I know I've had an outrageously long hiatus so I'll give it to you straight. My excuses aren't strong enough to justify the delay and you guys might still have to wait a long time for the next chapter because I'm not as passionate about this Pokémon story as I was about the previous one. That doesn't mean I've given up on it though. It just means that updates will most likely be few and far between.
Harry was on the edge of Lostlorn Forest, near a huge bridge which led to Black City. He was eating with Eevee and Snivy, while Chimchar swung through the trees and Zorua played with Larvesta. Lucario was sitting on a log, away from the rest of the group.
"What's wrong, buddy?" Harry asked looking at Lucario, "Is this about Liepard being at Grandpa's lab?"
"No," Lucario replied, "Although I hope she's settling in okay. It's actually about that hunter's Lucario. I thought Lucario was a noble species, not one that would bully those weaker than themselves."
"Remember what Cynthia told us back in Sinnoh?" Harry asked, "All Pokémon have different personalities, just like people. That Lucario may have been a brute but don't think that it says anything bad about your entire species."
"I know," Lucario responded, "It's just a nasty kick in the gut to see another Lucario be so cruel. He was close to his trainer, so they were both sadists."
"Well thankfully you're not like that," Harry said, "Now come and eat something. It'll cheer you up." Lucario looked up as Snivy extended her vines and offered him an apple. He smiled at her and took it.
"Bloody hell, this is a long bridge," Harry said as he and Lucario stood at one end of Marvellous Bridge.
"Well we won't get across by just standing here," Lucario grunted, "Let's go." They started to walk. A group of Swanna flew overhead.
The bridge was so long that it took fifteen minutes to reach the other side at a leisurely pace. One of the Swanna was preening itself at the other end. It took off when it saw them approaching. Harry and Lucario reached the end of the bridge and found themselves in a small, rocky valley.
"There's Black City," Harry pointed to the end of the valley, "How long do you think it'll take to get there?"
"For me, about three hours" Lucario replied, "For you about a day."
"You could carry me," Harry suggested.
"In your dreams," Lucario replied.
As Lucario predicted, it took another day to reach Black City and the place really lived up to its name. Almost every building was black, with the exception of the Pokémon Centre and one or two houses which evidently had been painted so they would stand out among the darker buildings. Harry and Lucario went to the Pokémon Centre.
"Good evening," said Nurse Joy, "Would you like to book a room for the night?"
"Yes please," Harry replied.
The next day Harry and Lucario went looking for Melantha. They found a gym made entirely of black stone.
"The Black City Gym," Harry said, "Fitting design."
They approached, then faltered as shadows extended from the buildings around them and the sky went dark. Harry glanced around nervously and Lucario assumed a defensive position, scanning the area. A shadow-like creature appeared like a ghost in front of them. Both of them immediately recognised it.
"A Darkrai!" Harry said and suddenly wondered if Tobias had returned to Unova, which he had mentioned was his home region.
"No," Lucario said and relaxed, "It's Melantha's Zoroark."
The "Darkrai" somehow managed to pull off a look that showed it was pouting before transforming into the Illusion Fox Pokemon. The area around them returned to normal. Melantha sauntered out of the gym behind her Pokemon, smiling slightly.
"Of course that wouldn't fool a Lucario," she said, "Welcome to the Black City Gym."
"Are you the Gym Leader?" Harry asked.
"I am," Melantha replied, then turned and went back into the gym. Zoroark followed her and stood in the doorway, glancing back at Harry and Lucario expectantly. They followed the pair inside.
Unsurprisingly, the gym was dark, lit by very dim lights. Melantha's petite form was hard to see in the dim light, partially due to her dark clothes and hair. Zoroark stood out more due to the red parts of his fur.
"Um, you don't actually have a Darkrai, do you?" Harry said nervously.
"Of course not," Melantha said, "So are we going to battle or not?"
"She doesn't waste time," Lucario said approvingly. Melantha's dark eyes flickered to him before returning to Harry.
