22 Chapter 20: Frozen Tundra
[General POV]
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[IDK if this counts as a dark chapter but just to be safe imma add this warning anyways enjoy the chapter.]
"As Eli entered the cave, even under all the layers of clothing, he felt cold. Moments after he entered the cave, his Pokédex beeped with a message from Adrian:
<Baby Rage> I had to return to Firewood City because my parents were worried about me after the SS Anne fiasco, so I had to leave. Sorry about that. We'll meet up again later, k? I'd love to tour you around Firewood City.
<Lucky Fker> Yeah, no problem. That was understandable. I'll be training in the Seafoam Caverns for a while.
Not waiting for a reply, Eli shut his Pokédex off as he had training to do. Never again would he be so helplessly weak. Eli took out the map he had of the caverns. If it were him in the past, he would have stayed near the surface of the caverns. However, he needed to get strong quickly, so he ventured deep into the caverns, even though there had been rumors in the past 3-4 months that anyone who entered the lower floors would disappear - no corpse, no sign, almost like they never existed. Ace trainers from the league dispatched to the deeper floors lost communication the moment they entered, and no one knew why.
'It's either that or helplessly watch as my friends die, and I choose the former,' Eli resolutely thought as he entered the lower floors of the caverns. He encountered all sorts of Pokémon, from the Psyduck and Seel line to the rare Sneasel line. He would have caught a Sneasel, but all their potentials were subpar at best, and he couldn't afford a liability on the team.
As he got to the deeper floors, the quality of Pokémon increased exponentially, but so did their levels, as did the coldness of the cavern. 'This should be a good enough place,' Eli thought as he sent out all his Pokémon, determined to make all of them at least cross the expert rank. They walked in a group as Gallade tried to sense out any and all Pokémon near them, while most scurried away seeing them. There was one Pokémon that was arrogant enough to challenge their group - a pair of Golduck.
Pokémon: Golduck
Lvl: 41
Type: Water Psychic
Ability: Cloud Nine
Gender: Male
Potential: Deep Gold
Moves: Water Gun, Aqua Jet, Tail Whip, Confusion, Fury Swipes, Water Pulse [E], Disable [E], Zen Headbutt [E], Aqua Tail [E], Soak, Psych Up [E], Amnesia
(Innate Talent) Hydro Pump [E] (Innate Talent) Psyshock [E]
Pokémon: Golduck
Lvl: 40
Type: Water Psychic
Ability: Cloud Nine
Gender: Female
Potential: Gold
Moves: Water Gun, Aqua Jet [E], Tail Whip, Confusion, Fury Swipes, Water Pulse , Disable [E], Soak, Psych Up , Amnesia [E], Hydro Pump
(Innate Talent) Aqua Tail [E] (Innate Talent) Zen Headbutt [E]
The male Golduck acted as a mixed attacker, while the female Golduck was the physical attacker. Eli also realized that one of them having Amnesia on expert rank and the other having Psych up on expert rank allowed them both to set up, even though they didn't both have Amnesia on expert rank. 'Too bad Corviknight knows Taunt,' Eli chuckled as he gave out orders to his Pokémon. "Gallade, Crocalor, take on the Female Golduck - Leaf Blade and Will-O-Wisp. Kubfu, charge the Male one. Corviknight, Tailwind into long-range support after you Taunt the female Golduck." His team immediately sprang into action. Crocalor released a ghostly flame towards the female Golduck. Corviknight's Taunt reached the Golduck, being on the expert rank, before he began firing off Air Slashes at the male Golduck, not allowing it to prepare any moves. Kubfu went in for close-quarters combat. Gallade, being the ever-so-stone-cold killer, teleported in front of the female Golduck, taking her by surprise. Even though he was now a physical attacker, Gallade blinded the Golduck with his Dazzling Gleam, which was noticeably weaker but did the trick. Crocalor fired off a Flamethrower, hitting the Golduck head-on, while Gallade took some time to prepare the Leaf Blade. Even though it was on the normal rank, the Sharpness boost was more than enough, as Gallade landed a critical hit, and the female Golduck was taken out by the Leaf Blade.
