Image by - rekuroBis (Deviantart)
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A beam of dark purple energy narrowly missed Cobalt as he jumped to the side. He was thankful that Rosa had commanded him to evade, since she had noticed the attack, or else he would've gotten hit. "Terra!" She called. "Use your rock slide!"
'Got it!' The rock/fighting-type released a white ball from his mouth, which in turn struck the ceiling above Kyurem and caused piles of rocks to rain down upon it. Growling in pain, it then craned its head to freeze the rocks in place. Making use of the moment of distraction, Rosa sent Cobalt over with a sacred sword ready.
Ten minutes have gone by, but the girl and the legendary trio were holding it out just fine. It was dangerous to be this close to battle, for obvious reasons, and yet it helped a whole lot. With a sharp focus, Rosa observed Kyurem's attacks and had the others move away as soon as possible. She wanted them to be fit for whatever would come after this fight, and Viri made sure she was just as fine by keeping a safe distance and attacking from afar with magical leaf.
Rosa's eyes widened as a fusion bolt headed their way, but then Terra jumped in and stopped anything from getting worse. It was fortunate that he's part rock, as well as being bulky, so he was able to deal with the hit. The trainer smiled to herself as he shook off the electricity that coursed through him before commanding him to finish off Kyurem, who was visibly struggling. "Smack down!"
After the move collided, there was a flash and Zekrom was practically thrown out of Kyurem's body. While the black dragon was fine, albeit drained, the other one fell in defeat. Rosa exhaled afterward. "That wasn't... hard." She earned a nod of agreement from her teammates, sliding down from Viri's back to be greeted by slightly trembling legs. She opted to stretch and get some feeling back into them.
Ghetsis violently stabbed the ground with his cane repeatedly, hand gripping it tightly. "My Kyurem! All my hard work-" He then shook his head. "NO! This isn't over! I can capture it again, but first..." He raised his hand and swung it down, sticking his cane straight into the earth before taking out a poké ball. "I can't have you getting in my way again, you brat! I say we settle this once and for all!" He released a Cofagrigus.
Rosa clenched her fists before stepping forward. She was done being scared. Defeating Kyurem brought back her spark and she felt ready for anything. "Itachi!" The Weavile, refreshed, was at her side in seconds. He eyed Ghetsis, recollection flashing in his optics.
The ghost pokémon aimed a gross, black substance at him but he jumped away in time. Itachi's claws took on a black hue as he jumped forward, slashing straight down his opponent's coffin body. Thanks to the razor claw necklace hanging from around Itachi's neck, as well as night slash's critical hit ratio, Cofagrigus fainted immediately. Ghetsis was not amused as he replaced the pokémon with a Seismitoad and wasted no time in commanding a drain punch.
Unfortunately, Itachi failed to dodge it and was knocked out. Rosa ran over, kneeling down to hug him. "You were amazing! Get some rest." Kissing his forehead, she recalled the dark/ice-type.
'My turn!!' Rina gave a loud howl and took her place on the battlefield. 'I dedicate this match to my friends! Let's do this!' Her trainer smiled, which she was grateful for. The Lucario always wanted to make her and the others feel better.
The frog creature ahead snorted, much to Rina's annoyance. "Force palm!" She charged forward in the blink of an eye and laid a hand against Seismitoad's belly, delivering a shock throughout its body. Shaking it off, it heard Ghetsis's command for an earthquake. The pokémon struck the ground with a fist; big shock waves rippled from underneath the earth, which jutted out to damage Rina. The type advantage move did great damage but she was more than willing to continue.
N furrowed his brows, trying to make sense of Rina's determination. Of course, he thought, she loved her trainer and would do anything for the girl, but it was also the thrill of a fight that she enjoyed greatly – as one would enjoy a hobby.
"Raaa!" The Lucario fired an aura sphere, the ball of energy slamming into Seismitoad and knocking it into a wall of ice. It refused to get up after that.
Rina handled Eelektross, the next opponent, with no problem until she lost to Drapion. Cobalt volunteered to join the battle, fighting on par with the scorpion. He was able to toughen out the constant earthquakes thrown his way, but relied on sacred sword to end this round. When Toxicroak appeared with a brick break prepared, Cobalt had to back out. "Let N fix you up." Rosa practically ordered the Cobalion, leaving no room for protest. He, along with Viri and Terra, headed over to the green-haired man. "Yomo!" Her Ampharos jumped in, releasing a massive discharge that coated the field in front of her and zapped the frog.
