//------------------------------//
// Team Shadow Strikes PT1 
// Story: Pokémon: Equestrian Adventures 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

The Grand Desert...

Within the dunes of the desert, several people were now chipping away at the giant mountain face. A good portion of the rock face had been removed, revealing a set of hidden large double doors. Staring at the doors was a bulky cape wearing man with crossed arms as he watched the others carefully remove another rock. As they did this, a person in a lab coat walked up, "Commander Doom Raizer."

"What is it egghead?"

The man showed him a tablet, "We've finished the x-ray of the doors and have a clear idea of what it looks like." Doom let out a long sigh as he stared at the device, seeing many patterns on the fully uncovered doors. Symbols of the Legendary Beasts, the Golems, and the Swords of Justice were being shown, making him raise an eyebrow, "Based on our scans, once we uncover the door, we'll need to deactivate the lock before opening it."

"I see. How long will it take to do that?"

"From what our scans tell us, it's a puzzle lock. Without actually seeing it in person, we won't know how long it'll take to complete."

Doom shook his head, "Fine. Keep me posted." The scientist nodded before returning to work, Doom continuing to stare at the door. But as he did this, he felt a tingle go down his spine, making him turn around. He could something watching him...only to see nothing.

But his instincts weren't wrong. A mile or so away over a sand hill, a figure stood while looking through a pair of binoculars. They were dressed in a sand colored cloak with a hood covering his head, growling at the sight, "Dang it," a male voice spoke. "They've almost finished digging it out." They lowered the binoculars to show their face was covered in a black scarf and black goggles. "But what could they want in there?"

But as they said these words, the figure suddenly leapt away as a Shadow Ball struck the sand hill beside. Rolling along the grainy ground next, the figure slid to their knees before looking up at their attacker. It looked like a Skullimor, but it was twice as big and wore a purple helmet that covered all but its face. A few feet down its neck was a pair of purple metal arms that had silver scorpion claws. Its bat wings were twice as big as Skullimor, and on the tip of its spine-like tail was a purple sphere with a glowing yellow stinger.

A series of laughs followed this as he turned to see Doom now approaching with a group of grunts, "Hello there. If you had called ahead, I would have put out sandwiches."

"Funny," the figure stood up, "What are you doing out here?"

"Just a little archaeological expedition," Doom pulled out a Pokeball. "But it's a shame you won't get to see the whole thing. Scrapummel!" He tossed the ball into the air, "GO!"

The ball opened to reveal a Scrapound, only it was taller and bulkier. Now standing at six and a half feet, its upper arms and legs were covered in white scar-like marks. The large horn on its head was now long and curved, being connected to a second smaller horn that curved in the opposite direction to give it a crescent moon shape. The wrappings around its hands, wrists, feet and ankles were now black and the leather jacket had no hood and instead had spikes running down its head that were longer and claw-like. "SCRAP!" It roared, raising its arms with a mighty yell.

The grunts also pulled out their own Pokeballs. "Skullimor/Frillace/Shadusk, GO!" Soon, the figure found himself staring down an army of Pokémon with Scrapummel at the helm.

"SCRAP!" It charged first, the others following behind. It swung a fist at the figure, the person evading the attack before delivering a stomp kick to its stomach. He then dodged several Shadow Balls, Sludge Bombs and Sucker Punches before kicking and punching the Pokémon round him.

"Skulerror!" Doom ordered, the Skullimor evolution flying up to try and sting him with its tail, but the figure side-stepped away before grabbing the tail. With a single grunt of strength, he spun Skulerror around before releasing it. The skeletal Pokémon flew over at Scrapummel as he charged again, slamming into him, knocking them off his feet.

Doom growled at this, watching as the figure took this opening to turn and run. He then saw that the person was trying to get to a hidden dirt bike, making him point at him, "Get him!" The grunts gave chase, only for the figure to spin around and sweep his leg through the sand. This allowed him to kick up some tiny rocks, sending them right into the grunt's eyes. Screams of pain followed as the figure rushed up next, a series of quick punches knocking them all out.

And as they all fell unconscious, the figure got on his bike and rode away, Doom sighting at the sight, "Another problem...eh, no matter." he turned back to the dig sight, "Whoever he is, he won't stop us form achieving our goals." Scrapummel and Skulerror came up beside him next, "Come, follow me."

A few minutes later, he returned to his command center vehicle, walking inside as his Pokémon stayed outside. Many graphs and maps of the desert covered the tables inside, Doom moving over to pull out a small device that had a single large round dial. "Let's see how much trouble he can cause with the local wildlife on a rampage." He spun the dial ninety degrees, the arrow moving through a green section into a yellow section.

