Chapter 11 | Aether Paradise 3

Faba smirked, sliding a Pokéball from his sleeve and tossing it into the forming battle. His Claydol took its stance, simply staring at the opposing Pokémon with many gleaming red eyes. The other two employees tossed out a Ledian and a Bisharp, which stood by Claydol's side.

"Mimikyu, us-"

"Use Sucker Punch on Mimikyu!" One of the Aether Employees instructed their Bisharp, likely wary of it posing a threat to Faba's psychic Pokémon. Bisharp's fist clenched in response to its trainer's command, dark energy near-instantly coating it. To its misfortune, its energy dissipated. Bisharp turned its head slightly and shook its head, a hint of embarrassment in his eyes.

"Mimikyu's not attacking?!"

"-Swords Dance!" Brenton cut in, taking advantage of Bisharp's failure. Four faint swords appeared around Mimikyu, starting to rotate around him.

"Oh no you don't!" Faba exclaimed, his voice rising with each word, "Claydol, use Ancient Power to interrupt Mimikyu."

"Yo, Mawile! Use Agility!"

"Krokodile - Crunch Bisharp!"

Mimikyu could do nothing to protect himself from Earth Power, as both Krookodile and Mawile were busy.

Brenton's eyes widened at the boldness of the attack, shocked that he'd use such a move below the ocean floor. A yawning crack emerged from the white ground - possibly from the sea floor - and spewed brownish light from its depths. A stream of rocks erupted from the crack, shooting toward Mimikyu like bullets.

Mimikyu screeched like a train with rusty brakes, making his frustration drill into everyone's ears. He emerged from the attack, his disguise boring several holes in it. The hole at the base of its neck was particularly large, causing the remainder of it to bend into a disturbing angle.

"If we lose this battle, both of you will be demoted to interns," Faba stated, his superior air now replaced with an eerie seriousness. His cocky smile had disappeared as if it were never there in the first place.

Without Brenton needing to voice it, Mimikyu streaked toward Claydol. He vaulted over the steadily mending crack, then the befuddled Bisharp itself. Four shadowy hands emerged from his tattered cover, reaching toward the eyes on Claydol's front side.

"Claydol - stop fixing the floor and defend yourself! Extrasensory!"

Mimikyu tore through the attack, not so much as flinching.

"Ledian help Cl-"

Claydol screamed in pain, its eyelids shut to keep the blood from streaming into them. It slowly turned around to reveal four more eyes, though it still trembled with pain.

"Ayo Mimikyu - Rough 'em up! Play Rough!"

"Not if I can stop it!" Another Aether Employee exclaimed, "Bisharp, Sucker Punch!"

Bisharp raced toward the disguised Pokémon, its entire arm coated in that same dark energy. Behind him, Mawile struggled to escape the hole she'd been stuck into headfirst, her legs flailing about uselessly.

The attack slammed into the disguised Pokémon, canceling Play Rough and sending him flying toward Krookodile with a surprised screech.

"Good work," Faba nodded affirmatively to Bisharp's trainer, "Claydol, we need to win this. Repeatedly use Ancient Power on Mawile."

The dark gator's jaw unlocked, releasing Ledian from its grip. Krookodile then focused on catching Mimikyu, smiting its opponent with its tail as it turned. In a low move, it returned the favor by sending Ledian to Bisharp.

With an unexpected amount of care, it placed Mimikyu on its snout and charged back into the fray.

"Rad moves, Krookodile! Use Beatup on Bisharp, yo! Finish it off! Skirt skirt!"

Brenton nearly gawked at the ridiculousness of his fellow Rocket. He was getting too in character - maybe he'd need rehab after this, "Copycat on Krookodile - go for Ledian!"

Shimmering with dark energy, Mimikyu and Krookodile leaped toward the two Pokémon.

"Ledian!"

"Bisharp!"

In an unexpectedly chivalrous move, Bisharp placed its ally behind it and raised its arms to protect them from the coming onslaught. Even so, its guard broke upon defending itself from Krookodile's first punch.