Ghetsis commanded a poison jab. Toxicroak's hands turned a bright purple before trying to jab at Yomo. She blocked each hit with thunderpunch until she found an opening to jam her attack into her opponent's side, which effectively paralyzed it. Yomo spun and roughly smacked Toxicroak away with her tail, defeating it. "Hydreigon! You better not let me down!" The three-headed dragon released a growl after being sent out. It chomped at the air, wild eyes glancing between Yomo and Ghetsis, as if wondering which one was its battle opponent. It didn't sit right with Rosa. She read that such a pokémon could become a brute in the wrong hands.
Yomo readied herself, shooting a rock gem. Unfortunately, Hydreigon fired dragon rage to destroy the rock-type move, but its attack continued to rush forward until Yomo was struck. Rosa winced, taking out the Ampharos's capture device. "Please, return!" She received a nod of understanding.
Jano perked up, joining his beloved trainer's side. 'My lady, I shall end this battle once and for all.' Rosa stared into his determined eyes before smiling, pointing ahead.
"Right! Start off with frenzy plant!" The Serperior's tail dove underground, followed by big, thorny vines bursting into the open and striking his foe with full force, knocking the breath out of the three-headed dragon. "Go in for a leaf blade!" Jano slithered up and over the vines he created, using them as cover for a stealthy attack.
"Get up and use frustration!" Growling lowly in its trainer's direction, Hydreigon resumed its flight, looking around for Jano. As the snake jumped out of hiding, it took notice and lowered itself. Then, it caught him in its maw, even latching on with its hands, biting down hard. Jano hissed in pain, his leaf blade fading away. To make matters worse, Hydreigon was treating him like prey, itching to tear into his flesh.
Rosa winced, eyeing her starter pokémon. It wouldn't be pretty if he thrashed around too much. "Jano, go with giga drain instead!" A green flash of light surrounded the grass-type before engulfing his opponent, zapping away all of the energy it had left. He was released after a moment. "Alright, buddy, finish it off with leaf blade!" With that, Jano swinging his tail and grounding the Hydreigon, the battle was over.
Returning his pokémon, Ghetsis grabbed a fistful of his hair. "This can't be... I'm the creator of Team Plasma! I'm... I'm perfect!" He began to mumble strings of curses and incoherent sentences, shaking in rage. Rosa called her Serperior over and hugged him gently, the others approaching them.
N regarded his old man with pity. "It's hard to call you this, but... father, please understand. Pokémon are not tools. They and humans take each other to greater heights." He smiled at the pokémon with him and Rosa. "They are our wonderful partners. Some humans understand this. Why can't you?"
"SHUT your mouth!" They flinched. "SHUT UP! Don't talk like a person, you freak! No real person can talk to pokémon!" Before Rosa could snap, wanting to protect N, one of the Shadow Triad appeared.
"Lord Ghetsis has lost control..." His expression was unreadable, but there was something there as he looked at N. "We'll take over from here."
"Understood..." The greenet nodded. "So, without father, Team Plasma is...?"
"Farewell."
It got quiet until Rosa squeaked upon feeling a cold drop of water fall on her face. She shook her head, looking around in confusion. The ice coating the walls were gradually melting due to Kyurem's defeat, which meant... "Hilda!" She turned to the mass of ice in the back of the room, perking up as it seemed to quickly dissipate right before their eyes.
Tossing her bag down, she shouldered her jacket off and hurried over, followed by the Sacred Trio. The older brunette fell forward, shivering violently, so Rosa quickly covered her up with the jacket. "I- I can't believe you- you're right in front of me." She whimpered, eyes tearing up again, as she hugged her cousin. "Hilda?" The woman wasn't conscious, but at least she was breathing. That was a huge relief. "Are Keldeo and Zorua doing alright??" She turned to her friends.
Cobalt gave a nod, him and Viri working to get Keldeo on Terra's back. N was hugging Zorua like his life depended on it, trying to calm the fox's trembling body. Rosa bit her tongue, as she'd been right – that was definitely the Zorua she failed to watch over. But, they would have to deal with that later...
