PARAGON
Hisui Incursion Arc [10]
Chapter 62 : Incarnation of Violence
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The stars above glittered like sparkling sand on an endless expanse of black velvet. Sabrina let herself become entranced by them as she lay within her bedroll. The coals of their cookfire smoldered within their circle, its heat and light slowly ebbing away.
“So pretty,” Yura murmured next to her. She was still sitting up, her neck completely slack as she stared up at the sky.
“Can’t you see the stars from the Sanctuary?” Sabrina whispered.
“Not like this.” She turned to face Sabrina, and the stars reflected in her dark eyes. “They’re even prettier in my hometown. I promise.”
Sabrina smiled, though in the darkness, she was sure Yura couldn’t see her. “I believe you.”
Yura pulled back her blanket and slipped into her bedroll. “I’ll show them to you! Do you like the stars, miss?”
Sabrina looked back up at the sky. The stars clustered in parts, creating a sweeping gradient of purple and blue. But not all stars were the same. Some shined brighter than the others and sat alone, alexandrites and diamonds embedded in the blackness. She’d never seen anything like this in Saffron City, and the sky above Paragon Island simply couldn’t compare.
Her own amethyst eyes, flecked with gold and silver, shimmered. “The stars are beautiful…but I prefer the sun.”
“The sun?” Yura whispered. “How come?”
Sabrina opened her mouth and she felt her cheeks heat up. “Ah…i-it’s sort of silly. I…just like it.”
“You’re weird, miss!” Yura rolled around in her bedroll until the blanket was wrapped tightly around her, and she faced Sabrina again. “I like the stars because it reminds me of my home!”
Home… Even in the darkness, Sabrina could see Yura’s eyes glitter with longing and love. She glanced away, and her hand instinctively drifted to her gauntlets, like they always did when she got anxious. Though now, she only had one. “Let’s go to sleep now, Yura. We have to be up early tomorrow.”
“Good night, miss!”
After a moment, Sabrina replied. “Good night.”
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“Hold your power within. Summon as much of it as you can, but don’t let it leak out.”
Ash trembled, and his entire body tensed up. Static electricity dripped from his outstretched arms and ran off his body like mist.
“You’re leaking, Ash.”
Riley sat atop a boulder observing Ash as he trained by the lakeside.
“I’m…not…trying…to!” Ash bit out. His muscles throbbed as he tried to tighten his control over his power and sweat dripped down his temples. He grit his teeth and grunted, yet the tremendous strain didn’t abate in the slightest.
“As of now, your mind hasn’t yet realized what you’re truly capable of. You’re still subconsciously trying to protect your body by limiting your output. The fastest way to shatter that barrier is by forcing your body to contend with greater power.”
Ash’s every bone felt like they were a tap away from cracking so Riley’s lecture only grated on him as he strained to contain the electricity within. Not to mention, it sounded eerily similar to what Cynthia had told him before he joined Paragon. He felt like he was being electrocuted, with only the pain missing. Every cell in his body seemed to cry out for it to stop, but according to Riley, this was necessary to take him to the next step. Or rather, to get him off the step he was currently on. Actually attaining the next level of power would require even more training.
He could feel blood dripping from his nose but since he didn’t hear Riley voice any concern, he continued to exert himself. He could hear his heartbeat thundering in his ears and the electricity around him was blinding. With each passing second, he tried to claw his power back into his body.
Ash, that’s enough! Riley’s voice shouted in his head.
Ash’s head jerked up. He noticed the Guardian waving at him and motioning to cut it off.
Uhhh, how was he supposed to do that again?
Power continued to well up from within him and fear began to seep in as he realized he couldn’t simply extinguish the built-up energy, not all of it. It was going to be discharged outward.
He met Riley’s eyes and the Guardian immediately seemed to understand. Aura wreathed into existence around his hands.
“Arghhhhh!” Ash yelled, clamping his eyes shut as he felt electricity flood out of his body. Relief coated him as his body finally relaxed, but the roar and boom of his released power shocked him back to reality. He whipped away, shielding himself from the strongest bolts.
When everything quieted, Ash straightened and looked around, just in time to see the azure shield conjured over him dissipate into thin air.
“Sorry about that, carry on.” Atop his boulder, Riley waved and smiled politely in the direction of their camp, where Laventon and the others were preparing breakfast.
Ash saw all of them staring at him, mouths agape, and he smiled nervously.
Without a care, Pikachu leaped back onto his shoulder, and Ash felt some of the residual electricity left in his body siphon away into his partner’s form. That was something he’d taken to recently. Ash didn’t think he was necessarily doing it to help; he was simply “feeding” on the excess electricity, but it did end up taking a weight off Ash and helped him be able to get back to training again sooner.
Riley jumped down off his boulder and walked over. “All and all, not bad.”
“You think so?” Ash asked, unconfident.
“Yes. Outcomes like that are expected with this sort of brute-force process. The theory is that if you keep at it, eventually, one day you’ll find yourself able to contain your power completely, and it will be a far larger volume than when you initially started the training.” He hesitated. “At least, that’s how it is for us Guardians. When the source of your power is as limitless as one of Arceus’ Plates…well, I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
Riley broke eye contact and strode ahead, leaving Ash wondering just how serious he was being.
