Fighting

Fighting
Actually, If you still can't see the link, don;t you remember the spellblading from Machinations?
Somewhere near Lake Valor…

A girl with long blue hair was lying among the trees on the ground with her back to a stump. She was wearing sunglasses, but it was more of a fashion statement since the trees blocked out most of the sunlight. She was reading her Pokedex when her cell phone started to ring. She picked it up, and opened it up to chat, bringing the phone up to her ear.

“Crystal here. What’s up?...yeah, I sent Suicune off to grab him, she should be back any second now…No, Seth, for the last time, I don’t need your help finding him, I know where he is…Damnit, Seth, I don’t want to talk to Drake right now, he’s on my bad list…Look, Seth, as much as I would ‘love’ to have you come here and show off Ares, you’d only piss Devan off and cause him to run off. Look, I know how much you want to help, but...What?! He disappeared without a trace? How long has he been missing…That long, huh? I’m surprised I didn’t notice. Well, at least Zach doesn’t know about him. He’d be shocked to know he has a brother, and not only that, but a man who was once the Champion of Hoenn…”

Suddenly, a vortex of water appeared before her, and Suicune and a white-haired boy, a little younger than she was, appeared out of the vortex. He looked very perturbed, and started yelling once the vortex died down. He was carrying his goods, and shouldering a small Riolu that looked a little frightened.

“Goddamn it! I swear, why is it that wherever the fuck I go, people manage to piss me off even more than I already am?! Can’t I ever just be left alone for twenty-four hours without having to deal with someone else? ‘Please, sir, save my child!’ ‘Here, boy, could you help me with this load?’ I’m fucking human, yet everyone seems to think I’m some kind of fucking superhero!” He seemed to go on, and after the superhero comment, Crystal tuned out and went back to her phone conversation.

“Yeah, that was Devan. Suicune just got back with him, and he’s a little angry at the moment. Look, Seth, I’m going to have to go now. Good luck with finding Steven…you’re going to need all the help you can get finding him. Bye.” She hung up the phone, and looked at Devan, who was still rambling.

“…and that’s not all! No, to top it all off, I’ve been tracked by that white bitch!” he yelled, tearing a piece of paper off of his hoodie and crumpling it into a ball, throwing it out into the trees.

“That’s littering, you know,” Crystal informed him.

“Oh, do you think I fucking ca…Wait, how long have you been sitting there?” Devan said, suddenly calming down. “And who are you?”

“Glad you asked. My name’s Christina Ray, Champion of Johto. But you can call me…”

“Crystal,” Devan finished for her. “Crystal, the Unown Ruins decipherer, the Trainer of the Untamable Suicune, Johto’s only champion. As if I haven’t heard of you before. Well, it’s nice meeting you, but I’ve gotta get going…”

“Wow. The only other person who wasn’t surprised when they first met me was Zach, and even HE was surprised when I showed him Suicune. Why are you leaving so soon? Don’t you want to get to know me?” she asked.

“Unlike other people, I have…Wait, Zach? Zach Stone? Damn, it’s true, then. You ‘elite’ trainers all hang around each other. Well, that doesn’t matter to me. I’ve got my own business to take care of. And if I ever see that bastard again, I’ll show him what it means to ‘be a hero.’”

Crystal looked shocked. “Wow. So how do you know Zach? He’s never talked about you around me…”

Devan spat on the ground. “He got in my way when he ‘raided’ a Team Aqua base. I was there on a mission to find and interrogate someone of the Syndicate, and he got away because of the commotion Zach had caused! I can’t forgive him for that; not only did he destroy a very good chance for the Avokii to take another swipe at the Syndicate, but he also caused my Dad to send another assassin out to get me! I’ve had it with him AND with my Dad!”

Crystal had an upset look on her face. “What kind of father would send an assassin out to kill his own kid?” she asked.

