Shadows of Fear: Return of Cipher

[Morpher01]

Yo. I felt like doing a sequel to my very first fic EVER, Shadows of Fear.

Basically, this'll be a lot better than the first one. Hope at least SOME people like this.

I think I'm better at video game ratings than movie ratings, so I'd rate this.......E10, for ages 10 and up.


Prologue:




My name’s Skull. Skull the Shadow Marowak. You’ve probably heard of me.

If not, then I’ll fill you in.

Five years ago, I was a normal Marowak.

Five years ago, I was made what I am now by an organization of humans known as Team Cipher.

Five years ago, I led a rebellion consisting entirely of Shadow Pokemon.

Five years ago, I knocked my old human enslaver, a human named Eldes, into the sea surrounding a very deadly island along with one of his slaves, a Metagross.

Five years ago, I became famous for securing my freedom, and having a Lapras for an adopted sister.

Five years ago, I found a mate, named Bonette. Then, I had a son named Cubon. Bonette died after giving birth to little Cubon, and, despite a Marowak mother’s death after giving birth being part of nature, I grieved with all my heart.

Five years ago, I thought myself to be free from humankind, and their endless, relentless greed.

I thought wrong.

I heard news from a passing Pidgeotto that humans in armor were coming this way.

Humans I knew all too well.

Five years ago, I’d have just rushed in, beat the living crap outta them, then release their slaves. But now that I have a son, I couldn’t let him become a brainwashed, soulless slave.

I ran away, my son in tow. We ran through the mountains where we lived, through forests housing Grass Pokemon, around lakes containing Water Pokemon, and even through volcanic ash, just to escape the humans from Cipher.

But, no matter how much we ran, Cipher just wouldn’t give up. They wanted me and, possibly, my son, real bad, I could tell that. There was only one thing left to do…

…and that was fight.

I fought as hard as I could possibly can. But, despite my strong efforts, we were both captured. I saw Eldes’ face before we zonked out because of human devices called “tranquilizer darts”, and I knew that he had survived being knocked into the water by a Metagross’ collision.

Cubon was sent into the wild, deemed too weak to become a Shadow Pokemon. I desperately hoped that he would find a safe family to raise him, just as I did when I was a Cubone.

I remember glaring into Eldes’ face, hating him even more for every mocking word he said.

“Stupid Marowak,” I remembered him say “you’ve gotten weak, soft. But don’t worry, that doesn’t mean we don’t have a use for you...”

Damn...Just thinking about that human scumbag makes me wanna puke.

Anyway, the last thing I remember is being sent to a battling building called a “collosseum” in Pyrite Town, where I was to be given away as a prize to the human slave driver who would defeat the other slave drivers.

Despite my getting a bit more tolerant of humans over the years…

…their views of us being tools meant to be abused, sold and given away still make me sick.

I think the first round of the tournament is starting now. Let’s see if the one who wins is worthy of my respect…

…which I seriously doubt.

*******

Read, review and rate!

 

[The Great Butler]

Hey, I remember this! The original one I started reading but then I lost it among writing Enigma Shadow and reading lots of other fics. So I guess it ended with our hero Shadow Marowak thinking he killed Eldes.

This one is quite good, too. You've got a radically different take on Eldes, making him as evil as Ardos (if not more. I'd like to see Ardos in this fic at some point) Solid plot, good description. The only thing is it's a little short. Lengthen your chapters as you continue, and you'll shine.

 

[Morpher01]

The Great Butler: So, I take it you were one of the closet readers? You must have been. Anyway, thanks! Length was never one of my real strongsuits. I'll try to make Chapter 1, which will be posted in about a week, longer.

 

[Morpher01]

Well, here's Chapter 1. It was 10 pages on Microsoft Word.

Here it is.


Chapter 1:




I was in a cage. I hated cages. They suppress my freedom, and I hate having my freedom suppressed. The only thing I could tell through these stupid, silver bars was that I was in a building where the walls were as white as a Dewgong’s blubbery skin.

Apparantley, I was in some sort of Cipher base.

I saw several large, bulky Cipher minions guarding my cage. I guess they didn’t want me to escape again.

Looking around, I saw that my cage was separated from all the others. Huh. They REALLY don’t wanna take chances with me.

How did I know when the collosseum rounds were about to start? Simple. There was a large, flat television in the middle of the wall at the far end of the room. That TV displayed all the battles in the collosseum.

On the TV, I saw two humans commanding Pokemon slaves. One looked kinda between adolescence and adulthood, with spiky, grey hair, orange eyes, a blue trenchcoat that flowed around the backs of his black-panted knees, and a white streak across his face. There were also goggles similar to those of the Cipher Admin called Gorigan on top of his head.

The human with the blue trenchcoat was battling with a large, green cross between a dragon and a bug called a Flygon on one side of the field and a small, tan, humanoid dog with brown ears, a flat, tan hat and a red-tipped paintbrush for a tail on the other. I think the second one, the one that looks like a dog, is a Smeargle.

The other human was one I knew all too well. He had a blue disco suit, with high, yellow shoes covering his feet, and light blue glasses on his head. What was most noticeable about this human was his HUGE ball of hair called an afro. The afro had a Pokeball’s red-and-white coloration.

The second human was Miror B., who had tried to capture me and my adopted Lapras sister, Plesiosaur, five years ago. Apparantley, he survived having a Jumpluff smacked into his face. Well, they WERE pretty lightweight…

Anyway, Miror B. had a Pokemon that looked like…uh…some kinda Hawaiian fruit with a duck bill, green, webbed hands, a Mexican-style lily pad with a brown Hawaiian fruit on top, and short, stubby, green legs. There were two of these Ludicolo, and they were on both sides of Miror B.’s side of the field.

I saw the trenchcoat human tell his Flygon slave something. In response, the Flygon flapped its wings intensely. The Flygon’s wings beating caused a sandstorm to brew, blinding all the spectators, and recording cameras, for the next few turns.

“Oh, great.” said one of the bulky grunts in a deep voice. “Now we can’t see anything!”

“Uh, our job isn’t to watch TV, dude.” said the other grunt in an equally deep voice “Our job is to watch this Marowak.”

“Yeah, right, whatever.” said the first grunt, obviously not paying attention to anything that the second grunt said.

I sighed and looked at the sandstorm-clouded TV. Looks like I won’t be seeing much for the next few turns in that battle.


*****

About five turns after the Flygon first used Sandstorm, the storm finally cleared up, and I saw that the Smeargle was still on the field, along with the Flygon. Miror B.’s Pokemon, however, weren’t so lucky.

Both the Ludicolo were fainted, and all other Pokemon slaves that Miror B. owned were also fainted. The human in the trenchcoat had won.

“Hmmm…”I thought. “Looks like this human may be worthy of having me. But, I shouldn’t care about that. In my quest to find my son, I need to do it alone. All that a trainer will do is slow me down, and that’s something I can’t afford.”

I needed to escape. I needed to find my son as soon as possible. I needed to make sure that he won’t get killed out in the wild, all on his own.

I think I remember that my son inherited some of my Shadow Powers. He may be able to defend himself for a while, but if he gets found by a pack of Mightyena, he won’t be able to fight them all off.

I need to get out of here now!

I focused my Shadow Powers, my black aura growing larger. I charged at the bars holding me captive, and smacked into them, causing them to give a fraction.

“Whoa!” cried one of the bulky humans “The Marowak’s tryin’ to get out!”

“So what?” said the other one “We’ll pound it with our Pokemon, then stuff it back in.”

“All right…” said the first one, unsure of the other one’s plan.

I continued bombarding the cage with Shadow End attacks, until it finally broke away. I WAS FREE!!!!

“Now’s our chance!” cried the second grunt. “Go, Skarmory!”

“Go, Medicham!” cried the first one.

From the second grunt’s ball came a human-sized, metal bird with yellowed eyes, a pterodactyl head, a blade for a tail, and two metal feet with deadly-looking talons.

The first grunt’s first Pokemon was relatively humanlike, with pure white skin, a somewhat pink (ugh) outfit with yellow spots. Like all Medicham, this one had huge lips, but not as huge as a Jynx’s.

“Skarmory, use Swift!” cried the second grunt.

“Medicham, Hi Jump Kick!” cried the first one.

The Skarmory opened its metal beak, then fired off a continuous stream of energy stars. Swift never missed, so all the stars hit me square on.

The Medicham, on the other hand, leapt into the air, one knee raised. It then plummeted towards me, but I leapt out of the way, causing the Medicham to crash into the floor.

See, the problem with Hi Jump Kick is that, if it misses, damage is inflicted on the user. And, that’s what happened to the Medicham. When it came up after its little crash landing, it immediately started to feel the pain in its knee.

“My turn.” I said confidently.

I charged my black aura, then ran at the Medicham, my aura growing bigger with every step. My Shadow End attack smacked right into the Meditate Pokemon, sending it right back to its slave driver.

“Medicham, return!” said the grunt, sending out a red beam from his Pokeball that sucked the fainted Medicham back in. “Go, Golem!”

