When he woke up that morning, Ñako didn't expect he'd be trapped inside a metal cage hanging from the ceiling above a thirty-feet deep pit, but then again he couldn't say it was an entirely unfamiliar experience.

"Let's see…" Travis took a look at the tablet in front of the pit, squinting. "'The weakest creature in existence'. Uh..."

"I'm stuck up here," shrugged Ñako. "So hey, in the meantime…"

With nothing better to do, Ñako raised his hands behind his head and started stretching, grabbing onto the bars of the cell for purchase, cracking his joints and testing his muscles as he let out grunts and noises that were as genuine as they were meant to fluster Travis.

"Right... Well the answer is pop culture, so it must be easy," said Travis.

"Oh right, now that you mention it, this is a little too easy," said Ñako, who was doing as good an approximation as possible of mixing stretching and pole-dancing with the cell bars. "Something tells me this might be a trap."

"Maybe it's the pit of death you're hanging over?"

"Yeah, that might be it."

Travis looked pensive for a moment, but then he glared up at his partner and frowned.

"Could you cut that out? It's distracting."

Right as Ñako was about to say something to tease him, a sudden memory came to him. A true flash of inspiration, possibly brought about by his wonderful mix of dexterous physique and homo-erotic vibes. Where had he seen that combination before?

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Ten Years ago:

》A tall, pale man dressed in a purple ninja suit stood in front of a group of kids, lecturing them.

"SUNKERN IS THE WEAKEST POKEMON THERE IS! DON'T FORGET THIS, BECAUSE I WILL AS SOON AS THIS SENTENCE IS OVER AND WE'LL NEVER TALK ABOUT IT AGAIN!"《

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"Ah… I might be remembering that conversation incorrectly, but that's convenient," Ñako said to himself. "Anyway, I think the answer is Sunkern!"

"Are you s–?"

As soon as Ñako gave out the answer, the chain holding the cage up snapped in half, and both it and the ninja plummeted down thirty feet into the depths of the pit. Travis winced at the sudden, sharp sound of the cage shattering on impact.

There were a few seconds of silence.

"Uh…"

Then, scuttling. Dozens and dozens of little legs walking below, followed by Ñako saying something he couldn't hear, and the sound of a Pokeball being opened.

A few moments later, a vine grabbed onto the edge of the pit, and both Ñako and his Bulbasaur rose up in a flash. The ninja sprung to his feet, dusted himself off and placed the Pokemon on the ground, smiling up at Travis way too mischievously for his liking.

"So… guess what."

"I hate you," said Travis. "What was that scuttling?"

On cue, a dark, small shape flew out of the pit, landing right next to Ñako. It looked just like a Sunkern, only with red glowing eyes and a cloud of dark mist spiraling around its tiny body. Both trainers looked down at it, unconcerned.

"Huh. These things can jump?" asked Ñako.

"No, they can't."

And he kicked it down into the pit again. Then they both looked over the edge and noticed a multitude of similar glowing eyes staring up at them.

"Ah… this might be trouble," said Travis. "There's like… twenty down there."

"Twenty-one," Ñako corrected him.

"What? No way." Travis looked down again, counting under his breath. "Oh… yeah, actually. I owe you a beer."

He produced a Pokeball onto his hand and opened it, the sudden burst of light materializing into the shape of a humanoid Pokemon about as tall as its trainer, with bright golden fur and a black thunderbolt marking across his stomach. The Electabuzz let out a sharp roar and started spinning its arms in place, in a nervous manner similar to Travis' drumstick stimming.

"We gotta whack some weeds," he told him. "Fire Punch."

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Sabrina could barely see or hear anything as the battlefield was engulfed by smoke and explosions, flashes of light and motion breaking through the dust clouds, the only indication of where their enemies were located. She couldn't tell the passage of time anymore. Had only a minute gone by? Multiple minutes? Every second, every space between heartbeats felt longer than it should have as she sharpened her senses to her limits, ready to jump or kneel down at any second.

"Fiona, Leaf Storm once again!" yelled Sammy. "We've only got a few of them left, come on!"