“The kind that don’t like Pokemon, and believe that their son is the reason his wife ran out on him to go chase after Pokemon,” Devan replied. “That’s the kind. Are we done yet, or can I leave? I have to go call him and tell him I’m leaving the family; I’ve had all I can stand of his pompous ass!”

“Listen, Devan, I think you need to calm down,” Crystal said, “You’re gonna end up hurting someone if you don’t.”

Devan sighed and looked to the ground. He could feel the rage dying in his chest, but he still felt quite a bit angry at the fact he still couldn’t get rid of his father. Not only that, he had a lead from Master Donovan that his mom was in Canalave…Why did he have to wait again? All he wanted to do was go see her, and let her know he was alright.

“Listen, Crystal,” Devan started. “I’m sorry that I got so worked up over this. I’ve got to go make that call, though. I’m afraid my dad is gonna send a few assassins my way, anyways, and I don’t want you to get caught up in it.”

Crystal looked a tad confused. “Why would he send more assassins?” she asked him.

Devan grunted. “I didn’t do something for him. He wanted me to destroy a house of a rival family, and because the two masters of an Avokii are their Sensei and their father, I ‘had’ to follow orders. However, my father has lost all honorability within the Avokii council after sending assassins to take me out, so I’m still an Avokii whether I listen to him or not.”

“That’s horrible!” Crystal exclaimed. “How could a father be so cruel to his child?”

Devan didn’t have an answer to this question. However, there was no need. A strange floating light had charged towards them, and had tackled Suicune. Suicune and the blobby light went speeding into the little Riolu, who in turn went flying into a nearby tree, where she hit the tree upside-down and slowly slid down the trunk, hitting her head on the ground, dazed and dizzy from the whole experience.

“SUI-SUI!” the light squeaked with excitement. “How are you, Sui-sui?! I haven’t seen you in FOR-EV-ER!” The light died away suddenly, and in its place was a small blue floating critter with a deep blue head three protruding spikes going in different directions.

“Azelf, get your bubbly butt off of me before I…” Suicune started.

Azelf didn’t give her time to finish her sentence. He shoved a stubby hand into her mouth. “Silence! There’s more important matters that we must discuss,” he stated, with a cutely faked hint of mystery in his voice. “Our soon-to-be High Master Devan has a looooong journey ahead of him, and he needs to know a few important details,” he informed them all.

“Mmph ommph ummph mmph ummph mmphmm!!” Suicune retorted, but could not seem to make any word understandable due to Azelf’s hand stuck in her maw.

Over by the tree, the little Riolu was now sitting upright, rubbing her head in pain. “Owwie…” she moaned.

Devan was at a loss for words and was standing mouth agape utterly shocked at the whole experience, and Crystal was rolling on the ground, laughing hysterically, tears streaming down her face.

“Hahahahaa…oh man, it’s been awhile, Azelf,” she said, finally regaining her composure somewhat. “How’s it going?”

“Shush!” Azelf said, taking his other hand and putting a finger over his mouth. “Devan, you’re in a hurry, right?”

“Kinda, yeah,” Devan replied. “I wanted to go make a call to my da…”

“Okie dokie then!” Azelf interrupted once again. “I’ll keep these guys here for you. We’ll be at the lake when you return. There’s a resort nearby you can go make your call from. Oh, and by the way…there’s someone there that you probably will or will not want to see, I don’t know which. Bring that person back with you,” Azelf instructed him.

“Whatever,” Devan said, and turned to leave.

“Wait!” Crystal yelled. “How do we know you’re gonna come back here?” she asked Devan. “You’re not gonna leave us here, are you?”

Devan thought for a moment. “I guess I never thought about it. Oh, well, I guess it’s too late to shirk myself out of this task, so I guess I’ll have to stick it out. I’ll see you guys soon,” he said, waving back to them and leaving. The little Riolu got up and dashed to his side, where she turned around and waved goodbye. Then they left.

Weird… Crystal thought to herself. My report said he didn’t like Pokemon because of an incident with an Arcanine when he was ten. Why would he have a Riolu…?