As they arrived back at camp, they found Sabrina sitting on her bedroll, having watched the whole thing from afar. Upon seeing Ash, she clapped her hands together softly. Ash smiled in embarrassment.
“Breakfast is ready!” Akari called.
Rei went around the circle with their meal: sausage links of some sort, rice, and a bowl of hot miso. Akari eyed him as he served the food she made, perhaps a bit peeved he hadn’t helped.
Riley lifted a sausage with his chopsticks and frowned. “Did we pack these?”
“No,” Laventon answered, locking eyes with Rei. “Sausages are perishable. We don’t take them on long journeys.”
Rei blushed as he sat down, looking away. “Oh.”
Laventon took a bite of his, meat juice spurting out. He stayed staring at Rei as he chewed, but eventually looked back at the group in general. “No issues if we eat them now, I suppose. And on that note…” He swallowed. “…I’d like to discuss a small change in our plans.”
Ash frowned as he chewed. Pikachu pawed at his rice and Ash let him take a tiny handful.
“Because of the size of our current party, our original pace is no longer feasible. With this in mind, I’d like to propose a slower, more defensive journey. Everything else remaining the same, I’d expect to reach the Alabaster Icelands in a month's time.”
“A month!” Rei said. “How slow are we going?!”
“Initially, we’d planned on avoiding any potential wilds with speed and only taking part in battles that were absolutely necessary, or wouldn’t take long. But since that’s no longer an option, there’s no point in trying to do things halfway. From now on, we’ll need to address each and every threat that comes our way. That, I believe, will be the safest course of action.”
Pikachu grinned and his cheeks crackled, welcoming his larger role to play.
“But our food and supplies,” Akari said. “We won’t have enough for a month-long journey… Plus, winter is almost here.”
Laventon raised a finger. “We are members of the Survey Corps, Miss Akari. There is a wealth of food to be reaped from the land and resources aplenty. Even in winter, if you’re savvy enough, and there’s no avoiding the cold now. Don’t tell me you and Rei have lost all your precociousness.” His eyes glimmered in slight challenge.
Rei pounded his knee. “Of course not!”
“Good.” Laventon stretched, then glanced between the two young Survey Corps members. “You two are here with us now, whether I like it or not. Keep those chins high. We’ll need your wits about you if we all want to make it there and back in one piece.
Rei and Akari both nodded furiously.
“Obviously, this means we’ll be encountering many more wild pokémon,” Laventon continued. “To be frank, my decision was largely influenced by what we saw this morning.”
“What’d you see?” Ash asked. Had something happened while he was training?
Laventon stared at him blankly. “You, Mister Ketchum. The lightning you summoned…it was enough to destroy the entire Sanctuary by the looks of it. And Riley’s shield that contained it… Between all three of you, I daresay we have plenty of firepower to deal with anything that comes our way… Ay, even an Alpha Pokémon.”
Ash saw Sabrina’s hand drift toward her pokéball. Decidueye had yet to leave its ball since the attack and Ash was deathly curious when Sabrina planned to let it out.
They washed their dishes in the lake as they had last night and it was easy enough to dismantle their meager camp. Surprisingly, Riley offered to carry Sabrina’s bag today but Ash declined. After seeing their exchange, Rei offered to carry Akari’s bag, but she also declined.
“We’re entering the Horseshoe Plains today,” Laventon announced as they set off. “It will be a five day journey to the other side, then we’ll turn north.”
North, into the Coronet foothills. Ash had planned this route with Cyllene even though she’d ultimately decided on the route through the Crimson Mirelands. It was nice that they were getting use out of it, but they’d originally planned on crossing the Horseshoe Plains in only two days, despite having to take a longer route around the Alpha Rapidash that patrolled its center.
Ash had noticed Professor Laventon seemed to be drip-feeding them information about the journey ahead, only bringing up relevant info right before it was necessary. He’d initially wanted to ask why, but the reason became obvious after watching him yesterday and this morning.
Yura was with them now.
Ash knew, since he’d helped in the planning, that there was far more danger ahead than the Professor was letting on. After Rapidash, there were three, maybe even four known Alpha Pokémon that stood between them and the summit of Mount Coronet. And once they arrived in the Icelands, the blizzards there would be hell to traverse, even for an adult. Once they got to the Pearl Settlement, it’d probably be tough to convince her, and likely Akari and Rei, to leave again.
Ash had supported Yura coming with, though, along with the other two, and he did not regret that choice, despite what lay ahead. On his own journey, he’d encountered more than a fair share of mysteries and oddities. A disappearing village sounded just like the rest, likely the work of some pokémon. If the people of this era couldn’t find it, he’d try his hand at uncovering the truth as he always did. To find her home…that was a plenty good enough reason for Yura to risk her life, and for Ash to risk his to protect her.
At their slower speed, Rei, Akari, and Yura were allowed to frolic ahead, and that they did, running across the glistening grass of the plains chasing each other, while Growlithe and Staravia kept pace. Last night, Riley had applied some of his Aura rejuvenation to Shieldon, so he also tromped alongside the others, though Ash noticed he kept his distance from Rei and Akari, and seemed especially wary of Growlithe and Staravia.
