Book One: Wrath, Chapter Eight-
The first match had lasted well past noon, and the day was waning. Rei had not cared about the lose of time, however, since she wanted to teach the man a lesson. The prize was meaningless to her now. As the second round was being prepared, she mocked the man further.
"I'll tell you what," Rei said with a chuckle, "so it's not too hard on you, I'll use my weakest monster." She let Poppy down unto the ground. His anger grew further. "That way there will almost be no way you can lose so poorly again. Okay?" Truthfully, she had no choice but to choose Poppy. Wrath was tired from the previous fight and using Behemoth was out of the question, unless she wanted to risk its death. Rigidly, the man opened a pouch on his belt that she had not seen before and removed from it an orb wrapped in cloth. He put the cloth back, and all that remained was a shining sphere, different from the common Pokeball. A sinking feeling overcame her. She no longer smiled.
"Unlike Kancer," he grimly spoke, "this one has never lost." As surges of radiant light collected on the earth, it gradually took shape. A point formed that slowly spread out wider. The brightness faded and revealed the true contents: a spotted fungus with chitinous appendages protruding from beneath the cap. With slow and jerky movements, the creature lifted itself high enough off the ground so that its two white, glowing eyes could be seen from beneath the shade of the mushroom. The parasite seemed to be constantly restricting the movements of the host monster with its incessant twitching. The man stood smugly, awaiting Rei to commence the battle.
It began. The young Oddish danced to and fro as various powders deposited in the air from its leaves. The Parasect, Kobold, slowly advanced on Poppy, executing step by shaky step, as the struggle between the host and parasite persisted. Still hours away from the spore filled air, at its pace anyway, Poppy took the initiative on its enemy. Throwing itself high up, the weed crashed down onto its enemy, bouncing off and landing quite a distance away. The struck monster paused only a moment, unmoved by the blow, before it started its crawl again. Its master called out.
"Let's make this fast," it was instructed. "Release your deadliest spore." Spots on the cap began to fill with spore to the point where they nearly burst. Rei knew this would spell the end of the match and instructed Poppy to take it out. Standing back up, rivers of corrosive fluid spewed from the weed's mouth. The acid eroded the surface of the fungus, destroying with it the dangerous spore, but very little damage was done to the actual toadstool then shallow wounds.
Poppy sank its feet into the soil and closed its face until only a blue surface was evident on all of it. The Parasect came closer still until, abruptly, it halted. It tried to pull forward, yet it found it was incapable of furthering. From the earth, a root had caught onto Kobold's leg, and now more came, pulling it to the land. Tediously, the life force was drained from the parasitoid, but hardly quick enough. In two might sweeps of the claw, it cut the entwining roots from its body. With its options running low, the Oddish spread out its leaves in a fan shaped fashion. Bit by bit, the area around it grew brighter as the vicinity past it grew darker, even though it was broad daylight outside.
"Ha!" cried the man. "Two can play that game," he boasted and gave the word. Kobold, upon the command, stretched out its toadstool, but it did not only widen but thickened and expanded. The base of the fungus hung down wildly over the host body. It was growing. The locale became darker yet, for now the sunlight was being consumed by both combatants. Even the pillar of light descending to Poppy broke and adverted to the Parasect's heavenly column, that was already a blinding brightness. Expelling its gathered power, the Oddish fired a concentrated beam of solar power that ripped across the earth, piercing and upturning it, until it reached its target. Upon striking, the beam splintered, flowing over Kobold in a dome shape. The barrier around the parasite, which it had summoned without anyone's knowledge, shimmered as it was being bombarded by the laser, never faltering.
"Kobold," he cried out, "show her what true power looks like!" He watched with a haughty smirk. A blinding flash exploded from his pet. The shield around it was shattered in an instant. The attack was less a ray and more resembled wholesale destruction. The earth was torn asunder as massive pieces were hurled skyward, and not seen to return. Both trainers were knocked down from the shock wave. The roaring force uprooted Poppy and tossed it around for some time. As the power dissipated, it came back down, thudding on the newly tilled dirt. All laid panting. Rei, unsure on the condition of her fighter, looked up pleased to see it still moving, but what else she saw struck her with awesome fear.
