At Arceus' Behest Ch. 04 - The Tournament Begins
A few days have passed and the newest members of Zero's team recovered fully from the neglect their past master showed them. The time was around midnight, and Zero was restless. He decided to step outside and watch the sky. The constellations of this world were vastly different than his own, and there was so much less smog and pollution. He was lost in thought when Rathien appeared before him floating in midair, crosslegged. Rathien observed him, wondering to himself what Zero was thinking, before speaking up.
"I'm surprised I found you when I sensed someone was outside."
Zero slowly came out of his reverie, "Why's that?"
"You know I can't normally sense you, psychically," he responded.
"I never thought about it, to be honest," he stood up to meet Rathien's eyes. "What brings you out here tonight?"
"Tundra and Catziah.. They've fallen for you, you know, " Rathien said, matter-of-factly.
Zero was slow to respond, "I know, and I do like them. I like all of you guys. I wouldn't have invited you guys if I didn't."
"Then why are you so distant to them? Do you not care for them too?" Rathien asked.
A few moments pass before Zero responds, "Terrible things happen to people close to my heart," there was a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Terrible things happen to everyone, Zero, why is this different?"
"I'd rather not talk about it." Rathien was about to push the matter when Zero turned and walked towards a tree. He saw a tear forming in Zero's eye at the last second. He was about to follow when his sixth sense began to pick up the faintest of signals. He tuned everything else out to focus on them.
A series of images began to form in his mind. The first image showed Zero in a different set of armor facing a brown haired woman in a pink and purple suit, she had a purple orb in her hands. The second image showed a large set of bat-winged armor forming around the brown haired woman. The purple orb was gone. The next one showed Zero with his Z-Sabre drawn, running it through the armor that had formed around the woman, the beginnings of an explosion around the area where the blade had punctured the suit. The last one was more like a movie.
Zero was holding the woman in his arms. She was battered and dented. He was sure she was a reploid, too, now: he could see her circuitry and metal skeleton through one of the wounds. Zero was screaming. He could barely make out the words.. "NO, THIS ISN'T HAPPENING! ... Zero's voice faded for a second, then returned.. "WHA... WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR?!!!" A pain began to form in his chest, like he had just lost someone he loved, and he could barely contain his own emotions. The feeling eventually subsided, leaving only a name in its place. Iris.
He watched Zero sit down and lean against the tree he was heading towards. Did I just read his mind .. ? This Iris must have been very close to him. I better leave this alone for now.
Rathien left his crosslegged floating position and began walking back to the Pokemon Center, "Shall we head back?"
Zero shook his head and, "I need some time to think about things."
Rathien nodded and waved at him as he walked on.
Tundra and Catziah were awake when Rathien came inside. Catziah had a bright look about her as she approached him, "Well?"
Rathien shook his head, then quietly added, "I'm not sure, but I think I saw his first love. It was tragic.. he was forced to kill her. I think it killed a part of him, too."
Tundra was silent with shock. Catziah had a puzzled look on her face, "How.. ? I thought you couldn't read him."
"I don't know. It might have been the strength of his emotions at the time. I saw a tear run down his face. I didn't think he was capable shedding them." Rathien replied.
Morning came swiftly, and everyone woke up as the sunlight washed over them through the windows. Zero wasn't in the room. As everyone made their way to the cafeteria, they saw Zero looking at the Pokedex Professor Rowan gave him. They all sat down around him after grabbing a meal.
"Morning, everyone," Zero began. "I've been reading up on all your strengths and weaknesses. I'd like to work with Taiga, Tundra, and Autumn in the tournament since it would be their first. Is everyone okay with that?"
To which there were no objections.
"Okay. It'll be a new experience for me too. I've been the soldier all the time. I could use any advice you can give me," Zero finished.
Rathien, Catziah, and Midnight were the most help. Rathien and Midnight could read Catziah's mind while she was able to read the Pokedex itself. Together they went outside and everyone displayed their talents, sparring against each other. Zero brought Tundra and Taiga over and whispered something in their ears. Their eyes went wide and they grinned to each other then to Zero.
