28 Chapter 24: Studying, Observing and... Training
[General POV]
.
.
.
The walk to Reukra's Lab was quiet, as was everything when accompanied by Marina. Eli was excited to hear what new discovery Reukra had made, but his mind was still on the book. It was a stark change from what he knew of the "canon." He had half expected such alterations when he noticed some differences in this world, such as the unheard-of alliance. However, AZ fighting Ultra Necrozma was the last thing he expected. 'Crazy to think how all of this was created from one scale of Ultra Necrozma,' a part of him wanted to steal it to let his Pokémon absorb whatever they could from it, but he knew that would be suicidal.
*BOOOM*
As they neared the entrance to Reukra's Lab, they heard yet another explosion. Eli wondered how the fool hadn't died yet with how many explosions he seemed to set off on a daily basis. Reukra emerged from the lab, coughing, his coat tattered. "...you okay?" Eli asked, concerned for the mad scientist. "*Cough*... I'll be feeling that in the morning. Wait, there's no morning here anymore. Bah, whatever. Anyways, come on in, I found something you might like," Reukra shrugged off the explosion as if it were just another Tuesday and invited the two to the lab. "The energy readings were off the charts from just a surface-level scan, but it's way more impressive after close research," he explained, fiddling with something in the hologram before expanding it with an exaggerated motion of his hands. To Eli, the words and numbers were a jumble, but Reukra clarified, "Let me explain it to you, simpleton brat. The scroll works like any evolution stone but only on the Urshifu line. Give it to your little monster as he evolves, and it'll provide benefits manifold greater than any pathetic top-grade stone or item could ever give." Eli's eyes widened as he processed the implications. A Top Grade Dawn Stone single-handedly made Gallade his top Pokémon. He couldn't wait to see what letting Kubfu absorb the scroll would do for him. But Reukra wasn't done. "Here's the kicker: I ran some simulations, and it turns out Kubfu can absorb another item as well, getting all the benefits from both of them." Eli was numb to shock at this point, just overjoyed that his Kubfu wouldn't be too far behind the rest of his team. "You can collect the scroll, unless, of course, you'd be willing to sell it to us, for the right price, of course," Reukra chuckled at Eli's glare, waving his hand dismissively. "Haha, it was a joke, you brat. Thank me for even finding out what that did. It makes me wonder how you got it," Reukra's eyes shifted from playful to cold and calculating in an instant. Eli let nothing show on his face as he collected the scroll and left.
"Where to next?" Marina, his faithful ghostly companion, asked as Eli shrugged, an idea popping up in his mind. "You got any Pokémon?" He asked her expectantly, deciding that if she didn't need sleep, she might as well help him train. Marina raised an eyebrow slowly before nodding. "Yes, why do you ask?... I don't like the look on your face." Eli smirked as the next words made Marina show some regret in tailing the insane trainer. "Why don't you help me train then? My Pokémon against yours." Marina resigned to her fate and sighed as she nodded. "I'll go collect them. Wait for me in your training room." Eli nodded as he followed the path they had just taken, taking a quick detour to grab the book about the history of the Megalopolis. It was too good of a read to wait to get to the library every time he wanted to read it.
He didn't know how much time Marina would take, so he leaned on an artificially created tree as he began reading.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-the Megalo Tower housed the shard of the 'God,' its light barely enough to keep them alive in the dark and dreary cold. The idea of a council came soon after they had sheltered themselves from the cold, abandoning the notion of a single leader as they already had one selfish leader dooming them all. The first years were hell; the remaining brilliant minds worked long and hard in the cold void, finally developing the algae, which was a foundation for the Megalopolis's survival. Water, too, was created from the mad genius of the insane minds in the tower. Life had returned to a new dark normal. Years passed until suddenly a Cosmog dropped from a wormhole. The mad scientists took the poor thing apart, dissecting everything, learning everything they could from it. From it, they learned the principles of cosmic energy, dimensional travel; this was another foundation, built on the blood of countless Cosmog. Later, they searched the entire known universe for any and all Cosmog, redirecting their wormholes to their very own tower, researching them, evolving them, making them a part of their futuristic army.