"Yeah," Harry said, "Rules?"
"Three on three," Melantha replied, "Substitutions permitted on both sides. I'll pick first."
"Wait, what about the judge?" Harry asked.
"Who needs one?" Melantha replied.
"Without a judge, one of us could technically cheat," Harry pointed out.
"We could," Melantha agreed, "But we won't." With a fluid movement, she threw a poke ball into the air. The ball opened and an Absol appeared. Harry took out his pokedex.
"Absol, the Disaster Pokémon. Absol has the ability to predict natural disasters and attempts to warn people and Pokémon that they are about to happen. However, people often mistake it for the cause of those disasters."
"Eevee battle position," Harry called and Eevee appeared. Her ears twitched and she tensed as her Anticipation Ability predicted something.
"Absol use Psycho Cut," Melantha ordered calmly and Absol swung the horn on its head and a pink blade of psychic energy shot towards Eevee.
"Eevee use Quick Attack," Harry ordered and Eevee darted forwards, dodging Psycho Cut in the process and slamming into Absol, knocking the larger Pokémon off balance, "Now Bite." Eevee latched onto Absol's horn with her teeth and the Disaster Pokémon grunted and shook it's head. Melantha gave a very subtle smile.
"Superpower," she said and Absol glowed with a light blue aura. However, Eevee reacted far more quickly than Absol, Melantha of even Harry had anticipated, letting go of Absol's horn and leaping backwards before splitting into a Double Team. Absol charged but ran harmlessly through one of the copies. Melantha's smile vanished and her brow furrowed in annoyance.
"Nice one, Eevee," Harry said, "Use Swift!" Eevee swung her tail and pelted Absol with a barrage of golden stars.
"Aerial Ace!" Melantha ordered, raising her voice for the first time. Absol surrounded itself with white streaks, darted forwards and slammed into Eevee, knocking her to the ground, "Now use Night Slash!"
"Dodge it!" Harry yelled as Absol's scythe like horn glowed purple and it swung it down towards Eevee,who barely managed to roll out of the way. The blade slashed the floor where she had just been lying, "Swift!" Eevee pelted Absol with another Swift at point blank range, "Now use Quick Attack!"
"EeeeeevEEE!" Eevee cried and slammed into Absol with all her strength. Melantha's calm demeanour disappeared and her eyes widened in shock as Absol collapsed.
"Absol is unable to battle, Eevee wins. Absol return," Melantha quickly regained her composure, "Wow, Eevee's much stronger than I expected. Pawniard, you're up." A Pawniard, which Harry recognised from the battle he had a few days earlier, appeared.
"Eevee use Swift!" Harry ordered and Eevee swung her tail, shooting stars at Pawniard.
"Use Iron Head," Melantha said and Pawniard charged straight into the Swift which bounced off its iron skull until it slammed its glowing head into Eevee, "Now use Low Sweep." Pawniard used a sweeping kick which struck Eevee in her side and knocked her out. "Eevee is unable to battle, Pawniard wins." Harry found it odd to see the Gym Leader also acting as the judge, but so far she hadn't done anything to indicate that she was being biased.
"Great job, Eevee," Harry said, "Chimchar, battle position!" Chimchar somersaulted out of her Poke Ball.
"Hm," Melantha said, one eyebrow raising slightly, "I've never battled a Chimchar before. Iron Head."
"Vacuum Wave!" Harry ordered and Chimchar's attack landed first, sending Pawniard flying.
"In that case, use Snarl!" Melantha called and Pawniard pushed itself up, crossed its arms and then slashed its arms forward. A purple ball of energy was fired from in front of its body and grew larger until it turned into a hemisphere and ran along with top of ground until it hit Chimchar, exploding on impact. Chimchar was knocked off her feet and her body glowed for a moment before she recovered.
"I've never seen that move before," Harry commented.
"It can be useful when facing Special Attackers," Melantha replied.
"Good thing Chimchar knows Physical Attacks, then," said Harry, "Flame Wheel!" Chimchar rolled inside a wheel of fire and shot towards Pawniard.
