Pokémon: Midnight Blue

Kira's Message

I landed on my back, hitting a stone floor. I picked myself up and looked around and noticed I was surrounded by graves.

"Where am I?" my head moved more vigorously as my voiced echoed in the dank, eerie place.

I'm sure you would recognize such a place, a voice appeared in my head, You're in Pokémon Tower.

"Who's there?" I held my fists up, ready to defend myself against anyone that might have been hiding, "Show yourself!"

Relax, Brian. It's me.

I looked behind me to see Kira, looking more ominous than usual, walking toward me.

"Kira? You're talking?"

No. I am simply using Hypno's ability to transfer my thoughts into your mind, both visually and verbally. I am going to show you what will become of your world if you continue down this path of destruction.

"What path of destruction?"

Observe. Look at these graves.

He indicated to five graves lined up side by side, and I walked alongside them, reading each one as I passed.

Gyarados
Owner: Brian Phoenix
Cause of Death: Fatigue

Charizard
Owner: Brian Phoenix
Cause of Death: Fatigue

Raichu
Owner: Brian Phoenix
Cause of Death: Fatigue

Gengar
Owner: Brian Phoenix
Cause of Death: Fatigue

Dragonite
Owner: Brian Phoenix
Cause of Death: Fatigue

"It says they all died of fatigue. How is this possible?"

Simple. When a human is overworked and gets tired, the immune system dwindles. Same goes for Pokémon. There came a point where you literally worked them to death.

"I don't overwork my team!"

Oh, no? Tell me, Brian, How often have you been training with your Pokémon these past few weeks? Even before you became this so-called 'Dark Phoenix'?

"We work all day every day, but--"

That's exactly my point. An athlete does not train more than three times a week. Otherwise, the muscles wear because there is little opportunity to regenerate. Pokémon should not train so harshly, otherwise they slowly become weaker from a health standpoint.

"Alright. I follow you. I won't work my Pokémon so terribly hard anymore. Just so long as they're strong enough to beat Robin."

Which brings me to my next topic. Kira snapped his fingers and the room warped. It changed from Pokémon Tower to a battle arena. On one side was a trainer I had never seen before. On the other, I instantly recognized Robin, but there was something very different about him. He was hunched over, very different from his usual erect posture; he kept his fists clenched so tightly that he seemed to be digging his nails into the palms of his hands and grit his teeth so hard that the crowns were eroding away; but the biggest thing that caught my attention were his eyes. There was a madness in his eyes that seemed to come from some sort of desperation and frustration, and the bags underneath them were terrifying.

"What the hell is up with Robin? He looks like he's gone insane."

In a sense, he has. His rivalry with you eventually consumes him, and he will become obsessive about surpassing you as a trainer. He will turn into an even more fervent and zealous version of you. The only priority in his life is to become a better trainer than you. This was a result of you constantly annihilating him in battle.