As soon as Koga released his pokemon, dark gases surrounded the area. The pokemon itself was a purple mass of heads and gas. It gave a billowing cough, but to Shaun, it seemed that it was the way it simply breathed. "Weezing."
"Weezing, Poison Gas," Koga commanded as he closed his eyes in consideration while stepping back a bit. Perhaps it was to get away from the attack, but since Koga lived in the poisonious place for so long, Shaun didn't think that was it.
"Gilble, Dragon Rage," Shaun barked.
"Gii," Gible said in understanding. Taking a deep breath, which really wasn't that great of an idea as the opposing attack was a gassy substance, Gible fired the blue and purple draconic fire. The raging inferno blasted through the gas haze and slammed into Weezing, creating a wall of fire that burned away at the poison type.
"Weeez!" Weezing hacked as it floated away, letting out more smoke in irritation.
"Gi!" Gible said happily, pleased that its attack hit, before scrunching up its face in pain and coughing. It's body turned a slight purple for a moment, clearly telling all that looked at it that it was poisoned. "Gii..."
Shaun sighed in irritation before barking out his next orders. "Another Dragon Rage!"
"Dodge and use Sludge," Koga said clearly, form shifting every now and then to a different spot, and that was when Shaun knew what was going on. Koga was not just looking for areas to attack, but areas to flee to if neccessary.
"Gible, Taackle!" Shaun cried, hands becoming a fist as his pokemon wracked up more coughs.
"Gii gi," Gible said softly as it wiped its mouth after its status problem proved to be an issue. Turning away from its trainer, Gible ran forward, shark head bent forward, only to cry out as it, quite literally, ran straight into the Sludge attack. "Giiii!" Gible cried as it slid around, the gooey substance acting like acid on its skin.
"Gible, return," Shaun said with annoyance. As soon as the dragon type returned, he turrned his gaze on the floating ball of pollution before grinning under his mask. "Go, Skarmory!"
With a loud battle cry that echoed throughout the abandoned city, the metallic bird landed on the ground, beak poised and wings at the ready. "Skar."
"Impressive," Koga admitted, eyes going over the green feathers of Skarmory. "A shiny..." And here he smiled. "And a steel type; very smart, but we do have one attack for this. Double Hit!"
"Wezzign Weez," Weezing cried with a hoarse voice, its gas filled body shooting towards Skarmory quickly.
"Use Peck," Shaun commanded coolly, his eyes watching Koga out of the coner of his line of vision. The man seemed at peace, almost as if he were having a normal battle in normal conditions. His calm attitude didn't grate on his nerves, much to Shaun's surprise, but did in fact give him points in his book.
"Skarrr!" Skarmory screech as it pumped its large and sharp wings, easily gaining altitude. Despite what many people thought, Skarmory wings were very light, thus allowing them to fly at incredibly fast speeds that were well over a hundred miles per hour. "Mar! Mar! Mar!" Skarmory cried each time as its sharp beak stabbed and poked Weezing, creating more holes that released poison gas. Skarmory paid them no mind as he was immuned to poison.
"Weezing wee," Weezing hacked as the last attack finnaly hit. Then, before Skarmory could pull back, Weezing lunged, using its whole body to slam into Skarmory once... twice. "We we," Weezing cried, glaring angrily but somehow with a rather dull expression on its face.
"Mark!" Skarmory spat, using its wings with to slam Weezing into the ground where it created a hole in the murky ground that was probably full of poisons as well. Shaun knew he would need to get some medicine to prevent any sort of contamination later.
Koga continued to smile that soft smile of his as he looked at his pokemon. "Smokescreen," he commanded.
"Weeee," Weezing said softly, its two heads quickly blowing out the black smoke. Both Skarmory and Shaun began to look around wildly, the small fear that Koga would use Self Destruct or Explosion on them from a safe distance. "Double Hit!" they heard in the distance.
"Skar! Skar!" Skarmory cried as it was hit in the back two times. Just as it turned around and swiped at the air, Weezing was gone. "Kaaar," Skarmory growled lowly.
Eyes shifting, Shaun began to smile as he realized what he could do. His mouth was already open, ready to boast that he could do something about this situation to Koga, but really, what would be the point of that? He would give himself away! "Skarmory, use Swift," he commanded softly, in no more than a whisper just as a sudden movement caught his eye in the mist. Eyes widening, Shaun could only gap as a knife was pressed against his throat.