"It can't be," she said in disbelief as she stood up. "It just... can't... be." She stared a while longer to confirm that it was, in fact, true. The other trainer's laughter confirmed her dread. The Parasect, after releasing a devastating blow of power, one like she has never seen, was still radiating light. The man's malicious laughter flowed into speech.
"That was only the excess power it had obtained," he said with a hint of mania in his voice. "If it were to have used all of it at once, it would have lost control and surely have been annihilated- much like your monster will now!" He waved his arm in command. Smashing together its claws, a streak of raw power shot from Kobold. Although it did not even touch it, the tilled soil was parted under its force. Rei was knocked back off her feet. The ray found its target and stuck to it, but only for a short while. It quickly swerved from its target drifted aimlessly. The parasite was knocked to its side, and by it stood the black tinted Eevee from the night before, using what little force it had to keep it overturned. Overpowering its attacker and landing back onto its feet, the Parasect smacked the scruffy beast off the battlefield. The man bore a look of confusion for a brief while after the event. The Oddish, however, still stood after the blast with leaves tattered and torn, wounded severely, and gasping for air. Unbeknown to any, the Eevee had touched down by Rei's dropped sack. Its weary eyes opened and say it destiny.
The Eevee's bravery encouraged Poppy, giving it a new vigor. It progressed to its enemy swiftly, despite serious injuries. As Kobold was charged, the area around it gleamed as another barricade was erected, but it came to no use. Stiffening its leaves into blades, the Oddish passed through the barrier and hacked away at the enlarged cap. Kobold angrily sliced at the weed, fearing for its brain's safety, until it was stricken. Once felled, the parasite drew the foe to its mouth and sucked out its lifeblood. Wounds to the fungus began repairing immediately. Fulfilling its desire, it cast the half alive weed aside. All seemed bleak.
As the man went to signal the deathblow, he stopped in the middle of his command. His attention was adverted to the Eevee, standing erect and perfectly motionless, gazing at him. The two remained motionless for a brief while.
"W-what are you doing here?" he spoke to it. "I told you: stay away from me. Do you think I miss you?" It still was stationary. "Well, I don't. I have no care for failures." Though its body was inert, in its coal black eyes was wrath manifested. "I said get!" the man yelled, throwing a stone. It stuck the creature dead on, yet it did not flinch. He was growing quite annoyed with it. Then he noticed something, something he did not see before. "What do have there," he questioned it, "what do you have in your mouth?" A minute twinkle sparkled in its clamped jaws. Opening them, it dropped a faceted stone, dim and without luster. The coal of his eyes were now ablaze. It was an Evolution Stone, only expended.
In a flash, the beast hunched down into a battle stance. It became shrouded in flame. Faintly, one could observe its body lengthen and grow. The parting blaze revealed a crimson monster crowned in fur darker than cinders. Rage sparkled in its fiery eyes. The man gazed onward as wisps of the inferno faded into the air. With eyes ever locked, the beast treaded towards him. Calling for Kobold's aid, the parasite threw itself in the Flareon's path, but its gait changed to dash as in a scarlet streak, it passed the Parasect and clashed with its former master, bringing him to the ground.
Overpower its host to turn and met the new foe, it had already bounded onto the mushroom and ripped into it with its jaws. Bucking, it was cast off. Kobold raised its claw in anger but could not bring it down. Damage to the parasite returned power to the host. As the Parasect rivaled with itself, spiraling flame leapt from the monster's wide open maw, colliding with the truffle, not only engulfing it but nearly tearing it from the host. Before recovering from his last assault, the beast reared its hind legs and, focussing its malevolence for the man, delivered a devastating kick to his gut.
The battlefield was blanketed in silence now. The man winced in pain, unable to move. The host body of Kobold quivered uncontrollably as the parasite was now charred and powerless. Rei hobbled over on her staff to her fallen sack, which she had dropped before the fights even began , and, upon examining it, she found, as she had expected, that she was missing one of her Fire Stones. Taking this, Poppy, and a few things from the incapacitated man, she staggered off down the road.
As she went off, the Flareon stood looking at the fallen man. He noticed that it seemed different now. No longer was it consumed by fear, but pride. It looked upon him not as a servant to master, but as a victor to defeated. That being the last they ever saw each other, the beast turned its head and hurried down the path to catch up to Rei.
