#off screen event

(Music Box: Victory Road/Pokemon League From Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire)

The Elite 4, a collection of Hoenn’s top trainers. The final test before you face off against the Champion. And it was time for Mare to take this test.

First up on the list was Sidney, master of Dark Types. Mare always liked him. Granted, she liked all the Elite 4 but she liked Sid in particular. He was rough and tumble, just like her.

“So, kid, you finally decided to take on the Elite Four.” Sid said. He was crouched down like a gangster, tossing a pokeball in the air and catching it repeatedly.

“You bet!” Mare replied, grinning. “And I don’t plan on losing!”

Sid chuckled. “Well, we’ll see about that. You better give me a good match.”

“Don’t worry, I’m gonna come at you with everything I’ve got!” Mare shouted.

“Let’s get started, then.” Sid said, he nodded towards the previously unmentioned referee standing on the sidelines.

“The battle between Mare the Challenger and Sidney of the Elite Four is about to begin!” The referee announced. “Each side will have the use of 6 Pokemon and the battle will be over when either trainer’s Pokemon are unable to continue! Only the Challenger may substitute Pokemon! Each side is only allowed one healing item! Only the Challenger may use revives!”

“Alright, Kane, let’s do this!” Sid shouted, tossing the Pokeball he was holding into the air once more and releasing his Mightyena.

“Alright, Kaen, come on out!” Mare threw her Pokeball, releasing Kaen the Blazekin. It only seemed right that she lead with him, he was her first ever Pokemon after all. Mare adopted the same fighting stance as him. “You ready?”

“When am I not?” Kaen replied, though any outside observer would just hear Pokemon noises.

“Battle begin!” The referee called out.

(Music Box: Battle! Elite Four: Sidney from Pokemon Masters EX)

“Kane! Crunch!” Sid called out.

“Dodge and use Sky Uppercut!” Mare called.

The Kane rushed forward, mouth glowing(?) with black energy. Swiftly, Kaen dodged to the side and the Kane’s jaws clamped down on nothing but air. Kaen then followed up with a Sky Uppercut, sending the Kane flying into the air. Simultaneously, Mare mimicked Kaen’s actions.

“Nice move.” Sid said. “But it’ll take more than type advantages to beat us. Take Down!”

Kane recovered midair and sped towards Kaen, engulfed in energy. Despite having superior speed, Kaen wasn’t able to dodge in time and was hit straight on. Normal type moves did neutral damage against Blaziken, but Kane was powerful and still knocked Kaen backwards. There was an upside in that Kane also took recoil damage from the move.

“Who said I need a type advantage!” Mare said confidently. “Flare Blitz!”

“Take Down again!” Sid shouted.

The two Pokemon rushed at each other, each engulfed in the element of their respective type (for as much as Normal could be called an element). They collided, kicking up a cloud of dust (how they did this was unknown, the floor was made of tile). When the dust settled it revealed that Kaen was still standing, if a bit battered, and Kane had fainted. Sid recalled him.

“You did good.” He said to the Pokeball. 

“You still feeling up for battle?” Mare asked Kaen.

“Course I am, boss!” Kaen said confidently. “I’m gonna see this through to the bitter end!”

“Jeez, you make it sound like you’re gonna die.” Mare said.

“I might.” Kaen replied.

“You really won’t.” Mare said deadpan.

“Ya might wanna stand back for this next one!” He called to Mare, taking out another Pokeball. 

He nodded to the ref again. Dramatically, the ref pulled a lever next to him and the floor split open revealing a pool. Kaen leaped backwards before he fell in. Rocks rose from the pool, providing platforms for land-based Pokemon to stand on.

“Come on out, Deluge!” Sid called, releasing his Sharpedo into the water.

Mare cursed. This was fantastic. If your definition of “fantastic” was “horrible news for you in every way.”

“Don’t worry, boss, I still got this!” Kaen proclaimed, hopping onto one of the rocks.

“If you say so.” Mare said, unable to keep doubt from slipping into her voice. “Let’s do this! Brave Bird!”

“Aqua Jet!” Sid shouted.

Kaen leaped into the air. Wings made of fire manifested themselves. He sped towards the Sharpedo, who dived down into the pool and then leaped out, cloaked in water. Deluge collided with Kaen and knocked him out of the air and into one of the rocks.

“Now use Crunch!” Sid shouted.

