Paragon

Remnants of the Great War [14]

Sorry I'm a week late! Busy week at work last week and I didn't want to rush out a subpar chapter.

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PARAGON

Remnants of the Great War Arc [14]

Chapter 23 : Old King

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Sabrina rolled to the side as a blistering Flamethrower swept across the ground she was standing on moments ago. The opponent's Delphox was relentless in its assault, but it seemed to inherit that trait from its master.

"C'mon hit her once, I thought Flamethrower had a hundred accuracy!" the young man yelled. "I don't care if you have to burn this whole forest down, just kill the trainer!"

He attacked with a ferocity that took even her psychic wherewithal by surprise. Sabrina had watched AZ appear in the clearing from a distance, but before she could reveal herself, she'd found herself in the crosshairs of this boy and his Delphox. Even after deploying Minior, every attack it fired off had still been aimed at her.

Ancient Power.

Minior shuddered and spun through the air, and the ground rumbled as it pulled several boulders up from beneath the soil. Another gout of fire shot from Delphox's wand, but Minior shifted a boulder in front of it to protect its master. Delphox growled and conjured a glimmering shield before itself, and the boulders cracked harmlessly against it.

Who is this kid? Sabrina thought as Minior tried to slip around Delphox to attack it from its side. Is someone this young really working for AZ?

As it happened, she had the faculties to find the answer herself. She closed her eyes. It's for the greater good, she thought, but the justification fell like sand over her conscience, worth nothing.

Nevertheless, her gauntlets began to glow and spin. Across the way, through the trees, the young trainer frowned, noticing her gauntlets for the first time through the nighttime darkness and the chaos of battle.

I'm sorry, Minior, but I need you to draw its attention while I do this. Meteor Beam.

Minior quivered in the air, and a bright light began to escape from the cracks in its rocky shell.

"Yeah, right! Like we're just gonna stand here and let you charge that! Psychic, Delphox! Throw it away!"

Delphox's eyes glowed blue, and a light of the same color engulfed Minior. It raised its wand to cast Minior away, but suddenly its eyes flashed and its full attention turned to Sabrina. Without warning, it scrawled a flaming kanji into the air and flung it at her. It spun through the air, trailing black smoke.

Sabrina recoiled, but Minior was faster, and it abandoned its attack and flew straight into the inferno.

"No!" Sabrina breathed.

When the flames cleared, Minior hung in the air weakly, its carapace blackened by the attack. Despite its resistances, Sabrina could immediately tell its true form within the meteor was burnt.

"I see what's going on," their opponent sneered. "You're a psychic. Your pokémon seemed like they were acting independently, but really you've been talking to them telepathically this whole time, right? And just now, you tried to read my mind, didn't you?" His glare pierced the darkness and rooted Sabrina in place. "Well, nice try you piece of shit. Don't you know Delphox can sense a psychic attack as obvious as that?"