A huge beast that looked like a dog-faced human with a brown boulder for a torso emerged from the first grunt’s second Pokeball. It had claws on its hands and feet, making it look somewhat intimidating.

“Skarmory, Air Cutter!” cried the second grunt.

“Golem, Rollout!” cried the first grunt.

Skarmory flapped its armored wings, stirring up a powerful gust that blew me back a bit. The Golem sucked its head and limbs into its boulder, then started rolling at me.

Rollout was a Rock-type attack, and that gave me an idea.

See, Golems aren’t too bright. They often use strength rather than smarts to fight. That gave me the advantage.

I leapt over the Golem, causing it to smash into the wall. Then, I ran towards the Skarmory, the Golem following. I leapt onto the Skarmory’s back, then off again, evading the Golem. The Golem, however, smashed right into the Skarmory, and, since Rock is double effective against Steel AND Flying types, Skarmory was fainted with just about one hit.

“Skarmory, return!” cried the second grunt. “Go, Grumpig!”

A large, grey-and-purple pig-like creature with a very curly tail appeared from the second grunt’s second Pokeball. It was a pure Psychic type, which one really wouldn’t expect from a bulky peon.

“Grumpig, Psychic!” cried the second grunt.

Grumpig’s head glowed a rainbow-ish color, then it fired off a wide, and I mean WIDE, ray of rainbow color. Knowing that the Golem was still behind me, I ran towards my rocky “friend”, leapt over him, and let the Psychic attack harmlessly hit the Golem. It was fainted in one hit, seeing as special attacks like Psychic did more damage on Rock-types than physical attacks.

“Golem, return!” cried the first grunt. “Go, Xatu!”

A large, green bird with white, pink-tipped (again, ugh) wings, plus what appeared to be a sort of weird face-looking thing on the torso appeared from the first grunt’s third Pokeball. It, too, was a Psychic-type, except that Xatu also had a Flying-type half to them.

“Xatu, Aerial Ace!” cried the first grunt.

Xatu rushed towards me, its wings spread out wide. Fortunately, I knew how to avoid this attack.

I put my bone vertically on top of my head, then spun around like a tornado. The Xatu, despite being bigger, was reflected off by my Swords Dance attack.

I used another Shadow End attack, charging this time into the Grumpig. Since Shadow Attacks were super-effective against pure Pokemon, the Grumpig was fainted in one hit.

“Return, Grumpig.” said the second grunt, recalling Grumpig “Go, Metang!”

A blue UFO-looking creature with two clawed arms, red eyes, blades on its back but no legs appeared from the second grunt’s third ball. What the heck is the deal with bulky grunts and Psychic-types?!?!

Anyway, I ran at the Xatu now, striking it with another Shadow End. It, too, was recalled, but what replaced it was even stronger.

It was a brown, humanlike shape. It wore a blue toga-looking thing that I don’t know the name of, along with two blood-red boxing gloves. It also had blue, cloth shoes. I believe it was called a Hitmonchan, but its eyes blazed with dark energies.

Without a shadow of a doubt, this was a Shadow Pokemon.

Heh, heh, heh…”shadow” of a doubt….PUN!!

“Hitmonchan, Shadow Rush!” cried the first grunt.

“Metang, Metal Claw!” cried the second grunt.

The Hitmonchan charged its boxing gloves with Shadow Energy, then charged at me, ready to kill. The Metang followed, its right claw glowing a bright white.

I leapt to the left to dodge one punch from the Hitmonchan, then over it to avoid another, then to the right to avoid a slash from the Metang’s Metal Claw.

It was my turn. I concentrated, then managed to summon several rocks from the floor. I mentally threw the rocks towards the Metang and Hitmonchan.

While all the rocks made contact on Metang, causing it to faint, the Hitmonchan smashed all of the rocks in its direction to pieces with shadow-powered punches. The Shadow Pokemon of today must be stronger than they were before.

The Metang was recalled by the second grunt, and, finally, a FIGHTING type came out. It looked like a sumo wrestler, with blue legs, orange hands and feet, a yellow…skirt-looking thing, as well as two holes for ears, a blue headband on its head, and an orange…bellybutton-looking thing. It was a Hariyama, and I definitely had to stay away from those head-sized hands of theirs.

“Hariyama, Arm Thrust!” cried the second grunt.

“Hitmonchan, Shadow Rush again!” cried the first grunt.

The Hariyama charged at me, intent on serving its stupid human master. I dodged its open-handed punches four times, but was hit on the fifth one, and sent into the wall. Then, I was pounded repeatedly by shadow-powered punches, courtesy of the Shadow Hitmonchan.

It was my turn again. I charged at the Hariyama and hit it with a Shadow End. This did damage but, due to a Hariyama’s endurance, did not faint it.

“Hitmonchan, Shadow Rush again!” cried the first grunt.

The Hitmonchan charged at me with shadow-powered gloves again. Since I was in front of the Hariyama, I leapt out of the way, and let the dark punches from the Hitmonchan hit the Hariyama. THAT caused ol’ fatty to faint.

“Return, Hariyama!” said the second grunt. “Go, Hitmonlee!”

Another brown, humanoid shape emerged from the second grunt’s Pokeball but this time, the shape did not have clothes on. Instead, its legs seemed to be wrapped in sand-colored springs, its feet had claws, and it didn’t have boxing gloves. This one’s eyes also blazed with Shadow energies, as all Shadow Pokemon such as this Shadow Hitmonlee do.

“Hitmonlee, Shadow Rush!” cried the second grunt.

“Same with you, Hitmonchan!” the first grunt cried.

The Hitmonchan charged at me with shadow-powered gloves, followed by the Hitmonlee, its feet charged with Shadow Energy.

I leapt to the right to avoid a shadow-powered punch from the Hitmonchan, then I quickly dove to the left to dodge another punch. Then the Hitmonlee came in, sending out a shadowy kick that just barely missed my skull. The Hitmonlee aimed another shadow-powered kick at my stomach, and I rolled aside, just missing the kick as it smashed through the floor.

I looked up and found myself at the Hitmonchan’s feet. I looked into its eyes. They blazed with dark energies, sparks of which flew from them and fell onto the floor, making a singe wherever they made contact. This would make it even more intimidating to the pure Pokemon.

But not to a Shadow Pokemon like myself.

“Hitmonchan, use Shadow Down!”

The Hitmonchan’s eyes blazed with dark energies more than ever, sparks flying more intensely. Then, two black-and-purple beams fired from its eyes. The beams hit me square on, and I felt my defensive abilities weaken.

“Good, good!” said the first grunt joyfully “Now, use Shadow Break!”

The Hitmonchan’s black aura started to charge up big time. The Punching Pokemon then leapt into the air, its fists surrounded by dark energies. It then plummeted down, preparing to brings its shadow-powered fists to bear on my body.

I managed to roll out of the way again, narrowly avoiding the Shadow Break. The impact from the Hitmonchan’s attack smashed a big hole in the floor.

“Hitmonlee, Shadow Half now!” cried the second grunt.

The Shadow Hitmonlee’s aura began to burn more brightly than the Hitmonchan’s. It then sent several beams of darkness at me and Hitmonchan. I was hit, as was Hitmonchan, and we both lost half of our original health.

The Hitmonlee, however, also lost half its health. It then fell on one knee, resting. This was the aftereffect of Shadow Half: it was such a powerful move that the user had to rest after using it.

This was my chance to attack! Since Shadow attacks weren’t so effective against Shadow Pokemon, my best attack, Shadow End, was out. Instead, I had to attack using Rock Slide.

I concentrated on the earth beneath my feet, and managed to summon several large, brown stones. I threw half of them at Hitmonlee, and the other half went at Hitmonchan.

To my surprise, the Hitmonchan just punched through all of them! Every rock thrown at it, was merely shattered to pieces with one punch. These Shadow Pokemon were a lot stronger than I anticipated.

The Hitmonlee, however, wasn’t so lucky. Because it was resting, it couldn’t do anything to defend itself against the onslaught of rocks before it, and every single one of the rocks hit its mark.

The rocks wouldn’t hold the Hitmonlee for long, though. The Hitmonchan was still in good condition, and that was bad news for me.

“Hitmonchan, use Shadow Rush again!” cried the first grunt.

Hitmonchan came at me with dark energy-charged gloves again, intending on pounding me to bits.

I leapt to the left to dodge one dark-powered punch, to the right to avoid another. Then, I leapt right over the Hitmonchan to avoid a third punch.

“Hitmonlee, wake up!” cried the second grunt.

Hitmonlee, who was in a rock pile, obeyed by kicking a large group of rocks out from in front of it, then it leapt behind me.

“Excellent.” sneered the second grunt “Now, use Shadow Break!”

“You too, Hitmonchan!” cried the first grunt.

Hitmonchan was in front of me, while Hitmonlee was behind me. I just leapt to the left to avoid both attacks.