“Is this alright, Professor?” Sabrina asked, watching the children with concern.
“I don’t expect much of this journey will be as relaxing as this so I’d prefer to let them run around now before they lose the chance. Once we reach the Rapidash, there will be no time for games anymore.”
“What’s our plan for it?” Riley asked, his eyes never leaving the kids.
Laventon turned to him. “I was going to defer to you three on that. Going around will take time, but I’ve seen the power you wield. If you believe you can defeat it like you did the other, I will allow it. Honestly, I’d feel better if we didn’t have it lurking behind us.” He glanced at Sabrina and raised an eyebrow.
Sabrina blushed and opened her mouth. Her singular gauntlet jerked and began to spin faster. “I…” She blinked rapidly. “I can’t anymore.”
Laventon looked at her curiously. “I read in the report of the attack on the Sanctuary that you were injured by the invading pokémon. But I recall, Ash, you said it wasn’t the pokémon that’d hurt her…” His eyes drifted to her gauntlet, and her barren left wrist.
“I can’t… I shouldn’t use my power,” Sabrina said shakily. “Not until I can repair my other…” She hesitated.
“Accessory,” Riley offered.
Sabrina nodded, looking down at the ground. Her gauntlet whirled around her wrist, far faster than Ash had expected it to. Was it under more strain because it now had to do twice the work?
“Does this mean you will be defenseless against any wild pokémon that come our way?” Laventon asked cautiously. Though he tried to hide it, Ash could hear the same trepidation he’d had when Rei, Akari, and Yura appeared coloring his words now.
“No.” Ash stepped forward and slid himself between Yura and Laventon. “Did you forget, Professor? Sabrina has one pokémon with her.”
Laventon looked aghast. “You can’t possibly mean… That beast? You may be a psychic, but without your power, even you—“
“Where we come from, Sabrina is an experienced trainer, recognized by a large and prestigious organization designed to test a trainer’s prowess,” Ash said. “Even without her power, she’s strong.”
“But this is an Alpha Pokémon.” Laventon shook his head. “These creatures are a phenomenon unique to Hisui that even you all haven’t encountered. I’d like to minimize risks as much as possible, and setting that thing loose would be a recipe for disaster...”
“We understand, Professor,” Riley said. “All of that aside, Ash and I are plenty strong enough to subdue Rapidash, Decidueye, or any other Alpha Pokémon. What you saw from Ash this morning was but a taste of his true power.”
So he said, but Ash knew that even this morning’s light show was the most he could do right now, and if he found himself in a real battle, he could not replicate that volume of power without jeopardizing his safety.
“Once we get closer to the Rapidash, we can decide what to do,” Ash said. “That will give us the chance to gauge its power and—“
“Let’s defeat it,” Sabrina said.
All three heads turned in her direction.
“I’ll defeat it with Decidueye.” She was facing forward now. “I promise, we won’t be a burden to you, Professor.”
Laventon cocked his head, pondering the idea.
Sabrina suddenly blushed and bowed. “But…please help me, Ash and Riley.”
A grin broke across Ash’s face. “You don’t even have to ask!” Pikachu chirped in agreement on his shoulder.
“Well then, it sounds like we have a plan,” Riley smiled. “This Rapidash is as good as defeated already.”
Laventon sighed and nodded. “Very well. You all haven’t let me down yet. But please, do exercise caution. If not for our sake, at least for your own. I’d hate to see you torn apart by your own pokémon.”
“I will,” Sabrina said. “Thank you for trusting me, Professor.” Her eyes shined with determination and her gauntlet spun about her wrist smoothly.
“Professor!” Rei called from up ahead. He was pointing at something even further ahead. “Two Ponyta coming this way!”
Akari already had Yura behind her protectively, and Shieldon growled at his master’s side.”
“A battle,” Laventon cursed, breaking into a jog. “I’ll let you guys handle this.”
Ash squinted. He could see the flaming Ponyta galloping toward them, but they weren’t very fast and looked rather young. “Actually, Professor, do you mind? I’d like to see Akari and Rei battle them.”
Laventon looked at Ash in exasperation, then back at the Ponyta. He grit his teeth. “Ah, fine! Maybe I’ve been relying on you three too much. Very well, this is well within their power to handle. Akari! Rei!” he shouted. “Prepare for battle!”
Rei looked back and nodded.
Ash jogged ahead and Pikachu jumped off his shoulder to run alongside him. As they raced up a short hill, the battle came into view. Yura stood a ways back and Ash stopped just behind her. Staravia soared overhead, circling the pair of Ponyta like a vulture. Growlithe had hunkered down and was staring both of them down.
“I’ll get the one on the right, yeah?” Rei called.
“Sure,” Akari responded.
The Ponyta had stopped once they’d gotten close enough, but now, the one on the left started to trot forward, its head angled forward aggressively.
Staravia released a shrill cry, a show of intimidation, as the battle began.
“Agile Wing Attack, Staravia!” Akari commanded, thrusting her arm forward.
Ash frowned. Agile? During Decidueye’s attack, Kamado had said something similar.
