Lucario EX
Moderator<br>Fanfic Contest Host
“CASSIDY!!!”
Fire, a brilliant red and orange, raged through the valley south of Blackthorn. Many of the smaller Metal and Ground Pokemon were running from the central sustaining lake. Larger, more experienced Pokemon were battling Grunts; many losing fairly badly. Near the center of chaos, two young figures stood facing each other. One stood over the lake on her purple hoverbike, her pitch black hair flowing behind her as the bike fans swirled below. The other stood on the bank with his most trustworthy companion, a purple and green child, stood beside him, awaiting command. All around, fire consumed all and the beautiful clearing was rapidly becoming a wasteland. How ironic, thought the young man, that a process so essential to giving life was also capable of such destruction.
The woman turned, her voice authoritative from years of practice. “You had your chance, Doshi. You turned when we took the Rockets down.”
A smile, the first in ages, the young man thought. “As I remember, you turned on all of Sprocket when you subverted Giovanni’s operations and took Rocket for yourself; all while killing the friends that helped you get there.” The corner of his mouth twitched as his left hand began moving behind his back.
The woman’s laugh turned into a frown. “Don’t bother trying one of your silent signals, Doshi. Your telepathic abilities have been shut down.” She flipped her hair, revealing a purple fabric Doshi couldn’t place. “You’ve always known this, but I was the most powerful Psychic of our year.” Her bleached teeth flashed behind a sinister smile, her eyes flashing in the firelight.
Doshi crouched. “I remember quite well, Cassidy. You always could get around my defenses and into my mind, as well as other things.”
Quite the interesting description, Bull. Doshi flinched as Yami’s voice entered his head. You might remember other things from that time as well.
Doshi closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Descriptions aside, I need my concentration at the moment.
Cassidy giggled. “Still working through that Jekyll syndrome? I don’t blame you. That was one heck of a story you wove in school. Then again, we all knew about it. It wasn’t much of a secret, those experiments your parents orchestrated.” Her smile reflected the destruction around her. “Must’ve been tough on you, kid, being kept in a tube all those months, your mind probed and your body destroyed just to tap the true potential of the human brain. Nice of you to kill off the scientists for the rest of us natural Psychics, so that we could keep ourselves nice and secret.”
The Pokemon were losing their battle for the valley. Grunts on bikes were flying all over the area, setting fires everywhere they could, capturing the strong and leaving the weak for the fires. In the distance, a Steelix and Aggron roared as they battled two Grunts each. How fitting those two try to retake the valley by themselves. thought Doshi, remembering how he had confronted the Steelix earlier with the unevolved Aggron, attempting to reconcile the Pokemon’s past in the valley. Steelix was clearly the leader of the Pokemon in the valley, and it was through that Pokemon’s efforts that few humans had ever heard of such a place, much less visited.
With effort, Doshi continued to signal behind his back, working hard to telegraph his actions as much as possible. “Listen to you. ‘Natural Psychics’.” Doshi bent his right fingers in the air. “You sound just like the Capitalists at the beginning of the century, or the Commies at the end of the last, or even the Nazis in the 30s. Oppressors. Secretists.”
Cassidy’s eyes flashed, Doshi knew his words had an effect. “Our secrets are our lifeline. You should know this after spending so much time in Saffron. Nonpsychics are a threat to us. They claim to understand us, and then put us in shelters to keep us away from society.”
Doshi smiled, signaling furiously as he spoke. “Quite true. Keeping ourselves separate from the rest of society was a great choice made by Sabrina decades ago. It kept the rest of humanity from persecuting us and allowed us to continue our work and progression uninterrupted. My father’s work was to help usher in a new era of humanity, one where the power of our minds could be utilized to its full potential, rather than the limited potential we had.”
You know you’re speaking bull, right? You hated dear old Dad for ruining your life, and you’ve tried every way possible to reverse the process that created me. What’s your game, Bull?
Yami, just get moving. I need a messenger for Kirlia, and I’m cut off. Go, now
The pressure instantly lifted from Bull’s head, even though he hadn’t noticed it there before. It was a familiar sensation as his second consciousness left his mind for his partner’s. Bull continued to motion with his left hand, attempting to keep Cassidy occupied.
Cassidy raised an eyebrow, Bull’s introspective instant finished. “Never expected to hear that from you, Doshi. You’ve been trying to suppress your abilities ever since we met in those dorms. Your Jekyll syndrome showing itself at the worst times, I could understand. You’re up to something, Doshi, and I’m not going to let you have your way. I know that you’ve been signaling to Kirlia behind your back. Give it up, your plan won’t work.”