Zero called out the Mismagius, "Okay, Midnight. I want you to spar against Tundra and Taiga so they can get used to fighting against your kind."
She grinned and took an exaggerated bow, then met Tundra and Taiga in the field near the Center.
"Okay, begin!" Zero shouted.
Midnight floated in between the two Riolu and phased out of sight. Tundra remembered immediately what Zero had said and her eyes started glowing blue. She could see the outline of Midnight, just barely, but it was enough for her to get a kick off. Taiga caught on and his eyes started glowing blue as well, but just as he was moving in for a punch, a scintillating beam of energy came from Midnight's mouth and struck him. He barely had enough time to brace himself for the hit. When he recovered, he could barely stand. Tundra ran over and caught him as he stumbled. Midnight then appeared in front of both of them, and an indigo haze spewed from her mouth as she cackled. They were both hit by the noxious gas, but Taiga seemed to take the brunt of it. He collapsed, choking. Tundra turned, coughing and gasping for breath, she then fell over backwards. As Midnight reappeared, Tundra's paws began glowing an azure blue, and she shot herself off the ground with the attack the Pokedex called a Force Palm, right into Midnight's exposed side. The attack caught her completely off guard, and she collapsed to the ground spasming. Tundra picked up Taiga and they both walked over to Midnight and helped her back onto her 'feet', so to speak, as everyone cheered.
"Not bad, not bad at all," Catziah said to Zero. "That was a nice trick." She then brought a canister over to Midnight and sprayed the contents on her wounds. "Feeling better?" she asked Midnight, who nodded back to her, smiling.
Next Zero called for Autumn to spar against Trinity, "Ok Trinity, we're just going to see how powerful Autumn is. You look like you can take the most hits, so I'd like you to be her partner."
Trinity bobbed up and down and then went out into the field, followed by Autumn. Autumn then started working herself up into a frenzy, and then rushed into Trinity with multiple speedy hits, 5 of them in a row within a second, and then followed it up with a punch that sent Trinity spinning, and falling to the ground.
"Whoa! That's one hell of a punch, Autumn," Taiga said as everyone just stared wide eyed. Autumn just grinned as she helped Trinity back to Catziah to get her wounds treated, and everyone started clapping.
The rest of the day, everyone else showed off their skills, and they were attracting quite a crowd. A few people even offered to buy Tundra from Zero, which he met with an icy glare that could freeze molten lava. Everyone else got the hint rather quickly after that. Trinity specialized in lightning attacks, which Zero winced inwardly at, and Scarlet was capable of many different poisoning attacks, as well as having a nasty shriek she liked to use while closing distance. It made everyone around cringe and hold their ears closed.
The next morning, Zero left Jubilife City to head to the Oreburgh Tournament. Everyone was outside traveling with him. The sight of 9 skilled pokemon in stride beside their trainer was a good deterrence to random ambushes. The trip, which took a total of 3 days, was uneventful.
They arrived in Oreburgh City during the night, but they all noticed the difference between it and Jubilife. Zero reminisced, this town reminded him of a boom town on his world from ancient times when humans mined gold and other precious metals from the mountains. He was glad he had taken the card that Officer Jenny had given him and put it on a band around his neck, as some of the police were approaching him. He waved them over and showed them the card, to which they nodded and let him pass. They made their way to the Pokemon Center and grabbed a large room, and a meal, then got some sleep.
The next morning they made their way to the gym. A man greeted them as they approached, "Welcome to the Oreburgh City gym, are you here to challenge Roark?" Zero nodded. "Silent type, huh? Was looking forward to talking with someone new. Oh well. Follow me."
They were led inside to a large room, where there was literally a small mountain inside, with bridges connecting between different precipices. "Roark is at the top, you have to reach him to challenge him. You'll encounter other trainers along the way, and have to defeat them to get to the top. Are you ready?"
Zero nodded again and headed out. The man ran after him, "Hey WAIT! *puff puff* You can only have 6 Pokemon with you at a time! What are you doing?!"
Zero looked at him rather coldly and pointed to 3 of his pokemon, "I'm only using Tundra, Taiga, and Autumn for this. Everyone else is here to watch."
