Chapter 36: Dark Assault
The Dark type.
A type that was made official the year before Indigo Grand League. This was due to the popular stigmatism by cowardly humans that Dark type Pokémon were extremely violent and cruel by nature.
However, that belief was slowly dwindled to the point where the people had no choice but to accept it as a Type. Thus, the Pokémon of that typing were now called "difficult to handle" rather than the lies of the past.
And now…
There was one fighting on behalf of those misunderstood Pokémon.
Beast Tamer Karen.
Hours before the opening ceremony.
"So, what motivated you to build a Dark type party?" a news reporter asked Karen.
The blue-haired teenager was in the middle of an interview while she brushed her Pokémon's fur.
A jet-black canine with menacing horns, her ace, Houndoom.
Beside her were two of her other Pokémon, Murkrow and Umbreon.
"I mean, they are hard to raise, after all…" the reporter continued meekly before stopping after the canine shot a glare towards her.
Kalos reporter Alexa was taken aback for a moment before a hand gently caressed the snout of the beast.
The severe eyes of the canine fluttered close by her long silver eyelashes as she calmed down.
"Well… I have a reason for that," Karen answered before beginning her story.
"It was a few years ago when this girl was still a Houndour."
"My father caught and brought her home one day."
"He was working on a redeveloping project that had been halted by a group of outcast Pokémon that called that place home. Houndour was the leader of that pack."
"However, even after capturing Houndour, he and his crew could not make her submit and were planning to get rid of her. I just couldn't let that happen."
"One thing to note about the Dark types is that they possess the highest battle instinct amongst all Pokémon. Just as we can perform aerobic respiration naturally, Dark type Pokémon are blessed with fighting abilities from birth."
A memory flashed in Karen's mind as a younger her was grazed in the arm by Houndour. Her snout was clamped shut by a muzzle, but the eyes never lost their fire.
The blood from young Karen's arm bled profusely but the girl simply faced the jet-black pup.
"I told her that her home was gone, but rather than abandoning her, I decided to escape alongside her together from that wretched household," the teenager continued.
She remembered how deprived of fear she was even after suggesting running away from her comfortable lifestyle.
She remembered Houndour's eyes. Tired but noble. It was enough to make her forget even the pain of her wounds.
"We wandered aimlessly for a while after that. I even collapsed on the way."
"But even when I thought I was about to die, all I could think of was apologizing to Houndour."
"She could have left me to die, and I thought she would when before passing out, my last memory was her retreating figure. But she didn't."
"Next thing I knew, I awoke to the surroundings of my would-be mentor, Agatha of the Elite Four's house."
Karen continued stroking Houndoom's fur in remembrance.
"She grabbed my mentor's attention and led her to me. This magnificent Pokémon saved my life."
"After that, we trained throughout Johto. Houndour used her experience of loss of her pack as motivation to grow stronger until she evolved. Then, I had an epiphany."
"Vicious, cruel, brutal? What a joke."
"Those fools would define the Dark types with those connotations just because they are 'DARK'."
"For me, the Dark types saved me. The Dark types showed me the truth, the light. Ironic, isn't it?"
Before the second round...
Gary was listening to the interview with a cold gaze.
{ GOOD POKÉMON. BAD POKÉMON. }
{ WEAK POKÉMON. STRONG POKÉMON. }
{ THAT IS ONLY THE SELFISH PERCEPTION OF PEOPLE. }
{ TRULY SKILLED TRAINERS... }
{ SHOULD TRY TO WIN WITH THEIR FAVOURITES. }
{ I PROMISE TO SHOW YOU ALL JUST HOW BRIGHT MY DARK POKÉMON CAN SHINE. }
"Heh," Gary sneered.
"Damn right it's a joke. Win with your favourites, let your Pokémon shine…"
"How stupid."
He then released his team from their Balls for a meeting.
Exeggutor. Pidgeot. Alakazam. Rhydon. Blastoise. And the ace, Arcanine.
"But you guys are different," he said to his team.
"There may be some changes, but you all are the team I've envisioned I'd use even before I set out of Pallet Town."
"I chose you all so we could win."
"Elite Four candidate or whatever, it does not matter."
"She's the prey. And we're the hunters."
"Crush them."
{ NO WAY! MURKROW IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! }
"Don't get carried away. You merely defeated one," Gary coldly called out.
"Overconfidence is poisonous. Take this seriously if you want to keep winning."
