Continued from last post:


Gallade’s eyes narrowed. It knew that they were right, and it was getting nervous. Wobbuffet was pretty nervous as well, as Houndoom started to glow with more and more intensity…

“Houn…doom…” growled Houndoom.

“Okay, enough!” shouted Shadow. “Let him have it with a Fire Blast!”

“No choice!” shouted Gallade. “Use Destiny Bond!”

“Huh?” said Shadow.

Then Wobbuffet’s eyes started to glow with eerie light…

“HOUNDOOM!” screamed Shadow. “STOP!”

But it was too late for Houndoom to stop. It was too full of rage. The intense blast of flame shot at its foe, and Wobbuffet screamed. Then Houndoom shuddered as the powerful curse of Destiny Bond struck it just as Wobbuffet collapsed…

Both Pokémon were out cold.

Shadow watched, as both Houndoom and Wobbuffet shimmered with silvery energy, and then vanished.

“What happened to them?” she demanded.

“They woke up,” replied Gallade. “As most folks do after a very intense dream, but they will be fine.

“The score stands tied one to one. And you are quite clever…”

He gestured, and another Pokémon shimmered into view in front of him.

It brought to mind a pig; one that was purple that stood on its hind legs, but a pig nonetheless. It had two orbs of some sort on its forehead, and one on its stomach.

“Grumpig,” it said.

“Ho boy…” said Lisa.


* * * * * * * * * *



Mandy rushed into the Pokémon Center and slammed the door behind her. She slumped to the ground.

What had just happened? Why was she still in one piece?

Slowly, she went over what had happened a half-hour ago, right before she had started running without daring to look back…

She had lost a Pokémon Dare to Jessica, who had effortlessly beaten her Garchomp with a giant, incredibly powerful Pokémon that she had never even heard of, which Jessica called “Palkia”. Since she lost, Jessica was permitted to attack her once with that Pokémon, as per the rules of the Pokémon Dare. And Mandy doubted that she would survive the “Spatial Rend” as Jessica had called it, which was an attack that Mandy had never heard of.

What happened next confused her a lot, and it made little sense to her even now. Some… voice or something had told her to take the Heaven’s Pipe out of the pouch by her side. She quickly did so. Not knowing what to do then, she held it up, as if to use it as a shield. As if it would have helped much…

To her utter shock, it did. Palkia didn’t strike. It stopped its attack in mid-swing, and then got down on its knees. It was as if the Heaven’s Pipe held some sort of religious significance to the huge Pokémon.

Of course, Jessica was enraged at her Pokémon’s apparent disobedience. She started yelling at it, but it refused to attack Mandy. And Mandy wasn’t going to stay around to find out if it would or not. She turned and ran. Two of Jessica’s goons tried to stop her, but she kicked them over and ran past them. She was glad that the years in Jessica’s prison hadn’t caused her fighting skills to slip. And she ran until she had reached the Pokémon Center, a place where Jessica probably wouldn’t try to attack her.

She looked at the Heaven’s Pipe… What was this thing? She was getting a pretty good idea of why her parents had told her never to give it back to them. What was so special about it that a Pokémon that powerful was compelled to kneel before it?

One thing was for sure… She would hang onto it until she knew she was safe. It had protected her from Jessica’s big monster once, so maybe it would do so again.

She considered her options. It was very, very tempting to take the next boat to Sinnoh and find her parents, and leave Toreen and Rocket Reborn behind forever… She really didn’t want to be sent back to Jessica’s prison, and be chained up for the rest of her stay there…

She looked at it again…

Starbuck needed it for some reason… Did he know its secrets?

“Mom… Dad…” she said, as she started to cry. “Why did you send this to me?”


* * * * * * * * * *



“Are you going to choose a Pokémon, or are you going to just stare at mine?” asked Gallade.

“Oh, fine!” shouted Shadow. “I choose Weavile!”

In a shimmering aura of energy, Weavile appeared in front of her.

“Be careful, Weavile!” she warned. “That guy likely has Thick Fat, so Ice attacks aren’t gonna do much good…”

Grumpig and Weavile glared at each other.