The male Golduck wanted to help his mate, but he was too focused on dodging Kubfu's attacks, and even when there were some openings he found in Kubfu's form, they would be covered by Corviknight's Air Slashes. Golduck, annoyed, decided to ignore Corviknight, used Psyshock, materializing an odd psychic wave. But Kubfu, in a moment of unnatural focus, already predicted it the moment he saw a slight glow in Golduck's gem. He dashed out of the wave and Mega Kicked the Golduck in the chin, sending it into the air as Corviknight took the opportunity to charge with Drill Peck. Kubfu finished the Golduck with an axe kick Mega Kick. "Alright, if we can continue with this pace, we can get you to evolve, Crocalor. While the rest of you might enter Elite rank, or at the very least, get to level 39." His team nodded determined as they made their way deeper into the ice-cold caverns.
{1 Hour later}
As Eli checked his Crocalor's status, he saw that he was one level away from evolution.
Pokémon: Crocalor {Held Item: Leftovers}
Lvl: 35
Type: Fire
Ability: Unaware (Hidden Ability)
Gender: Male
Potential: Deep Gold
Moves: Tackle, Leer, Ember, Round, Bite, Yawn,Snarl, Roar
(Innate Talent) Flamethrower [E] (Innate Talent) Slack Off [E]
(TM) Protect, (TM) Will-O-Wisp, (TM) Substitute, (TM) Fire Blast
"Alright, Crocalor, one more level. Let's do this." He encouraged his crocodilian, who nodded excitedly at the prospect of evolution. Wanting Crocalor to undergo a one-on-one battle for his evolution, Eli decided to explore the middle floors of the caverns, where he had encountered Pokémon around levels 37-38. There, Eli found an Avalugg accompanied by a group of Bergmite. While Eli directed the rest of his team to keep the Bergmite at bay, Crocalor initiated the battle by casting Will-O-Wisp onto the Avalugg. The Avalugg roared in pain from the burn inflicted by the flames. In response, it used Avalanche, which barely hurt Crocalor, thanks to the Leftovers glowing with a white light, healing Crocalor's minor injuries. Despite the Avalugg's attempts, it couldn't deal significant damage as Crocalor gradually wore it down with his flames. Meanwhile, the Bergmite were helpless against Gallade's Hypnosis.
Finally, the ice titan fell as Crocalor glowed with that familiar white light. Eli quickly took out the remains of the Chandelure he had bought before arriving at Vermillion. Ghost types were unique, as they could only be preserved in ashes. As he took out the urn in which the remains were, he gave it for his Crocalor to absorb as he glowed brighter and brighter. The glow encompassed the whole cavern, and after a few minutes, it finally died down. He was now the proud new trainer of a Skeledirge. After evolution, he was now a large, red crocodilian covered in rectangular scales. His belly was angular and had a white coloration flanked by black stripes on either side, resembling an open suit jacket and dress shirt. He also had various white-colored patterns on his head, lower jaw, neck, back, shoulders, arms, legs, and the cylindrical tip of his tail. The white coloration on the top of his head resembled a lute. Skeledirge had three black claws on each foot.
Pokémon: Skeledirge {Held Item: Leftovers}
Lvl: 36
Type: Fire Ghost
Ability: Unaware (Hidden Ability)
Gender: Male
Potential: Diamond
Moves: Tackle, Leer, Ember, Round, Bite, Yawn,Snarl, Roar, Flamethrower [E]
(Perfect Talent) Torch Song (Perfect Talent) Slack Off [E]
(TM) Protect, (TM) Will-O-Wisp, (TM) Substitute, (TM) Fire Blast
"YES!" Eli shouted in joy as he hugged his evolved crocodilian, who was now proudly at Diamond rank. The crocodilian in question let out a high-pitched note as he leaned into Eli's touch. After celebrating for a few moments, they decided to make their way back to the deeper areas of the caverns to train.
{Several Hours later}
Even in the frigid cold, Eli had taken off some of his layers of clothing as he grew increasingly warm after several hours. But no matter the discomfort, it was all worth it. As he took a breather, he checked up on his team's status.