Outside atop the truck, a satellite dish pointed upward before it starting letting out a great pulse of energy that shot out in all directions. Doom quickly walked out and turned to his Pokémon, "You two okay?" They nodded while placing their fingers, or claws, into their ears. "Good," he turned to the rest of the dig team, seeing them all and saw they were putting something in the Pokémon like his own just did. "Excellent. Now, let's get this thing uncovered."





The next day...

"How much longer until we reach Appaloosa?" Flash asked as the group continued to walk up another sand dune.

Twilight swiped her forehead as she squinted her eyes at her tablet, "We're still a ways off. I'd say we've reached the halfway mark between Dodge Junction and Appaloosa."

"Great..." Spike grumbled as he kicked at the ground, "More sand. Yay." The others tried not to sigh, seeing the giant frown on Spike's face due to having to say goodbye to his new friend, Stegoliath. They then seen Peewee rub his head up against Spike's cheek, but it didn't help.

"It won't be so bad Spike," Doc patted his shoulder. "You know, there's a legend surrounding this area of the desert." This made Spike look up, Flash, Twilight, Springer and Peewee also turning to him, "Any of you ever hear of the Hidden Temple?" They shook their heads. "Well, it's believed that somewhere in this desert, there's a temple that was created centuries ago. The ancient people of Equestria built it in order to hide a great treasure that's supposed to have the power to destroy the Equestria Region in the wrong hands."

"What kind of treasure?" Flash asked, Doc shrugging in response.

"Not sure. No one even knows if the Hidden Temple even really exists. It's just a legend I heard from a challenger once."

Twilight hummed at this while pushing her glasses back up, "I've never heard of that legend before. I'll need to do some research the next time we're at a Pokémon Center."

"If we ever get there," Spike took off his hat and waved it like a fan to cool himself down. "How far until we get to the next spring?"

"It's about a day and a half's walk from here. As long as nothing distracts us, we should get there in plenty of time."

Flash let out a long huff, "You just had to say that, didn't you?" Twilight looked back at him, blinking with a raised eyebrow. But before anything could be said, they all turned to Springer. The Riolu was holding his head, his face contorting in pain.

"Springer? You okay?" Flash knelt down and put a hand on his head, "Buddy?"

"Ri..." Springer moaned with his eyes shut.

"Headache?" Doc asked, Springer nodding.

"Peewee?" they turned to Spike, now seeing him holding Peewee in his arms as the Terragon did the same thing. "What's wrong? Come on, tell me."

"Both of them? That can't be good." Doc commented as he took off his bag, only to come to a stop. They all stood still at this moment, as everyone felt their feet beginning to shake.

"What's that?" Spike asked while Springer and Peewee continued to hold their heads. In that second, the ground a few hundred feet away exploded, a giant being screaming as it appeared out of a giant dust cloud.

It was a Pokémon that looked similar to a Burroworm, only it was three times the size. Its tube-like body was big enough that they could swallow a person whole, the body being split into a Y shape near the top, creating two three foot long necks that each ended in a brown serpentine head. Each head had two cone like horns made of rock coming out of the back, just above the neck. They also had another stone spine on their heads, right between their eyes while more stone spikes were sticking out their back and running down until it reached the underground.

"It's a Douburrow!" Twilight screamed as Flash pulled out his Pokedex. An image came up, showing the whole of the Douburrow that also showed its bottom, which was a pair of three foot tails with leaf shaped spines around the tips.

Name: Douburrow
Category: Double Worm Pokémon
Type: Ground
Info: The evolved form of Burroworm. Despite having two heads, it only has one brain. It is said that if you cut it in half, it will give birth to a pair of Burroworms.

The Douburrow turned both its heads at them, growling as Flash did a long gulp, "That can't be good." Douburrow then put both its heads together before shooting back into the ground, a ground trail appearing as it headed towards the group.

"Move!" Doc ordered as they all leapt to the side, right before Douburrow shot out of the ground. "Steeledge!" He tossed a Pokeball into the air, unleashing his Flying Steel-type.

"Ledge!" It took flight, only to suddenly flinch in pain and lose altitude.

"Steeledge?" Doc yelped as Steeledge slumped over, allowing Douburrow the chance to attack it. The rock horns on its heads glowed before light shot at Steeledge, fading to reveal a pair of large pointed rocks. "Dodge it!" Doc yelled, but Steeledge either didn't hear or was in too much pain to comply.

"LEDGE!" He cried as the rocks slammed into him, making him fall over, Doc yelling his name.

"Bud, use Aura Sphere!" Flash commanded as he pointed at the monster, Springer trying to form an orb, only for his aura to sputter out. "Not good...." Flash turned back to Douburrow before pulling out a Pokeball. "Riptide, I choose you!" He tossed it into the air, unleashing his Spranitor, "Use Water Gun."