{ GREEN HAS DEFEATED KAREN'S FIRST POKÉMON AND TAKES THE LEAD! }
The audience cried out in excitement at the surprising upset. Many would have thought the Beast Tamer would bulldoze the fledging Trainer underfoot.
Now, the tables had turned, and no one knew how the match was going to turn out.
Many supporters from Johto cheered louder for their rising star while some Kantonians began badmouthing Karen that she was merely trying to look cool whilst using mistreated Pokémon.
The first bout's unexpectedly quick match surprised the two other Pallet Town Trainers. Their two Pokémon, Pikachu and Espeon, watched alongside them in shock.
"It's amazing…" Blue muttered in bewilderment.
"Yeah, I can't believe he caught Murkrow mid-air even though it's a Flying type…" Ash agreed in astonishment.
"What did you call it before? [Extremespeed]?" Ash asked as he recalled Blue name dropping the move's epithet.
"Fits like a glove. That speed is ridiculous!"
From the battlefield, the large red canine shot daggers towards the two Pokémon. Pikachu immediately assumed battle position due to the menacing look, and Espeon casted a worried expression on her face.
Murkrow had fainted.
However, Gary took notice of the black crow's face, eliciting a raised eyebrow from the boy.
The fainted crow was smiling.
'Hmm? It fainted with a grin on its face…' the orange-haired Trainer pondered for a moment in confusion.
{ GREEN OF PALLET TOWN IS PUSHING THE BEAST TAMER TO HER LIMIT! }
{ AS EXPECTED OF THE GRANDSON OF THE PREVIOUS LEAGUE CHAMPION, PROFESSOR OAK. }
Shockingly, the professor was in the analyst desk sipping tea. The old professor had instructed his granddaughter, Daisy to look after Butterfree's mate in the laboratory.
{ TELL ME, PROFESSOR. IS THIS TALENT FROM YOUR FAMILY OR THE RESULTS OF HIS JOURNEY? }
However, the professor's reply was different than anyone could have expected.
"Haaah~! Groundwater from the Indigo Plateau really does give tea that extra something," the professor cried out in bliss as he continued sipping his tea.
"Why, with this, you could brew a cocoa fit for Tapu Koko!"
…
…
…
{ UH, PROFESSOR...? UM, I WAS HOPING WE COULD GET YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE MATCH...? }
The competitors in the spectator room visibly cringed at the joke the elderly man made.
Ash and Blue collectively pulled their headwear down to escape the second-hand embarrassment.
"Ignore him. Pretend we don't know him," Blue winced uncomfortable.
"…"
Ash opted for silence.
Around them, they could hear confused comments about Oak's joke which only fuelled the kids' awkwardness.
"Seriously?"
"Was that a joke?"
"Tapu Koko. Cocoa? Really?"
"He's always like this. His cousin's even worse."
Oak snapped out of his blissful stupor at the analyst's clarification.
"Hm? Oh yes, of course. Now, about Gar- uh Green..." he began.
"I didn't teach him anything about battling. I merely sent him out into the world with only the PokéDex to aid him in his journey. Everything else is all him."
{ I SEE... WELL, HE SURE IS GOING ALL IN ON THIS MATCH! }
{ I GUESS NATURAL TALENT MUST RUN IN THE FAMILY, HUH? }
"Yeah, sure. You got any more of this tea?" Oak nonchalantly asked.
{ HUH? Y-YES, I THINK SO. }
The crowd then laughed at the humour of the respected Professor.
Agatha clicked her tongue at the old man's behaviour.
"Is that old coot not nervous at all? That's his grandson out there."
"The apple fell pretty far from the tree, wouldn't you say?" Lance commented at the polarizing attitudes of the grandfather-grandson duo.
'Those eyes of his…' Agatha mused, observing Gary's features.
'They're so sharp, so cruel. Nothing like his grandfather's.'
'But… There's one way in which they're exactly alike.'
The face of a younger Oak began to overlap with Gary's face.
'It's that cocky overconfident smile.'
"Hmph. He's as infuriating as Samuel," the old woman spat out in annoyance.
'Take him down, Karen. Show him the battlefield is no place for a kid like him.'
"Return, Murkrow. You did an amazing job," Karen praised as she recalled her Pokémon back into his Ball.
"Hey, hey. That the best you got?" Gary cockily called out to the blue-haired teen.
"I thought you're supposed to be an Elite Four candidate. Was I wrong?"
"Well, doesn't matter."
"I will crush you either way."
Karen narrowed her eyes at the boy with caution.
'He sure talks up a big game. To make things worse, he has the skills to back up as well,' the teen thought, slightly annoyed.