Pokémon: Corviknight
Lvl: 41
Type: Steel Flying
Ability: Pressure
Gender: Male
Potential: Shallow Diamond
Moves: Peck, Leer, Power Trip, Hone Claws, Taunt [E], Fury Attack, Drill Peck [E]
(Perfect Talent) Iron Defense [E] (Perfect Talent) Tailwind [E]
(TM) Roost [E], (TM) U-Turn, (TM) Fly, (TM) Protect, (TM) Air Slash [E], (TM) Body Press, (TM) Iron Head
Pokémon: Kubfu
Lvl: 40
Type: Fighting
Ability: Inner Focus
Gender: Male
Potential: Deep Gold
Moves: Rock Smash, Leer, Endure, Focus Energy, Aerial Ace, Reversal [E], Iron Head, Dynamic Punch
(Innate Talent) Brick Break [E] (Innate Talent) Bulk Up [E]
(TM) Protect, (TM) U-Turn, (TM) Ice Punch [E], (TM) Fire Punch, (TM) Thunder Punch, (TM) Mega Kick [E], (TM) Mega Punch, (TM) Substitute [E], (TM) Low Sweep
Pokémon: Gallade [Shiny]
Lvl: 42
Type: Psychic Fighting
Ability: Sharpness
Gender: Male
Potential: Diamond
Moves: Growl, Double Team, Disarming Voice, Confusion, Hypnosis, Teleport [E], Heal Pulse [E], Drain Kiss, Dazzling Gleam [E], Magical Leaf [E], Aqua Cutter, Leaf Blade, Dream Eater, Life Dew, Night Slash, Fury Cutter, Air Slash, False Swipe, Swords Dance
(Perfect Talent) Sacred Sword (Perfect Talent) Psycho Cut
(TM) Protect, (TM) Light Screen [E] , (TM) Reflect [E], (TM) Confuse Ray, (TM) Psychic [E], (TM) Shadow Ball [E]
Pokémon: Skeledirge {Held Item: Leftovers}
Lvl: 39
Type: Fire Ghost
Ability: Unaware (Hidden Ability)
Gender: Male
Potential: Diamond
Moves: Tackle, Leer, Ember, Round, Bite, Yawn,Snarl, Roar, Flamethrower [E], Shadow Ball
(Perfect Talent) Torch Song (Perfect Talent) Slack Off [E]
(TM) Protect, (TM) Will-O-Wisp, (TM) Substitute, (TM) Fire Blast
Gallade, Kubfu, and Corviknight were now at the Elite rank, while Skeledirge was at the bridge between beginner and elite rank. His Pokémon had learned new moves too. Kubfu had learned Iron Head and Dynamic Punch, while Skeledirge had learned Shadow Ball. He was going to call it a day and return to the surface, but he heard a strange sound coming from a bit deeper into the cavern. He knew of the Full Blooded Articuno which resided here, but that area was almost impossible to find, you wouldn't find Articuno, it would find you. Shaking that dangerous thought Eli decided to check what it was, he also noted an oddity in this part of the cavern, it had no Pokémon at all, 'Weird,' Eli thought as he heard the strange sound becoming louder and louder. As he reached the sound, he found an incredibly strong pulling force attracting him to it. He barely had time to register what it was - a hole that seemed to be created in reality itself, as if it was warping the reality around it to exist. Having played every mainline and spin-off Pokémon game, it didn't take Eli long to figure out that it was an Ultra Wormhole. 'Sht, sht,' Eli cursed as he tried to take out Gallade's Poké Ball to teleport out of there before it sucked him in. But it was too late, and he felt his feet above the cold cavern floors as he was sucked into the Wormhole.
