[PKMN OPEN] Dusk Til Dawn: An Orre Story [T] (IC)

TRUTH AND ENIGMA​

Chapter 2: Old Scars and New Games
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Phenac City Colosseum

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Will walked into the small meeting room, holding the Pokéball containing the Shadow Elektrike he snagged from the young Snagem member in Yellow. One of his fellow lords, Melika, was already in the room along with the Sherriff for Phenac.

"Hell of an introduction to this work, isn't it Will?" She asked, a tired smile on her face. "Guessing that's the Pokémon in question?"

"Yup, confirmed it myself." He replied, taking a seat across from her. The smell of salt water faintly tickled his sense of smell. For some reason he always smelled the sea on her, even though he was sure she hasn't been in her Colosseum all day. Maybe I'm just imagining it, can't not think Hoenn when I see her.

"Can't believe I made fun of you for carrying that snag machine all this time, and here you just prove me wrong."

"Can't really fault you on that, you didn't live through it the first time."

"Looks like they're coming through now." The Sherriff said, motioning towards the large monitor, which flicked to life with four picture, each showing another Colosseum Lord. Vincent of Gateon, Cass of Xanth, Aubrette of Realgam, and Vander of Mt. Battle.

"Looks like we're a little short." Will commented.

"Well, we don't need all three of us from Mt. Battle, I'll just pass on what we talked about." Vander said taking the initiative. "Plus Luciano is still camping."

"Well, let's get going with it now."



"What do you mean we aren't going to do anything?!" Aubrette yelled, her bubble gum pink twin-tails shaking with her shouts.

"We had a vote, and it makes more sense not to leave everything undefended while we hunt a blind lead." Will refuted, annoyed. "And aren't you a little too old to keep up the popstar appearance."

"Aren't both of you too old to dye your hair pink?" Melika snapped, looking even more tired. "We can't even get into the event, apparently they know way more about us than we know about them. Plus, keeping the Colosseums open would help train the people actually going to the event."

"Ugh, I just hate sitting here doing nothing." Aubrette grumbled.

"I know, I know." Vincent reassured her, doing his best camera smile. "We won't just be sitting here. We'll contact Michael and see if we can get him investigating into this. And we'll try to draw these volunteers on our side, isn't that right Melika?"

"Yeah… Looks like more long hours for me. Just so you know, I'm not going to go easy on them."

"Never expected you to."

Phenac Colosseum:

Once at risk of being closed in favor of Realgam, the community rallied together to keep the Colosseum open when the games were announced. Large and overflowing with water, the Colosseum reflects Phenac better than Realgam possibly could.

The Colosseum itself is made up of a small sand island, surrounded by a simulated ocean. A small shipwreck lies close to the edge of the arena. "Sniper" Melika, the lord of this Colosseum, apparently survived a shipwreck in her home region of Hoenn, and modeled the Colosseum around her experiences.

Entering the challenger side, instructions come over speaker while you wait in the hallway.

"Welcome to the high seas. This is the first part of your challenge. Coming to Orre, I found many people who don't understand how difficult it can be to survive surrounded by water, something I intend to change. Your ship has just crashed, and the only land in site is this little one in front of you. All you need to do is make it to the island for this first part.

"Oh yeah, and you have to avoid some strong currents that can take you off the sea to contend with, If you touch the sides of the arena, consider yourself eliminated. Also, the ocean is home to many predators. While I don't expect you to deal with anything like a Sharpedo, my buddy Seaking will be trying to knock you back off to sea. If you survive this, we can get to the real fun. Good luck.

Leader:
Lady Melika, Hoenn's #1 Marksman

Despite wearing a sand colored suit that hides most of her body in every Colosseum match, she hasn't lost her deep island tan in all her years in Orre. She's a predator in her own environment, blending in with the island scenery and preferring guerilla attacks over direct battle. She prefers accurate Pokemon, and is usually not caught without one of her Pokemon making full use of the Sniper ability.

