The axe swung down, and Valor knew what he had to do.

He broke through his pokeball, greeted by the hollow gold halls of an ancient civilization. His mind tuned it all out, instead watching the axe of the Kleavor come down onto Arun’s neck.

Valor hardened his body, muscles flexing tight as he slammed into the side of the axe, causing it to angle off to the side, cutting a dent beside his trainer’s head. Falling through the air Valor let loose a torrent of bullet seed, the tiny projectiles peppering Kleavor’s hide. The monster snarled, using its free hand to bat Valor away, letting him sail to the right.

“Eyes on me.” Valor said, shaking off the impact.

C̶̗̟̤͉͉̭̞̾́̚O̶̤̬̎̽͑̃̏̀̒̊N̸̨̦̙̦̗̤̟̻̭̘̅͜ͅS̸̨͇̹̘̱͙̞̜̟̮̦̭͓͂̂̋̍̀̅̃͜͠U̶̫̣̅͝M̸̢̼̙̩̳̯̞̘̗̥̖͕̹̒̈́̉̆͐̾̆͋͗͜͝ͅȨ̴̹̝͖̣̟̼̞̖̪̪̣̰̰̹̈́̽̏̿͆̇̆̅̓̄͝

É̷̛͇̬͉̱̘͍͖̄̔͑̔̔͆͛Ŗ̸̧͇̯̪͚̼̊́͆̍͋̂̉͋̑̂̈̚̕Ă̷̤̬̞̟͑͑̈̽̚̚͠S̶̨̮̼̪̞̑͋̅̍͜E̵̼̱͓̱͎̭̓͜ͅ

M̶̝̜̥͉̽͌̊̂̓̈́̏̆̀̿̏̃͗͜I̶̧̡̳̪̣̣̙̥̳̲͇̒̓̍̓͘ͅS̸̗̫̻̝̫͎͙̜̹̞̩͒̓̈͗̂͜͝Ţ̷̨̗̳̺͕̯̖͖̺͚̇͛̔̏͜͝ͅȦ̶̢̛͙͚̤͙͙̲͕̝͇̯̰̙̺͆̓̅͘K̶̙̟̜͚͙͔̰̻̝̾͋͗̉̏̂E̸͉̘̤̪͎͕̱̝͗̆̈́̄̑̓̒̔͝

It wasn’t language. The garbled mess that came out of Kleavor’s mouth reminded Valor of the machines Galactic kept around their facility, the words were like numbers being spat at him, ones that he could just barely organise into a semblance of words and intent. The monster was looking away from Arun now though, that was good.

Bad news though, it was looking at him.

“[Icy Wind!]”

“[Mud Bomb!]”

A cold breeze slammed into the Kleavor, ice instantly forming at its joints. A second later a ball of heavy mud slammed into its back, causing the massive beast to stumble forward. Valor saw Hazel and Emily had given up on the door, focusing their efforts on the Kleavor instead.

His heart told him to be grateful, that he wouldn’t have to face the threat alone.

Experience taught him that they wouldn’t win, even if they had more numbers.

“Get the door open!” Valor shouted, unleashing another torrent of bullet seeds. No good, they slammed into Kleavor’s side, but they weren’t strong enough to pierce the rocky exterior.

Of course, the trainers could not understand him, but Grimer and Snowrunt did, the two shooting looks at their trainer. Either the two didn’t understand, or they decided against the Valor’s plea, choosing to try and eliminate the Kleavor instead.

Why? Did they not feel afraid? Was escaping not the best option?

Valor shook his head, he had to abandon those thoughts, they were useless, unnecessary. Instead he rolled away, leading Kleavor farther and farther down the hall, away from Arun, away from Hazel and Emily. Hopefully they’d get the message.

He bounced, righting himself in the air to unleash a barrage of seeds. Kleavor rolled to the side, slamming both its axes down before opening its maw. Energy, the color of dull brown, began to shine deep within, and with wide eyes Valor realized Kleavor had more than just axes at his disposal.

A sharpened rock shot forward, and Valor barely managed to dodge out of the way, pirouetting in the air before landing on the ground. A second shot, and Valor was rolling once more, desperately trying to get away.

It was the third that got him.

