Pokemon Rebellion

A New Ally

It had been a couple hours since they had made their narrow escape. The first things Armaan saw as he regained consciousness were the Night Rider and Absol. Reacting out of fear, he jumped to defend himself but Greninja appeared by his side and assured him that they were safe. It was then that Armaan remembered the Night Rider saved him from the colossal Tyranitar. He also realized that the rest of his team was missing. He picked up his shield on the floor and called Greninja to follow him immediately. As he began to walk, the Night Rider swiftly kicked him hard against a tree. Armaan slowly got back up and as his face slowly met with the masked fighter. “If you can’t even beat me right now there is no way you can save your friends.” Knowing how right he was, Armaan began to make his way back to the bonfire to rest.

There was an atmosphere of awkward silence around the fire. Unable to stand the quiet, Armaan decided to break the ice:

Armaan: So what is the plan?

Night Rider: I am going to take you to a village nearby. There is someone who lives on the mountain who can help explain that mysterious power you have.

Armaan: Mysterious power? You mean when Greninja and I were fighting together?

Night Rider: Yes, but it was more than that. You and Greninja were in near perfect sync fighting as you were one. I have been told about this power but never seen it until now. Obviously, you are nowhere near harnessing its full potential but the person on the mountains could possibly help you hone that skill.

Armaan: Sounds interesting but just a couple things. How can I trust you? And why are you helping me all of a sudden?

Night Rider: One, you don’t have many options to save your friends. Two, don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not helping you. I want to know more about that mysterious technique and how to use it myself.

Now that Armaan found out the Night Rider’s motive for helping him, he began to weigh out options in his mind. He already ruled out trying to find his team on his own so the next thing he considered was leaving the forest and going back to the Relevant for reinforcements. The only problem with that plan was that he had no idea how to get back to the city. In addition, he didn’t know how deep into the forest he had gone so for the time being, he decided to rest for the night and follow the Night Rider until a better opportunity presented itself.

The next day came and Armaan was preparing himself for the journey into the mysterious village. As he was recalling Greninja back into his pokeball, The Night Rider wondered why he would trap his partner into the confinements of a ball. Armaan told him that the pokeball was to help conserve Greninja’s energy for the travel aheads. The Night Rider clearly did not agree with this philosophy as he always had his Absol out and free to roam beside him. Despite their disagreement, they continue moving forward towards their destination.

They had been walking for hours and the sun was beginning to set. As he saw the sun lowering, Armaan asked, “How much further is this village?” To that the Night Rider replied, “Shouldn’t be too far now. I will have Absol scout ahead to make sure the area is secured.” Absol dashed ahead of both of them out of their sight. As they continued on, a thick and dense fog was building up around them. The Night Rider told Armaan to stay close. Armaan did his best to keep his ally within his sights but the fog only grew thicker. Suddenly, they could no longer see each other.

For a short moment Armaan was wandering aimlessly unable to see much of anything. After some time, he could hear the Night Rider calling and he followed the voice. As he moved towards the sound, the fog began to clear, enough that he could see the Night Rider in the distance. Once they reconnected, the Night Rider told Armaan that their destination was a few more kilometers away. In his excitement, he took the lead and walked ahead of the Night Rider with his back turned. In that moment, he heard a clash of weapons behind him, and as he turned around, Armaan saw not one but two Night Riders. One of them tried to assassinate him when he wasn’t looking and one who just came in time to save his life.

Armaan was confused as to which one was the real Night Rider. Thankfully it didn’t take long for him to find out as both combatants traded attacks against each other. One was struck in the left arm, breaking the illusion and revealing a pokemon known as Zoroark, that had the ability to disguise itself as any pokemon or human. The real Night Rider was stuck in the face, destroying the mask. Without the mask, the voice filter was gone and the identity of the Night Rider was revealed. It was someone that Armaan recognized, Aumber.

After the exchange of attack, Zororak threw the katana aside and continued its assault with its claws. Aumber was preparing to defend herself but her wounds hadn’t fully recovered from the attacks sustained from Greninja and the Tyranitar in previous battles. The pain was too much to ignore forcing her to drop her katana and hold her wounds. As Zoroark’s claws were about to make contact against Aumber, Armaan jumped in blocking the attack with his shield, forcing the Zoroark to spring a few meters back. He saw this as the perfect opportunity to throw out Greninja but as he was reaching for his pokeball, the sly Zororak used ‘Thief’ appearing out of nowhere and stealing Armaan’s pokeball.

Without Greninja, Armaan knew their options were very limited. He saw his opponent staring towards them, holding his pokeball in one hand and ready to attack through its mouth. Zoroark breathed in and unleashed a flamethrower attack against Armaan’s shield. The fire was extremely hot causing Armaan to sweat but he refused to dodge the attack. He knew Aumber was still recovering from her injuries and was in no shape to fight or run. After enduring the first stream of heat, the Zoroark prepared itself again but thankfully Absol came, firing its dark pulse to interrupt the Zoroark’s attack.

Aumber was glad to see Absol again and with just a glance at each other’s eyes, Absol knew what Aumber was planning. Absol began charging at Zoroark with its horn. Zoroark easily side-stepped the attack and returned a ‘low kick’ right at Absol’s gut, sending it back and dealing severe damage. The situation looked bleaked, as the Zororak continued its advance, but a horn sounded and out from the distance came three warriors rushing in each riding a Tauros.

The first warrior was Commander Jovan, he was holding a bow and fired an arrow right at the Zoroark who evaded the attack. Next up was Corporal Gurshaan, who was whirling a bola in his hand and as he was riding on his Tauros he threw it at the Zoroark, which wrapped around its arms. Finally, Sergeant Duncan rushed in with his mount and slammed his wooden spear against the dark fox pokemon. The three then got their Tauros in formation and surrounded the Zoroark. Knowing it wasn’t going to win this fight, the Zoroark quickly used a ‘snarl’ attack, unleashing a horrendous noise with its voice and as everyone was preoccupied covering their ears, it escaped without a trace.

After the battle, the three warriors turned and faced their attention towards Armaan. They approached him on their mounts with their weapons ready to attack but Aumber stepped in to signal that Armaan was not their enemy. Aumber’s voice had returned to normal as it was no longer being filtered through the mask. As she was explaining the situations to the three warriors, she began to lose balance but caught herself. “Aumber you need rest. Let Gurshaan and Jovan take you and Absol back. I will take care of our guest.” announced Duncan. Aumber nodded in agreement but before she made her way towards Gurshaan and Jovan, she quickly threw an item at Armaan telling him, “You should really take better care of your stuff.”

Armaan reacted to catch it, it was his pokeball with Greninja in it. He was baffled, when did Aumber get the chance to take back Greninja when she was behind him the whole time. That was when Armaan remembered when Absol took the low kick from Zoroark. Their plan was to deliberately take a hit from the enemy in order to get Greninja back for him. As he figured it out, he attempted to say thank you to her but she had hopped onto Duncan’s Tauros and left with Gurshaan and Jovan. The only person left with him was Duncan who said to him, “Alright let’s get going, the village is this way.”