Delugeleaped out of the water and bit down on Kaen. It wasn’t very effective, but it still did just enough damage to KO the Blaziken. Mare recalled Kaen as Deluge leaped back into the pool.

“Get a good rest.” She said. “I’ll say “I told you so” later.”

Mare reattached the Pokeball to her belt. She took another one out.

“Kusanagi! Your turn!” She shouted, tossing the Pokeball into the air and releasing her Doublade. She knew she was at a type disadvantage but Kusanagi’s ability to float above the pool instead of being confined to just the land was valuable. She really needed a water type.

“Crunch again!” Sid shouted.

“Sacred Sword!” Mare shouted.

Deluge leaped out of the water ready to chomp on the sword. Unfortunately for him, Kusanagi was able to land the Sacred Sword before he could hit. Mare had to admit, while standing on the sidelines felt weird in general, standing on the sidelines while Kusanagi fought felt even weirder. When the two of them were in battle they had a much more direct connection than any of her other Pokemon, even Kyoshi. They had too as sword and wielder. If the two weren’t in perfect sync the battle was already lost. Ah well, mimicking Kusanagi’s actions as she battled was the next best thing.

“Now, again!” Mare shouted.

“Dive!” Sid called out.

Deluge did as instructed, leaving Kusanagi slashing at air.

“Aqua Jet!” Sid called.

“Block it with Protect!” Mare shouted.

Kusanagi crossed their blades and a barrier made of hexagons forms. Deluge’s Aqua Jet rammed straight into it and bounced off.

“Sacred Sword one more time!” Mare shouted.

Before Deluge could return to the water, Kusanagi unleashed a slash. Deluge was down for the count. Sid quickly returned Deluge to his ball.

“Nice job.” He said to the Pokeball.

The referee pulled the lever again and the rocks sank back into the pool. The pool closed up, returning the battlefield to normal.

“Not bad kid.” Sid said. “But we’re a long way from finished.”

He grabbed another Pokeball and tossed it in the air before catching it and then proceeding to throw it for real. “You’re up next, Cena!” Out of the ball came his Shiftry.

Damn. Now she really wished Kaen hadn’t been taken out. He would have made this battle easy. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to use her one Max Revive just yet. Kusanagi was still a pretty good option, though. He was quick and knew two moves that were super effective.

“Alright, Kusanagi, Sacred Sword!” Mare shouted.

“Getting a bit predictable there, kid.” Sid said. “Leaf Blade!”

The two Pokemon rushed at each other. The leaves on Cena’s arm expanded and changed shape into a glowing green blade. The two clashed, engaging in an epic sword duel. At this point, neither Pokemon needed direction from their trainer. They were guided by pure instinct and skill.

Neither seemed to be able to break the other’s defenses. Kusanagi seemed to sense that it shouldn’t let Cena get too close. Unfortunately, while it was an expert swordfighter, literally being a sword and all, even it was capable of making mistakes. He dropped his guard at the worst possible moment and let Cena to get in close, allowing him to get off a Feint Attack. This wasn’t looking good.

“Alright, Cena, finish em off with Leaf Blade once again!” Sid shouted.

Mare’s mind raced. There was only one option. “Counter with Aerial Ace!”

The two blades struck each other, locking them into a fierce clash. Each Pokemon pushed against each other, trying to break past the other’s defense. The blade lock couldn’t last forever, though, and at the exact same time, they slashed through each other’s defenses.

There was a tense moment, where both stood (or floated in Kusanagi’s case) completely still like in a Samurai movie. And then, Cena collapsed, fainted. Sid returned Cena to his Pokeball.

“You kicked some real ass out there.” He said. “Get a good rest.” He put Cena’s Pokeball away and took out another one. “You’re doing good, kid, but lets see how you stack up against my next Pokemon. He’s a real Ace in the Hole!”

He threw the Pokeball and out came… King? His Absol? Why would he use his Ace now. When Mare fought the gym leaders they always used their Ace last. Maybe the E4 was different. No, something still felt off.

She closed her eyes, letting the Aura flow through her. Through her Aura Vision she could see that this was not King the Absol but Batista the Zoroark.

Mare grabbed Kusanagi’s Pokeball off her belt and held it out, returning the Doublade too her Pokeball. She reattached the ball to her belt and grabbed another one.

“Your turn, Kyoshi!” She called out, tossing the Pokeball.

Sid chuckled. “Heh. I should have known you’d see through our gambit. Shadow Claw!”

“Bone Rush!” Mare shouted. In perfect sync, she and Kyoshi both summoned a bone staff made of aura energy.