“MRRRPH OMPH MMR GRRMPH!” Suicune cried, her voice still muffled by Azelf’s hand.

“No, I’m not gonna take my hand out!” Azelf replied, somehow knowing subconsciously what she had asked. “You’re just gonna yell at me again!”

Crystal sighed. The next few hours were going to be very long, indeed…


“…So what’s your name, master?” the Riolu asked him. Devan winced at the word “master;” he didn’t like being in charge of anything but his own life. Now he had a young Riolu to take care of, and he wished he could return to the days when he traveled alone. Now he would probably never travel alone again…

“My name’s Devan,” he finally replied to her, a little annoyed that she was paying so much attention to him.

“Okay,” she replied. “So, Master Devan, may I…”

Devan snapped. “Look, if we’re going to travel together, I’m going to lay down a few rules. Rule one: Don’t call me ‘master.’ I am master of nothing, and I probably never will be ‘master’ of anything. Rule two: We’re only traveling together because I was forced into this. I never had a Pokemon, and as far as I’m concerned, I never will. When this is all over, you can leave me so I can be alone again. Rule three: Don’t EVER touch me! I don’t want to have to make contact with you or ANYONE unless I’m forced to! Got it?” he scolded the Riolu.

The Riolu was surprised at the sudden scolding, and sadly replied, “Yes, Devan.” She then hung her head low, and began to sniffle, keeping a steady distance back behind Devan.

A few minutes passed, and they reached the resort. Plenty of people were around, and there was tons of hustle and bustle around the area. Devan snorted, and headed toward the main building. They were bound to have a phone with video feedback there…

Devan and the Riolu entered, and Devan went up to the front desk. The front desk greeter, a girl with short green hair, got up. “Welcome to Grand Lake Resort! How may I help you, sir?” she asked, with a bubbly manner.

“I just need to use a phone,” Devan informed her.

“Oh. Well, the phone’s over there,” she pointed, pointing to the front waiting room. “It’s free of charge, and it’s available for anyone to use. Will you be staying with us tonight?” she asked.

“No. I only came here to use the phone,” Devan said rather gloomily. “I’m broke either way, so even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to stay here,” he informed her.

“That’s a shame,” the girl replied. “Well, good luck with whatever it is you’re off to do, sir!”

“Uh, thanks, I guess,” Devan said, turning around and heading towards the phone.


Marcus was training his daughter, Kimi, in the ways of the Ariss. He was proud of her accomplishments; she was already seven years old, and she was learning how to become a great assassin already. He smiled; he knew that the Granvurios line would someday be reborn, and he was the right man to do it.

Suddenly, the phone rang inside. “Hang on, Kimi, Daddy’s gonna go answer the phone, okay?” he informed her. “I want you to keep practicing with the picks. You’re getting quite good at aiming them,” he complimented her.

“Thanks, Daddy!” she replied, continuing with her target practice. Marcus smiled. She would be one of his finest students one day, just like her older sister. And not like her failure of a brother who can’t follow a single simple order. He hated his boy…not only was he an Avokii, one of the most respected positions of their village, but he shared the blood of a “Pokemon lover,” of all people. He couldn’t stand him. However, having an Avokii soldier to do his every bidding was grand, since he could kill anyone. And because of the training his son went through, he had to listen to him.

He answered the phone, and his faced flushed to see his own son, Devan, staring back at him from Grand Lake Resort near Lake Valor. “What do you want? I’m in the middle of training your sister, Kimi! This had better be important, boy!”

Devan shuddered. He remembered his long forgotten fear of his father, a fear that was grinded into his being from the constant torment he had endured from his dad. But he was stronger now. He knew he could win arguments now, and show his dad that he wasn’t one to be controlled.