Bull stood, his face calm. “You’re quite right, Cassidy, I have been signaling to Kirlia, but not with my hands. Those were signals to my Aggron.” Bull pointed behind his shoulder. “Unless you’ve noticed, he’s taken down two of your Rocket Grunts and is working on tag-teaming those you sent after Steelix.”
Cassidy roared. “I’m no Rocket, kid. Never have been. I destroyed them, remember? When you turned your back on us.”
Bull smiled slightly, feeling a calm flow over him. “You didn’t destroy the Rockets, I did. Me and my Pokemon. We infiltrated Silph Co. while you were supposed to stay behind and coordinate the Commanders from afar. I alone made it to the top level, beating all those Grunts you now have surrounding you, watching my friends die at the hands of what are now your Grunts, getting my body destroyed, all to destroy the most violent and evil organization to populate this planet since the Third Reich, and now you’re the one heading it.” Bull could feel Cassidy’s control waning; just a little bit more and he could finish this.
Cassidy pounded her bike, which shuddered halfway over the lake. “MY Grunts?!? My Rockets? You watch your tongue, kid! Rocket is dead, my Sprockets made sure of that half a decade ago! You ran from me when I took the building! YOU almost prevented the complete destruction of the Rocket regime!” Cassidy’s face was red, and her chest swelled in anger.
Bull knew he just needed the last push. “Sprocket, Rocket, whatever you call it, you are continuing the regime of evil and destruction started by Giovanni using the same methods to cause destruction all across the Kanto region. Thank heaven Red and Gold managed to stop the spread last decade, or else even Hoenn and Johto would have fallen.” He could feel Cassidy’s control failing. “Oh, and I’m older than you are, K-I-D.”
The buzzing in Bull’s head broke as Cassidy let out a primal scream unlike anything he had ever heard. Finally able to contact Kirlia, he sent a very simple directive: NOW. He closed his eyes, and everything went black.
* * *
Bull looked upon the mindscape, and was blown away. The pure beauty of the place, as well the sheer hideousness, shocked him. The mindscape was littered with areas of pure brilliance and pure blight. Some areas had a beautiful meadow, complete with blooming flowers, trees, and vitality. Others were devoid of life, mere shadows of the alluring grasslands that surrounded them. Trees reduced to sticks, grass reduced to ashes. As Bull watched, the scene changed, almost randomly. Parts of the blight began to grow, while sections of the meadow spontaneously erupted and faded away. The mindscape was ever changing, nothing stagnant from moment to moment, yet nothing appeared to change.
Remind you of anything? Not quite a voice, not quite telekinesis either. Bull turned to see a white and purple flowing figure, a Gardevoir. Bull had to remind himself the images shown in mindscapes are how the owners of the images viewed themselves. In the case of Bull’s most loyal Pokemon, she always viewed herself as a Gardevoir, flowing and regal, yet willing to fight for her friends and loved ones.
Yes and no. Mine was never this elaborate. I remember simple blobs that represented pleasure and pain, though it’s been a while since I entered. Bull felt a presence to his left, one he knew he would encounter whenever he entered a mindscape; one he always dreaded encountering. It was one of the reasons he waited so long to attempt this mind meld. And for good reason.
You summoned? I wish you’d warn me before thrusting me into situations like this. It’s not like I’m *pure* evil. The figure was wearing a black robe that distorted everything about him, and Bull liked it just fine that way. It meant he didn’t have to look into the eyes of that particular figure.
You were brought out because you are needed. Nothing more, nothing less. I’m guessing you’ve seen what Cassidy has become?
The figure nodded. Yep, and I like the change. Much nicer than when she was in school. Why’d you leave her again? It’s been so long since I’ve tried to remember anything this important… The figure shrugged, a gesture that seemed awkward in its black cloak. In any case, what do you need my help for? You’re obviously far stronger than me. The figure tilted its head slightly, a subtle gesture of confusion and inquiry.
Bull shook his head again. This woman is far stronger than we could have imagined. Her psychic powers surpass my own, and she has used them for purely dark endeavors. I do not know exactly how strong she is, neither does Bull. We need all the help we can possibly get. Kirlia crossed her arms, expecting an answer.