The man was taken aback at the glare, and was about to protest the matter but thought twice about it. What's the point, so long as his other ones don't get involved? "Ugh.. Okay I won't say anything about it, but this is usually not allowed and I just don't want to deal with it. Make sure they stay out of the battles though."
Zero nodded again, and the party proceeded up the man-made mountain. It was a steep climb to get to the first precipice. Zero was considering having Rathien teleport everyone up, but then remembered what he had agreed to. When they reached it, there was a plateau with a young boy. To Zero's eyes he appeared to be only 11 or 12 years old. Zero approached him.
The youngster was the first to talk, "Hi there, I take it you're here to challenge Roark?"
Zero nodded, and the lad responded, "Then you've gotta beat me first! Come on out Aitna!" A pokeball that Zero had no clue where the kid had stored then flew into the middle of the plateau, and a large boulder with arms appeared.
Zero eyed the youngster incredulously, "Aren't you a little young to be here?"
The kid looked really hurt, "What?! I finished my training 2 years ago! Now which one of your pokemon is my opponent?"
Zero stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds. Does this world really let their children around such powerful creatures?!
Zero then looked at Tundra, Taiga, and Autumn, "So who wants to go first?" to which all three raised their paws excitedly. Zero smiled, "Okay, Taiga, you get the first round. Remember what Tundra did to Midnight?" Tundra nodded excitedly. "Alright, get in there and win!"
Taiga then leaped forward onto the middle of the plateau and took his stance.
"Aitna, use rock throw! Don't let that little one get close!" the kid yelled.
The Geodude started digging chunks of rock from the ground and throwing them at Taiga, which caught him by surprise. He barely avoided a rather large boulder that flew right over his head as he ducked. Taiga began to close the distance between the two, dodging as many rocks as he could, but took a hit to his shoulder as he neared Aitna. "Aitna, defense curl!" the kid yelled again. Aitna pulled her hands in close and an iron sheen appeared over her skin as Taiga grinned, remembering what Autumn did to Trinity, and started punching and kicking the now-iron-colored boulder rapidly. Taiga backed up a bit, and began to focus his aura into his paws. The youngster yelled again, "Do it now, rollout!" Aitna began spinning furiously, and barreled over Taiga while he was preparing his attack. He fell to the ground. Aitna came around for a second pass, moving much faster. Taiga saw it coming, though, and decided now was the time to use Tundra's trick. Just as the rolling boulder got within a foot of Taiga, he released the energy he was concentrating in his paws and stuck his foot out in a kick. The force palm launched him into Aitna. She was caught completely by surprise, and was sent flying off the side of the plateau. Taiga started walking back towards Zero, holding his shoulder but with a big grin going ear to ear. Everyone was cheering him as he approached.
"Nice work Taiga," Zero said to him.
"What the heck?! You didn't even give any orders! Now I gotta climb down and get Aitna again.. Here's your winnings," the kid said as he handed Zero a plastic card. Zero just smiled at him and then the group proceeded to cross a bridge over a canyon.
There was another trainer on the other side of the bridge. He was only a little older than the one they encountered before. He saw the whole battle, and was a little discouraged at how fast his brother had been defeated.
Zero approached him, "Am I going to have to challenge you, too?"
The boy gulped, and then nodded and threw a pokeball from out of his pocket. "C'mon Snap. We gotta beat this guy. He took out Aitna way too fast." A small green dinosaur with red eyes and chest appeared.
Zero saw the boy's hesitation, "You're up Tundra, and don't fight dirty this time," Zero said to her with a wink. Tundra laughed wildly; the older boy went visibly pale. She ran onto the clearing near the little reptile. The green dinosaur gave her a lecherous look, which was kind of unnerving to her, but she shrugged it off. "Snap, use chip away!" Tundra went into a defensive position as the little dinosaur started to throw various punches and kicks at her, gaining confidence as Tundra backed away. He leered at her again before thrusting his hand at her crotch, like he was trying to cop a feel. Tundra saw it coming, though. She figured he'd try to do something dirty. She deftly grabbed it with her teeth and jerked the Larvitar off his feet. He started screaming in pain, angry at being baited into such a dirty trick. Before he could get back up, Tundra flipped over him, an azure flame appearing on her paws. Snap finally pushed himself up on all fours and was looking around, and gave a startled yelp when a blue flame suddenly knocked him back to the ground. He could barely move. He tried to crawl away, but before he could make his second reach, the breath was knocked out of him as Tundra landed on his back, pinning him to the ground, laughing the whole time.