"Spran!" He roared before taking a deep breath, only to stop as he clutched his head in pain.

"Riptide too?! What's going on?!"

Twilight grimaced at the sight, "Something's causing our Pokémon severe pain." She then pointed at Douburrow, "And I'm betting it's not just our Pokémon."

"Whatever's hurting our Pokémon is also making Douburrow go nuts?!" Flash asked with a raised eyebrow, only to go wide-eyed as Douburrow let out a mighty roar as it's body began to glow orange, the ground now shaking again.

"Now what?" Spike whined as he grabbed onto Twilight's leg, the girl holding him tight.

"Everyone hold on!"

KABOOM!

The ground exploded, everyone being thrown in different directions. And they tumbled over from the blow, all were quickly buried by an avalanche of sand. Flash's entire bottom half was instantly trapped, the teen unable to move as his Pokémon fell beside him. He quickly pulled out his Pokeballs to return them, only to her Twilight scream, "FLASH!"

"DUB!" was what he heard Douburrow scream, making him look up to see a cloaked figure sucker punch the left head. The force knocked it flying, pulling its other head back with it.

"What the-" Flash yelped as he watched as the figure landed in front of him and pulled out a Pokeball, "Dude, don't! Pokémon-"

"Galladin!" The figure tossed the ball, "Stand strong!" The ball opened and in a flash of red light, the Gallant Knight Pokémon appeared.

"Wait...that's-" Twilight gasped as she saw the Pokémon stood in front of the Douburrow.

And as Douburrow picked itself back up, Galladin charged at the monster as the worm's horns started glowing, firing rocks at its opponent. "Iron Defense!" Galladin raised both arms as they shined, the rock slamming into the shielded gauntlets and shattering without leaving a scratch. "Now, Sacred Sword!" From the shield and Galladin's wrists, a pair of long glowing light blue blades shot out.

"Gall!" Galladin leapt into the air, aiming for the space between the two necks as it spun like a drill, only to warp up to the neck. In that one second, a pair of white slashes of light hitting the necks.

"BURROW!" It cried in pain as Galladin landed behind it, sliding along the sand. As it did this, the figure pulled out a Pokeball.

"Alright," he enlarged the ball, "GO POKEBALL!" He tossed the sphere at the Douburrow, bouncing off one head before opening and sucking up the beast inside. It landed and wobbled back and forth, only to let out a small ding. This made the figure sigh before picking the ball up. "Good, one less Pokémon in pain."

He then turned to Springer and Riptide, seeing them still holding their heads. The figure leaned down, making Flash ask, "Hey! What are you doing?!"

The person didn't answer as he reached Springer, kneeling down and patting him on the head. Springer looked up and went wide-eyed, "Don't worry, I'm here to help." He pulled something out of his pockets and placed them in Springer's ears, pain instantly fading off of the Riolu's face.

"What the-" Flash muttered out as he saw the figure do the same with Riptide, the water lizard now shining a small smile as the pain faded.

"Can't stay out of trouble, can you?" The person said as he offered a hand to Flash next, the teem taking it as the figure pulled his out of the sand.

Once he was back on his feet, Flash mumbled out, "Uh...thanks. But um-who are you?"

"SHINY!" They both turned to see Twilight, Spike, Doc and their Pokémon run over, Twilight throwing her arms and pulling the figure in a hug.

"Good to see you Twily," the figure replied as he hugged her back.

"Wait..." Flash whispered as his eyes went wide next as the figure pulled his scarf and goggles off to reveal a face they all knew, "SHINING ARMOR?!"

"Good to see you all," Shining chuckled before noticing Peewee and Steeledge's pained looks. He reached into his pockets and pulled out four strange pieces of cotton. "Put these in their ears. It'll stop the pain." Spike and Doc nodded, doing as they were told, the Pokémon soon brightening up.

"What are you doing out here?" Twilight asked her brother, only to see a giant frown appear on his face.

"I came because a group of very bad people are causing trouble here in the Grand Desert, and you just saw the consequences."

Everyone's eyes went wide, Flash yelling, "Seriously?! Who are they?!"

Shining did a slight stare at the group, only to sigh as he answered, "I...I guess you might as well know. It's a group you guys have had a run in with before," he turned to Doc. "Team Shadow." Doc's eyes went wide as the others just blinked at this response, only for Shining to continue, "I believe you've already met one of their highest members. Chrysalis."

Now everyone's eyes were large, Twilight adding, "You mean that woman who attacked the Fillydelphia Gym?"

Shining did a small nod, "They call themselves Team Shadow, a group that's been causing major issues all over the Equestria Region. They've been working to make money to fund their schemes all over Equestria, anything from high scale theft to pick-pocketing."

Flash raised a hand, "Wait...does that mean Chrysalis is here?"

