Memoriam Requiem

There wasn't anything left. No side avenues. No second chances. No matter how hard he tried to change it, his destiny was charging straight towards the black wall of the abyss. He was going to die.

The malicious eyes of his attacker simply glared back in apathy at his trembling form, a steely glint of triumph in their eyes. The man's hand tightened around the hilt of his deadly weapon, his knuckles whitening at the force of his grip.

Ash knelt down onto the unyielding earth, one arm wrapped tightly around his waist in agony. His vision flickered and faltered as blood spattered down his side in a torrent. The potent poison was already filling his veins at an alarming rate, burning holes in his skin at consuming him from the inside out. With every fragile beat of his heart, a flux of his lifeblood burst forth onto the dirt, sinking Ash deeper into the bloody mud.

"Not much time left for you, little trainer." His attacker murmured with a wicked grin etched across his face. His bloated Seviper curled around his Tauros leather boots, its thirsty gaze still trained on Ash's face. Its tongue flicked in and out of its mouth, licking the lingering flesh on its jaws and scooping it into its mouth. The Seviper's fangs still glittered with the lethal poison it favored, sizzling as it fell onto the turf below. The man reached down and ran his free hand across the glittering scales on the Seviper's head.

Ash growled in defiance, grimacing as the mere effort of moving cost him more than he had to give. The smallest of movements to his right caused Ash to divert his gaze. Pikachu crawled painfully towards the side of his dieing master, determined to give Ash as many breaths as he could muster. The small yellow Pokemon could hardly stand as he hissed at the opposing trainer, his entire side cut open in a ghastly wound, caking the ground in his own blood. Pikachu took a step towards the Seviper, faltering as he did, stumbling forward into the mud.

"Pikachu!" Ash called, every syllable causing unbearable pain to lace up his torn body. He moved forward as though to protect the wounded rodent, but a flicker of electricity held him back.

Pikachu rose once again to his paws, one eye closed by the bloody mud. He glanced over his shoulder towards his dearest friend, to his trainer. "Pi, pika pi." He stated, trying to assure Ash with the confidence in his voice. But the yellow Pokemon shook in fear and pain, his whole form trembling in agony as he neared the hissing Seviper.

The man's grin traveled even further up his face, breaking into a malicious smile as he watched Pikachu inch towards him. His hand flicked towards his belt, unclasping a Pokeball from its magnetic clip at his waist. With a subtle click at the center of the sphere, the Pokeball split open at the seam, releasing the Pokemon inside with a flash of brilliant white light. The beam materialized not a foot away from Pikachu, taking form of a giant, hulking Tyranitar. The beast was doubled over as it appeared, as though the confines of the Pokeball were too small for its massive girth. Seconds ticked by as nothing moved but the Tyranitar's flanks as it took in the scent of the terrain. The smell of the blood caked earth sent tremors through its body, and its eyes flew open, revealing the black orbs beneath. The obsidian gaze of the Tyranitar flickered to its master, then back to the whimpering Pikachu below, and the scaled maw flickered to a grin. It rose slowly, clenching and unclenching its massive muscles as it rose. The Pokemon rose to its full height, blocking out all light, its shadow dipping Ash and Pikachu into blackness.

Pikachu fell back a step, having to look up to his fullest extent to even see the shoulders of the Tyranitar. The smaller Pokemon was now visibly trembling in fear, barely able to keep his footing in the treacherous mud. "…Chu. . ."

Ash couldn't do much more than gape at the impossibly large Tyranitar. The monster bulged as it moved, its bloated muscles cracking the thick, scaly armor that covered the Pokemon. There was nothing for it. He couldn't possibly escape out of this. . . He has no Pokemon left. Ash's gaze was inadvertently drawn towards the bloated Seviper, still digesting what remained of his Floatzel. The trainer jerked his gaze away, trying without success to keep his focus on his weakening Pikachu. The yellow Pokemon couldn't possibly win against a Pokemon that large, especially not in that condition. Ash knew he was dead. He knew he had no hopes of even seeing the end of this last battle. "P-Pikachu!" He called, mustering what remained of his strength. The rodent turned to face his trainer in hazy confusion, his eyes glazed over in pain. "You. . . You can't win this fight! You have to run. . . Run back to Brock and Dawn!"

Pikachu made no move to indicate he understood Ash. His eyes flickered with a hidden inner light, but the light was soon lost in a mist of pain. Pikachu turned to face the snickering Tyranitar once more, his resolve the only thing keeping him on his paws.

The Tyranitar barred its yellow fangs, venom slipping along its gums in hunger. The man roared in laughter as he eyed his prized Pokemon, enjoying the end to his greatest game. He patted his Seviper once more on its glistening head, then turned his fullest attention to the eager Tyranitar. "Make this quick, Tyranitar." The man called, still snickering. "I'd like to have dinner before that Pikachu becomes too drained for the fire."