The two Shadow Breaks collided, sending both Pokemon reeling. They soon recovered, however, and then were after me again.

“Hitmonlee, Shadow Break again!” cried the second grunt.

“Hitmonchan, use Shadow Rush again!” cried the first grunt.

The Hitmonlee charged its feet with dark energies, then leapt into the air. It then aimed itself at me, and plummeted down like a meteor. I was struck head on, and sent about two feet into the floor. The Hitmonchan was on me in a flash, striking me five times with its shadow-energized fists. Although Shadow attacks were still not too effective against Shadow Pokemon like myself, the two attacks still hurt. Big time.

I was losing my strength. These two Shadow Fighting types were really tough. In my absence, Cipher must have made the Shadowing process even better than it was before, making it so that the Pokemon made into Shadows by it were much stronger…and much more evil.

The other Shadow Pokemon that were caged up were paralyzed with admiration and marvel at my courage. And if they weren’t, they were probably paralyzed by fear of the power of the Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan’s Shadow Power.

Apparantley, it must have been the earlier, because all the Shadows in the cages began to escape, one by one. They started attacking the Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee, along with the two grunts controlling them.

“Run, go!” cried a purple cobra with an eye pattern on its chest called an Arbok “We’ll take care of these creeps!”

They swarmed them, inspired by my courage and determination. At least I left an impression on them.

I took the Arbok’s advice and found an elevator in the right corner of the room. I ran into it, then pressed a button with two arrows pointing towards each other. The doors began to close. I sighed, thinking that this battle was over.

It wasn’t.

Two blood red boxing gloves grabbed the doors of the elevator just before they closed. The Shadow Hitmonchan that owned those gloves forced the doors open with ease.

“You aren’t going anywhere, Marowak!” the Hitmonchan said in a devilish, malevolent voice as it reached for me with one glove.

Suddenly, a blue blob with two grey tentacles, three shining red marks on its head, and two eyes called a Tentacool latched onto the Hitmonchan’s head. The Punching Pokemon was forced to let go of the doors and let them close so that it could rip the Tentacool off its head. The last sight I saw before the elevator went down was the Hitmonchan’s eyes widening at my escape.

I sighed as I looked forward, watching the elevator shaft pass me by through glass windows. I thought it was safe…

…but, again, it wasn’t.

Something shook the elevator. A boxing glove suddenly thrust through the small door at the top of the elevator. Another glove came through, then both gloves started ripping the top of the elevator open. I looked into the Shadow Hitmonchan’s sneering face.

“Great Ho-oh,” I said “don’t you ever give up?”

“You wish to save something that is of no value to you, fool” said the Hitmonchan in his dark voice as he dropped into the elevator.

“MY SON DOES MATTER TO ME!!” I cried, now angered by this annoying Hitmonchan. “I’LL MAKE YOU REGRET SAYING THAT!!”

“Oh, will you?” the Hitmonchan laughed “I am more powerful than you, as you could plainly tell above. What makes you think that you stand a chance against my might?”

“You’re only strong when you’re with your Hitmonlee pal.” I said “Alone, in a one-on-one match, you’re weaker than a Magikarp.”

“We’ll see who’s stronger than the other before you draw your next breath,” said the Hitmonchan “you annoying little lizard.”

“Me annoying?” I said “Look who’s talking, pesky-boy.”

“Pathetic fool.” said the Hitmonchan as he charged his gloves with dark energy, preparing an attack “From this point on, you will be destroyed once, and for all!”

The Hitmonchan launched a Shadow Rush, only for me to leap up, bounce off the Punching Pokemon’s back, and through the hole at the top of the elevator. The Hitmonchan did a backflip from inside the elevator, and was soon on top with me.

“You can’t run forever, pathetic lizard." said the Hitmonchan “I will crush you like the insigna…insigin…”

“Insignificant?” I asked.

“Yeah,” replied the Hitmonchan “that’s it. Anyway, I will crush you like the insignificant lizard that you are!”

The Hitmonchan launched another Shadow Rush, straight at me. I dodged to the left, and the Hitmonchan was sent flying into the wall. Then, for some reason, he just hung there!

“What?!" it cried “Oh, damn it. Nnnnnrrrrrgghh!"

As the elevator continued to descend, I saw that the force of the Shadow Rush attack had lodged the Hitmonchan’s boxing glove into the shaft wall. So much for him.

I leapt back into the elevator, and continued down to the ground floor. I sighed as I collapsed against the wall. With Shadow Pokemon as strong as the Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee combo, who knows what else awaited me in my quest?

But, still. If I was to find my son and make sure that he was safe…

…I needed to get rid of any obstacles in my way, no matter how tough they are.

I will find my son!

*******

Read, review and rate!

 

[The Great Butler]

Heh, the peons were rather entertaining. Are they perhaps Karbon and Petro, the peons who had Shadow Hitmonchan and Shadow Hitmonlee? Yeah, I have a good memory for useless facts like that.

This is really good. I didn't see any major errors. Good job so far.

 

[Morpher01]

The Great Butler: Yeah, they were Karbon and Petro. Glad you liked them.


Chapter 2 was a bit shorter than Chapter 1...it was a little over 7 pages.




Chapter 2:




As I exited the elevator, I ducked into a shadowy corner. If all the new Shadow Pokemon were as strong as the Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, I needed to be careful of Cipher Peons.

“Attention, attention!” cried a voice over a loudspeaker. “The Shadow Marowak has escaped! Repeat: the Shadow Marowak has escaped!”

Damn…so much for keeping a low profile.

I heard footsteps of Cipher Peons, heading in every direction. Three Cipher Peons in colored armor, one blue, one red, and one green, spotted me, then sent out three Shadow Pokemon to fight me.

The red one sent out a creature that’s….kinda hard to describe. Its back was blue with red spots, while its front was sand-colored and literally spotless. It was called a Quilava, and, like all Shadow Pokemon, it didn’t look friendly. Which was obvious, considering that its eyes blazed with dark purple energies that sent out dark sparks that singed the floor on contact.

The blue peon released a blue creature that was, simply put, a blue crocodile that stood on its hind legs. It had red fins on its back, a yellow bottom jaw, and a skin pattern on its front that made it look like it was wearing some kinda spotted yellow skin. I’d say it was a Shadow Croconaw, and it had the same eyes as the Quilava.

The last peon, the green one, sent out a four-legged creature with sorta bright yellow skin. It had a ring of leaves surrounding the base of its neck, as well as one large leaf on top of its head. A Bayleef, I’d say. A Shadow Bayleef, with eyes equal to the Shadow Quilava and Shadow Croconaw.

“Quilava, Shadow Rush!” cried the red peon

The Quilava charged its whole body with dark energies, then rushed at me, intending on repeatedly tackling me.

I leapt over the Quilava, letting it crash into the wall, temporarily knocked out.

“Croconaw, Shadow Rave!” cried the blue peon

The Croconaw’s foot became surrounded with a dark aura, then it stomped its shadow-powered foot onto the ground. This caused purple blasts of dark energy to erupt from the ground, heading towards me.

I wasn’t quick enough, and was blasted into the air by one blast. I hit the ground hard, but wasn’t hurt too bad. I would be, though, if I stayed around here any longer.

“Bayleef, use Shadow Rush!” cried the green peon

The Bayleef charged the leaf on the top of its head with a black aura, then charged at me.

I leapt to the left to avoid one swing from the leaf, to the right to avoid another, backwards to avoid a third swing, and finally, onto the Bayleef’s back, then off again to avoid a final swing.

”Quilava, wake up you lazy rodent!” cried the red peon.

That got the Quilava angry, causing its aura to turn from black to red. It had entered Reverse Mode, a state where all attacks are focused onto the source of the Shadow Pokemon’s anger. In this case, the source of the anger was the red Cipher Peon.

The Quilava began to attack the red peon with Shadow Rushes, over and over. I turned my head away and ran, hoping to get out before more peons came.

To do that, I had to do a repeat of when I escaped from Citadark Isle, five years ago: break through the wall using a Shadow End attack.

Which was what I did.

I busted right out through the wall, flying out into Pyrite Town. I landed on solid ground, then clutched my side in pain.

“Unnnngh…” I grunted.

This was a problem. Shadow End gives recoil. That recoil combined with the beating I took from the Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan and Croconaw had made me weak. Oh, well. At least there aren’t any trainers around he-

“Marowak? Is that you?” said a familiar voice.

…I hate it when I speak too soon, I really do.

I managed to muster enough energy to look up. I saw the face of the human named Ash who had enslaved me five years ago, except that he looked older by five years. He still wore the black shirt, blue jacket, light blue jeans and that all-too-familiar red cap with the green half-Pokeball symbol on it.

Next to Ash was the human called May. She still had the two prongs of brown hair that stuck out to the sides of her head, the red bandana, the red shirt, and the short black pants. She, too, looked older by about five years.

Next up, the human called Max. He still had his green shirt and black pants, plus the glasses. He seemed about as tall as Ash was five years ago. I guess he got his first slave three years ago and started to kidnap more.