Again, I love what this woman has become… Kirlia began gathering energy however, if I’m needed, I’m there. What should we do?
Bull shrugged sheepishly. I don’t know, really Kirlia and the figure both flinched. What? I’ve only done this once, and I was barely strong enough then. I believe you remember your defeat, Yami? That was the only time I’ve ever attempted this. Every other time, I’ve simply been looking for information. Both companions stared at Bull, unsure of what would come next. I think we have to find Cassidy’s mindimage. Once that happens, we’ll have to talk to her, to find out what exactly she is doing, and how this happened. Then, we have to make her better.
Agreed Kirlia nodded.
Fine, whatever Yami shrugged dejectedly.
No sooner had Yami assented, then the entire mindscape exploded. The life and desolation shot up around them like a waterfall in reverse. In complete opposition to Bull’s expectations, the floor that hadn’t moved, or at least, he couldn’t feel it. Neither figure around him seemed particularly hindered by the sudden change in scenery either.
After a moment that was all too brief and all too long, the scenery stopped moving. Directly in front of them was a very peaceful looking beach, complete with palm trees and coconuts; the perfect serene area. To its right, a swamp, filled with sludge, death, and decay. In each pool of water, there was a figure. The right figure was splashing around gleefully, while the left figure was unmoving, almost dead, floating on its back on top of the water.
The trio approached the in the swamp. It looked up from its joyful raunt, and then floated out of the water. The figure almost caused Bull to wretch, and Ralts turned away, visibly disgusted. The figure was the body of Cassidy, but warped, with spikes protruding from every joint and cavity. The figure stood completely naked in front of the two, and stated simply. “Welcome, my unworthy adversaries.”
Bull felt it before he saw it, and dodge-rolled directly ahead. Kirlia Teleported away, while Yami was nicked by the pressure the warped Cassidy sent towards them. “You will submit to Matriarch. My power is twice yours, and several times higher than that girl.”
Bull crouched into his best attack formation, his right knee bent behind him, his left leg curled behind, crouching on his left hand with his right extended behind him. Kirlia, Yami, give me your power. We have to end this quickly.
You know you can’t control this, so…
JUST DO IT!!! Bull roared silently.
Behind him, Ralts reappeared and grasped his shoulder. Bull could feel the psychic energy flowing into him, and his body began to glow purple. Thanks, thought Bull, then began to gather his own latent energy, streams of white lightning beginning to crackle around his arms.
Matriarch cackled again. “No matter what, you can’t stop me.” She nodded her head, and emitted another pressure wave from her body, colliding directly with Bull’s ever-extending aura. Bull was knocked backward, but maintained and increased the aura around him. “That was just a taste of my power, maybe twenty percent. Want to feel forty? I’ll give you a minute.”
Bull continued to gather his energy. It’s not enough. I need more. He looked behind him briefly. Yami! Get off your butt and help me! Your power is nothing compared to hers, you can’t take her on by yourself! I’m the only person who can control both Kirlia’s light and your darkness and not tear himself apart!
Yami hesitated, clutching the arm that had been hit earlier. Not a chance. You die, I die. I can’t let you try this stunt!
We’ll both die if you *DON’T* give me your energy!
”Your minute is up, Doshi. Here’s a taste of forty percent!” Her pressure wave this time sent Bull flying above the swamp, and his aura flickered slightly. Landing back in his athletic position, he reestablished his aura, starting to breathe heavily from the exertion of the dual energies flowing through his body.
DO IT NOW! Yami finally bowed his head, twisted, crouched, extended his hands towards Bull, and began siphoning his red-and-black energy away from his body and into Bull’s. The aura around Bull began to glow differently, crackling with energy from many different sources.
Matriarch cackled again. “Do whatever you want, even all three of your energies aren’t enough to take me down!” She unleashed another pressure wave which scattered both Kirlia and Yami, but Bull held firm.
For the first time, Bull looked Matriarch in the eye, and grinned stupidly. Quite true, the sum of our energies isn’t enough to beat you. All of the colors emanating from Bull’s body began to coalesce. Rather than radiating outward from his body, the tentacles began to loop back in. The colors slowly changed as they combined outside and within his body, until finally Bull was glowing with pure gold energy.
Yami jumped, but maintained his connection with Bull. What the…
I’ve never seen anything like this before. Kirlia’s usual stoicism vanished as she simply gazed at Bull’s incredible transformation.