Sabrina, Riley, and Laventon walked up beside him and peered at the battle ahead. Laventon looked on anxiously, but the other two watched with interest.
Faster than Ash would’ve thought possible, Staravia zipped downward and slammed into its opponent’s midsection, knocking it off kilter. A storm of embers flew from Ponyta’s mouth as it stumbled, but Akari deftly rolled to the side, and the embers landed harmlessly beside her, blackening the grass.
“Again!” Akari shouted.
Before Ponyta could recover, Staravia swooped around to its other side and struck it again, this time sending it flying off its hooves with a painful neigh.
Ash smiled. That was well handled. Ponyta would struggle to get back on its feet and they’d done just enough damage that it’d be discouraged to continue the fight once it did.
“Go, go!” Yura cried, pumping her fist in the air.
On the other side, Growlithe and the other Ponyta circled each other, neither’s eyes leaving the other.
Rei grinned. “Strong Take Down, Growlithe! Get ready!”
Fire flared up around Ponyta and it suddenly charged forward. Growlithe grunted as it braced the hit but its paws sunk into the ground.
“‘Strong,’” Ash said. “And ‘Agile.’ What does that mean, Professor?”
Laventon looked over. “Ah, Agile Style and Strong Style. They are practiced by trainers of Hisui. Are you not familiar?”
“No,” Ash said, keeping watch over the battle. Growlithe began to press Ponyta back faster, but it dislodged itself and galloped away, putting some distance between them.
“Due to the somewhat feral nature of the pokémon that live here, it’s important to remain flexible in battle. Your pokémon’s moves alone may not provide enough variety to address the wiles and whims of certain wilds, so Hisuian trainers of times past developed a method to augment their attacks. Agile Style increases the speed of an attack at the cost of power. Strong Style is the opposite, taking longer to build power to unleash a stronger attack.”
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“Now, Growlithe!”
As Ponyta circled around, Growlithe hurled itself into its path with a savage roar. But instead of simply falling to the ground, Ponyta went skidding across the grass, tearing up soil as it went, until it finally came to a stop. It released an unsteady cough and slumped to the ground.
The other Ponyta, the one Staravia had defeated, staggered to its feet just in time to see its friend’s fate. It snorted angrily and broke into a charge.
“Watch out!” Sabrina called.
Rei whipped around just as Ponyta slammed into him.
“Arggghhhh!” the boy yelled as Ponyta flung him aside onto the grass.
“Rei!” Ash growled, starting down the hill.
“Wait,” Laventon said. “Leave him be. He’ll be fine.”
Staravia squawked as it slammed its glowing talons into Ponyta, forcing it away from Rei. The Quick Attack didn’t do much, but Ponyta had to jump to dodge an angry Crunch from Growlithe, and from there, it relented, galloping back toward its fallen friend.
After a few moments, the other Ponyta got up, and shakily, they both limped away.
Laventon sighed and shook his head, starting toward Rei.
“Sorry, Rei,” Akari said, kneeling beside him.
Rei turned over and winced. He rubbed his head. “Ahhh,” he groaned.
“Done showing off?” Laventon asked, wearing a stern expression.
“Professor…” Rei said.
“We’re still in the Fieldlands. There was no need to use Strong Style. All you did was incense its partner.”
Rei nodded, standing up. There was a scrape on his temple, but otherwise, he seemed unhurt.
“It was my fault too, Professor,” Akari said. “I should’ve been watching my opponent more closely.” She bowed. “I’m sorry.”
Laventon knocked her on the head gently. “Stay vigilant. We’re traveling with a far larger party than usual. You two need to rein in your usual antics. You two getting hurt is one thing, but I would hate for your mistake to cause someone else to get hurt.” Just as she walked up, Laventon placed a hand on Yura’s shoulder.
Akari nodded, her eyelids wrinkling with guilt.
Riley smiled and put his hands on his hips. “All that being said, that was still an impressive battle. Two wilds easily routed, and with little communication needed. I can tell you two, or really all three of you, are used to this.”
Ash nodded in agreement.
“Yes, I suppose,” Laventon said gruffly. “But it’s only going to get harder from here on.” He readjusted his backpack. “Now. Let’s continue.”
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One day later
Sabrina held the damaged pokéball in her hand. It felt heavier now than it usually did when it was just clipped to her belt. Her gauntlet twitched on her wrist but she ignored it. Instead, she brushed her thumb over the grooves and dents on the pokéball’s top hemisphere. These were products of her hatred. No, her cruelty.
The question now was what exactly it was that resided in her palm. Was it a slave, a creature to be bent to her will? Was a companion, someone she could add to her roster alongside Alakazam and the others? Or was it a storm, simply biding its time until it could enact its revenge on her?
Either way, this time, she did not have access to her psychic powers. She refused to let herself lose control again, and certainly not here.
Understandably, Yura was as far away as possible from her, peeking out from behind Riley’s leg. Shieldon was safely away in its pokéball, an executive decision from his master.
Ash had his arms crossed beside the field Sabrina planned to release Decidueye on. The scenery of today looked nearly identical to yesterday’s, but the mountains were noticeably closer now. And tomorrow, they’d have to cross Rapidash’s territory.
She had one day to get Decidueye ready for battle.