The stake-like projectile pierced his side, and Valor let out a cry of pain, spinning out of control and crashing into the wall, amber blood splattering all around him as he crumpled onto the golden floors.

“I can…I can still fight.” Valor thought, groggily getting up to his feet. “I can…still win.”

But then he saw Kleavor, the right side of its face peeled away revealing muscle and sinew, blood leaking down its open wounds like flooded rivers on a rainy day. He saw its axe blades, chipped and slick with his blood, a grim reminder of the cold murder he’d receive from the beast.

And that damned monster fear rose up and gripped his tiny heart once more.

Valor collapsed onto the floor, scuttling backwards, his eyes wide open in terror. He didn’t want to die, he wanted to do so much more, he wanted to see Vigor, Mawile, and Abra again, he wanted to hang from his tree and soak the sun once more, not perish in the halls of ancients.

“Damn it–Go, Duskull–[Night Shade!]”

Billowing fog covered the room in inky darkness, unnatural cackling filled Valor’s ears as a baleful eye lazily swept across the room. Duskull saw the Kleavor, and its laughter only grew harsher.

“Finally!” It said, pure ecstasy in its voice, “Finally! A worthy soul to take!”

It did not use Night Shade, instead sending a pulsing orb that flickered and spun, flashing into Kleavor’s eyes.

“Duskull for fuck’s sake! Now’s not the time!”

“Quiet! As if a coward could teach me how to battle!”

Relief flooded through Valor, then shame. He’d chosen to leave the safety of his Pokeball to protect, but now here he was, cowering in a corner, watching his compatriots fight a battle he should have fought.

Kleavor rushed to do battle with the new fighters, whirling its arms in a deluge of swings. Snowrunt had managed to leap to the side, but Grimer was not as fast, eyes open wide in terror as another axe swung down.

“No you don’t!” Emily shouted, returning Grimer just as the axe went down. As soon as Grimer was back, she threw him out again, cracking the ball against Kleavor where the Ooze Pokemon began clawing at Kleavor’s face, trying to shove more and more of his poisonous fluid into its mouth.

The beast’s roar was turned into a hacking choke. All three Pokemon began unleashing as many attacks as they could, the sudden turnaround causing hope to flicker in Valor’s chest once more. The damaged body of Kleavor seemed to sway, and for a moment, Valor thought his fears were unfounded.

Only for a moment.

White energy began to glow from its maw, humming loudly and growing brighter with every moment. Hazel screamed something at Emily, but by the time she reached for Grimer’s ball, it was too late.

The world temporarily became a blinding mess of light and sound. A dull ringing buzzed in Seedot’s ears, his skin tingled with unnatural heat. It wasn’t a fiery heat, but rather like a sharp sting of frictional burns he sometimes felt using Rollout.

When his sight began to return to him, Valor wished it hadn’t. The battle was lost.

Grimer was splattered across the floor in pieces, the smallest parts of him managing to coalesce together to stay alive–just barely. Snowrunt was not much better. Her coat was blackened and puffy, like an allergic reaction had been pushed into fire.

“R-return!” Emily said, looking worried.

“Did you bring others?” Hazel said softly, glaring at the Kleavor who was heaving for breath.

“Just Zubat and Snowunt…Koffing’s still injured.”

“Can you open the door with them?”

“If I can't, we're dead.” Emily smiled, “I’ll see what I can do. Duskull?”

“He’s our best shot. Take my Snowrunt with you as well.”

Emily ran, turning and sprinting towards the door, releasing two more Pokemon who immediately began assaulting the door. The woman herself looked around, wrenching free a stake from one of the art pieces hanging about, jamming it into the crack of the door and trying to pry it open.

Duskull–unaffected by the beam, suddenly became a lot more wary. She sent an uncertain glance at Hazel, before seemingly becoming angry with herself for doing so.

Valor could barely make out the combat that followed, fighting to stay conscious as he tried to stem the flow of warm blood leaking down his side. Everything was getting hazy. He could hear the sound of battle, Hazel sounding more and more desperate as Duskull appeared to be losing ground. Could he rest a bit? Close his eyes?

Stolen novel; please report.

A familiar wave of emotion washed over Valor. Worry. Are you okay?

