Both downed Pokemon were recalled. Their interference would get in the way with the struggle to come.
Sableye tried his best to stay strong. He wasn’t good at confrontations, but he would try his best. Black claws shook in nervousness as he tried to analyze his options. Psyduck was already Confused, so he took the chance to Disable the threatening offensive pressure. The duck would have put his all into the final attack, so getting rid of it was the smartest play.
Sableye’s gray beam of light struck true. Even with the upper leg, Sableye could feel the mounting pressure.
‘Should I pull him?’ Lilith wondered.
She could feel his steadily increased agitation the longer it built. Worry over his mental state was the primary concern, having only pulled away from such abuse relatively recently. If he couldn’t pull together without Absol’s presence as a stabilizing factor, she would have to forfeit.
‘Even with my pride, there are some lines I would never cross.’
With Psyduck’s most effective move temporarily suspended, it was left with only one attacking move. Upon the duck’s evolution, the species would gain the Psychic type, with Confusion already known. Unfortunately for them, the move was unable to affect any dark types and was completely useless.
A blob formed around his mouth as water dripped down. She shot the Water Gun towards Sableye, being a substitute for the much stronger Water Pulse. The blobs arched through the air and connected with the jittery Ghost. Sableye was only knocked back slightly, relatively unaffected.
With his only two status conditions used, all there was left for him to do was attack head on.
‘He really needs more supportive moves, Confusion is too random. If he had Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, or even Toxic, then he would be more proactive in his approach. ‘ Lilith thought while watching the battle, still monitoring his condition.
She had been relatively silent all battle, letting her Pokemon experience what it meant to be a team. If he crumbled under such low stakes then his ability to perform in the future would be in jeopardy. They would have to drill more on it later, but she was unsure how to boost a Pokemon’s confidence..
She silently thanked Rene for bringing up his flaw, learning much more about her new Pokemonin one battle than the days they had spent with one another. It wasn’t a terrible showing, but there was definitely room to improve their coordination with one another. Lombre and Psyduck had moved much smoother.
Sableye did a small backflip backwards, landing on his shadow and moving into a different realm. The motion served more as a visual distraction, nothing like the full use of Phantom Force. He utilized the sudden boost in priority, disengaging his ghostly visage and popping back behind Psyduck’s own shadow.
The duck was caught off guard, not noticing the extended shadow at all. Sableye took the opportunity to pummel it as hard as he could before trying to retreat. The shadow underneath him ignored the setting sun, bedding to its master's will. The Pokemon tried using the same movement to retreat to safety before any more punishment could be had.
Just as he thought freedom had been achieved, the Water Gun propelled him from behind. Psyduck’s aim thus far had been incredible, even hitting moving targets from meters away. He was unable to dodge as he was damaged once more. Their exchange had been relatively even, and his only consolation was that he had the power to always move first with Shadow Sneak.
Both trainer and Pokemon cursed their bad luck, Confusion hadn’t been activated once.
“Just one more attack…” She mumbled.
She could feel his tension about to boil over, ready for any sign that he wasn’t able to continue.
Sableye shook not just from the attack, but the increasing frustration to be back in a position that reminded him so much of Rick. His battles before were always so aggressive and unrelenting, but that just wasn’t who he was. The small Darkness Pokemon was much more than that.
Sableye tried shaking the realization, but it was too much to handle. His only option was a frontal assault. Before he could jump into action once more, he felt a pull on their connection. He paused, as a warm feeling washed over him, a voice filled with confidence assuring him that all would be alright.
“Come on, you got this!” Lilith cheered.
Something grew inside Sableye. He had been all wrong. The situation was nothing at all like Rick and his abusive ways. He was forced to fight with his old Trainer. But with his new one, it was his decision to stand his ground. His decision to fight for what he believed in. And that’s exactly what he would do. He would fight for his Trainer. Despite believing in him, she would rather not see him hurt. It would be okay to lose.