Then began the dark age of the Megalopolis. The council, having recovered their strength to a sufficient degree, with their army of Half-Bloods, decided to start a campaign to have every dimension under their thumb-
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I'm here. Are we battling or not?" Marina once again picked the worst time to interrupt him as he looked up from the book, annoyed at her again. "You really have the worst timing, you know?" Marina just shrugged as she took out her Pokéball and threw it, revealing a Doublade as Eli wasted no time scanning it.
Pokémon: Honedge
Lvl: 20
Type: Steel Ghost
Ability: No Guard
Gender: Male
Potential: Gold
Moves: Tackle, Fury Cutter, Shadow Sneak [E], Autotomize , Aerial Ace ,Metal Sound, Slash
(Innate Talent) Iron Head [E] (Innate Talent) Shadow Claw [E]
(TM) Protect [E], (TM) Close Combat
'Not bad, but the problem is finding something on my team that won't just eviscerate it.' Eli sweat dropped as he realized all his Pokémon were Mid Elite, well except Poipole. "Poipole, take this fight. Your poison attacks won't work, but still try your best, alright?" he encouraged his Poipole, though he knew they wouldn't win this one. There was a 5-level difference, and Poipole seemed to have barely trained while under the care of the Ultra Recon Squad. With a long sigh, he signaled for their battle to start. "Growl while it's further away from you. When it nears you, fire with Dragon Pulse." Even though they wouldn't win this one, they'd still put on a show if nothing else. He saw Marina's Honedge go into action without a command from her. 'Friend trainer, there seems to be some sort of tether between the ghost and its master, something otherworldly, inhuman even,' Gallade reported, half in amazement and half in reverence.
'That explains her whole vibe,' Eli concluded why she acted the way she did. Turns out she was supernaturally influenced by ghosts. 'I wonder what the rest of her Pokémon are,' Eli thought sarcastically as he saw the sword wraith approaching his Poipole, taking growl after growl. "Dragon Pulse, now," Eli ordered, realizing Poipole was in a tight spot. As Honedge jumped out of the shadows, it shined as it bashed Poipole with an Iron Head. "Dragon Pulse, point-blank!" Eli shouted, as Poipole gave a sinister grin even through the pain. Poipole fired off the most massive Dragon Pulse he had yet, sending Honedge flying into the wall.
Honedge was too close to dodge as he took the full force of it being sent flying into the wall thanks to its mediocre Special Defense, "Can you still fight Poipole?" Eli asked his newest team member concerned if he was alright, even though the Honedge had been Growled at multiple times that would have still hurt, Poipole gave a shaky nod before standing up, barely. Honedge was much better off than him as he was ready for another bout of combat, "Alright give it every bit of energy you got Poipole! Dragon Pulse!!" Poipole nodded as he glowed a radiantly with draconic energy blinding everyone and everything in the near vicinity. 'He has potential I'll give him that.' Even though it stung Eli's eyes he did not close them as he watched on as Poipole let the gargantuan Dragon Pulse loose as smoke covered the entire battle field, then they heard something shatter before the dust cleared, Honedge was standing, barely but he was standing none the less Poipole on the other hand was passed out on the field, "You did good." Eli consoled his Poipole as he returned him before immediately healing him. He saw Marina do the same as she let out her second Pokémon, out came a bulky mammalian Pokémon with a long, yet agile body. Its ears droop beside its head. The fur on its back a purplish-blue color, which extended to the front of its neck, forming a collar pattern. It had fire-producing spots all around its neck, covering the collar pattern, and these spots produce flames that wisped in a bright magenta red color. 'Typhlosion.' Eli took in every detail of the graceful ghost not just its appearance,
Pokémon: Typhlosion [Hisuian]
Lvl: 45
Type: Fire Ghost
Ability: Blaze
Gender: Female
Potential: Shallow Diamond
Moves: Tackle, Ember, Quick Attack , Rollout , Flame Wheel[ E] , Swift, Defense Curl, Flame Charge [E], Hex
(Perfect Talent) Flamethrower [E] (Perfect Talent) Infernal Parade [E]
(TM) Protect [E], (TM) Mystical Fire [E], (TM) Solar Beam, (TM) Focus Blast [E], (TM) Will-O-Wisp [E], (TM) Over Heat [E], (TM) Sunny Day [E]
'Well then, why don't we fight fire with fire?' Eli, being the mad lad he was, decided to send out his own Fire/Ghost type. With a haunting note, Skeledirge took center stage, eyeing down his competitor, who had a bored look on her face. "Torch Song," Eli took the first move, as Skeledirge let out a fire-shaped bird from his maw. Typhlosion let loose a myriad of magenta-colored ghostly fireballs. The bird devoured the ghostly flames before reaching Typhlosion, who ducked to the side, getting hit just a bit by the flaming bird. "Multi Ball," Eli decided to let Skeledirge try out their little pet project. Skeledirge prepared a sphere of otherworldly energy with multiple smaller Shadow Balls inside it as he launched it at his opponent. Typhlosion fired back with a Flamethrower, but it only destroyed the outer layer before quickly using an underpowered Infernal Parade to destroy the mini Shadow Balls.
