The Shadowed Avenger

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The sun had set many hours ago on this cold winter's day in Viridian City. The quiet yet often bustling city now lay beneath a blanket of darkness with only the light of the full moon to illuminate its silent streets.

Yet this seemingly peaceful city secretly appears to be in for a shock as two shadowed humanoid figures dart towards the still lit up Pokemon center on the city limits. Both of the two males are dressed in identical black jumpsuits with a large crimson coloured letter R upon their backs.

This symbol bears a dark and sinister warning to all those who view it, for it is the insignia of Team Rocket; A despicable and faceless organisation with a twisted sense of morality dedicated to World domination by the use of Pokemon and other innumerable schemes that threaten to plunge the world as we know it into chaos.

The two Rockets are panting breathlessly as they finally reach the shadowed back alley of the Pokemon center, the taller of the two turns towards his colleague in the darkness as he reaches for the handgun at his waist, his deep guttural voice slightly hoarse from the dry night air as he speaks.

"Joe? You ready?"

The shorter of the two Rockets, now known as Joe, glances up upon hearing his colleague's words, reaching for his own gun strapped to his left calve as he responds in a cockney accent most likely obtained from life in Celadon city in the east.

"Yeah. Lead the way, Mack."

The taller Rocket, Mack, allows a small conspiratory smirk to play across his lips as he simply nods in response, shuffling silently along the dark brick wall of the Pokemon Center whilst avoiding two large grey steel dumpsters.

Joe seems slightly less at ease than his companion as he wordlessly follows on behind Mack, his gloved hands trembling as he tightly clutches his weapon. Holding his gun close to his head as he glances anxiously around himself, trying not to jump at the tiniest of sounds.

Joe's all too apparent unease quickly catches the attention of his taller colleague as Mack takes a quick look behind to check up on him, Mack's lips quirking upwards in a semi-amused semi-exasperated grin as he stops and fully turns around in order to face Joe completely. Mack's voice managing to sound both amused and mocking at the same time.

"You're not still worried about that 'Shadowed Avenger' shit are ya, Joe? Come on, Buddy. It's all a load of bull. There ain't no proof that the guy even exists!"

Joe stops infront of Mack with what can best be described as an offended yet clearly anxious look upon his young face, his fear betraying his youth of only twenty one years of age as he pipes up once again.

"B-But Mack. Everyone's talkin bout 'im! They say that he's nowt but a shadow! That you can fill him full of lead an he'll still keep comin! That his glowing blue eyes'll burn holes through your soul! What if he's real? What if he catches us?"

Mack's previously amused look is replaced by a look of irritation and skepticism as he hears Joe's stammered concerns, his voice becoming heavily laden with sarcasm as he opens his mouth in order speak once more.

"Now you listen and listen well, Joe. There's no 'Shadowed Avenger', alright? And if there is, then I'll shoot him myself! You hear me, Joe?........ Joe?"

Joe doesn't respond to his colleague's words as he is currently staring open-mouthed at something beyond Mack, his face contorted with pure unchecked terror as he emits what can only be described as a squeak of horror whilst he begins to shake uncontrollably.

Mack breaks out in a cold sweat as he feels, senses something in the darkness roughly ten meters behind himself, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end as he slowly turns his head to the right and looks over his shoulder, all the blood draining from his face as his eyes fall upon what lies in the shadows.

A colossal and vaguely humanoid being is standing silently beneath a faded silver awning with what looks like a long brown leather cloak obscuring most of it's body, the darkness making it impossible to discern it's facial features. Yet there is no mistaking it's eyes, the twin blazing blue irises piercing through the previously impenetrable darkness and striking fear into the hearts of all who witness it, both Human and Pokemon alike.

The blindingly bright blue slits of light narrow as both of the Rockets visibly recoil in horror, a smooth baritone voice resonating deep within the recesses of the men's minds as they both level their respective weapons towards the clearly inhuman being hidden within the darkness.

'Drop your weapons, Humans..... They cannot harm me......'