"Mackin, use Psychic on the–SHIT!"

Sabrina flinched. The Shadow Ball emerged from the smoke like a bullet, exploding upon contact against Gouda's body and sending her flying back a considerable distance, where she collided with Sammy's Chikorita. The impact took both of them out of the fight.

That wasn't good. Sabrina cursed and looked over toward Rokon, who kept spitting flames toward the wall of smoke, his strength starting to wane. If this kept going, she'd lose half her team before they could eve–

"H-hey, look out–!"

She only saw it off the corner of her eye. In the span of an instant one of the remaining Gengar flew up from the middle of the room, a mere stone-throw away from Sabrina. He pressed his hands together and produced a ball of swirling darkness before shooting it down. Sabrina's body moved on her own. She unconsciously grabbed a Pokeball from her belt and opened it in front of her, the clash of light and darkness blinding her.

The impact reverberated throughout the room, almost toppling her to the ground.

Come on, resist it!

From within the resulting smoke emerged Carrie, scythes raised in front of her face defensively. The damage had been grievous. The Scyther shook violently from tip to toe and would have fallen if she didn't stab one of her blades onto the ground, using it as support. Her body was blackened, covered in burns and wounds.

She looked over her shoulder weakly, teary-eyed, but Sabrina was unable to meet her gaze. She looked away and clenched her teeth.

I warned her this is what her life would be, she told herself, the voice sounding weak in her own head. She shouldn't be surprised. She…

Her hands curled into fists. She clicked her tongue, then turned sharply toward Ryan.

"Curly, give me healing items! I know you have some!"

"Tsk! Fine, but I'm running out so make these count!"

Ryan dove into his pockets with his free hand and threw two small plastic vials at Sabrina and a slightly bigger one at Sammy.

"Two super potions and a revive!" he clarified. "Samantha, get that bean back on its legs; it's the only one of your Pokemon that's of any use!"

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Sabrina got to work before she had time to hear whatever idiotic response Sammy would come up with. She used one of the potions on Carrie first. Her wounds began to heal and close rapidly as soon as she sprayed the clear liquid on her, and some of her strength seemed to return to her. Sabrina moved on to Rokon before she could see the look of appreciation on the Scyther's face, however.

Once the two of them were back on their feet, Sabrina took a deep breath and looked over the battlefield. Two Misdreavus and one Gengar remained. They were currently being distracted by Ryan's Magmar, but that wouldn't last much longer.

We need to take these things down now, she thought. Guess it wouldn't hurt to rely on old tricks.

"Curly, redhead, listen up!"

Two heads were turned her way. She took a tentative drag of her cigarette and spat out a mouthful of smoke.

"You, throw out another Leaf Storm to push them back a bit," she told Sammy. "And Curly, your Magmar knows Psychic, right? We can use that to direct Rokon's flames; normal objects like that sword of yours can't touch ghosts but if we add a little power to it…"

She let the sentence hang in the air, and luckily Ryan picked the idea up right away. His eyes widened and he formed an excited smile, almost like a little kid receiving a present.

"Ha… been a while since I tried something like that," he said. "Mackin, you heard the lady!"

"More like Madame, I'd say," Sammy muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing. Fiona, Leaf Storm!"

The explosive cone of flying leaves was definitely weaker than the last as it flew through the air and swallowed the room whole, but it pushed their remaining foes back and gave them just enough time to act.

"Rokon, do your thing!"

Red and gold danced through the air as the flames expanded, then contracted by the power of Macking's psychic energy. They coalesced into a ball before flying toward Ryan and swirling around the length of his sword, lighting it aflame. The man chuckled to himself and lowered his knees.

"Take this; Purgatorial Slash!"

Both Sammy and Sabrina mentally face palmed at the stupid name, but Ryan was too busy jumping high into the air to notice. Even from below, with a cloud of dust blocking the view of him and his weapon, Sabrina was forced to squint against the sudden heat and brightness. Ryan raised the sword high over his head an-

"Wh-Look out!"