Batista as King rushed forward, illusionary claws elongated into Shadow Claws. He swiped at Kyoshi but before he could land a hit was knocked backwards by Kyoshi’s bone staff, breaking the illusion. Batista’s true form was revealed.

“Extreme Speed!” Mare shouted.

“Flamethrower!” Sid shouted.

Kyoshi rushed forward but wasn’t able to close the distance before Batista unleashed a torrent of flame from his mouth. Huh, so that’s how Zoroark used Flamethrower. It made sense but Mare had kinda been expecting him to unleash the fire from his paws.

Kyoshi was engulfed by the flame. When the flame subsided, Kyoshi still stood but had taken heavy damage. Looked like they’d have trouble getting close. Ranged it was.

“Aura Sphere!” Mare shouted.

“Shadow Claw!” Sid shouted.

Kyoshi fired off several Aura Spheres, which Batista cut in half or blocked with his Shadow Claw. Don’t ask how that works, it looks cool.

Unfortunately for Batista but fortunately for Kyoshi, he couldn’t block every Aura Sphere. Eventually one hit, knocking him backwards.

“You’ve got us on the defensive.” Sidney said. “But we haven’t shown all our cards just yet.”

Suddenly, Batista disappeared, bending light around himself to become almost invisible. A keen eyed observer, however, would notice a shimmer in the air, like when you look at a fire and the air gets all wavy. Kyoshi certainly was a keen eyed observer, particularly with her Aura Vision.

Batista darted around the battlefield, eventually sneaking up behind Kyoshi and preparing to use Shadow Claw. This proved to be for naught, however, as Kyoshi whirled around and slammed her paw into Batista’s gut then followed up with Close Combat, unleashing a flurry of attacks ending with an uppercut.

The move sent Batista flying. The Zoroark was now down for the count. Or up for the count, since the attack had launched him into the air. When he hit the ground, Sid returned him to his Pokeball.

“Good going.” He said to the ball before returning it too his belt and taking out another one.

“Don’t think this is over just yet.” He said. “We do our best work when the chips are down. Sheik, come on out!” He tossed the ball in the air releasing his Mandibuzz, Sheik.

A flying Pokemon. Great. And all of Mare’s Pokemon were landbound. Even Kusanagi could only fly so high, and not nearly high enough to be on the same level as a Mandibuzz.

However, Mare had actually planned for this. While she and her Pokemon usually relied on their all out strength and speed, she wasn’t that bad at strategizing either. She knew Sid had a Mandibuzz so just in case she’d bought a particular TM just for this occasion.

“You did great, Kyoshi, but you’re at a real disadvantage here.” Mare said. “You’re gonna need to swap out if we wanna win this.” Kyoshi nodded and Mare returned her to her ball. She took out another ball and threw it releasing Kamu the Raticate. “Kamu, come on out!”

“So this is the new guy, eh?” Sid said. “Let’s see what he’s got. Sheik, Bone Rush!”

Sheik summoned bones made of energy and rained them down on the battlefield. Kamu managed to dodge several of the bones but wasn’t nearly as fast as Mare’s other Pokemon so took quite a few of the bones head on.

“You good!” Mare shouted to Kamu. He nodded in confirmation. 

“Good.” Mare said. “Then it’s time to unleash our secret weapon! Thunder Wave!” This was the TM she had bought.

Kamu crackled with electricity, causing his fur to stand on end, and then fired off rings of electricity at Sheik. The rings surrounded the Mandibuzz like a cage and then collapsed in on her. Electricity crackled around her and she fell from the sky, indicating that she was paralyzed.

“Not bad, kid.” Sid said. “You came prepared.”

Not prepared enough, unfortunately, as Mare realized Kamu had no other moves that weren’t normal or dark type. She growled to herself. She knew she should have bought that Thunderbolt TM. Oh well, at least with Normal she wouldn’t be at a disadvantage either.

“Super Fang!” Mare shouted. Kamu’s fangs grew to enormous size, almost unsettlingly so, and had no trouble landing the hit because of Sheik’s paralysis. The move always took off half a Pokemon’s HP, the unit of measurement denoting a Pokemon’s health in battle. Mare wasn’t sure how they calculated it but it seemed like a solid enough system. “Follow up with Double Edge!”

Kamu made to bodyslam Sheik but just then the Mandibuzz managed to recover from her paralysis. She blasted upwards, avoiding the attack. Unfortunately, Kamu still took damage from using Double Edge and was a bit dazed.