This doesn't dissuade either of the two criminals from opening fire on the cloaked figure mere milliseconds after he finishes speaking. Both Mack and Joe frantically unloading multiple volleys of lead towards the shadowed being in the hopes of killing him as fast as possible.

The lone being however, doesn't move an inch. For every bullet that the rockets fire at him abruptly stops exactly a foot away from him in mid air with almost rhythmical timing.

A deep mocking chuckle fills the minds of the now terrified Rocket grunts as they frantically attempt to reload, fumbling for their spare ammunition clips at their respective waists.

'You Humans and your guns.... Well, you won't be needing them tonight.....'

The cloaked figure slowly and calmly raises what appears to be his right hand towards the panicking Rockets with a darkly amused yet unseen smirk upon his lips, his 'hand' becoming engulfed in the same intensely bright blue light that illuminates his eyes as he makes a sweeping motion towards the Rocket grunts just as they finally succeed in reloading their weapons.

Mack and Joe both simultaneously let out shrill and surprisingly high screams of surprise as their guns are torn from their grasp by an invisible force, their respective weapons quickly levitating over to the shadowed creature's right 'hand' where they are crushed together into little more than a singular poorly crafted metal ball with the nails-on-a-chalkboard screech of shearing metal.

The now apparently telekinetic creature looks up from the mangled weapons and back towards the Rockets, who are now frozen to the ground in fear, with an unnoticeable malicious smirk upon his lips, his right arm falling to his side as his voice sounds out within their minds once again.

'Now.... Are we going to do this the easy way? Or the hard way?'

The cloaked figure soon receives his answer in the form of two extremely loud and strangely feminine screams as the two Rockets take to their heels and begin to sprint away from him at a speed that, all things considered, is astonishing.

The shadowed being lets out a heavy sigh as he slowly shakes his head from side to side, the blazing blue light of his eyes slowly diminishing to reveal two slitted feline lavender irises as he opens his mouth in order to mutter audibly for the first time in the brief yet action packed conversation he had shared with the Rocket grunts.

"Why do I even bother to ask that? They always choose the latter......"

The figure quickly drops into a crouch as he finishes speaking, building energy in his powerful legs before he launches himself into the air with a mighty kick-off, landing gracefully upon the flat gravel roof of the Pokemon Center in another crouch before he breaks into a sprint which would make a Rapidash proud.

Meanwhile, Mack and Joe are scrambling over the steel mesh wire fence that separates the Pokemon Center from the Poke' (Pokemon) Mart opposite, both shaking so much that it hinders their efforts rather than aids them as Mack tries to push Joe over the top of the seven foot high fence. Yet, despite fearing for his life, Joe risks whispering hoarsely to Mack.

"I-I thought ya..... Said he wasn't.... Real?"

Mack doesn't even bother to shoot him a reproachful glare as he finally succeeds in pushing Joe over the fence, quickly scrambling up the fence himself as he whispers angrily back to him.

"Shaddup and.... Keep moving!"

Mack abruptly freezes in place as Joe lets out a sudden gasp of both surprise of horror, and following Joe's gaze to the roof above, Mack can't help but do the same as his gaze locks with the darkly amused lavender irises of their pursuer.

The fabled 'Shadowed Avenger' is crouched atop of the edge of the Poke' Mart with his long brown leather cloak billowing wildly out to his immediate right in a sudden gust of bitterly cold north-westerly wind. His features however, are still as impossible to discern as before. This is due to the fact that he has somehow enveloped his entire body in what appears to be actual shadow, which, now blatantly obvious to the two terrified Rocket grunts, is probably how he got his title.

The cloaked figure's smooth baritone voice is barely a hiss within the recesses of Mack and Joe's minds as he utilizes his telepathy in order to speak once again.

'You cannot escape me.....'

This is the last thing that Mack remembers before the 'Shadowed Avenger' suddenly drops on him from the sky in a flurry of shadows and the wild billowing noise of the shadow enveloped figure's leather cloak filling his ears.

Joe lets out a terrified scream that would wake the dead as he witnesses what he believes to be his fellow Rocket's fate, turning on his heel and making for the fields of long grass that surround Viridian City in a blind panic whilst crying out and yelling for help.