Pikachu held his ground as the Tyranitar took its first steps towards him. Weak bolts of electricity lanced from his cheeks, arching along his body and disappearing into the stagnant air. Pikachu couldn't speak as his end inched closer and closer. He was terrified beyond the bounds of normality, wanting nothing more than to run back to Ash and bury his face in his trainer's arms. But Pikachu knew he had to win Ash some time. He had to give Ash another chance at life, even if it cost him his own. He had to fight.

"Pikachu!" Ash called, tears breaking from his eyes in a sudden rush. "Pikachu, get out of here!" The yellow rodent ignored his calls, keeping his attention focused on the nearing Tyranitar. "Run!"

Ash lanced forward, his arm outstretched to grip his partner and pull his out of harms way. A sudden twine of lightning danced between Ash and Pikachu, keeping the trainer's hand at bay. Pikachu glanced back at his trainer once more, silver tears falling from his small eyes. Ash shrunk back, a deep lump forming in his throat. The Pokemon turned back to face the Tyranitar, limping forward to meet his doom.

The man smiled in triumph. "Finish it."

Ash slammed his eyes shut and looked away, a spray of tears following his movements. A brilliant beam of light flashed into being beyond his eyelids, heralding the attack of the Tyranitar into life.

Or so he thought.

"Onyx, use harden!"

A second flash of light intersected with the first, and a boom resonated about the dell on which the battle was held. Ash snapped back into reality as recognition flickered into his mind.

Brock came crashing down the side of the dell, followed closely by Dawn and her stumbling Empoleon. The Pewter city gym leader positioned himself by Ash's side, throwing another Pokeball into the fray. The Pokeball exploded into a flash of red light, and a fluttering Crobat took form in the cluttered air. The giant bat, powered by its four great wings, sped into the battle, ramming into a stunned Seviper. It was then that Ash noticed the disturbance in the center of the field. Brock's Onyx slithered between the Tyranitar and Pikachu, forming a living barrier to protect the rodent from harm.

Ash's tears of agony were replaced by tears of joy as his friends moved in to rescue him. Dawn hurried forward to the back of the protective Onyx, scooping up the little Pikachu in her arms.

The man faltered at the appearance of the two trainers, but his composure was soon recovered. He sidestepped as his Seviper came slamming past, its momentum carried by the screeching Crobat. "Dirty trick," He spat, his eyes narrowing. "Let's see how you like this!" The man rotated on his hips, swinging his arms back behind him. His movements shifted, he brought forth three more Pokeballs from the recesses of his arsenal, clicking each one simultaneously, releasing the beasts within. A Rampardos, Absol, and Sharpedo materialized out of the flickered of light, their composure steely in the heat of the battle.

Dawn stepped out of harms way, never once turning her back to the murderous man. Twisting behind the protective body of her Empoleon, Dawn shifted down to her knees beside the trembling Ash, her eyes full of a deep concern.

"You guys made it. . ." Ash whispered. His face cracked into a grin, despite the growing numbness that crawled up his body.

"Yeah." Dawn murmured back, handing Ash Pikachu. "And not a moment too soon, I guess." She smiled.

Pikachu, now relieved from the stress of battle, collapsed into a heap in Ash's arms, a small smile curving along his face as he felt the warm security of his trainer's embrace.

Brock nodded in acknowledgement at Dawn's statement. "We knew we couldn't just let you go track this guy down by yourself. Once we made sure that Anna was stabilized, we followed you to make sure you were okay."

"Thanks. . ."

"Shut up!" The man called from the other side of the dell. His apathetic composure was lost, replaced by a seething rage. Half-distracted by the on-going battle between his Seviper and Brock's Crobat, the man was shifted sideways, keeping his deadliest of weapons out of sight. "Seviper!" He screamed, all semblance of control gone. "Use dark pulse! Get that blasted piece of garbage off of you!"

The Seviper twisted at an impossible angle, wriggling its body and wrapping around a startled Crobat in a split second. The Crobat shrieked, sinking its fangs deep into the muscled hide of the Seviper, trying to throw off its attacker. But the Seviper was not fazed. It aligned its eyes with that of Crobat, and suddenly grew rigid. A pulse of the blackest energy suddenly burst forth from its eyes, slamming hard into Crobat.

Crobat clamped down harder onto the Seviper, causing the snake to loose its concentration and let go. The bat Pokemon sped up into the sky, its flight wobbly and slow.

Brock growled. "Crobat, fall back!" He commanded to the speck in the darkening sky that was his Pokemon. Crobat gave a chirp of acknowledgement, and moved to the recesses of the dell. "Dawn!" He called, not once taking his eyes off the hulking Tyranitar. "Use Empoleon against that Tyranitar. It's big, but water should do the trick in bringing it down."