“That was quick.” Mare said.

“Cheri Berry held in her mouth.” Sidney explained. “She was able to move just enough to chow down. A lot of Challengers try the Paralysis trick. Gotta be prepared.”

“Makes sense.” Mare said, shrugging.

“Alright! Brave Bird!” Sid shouted. Sheik dived towards the dazed Kamu.

“Come on, Kamu, you’re strong! I know you can recover!” Mare shouted. “Use Double Edge!”

Mare’s words struck a chord with Kamu. Like with all of Mare’s Pokemon, the two shared a unique bond. Mare had opened the door to his heart, after all. He shook off his daze and launched himself at Sheik. The two collided, creating a large midair explosion and knocking both of them across the room and too the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, it revealed the two Pokemon were still standing. They hadn’t been able to do enough damage to knock each other out… but the recoil damage from their own moves certainly had. Simultaneously, they both collapsed.

The two powerful trainers recalled their fainted Pokemon. This was it. It had been a long and hard fought battle but Mare was sure it was almost over.

“So, this is it.” Sid said, chuckling. He pulled out a Pokeball and tossed it in the air before catching it. “I’m down to one last Pokemon. I see that glint in your eyes, you’re pretty confident. But don’t think you’ve won just yet. We’ve got one more Ace up our sleeve.”

Sidney tossed the Pokeball and released King, the real King. Around his neck was a necklace embedded with what was undoubtedly a Mega Stone. The E4 had Mega Evolution? This was news to Mare. But it also made sense. Of course Steven would give them out to four of the strongest trainers in the region. 

“Alright King!” Sid shouted, placing his middle and index fingers over a lapel pin similar too Steven’s but more punk, a keystone. He then held out his fist in front of him as the Keystone and Absolite glowed in unison. “Mega Evolve!”

King was encased in a shell of energy emblazoned with the Mega Evolution symbol. Then the shell shattered apart, releasing a wave of energy and revealing King, now a Mega Absol with gorgeous wings.

Mare laughed. “Oh this is gonna be fun!”

She took a Pokeball off her belt. She reached into her bag and took out a Max Revive. She opened a slot in the Pokeball and dropped the Max Revive into it. The Pokeball glowed yellow and played the healing item sound. Mare held the Pokeball close to her chest and then wound up before throwing it, releasing Kaen back onto the battlefield.

“Kaen, time to get back into the fray!” She shouted.

“Alright!” Kaen shouted. “I knew it wasn’t over for me just yet!”

Mare held up her forearm and tapped the Keystone in her Mega Ring. She thrust her arm into the air as the Keystone and Blazikenite on Kaen’s leg band glowed simultaneously. 

“Kaen! Mega Evolve!” She shouted.

Just like with King, Kaen was surrounded by a shell of energy which cracked apart, releasing a wave of energy and revealing Kaen had become Mega Blaziken.

“Prepare yourself!” Mare shouted. “Cause things are about to really heat up!”

“We can take the heat! Ain’t that right, King!” Sidney said confidently.

King made what was clearly an affirmative noise. Unbeknownst to Sidney, he was saying “Damn Straight!”

“Blaze Kick!” Mare shouted.

“Psycho Cut!” Sid shouted at the same time.

Kaen leaped into the air and dived towards King, leg outstretched and engulfed in flame. At the same time, King leaped to meet him, horn glowing with psychic energy. Kaen’s kick impacted with King’s horn. Time seemed to stand still for just a moment. Then, Kaen unleashed a flurry of Blaze Kicks, all of which King blocked with Psycho Cut.

Kaen couldn’t keep this up forever, though. Every Psycho Cut caused Kaen to struggle to keep it up more and more. The final straw came when Kind unleashed one final Psycho Cut, bigger than all the others, that knocked Kaen away. Luckily, Kaen managed to recover and stick a three point landing.

“You okay, Kaen?” Mare asked.

“Never better!” Kaen confirmed. If Blaziken could grin he would be doing it.

“Alright then, use Brave Bird!” Mare shouted.

“King! Aerial Ace!” Sidney shouted.

Kaen summoned wings of fire and sped towards King. The wings on Mega Absol were next to useless but they were enough to allow King to utilize Aerial Ace. Come to think of it, Mare had to wonder how he would use Aerial Ace if he wasn’t Mega Evolved.