Everyone except Snap's trainer was laughing, which made him angry. Before he could do anything though, he was recalled by the boy, who had a dumbfounded look on his face.. I didn't know Force Palm could be used like that.. "Where did your Riolu learn to do that?!" He shouted.
Zero assumed his poker face again, upset at the notion he owned any of his friends, "One, I don't own her. She travels with me willingly. They all do," as he waved to his friends. "Two, she made that up on her own just now." Tundra made another big ear to ear grin again.
The kid looked even more upset, disbelieving that a Pokemon would actually think of such a tactic, "No way, you're lying. You must have had her a long time for her to kn-"
The kid was interrupted by someone shouting from above, "Shut up and pay the man! You lost fair and square!"
The kid looked up to where the voice came from, "But-"
"JUST DO IT!" the voice echoed again.
The kid shook his head, walked over to Zero rather dejectedly and handed him a card. Zero just glared at him as they climbed the next cliffside. Tundra smiled at how Zero treated her and his friends, like they were somebody, instead of property. They made their way up the cliffside, and crossed another bridge. When they reached the summit, there was a huge arena, white lines depicting sides like a basketball court. There were a few large boulders and stalagmites jutting from the impossibly sandy ground. On the other side of the arena stood a man in a hard hat with a lamp on it, dressed in a protective grey suit with bright yellow reflectors, a black t-shirt beneath it, and rubber work boots.
The same voice greeted him as he approached the court, "Sorry my associate down there was giving you lip. He just got a new Larvitar and hasn't had much time with him," the voice began. "My name's Roark, Roark the Rock."
Zero summed him up, glad to know that there was at least one person around who was respectful, "Just call me Zero."
"Odd nickname, but ok," Roark replied. "Well, I'm assuming you're here for the Tournament. Let's get this started."
Roark then reached into his pocket and produced a pokeball. "You're up, Athos," he said calmly as he threw the ball into the air. Another Geodude appeared, this one considerably larger than the other.
Zero looked at Autumn, "You ready? Try to avoid getting hit, this one looks like it's seen its share of fights." Autumn bobbed her head happily and then strode into the court to meet her opponent.
Roark laughed when he saw the little buneary run into the arena, "You really gonna use a regular pokemon? Ok, let's get this over with. Athos, go in hard!" The armed boulder began moving impressively fast for its size. Autumn barely had enough time to jump out of the way as it tried to bulldoze her. She looked at Athos as it was looking around trying to figure out where she went. She jump kicked him right in the middle of the back. The force of it knocked the rock to the ground, face first. It pushed itself up with a mighty punch, which caused the whole mountain to rumble and shake, which caused everyone except Roark to fall down. Autumn was unlucky enough to land on a small stalagmite, she let out a shrill yell as it dislocated her shoulder. She picked herself back up, clenching her paws into a fist as Athos charged at her again. He was too close for her to dodge, so she did the next best thing. She brought her clenched fist right into Athos' face mid charge. Although Autumn was knocked backwards by the sheer mass of the charging Geodude, he was sent careening into the air. Autumn prepared for another attack that she was sure was next, but never came. She looked at Athos. He was barely able to stay rightside up, wobbling and spinning. She heard Roark yell, "Aww, Athos, pull yourself together!" I knocked him silly.. HAH! I gotta take advantage of this! She started running towards the confused Geodude, and performed a small hop, followed by a mighty bounce. She flew much higher than Athos, then changed it into another jump kick on the return. The impact caused the sand to shift and spray. When it settled, she was standing on top of an unconscious Athos. Everyone cheered and applauded, even Roark. She then did a forward flip off of Athos, and landed next to Zero, wide smile on her face.
