Destiny Colosseum

[TheGOAT]

A harsh aftertaste lingered in her mouth. She’d probably need an ice cold bath to ward away soreness. But she was fine. She’d be just fine.

“Yeah.” Astrid cleared her throat and nodded. “Thank you.”

The crowd had become little more than ambient noise as spectators left the arena or waited patiently to witness what would happen next. Astrid turned to look, and indeed, Darkwhite had arrived. Nobody seemed to be in a defensive stance, but still.

“Is she here to fight us…?”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz shook her head and patted Astrid reassuringly. "I don't think so, hon. Brisa reckons Darkwhite has been tryin' to help us, in her own way. She's takin' it upon herself to be the one who has to apologise and thank Darkwhite in the hopes that the show of humility will make her more willin' to help. She wouldn't have done that on her first week in Cibus, that's fer sure."

 

[Negrek]

Yeah, that whole "Tree of Life" thing. Nate seriously needed to get that lucario alone for some serious questions about all that shit. Or maybe the lucario from this world who'd done basically the same thing, since Shield wasn't much of a talker.

Right now, though, Darkwhite. It was certainly possible that she wasn't working with whoever or whatever had corrupted the various legends. It was also certainly possible that she was fucking with everyone right now. Better to have her around, where you could keep an eye on her, in any case. At least the luxio groveling for forgiveness ought to put her in a good mood. Nate got the feeling that Darkwhite enjoyed a good grovel.

"Well, shit, guess we owe you more than we realized," he said. "And we've definitely got plenty to celebrate. What kind of party were you thinking?"

Rocky's tail waved sinuously back and forth, and the familiar's eyes glowed with delight as he whispered to Nate, "I want a party, too! I had to miss the last one."

"Don't get your hopes up. She's probably gonna make this weird," Nate muttered back.

 

[Cresselia92]

“…As amusing and thrilling as the idea of a party might be,” Icetales closed his eyes, “I am afraid I cannot pile up that mighty weight on my shoulders this time. I got awfully close from being afflicted by a severe neurasthenia after the festival, and I do not desire an encore.”

“Aww, but your party was so good…” lamented Petram, and his spectral flames dimmed.

“Self-care first of all, my child. The doctor has been crystal clear: I cannot subject mine own self to such gargantuan efforts nevermore. My nerves… might collapse again, if I do.”

Petram didn’t reply, but he could tell from the psychic link that Icetales was feeling ashamed of himself. The Ninetales focused again on Darkwhite, waiting to hear what she had to say, but there was another huge weight on his heart.

His doubts and insecurities… for some reason, they had started to grow stronger. Why? What was plaguing his mind?

Daemons… did his inner anger and resentment have something to do with them?

 

[Namohysip]

Darkwhite was spinning during their talks, her guard completely lowered. She really wasn't here for a fight. As Nate had predicted, she did enjoy a good grovel.

Who says that thy claims are nothing more than a stunt to get our sympathy? Can thou… prove that we can trust thee? Or art thou only making us do the dirty job for thee so that we can eliminate thy competition?

"Hmm, prove that I'm not lying..." Darkwhite spun and spun, then rolled onto her back after conjuring a bubble of Blacklight energy. "Nope! Guess I can't. Oh well. You guys are boring anyway."

I am afraid I cannot pile up that mighty weight on my shoulders this time.

"Oh well, it wasn't like I was invited anyway," Darkwhite said. "Besides, I'd want to throw a party myself. Maybe I can show you how it's done WITHOUT stressing out."

"Um! While this has been a riveting conversation, the battles for today have ended!" Incineroar announced, still in his professional voice.

Darkwhite glared, then disappeared, reappearing next to Incineroar. She jabbed at him, but he deftly sidestepped the attack and pinned her to the ground. It didn't seem to hurt Darkwhite, but she could still be restrained... She struggled a little, then disappeared, reappearing above Incineroar for a downward, smashing attack with a giant hammer. Incineroar rolled left, easily avoiding it, and they both stared each other down.

"Did the announcer just dodge all of her attacks?" Owen whispered. Wishkeeper, over his shoulder, was dumbfounded.