First Colosseum Pokemon:

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RECRUITMENT DRIVE​

Chapter 2: Old Scars and New Games - Judgement Day



Ryu stuck mostly to the back alleys, figuring that if Cipher really wanted the "best", they wouldn't be hanging around public areas where the judges could just have their Pokémon slowly worn down. Sure enough, he caught a glimpse of light gray looking armor turning into another back alley, that had to be a Cipher uniform! Picking up speed, he turned the same corner and saw himself face to face with one of the Cipher judges, corned in a dead end. The judge crossed his arms and puffed out his chest, seemingly in defiance of him actually being caught.

"So, you've finally caught me. Are you ready to prove your worth to us?" The Cipher agent started, attempting an authoritative voice.

"One second please…" Ryu asked, between deep breaths. He was in such a hurry to catch him that he may have forgotten to keep his breathing normal. Chugging down the last of his coffee, which by now was starting to turn disgustingly cold, he caught his breath and tossed the empty cup into a nearby garbage can.

"Hey… are you okay?" The judge asked, dropping his act for a moment.

"I'm good." Ryu replied, finally returning his breathing to normal. "Let's get started."

"I should warn you, I'm not going to go easy on you just because you ran out of breath running." The judge boasted, a smirk painted across his uncovered mouth.

"And I have to warn you, I tend to kick ass when it comes to battling scumbags like you."

"Ooh, I like the confidence," The judge checked, pulling out two Pokéballs. "Let's see how much of that talk you actually intend to back up. "

A flash of light revealed his first two Pokémon, a Breloom and Quagsire. Annette stepped forward, ready to fight, as Ryu pulled out Patrat's Pokéball and released his newest Pokémon. The little prairie dog Pokémon looked up to his trainer for direction.

"Okay Scout," Ryu started, "let's make this a good first battle together. Work with Annette and me to blow this guy's sense of superiority out of the water."

Taking his position behind his two Pokémon, Ryu took the initiative.

"I'll go first! Annette, use quick attack! Scout, Shadow Blitz! Wear down the same target!"

Both the Sylveon and Patrat nodded to each other and took off towards the Quagsire. The Breloom jumped out of the way in time, but both Pokémon collided with the large blue Pokémon's stomach, knocking it back.

"Ugh, why are you allowed Shadow Pokémon." The judge complained. "The boss mentioned nothing about this!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you said you weren't going easy on me."

"I'll return that two fold! Breloom, Headbutt! Quagsire, get up and Mud Bomb!"

The mushroom Pokémon lowered its head and rushed towards Annette, while the mud fish finally pulled itself up and gathered a large amount of mud in its mouth and took aim at Scout.

"Both of you, try to get out of the way!"

Sylvi got into a pouncing stance, and when the Breloom drew close she jumped out of the way, leaving nothing but a brick wall behind her, which the Breloom could not avoid crashing into. Scout seemed to be having difficulty avoiding the Quagsire's aim, but when he saw the Breloom collapse to the floor, he began to make a break for it. The Quagsire spit the large glob of mud just as Scout reached grass type, and although he couldn't avoid the attack himself, the mud also hit the Quagsire's own ally.

"Okay, give them no breathing room, finish it off you two."

The Sylveon's ribbons fluttered above, generating a small batch of Fairy Wind, while Scout charged again, generating the dark aura around his paws. As soon as the Breloom finally managed to pick itself up, it was hit with both attacks. It stumbled back over and stayed down this time, fainted.

"Leave it to the boss to give us some fragile Pokémon." The judge muttered, returning the Pokémon and pulling out another Pokéball. "Well, let's turn this up. These are the actual tough ones."

Releasing the new Pokémon, a large fire type stood next to the Quagsire, a Magmar!