His eyes snapped open, and he saw Arun. He looked terrible. His breath was ragged and hoarse, blood had crusted the ends of his long hair, likely from when Kleavor had smashed him into the ground. He looked as tired as Valor felt, like they could both pass out at any moment.

He sent a wave of warmth back. Hurt, But ok.

Frustration. Difficult to speak. Then, want. Pockets, heal, reach?

Valor nodded, letting Arun drag him closer to his chest. Valor poked through his breast pocket, using his feet to drag out a mini capsule. It clattered to the floor, and he stomped down on it, cracking it open.

Three potions, a revive, and about a dozen berries flashed into existence. Arun took one of the potions, spraying Valor down and letting the mixture seep into his skin. Immediately he started to feel better, the wound on his side sealing up almost instantly. He still felt woozy, lack of blood, probably. But he could move again.

Want, from Arun. Crush revive.

The revive? Were these even meant for humans? He sent a wave of uncertainty back. Certain? Not for you.

Desperation. Please. Need to move. Need to fight.

Valor could only stare in confusion…he wanted to…fight? But why? Did he not remember what happened last time?

Desperation, again. Please.

Valor swallowed thickly, before nodding, crushing the revive in Arun’s palm. His trainer squeezed his eyes shut, before downing the powder, hands clenched in anticipation.

Immediately there were waves and flashes of pain, Arun convulsed, wrtetching badly as blood and spittle flew from his mouth. Valor heard the cracking of bones trying to right themselves into place, shards of broken bits piercing Arun’s skin and forcefully exiting his body.

“Arun!” Valor cried out, trying to push a berry into his friend’s hand. All that achieved however was Arun squeezing down hard on the Oran, blue juices pooling down his hand like drops of blood.

And then just like that, it was over. Valor couldn’t tell if Arun looked healthier or not. His breathing was normal, but his eyes were bloodshot. Every muscle seemed tense as his chest heaved, fighting to gulp in more and more air.

“Round 2.” Arun grunted, standing up.

Alarm. What do you mean? What are you doing?

“Hazel’s losing.” He replied, like that answered everything.

Frustration. You were broken before! You will break again!

Arun glanced down at him, but Valor held his gaze. He had to know. What Arun did was stupid, they had a plan, distract while the door was being opened. Why did he push against it? Why did he choose to fight when it was the choice that would lead to their deaths?

“...Valor. What do you think Pranav’s doing right now?”

Valor blinked.

“Is he safe? Is he still running?” Arun continued, watching as Duskull took a nasty cut across her jaw, “Did his door get stuck like ours? Did the AI abandon him? Did Remi trip him up? Is he alive?”

Uncertainty. I don’t know.

“Me neither. And that scares me, Valor. I don’t know if my brother, the kid I promised to protect, is alive or not right now, and I am terrified.”

“It doesn’t matter what happens to me. Doesn’t matter where we are, who we work for, or what we need to do. At the end of the day, as long as Pran is safe and happy, then I’ve fulfilled my debt.”

Valor replied with a wave of frustration. Then be smart enough to realize acting rashly will get you killed! If you don’t think ahead you won’t even see Pranav anymore!

Arun simply rolled his shoulders, shooting Valor a grin as he rose. “Best start thinking ahead for me then, eh?”

And then he sprinted into the fray again, jumping up and slamming both legs into Kleavor’s back. The beast stumbled forward, turning and narrowing its eyes at him.

“Let’s see that hyper beam again.” Arun taunted, “Maybe this time you’ll actually hit something.”

G̴͈̠̲̙̋̈́̈́̓R̵̙̺̗͆̌̕͘Ë̸̞̼̹͙́̐Ẽ̴̥̗͐͊D̸̘̲͌Ỳ̴̝̭̈́̕͜ ̸̨͔̹̯̍̀̏̚A̴̻̠͕͕̅D̶̻̓̓M̶̠̍͜͜I̵͖̬̳̊̏̍Ñ̷̝̲͚̋̌ The Creature sang, G̴̡̋̎͊O̶̯͉̠̻̒̾̚D̸̻̍̆ ̵͙͙͚͎̉̎̚Ṉ̵͗͌̚Ò̸̡̨͕̾̍ ̷̺̙͝L̵̘̼̣͠Ö̷͖͎̱̘́N̵̝̲͆ͅG̶̺̰̀̾̔̇E̷̢̧̖͋͝R̷̮̯̓̔̍̕

Arun winced, as if someone had shouted something into his ear. “Hazel, work on the door.”