Shining shook his head at this, "No, it's another high ranking member leading this group. His name's Doom Raizer."

"I think I've heard of him," Doc hummed while tapping his chin, "If I remember correctly, he was a top ranking trainer who many thought would one day take the title of champion, only to lose in the Equestria League final round ten years ago."

Shining nodded again, "It was that battle that changed him. He started to change his strategies, mainly him training his Pokémon mercilessly and had them be savages in battle, even having his Pokémon continue to attack the opponent after they were knocked out. The Equestria League was forced to ban him from all official tournaments, which angered him to the point where he went on a rampage. Eventually, the champion came in and defeated him. He was locked up after that, only to escape a few years ago...and now it looks like he joined Team Shadow."

"He sounds horrible," Twilight muttered out while crossing her arms.

"Maybe, but he's also strong. His Scrapummel is well trained."

"Scrapummel?" Flash took out his Pokedex and typed in the name, the image coming up with the information.

Name: Scrapummel
Category: Street Fighter Pokémon
Type: Fighting/Dark
Info: The evolved form of Scrapound. It unleashes powerful punches and kicks against its opponents. Scientists have measured the strength of its punches, showing them to be strong enough to break through five inches of solid steel.

"That's scary..." Spike added with a long gulp.

Doc turned back to Shining. "But why are Team Shadow here? And what does it have to do with the pain our Pokémon were in?"

Shining sighed and shook his head, "Team Shadow have found the Hidden Temple."

Everyone's eyes went wide at this, Twilight asking, "So it's not just a legend?"

"No, it's real...and they've managed to find it." Shining growled as his eyes narrowed, "That's why I'm here. I heard rumors of Team Shadow being spotted in the Grand Desert, so I came to investigate....only to find out they found the temple. Not only that, they're close to completely unearthing the entrance. Unfortunately, I got careless and they spotted me before I could make a plan to stop them, which made them take precautions to keep me busy."

"What precautions?" Spike asked, only for Shining to point at Peewee. "Wait...you're saying they're the ones that gave Peewee and the others headaches and made that Douburrow go nuts?"

Shining nodded yet again, "Another rumor that appears to be true. Team Shadow have been developing a device used to emit a soundwave only Pokémon can hear, one that causes great irritation. Think of it like...nails on a chalkboard." Everyone shuddered at that, "Exactly. Guess they figured I'd be too busy with the rampaging Pokémon to bother them."

"So what are you gonna do?"

"I already called officer Hard Case." Shining answered as he turned around, his face morphing to one filled with anger, "But by the time he gets here with the manpower needed to capture Team Shadow, they might already be gone and a lot of Pokémon will continue to get hurt unless I stop that machine."

Twilight walked around him, seeing her brother's face. It was a look she knew all too well, knowing it was one that meant one thing: He was about to do something stupid but didn't care what happened to him. "Shining...you can't seriously think you can take on all those trainers by yourself. Sure, you're strong, but even you have your limits."

"I have to do this Twily. It's my responsibility to protect Equestria from any and all threats. That's the role I agreed to when I became champion. Even if it's a hundred to one, its my job."

Twilight turned to her friends, seeing the worried look on her face. They quickly exchanged glances, soon giving her three big smirks. Seeing this, she turned back to her brother, "Alright Shining...but we're coming with you." Shining spun around and stared at her with wide eyes, Twilight quickly adding, "And before you say anything, this isn't up for debate. You need help and we're the only ones here. If you want to stand any chance of stopping them, let us come with you."

"Yeah!" Flash added, "Besides, I'm not just gonna sit back and let Team Shadow get away with this. They're going down for causing so many Pokémon pain."

"I'm a Gym Leader," Doc chimed in while pointing at himself, "It's as much my responsibility to deal with issues like this as it is yours."

Shining opened his mouth to counter, only for Spike to come over and pull his leg, "And before you say no, we're a lot stronger than you think. Trust us."

The champion's eyes darted around, now seeing nothing but determined glares from the rest. And as he saw Twilight's look of confidence, he let out a long sigh, "Alright...you can come. But you have to follow my orders to a T, and if it looks like things are getting to dangerous, you guys get out of there. Understand?" The others nodded in agreement, "Then let's get going. But first," he reached into his pocket and pulled out several more pieces of cotton. "You'll need to protect all of your Pokémon."





Back at the dig sight, Ground Pokémon of multiple types were now working on uncovering the door. Sandslash were being used to shuffle away the sand while Excadrill were cutting through the rocks. Diggersby were also there, all of them carrying away the debris to some nearby trucks.

While this happened, Doom and his Scrapummel were watching the digging scene, though his Pokémon was mainly just stretching out its muscles. They watched as several Excadrill leapt at a large piece of rock, all trying to drill into it...only to bounce off in pain a few seconds later. "Drill!" They all grunted as they fell over, Doom sighing at the sight.