"Looks like you're finally making this fun." Ryu smirked.
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Chapter 2: Old Scars and New Games - Judgement Day Finale


Ryu looked over the Magmar, this was sure to be the biggest threat right now. Both Annette and Scout seemed to have done a number on the Quagsire, and it looked like it could go down in another few attacks. Unfortunately, his side was about the same. Annette hasn't been hit, so she was good to go, but that mud bomb seemed to have done more damage to Scout than it initially seemed. Not to mention Scout seemed to have a history of frenzying, and was only capable of Shadow Blitz.

"No more chances. Fake Tears that Magmar."

Annette's large, blue eyes welled up with tears as she faked an injury. She made, and maintained eye contact with the Magmar, really playing up the injury. It seemed the Magmar took pity on the poor Sylveon, and his guard dropped a little.

"Don't fall for that!" The judge shouted. "She hasn't even been hit yet. Ember her! And you Quasire, Mud Shot the little rat there!"

The Magmar spit out several red hot cinders in Annette's direction, a few of them making contact and leaving singe marks in her fur. The actual yelps of pain seemed to increase the effects of the Fake Tears as Annette played up her injuries even more. Meanwhile, a smaller glob of mud formed in the Quagsire's mouth, shooting out before Scout had a chance to dodge. The Mud Shot nailed Scout directly, causing the small Patrat to stumble backwards from the impact. This wasn't good, Scout was about on his last legs. He wasn't as sturdy as any of the other Pokemon, and while Annette was strong, Ryu wasn't confident in her ability to take on two enemies at once.

"We've got to end this quick. Scout, one more Shadow Blitz. Annette, give him a Helping Hand."

Scout took off once more, shadowy aura at his paws. Annette flicked her ribbons in the direction of the Patrat, sending a slight boost his way. After the flick, the aura around Scout grew larger, and the Patrat seemed to ignore his injuries, picking up even more speed in the attack.

"Finish off the Quagsire!"

At this command, Scout launched himself in a collision course with his target. The Quagsire tried to jump out of the way, but was ultimately too slow. The attack connected with the Pokemon's gut, and the large mud fish took a few step back before collapsing onto his back, finished. The Judge withdrew his downed Pokemon, but Scout was left panting heavily, a wild look in his eyes once more. It seemed like Scout was about to frenzy, and at that distance the Judge himself might be in danger. Ryu pulled out Scout's pokeball to recall him, but before he could actually perform the action, the Judge gave one more command.

"Feint Attack."

The Magmar, which Ryu hadn't even noticed closing the gap between it and Scout, suddenly launched forward. Scout turned just in time to see the Magmar's fist make contact with the side of his head. Scout finally fell to the ground, unconscious from the impact and his previous wounds.

"I'm sorry Scout." Ryu muttered to himself as he withdrew his Pokemon. "I should have noticed that."

"So it looks like we're both down to our last Pokemon, and you haven't even touched Magmar."

"Unfortunately for you I'm left with my best Pokemon. Annette, don't give him a chance to even hit you again. Fairy Wind him!"

The Sylveon whipped up another storm of pink wind above her, sending it spinning towards the Magmar. The Magmar seemed to make no real effort to dodge it, and was consequently caught off guard by its actual power. It stumbled a little, but seemed ultimately no worse for wear.

"Return the favor, Ember!"

"Don't hold back, Quick Attack it!"

The Magmar took in a deep breath before spewing another cloud of burning cinders towards Annette, who took off towards her foe. Annette was fast enough to avoid the brunt of the attack, but still took a few hits during her charge. Speeding towards her foe, she delivered a large headbutt into the Pokemon's chest, knocking it back a little more.

"You've got to stop it from moving so fast. Fire Spin her!"

Flames from the Magmar's mouth began surrounding Annette, circling and picking up speed until she was trapped in a small ring of fire. She barely had room to move, much less fight, and every now and again the flames would graze her body.

"Okay, now that she's trapped, hide yourself in a SmokeScreen."

Taking another deep breath, the Magmar let loose a thick cloud of black smoke that quickly filled the alleyway. Ryu lost all vision of what was going on inside the cloud, except for the occasional light from the Fire Spin shining through.