Before Matriarch even had the chance to react, Bull leapt directly into her swamp, the gold energy consolidating into his dominant right hand. “No, this is my realm! My world! My universe! My rules! All intruders should just GO AWAY!” At those last two words, two pressure waves were unleashed from her body in all directions. Both hit the three intruders with tremendous force. Kirlia was brought to her knees, while Yami was thrown backward and landed unconscious several yards away from Matriarch’s swamp.
Bull chanced a glance back at his fallen comrades. Kirlia looked up, her one eye pleading. Don’t worry about us, finish her!
Bull turned, screaming CASSIDY with all of his strength, and plunged his right hand directly into Matriarch’s naked, crawling chest. The pressure waves, which had become almost constant, ceased immediately. With a final screech, Matriarch exploded, blinding everybody in the vicinity and knocked Bull unconscious.
Blinking himself awake, Bull found himself lying on the banks of the burned fields, Aggron and the valley Pokemon standing over him. Sitting up, Kirlia threw herself into his arms, sobbing. You’re awake! Thank Mew, you’re awake!
No sooner had he gotten the message than he looked over the lake. Cassidy’s hoverbike was empty. Fearing the worst, he quickly threw his remaining Pokeball into the lake, where Totodile emerged and began swimming around, eventually finding and pulling her into the shallow water.
Bull cradled her in both arms, sobbing silently, as the valley Pokemon looked on. The Sprocket Grunts had mysteriously vanished. Kirlia placed an arm gingerly on his. How did that work?
Bull spoke, trying his best to contain his emotion. “It’s a technique … I’ve only read … about. … Instead of … adding the psychic energies … I received … I fed them to each other … allowed them to grow … This way … our powers … multiplied … rather than summed…”
Kirlia rested her head on his shoulder. Ingenious…
The valley waited in silence for some kind of signal, allowing Bull the time he needed. At last, after a moment, or it might have been a day, nobody really knew at that point, the body in Bull’s arms began to stir. Bull sniffed deeply, his eyes filled with tears, as Cassidy opened her brilliant brown eyes. Bull felt like he was seeing them for the first time.
With great effort, Cassidy raised her hand to Bull’s face. Softly, she whispered, “Thank you … Bull …”
Bull took her hand in his own, kissed her forehead, and whispered just as softly, “Welcome home.”
Fire, a brilliant red and orange, raged through the valley south of Blackthorn. Many of the smaller Metal and Ground Pokemon were running from the central sustaining lake. Larger, more experienced Pokemon were battling Grunts; many losing fairly badly. Near the center of chaos, two young figures stood facing each other. One stood over the lake on her purple hoverbike, her pitch black hair flowing behind her as the bike fans swirled below. The other stood on the bank with his most trustworthy companion, a purple and green child, stood beside him, awaiting command. All around, fire consumed all and the beautiful clearing was rapidly becoming a wasteland. How ironic, thought the young man, that a process so essential to giving life was also capable of such destruction.
The woman turned, her voice authoritative from years of practice. “You had your chance, Doshi. You turned when we took the Rockets down.”
A smile, the first in ages, the young man thought. “As I remember, you turned on all of Sprocket when you subverted Giovanni’s operations and took Rocket for yourself; all while killing the friends that helped you get there.” The corner of his mouth twitched as his left hand began moving behind his back.
The woman’s laugh turned into a frown. “Don’t bother trying one of your silent signals, Doshi. Your telepathic abilities have been shut down.” She flipped her hair, revealing a purple fabric Doshi couldn’t place. “You’ve always known this, but I was the most powerful Psychic of our year.” Her bleached teeth flashed behind a sinister smile, her eyes flashing in the firelight.
Doshi crouched. “I remember quite well, Cassidy. You always could get around my defenses and into my mind, as well as other things.”
Quite the interesting description, Bull. Doshi flinched as Yami’s voice entered his head. You might remember other things from that time as well.
Doshi closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Descriptions aside, I need my concentration at the moment.
Cassidy giggled. “Still working through that Jekyll syndrome? I don’t blame you. That was one heck of a story you wove in school. Then again, we all knew about it. It wasn’t much of a secret, those experiments your parents orchestrated.” Her smile reflected the destruction around her. “Must’ve been tough on you, kid, being kept in a tube all those months, your mind probed and your body destroyed just to tap the true potential of the human brain. Nice of you to kill off the scientists for the rest of us natural Psychics, so that we could keep ourselves nice and secret.”