Dawn nodded. She patted Ash on top of his head, and rose to her feet, gripping her snow white cap to make sure it remained where it should be. "Got it."

Ash keeled forward, his vision darkening. Unbeknownst to his friends, the poison had traversed deeper and deeper into his body, shutting off his muscles and consuming the inactive tissues. Ash was on the brink of death.

Unable to notice the plight of her friend, so focused on the battle was she, as Dawn positioned herself beside Brock. "Once you get a clear shot," She whispered to her Empoleon, "use hydro pump. We need to finish this battle quickly and take Ash and Pikachu to a doctor." Her Empoleon nodded in acknowledgement.

Brock, upon hearing the whispered plan from Dawn, took a few steps to the right. He paused for a moment, and then yelled, "Onyx, tackle that Rampardos!"

Onyx, with speed far beyond the normal limits of its kind, barreled into the unsuspecting Rampardos, sending it slamming back into the Sharpedo beyond.

Dawn didn't waste a moment. "Hydro pump!" She screamed.

Empoleon caught on with her momentum, opening its proud beak even before Dawn had finished her command. With a bellow from deep within its form, Empoleon summoned a jet of water that slammed the Tyranitar onto its back, cutting a hole into its rock armor, and nearly severing an arm.

But still they were outnumbered. The man reared back, spit flying from his mouth as he shouted his commands. "Absol, ignore that blasted rock and hit that Empoleon with your crunch! I want to see its blood paint the land!" The Absol gripped the earth as it suddenly flew into the air, powered by its rippling muscles. The dark Pokemon rammed into Empoleon, cutting the lethal jet of water short of annihilating the ravaged Tyranitar. Without preamble, the Absol clamped down onto Empoleon's wing, its powerful jaws cutting deep past feather and bone. Using its rippling back legs, Absol cut deep into the flesh of the Empoleon's stomach, causing the magnificent Pokemon to reel back in pain.

Dawn gasped in horror as her partner stumbled down under the weight of the oppressive Absol. "Ice beam!" She screamed, unable to contain her fear.

Brock, occupied by the losing battle between Onyx and the Rampardos and Sharpedo, suddenly swerved his head around to see the macabre scene before him. But that distraction cost him dearly. With a roar, the Sharpedo loosed a jet of burning water towards the unsuspecting Onyx, hitting the vulnerable rock Pokemon square in the side of its face. Onyx let out a blood curdling roar as the cursed water smoldered it and snuffed out its life. Brock jerked back around to see his long time ally fall to the earth with a shattering crash, and it seemed as though his heart had followed its descent. The Sharpedo continued its assault on the dieing Onyx, its bloody gaze gleaming in triumph.

Its gaze shifted to horror as a four-winged shape came crashing out of the sky, ramming into the Sharpedo at full speed. Brock's Crobat latched onto the shark Pokemon, ripping and tearing at whatever flesh managed to come near its fangs.

But Onyx did not rise.

"Onyx!" Brock cried out in despair. He stepped forward to aid his fallen Pokemon, but was stopped in his tracks by the nearing Rampardos and Seviper. The gym leader gripped at his belt, groping for his other Pokemon, but he found none. The others he had left at the ravaged town to guard Anne and the other survivors. Defenseless, Brock took a step backwards, his doom approaching.

Suddenly, an arch of lightning shot from behind Brock, lancing into the advancing Seviper. The snake Pokemon gave a startled yelp, but its voice was lost in a slow gurgle as it died. The lightning left a sizzling hole directly in the middle of the Pokemon, baking the heart of the beast to a twitching husk. The Seviper gave a final shudder, blood spurting from its mouth, before it collapsed onto the ground, and there it died. The Rampardos halted, surprise keeping its massive shape in check.

Brock slowly turned around to see his savior. Standing on four paws, with one eye closed and blood still seeping from the open wound on its side, Pikachu gazed up at Brock with its hazy eyes. The yellow rodent gave a half nod to the gym leader before it turned its attention to the battle Dawn desperately tried to win.

The Absol staggered back as Empoleon has successfully managed to freeze another of its limbs, making the dark Pokemon slow and useless. But still it would not give up. Its trainer, distracted by the battles in every direction, gave no commands to the waiting Pokemon. Absol didn't need an incentive to kill, and so it advanced.

Empoleon shuddered and gasped as the wounds inflicted by Absol's sharp teeth and claws poured its lifeblood out onto the bloody dirt. One of its wings hung useless at its side, and it couldn't see out of one of its eyes.