"Don't let him get you, Fairy Wind him!"

Blinded by the smoke, Annette could only blindly throw Fairy Winds as fast as she could make them. Although they cleared up the smoke somewhat, the Magmar was nowhere to be seen, and the temporary hole the storms created were quickly filled in by more smoke.

"Finish her! Feint Attack!" The Judge shouted once more.

"Focus Annette! Make sure you hit!" Ryu shouted, hoping she even hear him.

Inside the smoke cloud, Annette gathered one more Fairy Wind and held it over her. The small storm cleared a small pocket that she could at least see out of, but it's radius of visible area left almost no reaction time. Picking a direction, she bunkered herself down and prepared to throw the attack. If her opponent came from any other direction, she wouldn't be able to react in time.

After a few moments that felt like an eternity, she noticed something moving in the smoke. Swallowing her fear, she threw the storm at the movement.

Things were quiet for both trainers. The sound of something hitting the ground came from the smoke, but neither could confirm if it was their Pokemon or not. Both sweating in anticipation, a breeze finally rolled through the alley and began to lift the Smokescreen. After spilling the smoke over both trainers, inducing a coughing fit, their vision of the battle finally returned. In the middle of a scorched circle stood a badly burned, but still standing Annette, and just a few feet from her lie a knocked out Magmar.

Grumbling, the Judge returned his last Pokemon before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a red envelope.

"I guess this one goes to you." He muttered, shoving the envelope in Ryu's hands before shoving him out of the way and making his way out of the alley.

"Wait!" Ryu shouted after him, rushing to Annette's side. "Aren't you going to explain anything?"

"Not my job, everything should be in there."

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Later that night, waiting for both Annette and Scout to be returned him, Ryu sat in the lobby fiddling with the little chess piece. He discovered the little piece of glass on the bottom of the Pawniard seemed to be some kind of fingerprint reader, and after holding it for a second the head popped off the figure, revealing a cord. It seemed that the judge hadn't lied, as the data inside the playing piece revealed some documents with a date and place. The crude map pointed out some kind of facility that apparently existed under Realgam, conveniently enough, and he still had a few days to prepare.

Unfortunately, his confidence was smashed a little by how close that match was. If this was the qualifier, he'd have to get stronger soon if he planned to make it anywhere in this game.

First of all, he needed a new member of his team.
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Chapter 3: On the Hunt


Bringing his cycle to a slow stop before finally killing the engine, Ryu looked up at his destination, the outcropping Pokespot. Removing his helmet to finally let the gentle breeze roll through his hair, slick with sweat from the ride under the midday heat. Annette leapt from her little cradle on the back of the bike and stretched her legs, it was a bit of a miracle that she fit so perfectly in the cradle. It seemed to be a handmade addition, not matching any of the ones sold commercially. It had been there for as long as Ryu could remember, and it didn't seem made for his father's aging Donphan; plus, the scuff marks didn't seem to match anything that would be made by a Phanpy. The topic of his father's old team was a sore subject he never dove too deep into. The only thing he could piece together was that it seemed like being separated wasn't entirely by choice.

A soft mewing brought him back to reality, as Annette looked up at him with a questioning look on her face. Reassuring her it was nothing, he made sure his Pokeball were in the right pocket and approached the Pokespot with her. The difference in temperature was immediate, finally getting out of the direct sun. For being one of the few areas with wild Pokemon in all of Orre, the Pokespot was strangely quiet. It seemed that even Pokemon adapted for the desert has issues with how extreme some of Orre's heat got.

"Look like we've got to bring them to us." He said to his partner, getting a small nod in return. Looks like she didn't find anything either, at least nothing that would be easy to nab. Locating a small rock that looked flat enough to hold the bait off the sand roughly in the middle of the overhang, Ryu placed the small mound of food down and left to a corner of the spot he could wait at.

"And now we wait."