'As expected of the grandson of my mentor's rival.'
{ WHO WILL KAREN CHOOSE AS HER SECOND POKÉMON? }
Karen sent out her second Pokémon.
"You're not bad, kid. Let's do this!" the teen called out in excitement, her silvery-blue eyes lit up at the challenge her opponent was giving.
"Heh. Keep talking!" Gary replied in kind.
"Get ready, Arcanine," the boy exclaimed to his Pokémon.
A howl of acknowledgement at the boy's orders and the canine stood ready. However, he noticed that his right paw began trembling.
The same paw that struck Murkrow.
From Karen's second PokéBall came out a black shadow. It zoomed across the battlefield before standing above Arcanine on a large rock.
{ AND KAREN'S NEXT POKÉMON IS… }
An ink-black creature that seemed like a fusion of a rabbit and a cat with golden rings on its body.
{ UMBREON! }
"Strong… What's wrong with Pallet Town Trainers, man?" Calem sighed in defeat.
"This Green guy is probably even more of a monster than Serena's sweetheart!"
"Hmm? What makes you say that?" Tierno asked, confused by his comment and annoyed at the last part.
"Red was barely hanging on against a Gym Leader, but this dude is downright pulverizing an Elite Four candidate, for crying out loud!" Calem explained, flabbergasted at Gary's performance thus far.
Shauna suddenly had a chill run down her spine as Umbreon took the stage.
"Hey, guys?" the tanned girl quivered in fright.
Everyone turned towards the girl now, surprised at her reaction.
"I really hope it's just me… But that black Pokémon…"
"Is it smiling?"
Blue took out her PokéDex to scan the newly encountered Pokémon.
"Umbreon... The Moonlight Pokémon. When agitated, this Pokémon protects itself by spraying poisonous sweat from its pores," the chestnut-haired girl read whilst the teenagers behind her looked in fascination at the PokéDex once again.
"That Pokémon is the same as you, Espeon. It's an Eeveelution," she told her partner.
Espeon continued watching the match upon hearing that. The match between the Dark variant of her and her former Trainer.
Ash and Pikachu then narrowed their eyes at the ink-black Eeveelution.
"Hey, buddy. That guy's smiling, isn't he?" he asked his partner.
"Pika…" Pikachu squeaked in agreement.
Karen made the first move.
"Umbreon, use [Curse]," she simply commanded.
The devious smile of Umbreon now showed its razor-sharp fangs as it commenced the move.
The ground beneath its paws crackled and the ink-black body's muscles began bulging immensely. The golden rings glowed faintly.
Gary was caught by surprise at the sight but quickly regained composure as he began strategizing his next attack.
'Hardening the muscles at the expense of Speed, huh?' he pondered meticulously.
'Since both Attack and Defense are now increased, plus Umbreon being a solid defensive Pokémon in the first place…'
The puzzle pieces began unveiling the opponent's plans.
'So, she's trying to turn this into an endurance contest.'
'Like hell I'll let you!'
"Arcanine, [Flamethrower]! And keep your distance!" he called out.
The red canine obliged and began spewing large flames towards Umbreon from different angles due to his high Speed at a distance, never getting close to it.
{IT LOOKS LIKE ARCANINE IS USING ITS SIGNATURE SPEED TO ATTACK FROM ALL ANGLES! }
{ IS GREEN GOING FOR A HIT-AND-RUN STRATEGY? }
However, a certain raven-haired boy was not fooled.
'No… That ain't Green's style. If I had to guess…' Ash mused anxiously.
'He's trapping Umbreon in flames to make it harder to breathe!'
Umbreon could be seen coughing from the intake of smoke and deficiency of air.
'In other words, …'
Gary finally made his move.
'He's setting up a full-frontal assault!'
While Umbreon continued coughing, Arcanine burst out of the raging flames behind it, his claws ready to pounce.
"[Close Combat]!" Gary cried out.
But unexpectedly…
Arcanine's vision was locked onto the Eeveelution one moment. And his right side got blindsided the next.
Umbreon had used its left back paw to strike the large canine's face. The muscles on that leg tensed intensely as more power began building into it.
A shocked Gary could only watch in stunned silence while the other two childhood friends gasped in surprise.
And an intimidating Karen stared daggers at the young genius with silvery-blue eyes of frost.
An icy-cold command from her soft smile released Umbreon's explosive strength.
"[Payback]."
And Arcanine went flying across the battlefield. His landing created a massive explosion of dust and debris.
Boom!
