//------------------------------// // Terrible Day for Raine // Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World // by Amarvax //------------------------------// Unova. Out in a Ghost Town. Afternoon. Dusknoir had been found. But the meeting came with a dash of hostility from the Gripper Pokemon. Raine, an old friend of Hisuian Zorua, had been reincarnated as a Dusknoir as revealed by the Golurk of Celestial Tower. However, while Zorua was happy to see her old friend from 200 years ago, Raine did not share the same feelings. "Dusknoir!" A spectral flare left the body of Dusknoir as it was packed with rage. Rage that Zorua felt minutes ago when hearing Dusknoir's cry. "Pika...!" Alpha Pikachu immediately flared his red sacs once the hostility was shown. "Wait, Pikachu!" But Sci-Twi would rather de-escalate whatever could come next. Already, things were shaping up to be rather confrontational which is something Hisuian Zorua and Sci-Twi wanted to avoid at all costs. "Are we sure this is Raine?!" Carlita questioned, unsure if they had the right reincarnation and this was just a random hostile Dusknoir that just so happened to be in Raine's hometown. "If it is, he doesn't look so happy to see you!" "It is him." But Zorua confirmed it. She did not hesitate to do believe that this was her old friend. "Raine! Can you hear me?! It's me! Zorua! I look a bit different now and this isn't a new transformation of a Pokemon I saw. This is who I am now. Can you recognize me?" Zorua pleaded that Raine recognized her. The Hisuian Variant wasn't that different from the Unovan Variant anyway to be so different. However, Dusknoir didn't take a moment to analyze Zorua's appearance. Zorua trembled as she could feel the increasing rage coming from Dusknoir's spectral flare. "Dusknoir!" Dusknoir replied with a thunderous roar before then using Shadow Ball. From his hands, an orb of shadows would emerge. With pure power, Dusknoir would launch the sphere of shadows at Sci-Twi's group. "Pikachu-Pi!" Pikachu did not hesitate to intercept this Shadow Ball, using Thunder to do so. A stream of lightning crashed out of Pikachu's body, stopping Shadow Ball in its tracks. "Raine...?" Zorua was shocked by how Dusknoir just outright attacked everyone without a second thought. "Dusknoir!" Dusknoir didn't stop there. He would attack once more, going for a Hyper Beam. "Hyper Beam too?!" Sci-Twi gasped before holding Zorua close to her. Pikachu and everyone would duck for cover as Dusknoir unleashed a devastating radiant beam. The beam missed its targets, crashing through the remnants of this town. Hyper Beam would even take out some nearby trees, continuously moving until it reached an end. "Fine then! If that's how it's going to be...!" Carlita would hold out her Poke Ball, choosing to engage with Dusknoir instead of letting him attack her friends so freely. "No, Carlita!" Sci-Twi would stop Carlita. Once again, she did not want to battle Dusknoir. "Please! Don't do it!" "Don't do it? Can't you see he's trying to take us out?!" Carlita thought otherwise. Being threatened wasn't something she could ignore considering how instant it was. "If that really is Raine, then he's not in his right mind and needs a wake-up call for trying to attack us. Especially an old friend." "That's the thing. This probably is Raine. But I think I know why he's reacting like this. He's-" Right before Twilight could finish her sentence, Dusknoir finished recharging after using Hyper Beam, suddenly appearing in front of the group. In his hands, he prepared a Thunder Punch, ready to slug them all with an electrifying fist "Pikachu-Pi" Though they could not fight back against him, that didn't stop Alpha Pikachu from defending everyone else. He would stop Dusknoir's Thunder Punch with his own Thunder Punch, colliding both electrifying physical attacks. Sci-Twi and Carlita promptly backed up once the clash emerged, making a mild shockwave that would blow their hairs, neck accessories and skirts. "Dusk...Noir!" Dusknoir growled before blowing Pikachu back with superior physical strength, sending the Mouse Pokemon flying. "P-Pi...!" "Noir!" After knocking Pikachu away, Dusknoir would approach Sci-Twi and the others with another Thunder Punch in store. And noticeably, he seemed to focus his sights on Zorua more than anyone. Sci-Twi and Carlita would make a run for it, fleeing from the Gripper Pokemon since Twilight did not choose to battle him. Moving through the town, they would have to move past ruined walls that were either high or short, jumping over the short ones while Dusknoir would smash them to bits with his amazing strength. This ghost town was suffering more damage than before thanks to Dusknoir's fury. "Curse it...!" Carlita growled while running from Dusknoir, desperately wishing she could fight back with her Hydreigon. But accepting Twilight's plea, she did not engage. But Carlita definitely wanted to deep down. "Twilight! If you have a plan, please say it! "I'm trying to say that Raine's harbouring a strong sense of animosity towards Zorua!" "Towards me?" "Seeing you again must've made him explode with this amount of anger for him to attack so instantly!" Sci-Twi started explaining while moving through the different pathways of the town, trying to lose