"Feel free to return tomorrow for more battles!" Incineroar boomed cheerfully.

Darkwhite looked genuinely annoyed. She seethed and spun around, as Incineroar was now dead to her. "...Oh, I know! How about I grab Ho-Oh or something, and then have you purify him like you guys did with Lugia?"

"How would that prove anything?" Owen said.

"Well, maybe I won't." Darkwhite pouted.

 

[Virgil134]

"If you're really innocent, how about you tell us where Ho-Oh is so we can find him ourselves?" Cabot asked, crossing his arms. "He's one of the gods that's currently missing, right? If you're not tricking us then we should logically find him held captive by someone else."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Nobody gives a hoot about ho-hos! They're not nearly as good as twinkies, anyway." Esper turned his nonexistent nose up, aptly failing to realize Ho-Oh was a pokémon.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa nodded. "Darkwhite, we'd more than appreciate any rescued Shadowed pokémon to battle and consequently save. Any you can find fer us."

 

[Namohysip]

"If you're really innocent, how about you tell us where Ho-Oh is so we can find him ourselves?"

"Sure, but if you do, you'll just get captured and corrupted. Remember when I said you were too weak for Shaymin Village? Well same thing here." Darkwhite shrugged. "Their hideout is in the Isle of Light! You guys barely missed it! never investigated where Rayquaza came out. Though, I haven't checked there again. Looks like it was abandoned after Rayquaza blew it up, but maybe they went somewhere else? Or maybe they'll come back later."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"D'you know anythin' about the bastards corruptin' all these legendaries? We could use some leads!"

 

[Namohysip]

"Hmmm..." Darkwhite pondered this. "Nothing you don't already know! Actually, the guy seems to keep his team pretty well-hidden. I know he has two Pokemon with him, and maybe more. One is that big light dragon thing. Another is Deoxys. And a bunch of not-Legendary Pokemon, seems like it might be a team of six?" She shrugged. "I never saw them out of their balls, so..."

"A team of six..." Owen paused, but then, as they shuffled out of the area to discuss somewhere more private, he looked back at Shield. "Where did you get Silver's team from?"

"Same place I got Rayquaza," Shield said.

"So... they were corrupted?"

"Not yet," Shield explained. "Or, they had Radiance in them, but not Dark Matter's corruption. Those are the ones I stole. There were others that had a horrible aura about them... I couldn't get too close without getting sick. And time was short. I grabbed what I could."

"How many of them were there?" Owen asked.

"Oh, are we getting an inventory on how much the enemy has?" Cal asked. "A team of six... So probably Giovanni's team?"

"There were around ten, maybe more maybe less, by the time I left," Shield confirmed. "So if he has his own team of six, that's three or five Pokemon aside from them."

"And, you know, potentially more if he has a stash somewhere else."

 

[Virgil134]

"So wait, Team Rocket has a secret base under the Isle of Light?" Cabot said. "If so, we should investigate it as soon as we can. Especially if it's not actually abandoned."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Would be kind of hard to stealth into a place like that if a big ol' hole's been blown through it." Esper poked his forehead with his free hand. "Odds are Cray-Cray Kit-tay can get away with it because she's a gag manga character. Y'know, the ones who defy all logic and reality?"

 

[Namohysip]

"See? He gets it!"

 

[Ambyssin]

"No, you're breathtaking!" Esper pointed at Darkwhite. "Oh, wait, wrong meme."

 

[Jedi Shulk]

"After what I did to Lugia?" Darkwhite looked at Cabot, then Pleo, then Cabot again. "How about you?!"

"That's not Lugia," Owen said. "that's one of the Shades who became one of Cabot's friends.

"Oh, is that why he's all offended I made this world's Lugia cooler?"

"No, you corrupted her!"

"Pfft, I didn't do THAT. She came that way. I just made her cooler."

"What?"

"I keep telling you guys! I'm getting the Legendary Pokemon for myself! Because it's cool! But YOU keep taking them away." She pointed not at Owen or Team Spectrum, but more specifically at Shield. "Don't think saying my old name will scare me this time! I'm a new 'mon, now!"