"Wow, that was intense! You trained her well!" Roark shouted across the battleground as he recalled Athos. "I know now to not underestimate you! Tank, you're next. Watch out, these guys are good!" He then threw out another pokeball, this time a little black and blue dinosaur with spikes coming out of a large blue skull appeared.
"That was a nice finish, Autumn," Zero said to her. She then felt the stinging pain in her shoulder that had been stifled by the adrenaline rush of combat, and winced while grabbing at it. Zero looked at Catziah, who nodded and walked over to her.
("This is going to hurt very badly, but it will be much worse if I don't do this now,") she said as Autumn cringed at the thought. She knew what had to be done. ("Ok, On Three.") Autumn nodded. ("One......-")
SNAP! Zero cringed at the thought of what that might feel like, as well as what Catziah will feel like after that rude surprise.
("OWWW! YOU SAID ON THREE!") Autumn yelled at her.
Catziah looked at her mournfully, ("I know, but it hurts less when it's done unexpectedly. When the mind is anticipating something, it's much worse. Sorry..") Autumn frowned but accepted the apology anyway. She knew Catziah was right.
("Zero, let me take him!") Taiga said while punching the air.
"Heh, okay you're up Taiga. He's onto us now though, so be careful," Zero quickly added. Taiga nodded as he approached the little dinosaur. Roark shouted to Tank, "Don't let him get close, Tank!" Suddenly Tank started glowing purple, then the sand beneath him erupted with large stones and boulders, encased in the purple glow as well. Taiga stopped mid-stride and started to dance as a volley of the earthen projectiles were hurled towards him. He didn't dance well enough. Taiga barely dodged the first three stones, but was hit hard in the stomach by the fourth one, which knocked the wind out of him. He was pummeled with a dozen more of the stones before the onslaught stopped. After the dust settled, the blood on his fur could easily be seen by everyone watching. He still managed to get up and close the distance, then followed up with the same series of quick hits and kicks that Autumn used on Trinity while they were training. The little Cranidos took all of the hits on the head, then laughed. Taiga noticed he barely made a scratch on Tank's blue skull. He didn't notice the skull jerk forward until it smacked him right in the face, momentarily stunning him. The little dinosaur took advantage of the situation and lunged forward at Taiga, taking him down hard. Taiga let out a yelp of pain, it was the hardest blow he had taken yet. Taiga still wasn't done though. He began concentrating, and azure flames appeared on his paws. Before the dinosaur could react, he forced his arms forward into its chest and released the flames. The Cranidos went flying into the air, straight up. Roark saw what was about to happen, and started shaking his head while muttering to himself, "I told you not to let him get close.." Taiga rolled out of the way, got onto his feet, then leaped into the air towards Tank. He caught Tank in the air and positioned himself above the little dinosaur, then charged the azure flames that still surrounded his paws again. He shot the blue flames right into the dinosaur's chest again, the resulting force pushing him upwards, counteracting the force of gravity. Tank was less fortunate. He was hurled back into the ground with such force that it shot streamers of sand and dust up 30 feet into the air. Taiga landed while the sand was still falling to the ground, burying the both of them. It was a good half minute before the dune stirred, and out popped Tank holding Taiga in his arms. Taiga was still conscious, but he spent the last of his strength on that final attack. There was great applause from both sides of the arena.
("You fight well, Riolu, what's your name?") Tank asked.
("Taiga, and you're name's Tank?") he replied.
The Cranidos nodded.
("I can see why, you can take one hell of a beating..") Taiga laughed weakly as Tank set him down by Zero.
Zero smiled as he said, "Yes he can."
The Cranidos cocked his head at the man in the amber cloak with a puzzled look on his face.
Zero laughed again, then whispered loudly, "Yes, I can understand you. Just don't tell Roark, ok?"
Everyone nearby laughed so hard, they all knew Tank wouldn't be able to if he tried.
Tank waved as he ran back towards Roark, smiling the whole time. Roark thought it was just because he won the fight, "Nice work Tank, but next time don't let a fighter get so close to ya. You know you can't take many hits from 'em."