“Grumpig…” grunted Grumpig.

“Well, Weavile definitely has speed on its side,” remarked Blaziken. “I’ve yet to see a Grumpig beat any speed records.”

Weavile made the first move, and rushed at its foe, bearing its claws. Grumpig groaned a little as two Night Slashes swiped across its ample gut.

“Payback!” ordered Gallade.

“Grumpig,” snorted the hog.

Then it grabbed Weavile by the arms, pinning them to its sides. Apparently, it was somewhat fast after all, and its strength was considerable.

As Weavile struggled, Grumpig slammed its forehead into Weavile’s. Weavile staggered backwards, clearly stunned.

“Humph…” muttered Blaziken. “If I were a Psychic, I’d prefer using my head for what it was made for – to think.”

“Grumpig tend to have pretty thick skulls,” replied Lisa.

“While it’s stunned,” ordered Gallade, “Power Gem.”

Grumpig gestured, and the pearls on its forehead and belly started to glow. Then, a barrage of shimmering gemstone shot at Weavile, pelting it. Weavile winced in pain as the Rock attack made deep scratches on its skin.

“Weavile!” it shouted. “Weavile!”

“Oh dear…” muttered Blaziken. “Weavile just called it a fat pig…”

“Grumpig!” shouted Grumpig back. “Grumpig…”

Everyone turned to Blaziken.

“It just said it is a pig,” replied Blaziken, “and it thinks Weavile is being juvenile.”

Starbuck shook his head.

“Weavile is Twisted,” he said. “Grumpig likely isn’t. Gallade can likely call Pokémon who aren’t. I wouldn’t be surprised if arguments like this happen all the time when a Twisted Pokémon fights a non-Twisted one.”

“Weavile, calm down!” shouted Shadow. “Fight it… Please…”

“Weavile?” asked Weavile, looking at its master.

“That’s right…” said Shadow. “I know it’s making you angry… But we’re trying to fix it… I promise you… Once it’s over, you won’t be angry any more…”

Weavile paused.

“Weavile…” it grumbled.

“All right,” she said. “Try Metal Claw!”

Weavile bore its claws again, and rushed at Grumpig, making a deep cut across its torso. Grumpig hollered, and fell on its behind.

“Grumpig…” it said, getting up.

“Bounce,” said Gallade.

“Bounce?” asked Starbuck. “What’s that? Is that an attack?”

What happened next would have almost been humorous, unless you saw it from Weavile’s end. Grumpig leapt up, and then fell on its behind…

…only to bounce up, propelling itself skyward. Everyone looked up…

Weavile tried to look up, but it did so too late. Grumpig crashed down, booty-first, crushing Weavile underneath it. Weavile let out a scream of pain, and fell flat as Grumpig bounced to the side again.

Then Weavile vanished slowly, just as Houndoom had.

Great… thought Shadow. No more Dark Pokémon… I’m gonna have to go with my Ghost…

“I call on Gengar!” she shouted.

With a cackling laugh, Gengar materialized in front of her.

“Well, this fight will be about even in terms of Type,” said Lisa. “But Gengar still has the advantage in speed.”

“Gengar, Shadow Ball!” ordered Shadow.

Gengar let out a cackling laugh, and a bolt of eerie darkness shot towards Grumpig. It tried to shield itself, but it cringed as the ghostly energy burned it.

“Grumpig, use Zen Headbutt,” ordered Gallade.

Grumpig glowed with Psychic energy again, and then shot towards Gengar, head-first.

“Sucker Punch!” shouted Shadow.

Gengar laughed again, and socked Grumpig with a ghostly fist as it flew towards it. The Zen Headbutt still connected, and Gengar was pushed backwards a few feet, but it took the wound with a chuckle.

Think I can take this guy out now… thought Shadow.

“Night Shade!” she commanded.

Gengar’s eyes glowed with a haunting energy, and it seemed to double in size. Grumpig squeaked in fear, and took a step backwards…

And then it collapsed. It slowly vanished as the other Pokémon did.

“Boy, that’s the last time I’m bringing home the bacon…” muttered Shadow.

