Pokémon Obsidian | An Orre Fanfiction

Chapter 67: Trainer Vs. Commander

Before the warp space closed, while Aiko and Kazuki battled Theta and Leucosia, Holly's Lycanroc and Azumarill faced Piruzi's Shadow Porygon2 and Zygarde. Piruzi was, clearly, a more experienced battler than her colleagues. She knew to take down Azumarill before it could use its boosted Aqua Jet.

Holly sent out Gardevoir in its place. She pulled up her sleeve. Her Key Stone, fixed to a pretty bracelet from Cassia's mom Olivia, was a gift for defeating Abbey at the Battle Tower in Wyndon. Gardevoir was her first Pokémon. It was with her as a little Ralts from her first birthday. Its blinding Moonblast knocked Zygarde out in one hit. Lycanroc slammed into Porygon2. It trapped its opponents with Shadow Hold.

Piruzi sent out Metagross. Holly couldn't switch out, but whichever Pokémon she used, Shadow Moves were super effective against all regular Pokémon. Gardevoir blasted Porygon2 to the floor with Moonblast. Lycanroc charged at Metagross. Drill Run ground against its steely body. Piruzi never reacted. She distantly chewed gum as if she was being forced to watch a boring movie.

Metagross lunged. Lycanroc dodged Shadow End. Porygon2's Shadow Panic confused both of its opponents. Carlos was between the two battles. Amber took the Full Heals he pulled from his bag to spray Holly's Pokémon. Even that didn't prompt a reaction from Piruzi. Another Moonblast knocked Porygon2 out. Its legs spun uncontrollably as it was zapped back to its Poké Ball. Metagross wrestled Lycanroc back before Drill Run punctured its thick steel. Rock crumbled from Lycanroc's collar as it was brutally pinned to the floor, by the neck, for Metagross to slam it with Shadow End. It fainted. Holly sent out Cinderace. Piruzi sent out Sandslash.

Cinderace was already annoyed with Cipher. If it hadn't reached the hospital as soon as it did, the stab wound inflicted by Jamie might have killed it. Seeing Kazuki's Pokémon horrifically injured, on top of knowing of Naaji's disappearance, enraged Cinderace. It booted Pyro Ball so forcefully, it seemed to tear through the air itself. Heavy Metagross was flung onto its back. Its legs flailed. It was burned.

Gardevoir hurled Energy Ball at Sandslash. That, too, was hurled onto its back. Its spikes grazed the colosseum's dusty tiles. Metagross tucked in its legs to hurtle at Cinderace with Shadow End. Cinderace ducked. Metagross didn't stop. It went for Holly.

'Oh, come on!'

Carlos' Pokémon were slowed by age, but Metagross was weak. His Aegislash easily forced it back.

'Control your Pokémon!'

Amber shook her head. 'I think that's the whole point, mate...'

Sandslash sank its claws into Gardevoir's neck. It was still relentlessly tearing at its throat when the burn finished Metagross off. Cinderace jumped in to help its friend. It kicked Sandslash until it was forced to curl up to protect itself; but that made it a ball that Cinderace easily kicked over Piruzi's head.

While they were distracted, the Skarmory that Piruzi sent out darted at Gardevoir. As its beak plunged into the wound Sandslash opened, Gardevoir summoned all its strength to bring Thunderbolt crashing down on Skarmory. It paralysed itself, but it didn't matter. It had no energy left to fight. Holly returned it before its bloodthirsty opponents could injure it further.

Skarmory was flung into the path of Aiko's Mega Houndoom by Pyro Ball. It weakly rolled out of harm's way. Its sharp steel feathers made ear-splitting scratching sounds on the dislodged tiles. When it opened its eyes, it found itself locked in Piruzi's cold gaze. Holly was sure it was down, but those eyes apparently terrified it as much as Leucosia's whip terrified her Pokémon. It flitted back into battle. Sandslash rolled at Cinderace. Its opponent prepared to kick it back, but the force of Shadow End struck Cinderace's foot so brutally, its leg was bent. The bones cracked. It fell to its knees.