In that moment, he wished he could turn to his saving grace. She had rescued him and treated him like family. She didn’t want anything in return except for his best. From that moment on, he would try his hardest to be worthy of his new found family.
Instead, Sableye etched the feeling into his heart.
He had a beetle to win. With a renewed sense of vigor, the struggle took a sudden shift. The audience watched as the Prankster Pokemon simply fell into the ground. There was no need to jump into his shadow because he was the shadow. Sableye appeared behind his opponent, ready to strike.
Psyduck, none the wiser, was expecting him from behind, watching for his extended shadow. A pregnant pause washed over the battlefield as nothing happened. The opponent had simply vanished.
Psyduck reoriented itself, watching the nearby shadows carefully. The sun sat behind, giving only one option to appear.
“Behind!” Rene shouted.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The duck’s own shadow squirmed about, creating a small hole for the enlightened Sableye to jump through. The Sun did not stop him, for everything was a shadow. He could appear exactly where he pleased.
And that’s exactly what he did. The final attack came suddenly, and with the target completely unguarded, a Critical Hit landed right at the base of the neck. Rene had positioned her Pokemon so precisely that Psyduck had tunnel vision onto the spot of darkness before her.
Lilith’s jaw slacked slightly. She could feel his resolve burning ever so brightly, washing over her and banishing any doubt she once held. It had surpassed even her expectations. The crowd cheered with thunderous applause for the come from behind victory.
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‘His mobility is fantastic!’ She thought.
Psyduck fell face first, unable to battle. The sudden battle fatigue seemed to vanish as the victor disappeared, only to jump up next to his Trainer. Lilith smiled, handing him a Potion. Sableye eagerly guzzled it back in one chug while receiving a pat on his head. His shields repaired themselves nicely, and would be ready for the night to come. The sun was setting and bringing with it the night.
The first aid had been applied and they would be at 100% the next morning. Getting knocked out was much harder to come back from than keeping their health intact.
“Wow, what a performance!” Rene came over to congratulate them both.
“You too, you’ve given me much to think about. I am glad we bumped into each other!” She said cheerfully.
Many things about her origin stuck out. Her skin color was one factor, but people with darker skin still called the Region home. The giveaway was her Pokemon. They weren’t found at all in the Unova Region, from what she could remember. Those two put together strongly suggested her foreign origin.
“Where are you from?” Lilith asked bluntly.
“I am from Kalos! I have some family here so we decided I could do an exchange program while visiting my distant relatives. Some young Trainers from here have been sent there in hopes of a more friendly relationship!” She explained excitedly.
Rene was a cheerful young woman and their conversation continued even after most everyone else in the group called it a night. Lilith didn’t mind the chatter, having nothing to do with Pokemon. She had been missing out on the everyday aspect.
“Which direction are you going?” She asked. “We could adventure together! That would be so fun.” Stars glimmered in Rene’s eyes as she leaned forward.
“To Virbank, you?” Lilith asked.
While the first impression was a good one, that didn’t mean she would accept such an offer.
“Ahh!” She threw her hands up. “ That is too bad, I have just come from there! The gym was definitely interesting…” She made a weird face.
“Interesting how?” Lilith asked.
Her reaction was odd, different from what she would expect.
“Ah, you will see, yes?” she smiled.
“Nevermind…” Lilith mumbled.
She couldn’t help but walk right into the trap Rene had set.
“Ahh, it is late, I would like to rest, you should too.” She yawned.
The sun had set and it was already dark. They had been the last to battle and the other kids had already turned in, leaving them the last two awake.
“I’d better get going.” Lilith got up.
“It was nice meeting you…” she mumbled.
***
With how close the team was, they decided it was best to make a bolt for the city. It was about a half hour walk before they could see anything remotely resembling civilization. Nature filled the area as Sunkern settled in for the night. Other wild Pokemon could be seen, but they were left alone.