"Iron Defence," Melantha said Pawniard glowed light blue and a white shine went up its body just before Chimchar slammed into it, "Now Low Sweep." Despite the super effective attack, Pawniard held its ground and delivered a powerful kick to Chimchar's side knocking her out of her Flame Wheel and onto the floor.
"Flamethrower!" Harry ordered.
"Dodge it then Iron Head," Melantha countered and Pawniard threw itself into a roll to dodge the Flamethrower before charging and slamming into Chimchar, causing her to flinch, "Finish with Guillotine!" Pawniards blades extended and it crossed them in preparation for the OHKO move but at that moment, Chimchar started to glow. Harry's eyes widened in surprise as she grew taller and an actual tail extended from her backside. When the glow faded a Monferno stood where CHimchar had just been.
"Yes!" Harry said triumphantly, "Perfect timing."
"Pawniard go!" Melantha yelled, and Pawniard hastily charged at Monferno, still using its Guillotine.
"Dodge it, then Flamethrower!" Harry called and Monferno leapt into the air, twisted so that she was facing towards Pawniard in mid-air and then blew a Flamethrower straight onto the unfortunate Blade Pokémon and kept the flames going until her feet touched the ground.
"Pawniard is unable to battle, Monferno wins," Melantha said, "Return Pawniard. Go Zoroark!" The Illusion Fox Pokémon bounded forwards, smirking confidently.
"Flamethrower!" Harry ordered.
"Use Night Daze," Melantha retaliated. Monferno shot Flamethrower but Zoroark created an explosion of Dark energy which blasted through Flamethrower and knocked Monferno off her feet, "Shadow Claw!"
"Zor. Roark!" Zoroark lunged and slashed Monferno with Shadow Claw as he passed her, landing behind the Playful Pokémon who hit the ground hard.
"Monferno is unable to battle, Zoroark wins." Melantha said. Zoroark smirked and leapt back over to her side of the battlefield while Harry recalled Monferno and glanced at Lucario. Lucario nodded and stepped forwards.
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" Harry ordered and Lucario hurled an orb of Aura energy.
"Of course you'd start with that," Melantha murmured with a slight smirk, "Use Shadow Claw." Zoroark tore the Aura Sphere apart as though it was nothing, "Now Flamethrower!" Zoroark roared and shot out a stream of flames which struck Lucario directly causing him to yell in pain, "Zoroark, Shadow Claw again." Zoroark's claws were shrouded in shadows once more as he lunged.
"Bone Rush!" Harry ordered and Lucario summoned a bone and used it to block and parry Zoroark's claws. The Illusion Fox Pokémon's brow furrowed slightly, but he kept slashing, keeping Lucario on the defensive.
"Low Sweep!" Melantha ordered and Zoroark clashed with Lucario again before aiming a sweeping kick at his legs, knocking him off his feet.
"ExtremeSpeed!" Harry ordered and Lucario rolled onto his feet, faster than either Melantha or Zoroark had anticipated, and shot towards the Illusion Fox Pokémon, smashing into her and knocking him off his feet.
"I can see why it's called ExtremeSpeed," Melantha murmured, "Flamethrower!"
"Bone Rush and charge into it!" Harry ordered and Lucario created another bone and spun it like a fan, causing the fire from Flamethrower to shoot off in different directions without harming Lucario. He reached Zoroark and started slamming him repeatedly with the bone, "Alright use Force Palm!" Lucario dissipated his bone and thrust out his palm but the second it took him to do that was enough for Melantha to give her next command.
"Counter!" she ordered and Harry and Lucario's eyes widened in horror as Zoroark glowed red. The explosion of light from Lucario's palm seemed to reverse, engulfing the Aura Pokémon with twice the power and sending him hurtling into the wall.
"Lucario!" Harry cried. Lucario moaned in pain and his vision went blurry. He fell on his hands and knees, fighting to stay conscious.