Finally, the human named Brock. Once again, he was older by five years. He still had his spiky, black hair, Cyndaquil-like eyes, dark skin, a green jacket covering his brown shirt.

“Wow, it IS Marowak!” said May, surprised “I thought it would die out in the wild by itself!”

This offended me. Well, DUH! How the heck else are we supposed to reproduce, huh?!

“I don’t think it liked that, May.” said Max

“Well, whatever,” said Ash, impatient “let’s catch it! Pokeball, go!”

…not again.

The red-and-white orb was thrown at me, and it hit me. I was too weak, too tired to fight back. I did, however, manage to keep my free will. Despite this, however, I had been caught by Ash…

…again.

****

I was inside a Pokeball. Strangely, I was in a landscape similar to my mountain home. I saw a lake, a grassland, and…

“Woo-hoo!! YEAAH!!” cried a voice.

A large, grey, elephant with a black top rolled right by me, just barely missing my arm. I ignored it, and set out to explore this place.

In the grassland, I saw a large, green, lizard-like creature with a red bottom jaw, yellow eyes, a snake-like head, and several leaves on each side of its arms. This Sceptile was leaning against a tree. It caught sight of me, and said “Say…ya look kinda familiar, dude. I think I remember ya back from when I was a Treecko.”

“Hey…” I said, realizing who this Sceptile used to be “you were the Treecko that warned me and my adopted family of Lapras about a human.”

“YEAH!” the Sceptile said, pointing at me “That’s right! I think a few weeks after ‘dat, I got caught by Ash here. He ain’t so bad, once ya get used to ‘im.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it.” I said.

The Donphan that had rolled by me earlier rolled by again, this time nearly missing my tail.

“Eh, don’t mind Donnie,” said the Sceptile, sensing my anger “ya get used to his rollin’ after a while.”

“See last phrase.” I said.

I suddenly started glowing. I wasn’t alone. The Sceptile, Donnie, all of Ash’s slaves started glowing. There was even a glow in a lake of water near where I was standing.

“What’s goin’ on?!” I cried, confused

“Don’t worry,” said the Sceptile “we’re bein’ healed. Can’t ya feel your strength comin’ back?”

It was true. I felt my health return to me, my abilities restored. I was at full health and, evidently, so were all of Ash’s slaves.

A shape suddenly emerged from the water. It was a large, red, lobster-like creature, with a star on top of its head, two deadly claws, and several useless extra legs lining its front. It was a Crawdaunt, and this must be…

“Hey, weren’t you the Corphish that attacked me five years ago?” I asked

“Yup.” replied the Crawdaunt “Oh, and the name’s Daunter. The Sceptile over there is Leafar, and I’m pretty sure you’ve met Donnie already.”

“You mean the roll-happy Donphan?” I asked “Been there, done that.”

“Yeah, apparantley.” said Daunter “Anyway, if a Swellow divebombs you, don’t worry about it, it’s just Divebomb. He’s kinda territorial, but you get used to him after a while.”

“Again, see last phrase.” I said again.

Suddenly, I felt a sensation that seemed like I was being pulled from this place.

As it turns out, I was.

I wasn’t alone, however. Leafar was suddenly pulled out, too. We both suddenly found ourselves in the Pyrite Colosseum’s arena.

“Looks like Ash is sendin’ us out to battle!” said the Sceptile “Better get ready, this might get ugly!”

Another human stood across from us, wearing a long cloak of white clothing (which, I later learnt, was called a “lab coat”) and nerdy-looking glasses. His slaves of choice were a Magnemite, a metal ball with two magnets on its left and right sides with a loose screw (wonder if it's insane?) on top, and a Mareep, a blue-skinned sheep with yellow wool, two stubby horns and a striped tail with an orange ball on the end.

“Not too bad choices, Ash,” said the human “but I, Researcher Fulcrom, will triumph, as my calculations are infallible! Magnemite, use Supersonic to confuse the Sceptile! Mareep, use Tackle on the Marowak!”

“Sceptile, dodge and counter with Leaf Blade!” cried Ash “Marowak, use Swords Dance to block Mareep’s Tackle!”

“Is there any reason I should listen to him?” I asked Leafar “And don’t you get tired of being called “Sceptile” all the time?”

“Well, yea, I do kinda get tired of being called by my species name,” said Leafar as he leapt into the air to avoid Magnemite’s Supersonic “but, I get used to it. And, as for your second question, unless ya wanna be slammed headfirst by a sheep, I say ya should probably listen to him for a bit.”

Great. Just great. Looks like I STILL need to get the fact that I won’t listen to him through his thick, human skull…

Wait, who’s skull is thicker, mine or his? I have two skulls, so…ah, forget it!

THWACK!

“OWWWW!!!” Ash cried, hopping around on his left foot.

“What’d ya do that for, dude!” said Leafar

“I don’t take orders from humans, Leafar.” I replied “I suggest that you, being a human slave, get it through your head and his.”

“Y’know, Ash CAN understand us…” said Leafar

“…Wait, what!?” I replied, confused again.

“Pokeballs these days are specially modified.” Leafar explained “Whenever a Pokemon’s caught by one, the Pokeball translates its speech into a language that’s universal for humans.”

“Well, if you were caught five years ago,” I began “then how can Ash understand you?”

“Simple.” replied Leafar “He switched my Pokeball with another one.”

“Uh, I forfeit,” Ash began “’cause I need to discuss some things with my Marowak.”

*****

Once we were out of the stadium, Ash began annoying me with stupid questions.

“Why don’t you listen to me?” he asked first

“Because a trainer only slows me down in battle.” I replied “And that’s something that I can’t afford.”

“Well,” he began with the second one “if that’s the case, why do you wanna go through a battle fast? I thought Shadow Pokemon loved battle!”

“True…” I began “but, being a human, you can’t understand what I’m feeling right now.

“You see, a few weeks after I escaped your clutches,” I continued, sort of infuriating Ash “I met up with a female Marowak named Bonette. We mated, and had a kid named Cubon. Five years after that, Cipher found me, captured me, and sent my son out into the wild alone…I need to find him before he gets hurt or, worse, killed.”

“Whoa…can we help you?” Ash asked

“No,” I replied “because, as I told you, Mr. Ignorant, a human trainer will only slow me down. And, besides, I don’t trust you, or any other human trainers. I only trust fellow Pokemon, because I know that they don’t get distracted with visions of glory and power, along with beating innocent Pokemon up for no reason.”

I took the Pokeball that had held me prisoner off of Ash’s belt, then smashed it. I then turned and walked away, hoping to never see Ash again.

“Not all humans are like that!” Ash called after me “Just think about it! We’ll be in Phenac City if you need help!”

“I told you already, you ignorant dope,” I called back “I don’t trust humans, nor do I think that they’re of any help at all. I’m not going to Phenac unless I have to, and that’s final!”

******

Not all humans are like that…

Not all humans are like that…

Not all humans are like that…

What did it mean? What significance was that stupid phrase?

Not all humans are like that…

Not all humans are like that…

Those words still rang through my head like a gong after being bashed.

I shook my head violently. I shouldn’t think about stuff like that. That’s what the humans want me to think, and it will cause me to start trusting them...something I can’t do.

I needed to find someone, some Pokemon, that could help me…

The only problem was…who, and where was he or she?

I could venture into Kanto and call upon Graga, the Shadow Growlithe that aided me in my rebellion five years ago. He could pick up Cubon’s unique scent, and that could aid me greatly…the only problem being, he could pick up the scent of any number of Cubones, and only one of them was my son.

I could call upon Hypnotico, a Shadow Hypno that also aided me in the rebellion. He could detect presences, and even tell who people are just by reading their minds….yes, I’ll take him.

The only problem was, where does a Hypno live?

Guess I’ll just have to find out.

But, I’ll have to go through the regions Hoenn and Johto to get to Kanto, where I’m positive that Hypnotico is.

Better start now, before Cipher finds me again…

And if they do, then I’ll be doomed for sure…

…and I won’t be able to find Cubon…

…so I won’t be captured…

…I WILL FIND MY SON!!

******
Sorry if it’s too short.

Please read, review and rate!

 

[The Great Butler]

Very good, very good. Nice little cameo by Miror B.'s old peons Rosso, Bluno, and Verde. Expected the Hexagon Brothers at first, but maybe they'll appear later. Ash appearing was interesting too, we'll see if our hero Marowak will grow to trust him if he even meets them again.

 

[Morpher01]

The Great Butler: Yeah, that's what some people would think, until their Shadow Pokemon reveal themselves. [SPOIL]But, rest assured, as the Hexagon Brothers WILL appear in this fic. I find them amusing.[/SPOIL]

 

[Morpher01]

Sorry 'bout the lateness...life pressures caught up with me, and I couldn't have good thoughts for the third chapter, which is shorter than the others.

Anyway, here's the chapter. Enjoy!



Chapter 3:



Despite my being at full health, I needed to be discreet in order to get to wherever it was that Hypnotico lived.