Laventon, Rei, and Akari also stood by Riley, and despite stalwart facades, Sabrina could see fear between the cracks. Her job now was to reduce that fear, not increase it.
“Ready, Sabrina?” Ash asked. Pikachu’s cheeks crackled warily at his side.
Sabrina closed her eyes. After a moment, she opened them. She nodded.
Before she could overthink herself into paralysis, she pressed the pokéball’s center button and released the beast.
Decidueye appeared in a flash, its crimson colors even more vibrant in the daylight. It found Sabrina immediately, and its beady eyes narrowed. It glanced around, calmly taking account of the others in the area. Upon seeing Ash, its gaze lingered, and Sabrina saw Ash uncross his arms in preparation for a possible attack.
With a calmer head, it was now clear to Sabrina why this thing was an “Alpha” Pokémon. It was almost double the size of Anabel’s Sophia, and it towered over all of them. She forced herself not to take a step back.
To ensnare its attention again, Sabrina raised her fist. Slimy water dripped from her fingers, a dead Magikarp clutched within. She’d caught and killed the thing this morning with Akari and Rei’s help in preparation for this moment. Though she despised every second the fish remained in contact with her skin, she didn’t fling it away or drop it. Decidueye hadn’t eaten in a week. Surely it was hungry, and Ash had said Alolan Decidueye would eat Magikarp.
Decidueye tilted its head, a sneer burning on its face. Last time it’d seen Sabrina, she had clearly hated it. And now she was offering it food? Its confusion was as clear as day. It pawed the ground, a low coo escaping its beak.
Sabrina swallowed. If Decidueye didn’t take this, it wouldn’t just be a failure on her part. Ash had also stuck his neck out for her. She’d be making him look like an idiot too.
Decidueye let its gaze hang on Sabrina.
Its eyes narrowed into a smirk and its foot turned.
“Ash!” Sabrina shouted.
The ground cratered at Decidueye’s feet as it bulleted forward…up toward Ash.
Pikachu leapt into the air and fired a jagged thunderbolt at the ground before them. It twisted off the rocky face of their hill, and Decidueye swerved in midair, narrowly dodging it.
Its wings plumed out and Sabrina was sure it was about to loose a volley of quills. She could see Riley preparing a shield.
“Decidueye!” Sabrina roared, flinging the Magikarp aside and breaking into a run.
If the carrot wouldn’t work, the stick would do.
Decidueye paid her a baleful glance from beneath its brimmed hat.
“Decidueye,” she said again, a glare deepening on her face.
Decidueye dropped back to the ground, sending up a plume of dust. As Sabrina continued to walk toward it, it also stalked toward her.
“Sabrina!” Riley yelled. “Look out!”
She paid him no mind. Instead, she focused on steeling herself. It’s just for a few seconds. Don’t let it out. He just needs to see it.
“Decidueye!” Sabrina growled. Her gauntlet roared to life, violet light seeping out from the lines across its surface. Beneath the gauntlet, glowing cracks webbed out from her wrist across her skin in an instant, snaking up her neck onto her face. Her pupils vanished, a harsh purple flaring across her sclera.
Decidueye halted and recoiled. It raised its arms in front of its face, defensively.
Hold it in! Sabrina urged. Just…a bit…longer! A banging headache assaulted her skull and she felt like she was second away from passing out. But she forced her gaze to remain on Decidueye, on its own eyes.
Decidueye hissed, then released a sound like a bark.
Please…!
Without warning, it rocketed into the sky. Its crimson wings elongated and, without hesitation, it flew away, back the way they’d come.
Whether it was because her target was now gone or because she physically couldn’t hold it anymore, the light across Sabrina’s body sealed up and she sank to her knees, a film of sweat over her body. Panting, she saw her gauntlet slow, and breathed a sigh of relief. She closed her eyes, her head still throbbing.
“Sabrina!”
She heard Ash jogging toward her and wiped her forehead with her sleeve. Slowly, she got to her feet.
“Here.” Ash held out a towel and smiled.
For a moment, she didn’t know what it was for, but she quickly realized. A fishy stench curled into her nose. She raised the hand that’d held the Magikarp but recoiled instantly. “Ugh,” she moaned, snatching the towel from Ash and furiously wiping herself off.
“It flew away,” Yura said, walking up beside Riley. She looked disappointed for some reason, even though it’d almost killed her.
“Back toward the Sanctuary,” Laventon said. He glanced at Sabrina.
Akari and Rei exchanged a look.
“Look,” Sabrina said, pointing up at the sky.
In the far distance, a crimson speck streaked across the sky.
“It’s not flying away. It’s circling us.”
Laventon squinted. He followed it for several seconds, as if to confirm its path. When it turned away from the direction of the Sanctuary, he relaxed. “Is this what you wanted? Did it work, whatever you were trying to do?”
Sabrina nodded. “Decidueye definitely wants to kill me. His pride won’t let him run away in defeat. He will come back.”
Laventon and Akari gawked at how nonchalant she was.
“Then what was the fish for?” Rei asked.
“Just…an offering. I’m sure it’ll find its own food now, but now it knows I’m open to a partnership.” She blushed. “At least, I hope it knows that.”