"Help me! Oh God, please! HELP!!!"

Joe is sent sprawling as he trips over the rocky ledge that signifies the limits of Viridian city, landing in a heap on the ground beside a large nearby oak tree. He lets out a low groan of pain as stars dance before his eyes, before he is brought back to the present with a bang as he suddenly remembers what's going on. He rolls over as fast as he possibly can whilst he simultaneously begins to edge towards the only cover available, the oak tree.

Joe's heart feels as if it will burst from his chest as he presses himself back against the oak tree, his terrified eyes darting everywhere as he tries to locate the urban legend known as the 'Shadowed Avenger'. Though the aforementioned being is nowhere to be seen in the field on this cold winter night.

"H-He's gone.... Oh, thankyou God..... Oh thankyou, thankyou, thankyou......"

Joe slowly rises to his feet as he props himself up against the sturdy trunk of the oak tree, trying to slow the rapid beat of his heart and the swiftness of his breathing without success as his hands visibly tremble. Yet nothing can describe the horror that envelops his very soul as that eerily familiar smooth baritone voice resonates softly within the recesses of his mind once again.

'It may be a Human cliché to say this, but nevertheless it seems appropriate to say; you can run, but you can't hide....'

The once again petrified Rocket doesn't even have the time to turn his head before he feels himself rammed against the trunk of the oak tree with bone breaking force and a painfully tight constriction around his neck that leaves him barely able to breathe. When Joe finally regains enough sense to see he finds the large right 'hand' of the 'Shadowed Avenger' is wrapped around his throat and that he is being held roughly four feet off the ground against the tree, revealing just how unnaturally tall the so called 'Urban Legend' really is. Yet Joe has very little time to ponder this fact as he rasps out what may be his final words whilst looking into the narrowed lavender irises of the cloaked figure.

"Yo-You can't.... Be.... Re-Real..... I wo-won't..... Tell you.... An-Anything......"

The 'Shadowed Avenger' let out a low mocking chuckle upon hearing the young Rocket's spirited, if pathetic, words of disbelief and defiance. A vaguely amused yet almost sadistic smirk gracing his shadow concealed lips as he opens his mouth in order to communicate vocally rather than with his telepathy. His deep masculine voice's tone chilling the criminal to the bone whilst his words fill Joe with a cold dread. Though it is neither of these that cause the criminal to give in to panic and despair…. It is the blindingly intense blue light that once again lights up the dark figure's slitted lavender irises that finally breaks the young man's spirit.....

"Oh but I am..... And you will....."

Several hours later, when the sun peeks over the horizon in the east, two Viridian Police officers are both simultaneously stupefied and amazed to find two unconscious Team Rocket thugs chained to the front of the Police Station with titanium restraints. Both in perfect health aside from some minor injuries, mostly cuts and bruises.

The Rocket thugs are both brought in for questioning where they both claim to have been attacked by the elusive being known as the 'Shadowed Avenger', and then are placed in separate cells awaiting trial.

Meanwhile, several miles to the north in Viridian Forest, at the mouth of a particularly treacherous cave overlooking the city, stands the urban legend himself; The 'Shadowed Avenger'. His carefully woven shadow concealment slowly fading away into nothingness until it vanishes altogether, fully revealing the dark figure in all his glory.

He appears to be a large six-foot-seven bipedal feline, with a mainly pale grey body, a pronounced purple stomach, a long muscular purple tail, a feline head with horn-like ears and a secondary neck tubule, and large paws instead of hands, with thick bulb-like digits for fingers.

A flicker of a smile ghosts across his lips as he thinks upon the nickname the Humans have bestowed upon his shadow cloaked self, uttering a low chuckle whilst slowly shaking his head from side to side as he turns and begins to walk into the cave that he has come to call home, muttering almost inaudibly under his breath as the rocks close up the entrance behind him under the influence of his telekinetic abilities.

"The 'Shadowed Avenger'? That's even worse than Mewtwo……"