Fortunately, I had a way.

Five years ago, I needed some way to get from Orre to Kanto without being detected. I, with some help from a few other Shadow Ground-types, dug out a tunnel leading to the entrance to Kanto. That tunnel was hidden under an awful lot of plants that had grown there over the years.

But, still, no problem.

I set out to find the tunnel when I suddenly heard a familiar voice.

“I sense what you are looking for.” the voice said “You are looking for me. Good to see you again after all these years, Skull.”

I turned and saw a yellow, humanoid creature with a white ring of fur around its neck, a cat-like head, and a white pendulum with a swirling pattern on it. It was Hypnotico the Hypno.

“Same with you, Hypnotico.” I replied “Listen, my…”

“Your son is missing, cast out into the wild by the humans of Cipher.” finished Hypnotico. “And you wish for me to assist you in seeking him out. And, before you ask, I did just read your mind. Again.”

I smirked and shook my head.

“Always good at that, aren’t you?” I said “Natural for Psychic-types like yourself.”

“Quite.” replied Hypnotico “Give me a moment……aaaaaaaah, I can feel the minds of the Cipher soldiers. I can feel their thoughts. My mind-reading powers have no limits, so I can detect mind readings from…”

“Just give me the damn info already!” I said, impatient.

“Very well.” said Hypnotico “I can tell you aren’t such a big fan of poetry as I am. Anyway, let’s see…….they have retrieved your son from the wild, and have taken him to a facility in the dead center of Orre. There, they will attempt to make him a soulless slave, just like all the other Pokemon that they’ve enslaved.”

“Can you take me to them?” I asked, feeling a little better that I had a lead.

“Unfortunately, no.” replied Hypnotico “I do not know Teleport, so I cannot take you there. I can, however, propel you close to it utilizing a Shadow Storm attack.”

“Good enough.” I said. “Send me there.”

Hypnotico’s pendulum was suddenly charged with dark energies. Then, he put the pendulum so that it pointed just underneath my tail. A blast of purple wind suddenly shot from the pendulum, taking me with it.

I was bound for the facility, where my son was located.


******


I landed after some time in a desert surrounding a grey, metallic building with two doors, one of which then opened. Six Cipher Peons marched out, each one a different color. One was red, the second was blue, the third was yellow, the fourth was green, the fifth one was brown, and the last one was purple.

“Hexagon Brothers, count off!” ordered the red peon.

“One!” cried the green one

“Two!” cried the purple one

“Three!” yelled the yellow one

“Four!” yelled the brown one

“Five!” cried the blue one

“Uh, wait,” said the red peon “that’s five of us. I think we lost count.”

“Or,” the blue peon said “one of us is a spy!”

I failed to stifle a snicker. They were so unbelievably stupid!

“Hey, look!” cried the yellow peon “It’s the Marowak!”

….crap.

“Go, Slugma!” cried the red peon

A very unpleasant-looking creature first appeared from the red peon’s ball. It had yellow eyes, flaming eyebrows, and red bubbles that popped all over its skin. It wasn’t a Shadow Pokemon, though.

“Go, Spheal!” cried the blue peon

A ball-shaped creature with a blue back and a tan front appeared from the blue peon’s ball. It had eyes that, again, blazed with shadow energies. One could just barely see the fins on its front, but could clearly see the tail fin on its back. It was yet another Shadow Pokemon.

“Go, Hoothoot!” cried the brown peon

A small, owl creature with red eyes, small wings, a brown back, a sand-colored front, and taloned feet appeared from the brown peon’s ball.

“Go, Electrike!” cried the yellow peon

A green, dog-like creature emerged from the yellow peon’s first ball. It had yellow streaks running across its long head, extending all the way to the points back there.

“Go, Grimer!” cried the purple peon

A large, purple blob emerged from the purple peon’s first Pokeball. It’s eyes were white, it had no legs, and its hands were sticky with goo.

“Go, Pineco!” cried the green peon

A large, green pinecone with two eyes appeared from the green peon’s ball. It had a spike on top of its head.

“Slugma, use Ember!” cried the red peon

“Spheal, use Shadow Wave!” ordered the blue peon

“Hoothoot, use Hypnosis!” cried the brown peon

“Electrike, use Bite!” cried the yellow peon

“Grimer, help out Slugma with Ember, then use Sludge on Marowak!” ordered the purple peon

“Pineco, use Rapid Spin!” ordered the green peon

All at once, the attacks were launched. Grimer picked up Slugma, then started spinning it, causing Slugma to fire off lots of fiery darts in all different directions. The Shadow Spheal started smacking its tail on the ground, sending out several purple colored shockwaves.

I jumped to the left to avoid the Shadow Wave, but the fiery darts of Ember damaged me some. Suddenly, I caught sight of the Pineco flying towards me, spinning like crazy. It tackled me, sending me into perfect range for the Grimer’s Sludge. A large river of brown sludge shot from Grimer’s mouth, and struck me, making me fall to the ground.

The Hoothoot was suddenly on top of me, its eyes firing slow-moving waves of psychic energy towards my eyes. I turned my head away, my eyes closed, leaving me suddenly woozy and confused.

I suddenly felt sharp teeth bite into my arm, and pain shot straight through. I managed to see the Electrike biting my arm, then it backed off.

I got up, and pain still coursed through my arm. I felt woozy…..

….ugh……I think I…..

…..fainted….

******

“Greetings, Marowak.” said a male voice. “It appears that the Hexagon Brother’s training has paid off, fortunately.”

I slowly opened my eyes and saw an adult male human in a long, white lab coat with blue streaks running around it. His hair was black, with a long, zigzagging strand coming from the front. Glasses adorned his eyes, making this human look like a real scientist….wait, do human scientists usually wear glasses?

“My name is Ein, and it is the last name you shall remember.” said the human. “Do not despair: you shall continue to live, but you will be under the proper care of your owner, Eldes. Shisto, Enushi! Would you so kindly bring the mind control device here?”

A large, silver laser gun on wheels with three bronze rings surrounding the nozzle was brought over by two researchers. They bowed to Ein, then walked off.

“Me and my partner at this facility, Lovrina, pulled a few strings with the pathetic Team Rocket from Kanto in order to get this ray gun.” explained Ein “That rogue Shadow Poliwrath you had with you five years ago may seemed to have killed Lovrina, Snattle and Gorigan, but it was only a very sophisticated robot made by our top researchers. Snattle and Gorigan are also alive and well, making your pathetic efforts to resist us useless. ”

“Now, we shall do to you what we have done to all the other Shadow Pokemon.” Ein continued “This device will erase and replace your memories, returning you to your proper state as a slave. It will also make your eyes blaze with dark shadow energies, as I’m sure Karbon and Petro have shown you with their Shadow Hitmonlee and Shadow Hitmonchan.”

I struggled to move, but I was strapped to some sort of operating table.

“Oh, and now that you’ve reminded me with your futile attempts at escaping,” Ein said “your bonds are made to withstand the force of a Tauros charging. Therefore, they can withstand the force of your Shadow End. Hochin, turn on the ray and aim it at Marowak!”

Hochin, another researcher, pointed the ray at me, then flicked a light switch on the side. A third of the first ring began to glow, meaning that the ray was charging up, and I had to get out.

I needed to go into Reverse Mode. To do that, I had to get angry.

Well, I was pretty ticked off right now, let me tell you…

“No!” Ein cried “You can’t escape! We have prepared too much for this, this cannot…”

I broke out, and ran away.

“Stop it!” cried Ein “Stop it now! Incapacitate it, but do not, and I repeat, do NOT, kill it. Eldes will be most displeased if it is destroyed.”

I kept running like a Tauros on a charge. I saw an elevator. If I got there, I’d be home free.

What happened next is divided into two kinds of news: good news, and bad news.

The good news was, the elevator came down in time for me to reach it.

The bad news was, someone was already inside it. Someone supposed to have died at the gloved hands of Hydropunch, a Shadow Poliwrath that helped me fire up the rebellion.

That someone, I assumed, was Lovrina.

“Like, hey there Marowak!” the human I assumed to be Lovrina said “Guess Ein, like, couldn’t handle you.”

The human seemed to be an adult female, although she behaved like an adolescent. She wore white clothes that stretched down to her knees. She had white boots, and white gloves. Her purple hair came in two tentacle-like appendages that stretched from the sides of her head.

“I so know what you’re thinking.” said the human, waving her right index finger back and forth like a Clefairy about to use Metronome. “You’re thinking that you can just, like, run outta here without our, like, totally important permission. Well, you’re, like, gonna have to get through me before you can reach the oh-so-dirty outside of the Lab.”

Great Ho-oh…..someone sound the valley girl alert!

“I, like, am gonna have to stop you.” said Lovrina “I thought you came here to, like, find your son?”

I slapped my head with my bone. Damn, how could I have forgotten…?

“It, like, so doesn’t matter now.” Lovrina continued “He’s, like, gonna be a true Pokemon slave in a few moments at….hey, like, where are you going? I’m, like, so not done telling you to get back here!”