“I’m calling, Dad, because I quit. I’m leaving the family. I’m tired of putting up with you, and…”

“WHAT?!” Marcus interrupted. “How dare you! You can’t leave the family! You belong to me! I am your father, and I…”

“…have no control over me. Not anymore,” Devan finished for him. “I hate putting up with your crap. I don’t enjoy killing people and intimidating your enemies just so that you can spread your hatred of Pokemon throughout the world. I don’t hate them anymore, Dad. I can at least somewhat stand them. And because of what you have done to me and to Mom, I’m not gonna let you order me around anymore. I’m no longer a member of the Granvurios line; I am now my own man,” Devan finished, taking out his family trinket. He took out his runed knife, swashed a few symbols in the air, and the trinket exploded into particles of shiny gold dust.

“You…I don’t believe this,” Marcus stuttered. “You think you can just sully your family name, just drag it about around the dirt with no regard? Well, Devan, I’m ashamed. I’m so ashamed that I don’t want to deal with this anymore. Expect a visit from some old friends, Devan. I’m also done with you. Have fun in the afterlife.”

“You think you can stop me, Dad?!” Devan started into a rage. “You think that if you can’t keep me on your leash that you might as well erase my existence from this world? Well, Dad, you’re gonna wish you’d never done that. When I’m finished with my little mission I’ve been recruited for, and after I’ve found Mom, I’m gonna come after you! And you’d better be ready, Dad, because after what you’ve done to me and to Mom, don’t expect any mercy from me!” Devan yelled, hanging up once he was done.

Marcus stood there for a moment. His face was blank. He was thinking about what to do next. He raised his hand, and dialed a few numbers. The receiver picked up, and he heard a familiar female voice. “Hi, Dad, what’s up?”

“Mavi, it’s your father. Your younger brother has finally hit my last nerve. I want you to take him out for me. He’s in your area; in a resort at Valor Lake. Take the rest of the Ariss initiates with you and take him out and any bystander nearby. I don’t want the news of a killing on my hands right now.

Mavi grinned wickedly. Finally, a chance to prove to Father that she was better than that wretched Devan! “Sure, Dad, I can do that for you. No problem at all…”


Devan turned around from the phone booth. He was angry, but he also felt pretty good about himself. He had finally cut the leash, and he was free. Sure, he’d be chased again, but this was normal for him. The situation wasn’t unusual, really, just a minor setback. He finally smiled after a long time of anger. He finally felt happy.

“Alright, let’s go,” he commanded the Riolu. She was a little happier to see he was in a better mood, but she didn’t stick too close to him out of fear of receiving another angry outburst from Devan.

Devan walked outside, the Riolu tailing behind him. He sniffed, and smiled. He was free! “Goodbye, Dad, hello freedom!” he muttered to himself.

“So did you call your dad?” the Riolu asked, finally gathering up enough courage to ask.

“Yeah, it did. Thanks for asking,” Devan replied cheerfully.

“Why doesn’t your daddy like you?” the Riolu asked him innocently.

“Well…” Devan thought, “It probably has to do something with…” He stopped cold in his tracks. He noticed a familiar figure lying on a beach chair on the beach.

“I don’t fucking believe it. I was just talking about him, and there he is…” Devan said menacingly.

“Who, your dad?” the Riolu asked.

“No, not exactly,” Devan growled. “The guy I thought I would never see again: Zach Stone,” he said, taking out his rune knife. “I’m going to give him a little hello gift. I want you to go find a safe place to hide for a while. When the fight’s over, come find me…” he said, twirling his knife in his fingers.


Katherine, an Absol, was lying next to her mate, Zach, on a lounge chair on the beach. She was wearing circular sunglasses, and sipping a straw in a glass of lemonade in her right paw. Her legs were crossed, and her left leg bounced up and down contently.