The Pokemon were losing their battle for the valley. Grunts on bikes were flying all over the area, setting fires everywhere they could, capturing the strong and leaving the weak for the fires. In the distance, a Steelix and Aggron roared as they battled two Grunts each. How fitting those two try to retake the valley by themselves. thought Doshi, remembering how he had confronted the Steelix earlier with the unevolved Aggron, attempting to reconcile the Pokemon’s past in the valley. Steelix was clearly the leader of the Pokemon in the valley, and it was through that Pokemon’s efforts that few humans had ever heard of such a place, much less visited.
With effort, Doshi continued to signal behind his back, working hard to telegraph his actions as much as possible. “Listen to you. ‘Natural Psychics’.” Doshi bent his right fingers in the air. “You sound just like the Capitalists at the beginning of the century, or the Commies at the end of the last, or even the Nazis in the 30s. Oppressors. Secretists.”
Cassidy’s eyes flashed, Doshi knew his words had an effect. “Our secrets are our lifeline. You should know this after spending so much time in Saffron. Nonpsychics are a threat to us. They claim to understand us, and then put us in shelters to keep us away from society.”
Doshi smiled, signaling furiously as he spoke. “Quite true. Keeping ourselves separate from the rest of society was a great choice made by Sabrina decades ago. It kept the rest of humanity from persecuting us and allowed us to continue our work and progression uninterrupted. My father’s work was to help usher in a new era of humanity, one where the power of our minds could be utilized to its full potential, rather than the limited potential we had.”
You know you’re speaking bull, right? You hated dear old Dad for ruining your life, and you’ve tried every way possible to reverse the process that created me. What’s your game, Bull?
Yami, just get moving. I need a messenger for Kirlia, and I’m cut off. Go, now
The pressure instantly lifted from Bull’s head, even though he hadn’t noticed it there before. It was a familiar sensation as his second consciousness left his mind for his partner’s. Bull continued to motion with his left hand, attempting to keep Cassidy occupied.
Cassidy raised an eyebrow, Bull’s introspective instant finished. “Never expected to hear that from you, Doshi. You’ve been trying to suppress your abilities ever since we met in those dorms. Your Jekyll syndrome showing itself at the worst times, I could understand. You’re up to something, Doshi, and I’m not going to let you have your way. I know that you’ve been signaling to Kirlia behind your back. Give it up, your plan won’t work.”
Bull stood, his face calm. “You’re quite right, Cassidy, I have been signaling to Kirlia, but not with my hands. Those were signals to my Aggron.” Bull pointed behind his shoulder. “Unless you’ve noticed, he’s taken down two of your Rocket Grunts and is working on tag-teaming those you sent after Steelix.”
Cassidy roared. “I’m no Rocket, kid. Never have been. I destroyed them, remember? When you turned your back on us.”
Bull smiled slightly, feeling a calm flow over him. “You didn’t destroy the Rockets, I did. Me and my Pokemon. We infiltrated Silph Co. while you were supposed to stay behind and coordinate the Commanders from afar. I alone made it to the top level, beating all those Grunts you now have surrounding you, watching my friends die at the hands of what are now your Grunts, getting my body destroyed, all to destroy the most violent and evil organization to populate this planet since the Third Reich, and now you’re the one heading it.” Bull could feel Cassidy’s control waning; just a little bit more and he could finish this.
Cassidy pounded her bike, which shuddered halfway over the lake. “MY Grunts?!? My Rockets? You watch your tongue, kid! Rocket is dead, my Sprockets made sure of that half a decade ago! You ran from me when I took the building! YOU almost prevented the complete destruction of the Rocket regime!” Cassidy’s face was red, and her chest swelled in anger.
Bull knew he just needed the last push. “Sprocket, Rocket, whatever you call it, you are continuing the regime of evil and destruction started by Giovanni using the same methods to cause destruction all across the Kanto region. Thank heaven Red and Gold managed to stop the spread last decade, or else even Hoenn and Johto would have fallen.” He could feel Cassidy’s control failing. “Oh, and I’m older than you are, K-I-D.”
The buzzing in Bull’s head broke as Cassidy let out a primal scream unlike anything he had ever heard. Finally able to contact Kirlia, he sent a very simple directive: NOW. He closed his eyes, and everything went black.