As the minutes ticked by, Ryu found himself drifting back into his thoughts again. He barely won the battle with the judge, and here he was about to walk into a Cipher base with no knowledge or the relative skill level of anyone there, and barely meeting the qualifications. As fun as that last battle had been in hindsight, he couldn't hope for too many miracles like that last attack. He needed to both buff up his current team, as well as expand it. Annette was good, but she couldn't carry him through everything. Scout seemed very strong for such a little Pokemon too, but how much of that was due whatever they tormented him to? If he could cure Scout, would he still be as strong as he currently is? The idea of relying on a shadow Pokemon to win made Ryu a little sick to his stomach, but at the same time the idea of bringing down Cipher with their own creation sounded a little sweet to his ears.

But isn't that what they want to prove, the superiority of Shadow Pokemon over normal ones? The ideas hung around his head until he was forced to concentrate on something else. He wasn't a philosopher, getting caught up in these arguments with himself was going to hurt him much more than it would help him to finding any kind of concrete answers. Right now he needed to focus on getting stronger, and that meant expanding his team at this present moment. The reason he left the comfy air conditioned Pokemon center wasn't to get into beat himself up in the heat and feed the local wildlife, it was to catch a Pokemon the old fashioned way. Taking a moment to rub his eyes, he felt a soft paw come to rest on the hand he was supporting himself with. Opening his eyes and looking back at the Pokespot, a little winged purple pokemon with a scorpion tail was gliding towards the food from the ceiling of the overhang.

"Alright, I see him. Let's wait for him to land." He whispered to Annette, looking over and confirming she was ready to go. The Pokemon landed a little way from the food, and after making sure no other Pokemon were approaching it also, started to slowly eat. Giving it another few minutes to start getting engrossed in eating, Ryu waited until the Pokemon's guard appeared down, and then gave his orders. "Okay, hit him from behind with a Quick Attack."

Annette began sprinting towards her target. By the time the Gligar turned around, it was too late to dodge, and it took the attack head on. Preventing itself from falling with its wings, the wild Pokemon turned and began shooting small purple needles from its tail in defense. The needles stung Annette and seemed to do a large amount of damage for their size, causing her to yelp in pain.

Damn, I should have guessed it was a poison type. I've got to finish it before it can do too much damage to Annette.

"Don't let him do that again. Close the gap with a quick attack!"

Fighting through the pain the needles were obviously causing her, Annette took off once again and slammed into her target as he landed his shot glide. The Gligar wasn't able to glide out of this attack, and went sliding through the sand. Seemingly injured, the poison pokemon tossed a large amount of sand at Annette with its wings, getting a large amount in her eyes, blinding her. Seeming to not think the fight was worth the food anymore, it ran over to the cave wall and began scaling it.

"Don't let it escape, try and hit it with a Fairy Wind, or anything!"

Annette stopped trying to rub the sand out and squinted towards the rough location of the Gligar, trying to make it out from the other shadows on the wall. Lifting her ribbons above her head, she began swirling them as if the create a Fairy Wind, but instead of a pink storm the ribbons seemed to produce a mass of small star shaped objects. Waving her head towards her target, the stars shot off towards the cave wall. The Gligar, unfortunately, seemed to notice the stars and jumped off before he could get hit, gliding back towards Annette.

But before the stars could hit the wall and break, they suddenly swerved out of the collision path and seemed to refocus on the Gligar. Unaware of the sudden change in direction, the Gligar was clueless when the stars finally made impact with his back, knocking him to the ground.

"Okay, now or never!" Ryu shouted as he tossed the Pokeball at the wild pokemon, now struggling to get up. The ball collided with the Gligar's back and drew it inside of itself. Keeping an eye on the shaking of the ball, Ryu rushed over to Annette's side to make sure she was okay from the earlier Sand Attack. Withdrawing a small cloth and a water bottle to flush the irritating substance out, he heard the telltale click of a captured Pokemon behind him.

"You hear that?" He said, gently rubbing the side of her teary eyes with the damp cloth. "You got him with that awesome move you just did."

A small purr of approval came from Annette.
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