{ ARCANINE WAS BLOWN AWAY! }
{ HOW CAN SUCH A SMALL BODY HOLD SO MUCH POWER?! }
Umbreon began giggling ominously at the young orange-haired boy.
"Uwaa… that's a creepy laugh," Lisia groaned in annoyance.
Now, it was Umbreon's turn to pounce on a wounded Arcanine.
But once more, Gary regained his composure.
"Don't panic. [Extremespeed]!" he called out.
With one blindingly fast movement, Arcanine turned the tables again. His jaws primed at the ink-black Pokémon's neck.
Chomp!
{ UMBREON'S CAUGHT IN THE SAME POWERFUL JAWS THAT DEFEATED MURKROW! IS THIS THE END? }
However, the defeat never came.
Slowly, Umbreon's paws began lifting the large canine's jaws open, showing the damage done.
Only two small of Arcanine's strongest teeth managed to draw a small amount of blood.
{O… OH MY! WHAT INCREDIBLE STRENGTH! }
Gary narrowed his emerald eyes in suspicion. There was a missing hidden piece to the puzzle.
"Arcanine, drop it! Retreat!" Gary ordered.
'Something's not right…' he thought, racking his brain to figure out the mystery.
"After it, Umbreon!" Karen commanded.
The blue-haired teenager was not giving Gary a moment's rest.
Arcanine sensed his Trainer trying to figure out the context of the peculiar fight and began acting on his own, buying time for Gary to solve the problem while simultaneously give him more information as the battle continued.
Immediately understanding his Pokémon's intentions, the 11-year-old genius began his thought process.
'Her tactics has changed from Prelims. But that's not all,' he pondered even harder.
His mind replaying every single detail about Karen up to that point while taking in Arcanine's skirmish against Umbreon before his eyes.
'It's shrugging off Arcanine's attacks so easily. Even Umbreon's high Defense isn't enough to account for that. Which means…'
'Arcanine's Attack must've gone down somehow!'
The scene of Murkrow's questionable smile came to his mind. And Arcanine's twitching paw closed the case.
The puzzle was completed.
"…[Memento], huh?" Gary said aloud, figuring out Karen's devious plan.
"No wonder Murkrow went down so easily…"
"Ah. So you've finally caught on," Karen praised.
"Huh? What're they talking about?!" Ash cried out in a panic, not knowing what was happening.
"I don't know either!" Blue cried out in a similar manner.
Luckily for them, Oak started his explanation for the audience's knowledge.
"Memento is a move that takes a lot of energy, enough to make the user faint. In return, the target's Attack and Special Attack gets harshly lowered."
"Murkrow must have used it the moment its wing got grabbed," the professor finished as he continued sipping his tea.
{ I SEE! SO ARCANINE'S UNABLE TO FIGHT AT ITS FULL STRENGTH. }
{ ON THE OTHER HAND, UMBREON'S STATS HAVE BEEN BOOSTED HIGHER THAN USUAL. }
On the battlefield, Arcanine was tired and bruised significantly due to its nerfed status while Umbreon was grinning with twisted delight.
{ SOUNDS LIKE A RECIPE FOR DISASTER! }
'But this effect is different to a Burn status. It should wear off if I switch now,' Gary speculated.
"Tch. Arcanine, return!" Gary called out, holding his PokéBall to recall his Pokémon.
As Arcanine was being sucked into his Ball, Umbreon leaped towards the canine swiftly.
"Wha?!" Gary choked in surprise.
"[Pursuit]," Karen commanded nonchalantly.
A devasting punch to Arcanine before he was recalled completely.
Back in the room, the younger Trainers were in disbelief.
The strongest of the trio being backed into a corner.
'This is the first time I've seen Green forced into the defensive…' Ash thought in bewilderment.
'Karen is really an amazing Trainer!'
{ [MEMENTO], [PAYBACK], [PURSUIT]! }
{ BEAST TAMER KAREN IS SHOWING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE DARK TYPES! }
"Hmph. I guess Umbreon finds the idea of a fair fight a joke, huh?" Gary taunted at the older girl.
'She's strong…' he thought to himself.
"They do say Trainers and their Pokémon resemble each other…"
"I'd say that's pretty accurate; don't cha think?"
Umbreon continued smirking and snickered at the boy.
"Ara? I'm honoured to receive such a heartfelt compliment," Karen sarcastically thanked with a small bow.
"But this is how the Dark types fight."
The Beast Tamer strikes back.
"Don't tell me you're giving up already? Or is this too much for you…?"
Chapter 36: Dark Assault
"Boy."
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