the fighting as he recorded it all. He followed as close as he could though, and nearly got mauled by a houndoom. A ranger quickly had his golduck fire a hydro pump and knock the fire canine out cold. The reporter thanked him, then noticed Thomas sprinting down the hall like a Zubat out of hell. He quickly followed, doing his best to avoid detection. His determination was rewarded as he came to some sort of arena, with Thomas and his lucario fighting a charizard who seemed hell bent on killing everyone.

Thomas yelled something out to the lucario with him, who nodded and backed away toward a group of people and pokemon who were struggling to get up, leaving him to fight the rampaging fire lizard alone. The charizard swiped at him, only Thomas to block with something completely unexpected. The reporter stared in awe just a bit at the halberd that Thomas was using. Although his weapon barely even started to bend, Thomas was struggling to keep his arms and leg steady.

The charizard quickly readied a fire attack and Thomas was forced to move back, jumping to the side to avoid the attack. The charizard’s missed attack gave Thomas a perfect opportunity though as it had to take a quick breath to recover from what it put into the attack. The reporter’s smile only grew as he watched Thomas grip the halberd and stand up straight, swinging the blade right at his foes exposed neck. The charizard was able to just barely stop the attack, catching the blade with one of his hands, but still roared out in pain as the blade cut deeply.

Thomas quickly adjusted his attack though, he didn’t have the strength needed for the weapon to simply cleave through things. Pulling the bladed side back as he ducked down and spun around the opposite direction this, the heavy counter weight picking up plenty of force before it collided with the charizard’s knee. It was more then enough to knock the charizard off balance as Thomas once again spun around in the back the way he was facing before, still hanging low, the spear tip of the halberd cutting into the charizard’s other leg. Rebecca gave him a distraction this time as the lizard tried to swipe at him once more, only to be hit with an aura sphere, fully knocking him off balance. Thomas quickly jumped over its stomach, weapon once more raised over his head, landing one last blow with it. All the reporter could see was Thomas listing back one arm, then slamming it down, the lizard finally passing out and going completely limp.

Stunned for a few moments, the reporter could only stare, a grin spreading across his face. People would eat this up, and he could finally see a huge promotion, or at least a huge pay raise.
~xXx~

As Thomas stood over the lizard, he felt his legs wobble from the fatigue. He quickly steadied himself, though he was having a rough time just standing still. He then felt a presence flow into his mind, but it was a welcome one. He had missed the feel of her conscience so very much.

‘You never listen Soular. You always have to do things the hard way.’ Even though she was still weak, she slowly limped her way over to him. He smiled and almost fell onto his ass, more than happy to rest his legs. She leaned in and quickly began to nuzzle him before falling into his lap. ‘I didn’t think…you would make it in time…’ He could feel all the fear, pain and sadness she had built up over the past few days pour into him. He could see her trying to hold back tears, but to no avail as tears began to flow out.

Xent hobbled over to him and plopped down next to him. “Took you long enough.” He grumbled. Thomas was about to reply until Xent held out his hand “…Thank you…” He looked into Xent’s eyes and saw…appreciation…relief…and fear. “My pokemon are the only family I have, Thomas. If they had been sold off…I would have been able to find them but…the things they would go through….I wouldn’t forgive myself…you saved them from that… thank you…” Thomas looked at the hand then back to Xent. He was a stubborn man, to be sure. But for Xent to thank Thomas for this, he knew Xent valued his pokemon more than his own life, just like himself.

Thomas smirked a bit and reached out, shaking his hand. “I never thought I would hear a thanks come from you.” He replied.

Xent grumbled a bit, shaking his hand before falling back, letting himself lie on the ground as Zia and his flareon curled up by his side. “Don’t get used to it.”

Thomas had to laugh at that as Sarah and her mienshao hugged him, both very happy to see him, and for this whole ordeal to be over.

As they sat there, catching their breath, and letting their pent up feelings flow out, the sounds of battle slowly died down, and now shouts of orders were the only thing being heard. Thankfully, the Rangers had gotten everything under control, it seemed.

Finally, after Radara had calmed down, she looked up at Thomas ‘Soular... I have dire news…’ She then goes quiet, looking away from Thomas.

“What’s the matter, Radara?”

‘We are not alone as we thought…’ She then began to share her memories of the Liepard, resting her head on his lap as she closed her eyes. Thomas quickly understands what Darkrai was saying. She was the one who needed to be saved…once their ally, was now an enemy who wanted them dead.

~xXx~

Coria’s face was beat red under hear makeup.

“These god damn rookies screw up an easy op, and now here I am, doing damned grunt work!” She thought to herself. She made quick work of any pokemon she faced, but making sure to not draw any attention from the other rangers. She still needed them to believe that she was Sheryl. She hated being this out in the open, it made her feel like a cheap trickster. The only reason she would feel right about it is if she was fighting for the cause. A mightyena tried to pounce her, but she quickly side stepped, letting it collide with the wall before jamming her tazer into its back, getting a loud yelp from it before it fell to the ground, unconscious.

As she looked over the Rangers, she had to admit they knew how to run an op. Though they weren’t as well trained as her, they were definitely a force to be reckoned with. As she looked for the Demon, she saw a reporter looking at something. She went over to agent Delta who had witnessed him taking down the charizard. Both looked impressed, but also worried, knowing, knowing the Demon was not as weak as he should be. He must have received help to recover from the poison. She quickly and quietly told Delta they were leaving, there was nothing more they could do here and needed. King Faraday needed to be informed that the Demon was almost back to his full strength and with his allies.

She bit her lips as her thoughts went to Xent. How he had gotten mixed up in this mess, of all people, she would never know. All she knew was that she needed to get him away from the Demon, before he could taint Xent any further and he was marked for death by her superiors. She couldn’t let that happen, she wouldn’t lose the last of her family.

~xXx~

{Breaking News from Castelia City}

“This just in! Rangers in conjunction with local police have exposed and stopped an illegal pokemon battle arena. It was tips from various sources that lead to the exposure of this operation where pokemon and their trainers were forced to battle to the death for the amusement of the rich and many gambling establishments. Also following said bust, many high ranking officials of the rangers and law enforcement were taken into custody after evidence of taking bribes to look the other way. We talked to the leader of the raid, Ranger Ken, whose only words on this were ‘Justice is not blind today, and those who think they can hide in the shadows, take warning, you’re next.’”

“That’s not the most exciting part of this story though. One of our reporters was able to capture the hero of Salton fighting and defeating a charizard with his own power. He was also seen working with the Rangers before and during the operation, leading us to only assume he only fights to make things better. More as it develops. Now onto Susan with the weather.”

The feed rewinds back to the fight with the charizard, an older man looking over these images very carefully. He sees a young girl with a mienshao, looking dirty, ragged and injured.

He clenched his fist, then grinned. “I’m coming for you, Sarah. Don’t worry, Daddy’s coming for you.”