Tank chuckled, "Cra crane, ni dos ni crane dos." ("I know, but it was still fun.")
Roark couldn't understand him, but guessed at what Tank was trying to say, "I suppose a good challenge always is fun isn't it?" To which Tank laughed and nodded.
Roark then popped a question to Tank, "You wanna stay outside and watch the rest of the fight? I got a new Steelix I've been wanting to watch."
Tank bobbed his head rapidly, and took a seat by Roark. Roark gave him some Oran Berries to eat while he rested, then shouted over to Zero, "Okay, my last fighter is gonna be a surprise! Send one of yours out first!"
Zero looked at Tundra, and she cheered. She was ready to go. She walked out into the middle of the court. Roark pulled out the last pokeball he had. It didn't resemble a regular pokeball, so Zero squinted his eyes trying to get a better look.
Zero assumed his poker face again, "Roark has one of those black pokeballs.." he said to his friends, but quickly added as Trinity, Midnight, Blackfire, and Scarlet started fuming, "I don't think he's one of those Galaxy Gangsters though.. His other fighters weren't enslaved."
Roark threw the ball into the air, "Ridge, time to come out and win this for us!"
Zero's eyes widened with realization, "Oh no.. It's rigged!"
Just as Zero yelled those words, the mighty Steelix named Ridge materialized, 30 feet long and angry. At the same time, the Black Pokeball exploded. Roark was shocked, "What the hell?!"
Ridge looked around him, finally able to move on his own accord. He was mad.. he was beyond mad, he was bloodthirsty. He vowed he would exterminate the pathetic human race that had enslaved him. Starting with these, and their pitiful Pokemon.
"Ridge, stop it, what's wrong with you? You were never like this when I was working with you before!" Roark yelled at him. Ridge ignored him, and stared hungrily at the frightened cream colored Riolu in front of him.
Tundra froze. She began shaking uncontrollably. When Ridge started moving towards her, her feet wouldn't budge, like they were made of lead. Zero and his team knew immediately what was going on, "Tundra, snap out of it! Tundra! TUUUUNDRAAAA!" Zero charged ahead, blue sparks and flames kicking from his boots. He was moving so fast that after-images of him trailed behind. His team behind him tried to keep up, but were just too slow.
Zero reached Tundra just as the metal bladed tail of the Steelix came flying at them both. There was no time to pull out his sword to help deflect the blow, so he did what he thought the next best thing was. He grabbed Tundra just as he reached her, went into a spin, and then threw her out of range of the incoming swipe. However, his backside was now exposed. Ridge's bladed tail impacted with a force that rang out through the whole stadium, metal grinding against metal. Zero felt the hit, and felt pain he never thought he would ever experience again. Pain? What's wro- He crashed violently into a nearby boulder.
He heard screams, "NOOOOOOO!!", "ZEROOOO!!!", "RIDGE, NOOOOOO!!!"
Ridge's bladed tail sliced cleanly through both Zero and the boulder he crashed into. There was a massive series of explosions, and bright beams of orange light and smaller fiery blooms appeared around him. The light intensified until nobody could see. A full minute passed before the light and explosions subsided. Ridge was flung away from the scene, dead. Even he could not survive the destructive force that had occurred. As everyone approached the area, they saw Zero's body, torn in half and mangled beyond description, legs seperated from the hip, hip seperated from the body, metal and wires, and blood between it all. Zero's torso then began to glow a soft red and white. The light encompassed the rest of his remains, and focused inwards, cocooning him.
Pain? What's wrong with me? Why am I covered in blood? Oh no, I wasn't fast enough.. I couldn't save her.. no... not again... NOOOOO! Screams echoed quietly through his mind, then Zero felt his body being severed. It was excruciating, but there was nothing he could do. He felt the fiery force of his reactor exploding as his vision drifted away. At least I tried.. A cascade of energy was released throughout the rest of his systems. The agony was indescribable, as red and white light replaced the blackness that invaded his sight earlier. The blazing inferno of torture finally became too much for him. His mind seized, vision fading again to black as he slipped into unconsciousness.