Dusknoir. However, Dusknoir would catch up, phasing through the walls with his intangibility to avoid crashing into anything. "Dusknoir!" "Pika-Pika-Pikachu!" Pikachu would rush back to Sci-Twi's side, using Thunder once more. This time, Thunder would pass by Dusknoir instead of hitting him. Alpha Pikachu also accepted Twilight's plea, choosing not to attack but rather hold back the Gripper Pokemon. Dusknoir would then scowl at Alpha Pikachu who would stick his tongue out at the Gripper Pokemon, taunting him. "Pika! Pi...!" "Zorua! You said that you left Raine after making a promise to him and never showed up again until 200 years later, which is now! Please tell me the gap between making that promise and leaving to Sinnoh wasn't that short!" "I-It was..." Zorua looked down. "It was only two days later. We made that promise and then I was gone after that." "A 2-day gap?!" Carlita gasped before then feeling a sudden tremor through the ground. This was the result of Dusknoir using Hyper Beam on the ground. A large explosion emerged from this impact which would make Pikachu lose his balance. Everyone else lost their balance, falling over from Dusknoir's terrain attack. "Gh!" When falling over, Twilight scraped her knee against the rubble of this ghost town., grimacing in pain while also dropping Zorua who would tumble over. As for Alpha Pikachu, he would fly through an old assortment of tables after the Hyper Beam's shockwave launched him. Upon scraping her knee, Sci-Twi would start groaning as the rubble dropped from the injured spot. Against this old rocky land, the scrape was relatively harsh. "Twilight?!" Carlita noticed this knee scrape on Twilight. That was enough to spark an immediate retaliation. "That's it!" Carlita threw away Twilight's plea, choosing to engage with Hydreigon at last. "If that's how it's going to be, then knocking you out and chatting will do instead! Go! Hydreigon!" "Hydreigon!" Emerging out of the launched Poke Ball was Hydreigon. Carlita's trusted tried and true partner. "Carlita...Wait!" And yet, Sci-Twi still wanted to take a different approach. But before she could say anything else, she would hold her injured leg, trying to suck up the pain. "Take this! Dark Pulse, Hydreigon!" "Hydreigon!" From all three heads, Hydreigon would use Dark Pulse, unleashing black and purple beams that were imbued with dark thoughts. That was three different attacks from Dusknoir to worry about. "Dusknoir!" Dusknoir would promptly respond with Shadow Ball. Two of them. In both hands, he would hold out two blobs of shadows before slamming them against the beams of darkness. He managed to stop two of them from the two side heads that Hydreigon possessed. However, it wasn't enough to do anything about the middle beam as it landed a direct hit on Dusknoir's chest. "D-Dusk!" Dusknoir AKA Raine finally suffered some damage, being blown back this time instead of his targets. Sci-Twi wished it didn't have to come to this but Carlita already initiated it anyways. As for Hisuian Zorua, she would get back up, spotting Twilight's knee injury along with Raine being struck at last. While it was only two things, it was still a lot for Zorua to process. Mainly because a good friend of hers from the past was suddenly attacking her along with her new friends of. But thinking back to what Twilight said, there was a reason behind this. Animosity and anger were the cruces of this. The spectral flare from before proved this. "Raine's mad at me?" Zorua said to herself as Dusknoir got back up, ready to engage in battle with Hydreigon since the situation turned out like this. Zorua could see that there was only one reason for this anger. The promise that was made was broken but prior to them encountering Raine here, Sci-Twi vowed that she would fix that promise and put an end to it. However, to Raine, with how long Zorua was gone and the fact that he had already passed away, the anger that he exhibited was one of betrayal. "I knew it was my fault..." Zorua looked down, blaming herself once more. She already blamed herself for running away, migrating to the Sinnoh Region and never returning to meet with Raine ever again. Even when she was dragged from the past to the present, she never thought about heading back due to her transformation as a Hisuian Zorua. "No, Zorua..." But Sci-Twi still wished for Zorua not to blame herself as she started sitting up. "Neither are you are to blame for how this all turned out. That's a fact. It's just the circumstances that led to this." "But Twilight..." Zorua whimpered before hearing a staggering impact from Dusknoir and Hydreigon duking it out. Two Hyper Beams were unleashed against each other with both Pokemon taking the time to recharge. This Ghost Town could potentially be lost if this would keep up. "I want to speak with Raine. I can tell how mad he must be." Twilight got on her only knee that wasn't injured. "Catching him won't be easy unless he calms down. Raine!" "Dusk?" Dusknoir turned his attention to Sci-Twi. As if this wasn't enough to confirm that this wasn't Raine, speaking that name alerted the Gripper Pokemon. "Just listen to us!" Sci-Twi raised her voice while Hydreigon and Carlita ceased whatever attacks they planned next. "If you won't listen to Zorua then hear me out. "I