Sabrina thanked the heavens for aligning. If Anabel didn’t have a Decidueye herself and they hadn’t gotten so close, she wouldn’t have known the first thing about the species. Luckily, Anabel was proud of her pokémon and talked about them as often as she could. Similar to Ash in that respect, though she’d never say it to Anabel’s face. Apparently she’d had a thing for Ash at one point in their past.
Which was something Sabrina had learned after Anabel beat Zinnia in a drinking contest one night! She hadn’t read her mind!
“This is madness…” Laventon muttered. “That you would actually attempt to tame such a beast. Even normal pokémon are one thing, but this…”
Yura inched toward Sabrina, still a bit shaken from seeing Decidueye again, but thankful it was gone now. She reached for Sabrina’s sleeve but abruptly winced away. “Agh! Stinky!” She clamped her tiny hands over her nose.
Sabrina turned a deep crimson and hurried over to a nearby river.
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The embers of their fading campfire crackled quietly beneath the starry sky.
Ash breathed into his hands then stuffed them under his armpits. It got surprisingly cold at night when he wasn’t in his woolen bedroll, though he only had another hour or so before he was switching off with Riley.
For what must have been the thousandth time, he glanced up at the sky to distract himself from the cold. Although the stars illuminated the sky, there was nothing else up there. Decidueye had circled them all afternoon, but once the sun set, it’d flown off somewhere else, out of sight. It was probably off hunting, but Decidueye were nocturnal, so there was no guarantee it wouldn’t try to sneak Sabrina in her sleep.
Sabrina had been surprisingly resolute about managing the Alpha Pokémon, almost uncharacteristically so. Although Ash had dumped support for her onto Laventon, he’d kind of just been talking when he said all that. That was typical for him; when someone doubted his friends, he defended them. Yet he actually wasn’t sure how Sabrina planned to deal with her new companion. As far as he knew, she only had three pokémon, and Alakazam and Gengar she’d had since she was a kid. That meant she’d only picked up Minior between then and now.
Though she’d said four back at the Sanctuary for some reason. He wasn’t sure what that was about.
But she rose to the challenge. It seemed like ever since her gauntlet broke, she actually seemed more at peace and not as shy. Maybe it just coincided with her spending more time with the Hisuians and getting more comfortable around them, but…well, who knew? Not him.
Though she’d just used her powers for the first time since it happened today, and on that end, she was clearly far more unstable than before. Laventon wasn’t wrong to question her safety in the field, with her power effectively out of commission and only Decidueye on her belt. Ash had his own worries too; he’d found himself keeping an eye on her far more than usual since they’d set off. But…maybe he hadn’t been giving her enough credit. She seemed to have had no trouble going to sleep tonight despite Decidueye being out and about.
Ash recalled that miasma of emotion he’d waded into after she lost control of her power during Decidueye’s attack. Despite how fragile she appeared on the surface, those feelings lived inside her at all times. She’d have to be strong to contain them. He didn’t know what had happened in her past, but he knew it had something to do with her powers. She wasn’t on speaking terms with either of her parents, though her relationship with her mother seemed to be substantially worse.
He’d tried before to recall as much as he could about his gym battle against her, the circumstances leading up to it, and what transpired after, but he remembered very little. Too much had happened on his long journey for that specific memory to remain vivid.
Well, she hadn’t remembered him at all when they first met again on Paragon Island. He’d accidentally run into her on his way to the bathroom and though he tried to reintroduce himself, she’d kept the conversation exceedingly short. Almost like she’d been trying to avoid him.
Well, that was just the way she was. But she’d come a long way since then.
He had too.
“Ah!”
Ash’s heart almost jumped from his chest as Sabrina bolted up in her bedroll with a sharp gasp.
No, wait. That wasn’t Sabrina.
It was Yura.
She turned her head, her hair unkempt and afloof. Though he couldn’t see her face in the darkness, he could tell he’d met her eyes.
“Yura?” he said quietly.
Yura didn’t move, but after a bit, she rubbed her eyes.
“Yura,” he said again, motioning for her to come over.
After a bit longer, she peeled out of bed and padded over to him, not bothering to put her sandals on.
Ash had been sitting on a fallen log and he scooted aside to give her some room. She plopped down next to him, her eyes still half closed.
“Nightmare?” he asked.
She nodded.
Ash opened his mouth to ask about it but he decided to stay silent. It was always possible she’d just had a normal nightmare as anyone would, but her dramatic awakening suggested otherwise. And she hadn’t lived the prettiest life thus far, so it wasn’t something he wanted to pressure her into talking about.
But, she started talking on her own. “It was the same one as always.”
She clamped her hands together to shield them from the cold, and though Ash wished he could do something to warm her up, they couldn’t start another fire now.
“I saw my home burning. Everything was on fire…everything. I don’t know why… Everything was orange… It’s not supposed to be that color.”
Her voice was monotone. It was as if she’d relived the memory so many times that it no longer bothered her.
“I ran away… I just wanted to get as far away as possible. So I ran and ran and ran, away from that place that wasn’t my home anymore.”
Ash watched her as she spoke. Although she showed no outward signs of grief, this was also a completely different side to her than the rambunctious kid she was during the day.