* * *
Bull looked upon the mindscape, and was blown away. The pure beauty of the place, as well the sheer hideousness, shocked him. The mindscape was littered with areas of pure brilliance and pure blight. Some areas had a beautiful meadow, complete with blooming flowers, trees, and vitality. Others were devoid of life, mere shadows of the alluring grasslands that surrounded them. Trees reduced to sticks, grass reduced to ashes. As Bull watched, the scene changed, almost randomly. Parts of the blight began to grow, while sections of the meadow spontaneously erupted and faded away. The mindscape was ever changing, nothing stagnant from moment to moment, yet nothing appeared to change.
Remind you of anything? Not quite a voice, not quite telekinesis either. Bull turned to see a white and purple flowing figure, a Gardevoir. Bull had to remind himself the images shown in mindscapes are how the owners of the images viewed themselves. In the case of Bull’s most loyal Pokemon, she always viewed herself as a Gardevoir, flowing and regal, yet willing to fight for her friends and loved ones.
Yes and no. Mine was never this elaborate. I remember simple blobs that represented pleasure and pain, though it’s been a while since I entered. Bull felt a presence to his left, one he knew he would encounter whenever he entered a mindscape; one he always dreaded encountering. It was one of the reasons he waited so long to attempt this mind meld. And for good reason.
You summoned? I wish you’d warn me before thrusting me into situations like this. It’s not like I’m *pure* evil. The figure was wearing a black robe that distorted everything about him, and Bull liked it just fine that way. It meant he didn’t have to look into the eyes of that particular figure.
You were brought out because you are needed. Nothing more, nothing less. I’m guessing you’ve seen what Cassidy has become?
The figure nodded. Yep, and I like the change. Much nicer than when she was in school. Why’d you leave her again? It’s been so long since I’ve tried to remember anything this important… The figure shrugged, a gesture that seemed awkward in its black cloak. In any case, what do you need my help for? You’re obviously far stronger than me. The figure tilted its head slightly, a subtle gesture of confusion and inquiry.
Bull shook his head again. This woman is far stronger than we could have imagined. Her psychic powers surpass my own, and she has used them for purely dark endeavors. I do not know exactly how strong she is, neither does Bull. We need all the help we can possibly get. Kirlia crossed her arms, expecting an answer.
Again, I love what this woman has become… Kirlia began gathering energy however, if I’m needed, I’m there. What should we do?
Bull shrugged sheepishly. I don’t know, really Kirlia and the figure both flinched. What? I’ve only done this once, and I was barely strong enough then. I believe you remember your defeat, Yami? That was the only time I’ve ever attempted this. Every other time, I’ve simply been looking for information. Both companions stared at Bull, unsure of what would come next. I think we have to find Cassidy’s mindimage. Once that happens, we’ll have to talk to her, to find out what exactly she is doing, and how this happened. Then, we have to make her better.
Agreed Kirlia nodded.
Fine, whatever Yami shrugged dejectedly.
No sooner had Yami assented, then the entire mindscape exploded. The life and desolation shot up around them like a waterfall in reverse. In complete opposition to Bull’s expectations, the floor that hadn’t moved, or at least, he couldn’t feel it. Neither figure around him seemed particularly hindered by the sudden change in scenery either.
After a moment that was all too brief and all too long, the scenery stopped moving. Directly in front of them was a very peaceful looking beach, complete with palm trees and coconuts; the perfect serene area. To its right, a swamp, filled with sludge, death, and decay. In each pool of water, there was a figure. The right figure was splashing around gleefully, while the left figure was unmoving, almost dead, floating on its back on top of the water.
The trio approached the in the swamp. It looked up from its joyful raunt, and then floated out of the water. The figure almost caused Bull to wretch, and Ralts turned away, visibly disgusted. The figure was the body of Cassidy, but warped, with spikes protruding from every joint and cavity. The figure stood completely naked in front of the two, and stated simply. “Welcome, my unworthy adversaries.”
Bull felt it before he saw it, and dodge-rolled directly ahead. Kirlia Teleported away, while Yami was nicked by the pressure the warped Cassidy sent towards them. “You will submit to Matriarch. My power is twice yours, and several times higher than that girl.”
Bull crouched into his best attack formation, his right knee bent behind him, his left leg curled behind, crouching on his left hand with his right extended behind him. Kirlia, Yami, give me your power. We have to end this quickly.
You know you can’t control this, so…
JUST DO IT!!! Bull roared silently.