Eli had been adamant not to go inside the wormhole, as for all he knew, he could find a Reshiram in the dimension and maybe just die then and there. Hoping for the best, Eli closed his eyes as he felt a weird sensation tug his whole body. One second it was still, and the next it was cold, freezing cold. Eli opened his eyes as he saw that he had been dropped off in a peculiar location. For miles, all he could see was snow and peaks that seemed to touch the sky, with two moons in the sky - a strange sight to Eli. 'No time. I will have to find somewhere safe.' Eli trudged out of the snow as he sent out all his Pokémon, explaining what had happened to them. They were also bewildered but slowly got accustomed to it as they made their way out of the snow. As they did, they didn't expect to be attacked by a pack of Weavile and Sneasel hiding in the snow. He barely dodged the Weavile's claws as he got a small cut on his cheek. "Gallade, Dazzling Gleam. Kubfu, Brick Break. Skeledirge, Torch Song. Corviknight, Body Press - pin the Weavile down. The rest of you, finish the Sneasels." Eli had no time to think as he rattled out orders. Corviknight flew away to avoid being blinded by Dazzling Gleam, and Kubfu was skilled enough not to need sight to fight. Eli trusted Skeledirge not to aim at any of them. As Gallade unleashed the Dazzling Gleam, everyone had to close their eyes as the light blinded them all, damaging the Weavile's pack while they were stunned. Kubfu got into action, slamming one of the Sneasels to the ground with a Brick Break. As another tried to attack him from his blind spot, Kubfu instinctively blocked its claw and threw it at the third Sneasel, which had engaged him, using an axe kick Mega Kick to slam both of them into the ground mercilessly.
At the same time Corviknight dive bombed the Weavile who had been stunned by the unexpected Dazzling Gleam as he used a Body Press using his whole weight to sit on the Weavile as Skeledirge incinerated 2 Sneasels, "Don't show them any mercy, they won't show you any either." Eli coldly said as he slowly saw the Weavile's pack get wiped out all the while it was stuck under Corviknight's weight. Kubfu broke the necks of the three Sneasel's he had just defeated as Gallade decapitated 3 with a Sacred Sword, Skeledirge incinerated the remaining few with Torch Songs and Flamethrowers. Done with the massacre he turned his eyes to the Weavile who despite being a dark type was stunned at the cruelty shown by Eli to his pack, that was the last emotion he felt before his head was swiftly cut off by Gallade. "Always remain vigilant, there may be other Pokémon that Gallade can't sense, we'll need to spring into action at a moments notice and remember don't hesitate to kill." Eli said as he along with his team trudged out of the snow, wandering to where knows. After what felt like hours of walking and defending themselves from the occasional Pokémon attack, Eli slowly started to feel like he was going blind due to all the snow he had to think fast as he slowly felt his vision fading, 'Gallade, can you reinforce my eyes with a psychic membrane? I think I am going blind from all this snow.' His faithful friend nodded as his eyes glowed with an icy blue flame. Eli felt a weird sensation in his eyes but soon after he felt like he could now comfortably see once again. 'It will only last 3 hours Friend Trainer, my psychic abilities are only honed to that degree.' Gallade reported as Eli thanked him and assured him it would be more than enough till they found shelter but he knew that was a white lie with the freak blizzard picking up.
Thankfully, soon, they had found a cave in one of the many mountains that seemed to surround the snowy hellscape as they entered he heard Gallade's voice in his head, 'Hoard of Pokémon deep in the cave, Friend Trainer.' Eli thanked his psychic but he could have guessed as to if there were any Pokémon there or not as the walls had been dyed blood red, upon venturing deeper he saw heads and torn corpses piled in the cave 'Trainers who ventured into the deeper part of the caverns like me.' Eli somberly thought as he saw some ace trainers bodies as well as some others. Now he realised why he hadn't seen anyone yet, they had become food for the monsters inside the cave. Steeling himself Eli got ready to fight the monsters as it was either that or die outside, Eli chose the former. As he entered the deeper part of the cave he didn't see only one huge group of Pokémon, he saw two. Gallade could sense only one, the Beartic line as the other one was the Sneasel line, Dark types. Eli had no confidence in beating both the groups at once but he had no choice. "Gallade Swords Dance, Corviknight Tailwind, Kubfu Bulk Up, Skeledirge Substitute into Torch Song." Eli ordered his Pokémon to buff them up while they had the chance as they did it alerted the Pokémon in the massive cave as all hell broke loose, Icicle Crashes, Ice Beams, all moves were thrown in complete chaos by the large group as Gallade got to work, dismantling their back line with Teleport Sacred Sword, no one seemed to be able to touch him, aided by the Tailwind from Corviknight. Kubfu took on 3 Beartics at once and still was doing remarkably with Corviknight not allowing anyone to join in on the fray. Skeledirge was the most lethal as anything that came in contact with his flames seemingly melted, no Cubchoo, Beartic, Sneasel or Weavile were safe from his flames as he burnt everything to a crisp but not all good times last, Eli hadn't realised a Weavile had snuck up behind him as he felt a tug in his stomach at the last moment he turned around to see a Weavile jumping at him eager to tear his throat out but Eli at the last moment was able to dodge the fatal attack as his sharp claw plunged into his arm. Eli bit back a scream as he tried to do something to get out of the Weavile's hold but to no avail as the Weavile gave a dark smirk he raised his other claw to deal the finishing blow but was cut in half by Gallade's Sacred Sword, the blood spraying all over Eli. 'Are you ok Friend Trainer?' Gallade asked in distress as he threw multiple Heal Pulses at Eli. 'Don't worry I'm fine it's a non fatal wound, go back into the fight they need you.' Eli alleviated his worry as he sent Gallade off into the chaotic battle field as he patched himself up with some bandages as he observed the battle.