“Is that what you see in your dream?” he asked.
Yura nodded. “I see the fire and I start running. I run until I realize I’m completely lost. Then I get scared and wake up.” She looked over at him. “You guys are lost too, right Mister Ash?”
Ash chuckled. “You can just call me Ash. But yeah, I guess.” He met her eyes. “I’m glad we have a local like you to show us around.”
She smiled, but her expression quivered, fragile on her face. “…You believe me, right Mister Ash? About my home? You don’t think I’m crazy, right?”
“Of course not.” But if her village completely burned down, it would make sense that the Survey Corps couldn’t find it again… The wind and weather could’ve washed away the remnants. Though I guess that doesn’t explain why everyone in Hisui is adamant that nothing ever existed there. Ash ran his fingers through his hair. “We said we’re from the future. You don’t think we’re crazy, do you?”
Yura shook her head furiously.
Ash raised his hand toward the moon. “See? There’s nothing wrong with an unbelievable story. This world is so big, anything is possible.” He turned to her again. “I promise, Yura. Before we leave, we’ll find out what happened to your home.” He held out his hand. “Deal?”
Yura scrunched up her face and took his hand. “Deal.”
Ash nodded back at Sabrina. “You should get back to bed now. I think Sabrina will get cold without you.”
Yura grinned. “What about you, Mister Ash? You keep looking at her!”
Ash had to stop himself from laughing out loud. What the hell is she saying? He motioned her off the log. “C’mon now.”
After Yura snuggled back into bed, Ash started to think about the promise he’d made. The location where Yura’s village had supposedly been seemed to be where the modern Celestic Town sat. A fire that burned the whole thing down seemed unlikely, given how foggy and bare of flammable forest it was up there. And in the present day, no fire-types lived there either.
Could it have been an Alpha Pokémon? Or just some arsonist? Ash frowned. But that still doesn’t explain why no one’s heard of it. With how easy Yura’s escape sounded, I doubt it was some sort of hidden village. Plus, a village that far up in the mountains couldn’t survive without trade with Volo, or even just the Diamond and Pearl Clans.
A tear in spacetime. A phantom village. A mystery man in the north. Hisui was shaping up to be quite the enigma.
Ash let his mind wander on that and more until it was time to switch out with Riley. After waking the man, he took one last glance around for Decidueye, then tucked himself into his bedroll with Pikachu.
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The next day
“That’s it?” Yura whispered.
“Indeed,” Laventon said grimly. Sweat beaded his forehead.
The Galaxy Expedition crouched behind a ridge of rocks upon a hill that overlooked the center of Horseshoe Plains. Just below, their target prowled.
The Rapidash was colossal; the normal Rapidash around it appeared like mere Ponyta next to it. The flames on its back blazed like an inferno, cinders swirling around it, and its muscles rippled beneath its skin with every step. It seemed it and its herd were simply grazing now and hadn’t yet noticed their onlookers.
“What are we going to do?” Laventon asked. “Decidueye isn’t coming down.” He craned his neck up, careful not to reveal himself to the Rapidash below.
Like yesterday, Decidueye circled them far above, and as much as they’d tried to call him back down this morning, he refused.
“If we’re changing our plans and going around, we should get away from here as soon as possible,” Laventon said, worry leaking into his voice.
“I’ll fight it,” Sabrina said, her eyes on the prize below.
“Sabrina, you can’t,” Riley said. “If things go awry, we won’t be able to help you and quell it at the same time.”
“Me and Akari can give it a go,” Rei whispered loudly. “Our pokémon are strong, and—“
“Not that strong!” Akari said, whipping around. “Do you see the size of that thing? Staravia’s feathers would singe just getting close!”
A low snort from down below silenced their conversation and everyone held still as Rapidash padded around. After it lowered its head to graze again, they breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hey, Yura, you and Shieldon wanna give it a go?” Ash asked with a grin.
Yura shook her head politely. Laventon, Sabrina, and Akari stared at him, aghast.
“Just checking.”
“Ash, do you think you and Pikachu could take it on?” Riley asked. “How does it compare to Decidueye?”
Ash’s eyes narrowed as he watched the beast. “Hard to say. I don’t even know how strong Decidueye is since we just ended up catching it. I’m not sure how things would’ve gone if the battle lasted longer.”
Riley turned toward Rapidash. “I see. So we’re in the dark.”
Rapidash raised its head but didn’t move or lower it again after a few seconds.
Sabrina frowned. Fire licked across its oily back, dancing furiously even in the windless plain.
“Did it hear us?” Rei asked.
“More likely it smelled us,” Ash murmured.
Rapidash whinnied and angled itself toward their hill. The other Rapidash immediately ceased their grazing and surrounded their alpha.
“Does it know we’re here?!” Yura demanded, her voice laced in fear.
Sabrina didn’t answer, keeping her eyes on the ferocious horse.
The Alpha Rapidash’s eyes melted into crimson and it reared back with a furious neigh. Fire roared into existence around its entire body and it burst forward, leaving burned grass in its wake.
“Get back!” Ash roared, seizing Yura’s wrist as he dived away from the edge of the hill.