While it was possible to modify moves before they reached Master Rank, it wasn't by any means easy. If it was a perfect Multi Ball, it would have dealt massive damage to Typhlosion. 'Master Rank seems to be a prerequisite for modifying a single move to the user's wishes. While Multi Ball was a success, a lot of energy was wasted, and it took significantly longer than a normal Expert Rank Shadow Ball would,' Eli concluded. He decided to resume these projects later when he had the moves at Master Rank. He had big plans for Skeledirge. "Substitute," Eli ordered his crocodilian. While it wasn't at expert rank yet, it wasn't completely useless. A few seconds was all that he'd need. "Curse," as Skeledirge finished setting up his Substitute, he immediately concentrated ghostly energy on himself before transferring the aura to Typhlosion. Typhlosion didn't stay idle; it tried to interrupt Skeledirge, but once he started going, not even God could stop him.
Marina showed a hint of annoyance as she saw what Eli and his Pokémon had succeeded in doing, the first bit of emotion she had shown the whole battle. 'Protective of her Pokémon, is she?' Eli mused as he ordered his ghostly opera singer, "Earth Power, make chaos." Hearing the order, Skeledirge smirked as the earth shook from his might, erupting everywhere. Nowhere was safe; Typhlosion opted to jump but was intercepted by another prototype Multi Ball, which hit point-blank. Meanwhile, Skeledirge's wounds were slowly healing thanks to the Leftovers. If they kept this up, they'd win, but Marina would not let that happen. Typhlosion started glowing its iconic magenta. 'Crap, Blaze,' Eli realized. Typhlosion got hurt enough that they had a chance to turn the tide. "Overheat," Marina gave out a verbal command for the first time in the whole battle. "Alright then, Blast Burn!" Eli's blood was also pumping; this was what Pokémon battles meant to him. Supernova met supernova as the world was momentarily covered in flames, but the trainers at the center of it all had no care for it at all. Eli had a maniacal grin on his face, and Marina had a barely noticeable smile as the heat engulfed them, the whole training room covered in smoke.
'You really need to learn some self-preservation, friend trainer,' he heard a telepathic voice as he saw Gallade in front of him, the heat and smoke rolling off the barrier Gallade had created. 'A wise man once said, "Art is an explosion." I think I get what he means,' Eli chuckled as he ignored the exasperation that Gallade was showing through their link and focused on the battlefield... what was left of it anyway. As the smoke cleared, he found Skeledirge barely hanging on, but so was Typhlosion. As a last spiteful move with all her effort, she let out a roar as an artificial sun manifested above them, letting out scorching hot heat. He was too focused on the Typhlosion that he didn't realize the dark bluish-green, ghost-like Pokémon standing in front of Marina. Upon closer inspection, he realized it looked like Misdreavus, but with some differences. Its lower half had several small appendages that resembled a ruffled dress, and its hair resembled a set of arms with feathers. It had several round red gems around its neck and red spikes growing from the top of its head. The most noteworthy feature were its large eyes, which were yellow with red sclerae. 'God damn it,' Eli sighed as he realized out of every darn Ghost type out there, of course she would have one that could blow even legendaries out of the water with stats alone.