Like a series of missiles, the duo's punches struck the unguarded Bisharp, going so far as to chip the various blades on its body. It fell to the floor with a painful cry, already unconscious.

"Return, Bisharp!" The Aether Employee called out, "Now it's your turn! Vikavolt!"

With a painful-sounding thwack, Krookodile beat Vikavolt onto the ground with its tail.

"Earthquake!"

Brenton frowned at his ally's choice, glancing at Faba and his bleeding Claydol to gauge their reaction. Instead of the flustered expression he'd expected, he wore a snide smile - even when Vikavolt fainted.

With a sickening realization, Brenton felt it.

Claydol was surrounded by a rainbow aura, a palpable yet subtle pressure oozing from it. Every six, no five seconds now, it conjured rocks from its energy and shot them at Mawile, who was stuck on the defensive.

"Fuck - it has Ancient Power! Mimikyu, Swords Dance"

"Ayo Krookodile, use Crunch on Claydol, yoyo!"

Faba instantly returned his attention to the two, "It's useless to think that you kids can win. Grass Knot."

"Wha-"

A pair of grass tendrils emerged from the ground, reaching for Krookodile's foot like a viper. It made a herculean effort to dodge, but it became clear that Faba had trained his Pokémon well when it completed the knot.

"Yo Mimikyu! Use Shadow Claw to grab Krookodile's head. Pull him out of the attack, yo."

A deep purplish-black tendril materialized from Mimikyu's busted disguise and darted forward, piercing through the recovering Ledian's left wing as it went. As it approached the now-falling Krookodile, the shadowy tendril unfurled and turned into a massive clawed hand.

"Ledian, use Knock Off on Mimikyu's Shadow Claw!"

The Ledian raised all four of its appendages, pausing in its struggle to minimize the damage to its wing. Dark energy coated each of its appendages, which had already begun its descent onto the tendril.

Brenton and Faba widened their eyes in shock. Just a decade ago, a Mimikyu's Disguise was forcibly removed with that very move in the second or third League Conference. Hundreds of people present died that day, and Mimikyu instantly became tournament illegal.

"Mawile - Attract!"

The bruised and battered Mawile flashed Ledian an adorable wink, causing it to swoon for just a second. Unfortunately, it wasn't before he slammed his limbs into the Shadow Claw.

"Mimikyu, return!"

The beam of light enveloped Mimikyu just as his disguise flew off. Though it was hazy, one of the Aether employees could only just make out an indescribable form that seemed to sear itself in their eyes.

The surrounding battle came to a standstill as if death had just caressed everyone's hearts. With a thud, the Aether employee dropped into a fetal position and began mumbling something unintelligible.

Faba, who'd immediately covered his eyes with his sleeves, took a peek. His face was about the same color as his lab coat but quickly reddened in fear when he caught sight of the other Aether Employee.

"D-Do you know what you've done?! You're fired! Out of my sight, you imbecile!" He yelled, his face now red from anger. Recalling his bleeding Claydol, he laid the traumatized Aether Employee flat on the ground and checked his pulse.

"Alakazam," Faba called out, removing another Pokéball from his hip, "Remove the last five minutes from his brain and wipe anything else that could hurt him. After that…"

'Mind control,' Brenton felt his breath hitch, the irrational anger starting to tear apart his composure. The peak. The sweeping sensation. The fa-

Reflexively, his hand touched the scar on his shoulder. He could still feel the searing pain from getting his arm ripped off - the searing pain which brought him back to reality. His expression morphed into an impassive wall, not letting a single emotion pass.

He stared impassively at the psychic Pokémon before walking toward the door, gesturing at Aegislash and the other two to follow.

"Get back here! Bruxish, come out and us-"

"Night Slash."

Bruxish didn't even have a chance to materialize properly before being brutally slammed. Her body careened toward her Pokéball, still in the air, and hit its button. The Pokéball landed on the ground, rolling off somewhere Brenton didn't care about.

~R~R~R~

{Brenton's Pokémon}

{On Hand}

Sylveon

⚠️Mimikyu (No disguise)

Aegislash

Zoroark

???

???

???

???

{Off Hand}

Comfey (Temporary)