While Gallade was lethal in the fight, the lack of expert rank moves did make him take some damage here and there, but that would be fixed in due time with training. Kubfu was remarkable in technique, having already defeated three Beartics before moving on to another four. Corviknight was a monster in his own right, not giving the enemies a breather. If he noticed any Pokémon aiming for his team's blind spots, he would swiftly shut them down with an Iron Head or Body Press. Finally, Skeledirge was the literal definition of a pyromaniac, burning everything to the ground with Torch Songs. As his haunting melody played, a dozen Pokémon would burn to ash. Eli feared that Skeledirge would burn all the oxygen in the cave, but he thought against stopping it, as the cave was literally massive. Their huge battle barely occupied one-fourth of its total space. 'Figures why that Weavile could almost kill me,' Eli morbidly thought as he silently observed the carnage unfold. After Eli's team was done eviscerating the entire joint group of Sneasel and Cubchoo line, the whole cave felt way warmer, thanks to Skeledirge's Torch Songs becoming more potent the more he used them. His arm still hurt to move, but he could live with the pain. Finally, after taking a breather that felt like hours, he looked out of the cave entrance. The blizzard had begun as he heard multiple shrieks and howls of Pokémon among the ever-present howling of the wind.
After absentmindedly looking at the cave entrance for a while, counting the corpses of the trainers who came here before him, Eli suddenly got up as he checked up on his Pokémon. Skeledirge, after the massacre, had gone up to level 40, entering the Elite rank. 'Figures, he's a starter; they level up much faster than any other type of Pokémon,' Eli thought as he checked up on his other team members too. The rest of his team had each leveled up one level as well, with Corviknight learning Swagger, which Eli fully intended to abuse if he ever got a Pokémon with one specific move. "Alright, there's nothing much we can do in this hellscape but train and hope to Arceus that we somehow get rescued, even I don't know how," Eli said as he began to give out training plans to all his Pokémon. "Alright, Gallade, train all the moves you have which are boosted by your ability, Sharpness to expert rank, namely Sacred Sword and Psycho Cut. Kubfu, go with him; train Protect and the remaining elemental punches to expert rank, and try to tap into the third step, as you have done multiple times." 'As you wish, Friend Trainer.' Gallade nodded as he went to a corner of the cave to train with Kubfu, who nodded determinedly as always.
"Skeledirge, pair up with Corviknight. You were close to getting Protect to expert rank get it to expert, after that, focus on training Torch Song, Shadow Ball, and Will-O-Wisp to expert rank. Corviknight, your training includes Protect, Body Press, and Iron Head." The remaining two members of the team nodded as they got to work. With nothing else to occupy his time, Eli retrieved a pen and notebook from his Cube. He decided to jot down a journal, contemplating the possibility of not making it out alive. It was his attempt to leave behind some guidance for any other unfortunate souls who might find themselves in this predicament.