"So... so you really are Sword," Shield said. "What happened to you? You were just a Charmander!"

"Yeah, well, times change, I guess. I do miss scales, though..."

”All of this chaos just to collect legendary’s?!” Fay shouted. I hope I’m not next. Fay thought.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Brisa memorised the information from Darkwhite as best she could, her tail tuft tracing patterns in the dust as she listened. 'Deoxys'. That didn't seem like a familiar name, but perhaps she'd be able to find out about it at the library, or something... There was just so much to contend with.

"I'm real grateful f'yer help, Darkwhite," she called. "I don't got much to offer in the way of thanks, but... I guess I can fight ya? That's what I offer everyone, so it only seems fair."

The corrupted mew flashed an eager grin at that, but stayed caught up in showboating to the crowds. Fair enough, it was admittedly thrilling to show off to Cibus folks. Had Brisa just agreed to let a legendary personally kick her ass? ...that sounded like fun, to be honest.

"C'mon, Luz," said Brisa. "D'you mind doin' me a favour and researchin' some of this stuff while I go see about seein' my Pa?"

Her familiar nodded, and walked with her out of the Colosseum. They had plenty to contend with.

<><><><><>​

 

[TheGOAT]

Across the western ridge, where the wind was blowing its hardest, Astrid strolled into town and down the main road. It blew her hair into her face, prompting her to seek out a groomer—because how could there not be a groomer in town? This was Destiny Village. This was Lively Town beefed up on ten Violent Seeds. They had everything here. Damn straight they would have a groomer.

When all was said and done, she couldn’t find one, but that was hardly her concern by the time she’d gotten into the thick of the city. The crowds were denser than usual, especially around the colosseum. Her original task was quickly forgotten; now, Astrid pushed forward to investigate.

There was a disproportionate amount of folks heading through the commercial doors, which led into the stands. A smaller, but still disproportionate number of Pokémon—most of them looking like fairly capable fighters—were lined up at the front desk, some heading into the various locker rooms with passes. Oh? Maybe something’s happening. I could sure go for some battling right about now…

She did her best to remain discreet as she weaved through the expansive main lobby, but it was a losing battle. It seemed like everyone in the building knew who she was. The freaking janitor was staring. Whispers were exchanged. Looks were fired, some wary, some in awe, none of them subtle. She supposed some part of her should feel proud, and she tried to channel the feeling from back in the colosseum, when so many unfamiliar voices were applauding at the shadowy display.

That, too, was a losing battle. Here and now, when her blood wasn’t pumping and her confidence wasn’t up, and where those voices felt so much more real, like they belonged to individuals rather than a single cheering entity—here and now, it all felt wrong. Wrong enough to avoid indulging in entirely. With a tiny smile in no particular direction, she hurried to the receptionist just as the last Pokémon in line finished their business.

“Hi! Hi, um. I’m here to battle. Uh, I know it’s not when I usually come, but—” She craned her neck back to the entrance, where even more to-be spectators began to pile through the legendary-sized doors. “—say, what’s going on?”

 

[Namohysip]

"Oh, you didn't hear?" asked a--it was a Zygarde. Those canine things were around here and there in Destiny Village, but did one of them work part time as a receptionist for the Colosseum? Was there some benefit to that? "They're holding preliminaries, well, qualifiers for a Divine Tourney! Two on two battles between some of the best fighters in the world! Not a lot of Pokemon participate in it, and most of the higher Legends chose to spectate rather than battle due to their great strength... So this is something of a civilian event to demonstrate their power! You know, even you might find a challenge there..." He laughed. "Even two of me are entering! Oh, I'm Bean, by the way. Nice to meet you."

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid didn’t know what this Pokémon was, and judging by the way it referred to itself (themselves…?), she didn’t suppose her best guess would be worth much.

“Sign me up!” Astrid said. “Oh, err. I don’t really have a teammate. Should I just…?”

She pivoted halfway towards the entrance, looking back inquisitively at Bean.