"Sir," a scientist spoke up, "Our scans show that section of rock has a ton of iron in it. Getting through it won't be easy."

Doom just shook his head before pointing at his Scrapummel. "Use Rock Smash!"

The Fighting Dark-type smirked before running at the rock with a glowing fist, "Pum...MEL!" He slammed his fist into the rock, cracks quickly covering the boulder before collapsing into a pile of rubble.

Wide eyes were on all the scientists and Pokémon, gasping as Doom turned back and glared at them, "Stop gawking! Get back to work!" They rapidly nodded back, Doom growling as he went back to his tent. Pulling out a tablet, he skimmed over some aerial images of the desert, swiping his hand to keep changing the screen, "Looks like no one's around...yet." He pressed a button on the tablet. "Skulerror. If you and the Skullimor see anything even remotely out of the ordinary, attack without hesitation."





"Skull..." Skulerror replied into the microphone attached to it. It and the Skullimor were circling the dig sight area, all keeping an eye out for anything strange.

But as they were creatures of the night, daytime surveillance wasn't really their forte, missing a group passing by that were now hiding behind a huge rock. And as the group walked away, Shining whispered, "Alright, they're gone."

He and the others stepped out, Flash scanning the Skulerror as it flew away.

Name: Skulerror
Category: Terror Pokémon
Type: Ghost/Flying
Info: The evolved form of Skullimor. It leads hordes of Skullimor in the hunt for their next victim. It is said that this Pokémon feeds off your fear and if no one is scared of it, it will become weak and powerless.

"What's with Team Shadow and using all these creepy Pokémon?" Spike asked.

Shining did a small shrug, "They probably think if people are scared, they'll be easier to beat."

"Well I'm not scared," Flash chimed in as he put away his Pokedex, only for Shining to pull the back of his shirt.

"Don't be reckless. These aren't just a bunch of thugs, they're experienced trainers. If they see you, they won't hesitate to attack, and if they're under Doom Raizer's command, they'll likely be just as aggressive. We've gotta be smart."

"So what do we do?"

"We try and be as stealthy as possible. Get in, find Doom and take him down before anyone else can react. We cut off the head. and the body will fall."

"But you said Doom was super strong," Spike pointed out.

"He is, but I'm no slouch either. Galladin and I can handle him. You guys focus on keeping the grunts off us until he's beaten. Understand?" They nodded, "Good. Then let's go." He started to tiptoed out of the cover of the rock, the others following as they approached the area of the dig sight before pointing at a large rock, "See that? The temple's under it, dug into the rock itself."

Twilight then pointed to the almost completely uncovered door, "Is that the entrance?"

"Yeah, and it looks like we don't have much time left before they finish unearthing it." He then took out some binoculars, "This isn't good..."

"You see Doom?"

"Not yet. He won't be far from that door though." He lowered the binoculars and began to slide down a nearby slope, "Come on." The others slid down as well, all trying to stay as quiet as possible. But as they made their way down into the hole, they passed by a metal sphere with two red lenses sticking out of the sand. It was painted the same color as the desert, a silent beep following as the group went past the orb.

And as they reached the bottom, the group quickly ran over to one of the large trucks, pinning themselves against the vehicle before Shining glanced around it and saw Doom in his binoculars, "Alright, target sighted."

"Now what?" Flash asked.

"Now we-" Shining didn't finish as his ears twitched, making him turn and gasp. "MOVE!" He grabbed both Twilight and Spike by the wrist and pulled them away from the truck, Flash and Doc managing to jump away as a Shadow Ball hit the truck. The force of the attack knocked them all down, Shining rolling to his knees before looking up to see Skulerror and the Skullimor flying above them. "Not good. They know we're here!"

"Shining, let us handles those things." Twilight added as she picked herself up. "You need to focus on Doom."

"Are you sure?" Shining asked, Twilight nodding in response while pulling out a Pokeball.

"Positive. Owlicious, let's go!" She tossed the ball, unleashing her Psychick as it took to the sky, "Confusion!"

"Hoo!" Owlicious's eyes glowed before shooting out a blue beam of light, smacking a Skullimor out of the skies.

"Go Peewee!" Spike turned to his Terragon, who nodded and took to the skies. "Use Dragonbreath!"

"Ter...WAGON!" He unleashed a burst of blue fire at another Skullimor, the flying skull instantly consumed by the flames.

"Skyler!" Flash threw his Pokeball into the air, "I choose you!"

"Steeledge, go!" The two Flying-types flew up to join the fight as both trainers gave their orders. "Steel Wing!" The two birds flew past several Skullimor, slashing them with ease.

Twilight took this moment to turn to the others, "Go get Doom Raizer. Spike and I will handle these guys."