"Well you're Lucario's more resilient than that hunters," Melantha muttered, "Finish with Night Daze." Zoroark raised his arms but then faltered. Melantha looked confused but Harry and Lucario realized what was happening.
"Zoroark was still hurt by that Force Palm and it has a useful side effect," Harry said, "Aura Sphere!" Lucario, gaining a sudden surge of energy upon realizing that Force Palm had paralyzed Zoroark, struggled upright and hurled an Aura Sphere.
"Shadow Claw!" Melantha screamed, a hint of panic in her normally calm voice. Zoroark reacted just a split second too slow and was blasted off his feet by the Aura Sphere, "In that case try another Night Daze!" Zoroark rolled onto his feet, the grace and agility of his movement indicating that Force Palm's paralysis wasn't going to hinder him this time, but he still wasn't fast enough.
"ExtremeSpeed!" Lucario smashed into Zoroark before he could launch the Night Daze. He slammed into the wall and collapsed.
Melantha stared at her defeated Pokémon for a moment and her jaw clenched slightly. Then she relaxed and announced, "Zoroark is unable to battle, Lucario wins. You're the victor, Harry."
"Yes!" Harry cheered and hurried towards Lucario, who fell on his hands and knees again but grinned up at his trainer nonetheless. Melantha went over to her Zoroark and knelt beside him as he regained consciousness.
"You okay?" she asked quietly. Zoroark groaned in response but nodded, "Great job, Zoroark. Get some rest." She recalled Zoroark and rose to her feet. She turned to Harry, "You know you only won because you got lucky with Force Palm, don't you?"
"No need to be a sore loser," Harry said.
"I'm not," Melantha replied, "I'm simply stating the facts. You can't always rely on luck to win a battle," she gave a slight smile, "Although it does sometimes help. Here. You've earned the Darkness Badge." She held out a simple, black badge which only had one distinctive feature and that was that it was in the shape of a D.
"Thanks," Harry replied, taking the badge from her. She shrugged.
"No need to thank me. My dad would kill me if I were childish enough to refuse to give it to you."
Harry was in the Pokémon centre, talking to his grandfather on a screen with Lucario standing beside him.
"Ah yes, I'd heard that someone had finally opened a Dark type gym in Unova," Professor Rowan said, "It's about time if you ask me."
"I know," Harry said, "Why are Gym Leaders so averse to Dark types?"
"No idea," grunted Rowan, "Well congratulations but I'm going to assume this isn't the only reason you called me."
"You know me too well, Grandpa," Harry said, "I also called because Chimchar finally evolved."
"Ah, good," Rowan said.
"And, as you know, I've caught five Pokémon here in Unova," Harry added, "You've got Liepard but I haven't trained with her as much or gotten to know her as well as Monferno."
"You know she's obsessed with me," grumbled Lucario.
"And I know you fancy her," Harry smirked and Lucario blushed.
"Our species can't even breed," he mumbled.
"You knew Monferno as a Chimchar," Rowan interrupted, having only heard Harry's side of the conversation since Lucario's telepathy couldn't travel through the screen, "Have you considered that she might have changed since evolving?" As he spoke, Monferno burst out of her Poke Ball and hopped onto Harry's shoulder. However, since she was bigger and heavier now, Harry stumbled from the unexpected weight and nearly fell over. Beside him, Lucario rolled his eyes and shook his head while Monferno smiled sheepishly.
"Nope, she's still the same," Harry groaned rubbing his shoulder and glancing at Monferno, "You're getting too big for that Monferno."
"Ferno," Monferno scratched her head looking slightly embarrassed.
"Would you mind going back to Grandpa's lab for a while?" Harry said, "I'm going to be getting Liepard back and you know I can't have more than six Pokémon with me at a time."
"Monferno," Monferno smiled then hopped onto the table, completely blocking Harry's view of his grandfather, so that she could wave at Professor Rowan.
"Good," Harry said and pulled Monferno off the table, carefully avoiding her tail flame, "Grandpa, I need you to prepare for the trade."