Kleavor glanced away as Hazel ran, but decided against chasing him. Instead the beast huffed, stamping its clawed foot on the floor and sharpening its axes against one another. Arun responded by slightly shifting his feet, his whole body poised to dart away at a moment’s notice.

Kleavor rushed forward, maw cracking open as earthen energy began to gather and roil. Arun dodged the first of the rocks from its Rock Blast, leaping off to the side. The second followed behind, sharper and elongated, cutting into his side.

Arun snarled, grabbing it before it could smash apart, turning it in his hands and smashing the third and fourth out of the way, before rushing into Kleavor. He ducked under an axe swing, stabbing the rock into its exposed knee. Kleavor howled, and Arun was dancing backwards before it could stomp him out.

He was doing better. He was focused. In his eyes was still a glint of madness, a desire to end things quickly, to break Kleavor into bits. But now it was tempered by something else entirely, self preservation? Valor didn’t know.

He also knew it wouldn’t be enough. Kleavor was holding back for some reason, it wasn’t using its full arsenal, as if it were testing Arun. Even still it was a threat, narrow misses and shallow cuts began to take their toll on his trainer, slowing him down just a tad.

Could Valor help? He doubted it, one good hit and he’d be split in two. His Bullet Seeds barely did anything, and a rollout would endanger him more than it would help.

“If I help, I die.” He thought, watching Arun bat away another rock blast from the air. “If I don’t, he dies.”

The problem was Arun. He wasn’t scared enough. He would see death, and breathe a sigh of relief because it wasn’t near Pranav. He fought through fire and flame because of Pranav, the only thing that mattered to him was his trainer’s little brother. Valor didn’t understand. Could he imagine the same for Abra? No…he worried for him but he doubted he could ever achieve the level of zealousness Arun had.

Fine.

If Arun was too bullheaded to feel fear, then Valor would be there to warn him. If Arun was too blind to see that death had no qualms taking him first, Valor would be there to see for him. If Arun wanted to be the hero, Valor would be his shield.

He began to glow, power coursing through his veins, the chance of a breakthrough? Or a curse to remain as he was forever?

What was fear?

Fear was the monster that took his family away from him.

The flow of his power flickered, and he knew it was wrong. What was fear?

Fear was the armor that kept him alive while they died.

The light in his veins sang in euphoria at his answer, and Valor himself felt the certainty of it. He wanted to laugh, it was such a silly answer! He didn’t have courage, he was still the same child at heart, the same scared little Seedot. But that little Seedot lived, that Seedot would continue to live, and it would stop at nothing to see another day.

Would his friends hate him for such an answer? Did it matter? They had lost, they had died because they were not scared enough, and right now Valor couldn’t have his thoughts dwell on them. He had to focus on Arun, the promise of his future. It had to be him, Valor didn’t know why, but he didn’t give him his heart just to watch him die.

Valor felt himself grow, his skin split and changed, his bones cracked and shattered. Reforming, reattaching, regrowing. Instinctual knowledge of hands and feet flooded his brain, techniques, abilities, power, followed soon after.

Kleavor still towered over him, as did Arun. But Valor could feel it in his bones, he was stronger now, faster, better.

And it was time to prove it.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Arun knew he’d fucked up.

He knew it when the Kleavor had smashed its head into him, he knew when a single kick shattered half the bones in his ribs. He knew when it lumbered forward, intent on decapitating him. The fact that a revive could work on a person was nothing short of a lucky miracle. And at the end of the day, Arun realized that’s all they’d been all the way until now, lucky.

He could already hear Pran’s words as he dodged another axe blow. “You’re too hasty. You’re going to get yourself killed. Fall back, be smarter.”

Be smarter. Like he could talk.