“Very funny…” said Gallade. “You are indeed powerful…

“So I’ll send out a Pokémon that will truly test you…

“I call forth Bronzong!”

A sound wafted over the meadow that sounded like a low bell ringing. The Dragonite shifted in its sleep, startling the humans. Would it wake up?

They were relieved to see it fall fast asleep again. However, they were all surprised to see the Pokémon that appeared.

It didn’t resemble a creature at all. It looked like a large jar, made of metal and etched with ancient runes, two of which at the bottom suggested eyes. A downward-pointing u-shaped bar was on the top, which extended halfway down the body of the creature. It was about four feet tall, and floated in the air, motionless.

“What the…” said Starbuck.


* * * * * * * * * *



Meanwhile, an intruder had broken into the Blueberry Cove Department Store.

Having disabled the security system, Kitsune wandered through one of the floors holding a flashlight. She looked around at the merchandise, taking note when she saw what she was looking for.

“Lawn care products over there…” she said. “Nice… Home appliances over there… That covers three of what I need…”

She chuckled.

“Oak, Birch, Elm, Rowan… So many geniuses in the world of Pokémon research…

“Charon was definitely not one of them. He was a fool. Likely why he’s in jail now.

“But… He did know a great deal about one species in particular…

“And now, thanks to my host, I can use that knowledge to set a deadly trap once Starbuck comes back here…”


* * * * * * * * * *



“Mom, have you ever heard of Bronzong?” asked Starbuck. “I don’t think a PokéDex was included with my current attire…”

“I never saw one in person,” replied Lisa. “But I do believe that Lucian of the Sinnoh Elite Four has a Pokémon called Bronzong. I think he specializes in Psychics. If I had to guess, I’d say that this was a Psychic/Steel hybrid.”

And that’s bad news, thought Shadow. Its Psychic vulnerability to Ghost attacks will be cancelled out by its Steel resistance to them.

Well, I’d best make due…

“Night Shade!” she shouted.

Gengar laughed again, and the phantom attack struck the odd Pokémon. It was impossible to tell just how much damage it had done, however, because if Bronzong was even capable of changing its expression, it didn’t do so.

“Gengar still seems to have the speed advantage,” said Starbuck.

“Steel Pokémon tend to be pretty slow,” replied Lisa.

“Gyro Ball,” ordered Gallade.

Bronzong glowed with pale white energy, and an orb of the same energy started to form in front of it…

“Gengar?” said Gengar.

The orb shot at Gengar, and the Ghost winced in pain.

“Oh no, I’ve heard of that attack!” said Lisa. “Gyro Ball does more damage to fast Pokémon than it does to slow ones! It’s actually taking advantage of the fact that Gengar is faster!”

“Gengar…” muttered Gengar.

“Calm down,” said Shadow. “Close in, and give it a Shadow Punch.”

“Gengar,” it said.

The Ghost flew up to the odd Pokémon, and Bronzong didn’t even try to evade it. Gengar hit it with a shadowy fist. Again, whether it hurt Bronzong or not, it was impossible to tell.

Gengar’s side of it, on the other hand, was much easier to interpret. It howled, and shook its hand in pain.

“Really smart,” said Gallade. “Telling it to punch something made of solid metal. It may have been a good move for a Fighter, but not the best idea for anything else.”

“Gengar…” snarled Gengar.

“Oh, now he did it…” said Blaziken. “He made Gengar mad.”

Then Bronzong’s “eyes” glowed, and eerie energy rippled through the air. Both Starbuck and Lisa had seen Shiftry use Extrasensory enough times to recognize it. Gengar didn’t like it at all. It clutched its temples, and closed its eyes in an agonizing grimace.

“GENGAR!” snapped the Ghost. A more powerful Night Shade covered the field, striking Bronzong, and this time Bronzong actually reacted. It shivered, and fell back a few feet, wobbling.

“Bronzong, attack with Flash Cannon!” shouted Gallade.

“Bronzong,” said the Pokémon, as it rose up, trying to get the high ground. It glowed with the same energy that proceeded the Gyro Ball, and then shot a similar burst of energy, but one that was more like a beam than a sphere. Gengar grunted again.