I just ran, ran, ran, ran, ran. Like a little Spoink. All the way to the right, Shadow Ending through a door, and into an elevator. I went down, hoping to find my son…

…before it’s too late.

******

When I descended down further into the Lab, I saw a little Cubone with a partially black aura strapped to an operating table that was being hovered over by several researchers.

I found my son!

I hit the door with a Shadow End, startling all the researchers. They all ran away, not wanting to fight me.

“Daddy!” screamed little Cubon as I came over, broke his bonds, and held him.

It was a really mushy moment, really: me hugging my son. But, we had to leave the Lab as fast as possible.

We went into the elevator, went up, pushed past Lovrina (Cubon jumped on her head and pulled her hair tentacles) and went into ANOTHER elevator, then we went through the main door, managed to get past all the Hexagon Brothers, and we were finally free.

The only problem was, where would we go now?

Kanto was out, that was the first place that Cipher would look. That was my natural home. I needed to go somewhere else….

Hoenn was out, too, since Cipher would look there, too.

By the process of elimination, that leaves Johto.

“C’mon, Cubon,” I said to my son “we’re taking a trip to the region called Johto.”

“Yay!” the little fella cried “We’re going to Johto!”

And so, we set off, looking for Johto. We needed to escape the humans of Cipher…

…or die trying, which I actually hope doesn’t happen to little Cubon.

******

Read, review and rate!

 

[The Great Butler]

Wow, very dramatic and exciting. Love the Hexagon Brothers, they're pricelessly dumb as always. Ein + Lovrina's a new one, I've always paired him with Venus and Lovrina with Snattle........

Hah. Anyway, keep up the good work.

 

[Firedance k'Treva]

Is Wes or the XD hero in this at all? Just wondering. It is good so keep writing

 

[Morpher01]

The Great Butler: Thanks! The Hexagon Brothers were hilarious in XD, so I put them here.

Firedance k'Treva: Well...

Spoiler: Wes

Wes was the guy in the blue trenchcoat fighting Miror B. in the Pyrite Colosseum in an earlier chapter, so he made a cameo. As for Michael, the XD hero, since Skull killed him in the last Shadows of Fear, he won't appear.

Does this answer your question?


Next chapter will be up sometime, seeing as I'm a little brain-dry right now.

 

[Sike Saner]

Already, this is a step up from the original, with better pacing and better action. (I really like the battle with the Shadow Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee.) Some of Skull's thoughts/lines are just priceless.

Nice to see Miror B. make a cameo there...AND SNATTLE LIVES! =D Which reminds me: I SO WANT one of those Snattle-bots. He will wear an apron and do chores around the house. :3

Highlights and random things that amused or otherwise entertained me:

The first grunt’s first Pokemon was relatively humanlike, with pure white skin, a somewhat pink (ugh) outfit with yellow spots.

A large, green bird with white, pink-tipped (again, ugh) wings

Lol at his thoughts on the color pink.

What the heck is the deal with bulky grunts and Psychic-types?!?!

XD Why does that line make me laugh?

Heh, heh, heh…”shadow” of a doubt….PUN!!

It was a Hariyama, and I definitely had to stay away from those head-sized hands of theirs.

Hariyama do have freaky hands… o.o

Since I was in front of the Hariyama, I leapt out of the way, and let the dark punches from the Hitmonchan hit the Hariyama. THAT caused ol’ fatty to faint.

…“ol’ fatty”. XD

“You can’t run forever, pathetic lizard." said the Hitmonchan “I will crush you like the insigna…insigin…”

“Insignificant?” I asked.

“Yeah,” replied the Hitmonchan “that’s it. Anyway, I will crush you like the insignificant lizard that you are!”

Oh, well. At least there aren’t any trainers around he-

“Marowak? Is that you?” said a familiar voice.

…I hate it when I speak too soon, I really do.

I saw a lake, a grassland, and…

“Woo-hoo!! YEAAH!!” cried a voice.

A large, grey, elephant with a black top rolled right by me, just barely missing my arm. I ignored it, and set out to explore this place.

XD at that Donphan.

His slaves of choice were a Magnemite, a metal ball with two magnets on its left and right sides with a loose screw (wonder if it's insane?) on top

The loose screw joke caught me off guard. XD

Once we were out of the stadium, Ash began annoying me with stupid questions.

Another line that I just like for some strange reason.

“You’re thinking that you can just, like, run outta here without our, like, totally important permission. Well, you’re, like, gonna have to get through me before you can reach the oh-so-dirty outside of the Lab.”

Great Ho-oh…..someone sound the valley girl alert!

XD Yeah, I hear that…Lovrina has a cool character design, but then she has to go and open her mouth…

pushed past Lovrina (Cubon jumped on her head and pulled her hair tentacles)

Hair tentacles… XD

 

[Morpher01]

Sike Saner: Heh, knew you'd like the lines. I got the idea for the loose screw joke by watching the movie "Batman VS Dracula". It was good, awesome. One guy said that Joker had a screw loose. Since Magnemite/Magneton have a loose screw somewhere, I thought I'd put that in.

Anyway, here's chapter 4! Enjoy!



Chapter 4:



After smashing our way through the Lab, me and Cubon started trail blazing….or, if you prefer, forest blazing.

Which, ironically, was what was happening to the forest we were treading through. Apparantley, the red peon from Pyrite had taken a big squad of peons equipped with Fire-type Shadow Pokemon. They planned to burn the entire forest down in their search for me and Cubon.

How do I know this, you ask? You can thank a peon that bragged to himself for no apparent reason other than to raise his already high self-esteem.

Anyway, I kept on a runnin’ (why’d I just say that?) with Cubon through the forest, occasionally dodging blasts of fire from Shadow Pokemon.

Suddenly, a yellow unicorn with a mane and tail made of fire leapt out in front of us. Black hooves ended the four legs coming from the torso. Once again, this Shadow Pokemon had eyes that blaze with dark energies.

“Ah, good, Rapidash, you found them! Now, weaken them with Shadow Down!” cried a peon that came from the same place that the Rapidash did.

The Rapidash’s eyes blazed more than ever, firing two narrow, purple beams that were very close together.

I grabbed Cubon and leapt to the right, causing the beams to hit and thinned the trunk of a nearby tree.

“Curse it!” cried the peon “Rapidash, attack using Shadow Rave!”

The Rapidash’s hooves began to emit a dark aura. It raised the hooves, then smashed them into the ground, sending out purple blasts that erupted from the ground in sequence, heading towards me and Cubon.

We dodged again, the Rave missing and, to my surprise, sent perfectly healthy trees right up into the air. That carnage would no doubt attract the attention of other peons. The trees crashed back onto the ground, laying on one side, roots going every which-way at the end.

“Rapidash, attack again,” ordered the peon “this time using Flamethrower!”

The Rapidash opened its mouth, reared its head back, then spit a stream of fire that was headed straight for me and Cubon.

Rather than hitting us, the Flamethrower hit the weakened tree trunk. The flames completely disintegrated the weakened part, causing the tree to have a gap in the middle, which caused the rest of the towering tree to fall. I knew that there was only one thing to do…

“TIMBER!!” I yelled

“What the damn…?!” the peon managed to get out before being crushed by the tree along with the Rapidash.

“Well, that’s it for…” I began, before a devastating blast of fire from where the Rapidash was crushed caught me off guard and stopped me in mid-sentence. Apparantley, the Rapidash had gone into Reverse Mode, causing it to get a major power boost. Reverse Mode is triggered by anger, and the Shadow Pokemon currently in Reverse Mode will attack only the thing that made it angry.

“You…will….die!” said the Rapidash, whose anger was apparantley directed at me and Cubon.

“Riiiight,” I said “hold on, lemme get my will…oh wait, that’s not right, I’m not gonna die. Now, who else would need a will….ah yes, y…”

Due to being blasted through a tree by another Flamethrower from the Rapidash, I couldn’t finish the wisecrack.

“Owww….” I groaned “man, what do ya eat in the morning?”

“Pokemon food,” replied the Rapidash “why?”

“’Cause your breath stinks! Whew!” I said, waving my hand in front of my face.

“THAT’S IT!” The Rapidash yelled, its now red aura expanding rapidly. It began charging another Shadow Rave, intent on the destruction of me and my son.

“Hang on, Cubon,” I said to my son “this is gonna be a bumpy ride!”

I leapt away with Cubon in my arms, just in time to avoid a very destructive Shadow Rave (and, by “very destructive” I mean the taking-out-five-or-more-trees-in-one-go kind). As soon as we were away from the Rapidash, we wound up face-to-face…..

…..with another Shadow Pokemon.

This one was human-sized, with a yellow lower body and a red upper body. The creature had a partially red head, with a yellow duck bill for a mouth and two flames sprouting out of its head. Its tail was long and mostly yellow, with a red end that also sprouted a flame.

This one was a Magmar, and it was yet another Shadow Pokemon.