Her mate, Zach, her male trainer with white hair and a black streak that went down his bangs, was watching his other Pokemon play on the beach. He was wearing white material pants, and a white jacket with a black undershirt, to mach his mate’s coloration. One of his new additions, an Empoleon named Jerod, was fitting in just fine, ever since he let Trent tag along with May. He heard that they were getting along just fine, and he wasn’t surprised. He knew Trent would take good care of May. As for Jerod, he received the Empoleon when he was still a little Piplup. Since then, he and Jerod went through all of the Gym battles together. When Jerod finally evolved from a Prinplup into an Empoleon, he was shocked to find out his little penguin became a steel-armored soldier. Since his arrival to the Sinnoh region from Hoenn, he had been catching new Pokemon to train, since he left everybody else but Katherine, his Ninetails named Fara, and his Delcatty, Kiki. He now had many new additions to the group: Venus, a Luxray, whom he had caught when she was still a Shinx. Since her evolution a few weeks back, she and Kat had begun to fight a lot. Zach couldn’t figure out why, but guessed it had to do with conflicting personalities. Then there was his Lopunny, Caesar, whom he had caught when he was a Buneary. Caesar was a little weird…he was a pretty boy, but at the same time, a tough guy. Zach felt like he knew a lot about Caesar, but at the same time, he felt like he was learning new things about him every day. Then there was his Driftblim, Astro. Astro was a little strange, and didn’t say much. When he did, it was usually too deep for Zach to understand or even comprehend, or it was completely random and inappropriate for the moment. Finally, there was his Gabite, Kris. She was incredibly energetic, and just loved to dig holes. Zach sometimes thought that Kris loved to dig holes a little TOO much. His older Pokemon, Fara, was lounging out in the middle of the sand, sunning herself. Then there was his Delcatty, Kiki. Kiki had matured a lot since Zach first caught her, but at the same time, he felt Kiki was becoming more immature as time passed. Kiki, like Fara, was out sunning herself. He watched his newer Pokemon play on the beach, and couldn’t help but smile. They were all doing better than ever, but something else was bothering him. He felt as if he left something unfinished…

“Wow, Master, seven badges! One more, and the Sinnoh Elite four will feel my claws sink into their flesh!” Katherine exclaimed, flexing her claws on her left paw. She wore an evil grin on her face, and Zach could tell she couldn’t wait until they got back to work once they were done with the vacation.

“You seem a little eager too eager to get back to business, don’t you, Kat?” Zach asked. “I know you want to hurry this vacation up, but the others need a break. They all aren’t a high level 80 like you are, so they can’t keep up with your level.”

Kat scoffed, and knew he was right. Even Fara, who was nearing the 70’s in levels, would not be enough to keep up with her level, and knew that even Fara needed a break, although Fara was only along for the ride this time. The others were the ones doing all the fighting and battling for Zach, and so was she. She did, however, think it was about time they took a break. They all needed it. So she went back to sipping her lemonade, but stopped when she heard a weird noise.

“Hey, do you hear that? It sounds like a mix of a hum and an ahh…” Kat said.

“No, I don’t…” Zach replied. He sat up, and looked around. Then he looked under him, and saw a strange light emanating from under him. “What the he…” he gasped.

The light underneath him suddenly exploded and sent Zach, his chair, and a good amount of sand up into the air. He landed with a thud on the ground, and his other Pokemon who were playing nearby stopped what they were doing to look over.

Kat looked around, and looked behind her, where she saw a boy with white hair and icy-blue eyes, clutching a runed dagger, which was glowing and emanating the same noise she heard under Zach’s chair. He was grinning maliciously, and for some reason, this awakened an unknown fear from deep inside Kat. She remembered this feeling…she felt it back when she and Zach raided the Aqua base. But why was she feeling this fear now? It didn’t make sense to her…

Zach got up, and brushed the sand off of his pants. He obviously wasn’t too harmed by the incident, and was a little shaken at most. “Well, that wasn’t very nice,” he muttered. He then looked over to the boy standing over in the sand, and noticed his blade was glowing. “And to what pleasure do I owe that little demonstration, mister…?”