Another Rock Blast, Arun dashed into Kleavor’s guard, sliding underneath its body as it unleashed 4 this time, the first two passing overhead completely. The third slammed into the wall, released before Kleavor could fully turn to face him, the fourth exploded by Arun’s feet, causing him to stumble into the floor.

It was all instinct at this point. You did or you died, you didn’t have to be smart, you just had to be better, and that’s what Arun did. Be faster than he was previously, be stronger.

Kleavor tried to stomp Arun into the ground, but he rolled away, leaping up a second later and slamming an armored boot into the side of its knee, bringing it down. One bloody eye glared at him, and it began to charge with white energy. Alarm bells rang in Arun’s head, and he dashed to the side, trying to get into Kleavor’s blind spot.

He took a breath, and felt his lungs catch dangerously onto one of his ribs, sending him crashing to the floor in a fit of coughs.

Oh…shit.

“End of my lucky streak.” He thought bitterly, forcing himself to a knee. Man…how the hell did he even get here? What did he even want? To be a Pokemon champion? Was he isekai’d here for all that? At the end of the day he just wanted Pranav to be safe, to be happy, why the fuck did that put him in an ancient civilization a thousand meters underground?

The beams of light were blinding now, and Arun had to cover his eyes from the sheer intensity of the light.

Wait. Beams?

He forced himself to crack an eyelid, and then another, as he realized what was happening. Kleavor’s light suddenly winked out, combusting in its throat as something slammed its mouth close. It dropped to its axes, hacking and coughing as smoke poured out of its mouth like bile.

And in front of it, a Nuzleaf.

“You…you evolved?” Arun asked, staring at him in wonder.

Fear. There is no time! We need to end this, now!

He was right, Kleavor was already dragging itself to its feet, huffing and puffing as it brandished itself. It was kind of funny in a way, the fact that all of them looked and felt half-dead.

Uncertainty from Valor. How do we play this?

“Are you scared, Valor?”

Affirmation. More than you’d ever believe.

“Then just do one thing for me.” Arun said, pulling himself to his feet as well. “You remember what we talked about, Bullet seed?”

Affirmation. Pointed. To pierce.

“Exactly. I want you to do just that for me. Keep using Bullet Seed, keep making it sharper, and we’ll win.”

Uncertainty. You’re certain? I could barely do it before.

“Do or die Valor, I trust you.” With that, Arun rushed back into the fight, feeling frustration, and the words idiot, emanating from his partner. Heh, looks like evolution came with a bit of attitude, not that he minded.

Arun was in Kleavor’s guard before it could raise its axes to defend itself. It tried to slam its head into him again, but he slipped under, throwing an overhand onto the fleshy-side of its face. Kleavor howled in pain, stumbling backwards but Arun didn’t let up, throwing whatever he could into anything and everything that was exposed.

He wasn’t stupid, punching a rock seemed like a surefire way to break his hand, meaning he had to be extremely careful where he threw his punches, which also meant he wasn’t as fast as he wanted to be.

Kleavor rammed its body forward, and Arun stumbled backwards. Its axes wanted to fly, but Valor was there a moment later, Bullet Seeds slamming into Kleavor’s side, causing it to stumble backwards and bring its hands up in defence.

Arun glanced down at the shells, and grinned. They were taking shape!

“More, Valor! Sharper! Longer!”

Frustration. Working on it! Stop dying!

The rest of the battle was the same song and dance. Arun would get in close, and if Kleavor got any bright ideas, Valor would be there, shooting it down. At the start the seeds were nuisances, painful ones, but Kleavor could ignore them just a tad. The more they fought however, the more Valor learned, the sharper his Bullets got.

More and more Arun found himself not even needing to engage in combat, Kleavor was backed farther and farther into a corner as the bullets began to pierce its rocky hide. Whether it was the damage from the statues, or all the fighting Kleavor had sustained previously, it finally flagged, dropping to the ground, barely able to lift its head to glare at them.

Uncertainty. Is it dead?

“No.” Arun said, breathing hard, “It hasn’t dissipated into Unowns yet.”

Valor looked at Arun, a question dancing in his eyes.

“Yeah. Yeah, this one’s you, buddy. [Bullet Seed].”

Valor nodded, pointing his finger down towards Kleavor’s head as it stared back at him.

Bang!