"Alright," Shining nodded as he gestured to Flash and Doc, "Let's go."

They quickly threw their Pokeballs over to Twilight and Spike as they began to follow Shining, "Skyler, follow Twilight's instructions if she gives you any!"

"You too Steeledge!"

"Gust/Ledge," the two nodded as they continued to do battle against the Skullimor. All the while, Skulerror was watching with intrigue.

As this happened, the boys ran through the site, the three seeing grunts running at them with Frillace, Shadusk, Sandslash and Diggersby. They were also carrying rifles that Shining recognized as taser blasters. "Galladin," he took out his Pokeball as the grunts aimed their weapons, "Use Iron Defense!"

He threw ball and unleashed his ace Pokémon, the Gallant Knight raising his shielded gauntlets as it blocked all the blasters. Yellow bullets bounced off his shields, exploding into discharges of lightning upon contact. "Gall..." Galladin hissed as the felt not a bit of damage, Shining pointing at the grunts next.

"Slash!" Galladin unsheathed his blades and sliced the barrels of the rifles in a split second, making them all gasp at the sudden loss of their weapons.

"No way!" A grunt cried before Shining ran up and threw a punch into his gut. "AUGH!" Shining didn't stop there, using a series of different punches and kicks to beat his way through the grunts.

As this happened, Springer let over his trainer and formed an Aura Sphere in his paws, "Rio...LU!" the orb hit the ground, exploding with a blast of force that knocked back a group of Shadusk, Sandslash and Diggersby.

"Nice bud!" Flash pulled out four other Pokeballs, "Riptide, Prongs, Viper and Hopper, I choose you!"

"Higear and Tockwork, go!" They threw the Pokeballs, unleashing six Pokémon that landed in front of Springer as three Frillace charged at the group. "Bullet Punch and Gear Grind!" Higear threw his gear like hands at two of the Frillace, knocking them back while Tockwork stumbled forward and punched the third.

Flash smirked until he saw the other Pokémon getting up, "Let's go guys!"

"RI/TORE/LEAF/CAR/RUSH!" His Pokémon roared as they charged, the opponents doing the same.

"Extreme Speed!" Springer was surrounded by the blue lightning as he zipped up to the enemies first, striking them instantly. The blow knocked them off balance, allowing the others an opening, "Now, use Aqua Tail, Energy Ball, Flame Wheel and Quick Attack!"

Riptide pirouetted, slamming his tail into two of the Sandslash while Prongs launched an orb of nature energy at a Diggersby. At the same time, Viper hit the other as a flaming wheel while Hopper zigzagged around the Shadusk, the Dark-types trying to hit him, but continuing to miss.

"RUSH!" Hopper then headbutted one in the back, knocking it into the second and distracting the third long enough for Springer to reach him.

"Drain Punch!" The Shadusk now found itself getting sucker punched by the Riolu, its energy being absorbed in one blow. "Yes!" Flash then saw that Shining had finished knocking out the grunts, the teen now yelling at him, "Keep going! We'll take these guys down!"

Shining nodded and ran off, Galladin by his side as Flash turned back to the battle and saw Doc had the Frillace under control. "Overclock and Gyro Ball!" Tockwork's arm gears spun while Higear summoned a sphere, Tockwork then using a lariat on two of them while Higear struck the other.

Flash turned back to his own battle and saw one of the Diggersby swinging its bicep arms at Springer. "Double Team!" Springer suddenly multiplied in dozens of copies, Diggersby hitting one of the fakes, "Now, Aura Sphere Barrage!" Each Springer clone created a smaller than normal Aura Sphere and then thrusted them into Diggersby.

Multiple small explosions knocked the Pokémon back, the clones vanishing as Flash pointed at the other part of the battle, "Rock Smash, Bounce, Poison Sting and Bite!" Riptide leapt as his legs began to glow, the water lizard swinging them into a Shadusk's chest. Prongs then jumped up before crashing down on a Sandslash, pinning it as Viper launched multiple poisonous darts at a Diggersby while Hopper ran up and bit another.

Flash nodded at his Pokémon, grinning as he pointed ahead, "Let's keep going! We can win this!"





Shining and Galladin were in full sprint, making sure to disarm any grunts that got between them and their destination. But as Doom came into view as he stood in front of the stone covered doors as the Excadrill worked to unearth it, the champion suddenly felt a shiver down his spine. He then noticed the sun go away, making him look up to see Scrapummel falling down.

"PUMMEL!" It roared as it raised both fists above its head, Shining and Galladin leaping back as the fists smashed the ground, a massive cloud appearing as the earth shook from its strike. Shining and Galladin started to backpedal at the sight, only to now hear the sound of laughing.