Pokémon: Flutter Mane
Lvl: 48
Type: Ghost Fairy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Gender: Genderless
Potential: Diamond
Moves: Confuse Ray [E], Spite, Astonish, Psybeam, Mean Look, Memento, Wish [E], Dazzling Gleam [E]
(Perfect Talent) Shadow Ball [E] (Perfect Talent) Moonblast [M]
(TM) Protect [E], (TM) Thunderbolt [E], (TM) Energy Ball [E], (TM) Hex [E], (TM) Will-O-Wisp [E]
'Yep, this fight ain't gonna be pretty,' Eli sighed as he returned his Skeledirge, whispering words of encouragement before healing him. "Let's call that one a draw; neither Pokémon could continue," Eli said as Marina nodded, her Flutter Mane levitating onto the field. 'Alright, here goes nothing,' Eli sent out his trusty avian, who completely dwarfed Flutter Mane in size. As yellow eyes met blood red, Eli ordered, "Drill Peck." He wanted to start off strong, not giving Flutter Mane enough time to react, but that proved futile as the Ghost Paradox flashed around Corviknight, unable to be hit. 'Damn it, it's because of its Protosynthesis; no wonder she had Typhlosion set it up,' Eli realized as he saw Flutter Mane blur around Corviknight, who, with his distinct lack of AOE, couldn't do anything but be bombarded by Thunderbolts and Shadow Balls. Every attempt at an Air Slash or any other move was thwarted as Flutter Mane blitzed his Steel Avian. "I forfeit, Corviknight," Eli sighed as he saw Marina call Flutter Mane off. 'I really need to get Corviknight an AOE move, maybe Hurricane later on after he has sufficient move mastery in the TMs I just got him.' The cogs in Eli's head started turning as he saw how easily the speed demon had outclassed Corviknight.
'So speed, huh?' Eli contemplated as he sent out his fastest Pokémon, Gallade. In the games, they were quite slow, but with Teleport in this world, Gallade had no problems being a speedy assassin. 'Let's give her a taste of her own medicine, shall we, partner?' Eli let his mind overlap with Gallade's. He could see through him, hear what he heard, and feel what he felt. 'With pleasure,' Gallade echoed as he took to the ruined battlefield. 'Light Screen, Teleport as soon as it throws any move at you; always be on alert for its presence,' Eli rattled off orders as Gallade's eyes glowed with an icy blue fire, conjuring a barrier made up of psychic energy before Teleporting soon after, dodging a Shadow Ball. Thus, the game of cat and mouse began, with Gallade dodging Flutter Mane's attacks with Teleport or Flutter Mane dodging Gallade's attacks with sheer speed boosted by Protosynthesis. It was a battle of attrition with no end, as Gallade's energy pool seemed endless. They were already impressive when he was a Kirlia, manhandling a Gyarados while only using Psychic without breaking a sweat, but things had to end soon. 'Flash Bang, then throw Magical Leaves at her.' The thing with Magical Leaf was that it marked the opponent with a form of unavoidable Psychic energy, which worked like a marker for the leaves to follow, thus never missing its target. The entire arena was hit by blinding light from the semi-modified Dazzling Gleam, which focused more on brightness than damage, maybe why the modification succeeded; that was Eli's theory, at least. Soon after the light died down, Flutter Mane was working overtime to evade both Gallade and the Magical Leaves hot on its tail.Flutter Mane looked annoyed as it had to dodge both of them as it dashed to the other corner of the arena before charging a Moon Blast. Only this one looked very different; it seemed to have a purplish-pink transparent layer with many smaller moons inside it, only these seemed like they'd hurt more than Skeledirge's incomplete Multi Ball.
With one attack, Flutter Mane turned the tide as it destroyed the Magical Leaves with just the outer layer of the Multi Moon Blast, and Gallade behind the Magical Leaves, hot in pursuit, barely managed to dodge it thanks to the shared link between Eli and Gallade. The battle had started to take its toll on both of them, as Gallade's breathing started becoming rugged, having used Teleport many more times in this battle than he ever had before, same for Flutter Mane, who looked more sluggish than before. 'You okay?' Eli asked, concerned for his friend, who couldn't afford to waste any Psychic energy. Gallade just nodded as his eyes flashed an icy blue once more, his arm blades starting to glow with a purple glow as he prepared for the final showdown. 'Let it make the first move; its Shadow Ball seems to travel faster than its Moon Blast. It'll probably use that; slice it in half with one Psycho Cut, then with another, close the gap and slam it with your other blade.' Eli figured this would be the most optimal thing to do, and his guess was spot on. The Ghost type sent a shadowy ball of otherworldly energy. Gallade charged head-on, cutting it in half and sending them flying behind him before he Teleported right in front of the Flutter Mane with his other blade's Psycho Cut. But Eli had forgotten just how beneficial Master Rank moves could be. Within a fraction of a second, Flutter Mane prepared a Moon Blast, hitting Gallade point-blank. Gallade managed to land his Psycho Cut, but both watched with baited breath before Gallade was the one to fall. 'Forgive me, friend traine-.' Gallade couldn't complete his words before he passed out.