“Gengar, let him have it with Dark Pulse!” ordered Shadow.

Gengar frowned. Then it grinned again, and a wide blade of dark energy radiated from its center. Bronzong groaned a little…

“Bronzong…” it said.

“Gengar…” said Gengar.

The two Pokémon looked at each other for a second. Then Gengar grinned.

It floated up to Bronzong and gave it a shove. Then Bronzong collapsed on the ground.

Shadow laughed.

“Looks like it took your Bronzong’s mind was as dense as its body!” she laughed. “It took a few seconds for it to realize it was beaten!”

“Not funny…” said Gallade.

Bronzong vanished like the others had.

“Well…” said Shadow. “Choose your last Pokémon…”

“Really, Shadow…” replied Gallade. “Don’t you realize by now how this system works?”

Gallade stood up, and then leapt off of the Dragonite, doing a flip in mid-air. He landed in front of Gengar, and bore his two bladed arms menacingly.

“Oh…” said Shadow. “Yeah…”

“Okay, this is not good,” said Blaziken.

“How so?” asked Starbuck.

“I’m a Fighter,” replied Blaziken. “I tend to know a lot about them. Gallade are both Fighters and Psychics, a unique combination. They share the impressive Physical Attack power of Fighters with the resistance to Special Attacks that most Psychics have.”

“Just great…” replied Starbuck. “Most of Shadow’s Pokémon use Special Attacks.”

Gallade looked at Gengar with a piercing glance, and moved its feet slowly, taking a stance similar to a fencer holding a rapier…

“Gengar…” said the Ghost, nervously.

Gallade flashed its blades, and knives made of energy surrounded it in a shimmering circle.

“Gengar, that’s Swords Dance!” shouted Shadow. “Strike now! Use Shadow Ball! He’s still vulnerable to Ghost attacks!”

“Gengar!” yelled Gengar. “Gengar!”

It fired a blob of inky blackness at Gallade, but Gallade was apparently ready. It simply ducked aside, and the projectile missed.

Then Gallade leapt up, its right blade glowing with red energy. It made a slash across the Ghost’s torso, and Gengar hollered.

Gengar collapsed to the ground, with a large swipe burned across its face.

“That was a Psycho Cut!” muttered Lisa. “A nasty Psychic attack…”

Gengar slowly vanished.

Now what? thought Lisa.

Okay, let’s see… If it’s like most Psychics, its regular Defense is probably pretty bad…

Hey, I got it! I’ll use my own Gallade! Fight fire with fire, after all…

“I choose…” she shouted.

Then, before she could finish the sentence, a Pokémon appeared in front of her.

To her horror, it was not her Gallade. Far from it.

It was the Shroomish she had caught Macintosh Forest.

“HUH?” she said.

“Shroomish!” it squeaked.

Gallade raised an eyebrow.

“Quite an interesting choice…” he said.

He lifted his blades.

“Wait!” shouted Shadow. “Hold it! Time out! I didn’t…”

“Shroomish!” shouted the Shroomish.

It rushed towards the Gallade as fast as its little feet could take it.

“Well, whether Shadow wanted to bring Shroomish here or not,” sighed Lisa, “it seems that Shroomish sure wanted to come…”

“Heaven help us,” muttered Starbuck. “This could be a very short battle…”

Shroomish charged at Gallade, showing a ferocity that looked almost humorous for a Pokémon so small. No one knew what it was planning.

What’s it gonna do? thought Starbuck. Bite him on the foot?

Gallade was apparently amused by the attempt. It gave Shroomish a kick, knocking it over, and causing a small cloud of yellow dust to rise.

“We are doomed!” muttered Starbuck.

Then Gallade started to cough.

“What’s going on?” it gasped. “Something…”

It coughed again. Then it started to look sick… Its face even started to look a little greenish…

“I do not believe it…” said Lisa.

“What?” asked Starbuck. “What happened?”

“Shroomish’s Ability!” shouted Lisa. “Its Effect Spore! It was released when Gallade kicked it and…

“Good lord, Gallade is Poisoned!”