Inside the cloud came out Doom, a shining grin on his face as he pointed at Shining, "So you were the champion all along. That explains a lot, though the clothing did throw me off a bit."

"Well, you know us celebrities." Shining stood up and threw off his cloak, "Can't go anywhere without getting mobbed unless we wear a disguise."

"Too true."

"Doom Raizer, we can do this one of two ways. You can either give up and we can sit down with tea and biscuits while you tell me everything about your organization, including the name of your mysterious leader, or I can take you down the hard way and get the information the even harder way. So...what's it gonna be?"

Doom let out a might roar of a laughter before shooting him a smirk, "I'll go with option C: Scrapummel lives up to his name and pummels you into submission. Then I'll take the rest of your little friends down before doing what I came here to do. Scrapummel, use Rock Smash!"

Scrapummel sprinted ahead with a glowing fist, Galladin jumping in front of Shining. "Iron Defense!" The shields began to glow as Scrapummel struck them, the two Pokémon unmoving despite the force of the impact. "Alright, we'll do this the hard way. Sacred Sword!" Galladin leapt back and unsheathed its blades before he slashed at Scrapummel, the street fighter grunting at the pain.

"Throat Chop!" Scrapummel spun around and aimed a karate chop at Galladin's neck, only for him to quickly raise his shield to block.

"Slash!" Galladin slashed at him again, this time hitting the opponent's shoulder.

"Payback!" Scrapummel staggered back as it began to glow, the Fighting Dark-type roaring as it flexed its body and unleashed an energy wave at Galladin.

"Din!" He grunted as he staggered back from the blow.

"Now, Close Combat!" The Gallant Knight now saw Scrapummel charging, ready to unleash an all out attack on him.

"Iron Defense!" He raised his shields just in time to block the attack, the force of the barrage of blows now battering his defenses. "Come on Galladin! We're not gonna let them beat us!"





"Sky Drop! Air Cutter!"

"Dragonbreath! Drill Peck!" The four Pokémon unleashed their attacks, Owlicious flying up to a Skullimor and grabbing its spine-like tail before spinning and tossing it downward. While this happened, Skyler and Peewee fired their long range attacks, striking several down as Steeledge shot into the last few in a drill-like fashion.

But as they did this, more seemed to appear. "Geez lousie! How many of these things are there?!"

"We just have to keep pushing Spike," Twilight added as the Skulerror leapt into the battle. "Confusion!" Owlicious fired the psychic beam at it, only for Skulerror's claws to glow white, blocking the attack with ease.

"SKULL!" It swung them through the air in an X formation, striking Owlicious with a deadly chop.

"Hoo!" the owl cried as it was sent back, Peewee catching him as Skyler and Steeledge attacked, both trying to use Steel Wing as Skulerror blocked both with its claws.

"Skull!" Its hollow eyes glowed red before shooting out a beam that struck the two in their heads, both Flying-types flinching before weird ducks began to circle their heads.

"Oh no! It knows Confuse Ray!" Twilight gasped as she now saw Skulerror shoot a Shadow Ball at Steeledge before thrusting its tail stinger into Skyler, the stinger glowing purple with bubbles of that color coming off it.

"WING/LEDGE!" They both cried as they were struck, both falling in unison. Skulerror then turned to Peewee and Owlicious, the Psychick taking to the air again as the flying skeleton charged down.

"Peck!" Owlicious's beak extended as it pecked at Skulerror, only for the attack to just bounce off the monster.

"Skull!" It then tried to impale him with Poison Jab, Owlicious quickly dodging with a flap of wings as Peewee flew up behind the creature.

"Bite!" He snapped his teeth down the monster's tail, Skulerror yelping in pain from the blow. But before the pain could settle in, he quickly spun around and whipped its tail, knocking Peewee off with a single strike. And as this happened, he fired a Confuse Ray, smacking Peewee in the face. "No!"

"Confusion!" Twilight told Owlicious, the Psychick picking itself up out of the sand before firing the blue beam at it. But Skulerror raised its claws to block before firing an X-Scissor, hitting Owlicious with enough force that it blasted him right out of the sand. "Owlicious!" Twilight screamed as Skulerror zipped down, quickly wrapping its tail around him. "No!"

"Hoo!" He cried in pain, feeling Skulerror tighten its grip on him while holding its claws and tail close to his face.

"Let him go!"





"Slash!"

"Rock Smash!" Galladin and Scrapummel charged at one another, slashing and punching in rapid succession. Scrapummel's bounced off the armor, causing small dents while Galladin's blades continued to nick him all over. Eventually, Galladin forwent counterattacking and instead stepped back to make Scrapummel over extend a punch, making him lose balance.

"Night Slash!" Galladin side stepped as his blade began to turn purple.