The boy growled, and his malicious grin turned into a scowl. “Don’t play fucking games with me, Zach. I know you know why I’m here. I didn’t get a chance to finish you off in the Aqua base, and I’m going to finish what I started! You ruined it…my only chance for the Avokii to get back at the Organization! And now you’re gonna pay for it!” he said, cutting his hand on his dagger and letting the blood dribble down onto it. “First seal, release!” he yelled.

There was a short flash from his dagger, which had now elongated into a short katana. “I’ve been waiting for four years for this moment, Zach, and you’re gonna wish you never met me!” he rasped, a crazed look entering his face. “I’ve been the ridicule of every single one of my Master’s other students, and trust me, when I’m done with you, you’ll wish you had never set foot into that base!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m not gonna take any punishment sitting down,” Zach replied. “And you never told me your name…” he said to the boy.

“What, you don’t remember?” the boy growled at him. “It’s Devan! But it’s not going to matter…I shouldn’t have helped you that day, and now I’m going to make things right again!”

Zach stopped. He remembered Devan now…he had a small run-in with him when he raided the Aqua base about four years back. “Look, Devan, I’m gonna warn you now, you’re making a huge mistake…” Zach warned him.

“{PFFFFT!} Yeah right! The only mistake I made was letting you get away without a ‘goodbye’ gift from me!” Devan yelled, flipping Zach off.

Zach looked down at the necklace with a Dread plate attached to it he had received a long time ago. Supposedly, it was once owned by a Pokemon, but for now, he thought he’d use it for himself. He knew his teacher would normally disapprove of using his abilities against a fellow human being, but he had no choice. He knew Devan was on a level of his own, and the only thing that could beat him was his Absol training. “Fine, Devan, if it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get. Kat, take the others a good distance from here,” he ordered his somewhat confused Absol. He then took out a small charm bracelet. The charm was a strange, ringed shape with four prongs sticking out of it. However, the outer ring didn’t meet in two places opposite of each other, the same distance away from the prongs.
“Okay, Kiki, come over here!” he then shouted to his Delcatty. “You wanna come after me, Devan? Let’s see what you’ve got.” His Delcatty used a strange form of Secret Power on the sand, turning it into a sword of glass. A strange glow came from his necklace, and his energy swirled into the glass sword, giving it a dark glow. “Thanks, Kiki,” he thanked his Delcatty, who in turn meowed and left to return to the others.

“Alright, I’ve waited long enough!” Devan yelled, as he charged at Zach, his runeblade now glowing and cracking with energy. He jumped into the air, and sliced his blade in the direction of Zach’s shoulder, but did not make contact with anything. Knowing he had missed, he landed, skidding into the sand. He got up, and charged once again at Zach, who was grinning ear to ear. This in turn served to somehow provoke Devan into rage, and he started furiously swinging his Runeblade at Zach. Zach effortlessly dodged every single strike, and simply pushed Devan over with the hilt of the glass sword.

Devan picked himself back up. He struck out once again at Zach, who had taken a single step to the left and dodged. Devan struck at him again, and Zach weaved in the other direction. Then Zach made another move that shocked Devan: He disappeared! Devan glanced around for him, and was shocked when a voice behind him called his name.

“Hey, I’m over here!” Zach yelled, and was standing around the area where Devan had sent him flying into the air. Devan jolted around and sprinted once again towards his target, furiously weaving his blade in a dance of strikes. Every strike Devan threw at Zach was parried and returned with Zach’s own blade. Devan backed off. This was going to be tougher than he thought…Zach’s blade was unusual. Not only could he block the runeblade effortlessly, but he had the advantage in this fight. Not only that, but the glass sword would’ve normally broken by now. Something was up. He guessed it had to do with the glow that the sword took on, but right now it didn’t matter. He started to regain his composure, and suddenly Zach started weaving in and out. DAMN it! Devan thought to himself, wiping a fresh trickle of blood dribbling down his chin. It’s like he knows what I’m throwing out at him… like he knows my every move. Well, let’s see him dodge this one… he assured himself, and swiped a symbol in the air. He then slammed his Runeblade into the sand, sending a tidal wave of sand towards Zach.