Day 1
The first day in this hellscape, it was hectic, the amount of ambushes I had to face were too many to count, especially since Gallade could not sense them because they were Dark types. When I arrived the weather was mild but in just a few hours the wind started picking up as a huge blizzard was incoming, I and my team rushed to find any shelter and found one in a huge cave in the base of the mountain, but we weren't the first, corpses, corpses everywhere of past trainers who were unlucky enough to be sucked into the wormhole too, viciously mauled by a large group of Sneasel and Cubchoo along with their evolutionary lines, the battle for the cave was long and hard fought but most of all it was dangerous, a Weavile almost cut off my arm but I was lucky that it only pierced it, the pain stings and there will most probably be a scar but I can live with it. That's all that happened today, me and my Pokémon will be taking shifts in keeping watch as to see if any Pokémon enter from the entrance of the cave but we all are exhausted and help doesn't seem to be in sight.
Eli put his pen down as he breathed onto his cold hands, frigid from writing in the cold. As he put back his gloves on, he decided to curl up into a ball and sleep as he was beyond exhausted, and the constant throbbing of his arm was beginning to get to him. Sleep was an uncomfortable affair, but he somehow managed as he was taken to the land of dreams.
{An unknown amount of time later}
"I WILL KILL EVERYTHING—EVERYTHING YOU LOVE, JUST LIKE HOW YOU KILLED WHAT I LOVED, MY SON. ARBOK, THROW THAT CROCODILE INTO THE OCEAN!" Eli heard a familiar voice shout as he heard a splash. He tried to see into the ocean to see if he could save his friend, but out of the water, the Weavile emerged with a murderous look, aiming its claws straight at Eli's head...
Eli woke up in a cold sweat as his body ached from being in such an uncomfortable position. His arm was still throbbing in pain. As he checked his surroundings, he saw his team training, oblivious to what had just occurred. Eli sighed in relief as he did not want his Pokémon worrying for him and took out food to prepare from his Cube, as well as all the utensils he'd need. After an hour of cooking, he called his team back as they prepared to eat their meal. The meal was a calm affair, accompanied by Skeledirge's singing, which soothed the countless worries Eli had in his heart to a degree. As they ate, Eli made sure to look out of the cave's entrance. As he did, he saw that the moon was still out because of this Eli came to the conclusion that either this dimension has an eternal night, or the day-night cycles are vastly different from his worlds. Eli didn't ruminate on it any longer, as he was too tired. He let his Pokémon do whatever they wanted as he got out his sleeping bag and fell asleep soon after.
{More time later}
Eli woke up to the sight of Kubfu and Gallade sparring. Blade met fist as their clash reverberated all around the cave. Kubfu was at a disadvantage in everything but technique, but even so, Gallade had learned a thing or two from Kubfu's fighting style, a testament to his superior intelligence. Kubfu tried his best, but Gallade outclassed him in both potential and level. It didn't frustrate him any longer, though, as he had changed while on the path of becoming an Urshifu; he treated success and failure both as one and the same. The bouts of supernatural focus and instincts were becoming more frequent, as Eli realized he might just break through to the 4th stage, where he would have to create his own style of fighting. He would have to have a talk about it with Kubfu later. As he was pondering, he didn't realize Gallade had just thrown Kubfu back into one of the walls of the cave. In retaliation, he had found his footing and rocketed himself with a Mega Punch ready as he hit Gallade square in the face, who was too exhausted by their spar, which had been going on for how long even they themselves didn't know, as he was knocked into the ground with Kubfu following him soon after. "I have told you guys time and time again to not overdo it; why are you like this?" Eli sighed exasperated as he took out two Hyper Potions to heal them of any and all damage they had received. 'All of our senses are being dulled by just staying in the cave for too long. The fighter and my senses dulling would be a given, but I have spoken with the Chorister and the Steel-clad Avian, and even they agree,' Gallade complained to Eli, who looked surprised, as it was the first time he had heard Gallade complain at all.
Eli looked outside the cave's entrance, and the blizzard had stopped. Another surprise: the sun was out! 'Finally,' Eli thought as he resigned to his team's complaints and announced, "Alright, fine, we will be exploring this hellscape right after we eat. Gallade, please apply the psychic membrane to my eyes as we leave, and remember, if anything unprecedented happens, immediately Teleport us back here." Eli said the last part seriously, as he didn't know what dangers lay in the open wild of this hellscape, and he didn't wish to wait too long outside to find out either. 'You have my solemn vow, Friend Trainer.' His psychic spoke in seriousness as Eli began preparing their food."