The Gengar was fast and appeared in front of Ryan's face in a flash, forming another Shadow Ball amidst its hands. Ryan's eyes went wide. He couldn't block that, he-

It happened as though in slow motion. A burst of light exploded off Ryan's belt, and through the squinting of his eyes he barely noticed a red form materializing inside, raising one of its heavy pincers.

"Sean..."

"SHAAAAA!"

The pale, weak Scizor brought its pincer down upon the Gengar's head, interrupting his attack. Immediately after, his eyes closed and he lost all strength.

A proud smile formed on Ryan's lips.

Atta boy.

Letting out a battle cry, Ryan spun in a circle in mid-air and produced a small cyclone of flames that swallowed their enemies whole, their yells of pain getting lost in the roar of the flames.

By the time Ryan landed, it was already over. The ghosts' bodies floated down to the ground softly, then dissipated into smoke, leaving behind only the wrecked, dusty room behind.

The woman's voice didn't make itself wait.

"Good job. You have earned the right to challenge me."

As the whirring began and yet another exit opened at the other side of the room, Sabrina returned her Pokemon to their balls and gave herself but a moment to breathe in, the tension in her shoulders easing somewhat. A moment. She just needed a moment. She took another drag of her cigarette.

"That… could have gone worse," said Sammy, dusting herself off. She didn't look wounded in the slightest. "I guess this is it."

Ryan nodded, lowering his sword. "Only the Elite Four remains."

Something tugged at the edge of Sabrina's mind. A bother, an itch. She felt as though something was wrong, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. That damn intuition again. Not much she could do about it now, though, so she decided to ignore it for the moment and turned toward Ryan.

"If what's waiting for us through that hallway really is an Elite Four, then our Pokemon need to be at peak condition or we won't stand a chance," she said. "And in case you didn't get my hint… drop the potions and revives. All the ones you've got."

Ryan shot her an irritated look. "All the ones I've got? What do I look like, a pharmacy?"

A super potion fell out of his pocket.

"…Shit."

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The battle in the forest raged on, bursts of flame and pressurized water flying through the air, lighting up and demolishing the trees around them. Sid and Siegfried yelled out orders with their backs to each other. The situation was starting to turn in their favor, but slowly.

"Hngh! Come on, Houndoom, get up!" yelled the bearded man, his face red with anger as he glared at Sid. "You killed my family just for a few measly coins… I'll drag you down to hell, no matter what!"

Sid laughed to himself, rolling a Pokeball between his fingers. "I'm as disappointed as you; that job wasn't nearly worth the pay," he said. "Besides, I did you a favor. How were you planning on feeding three kids with a hiker salary anyway? Now you don't have to think about them… only about bringing them flowers once a year."

On the other side, Siegfried's Cyndaquil was doing his best to keep the agile Beedrill at bay, spitting out bursts of flames at every opportunity he got. His opponent was much faster and stronger, but his weakness to fire meant that he couldn't get too aggressive, which was the only reason Elliot was winning. Siegfried didn't believe that would last long, however.

"A good showing from the little one," whispered the figure in white. "But need I remind you… there is no escape from this forest."

"You're wrong. I did manage to escape… and I will be back someday." Siegfried closed his hand into a fist and pressed it against his chest. "I'll reveal the truth to everyone, I'll save them and… and I will kill the Green Father. He is a monster that has caused nothing but suffering, and he deserves to rot in the deepest pits of hell."

There was a change in the figure in white. His eyes under the hood went wide, and a flash of recognition crossed his face.

"Ah… I see. You're young S, aren't you?" He smiled. "I suppose Father will be happy to see you… happy to put you back in one of the crystal cages. Happy to re-educate you like the filthy killing beast you are!"

Siegfried's face went pale at that. The memories… those cages, those bindings, cutting into his flesh…

He took a step back, closing his eyes tightly, and the memories came rushing in once more.

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》A young man dressed entirely in white stood within a vast, lush forest, surrounded by four lifeless bodies. Their blood tinted the green under them a deep black.

He stood there for only a moment before turning around. However, as he was walking away, another figure emerged from within the trees, wearing the same tunic.