Zach stopped weaving when he saw the large wave, and easily spun his glass blade in front of him to cut a hole in the sand, letting the wave harmlessly fly over him out into the ocean. Devan cursed under his breath. Damn…I’m about out of options now… he thought to himself.

“Wow, you’ve got a lot of power, Devan, I’ll give you that,” Zach complimented Devan, wiping the sweat off of his brow. “However, you’re striking without thinking. It’s way too easy to counter all of your attacks. And I’m afraid I’m tiring of this little bout. Someone innocent is bound to get hurt, so I’m ending this.”

“Kiki, come over here, and bring my bag,” Zach called to his cat. Kiki came over, and mewed questioningly to her master. “Okay, Kiki, I need my secret weapon,” he whispered to her. The dark glow disappeared from Zach’s sword, and Kiki returned the glass to sand. She handed him his bag, which she had dragged over with her tail. He reached in, and pulled out a strange, black tonfa-like weapon. It had a strange blade that poked out of it. It began to glow in a similar fashion as the glass sword he had used when he held it, and he slashed the air a bit to test it out. The air, to his satisfaction, made a few swishing noises. “Okay, Devan. I normally don’t use this, but you’re an exception. This is my Dread Horn, my special weapon. It will finish our fight, and hopefully you’ll listen to me once this is all over. I don’t really want to fight you, and I want to know why you’re so angry…”

Devan snickered. “Why do you want to know why I’m so angry? Well, fine, I guess I’ll tell you. It’s because you have what I don’t. And I despise people like you for it.” Devan struck his blade out. It had lost its former energy, but due to this strike, its former energy had been replenished. “I would love to kill you, but it seems that’s not going to happen. I’m not good enough. However, I think I’m going to try to prove to you that there’s no way in hell you can beat me!”

Zach was struck by this statement. How was he so cocky, even after knowing he wasn’t powerful enough to win the fight? This confused Zach, but he decided now was not the time to be wondering about things like this. He stretched out his horn, and charged at a speed faster than Devan could even anticipate. He began his barrage of attacks, and Devan, try as he could, could only block a few of the many strikes. Devan could already feel fatigue grip him, and he knew that he needed to do something before he was knocked out cold. He quickly forged a symbol, and struck his blade directly beneath himself. Sand exploded, and Devan disappeared.

“Where’d you go, Devan? That’s a really sneaky trick…” Zach muttered to himself. He looked around, and couldn’t see where Devan had gone. Suddenly, Devan exploded out of the same spot he had disappeared, and went flying into the air. Zach saw this, and after a split second, he jumped up into the air to join him. Devan wasn’t expecting this, and was met with another barrage of strikes from Zach’s horn.

Where do I recognize that horn from… Devan thought. Oh yeah…it’s an Absol horn. This guy’s like some kind of human Absol… Devan fell to the ground. Zach neatly landed on his feet, where he was cheered on by his Pokemon. Devan could hear their cheers, and this built up his old rage. He got up, and started his own fury of strikes, at a speed of which Zach had not seen of Devan yet. However, it wasn’t fast enough, and Devan could only get a few strikes in. Then, out of nowhere, Devan shoved the side of his blade into Zach. It exploded, and sent Zach a few feet back.

Zach then noticed something he couldn’t believe. Those strikes were making a symbol! That’s creative, and tough to do with a blade. However, I’m going to finish this. Someone’s going to get hurt soon, I know it… Zach got up, and dashed at an unmatched speed again. However, he was charging up his horn. His horn began to pulse, and the pulse slowly accelerated to a point of climax. At this climaxing point, Devan struck out in front of him, in the direction of Devan. A black blade of pure energy flew out toward Devan.