It certainly looked that way. Gallade was clearly in pain.

Shroomish looked at its trainer.

“Shroomish?” it said.

“No, no, you’re doing great!” shouted Shadow. “Now use… Uh… Use your strongest move, whatever it is!”

Shroomish turned to Gallade, and spit a seed at him. Before Gallade could react, the seed exploded, and he was knocked off his feet.

“That’s Seed Bomb!” exclaimed Lisa.

“Seems that Shadow caught a live one…” added Starbuck.

Gallade got off of its feet, and he was clearly angry.

“You little pizza topping reject…” he grumbled. “C’mere, you…”

He rushed at Shroomish, with his blades flashing. Shroomish’s little feet moved quickly, and it dodged most of them. Eventually, though, one mighty Slash landed, and Shroomish tumbled backwards.

“Shroomish!” shouted Shadow.

Then Shroomish simply bounced back up. Its cap was a little worn, but it seemed okay.

“Shroomish,” it said.

Then it glowed with an aura of verdant energy, and Gallade cringed as the energy was literally sucked out of him.

“Giga Drain now?” gasped Starbuck. “How many more tricks does this little guy have?”

“Clearly, this Shroomish has been resisting evolution for a long time,” added Blaziken. “Shadow may well have a Breloom on her hands soon.”

Just hearing this filled Shadow with more joy than she had felt in a long time. It was her dream, after all… Raising a Breloom of her own, just like the one who had taken care of her at the orphanage so many years ago…

Gallade got up, panting for breath…

“This ends now!” he roared, in rage.

He lifted his left blade, and it glowed with pure, Psychic energy. Clearly, he was planning one mighty Psycho Cut…

Then he stopped. He held his stomach with his other arm.

Then he collapsed on his face.

“Whoa…” said Shadow. “I guess the poison finally got to him…”

“Uh, did I win?” asked Shadow. “What now?”

Then the Dragonite snored loudly, and rolled over in its sleep again. Gallade glowed with golden energy.

He opened his eyes, and sat up.

“Congratulations,” he said. “That is certainly one savage Shroomish… And one that loves you a great deal.

“Young Conrad… When you awaken in the morning, the Mind Plate will be on your bedside table… Along with your other prize.”

“Other prize?” asked Starbuck.

“The other half of the amulet, of course,” replied Gallade. “The one that will lead you to the Guardian of the Stone Plate.”

Then Starbuck remembered.

“And he knows something about my father?” he asked, anxiously.

“Yes, but I don’t know what,” replied Gallade.

“Oh, and one other thing…

“This dream may be over… But young Conrad… You will have one more dream before the sun rises, where you will meet someone important… Pay close attention to everything he tells you, for your choices of actions at this point are all vital.”

Then the three humans, Blaziken, and Shroomish all felt incredibly sleepy. As Gallade watched, they shimmered out of sight, leaving the realm of dreams.

Gallade stood up. Slowly, the Dragonite opened its eyes, and sat up. It had clearly only been pretending to sleep. Gallade knelt before the huge Dragon.

“You did well,” it said, in a deep, commanding voice.

“Yes, my lord,” said Gallade. “But… I realize it isn’t my place to question your decisions, but I worry about what is about to happen. If the past is any indication, Dialga’s proposal may not be as noble as it claims.”

“I am quite aware of that,” replied the Dragonite. “I am certain that Dialga will obey the letter of the orders it has been given. Whether it obeys the spirit of them is not a concern, at least not at the moment.

“After all, as a human proverb goes, drastic times call for drastic measures…”



Coming up next:

There is much to do before Starbuck and party go in search of the Stone Plate. Shadow doesn’t have much time to rest before she has to battle again, as the heroes are lured into a trap set by Kitsune, who, as you have probably guessed by now, has been possessed by the second of the Twisting’s servants. Magmortar returns, and there'll be a bunch of Pokémon that Shadow has not yet used in this fic. And how does Dialga figure in this? More is coming up, in a chapter called “Wave of Destruction”, coming up next.