The hills gradually crested and peaked until a strange object came into view in the distance. Large gray slabs stood out and crew the closer they came. A large hole sat in the center that allowed foot traffic while the occasional bird flew overhead. The structure was massive, spanning more than the eye could see. Trees covered up the most surface area, but became more pronounced once right before the object. The City of Virbank was lined with a massive wall.
The large man made structure reminded her of her first visit to Aspertia. Despite not having an aerial view, the city was very familiar. Large pillars rose out of the encampment, buildings scraping the sky. They were well spread out but easily visible.
Looking up, the wall had to be at least 10 meters tall.
‘I wonder what its function is…’ Lilith wondered.
The front entrance had a short line of people that she joined promptly. Each person would swipe their identification at the gate which sped up the group. Everyone looked to be rushing back to settle in for the night. Security watched the guests as people compared the picture on the cards to their appearance to make sure they were who they said they were. Overall, the process was smooth.
Tent of minutes later she handed her card to a woman who scanned her through. With her identification verified, Lilith entered the city at last.
‘It looks exactly the same…’ She thought, disappointed.
Slate gray concrete lined the sidewalks while pristine asphalt covered the roads. The hum of cars and electricity opened up once she stepped out of the guardhouse and onto the street.
Only a few people walked the streets, with none looking like Pokemon Trainers.
‘Am I back on earth?’ She wondered.
People dressed in suits and business attire dominated the landscape. While such apparel was present in Aspertia, it was much less prevalent. The entire vibe was only emphasized by the lack of Pokemon around.
Lilith walked the sidewalks, heading into the center of town. The best way to explore a new place was to get lost, and she had nothing on the schedule for a while. Big advertising billboards stood out, but couldn’t cover up the dingy looking side alleys at each corner. Some were dark and had suspicious substances on the brick covered walls. Spray paint heavily dominated the creepiest of places, which really didn’t surprise her. Most covered up previous tags and created multiple layers impossible to clean. Roxie was punk rock and so were her followers. The one thing that hadn’t made sense to her at first were all the rich snobs she had met before coming to Virbank. Both vibes seemed in direct conflict with each other.
‘Maybe the League is using Roxie to internally battle their rich ways.’ She thought.
The idle thought was unsuspecting at first until she really dove into the implications. If such a scenario were true, then the League had a hand in manipulating businesses and the market. With the association acting like a government, history knew how corrupt such places could become when controlled without regulation.
She cast the thought aside, too scary to consider. It had little implications for her currently, so instead, she pulled out her Pokedex to find the nearest Pokemon Center.
Lilith walked the streets following her map. It didn’t take long before she found the the Pokemon Center with big bold letters across the front. The sign signaled its location conspicuously. The building was easily the life blood of any settlement, and in large cities like such, there were multiple. With hundreds of thousands of residents, there was no way to fit all the Trainers into a single building without it being massive. Instead, they spread them out, having one central part with others scattered around the entrances to the city and important landmarks.
The large sign flashed above its door as she gave it one last look. Lilith walked into the Pokemon Center knowing what to expect. All were formatted to be similar. She looked around for the shopping center, there was much she needed to buy. The Pokemart was housed to the right, with the entire building functioning like a shopping mall.
The layout was familiar, having long isles to store stock.
She walked the sides, looking for the moves section. She needed to look at Egg moves and Technical Machines to boost her team's power. Despite Sableye’s win, the battle had been too close. One wrong move and it could have gone the other way. There wasn’t any problem with losing like that, just that it could be avoided. Their coverage was rather weak, so she decided to fix it.
Lilith found the spot she was looking for, finding the status moves. The best condition in her opinion was burn. It could cut a physical attacker's power in half while simultaneously chipping away at their shield.
‘It was powerful in the game, but I should consider checking out the others at some other point too.’ She had one more thing to do.
Will-o-Wisp has the best fire setter, and she needed it for Sableye. It would be the best way to increase his power in the short term. It only took a moment until Lilith found what she was looking for, picking up the small plastic case from the shelf.
“Why are these so damn expensive?!” She exclaimed.