Sabrina tackled Akari and Rei back as Laventon rolled back. Riley’s eyes glowed a harsh azure, Aura flooding his senses.
The cacophonous explosion cracked out from beneath them, shuddering the entire hill and throwing everyone into the air.
Pushing herself off Akari and Rei, Sabrina looked toward the sky. It took her a second to find Decidueye, but she did. Her pokémon did not appear to be any closer.
“Decidueye!” she yelled for the umpteenth time today.
“Riley, keep the others safe, we’ll go engage!” Ash barked, running down the back side of the hill. “Pikachu, take out the smaller ones!”
Pikachu leapt into the air and the smell of ozone filled the air. Eight Electro Balls appeared around him in a flash and he fired them below at once, each one going a different direction. Without bothering to see the results, he took off again after his trainer.
Sabrina glanced at the others. As Ash circled around the right side of the hill’s base, Riley led the others around the left, Aura blazing in his eyes and around his hands. He looked up at Sabrina, motioning for her to follow.
Sabrina glanced back at Ash, then back at Riley. The Guardian motioned again, pleading in his glowing eyes.
What am I doing? Sabrina squeezed her eyes closed and ran after Ash, away from Riley.
“Sabrina!” she heard him shout.
I said I’d do it! We’d do it! Come on, Decidueye!”
Emerging onto the plain, Sabrina saw the results of Pikachu’s attack. Eight Rapidash lay in unconscious heaps on the ground, the trainer and pokémon responsible standing ready just ahead.
Sabrina’s skin bristled as if she’d gotten too close to a campfire. Heat washed over her in a wave, and with it, the stench of smoke.
Rapidash stalked out from behind the hill, glaring at Ash. Each step shook the earth. Rock tumbled from its body, the remains of its charge into the hill. Its crimson eyes widened with rage and it blitzed forward in an instant, its leg knocking Ash across the field.
“Ash!” Sabrina screamed.
Pikachu squealed in surprise, running after his trainer. He lay on the ground unmoving.
Sabrina’s mind raced as Rapidash’s attention now turned to her. The flames around it screamed hellishly as it identified the new enemy. Just like Decidueye, it’s so fast!
She spared a glance back at Ash. Pikachu squeaked angrily at him, which suggested that he was fine, just knocked out.
Turning back to Rapidash, the solution seemed to present itself on a silver platter in her mind. How to keep her promise.
She closed her eyes and lowered her hands to her sides.
She heard Riley holler her name, and Rapidash’s hoof scraping through the ground as it prepared to charge again.
She heard Pikachu screech in alarm behind her.
Come on.
I know you won’t let me die.
The temperature skyrocketed in an instant as Rapidash charged.
But it never reached its target. Rapidash let loose a squeal of agony as it crumpled to the ground in front of her
Sabrina opened her eyes slowly.
Not before you can kill me yourself.
Decidueye stood in front of her in a crater of his own making, his fist still outstretched from the punch he’d landed on Rapidash’s side. The fiery Alpha Pokémon lay in a massive heap, dazed, but not defeated.
Decidueye turned back, hatred steaming on his face.
Sabrina glared back. Do you think I’ve forgiven you for what you did to Yura? Don’t think you’re the only one who can hold a grudge.
Rapidash began clambering to its feet and Decidueye broke their staredown, refocusing on the enemy at hand. Sabrina took a moment to check on Ash again, but surprisingly, he was already sitting up and rubbing his head.
Rapidash howled, a sound completely unbecoming of its species, and unleashed an unholy torrent of fire from its mouth.
Decidueye darted into the sky, and as Rapidash swept its column of fire around, he streaked through the air, mere inches in front of its burning path.
Before long, Rapidash extinguished its fire and leaped into the air after Decidueye. An infernal light glittered around its body as it laid into Decidueye with a ferocious onslaught of kicks, headbutts, and fiery bites. Decidueye countered with a volley of punches and kicks of his own, throwing up screens of leaves that burned to ash in an instant. As Rapidash began to fall, it caught Decidueye under one of its hooves and snarled.
Decidueye sneered at Rapidash, grasping its neck in his burly fist. Rapidash screeched as Decidueye pulled it down, shoving the horse beneath him now. Spinning in midair, he launched his leg into Rapidash’s head, sending the colossal beast plummeting to the ground in a comet of fire.
The impact of its landing nearly knocked Sabrina off her feet, but she kept her balance as Decidueye touched back down next to the thing. Rapidash lay unmoving, bruises covering its hide, two of its legs bent at an unnatural angle. Its body swelled and contracted with each breath.
Flapping his wings, Decidueye lifted himself just above Rapidash and grasped its body within his talons.
No… He couldn’t be…
With a determined grunt, Decidueye lifted Rapidash off the ground. The horse’s body went slack in his grip and Sabrina clapped her hands over her mouth.
He’s…merciless…
As Decidueye climbed higher and higher, Sabrina followed his path with her eyes. Her brows furrowed in horror.
Decidueye released a triumphant bellow and flung Rapidash. Its massive body spun in the air before landing in a nearby river. Water sprayed into the sky.
Before long, the surface of the water calmed and was not broached.
Next — Chapter 63 : Foothills of Peril
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