"Maaary!" Skarmory cried, not having noticed, and already went with the attack. Sharp stars flying crazily all around, there was finally a scream of pain. Not lenting up, Skarmory continued with the attack until, at last, the Smokescreen had cleared, revealing a knocked out Weezing. "Sakr," Skarmory said with a nod before turning around, only to pause as it took in the sight of its trainer.
Shaun's eyes were the only thing that could be seen, but he knew they were narrowed in both anger and fear. One wrong move, and it would be he himself that cut himself with the blade so close to his neck, not Koga. Speaking of the poison master, he looked deep into the purple eyes of the ninja, waiting for him to say something.
Easily getting the hint, Koga allowed that small smiled to drop. "Yoy are an excellent battler, but I'm afraid that as you are the enemy in this war and that you have invaded in my home, I have no choice..."
"Sneasel!" cried the dark type with a shrill voice, his claws slamming down upon Koga.
Nails met knife, and there was a loud clang throughout the area. Shaun immediately jumped away, being sure to jump to the side of his Skarmory. Sneasel, the little psycho, pulled away as soon as it saw its trainer get to safety. "Sneass," Sneasel purred as it licked its claws, looking ready for another kill.
Koga regained that small smile and continued with what he was saying. "...no choice but to let you go."
Shaun blinked, not sure he had heard that right. He looked at Skarmory, only to see a confused look on the birds face. Sneasel was looking at him for more orders, looking ready to kill for him. "Why?" he demanded. "I was sent to kill you."
At this, Koga let out a bark of laughter, truly looking amused for the first time in a long while. "Yes, and you were prepared to go through with those orders, were you?"
Shaun hesitated. "I would have," he said softly, "if it were not you."
"Mm hm." Koga nodded. "It takes a good warrior to know when he is at a disadvantage." He gazed at Shaun. "You were sent to die."
Shaun bit his tongue in irriation. "I have killed others before you," he said irritably, not knowing why he needed to defend himself against this man. "But yes, I know... when I knew who you were."
"Then why do you serve your leader?" Koga asked. There was no accusation, just a simple question.
"For power," Shaun said simply, folding his arms and glaring at the man stubbornly.
Koga inclined his head. "A ninja's duty is always to serve his master," he said after a moment of silence. "It does not matter the order, you had best serve it. However, should there ever be a chance that the tool becomes stronger than the user, that is the time to turn away." Koga closed his eyes. "I should know, as I was once in Team Rocket."
Shaun really didn't know how to react to that. Team Rocket was before his time. Sure, he had heard rumors of them, but with the current threat, they were simply bad memories to those who could recall them.
"Be sure to gain power wisely," Koga said, voice authorative as he reopened his eyes and recalled his fallen Weezing. Slowly, he walked up to Shaun, who seemed frozen in place, but not from fear. Ever so slowly, Koga reached Shaun's bandana and stopped, the two of them gazing into each other's eyes for a moment, before Koga revealed Shaun's face for the first time. "So young," Koga murmered before stepping back. With a smirk, not that small smile, Koga's body vanished in a dark blur, but his voice remained. "You have tried to kill me." The voice rang with amusement. "But you failed, and I shall look forward to our rematch."
Shaun couldn't help but breath deeply, uncaring of the poisonious air. As soon as he gulped, his body tensed as a five star slammed right into the ground, a mere foot by hit his feet. Both Skarmory and Sneasel shifted uncomfortably, not liking that they hadn't sened the attack.
Picking up the ninja weapon, Shaun noticed there were two objects wrapped in a thin cord on the metal weapon. There, in the middle, was an old badge. Koga had been a gym leader, long ago, an had no need for badges anymore, but there one was now. He couldn't help it. Shaun just felt a sense of pride run through him as he held the badge. Turning to the next item, it appeared to be a curved metal thing. Shrugging, Shaun carefull put the items away in his bag. The five star and badge were indeed nice, and he knew they would never provide any sort of use to him, but they were nice trophies.
"Let's go," Shaun commanded as he started walking, Skarmory flying above and Sneasel walking by his side. For the first time, Shaun was grateful he had commanded Sneasel to hide while he enter the town and attack only when he saw the chance. If he hadn't, perhaps Koga may have killed him right there. Whatever the case, it didn't matter. He knew better now.