The team quickly devoured the food, excited to venture out into the wilderness in what felt like weeks, with Eli not too enthusiastic. Pokémon living in the desolate lands usually formed hordes, and Eli saw groups of Swinubs, Bergmite, and even the occasional Ursaring pack. 'Well, they can indeed get some leveling in. I just hope we find a way off this place soon,' thought Eli. Despite his concerns, he acknowledged the opportunity for his team to gain experience, but the pressing issue of dwindling food supplies loomed. With provisions only enough for a month, the idea of consuming Pokémon he killed didn't sit well with him. "Alright, let's do this," Eli declared to his team, recognizing the necessity of the grind.
{One Week Later}
The two moons hung in the sky as the beautiful northern lights covered the expanse, creating a scene that would be reminiscent of a winter paradise if not for the lurking horrors.
*THUD THUD THUD*
A massive herd of Mamoswine and its pre-evolutions thundered across the tundra, urgently fleeing from an unseen threat. "Sacred Sword, Iron Head, Brick Break, Torch Song," commanded a voice. The herd was met with a haunting melody, followed by the explosion of a fiery bird in their midst, reducing the weaker Pokémon to ash. A mysterious humanoid figure materialized out of nowhere, its blade glowing as it skillfully sliced off one of the Mamoswine's tusks. Simultaneously, a colossal steel avian appeared and ruthlessly dismantled a lone mammoth that had been launched away from the herd. Amidst the chaos, a peculiar small ursine Pokémon, deceptively lethal, contributed to the onslaught. The bane of the herd, emitting a haunting note, plagued every Swinub, Piloswine, and Mamoswine. At the end of the eerie melody, a bird-shaped fire construct targeted the sluggish herd. The fire bird grew stronger with each hit, and, to intensify their ordeal, a massive fire kanji was hurled at them sporadically.
With just these 4 monsters the whole herd was wiped out without them breaking a sweat. "Good work." Eli said as he checked his teams progress from the last week:
Pokémon: Corviknight
Lvl: 45
Type: Steel Flying
Ability: Pressure
Gender: Male
Potential: Shallow Diamond
Moves: Peck, Leer, Power Trip, Hone Claws, Taunt [E], Fury Attack, Drill Peck [E], Swagger
(Perfect Talent) Iron Defense [E] (Perfect Talent) Tailwind [E]
(TM) Roost [E], (TM) U-Turn, (TM) Fly, (TM) Protect [E] , (TM) Air Slash [E], (TM) Body Press [E], (TM) Iron Head [E]
Pokémon: Kubfu
Lvl: 43
Type: Fighting
Ability: Inner Focus
Gender: Male
Potential: Deep Gold
Moves: Rock Smash, Leer, Endure, Focus Energy, Aerial Ace, Reversal [E], Iron Head, Dynamic Punch
(Innate Talent) Brick Break [E] (Innate Talent) Bulk Up [E]
(TM) Protect [E], (TM) U-Turn, (TM) Ice Punch [E], (TM) Fire Punch [E] , (TM) Thunder Punch [E], (TM) Mega Kick [E], (TM) Mega Punch, (TM) Substitute [E], (TM) Low Sweep
Pokémon: Gallade [Shiny]
Lvl: 46
Type: Psychic Fighting
Ability: Sharpness
Gender: Male
Potential: Diamond
Moves: Growl, Double Team, Disarming Voice, Confusion, Hypnosis, Teleport [E], Heal Pulse [E], Drain Kiss, Dazzling Gleam [E], Magical Leaf [E], Aqua Cutter, Leaf Blade, Dream Eater, Life Dew, Night Slash, Fury Cutter, Air Slash, False Swipe, Swords Dance [E]
(Perfect Talent) Sacred Sword [E] (Perfect Talent) Psycho Cut [E]
(TM) Protect, (TM) Light Screen [E] , (TM) Reflect [E], (TM) Confuse Ray, (TM) Psychic [E], (TM) Shadow Ball [E]
Pokémon: Skeledirge {Held Item: Leftovers}
Lvl: 43
Type: Fire Ghost
Ability: Unaware (Hidden Ability)
Gender: Male
Potential: Diamond
Moves: Tackle, Leer, Ember, Round, Bite, Yawn,Snarl, Roar, Flamethrower [E], Shadow Ball [E], Hyper Voice
(Perfect Talent) Torch Song [E] (Perfect Talent) Slack Off [E]
(TM) Protect [E], (TM) Will-O-Wisp, (TM) Substitute, (TM) Fire Blast