"S… don't you think that was a bit much?" asked the young boy. "Couldn't they have joined us?"

The young man looked up at the boy as though he didn't understand his words.

"Our honorable Father asked for their culling," he said. "Worthless trash, daring to sully the beauty of our home."

"S… there were…" The young boy gulped, fearful. "There were children in that group."

"Goddfried, our Father is the one who gives out these orders," said S, shrugging. "I simply follow them."《

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Siegfried came back to reality with a gasp, and that was all the time the Beedrill needed to launch its attack. Elliot jumped out of the way of the first stab, but with a quick spin mid-air his opponent slammed the other lance against the Cyndaquil's back, earning a yelp of pain and sending him flying through the air.

"Elliot!"

The small Pokemon willed himself to stand, but Siegfried could tell there wasn't much more energy in him. He clenched his teeth and threw his hand forward. One more attack, they just needed one more…

"Finish him, Beedrill!"

"Ember, Elliot!"

A sharp whistle cut through the air as Beedrill flew straight at Elliot, who simply stood in place, doing nothing. Siegfried yelled at him to attack to dodge. Elliot took in a deep breath, and looked up at his opponent right before his body was engulfed in flames.

"W-what?" asked Siegfried, dumbfounded. "That's not Ember, that's…"

Elliot jumped high into the air and, curling into a ball, pushed himself forward by the sheer force of the flames exploding off his back as he rolled through the air. The flaming ball grew and grew, getting hotter and brighter, until Siegfried realized that this was no normal attack.

Elliot was evolving.

The light-covered Quilava slammed against the Beedrill with the full force and heat of its flames, sending him straight to the ground, unconscious, smoke rising off his scorched body.

"E-Elliot…"

The Quilava landed and looked over his shoulder, shining the young trainer a kind smile. Siegfried felt something warm and expansive bloom in his chest.

"My friend…"

"Tsk." The man in white clicked his tongue. "I suppose I'll have to take care of you myself, S!"

"Elliot, quick, behind me!"

It happened in an instant. From within the folds of his white tunic the man took out a long, silver dagger and threw himself forward. Siegfried's body moved on its own. Instincts that had been buried deep into his mind rose to the surface as he stepped in front of Elliot and produced a similar dagger from within his jacket. The blue of his eyes turned dull and cold for an instant.

"Rest now, my friend."

The man in white raised his hands, and that is the last thing he ever did. With a quick swipe of his dagger, Siegfried sliced his throat open.

Mist poured out from the wound instead of blood, and soon the rest of him followed suit, vanishing into nothing. Siegfried took a moment to breathe, to rest. He could feel the weight of what he'd done, of the instincts he'd just used weighing on him, but once again he pushed it all to the back of his mind and looked down at his partner, smiling.

"Well done, Elliot. I'm glad to have you at my side."

"Hmph. Always so cheesy."

Siegfried turned to the relieving, if somewhat grim sight of Sid's opponent laying on the ground, slowly dissolving into mist from the gaping wound in his chest. Sid himself didn't even bother to see it happen. He'd simply turned around and had lit a cigarette in the meantime.

"I gotta say though, that was a nice trick you did with the dagger," noted Sid. "Guess there is more to you than meets the eye, eh scout boy? Makes me wonder why you play the nice trainer role when we both know what kinda person you really are."

A sour look was all Siegfried could muster to that. He turned around and returned Elliot to his ball, facing the door that had just appeared out of nowhere a stone-throw away from them. The exit.

"The man you saw just then… and the one you saw in the mirror, they were both dead inside," he said. "They were never alive, in a way. They are parts of me I only let out to the surface when absolutely necessary. Nothing more."

"Dead inside…" Sid took a drag of his cigarette, looking pensive for a moment. "Or maybe he was more alive than you are now, ever think of that?"

He shrugged and started walking toward the exit, a downcast Siegfried following behind.

"We're not so different, you and I," said Sid, still with his back to him. "Only difference is that I really do enjoy what I do, even if I do it at the behest of someone else."