Blue optics were glued to the clock overhead, listening to the repetitive ticking of time passing by. The brunette managed to finally tear her gaze away to look out the window; the sun was setting and looking as lovely as ever.
Just two hours ago, she and N arrived in Driftveil City on Zekrom. She accepted Zorua in her arms while the green-haired man carried Hilda, but she couldn't help thinking back on his nervousness. He almost didn't want to touch Hilda. 'They must have some wild history...'
She had also gone separate ways with the Sacred Trio, as it should be. Yet, her heart ached. She hoped that they would at least pay a visit soon, especially with Keldeo because she would love to meet him.
With a sigh, Rosa leaned forward in her chair to rest her elbows on the bed in front of her. She observed her cousin, noting that her hair had gotten longer since she last saw her. "When'll you wake up?" She uttered before checking for the millionth time today if her kindred was still breathing.
'She is going to be just fine.' Jano nuzzled his trainer, earning a pat on his head.
"I know that... I just really wanna catch up with her! I'm so impatient!" Rosa pouted before propping her head on her hands.
She heard a knock, making her turn around in surprise. It was Hugh. "Hey there." His smile broke something in her that Rosa stood and tackled him in a hug. She wasn't done crying after all.
"I- I found her..." She hiccuped into his chest. "I found her!" The blunet returned her hug, feeling himself about to fall apart. It seemed that they both got what they had wanted all these years. "O- Oh, where's Liepard?" She remembered, pulling back to look up at him, while completely ignoring the short distance between them.
"In her poké ball. There's still work to be done, but I think everything is slowly being put back into place."
"I'm glad." She smiled, cupping his cheeks and touching his forehead to hers. Hugh blushed, unable to hold back his own, overjoyed, smile.
The moment was ruined as N walked in, his eyes rounding in curiosity upon seeing them. Rosa and Hugh jumped away, red-faced. "U- Uh!" Then, the brunette noticed Zorua in his arms, grinning that familiar grin. "Zorua!" She swooped in to ruffle his cheeks, scratching behind his ears, and eliciting purrs of delight despite himself. "I am so, so, happy that you're ok! When I lost you in Chargestone Cave, I didn't know what to do!"
His ears pinned back once she stopped petting him and he began to say something, yipping and barking. N was there to translate. "Zorua explained everything to me a while ago. He says he's to blame for leaving you behind." He then looked away. "I suppose I am too, in some way, but it's quite nice to think that you and I almost met before the Giant Chasm; that was me in Chargestone Cave you both heard talking."
"But everything worked out in the end." Rosa flashed a grin before pulling Hugh over to her. "Oh, this my good friend Hugh! Hugh, this is N!"
Hugh gave a nod. "So, I heard that you led Team Plasma..."
"It wasn't like I had much of a choice." N managed a smile at the memories brought up. "And... I had no clue that the Shadow Triad stole your Purrloin. I am terribly sorry." Hugh scratched the back of his head, looking away.
"S'all good. I just hope I can help her remember me and my little sister."
"I would be more willing to provide assistance." N offered, to which Hugh accepted gratefully. What better person to help than the man who can understand the hearts of pokémon?
A groan from behind the teenagers drew their attention. "Wha... what's with all these blankets? And why's... my head spinning?" Hilda violently kicked off the three blankets stacked on top of herself.
"Hilda!!" Rosa squealed and practically launched herself onto the bed. Unfortunately, they bonked their heads together, so now they have that to look forward to. "Ah!" "Shit!" The boys in the room had winced, yet their eyes sparkled in amusement.
Sitting up, Hilda allowed her eyes to adjust to the lighting of the room; she would have to deal with her head swimming for now. The older brunette met N's gaze, who was keeping a noticeable distance, before sighing. "Oh, great, another dream..."
Rosa shook off her aching temple and sat up. "You can't tell me the pain you're feeling right now is all from a dream!" Carefully this time, she threw her arms around the woman for a hug. "I- I'm glad this isn't a dream. Do you- Do you any idea how much I missed you??" Hilda returned the hug, her lip quivering as she tried not to whimper, but her eyes betrayed her as she teared up.
"I- I'm home, cuz!"
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