Behind him, Ralts reappeared and grasped his shoulder. Bull could feel the psychic energy flowing into him, and his body began to glow purple. Thanks, thought Bull, then began to gather his own latent energy, streams of white lightning beginning to crackle around his arms.
Matriarch cackled again. “No matter what, you can’t stop me.” She nodded her head, and emitted another pressure wave from her body, colliding directly with Bull’s ever-extending aura. Bull was knocked backward, but maintained and increased the aura around him. “That was just a taste of my power, maybe twenty percent. Want to feel forty? I’ll give you a minute.”
Bull continued to gather his energy. It’s not enough. I need more. He looked behind him briefly. Yami! Get off your butt and help me! Your power is nothing compared to hers, you can’t take her on by yourself! I’m the only person who can control both Kirlia’s light and your darkness and not tear himself apart!
Yami hesitated, clutching the arm that had been hit earlier. Not a chance. You die, I die. I can’t let you try this stunt!
We’ll both die if you *DON’T* give me your energy!
”Your minute is up, Doshi. Here’s a taste of forty percent!” Her pressure wave this time sent Bull flying above the swamp, and his aura flickered slightly. Landing back in his athletic position, he reestablished his aura, starting to breathe heavily from the exertion of the dual energies flowing through his body.
DO IT NOW! Yami finally bowed his head, twisted, crouched, extended his hands towards Bull, and began siphoning his red-and-black energy away from his body and into Bull’s. The aura around Bull began to glow differently, crackling with energy from many different sources.
Matriarch cackled again. “Do whatever you want, even all three of your energies aren’t enough to take me down!” She unleashed another pressure wave which scattered both Kirlia and Yami, but Bull held firm.
For the first time, Bull looked Matriarch in the eye, and grinned stupidly. Quite true, the sum of our energies isn’t enough to beat you. All of the colors emanating from Bull’s body began to coalesce. Rather than radiating outward from his body, the tentacles began to loop back in. The colors slowly changed as they combined outside and within his body, until finally Bull was glowing with pure gold energy.
Yami jumped, but maintained his connection with Bull. What the…
I’ve never seen anything like this before. Kirlia’s usual stoicism vanished as she simply gazed at Bull’s incredible transformation.
Before Matriarch even had the chance to react, Bull leapt directly into her swamp, the gold energy consolidating into his dominant right hand. “No, this is my realm! My world! My universe! My rules! All intruders should just GO AWAY!” At those last two words, two pressure waves were unleashed from her body in all directions. Both hit the three intruders with tremendous force. Kirlia was brought to her knees, while Yami was thrown backward and landed unconscious several yards away from Matriarch’s swamp.
Bull chanced a glance back at his fallen comrades. Kirlia looked up, her one eye pleading. Don’t worry about us, finish her!
Bull turned, screaming CASSIDY with all of his strength, and plunged his right hand directly into Matriarch’s naked, crawling chest. The pressure waves, which had become almost constant, ceased immediately. With a final screech, Matriarch exploded, blinding everybody in the vicinity and knocked Bull unconscious.
Blinking himself awake, Bull found himself lying on the banks of the burned fields, Aggron and the valley Pokemon standing over him. Sitting up, Kirlia threw herself into his arms, sobbing. You’re awake! Thank Mew, you’re awake!
No sooner had he gotten the message than he looked over the lake. Cassidy’s hoverbike was empty. Fearing the worst, he quickly threw his remaining Pokeball into the lake, where Totodile emerged and began swimming around, eventually finding and pulling her into the shallow water.
Bull cradled her in both arms, sobbing silently, as the valley Pokemon looked on. The Sprocket Grunts had mysteriously vanished. Kirlia placed an arm gingerly on his. How did that work?
Bull spoke, trying his best to contain his emotion. “It’s a technique … I’ve only read … about. … Instead of … adding the psychic energies … I received … I fed them to each other … allowed them to grow … This way … our powers … multiplied … rather than summed…”
Kirlia rested her head on his shoulder. Ingenious…
The valley waited in silence for some kind of signal, allowing Bull the time he needed. At last, after a moment, or it might have been a day, nobody really knew at that point, the body in Bull’s arms began to stir. Bull sniffed deeply, his eyes filled with tears, as Cassidy opened her brilliant brown eyes. Bull felt like he was seeing them for the first time.
With great effort, Cassidy raised her hand to Bull’s face. Softly, she whispered, “Thank you … Bull …”
Bull took her hand in his own, kissed her forehead, and whispered just as softly, “Welcome home.”
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