“Ah, there they are!” said the peon that had the Magmar “Magmar, use Shadow Rush!”

The Magmar charged its clawed hands with dark energies, then charged at me and Cubon. It began slashing, leaving a trail of shadow energies wherever it slashed.

I grabbed Cubon and jumped to the left, evading the first slash. The other claw came around for another attack, this time dodged by leaping to the right. Swipe number three came, only to be dodged once again. I jumped off of the Magmar’s back, and behind it.

YEOW! As soon as I touched the Magmar’s back, my feet got burnt! Must be the Flame Body ability that Magmars usually have.

“Magmar, Cross Chop!” ordered the peon

The Magmar turned around, its arms crossed and glowing white. It leapt at us and, rather than using Cross Chop on us, smashed a rock into four pieces.

“Use Shadow Crush!” the peon ordered

The Magmar’s tail glowed with a black color, then it leapt at us, intent on using its tail to smash us into the ground.

Still holding Cubon, I dodged, and watched the Shadow Crush smash a hole in a tree.

“That’s new.” I said

“Our masters at the factory gave some of us the move Shadow Crush.” said the Magmar “Pure Pokemon may know it as a shadow version of Iron Tail.”

“Magmar, now use Shadow Rush again!” cried the peon

Growling, the Magmar rushed at us with the familiar dark energy surrounding its claws. I grabbed Cubon again and back-flipped, dodging the first swipe from the right claw. Leaping up, we dodged the second swipe, this one from the left claw. I leapt in the backwards direction, taking Cubon with me, avoiding a rock-smashing third swipe downward from the Magmar’s right claw.

“I heard somethin’ over here, it’s this way!” said a voice unlike a human’s.

Two black shapes came into view. One was the Shadow Houndour I had fought at the Shadow Pokemon Lab, the other was a Houndour’s evolved form, Houndoom.

Houndoom were bigger than Houndours. They had rib-like bones on their backs, a skull pendant circling their necks, and two silver, goat-like horns. The red mouths and black skin remained the same.

“Houndoom, Shadow Rush!” cried a peon’s voice

“Houndour, Shadow Blitz!” came the red Hexagon Brother’s voice.

The Houndoom leapt at us, jaws open wide and drooling dark energies. Its teeth were shadow-charged, and ready to bite. The Houndour, on the other hand, fired three balls of shadow energy; one from its mouth and one from each of its two eyes.

The dark balls from the Houndour flew at us, ricocheting off trees and rocks. The Houndoom leapt for a Shadow Rush, only to have a twig stuffed between the upper and lower jaw. The twig was vertical, preventing the Houndoom from chomping.

The Shadow Blitz from the Houndour was still coming, though. I leapt behind the Houndour, still holding Cubon, and the three balls came in close…

…and hit the Houndour. Even though Shadow Pokemon aren’t that well affected by their own attacks, it was still hit. It was damaged, but not by much.

Good enough for me.

I ran away from the Houndour and was suddenly confronted with something unpleasant, even by human standards.

It was a human female. This was no ordinary female, however. She had blue hair, purple lips, a bright purple torso and darker purple shoulder pads. Blue gloves and shoes were on her hands and feet.

You might ask: what’s so unpleasant? Simple.

She’s super bulky.

“’Bout time I found you two.” said the woman in a deep, unattractive voice “Time to bring you in. Come out, my all-powerful Shadow Pokemon!”

The woman threw a Pokeball onto the ground. It opened, and out came a bright white light. The light took on the form (drumroll, please)……………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………of a Poochyena. Grey fur, black face and paws, yellow eyes and all.

“You’ve gotta be kidding.” I said, literally looking down on the Poochyena “They made this little thing into a Shadow Pokemon? Please.”

I leapt right over it, and past the bulky woman (ugh), and out of the forest.

WE MADE IT!!!

We kept going until we were out of Orre…

“Whew…” I sighed “I’m tired. How about you, little fella?”

“…”

“Cubon?”

“…DO IT AGAAAAAAAIN!!”

I laughed. Then, I picked Cubon up onto my shoulders and carried him as we set off for Johto…

…again.

******

Please read, review and rate!

 

[The Great Butler]

Burning the forest down? Seems like something Cipher would do. I loved the way you described Rapidash (a yellow unicorn) That, and the super-bulky woman with her Shadow Poochyena, and Skull's reaction to it, was very funny!

 

[Morpher01]

The Great Butler: Yeah, that'd be something that Cipher would do. Rapidash's description was my take on it: a horse with a horn is a unicorn, in my opinion. I thought of the part with the Poochyena and what Skull's reaction was and put it in. Glad you liked it!

 

[Sike Saner]

Anyway, I kept on a runnin’ (why’d I just say that?)

XD The things that run through that Marowak’s mind…

“You…will….die!” said the Rapidash, whose anger was apparantley directed at me and Cubon.

“Riiiight,” I said “hold on, lemme get my will…oh wait, that’s not right, I’m not gonna die. Now, who else would need a will….ah yes, y…”

Due to being blasted through a tree by another Flamethrower from the Rapidash, I couldn’t finish the wisecrack.

Yeah, there’s a time for wisecracking, and when you’re about to be roasted like a turkey is generally not one of them. XDDDD

The woman threw a Pokeball onto the ground. It opened, and out came a bright white light. The light took on the form (drumroll, please)……………………………………………

Again, the things that run through Skull's mind are just entertaining as frell. XD



The appearance of Magmar made me smile. Magmar is one of my old favorites, after all. ^^

 

[Morpher01]

Sike Saner: Yes, the things that run through Skull's mind XD. Plus...I didn't know Magmar was one of your old favorites! Lucky me!

Next chapter will be up in about a week. And now, onto my Star Wars/Pokemon crossover!

 

[Morpher01]

Iiiiiiit's time for the fifth chapter!





Chapter 5:




After a few more hours, we found a sign saying “welcome to Johto: the second region!”

Finally! Now we just needed to find someplace where we wouldn’t be found.

After searching for a few more hours (sheesh), we found a nice, rock cliff face. We sat there and prepared to spend the night.

*****

A few hours into the night, I heard a wailing cry. I leapt to my feet and prepared to battle, but it was just Cubon crying. I looked around us to find what would cause it. Then it hit me: the moon.

A full moon was out tonight. Cubones usually cry at the full moon, because it reminds them of their mother. I felt like it, too.

I put a hand on Cubon’s shoulder.

“I know how you feel, little fella.” I said to him “I miss mommy, too. The moon is beautiful…just like she was.”

Tears began welling up in my eyes, which I shut immediately. Marowak like myself were tough, strong. We normally don’t let ourselves cry over a loss…..but I could hardly help it……Bonette was beautiful…..nice….everything you’d want in a female. Then after giving birth, she died.

I joined Cubon in the crying fest. Afterward, I felt a little better. It feels good to let it out…

…so that one can remember what’s important, in their lives….

….and out.

We went back to sleep to spend the rest of the night.

******

“Is the crystal ready?”

“Yes. Soon, that beast will belong to Team Rocket!”

I awoke with a start at the sound of voices. The first was the deep, gruff voice of a man, the other was a woman’s voice.

Team Rocket….I remember seeing a pair of members named Jessie and James abduct me when I was only newly evolved. These must be two different members.

“Here comes the beast now,” said the woman “Attila, fire up the crystal!”

I crawled to the edge of the cliff to see something I really didn’t want to see.

A large, black machine with a pair of legs sprouting from its butt that curved backward to balance the whole thing was being piloted by a man with yellow hair and a grey jacket with a pink “R” on it. At another part of the cliff, a woman with silver hair was standing near a sort of outpost-like place, wearing a jacket similar to that of the man.

Suddenly, I saw the beast they were after….

Oh, great Ho-oh……it was Raikou!

The ruler of all of Johto’s electric Pokemon’s presence was announced with a dangerous pillar of lightning. A second later, a yellow blur shot out from a nearby forest, roaring.

The blur stopped, and I saw Raikou for the first time.

It was a large, yellow tiger. It had black lightning bolt-shaped stripes, a dark grey cloud on its back, yellowing claws, a blue tail shaped like another lightning bolt, and a white face. The face had black armor that was mounted above the red eyes. A pair of yellowing fangs came from the top of the Raikou’s mouth.

Raikou roared, then fired off a HUGE bolt of lightning at a purple crystal within a device. The bolt redirected, however, and headed towards me instead. I just stood there. I’m a Ground-type, meaning that electricity doesn’t affect me.

The bolt hit, and I wasn’t effected in the slightest. The only problem, however, was that the two Rocket humans had noticed.

“A Marowak?” said the man named Attila “Must be that famous Shadow Marowak.”

“Either way,” said the woman “its Lightningrod ability is giving us trouble. Let’s get rid of it.”

The woman took out a Pokeball and threw it, revealing a HUGE, metallic viper with spikes sticking out of certain body sections.

It was a Steelix.

“Right, Hun.” said Attila “Go, Skarmory!”