Absol halted for a moment, locking its gaze with Empoleon. A dark pulse of energy jerked out of the dark Pokemon's form, ramming into Empoleon and slamming it back against Dawn. Absol repeated this attack again and again, reducing Empoleon to nothing more than a breathing corpse. Two steps away from the dieing Pokemon and its trainer, the Absol reared back for the kill. Out of nowhere jumped Pikachu, his fur bristling out into sharp points, and his cheeks cracking with electricity. Pikachu positioned himself between the two battlers, glaring intently at the Absol.

The dark Pokemon scoffed at the small yellow rodent that dared oppose it. It took a step forward, but was sent scrambling back at the warning shot delivered by Pikachu. The Absol snarled, barring its serrated teeth. It positioned itself in line with Pikachu, seeking to let loose another dark pulse.

It never got the chance.

"Hydro pump!" Dawn screamed once more as her Empoleon had managed to stand. The grand Pokemon unleashed the jet of water with a enraged bellow at the Absol, hitting the dark Pokemon directly in the face, crushing the fragile bones, and crumpling the Absol into a heap at the man's feet.

Pikachu staggered, backing off from the battle he knew to be won.

Crobat spat out the remainders of Rampardos' flesh, hissing in victory, and fluttering weakly to Brock's shoulder. The bat Pokemon rested heavily on the gym leader's shoulder, exhausted from its battles.

Brock staggered forward, coming to a halt at the head of his beloved Onyx, and falling to his knees in agony. He bent his head forward, resting his forehead against the rock of the Pokemon's jaw. Brock gently ran his hand along the length of Onyx's maw, bushing away where loose dirt had managed to settle. He could see little more than that, for his vision was clouded with tears. "Goodbye. . . My dear friend. . ." Brock whispered.

Dawn fell to her knees, her eyes fixed upon the dead Absol, tears falling from her glistening eyes. He gaze shifted once her Empoleon turned, and staggered over to her. The penguin Pokemon shook as it walked, determined to be by its partner. Its regal face was pulled into a smile as it walked, its good flipper extended towards Dawn. Dawn smiled at her beloved Pokemon, and even managed to laugh a little. "You did good. . . I'm proud of you." Her Empoleon brightened at these words, and collapsed. Dawn cried out as she saw her Pokemon fall. The young trainer staggered to her feet, and rushed to Empoleon's side. "Empoleon!" She cried, tears plipping down onto the Pokemon. She shoved with all her might against Empoleon's weight, shifting the Pokemon onto its back. Its face still wore the smile at her words, but no sparkle shone behind its eyes.

The man screamed as he saw his whole team fall. His words were lost in an unrecognizable stream as he cursed at the top of lungs. His veins bulged, and his eyes popped. The man fell to his knees, still screaming in defeat.

Brock rose to his feet, as did Dawn, and, against all odds, Ash. The three trainers converged at the back of the dell, each wearing a mask of pain, with Pikachu following behind. Brock glanced at his Crobat, who nodded in acknowledgement. The bat Pokemon took off from his shoulder, and swooped down at the man. None of the trainers looked back as Crobat finished the job, ripping the man's throat asunder in a shower of blood.

The man let out a final scream, and jerked about in his final throws of motion. Ash heard something whirring towards his back at an alarming speed. The trainer turned on the spot, all vestiges of the poison forgotten, as he saw an obsidian dagger flying directly towards his heart. The world suddenly slowed, and Ash saw Dawn and Brock both turn simultaneously towards the weapon with similar visages of terror. But there was nothing they could do.

The dagger spun as it flew, a masterpiece of craftsmanship. Its hilt glistened in the dieing light, looking like the flickers of a faltering Volbeat. There was no time. He couldn't move. Fear clutched at his poison ravaged body, rooting him to the spot.

Then the weapon hit flesh.

Ash watched in mute horror as his Pikachu, his beloved partner for all these years, fell with a dull thud to the blood-fed mud, having acted as a living shield for his master. As if broken by a sudden spell, Ash could move with unimagined agility, coming to Pikachu's side before the Pokemon had finished his descent. What remained of Pikachu's blood cascaded down his back and into the bloody dell as the polished dagger simply fell from the lethal wound.

Ash knelt down beside Pikachu, tears pouring down his face. He scooped up the small yellow Pokemon, and cradled him against his trembling body. "P-Pikachu. . ." Ash whispered into his partner's fur, his steady stream of tears washing all traces off blood away from the Pokemon's face. "Pikachu. . . No. . ."

Pikachu lifted his small head from where it rested on Ash's arm. One eye was still closed, but from the other poured a steady stream of tears. Pikachu's little eyes glistened with adoration towards the human that he had shared his life with. With a mighty effort, the defeated little Pikachu raised his head ever higher, and after inhaling Ash's scent for one last time, ran his rough tongue once over Ash's jaw to wipe away the tear. Then, with the final rays of the sun bleeding into the dell, Pikachu lay back down, and closed his eyes forever.