“SHIT!” Devan yelled, bringing his blade up to defend himself from the oncoming strike. The attack hit his blade, and began to push him back at slightly a slower speed than the attack was already going. Damn…is it already over? Devan thought, as he crashed into a nearby grassy hill, the blade exploding as its remnants tore up his flesh.

Zach watched, and grinned. It was finally over! He didn’t like fighting, but at least nobody was hurt. They had managed to gather a crowd nearby, and they cheered as he turned to bow to them. Suddenly, a small girl screamed, and pointed out towards the direction of the fight. Everyone gasped, and Zach turned around to see a bloody, bruised, and torn up Devan slowly coming toward him, the crazed grin that had once been on his face returned.

“What…how did you get up after that…?” Zach asked, in utter awe.

“Is that all you have, Zach?” Devan mocked, chuckling maniacally. “I’ve had to deal with many people ten times more powerful than you, one of them being my goddamned father. Just because you can block most of my strikes doesn’t mean you can beat me. I was expecting more of your horn, but…”

Suddenly, there was another scream. A small group of black clad figures had surrounded the onlookers, and another two had rounded up Zach’s Pokemon, and had caged them all.

“Well, well, well…Devan, you’ve been quite a naughty boy, haven’t you? You’ve pissed off Daddy again…” a female voice cooed to Devan.

“No…Not now! I don’t need this right now! I’m…” Devan started to crumble, as he fell to the sand, clutching his head. “You can’t be here…it’s impossible…”

“Oh, I’m here, little brother. And Daddy isn’t happy with how you’ve been acting. You broke your leash, and now you need to be disciplined one final time,” the owner of the voice said, stepping out of a group of trees on a hill. “I’m afraid that I’m not only going to have to kill you, I’ll have to kill all the onlookers as well.”

“Mavi…” Devan whimpered. “No…there’s no way I can beat her, not in this shape…”

“What the fuck?! Why do you want to kill everybody?!” Zach yelled, obviously pissed that the girl said she had to take everybody out. “And what are you going to do with my Pokemon? They didn’t do anything to you!”

Devan was beginning to weep. He’d had enough. It was way too much to deal with…his father, his mother, his sister, Zach Stone, Suicune, the Riolu, the bitch in white, and finally, worst of all, Arceus. He didn’t want to deal with any of this anymore. He wished it would all just go away…He picked up his blade, and readied himself to take his own life, and save everyone else from being killed.

Then, a small paw touched his thigh. He looked over, and saw the Riolu, his Riolu, touching his thigh. He hadn’t gotten a real chance to notice her…how cute she looked, how he could get lost in her red eyes, and the beautiful necklace with the Mark of Arceus that adorned her neck. However, he couldn’t keep himself out of her eyes, and found himself coming back to them every few seconds.

“Please, Devan,” the Riolu begged. “Please don’t do this to yourself. I know I didn’t get a chance to know you too well, and I know that you don’t like me all that much. And I know you probably wish you were dead right now, but…Please, I don’t want to lose you…then I’ll be alone again, just like when my mommy and daddy died…” she whimpered. “Please…”

With one last word, she began to weep on his thigh. She was weeping…weeping for him! No one else had ever wept for him before…why was she, a Pokemon whom he had scolded out of his own selfishness, weeping right now for him? Why her? Why did she choose him? Devan let loose, and grabbed her. He began to grip her to his chest. He never wanted to let her go.

“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…I didn’t mean to be so mean before…I hope you can forgive me…” he begged, tears streaming down his face, dripping onto the little Riolu’s head.

The Riolu, surprised, looked up at him. She then smiled, tears flooded in her eyes. “I forgive you, Devan. Thank you for accepting me…”

Suddenly, something strange happened. Devan’s rage died inside his chest. Something began to build in his body. He could feel it…power coursing through his veins. He could feel his wounds beginning to close, and he knew what he had to do. He set down the Riolu, and picked up his Runeblade.

“Second seal, release…” he muttered, and a large flash of light enveloped him.