Attila also threw a Pokeball, this one revealing another Skarmory.

“Skarmory, Steel Wing!” cried Attila

“Steelix, Iron Tail!” cried Hun

The Skarmory came flying towards me and Cubon with glowing wings, while the Steelix came towards us with a glowing lower third, tail included.

I grabbed Cubon and leapt on top of the Skarmory when it came close.

“Hi there.” I said to it

“Get off of me!” it replied

The Steelix, being incredibly stupid, swung its glowing section towards us, only to smack the Skarmory into the ground and miss us completely.

“That’s certainly the famous Marowak that Jessie and James brought the boss.” said Hun.

“I am most pleased that you found Marowak, Rocket.” came the voice of Ein “We will now take it, and Raikou.”

Ein came through the forest, followed by a group of peons.

“Who the heck are you?” Attila demanded

“I am Admin Ein of Team Cipher,” introduced Ein “and that Raikou is ours.”

“Not a chance, Ein!” said Attila “We found it first, find your own!”

“Ah, but that’s just it.” said Ein “There are not many other Raikou, and the one that you two imbeciles found will make a most excellent Shadow Pokemon. Now hand it, and the Marowak, over.”

“Ya can take the Marowak,” said Attila “but like we said before, Raikou’s ours!”

“Very well then.” said Ein “In that case, we will take the both of them by force. Peons, attack! Go, Starmie!”

Ein threw a Pokeball that revealed a purple star with a red jewel in the center.

One of the peons sent out a black bird with a head shaped like a witch’s hat. Its tail was shaped like a broomstick’s tail. It was a Shadow Murkrow, judging by the eyes.

Another peon sent out a tan creature with a green top and a rabbit’s head. Its eyes blazed a purple color. It was a Shadow Numel.

Other peons sent out pure and Shadow Pokemon.

“Better get your raincoats,” said Attila “and your galoshes, too! Go, Muk!”

Attila sent out a big, purple blob with eyes and hands, plus a mouth. It smelled REALLY bad. Whew!

Ein made the first move.

“Starmie, Psychic on that Muk!”

Ein’s Starmie glowed blue as an aura of the same color surrounded Muk. The Muk was then psychically slammed into the cliff, shaking it up a bit. I stumbled, still holding Cubon.

“Surrender, Marowak!” cried a voice from behind me.

I turned around and saw the peon with the Shadow Murkrow standing behind me.

Knowing that humans couldn’t understand Pokemon dialect, I just shook my head from side to side, universal language for the word “no”.

“Then prepare to suffer! Murkrow, Shadow Hold!”

Murkrow opened its yellow beak, revealing a ball of purple energies. It shot that ball at me and Cubon, but I ran off to dodge it.

“Shadow Rush now!”

The Murkrow charged at me, its whole body charged with Shadow energies. I leapt to the right to dodge and hit the Murkrow on its side with my bone, sending it down the cliff face….

….right into the Muk’s stunned body.

“Ew.” I said “Not a pleasant way to go….in more ways than one.”

I ran off, still holding Cubon, and skidded down the cliff face. The awe at seeing a Raikou was over, and so was this “take-free-Pokeball-shots-at-the-Shadow-Marowak-game”.

*****

After getting away from the peons of Cipher, and the pair of Rocket grunts, We decided to rest in the forest. Then Ein came after us, and now I could get revenge on this brainiac.

“Go, Crobat and Rhydon!” he cried, throwing two Pokeballs.

Out of one came a purple bat with yellow eyes, an egg-shaped body (sort of), three flat teeth, and four wings. It had pretty small feet, so resting was limited for a Crobat.

The other was a big, grey rhino with a drill for a horn, a tan stomach, and claws. It had a tail with spines running down it.

“Crobat, use Bite!”

The Crobat opened its mouth, revealing its three flat bottom teeth. It lunged at me, but it was easy to dodge, due to Crobats having very small mouths.

I dodged the Bite by leaping right over the Crobat, Cubon in my arms. I set the little fella down in well crowded trees, and told him to stay there, and not to get near the human.

I went back out to confront the Crobat and the Rhydon. Deciding to go for the Rhydon first, I charged up a Shadow End and rushed at it, but Ein shouted

“Rhydon, Protect!”

Rhydon crossed its arms, then its body was surrounded by a yellow field of energy that I bounced right off of, even with Shadow End. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel the recoil from Shadow End. Weird…

“Crobat, use Wing Attack!” cried Ein “Rhydon, Horn Drill!”

The Crobat rushed at me, its wings glowing white. I leapt on top of Crobat, just as the Rhydon came charging at me.

Unlike most Rock-types, Rhydon brains were actually well-developed. It stopped just before it hit the Crobat, letting me jump off just as Crobat crashed into a tree, my having steered it into there.

“Hm.” said Ein with surprising calmness as Ein returned the Crobat to its Pokeball “You still haven’t given up your rebellious streak, I see. No matter. Go, Altaria!”

A blue bird with white, cloud-like wings and a pair of blue ribbons trailing from its head appeared.

“Altaria, Ice Beam!” ordered Ein “Rhydon, Megahorn!”

The Altaria opened its white beak, revealing a ball of white charging up. The Rhydon’s horn began to glow as it charged at me.

I leapt between the Altaria and the Rhydon and waited for the Ice Beam to fire. The Altaria fired the beam of blue-and-white towards me, only for me to leap aside as it hit the Rhydon instead, freezing it solid.

“Clever,” said Ein with his usual calmness as he returned the frozen Rhydon to its Pokeball “very clever. Altaria, Ice Beam again!”

Just as the Altaria opened its mouth to power up another Ice Beam, I concentrated, placing one of my hands over the one on my bone. Rocks emerged from the earth below my feet. Just as the Altaria prepared to fire, I psychically threw the rocks in its direction, the Rock Slide attack working like a charm. The Altaria ended up freezing the rocks, but that only made them more effective against it, as the ice-covered rocks smashed right into the bird’s body. Due to a Dragon-type’s weakness against ice, the Altaria fainted.

“Hmmm…” hummed Ein as he returned the Altaria to its Pokeball “you win this time, Marowak, but we will come for you.”

Ein ran off to assist his pals in trying to enslave Raikou, and I got Cubon out of his hiding place. We went off deeper into the forest, and found a spot for us to rest. I fell asleep with Cubon next to me…

******


I awoke with a start to find a female Marowak about to get on top of me. I leapt right out from under her, grabbed Cubon, set him in a safe spot away from her, and got into a battle position.

“Heeheehee…” said the female Marowak in an insane manner “is that any way to treat ya luvva?”

“My real lover’s dead.” I said “And, no, you can’t replace her. No one can.”

“Heh.” said the female “You’re real stubborn. Look…”

She held both he arms out from her sides, her legs spread apart so that her body was shaped like a Staryu.

“Here I am!” she said again “Llllllove me, sugar.”

“….you are REALLY demented.” I said “And seriously disgusting. Yeech.”

“Sooooooo…” she said, lowering her arms and pulling her legs together “still stubborn, baby? Fine then.”

She ran towards me, only to be knocked back by a Rock Slide from me.

“All right.” she said “I’ll get into a love fight with ya, sugar.”

Oh, great Ho-oh, what is WRONG with this female?!?!?!?!

The female moved first, her bone multiplying in the same manner as a Double Team attack. Except that the bones were solid. She pointed the bone in her hand (her real one) forward, sending a Bone Rush attack my way.

I put my bone vertically on top of my head and rapidly spun my body, knocking all the bones away with a Swords Dance. The female then charged at me, only for me to leap over her and turn around just in time to watch her crash into a tree, her Double-Edge attack failing.

The female turned around, clutching her bone tightly. She then rushed at me, intending to user her Rage attack to its fullest. She lunged forward with her bone, only for me to sidestep to dodge, using my foot to trip her up and send her screaming (with joy, oddly enough, accompanied by laughing) headfirst into another tree.

The headfirst collision caused her to be stunned for a bit. I took this opportunity to charge a Shadow End. I ran forward and struck her clear in the stomach. She flew through the tree and into another. The tree that she flew through almost fell on top of her, only for the tree she had crashed into to stop the falling tree.

The female threw her bone at me, but I smacked her bone away with mine to overpower her Bonemerang attack. She ran forward with another Double-Edge, and I ran towards her with a Shadow End. We collided, and she tried to grab my skull. Thankfully (really, really, REALLY thankfully), the Shadow End sent her screaming (this time with the appropriate reaction of fear) through yet another tree, and this time she fainted.

Geez, what WAS wrong with her?

I got Cubon from his hiding spot and carried him on my shoulders as I headed off deeper in the forest. I don’t know what’s ahead, but one thing’s for sure…

I’ll be ready for it, whatever it is.

******

This chapter was a little over 8 pages.

Anyway, please read, review and rate!

 

[The Great Butler]

Yay, Attila and Hun! And Ein too! I love melee battles like that where everything just seems to fall to pieces.

The part after that O_O That female Marowak was creepy.....