"Din!" He swung the blade at Scrapummel's leg, making him cry out in pain as it was no longer able to support his weight.

"Scrap!" He fell to his knees as Galladin jumped back, raising its shields again.

"We're not going down this easily! Scrapummel, Close Combat!" Scrapummel pushed itself back to its feet, flinching in pain before kicking off the ground at the Galladin.

"Iron Defense!" The knight Pokémon began to block the all out attack, waiting for the chance to counter. And as the attack continued, Galladin then side-stepped another attack, knocking Scrapummel off balance again before slamming his shield into its stomach.

"SCRAP!" It cried, staggering back before flinching as it stepped on its injured leg.

"End this now! SACRED SWORD!" Galladin summoned both blades and they began to glow blue, the knight charging as he brought them together.

"Galla...DIN!" He spun around and slashed Scrapummel with both blades at once, the street fighter screaming as it was thrown backwards.

"No!" Doom almost roared, "Get up! We will not lose!"

"Scrap..." Scrapummel slowly moaned as it started to shakily get up to its feet, his body wobbling. Doom shined a huge grin at this, only to go wide-eyed as Scrapummel flinched it pain again. "Scrap..." it whimpered as it fell to its knees before hitting the ground face first, his eyes now replaced by spirals.

"What?! How?!" Doom gasped as he saw his Pokémon now kiss the sand, the commander then turning to glare at Shining as Galladin, "This isn't over."

As he said this, an assortment of pained cries made them look over to see Flash, Doc and their Pokémon standing over a pile of defeated Team Shadow Pokémon.

Shining turned back with a big grin, "I think it is."

Doom could feel sweat now pour down his face, his eyes shrinking at the sight before him. But as he began to backpedal, a loud crashing sound made them all turn toward the temple. And as they stared at it, the last pieces of rock for the doorway fell apart as the Excadrill broke out of the rubble.

The temple entrance was now completely open, all eyes now wide-eyed at the new sight. However, Doom saw the awe in Shining's eyes, quickly returning Scrapummel before pulling out a radio, "No, it isn't. Execute full power to the soundwave generator!"





Meanwhile...

Twilight was continuing to watch as Owlicious was being squeezed by Skulerror, her brain frying itself to try and come up with a way to save him. But as this happened, Skulerror suddenly rapidly blinked, only to release the Psychick before flying off.

"What just happened?" Spike asked as Twilight ran over to pick Owlicious up.

"You okay?"

"Hoo..." he weakly replied.

"Twilight!" Spike then yelled, making her look up see the Skullimors get hit by some Pokeball beams before disappearing.

"Come on! Now's our chance!" Twilight added as she, Spike and the Pokémon ran to the temple, spotting Flash, Doc and their Pokémon a ways off. As they got closer, they saw Shadow Grunts returning their Pokémon despite some still being able to battle. "What's happening?!"

"I don't know," Flash shrugged. "Maybe they're giving up." They then watched as the grunts began to run off, Fash now asking, "Shining, what's happening?"

Doom chuckled as he spoke into his radio, "What's happening is you've all lost. Do it."

And as they were about to ask what he meant, a single grunt that had been hiding away in the van holding the soundwave device now approached the machine. Hearing Doom's command, he spun the dial until it was all the way in the red. The satellite dish reactivated, unleashing faster and more powerful soundwaves that hit the Pokémon almost instantly.

"RIO!" Springer screamed as he clutched his head, the rest of their Pokémon doing the same as they all fell to the ground.

"Springer!" Flash ran to his side, only to go wide-eyed as he saw the rest of his friends riving in agony.

"Peewee!"

"Tockwork, Higear, Steeledge!"

"Owlicious, please be alright..."

Even Galladin was on its knees, clutching his head. Shining placed a hand on his shoulder, "Galladin, be strong." He then looked up and saw the grunts now coming back with new guns, Doom just laughing as the Pokémon continued to scream. The sight made Shining yell out, "Stop this Doom!"

"I don't think so." Doom then gestured to a grunt as they gave him one of the guns, which he pointed at the champion, "Shining Armor, we can do this one of two ways. You can either return your Pokémon to the safety of their Pokeballs and surrender, or continue to watch them in pain until their heads explode. What'll it be?"

Shining's eyes shifted between the many armed grunts and their Pokémon, growling as he pulled out his Pokeball, "Do it guys," the others turned to him and saw Galladin return to its ball, the group following his order until only one was left.

"Sorry Springer," Flash enlarged his Premier Ball, Springer turning and yelling out at his trainer before holding his head again.

"Ri! Ri riolu!"

But Flash didn't listen, instead returning the Riolu to his Pokeball. Once he was inside, Flash followed Doom's order and dropped it in the sand as a grunt picked it and the other Pokeballs up as the group all had their hands up. Team Shadow had won.