Corviknight had gotten Protect, Body Press and Iron Head all to expert rank since they started their week long training reaching an impressive level 45, 1 level behind Gallade who stood at level 46 who had also been successful in training Sacred Sword, Psycho Cut and Swords Dance to expert rank. Skeledirge had mostly caught up to the rest of the team, now at level 43 and had gotten Shadow Ball, Torch Song and Protect to expert rank. All of their growth was impressive but none could beat Kubfu's growth who now like the flow state could activate that state of supernatural focus and had already began crafting his own style which after the events which have continuously transpired had taken a liking towards lethality, every move he made was made to kill, they were swift, strong and had lethal precision. He was only at level 43 due to his lower potential which did hurt his growth in comparison to the rest of the team but it wouldn't be far till he evolved but it's not like that ever stopped him, he had gotten Fire and Thunder Punch along with Protect to expert rank and even though the system didn't register martial prowess or combo moves and such he knew that his Kubfu was a lethal fighter.
"Alright thats enough, tracking time is almost impossible here but let's get on back to base, Gallade teleport us back to the cave." Eli requested his psychic who nodded as he tried to teleport them but was met with failure. 'That's strange, something seems to be prohibiting long distance teleportation like the time in the SS Anne.' His Gallade reported back as Eli frowned, "That can't be good." He muttered as he did recall the Mamoswine herd running long before he had engaged them, almost as if they were in a hurry for something. Eli had a bad feeling about this but there was nothing he could do, they had to make the journey back on foot. "I put up some landmarks to the way back to the cave don't stress it, let's go." His team nodded as they made their way back on foot, Corviknight to check for threats from the sky, Gallade for the threats on the ground, minus the dark types.
As they made the walk back to their base Eli was even more unsettled by the lack of Pokémon as he usually would get attacked by at least one or two Sneasel packs. Pushing the feeling down they continued their walk until Eli realised that his vision was getting progressively redder, the snow now had a light red shade, as he looked up he found out why it was so, the moons was slowly turning red as the moons turned fully red Eli felt that it could only spell misfortune as he tried to rush to the cave but it was miles away, no shot they'd make it back before the blood moon was upon them. He didn't know what it did but he knew it would not be good. After a few minutes of sprinting he had his answer as to what the blood moon did, nearby him he heard a feral shout as he saw a Sneasel pack fighting amongst itself as the eyes of the Pokémon had a meaning red glow almost as if cursed by madness. 'Sh*t.' Eli cursed as he looked to check for his Pokémon but somehow they were safe, he didn't know how but he didn't question at least one good thing happening to him in this horrible situation.
The maddened shouts only got louder and more frequent as everywhere around him there seemed to be chaos, Sneasel's ripping each others throats, Avaluggs fighting Abomasnows. Mamoswines, Beartics, Weaviles, Glalies, Ursarings even the rarer Ursaluna's seemed to come out from the frozen woods as they had massive fights with stray attacks hitting other Pokémon. Eli wanted to get out of this hellish war zone as the more he stayed the higher the chance of him dying, they made their way though the Sneasels who had dyed the snow red with blood, a noticeable color even with everything being covered in a red hue thanks to the accursed blood moons hanging in the sky.
Eli had no idea how he would survive this but if he did he was going to murder Arceus for creating this hell hole. "Stay close don't let any attacks come near us, if any Pokémon come near kill them immediately." His team nodded momentarily stunned by the bizarre events that had transpired so quickly but it was life or death they didn't have the luxury to remain idle. "Either we make it out of this alive or we die trying." Eli muttered as he braced him self for the long, long night that this would be, he almost regretted asking god to transmigrate him to this cursed world, almost.
