Living in the Shadows

CHAPTER 3 KONTORORU & THE NEW TRIO

*If someone could create a picture with a sinister-looking Spiritomb in the background and an Electivire, Slurpuff, and Alolan Sandslash all together in the foreground, I will use it as this chapter's title picture.*

*P.S. This will be a short chapter.*

(Third)

Kontororu and the Trio were minding their own business, eating stolen berries, when they got accosted by Persian and his gang.

"Hey! Those are our berries!" One of the Purrloin growled.

"Oh really," Dezel replied snottily as he tossed a berry into his mouth. "I don't see the name 'Purrloin' written on these berries. Do you, Keino?"

"No, I do not," she replied as she swallowed a Sitrus Berry whole, then smirked.

They were all in a small cul de sac valley by the Shadow Mountains; Kontororu and the Trio were cornered. Persian thought he and his gang had the upper hand, but he quickly realized his mistake when he heard names.

Oh great! He expressed silently to himself. More humans!

"More humans!" one of the Meowth expressed in displeasure. "Just how many times are we gonna run into them!"

"I take it you've run into humans before?" Ice asked. "Well, cheer up. We're evil humans. And we've allied ourselves with the Great King Malamar. So there's no reason to fight us."

After Ice said he and his group were allies of Malamar, the Purrloin tried to attack them, but the Meowth held them back.

"That freak is no more a king than I am a Muk!" One of them cried with a vein pulsing on her head.

"If you're allies of that monster!" another cried. "Then that makes you our enemies!"

The Meowth couldn't hold the Purrloin back for long. When they broke free, they attacked Kontororu and the Trio with a vengeance. Too bad their Fury Swipes and Shadow Claws had little to no effect on them. And when they were catching their breath, Kontororu possessed them and forced them all down while the Trio attacked.

Luckily Persian and the Meowth jumped into the fray and knocked them back.

"You take on some of us!" the Meowth who spoke before shouted. "You take on all of us!"

When she said 'all' she and the others showed their claws.

Counting Persian and the Purrloin, there were sixteen cats against Kontororu and the Trio. Kontororu vs Persian, after he released the Purrloin from his hold, while each of the Trio faced off against five of the Meowth and Purrloin.

There are no words to describe the battle between the Trio and the Meowth and Purrloin. But needless to say, many of the Meowth and Purrloin were beaten pretty badly. Those that weren't paralyzed by Dezel's electric attacks were frozen by Ice's ice attacks. Keino merely used her psychic and fairy attacks to confuse her opponents.

However, the battle between Kontororu and Persian was one they will never forget.

Persian was a lot stronger than he looked, but so was Kontororu. Whenever Persian would take a swipe at him, Kontororu would dodge and then respond with a Dark Pulse. Persian easily took the attack and shook it off before he attacked Kontororu with a Hyper Beam he could not dodge.

When the smoke cleared, Kontororu was still standing Then he attacked with Ominous Wind. The Trio weren't near him so his attack struck only Persian and the cat gang.

Persian still hadn't recovered from using his Hyper Beam so Kontororu took his chance and used Toxic.

The battle was over before Persian could counter. After getting poisoned by Kontororu, he collapsed before he could use another Hyper Beam. The few remaining Meowth and Purrloin gathered around their fallen comrades and dragged them all to safety.

They could only take them so far as they weren't very strong, but they managed to get their leader into a secluded hideout. Then they covered the entrance with bushes. Kontororu and the Trio passed them by none the wiser.

"The Boss is in really bad shape." A fairly unscathed Meowth commented.

"What are we gonna do?" another one asked. "We don't know anything about medicine other than Pecha berries cure poison!"

"And the only Pecha berries around these parts are in Dark Castle, or are being delivered to Dark Castle." The last upright Meowth added.

"Then we either rob the delivery Pokemon," one of the few healthy Purrloin said. "Or we break into Dark Castle and rob Malamar!"

"I'm guessing you'd prefer the latter?" A less than healthy Meowth replied.

All the Purrloin, even the injured ones, nodded.

"But first things first." the first Purrloin said. "We need a lot of Oran berries."

She addressed the gang. "Those that can still walk and carry bags, go out and find some. Take only one for yourselves if you must, but gather as many as you can find. In the meantime, my brother and I will stay here guarding the sick and injured. When everyone has reasonably recovered, we will all take shifts protecting the Boss until we can get our claws on some Pecha berries. Now hurry!"

Four Purrloin and three Meowth left on the berry hunt. They came back two hours later, almost fully recovered, but only with a handful of berries in each bag. They gave three to their Boss, which helped but not much, before they gave the rest to their gang.

After almost everyone was mobile, they divided into teams of five. Five would stay and guard their poisoned Boss. Another five would search the roadways leading to the castle for any carts that have Pecha berries. And the last five would study the guards' shifts and form a plan to break in.

Kontororu and the Trio were wandering around when they got a call from Inkay and his team.

"Have any of you guys seen a trio of Skarmory flying around?" Cacnea, the only female on the team, asked.

"No," Kontororu replied as he and the Trio all shook their heads.

"Grr!" Inkay expressed with a vein pulsing on his forehead and smoke coming out of his ears, just as a shadow passed by over them.

"Was that them?" Dezel asked.

All three of them looked up right as an Air Slash and a Flash Cannon hit them. Then the orb shut itself off.

"Should we tell Malamar what just happened?" Ice asked after a minute of silence.

"Let's give them a few minutes to call back," Kontororu replied. "Then we'll tell him."

Inkay and his team never called back and before they could call Malamar, he and Mismagius called them. Kontororu and the Trio told them everything that happened, including their run-in with Persian and his gang.

"We'll keep an eye out for them while we're in the Shadow Mountains," Kontororu told Malamar, meaning Inkay and his team.

"Don't bother!" Malamar snapped. "I'll find them myself! And if I run into Skarmory's gang first!" He paused as he took a deep breath. "Let's just say they'll wish I would just hypnotize them instead!"

The orb turned off again, but only on Malamar's side. Kontororu and the Trio all sweat-dropped.

"So," Dezel said in the intense silence. "What news on your end Mismagius?"

"Really?" She said dryly.

"Your orb is still on?" Keino pointed out to her.

"We're still in Ghost Woods, but other than that, nothing."

Then her orb turned off and Kontororu and the Trio were left with themselves for company.

"I wonder how long it will take for Malamar to get here?" Dezel mused. "Or to wherever those kids were before we got cut off."

No one answered Dezel's question as they moved ahead on the path before leaving the woods entirely.