Flutter Mane was standing, although barely; it had won. Eli sighed as he recalled his Gallade. "You did well; you went above and beyond what I could have asked for," Eli whispered to Gallade's Pokéball before healing him. "Kubfu, you're the last one; finish this," Eli encouraged his starter, but deep down, he knew he had already lost. This was a 3-on-5 match; if it were any normal 3-on-3, he would have lost the moment he forfeited Corviknight. Anything from now on was hollow, but that didn't mean he'd not give it his all. 'We're gonna have to fight out of our mind to win this.' He observed Flutter Mane, who was battered and bruised all over, having lost its emotionless calm expression, replaced by sluggishness. "Ice Punch, Thunder Punch," Eli ordered as his lethal ursine charged an Ice Punch on his left hand and a Thunder Punch on his right. There wasn't much in Kubfu's arsenal that could hit Flutter Mane; it was Poipole vs. Honedge all over again. 'How will he even catch up to the speed demon?' Eli didn't know, but he had to try.
By now, Flutter Mane was running on sheer will. Its speed was a fraction of what it was at the beginning of the battle, but that didn't mean it was out of the battle. It tried everything: Protect into Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, the Multi Moon Blast. But it was running dangerously low on energy, and as such, Kubfu was able to get a few hits here and there, but not without taking some damage himself. With each passing second, worry etched more and more onto Marina's face as Flutter Mane was helpless to Kubfu's onslaught. Meanwhile, Eli looked more and more excited, even deranged, until he snapped out of it, seeing Marina's face on the brink of tears. "Kubfu, that's enough; we lost," Eli sighed as he called off Kubfu, who looked annoyed at not being able to finish the fight. "We'll talk later." Eli gave the ursine a pointed look that shut him up. Sighing, Eli made his way to Marina and Flutter Mane. Eli was unabashed seeing Marina's glare as he quietly gave her a Full Restore, which she accepted hurriedly before giving it to her Flutter Mane. "Sorry about that; you won the battle. Congrats." It hurt Eli to say that to Marina, as he had rarely faced a loss since starting in this world, but he wasn't as affected. It was a miracle he hadn't tasted defeat yet, except that one time on the ship. 'It's good actually; losses help to make me less complacent,' Eli consoled himself as he waited for Marina to finish healing, her worried face slowly turning back into the stone-cold face Eli knew.
Without a word, Marina left, and Eli couldn't be bothered to stop her. He knew it was his fault, but what could he do? He apologized; what else could he do? And why would he even do it? They were barely friends. Eli couldn't care less if she avoided him. As he saw her slowly retreating figure, he sent out his team, sighing at their downtrodden faces. "Look, the odds were heavily against us. It's a miracle we even made it that far into the fight. Poipole, you were amazing, especially that last Dragon Pulse, and we haven't even properly started your training yet!" Poipole preened at the praise, doing some loopty loops. "Skeledirge, you were great out there. You managed to draw with Typhlosion in a contest of firepower. Great job; keep up the good work." Skeledirge sang a cheerful melody to that. "Corviknight, your loss was my fault. You have a distinct lack of widespread AOE moves. We'll get that fixed later. For now, train in the moves I got you." The giant steel avian nodded, a fire in its eyes for training. "Gallade you were perfect out there, it's just that I underestimated how fast Flutter Mane could form the Master Rank Moon Blast, next time I'll be better." Gallade shook his head, 'No, next time we will be better, friend trainer.' Eli nodded, "Alright, take a short rest we'll begin training later, Kubfu stay with me, we need to talk." The rest of his team slowly dispersed as only Eli and his faithful starter were left.