Holly reached to return it, but it shook its head. The Shadow Pokémon could tear it limb from limb, but it wouldn't back down until it was no longer conscious to fight. Holly sent out Leafeon. She hesitated. Skarmory was weak. So was Sandslash. Maybe it was safe to use Swords Dance. Cinderace clung to its teammate for balance as it used its other leg to kick Pyro Ball at Skarmory. It was inevitably weaker, but it was enough to take Skarmory down.

Leafeon glanced up at Cinderace. It wrapped its arms around Leafeon's neck for its teammate to carry it out of Shadow End's way. Sandslash continued to roll around the colosseum. By the time it was about to whack Amber from behind, Leafeon leapt to slash through its spikes. One fell to the floor in a puddle of blood. Sandslash shrieked in pain. It teetered and tumbled to the floor. Holly didn't dare breathe out relief, not yet. Piruzi's last Pokémon was Zapdos.

It wasn't like the Zapdos that Michael faced. Its yellow feathers were shadowy purple and eyes red.

'Don't you like my XD011?'

Holly said nothing. That didn't deserve a reply. Cinderace was brutally struck by Shadow Bolt. Electricity crackled around its crumpling body. Its head hit the floor. Its tail twitched, but it couldn't keep fighting. It fainted. Leafeon darted at Zapdos. Knock Off barely seemed to scratch it. Holly sent out her last Pokémon, Noivern. It would have been faster than a regular Zapdos, but that was no regular Pokémon. Shadow Bolt slammed it to the floor. It was left painfully twitching and gasping for breath.

Leafeon didn't wait for it to rise. It hurled its body weight at Zapdos to pull it down. Its leafy tail was far sharper than it looked. Blood was splattered as Zapdos wrestled it off. It leapt away in time to avoid Noivern's Draco Meteor, but Zapdos did not. It was buried and consumed by crashing blue flames. Noivern's White Herb restored the strength drained by Draco Meteor's power.

This time, it was ready for Shadow Bolt. It wrapped its wings around its stomach and face to prevent it being winded. It sprang back up. Flamethrower scorched and burned Zapdos. Crackling feathers dusted the floor as Leafeon sheared through its wing. Blood poured from a gash on its leg. It still brought a brutal Shadow Bolt crashing down on Noivern. It tried to rise, but it was too much. Noivern fainted.

Holly thought no battle would be as nerve-wracking as facing Champion Jamie at Citadark Isle. That paled in comparison. She was so nervous, she could barely breathe. Her hands were almost too sweaty to hold Noivern's Poké Ball. Leafeon glanced back at her. It must have been equally terrified, but its kind eyes were as reassuring as ever. Like Gardevoir and Cinderace, Leafeon had been with her since she was a child, as an Eevee she received from Jovi. If it believed in Holly to lead it to victory, she had to believe in herself. Leafeon pounced. Zapdos shrieked as it was pulled, once again, to the floor for Leafeon to whack and slash its stomach.

Zapdos was still. Leafeon stepped back. Like a creepy balancing toy that never stopped rocking, Zapdos sprang robotically back to its feet. It struggled to fly. That didn't stop it firing Shadow Bolt. Leafeon was paralysed. It could barely move, but with a scowl of sheer determination, it forced its stiff legs off the ground before Carlos or Amber even reacted to its paralysis. As it crashed into Zapdos, its tail sliced through its beak. There was a stomach-churning crack. Half of its beak fell to the floor. Blood rained down on Leafeon. Zapdos flailed uncontrollably. Its pained shrieks were deafening.

That was the moment when the sunset flooded the sky. Four bodies tumbled from the warp space. Piruzi's face finally fell. Theta and Leucosia were already tied up, but the frustration and disappointment in their eyes was clear. Horace scrambled to his feet. The Master Ball was still in his hand. Before anyone registered what was going on, he hurled it at Zapdos. It rolled so violently that everyone wondered if even a Master Ball would fail, but it did not. XD011 was caught.