The two Pokemon collided, both doing serious damage. Kaen took more damage because of Brave Bird’s recoil damage. Despite this, both Pokemon were still in the fight.

“Sky Uppercut!” Mare shouted.

Kaen complied, delivering a hearty uppercut that sent King into the air.

“Aerial Ace!” Sidney shouted.

“Follow up with Brave Bird again!” Mare shouted.

The two Pokemon collided once again, bouncing off each other like billiard balls. They did this several times until they found themselves on opposite ends of the field, breathing heavily. They were both heavily damaged. It looked like whoever landed the next attack would be the winner.

“Alright, Kaen, are you ready for one final move!” Mare shouted.

“You bet!” Kaen shouted back.

“Then use Flare Blitz!” Mare shouted.

“King! Psycho Cut!” Sid shouted.

Both Pokemon charged forward for perhaps the final time. Kaen wreathed in flames and King with his horn glowing with psychic energy. They collided and caused a massive explosion of fire and psychic power. When the smoke cleared it revealed King lying on the ground, unconscious, and Kaen still standing, albeit battered and bruised. King’s Mega Evolution wore off and he returned to his original form.

(Music Box: Victory! Gym Leader from Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire)

“King is unable to battle!” The announcer declared. “The victory goes to Mare Birch and Kaen!”

“Yes!” Mare shouted, pumping her fist in the air. “We did it!”

She ran over to Kaen and gave him a big hug. Though, considering her height, it wasn’t really that big.

“You did it!” She shouted.

Kaen attempted a triumphant laugh. It came out as more of a wheeze. “Yeah, I did! I think… I think I’m gonna take a nap now.” With that he passed out, reverting to his normal form.

Mare took out Kaen’s Pokeball and returned him too it. “Get a good rest.”

Sid returned King to his Pokeball. He walked over to Mare. 

“Nice going, kid.” He said. “You really put my skills to the test.”

“Thanks Sid.” Mare said, grinning. “You did real well yourself. Fiercest battle I’ve had in a long time.”

Sid chuckled. “Well I hope you’re prepared cause there’s some even fiercer battles up ahead. The rest of the League ain’t no pushovers.”

“Trust me, I’m looking forward too it.” Mare said, holding out her hand.

Zinnia had been scoping out the island for nearly a day or two now. It wasn’t very large so navigating was easy. Problem was, one wrong move could lead to her being discovered.

Luckily, the only one to seem to notice her was the Munna, Mewthree Victoria called him. Luckily, this probably wouldn’t be a problem because the Munna couldn’t speak and was skittish around humans. He staunchly avoided the Apprentice and Derek (who Zinnia noticed had seemingly disappeared), only getting near Victoria (clearly he was a horrible judge of character). Zinnia wasn’t even sure if the Munna had even seen her, just that her sensed her presence.

More concerningly, for Zinnia at least, was that Vic owned a Deino. And she was not training it properly. Deino were naturally aggressive but even by Deino standards this thing was vicious. Corrupted, just like the Apprentice was being. As a Dragon Trainer, this hurt her.

Eventually, night fell. Zinnia went to hide out in the jungle and hopefully find a spot where she could sleep without being discovered. This, as it turned out, was a mistake as she immediately ran into Mewthree. And what she saw was not pretty. Mewthree was projecting dreams in its sleep, and the dreams it projected were more like nightmares.

Zinnia witnessed a young Vic, she appeared to be about 13, surrounded by a flock of Skarmory. The Skarmory were mauling her, ripping and tearing at her flesh as she stood paralyzed. She let out a horrified, bloodcurdling scream. The fact that nobody woke up at the sound of it was surprising.

All of this was happening in a large rusty room full of torn up furniture. There was quite a bit of trash strewn around. At the bar sat a large man Zinnia recognized from photos as Victoria’s father, Old Man Gonzap. Seeing him from this perspective, he looked much more intimidating. Zinnia certainly wouldn’t have dared to make any comments on his figure too his face. He occasionally glanced at the horrifying bloody scene in front of him, but did nothing. Notably, Victoria’s brother Wes was conspicuously absent.

Zinnia was so startled by this that she stumbled backwards. She whipped around immediately and rushed back into the jungle, grabbing tree branches and swinging off of them. Once she was a decent distance away she stopped, hiding in one of the trees. She breathed heavily, trying to calm herself down. She had always assumed Victoria must have had fucked up dreams but never anything like this. That woman was carrying a lot of trauma. She had been hurt so she was hurting the world back.