know you're upset. I get that. Zorua left two days later after you made that promise together. A promise that you'd explore the world and see more Pokemon that Zorua can transform into." "Noir...!" Hearing that would only aggravate Dusknoir some more. He would tighten his fist which prompted Pikachu to run in, standing next to Hydreigon as support. Just in case things get too out of hand. "But that can all change." Sci-Twi fully stood up even with her injured knee. "Zorua's only returning to you now because she wants to make up for what was missed out for those 200 years. The truth is...she was chased out of Unova. Much like most Zorua at the time when they migrated to other regions. It isn't her fault that you never saw her again." "Dusknoir!" Dusknoir greatly disagreed with that notion, unleashing that spectral flare from his body once more which was identical to a strong wind pressure. Pikachu stood on all fours, attempting to resist this powerful pressure. Even Hydreigon had to maintain his balance from this. "Raine!" Zorua also called out his name. "I'm sorry! If I could've come back then, I would've! Truth is...I couldn't..." Zorua shuddered, letting out what she needed to say. At last, Dusknoir would stay still and hear them, even though his time to recharge for Hyper Beam was gone. "I couldn't come back at all. I was too scared that I would make things worse for you. After all...I'm the reason why your town turned out the way it did?" "You are?" Carlita turned to face Zorua. "How?" "Those illusions of mine...Those are the reasons why I left for Sinnoh. I always knew that they caused the people and Pokemon of the town so much trouble. But one day, the ones I already messed with in the past found me. And when they found me around the town, they attacked it." "What?!" Sci-Twi and Carlita gasped. There was more to this story than they thought. "Dusknoir..." "It's true. I always managed to end up making enemies with the worst Pokemon. I never went far from any areas, so it didn't take long for them to find me." Zorua whimpered, throwing more guilt onto herself. "I used to have a home but it was destroyed by those Pokemon too. I ran from my old home and found Raine along the way. I thought I could feel safe where he was but...I only ended up losing another place I could've called home." "Noir." Dusknoir lowered his arms, ceasing all attacks before turning around. "I'm sorry, Raine. I didn't mean for it to happen." "Raine's face on the gravestone..." Sci-Twi then thought back to Raine's face in that secret room that Golurk showed her. In that room, the faces of the people and the Pokemon, mainly the people had varying ages on them. And noticeably, Raine's face was relatively young for someone that wasn't been around for 200 years. "That means...Raine passed away at a young age...?!" It was all adding up. Raine passed away at such a young age instead of living his life to the fullest. It was cut short. Most likely by the Pokemon Zorua led to Raine's hometown. And when looking at this town, the old age of it was not a sign of nature and the passage of time. It was a sign of destruction from a wild attack of Pokemon. "Dusk...Dusknoir...!" Dusknoir growled while facing away from Zorua and the others, punching the nearby wall which would startle Pikachu and Hydreigon. "W-What's he saying?" Carlita asked Zorua. "He says that he found out after he became a Dusknoir...The Golurk told him everything." Zorua translated. "Raine, you knew that I did it...But I'm sorry. Really, I am. I should've never come here and found you in the first place and this wouldn't have happened. I said that with me around, you'd feel safe...but I never kept you safe since I left so long ago. I get why you're mad at me..." "Dusknoir." Dusknoir took all of this in, hearing the cries of Hisuian Zorua. "But I came back here because Twilight promised that we could fix that promise. We could still travel the world together and see all sorts of new Pokemon from every part of the world. B-But if you don't want to, I get it. I just wanted to say I'm sorry now that I'm here." "Raine." Twilight wanted to get her own words in, causing Dusknoir to look back at her. "It's not too late. Even if you are a Pokemon now, there's always a chance. And with this chance, Zorua could make up for what happened if you want." "I hear you, Zorua." Just then, the voice of Raine emerged from Dusknoir which could be heard from Zorua only. Only Zorura heard his words and no one else. Well, no one except Sci-Twi. The Arceus Pendant would suddenly glow in response to Dusknoir's next words. The visage of a transparent Raine suddenly appeared, standing in front of the Gripper Pokemon. "Raine?" Zorua gasped. "I hated you for what you did when I found out." Raine spoke in his normal voice which was also made by Dusknoir. "Truth is...everyone in this town got a second chance. A second change to reincarnate as a new Pokemon. But even though they're all gone, probably in the wild or even with their own trainers, I never left this place. I was too hit by what you did. But...You only left because of the pressure put on you didn't you?" "I did. Maybe if I was still in my original form, I could've come back but...I didn't have the strength too. And it was so cold for me over at Sinnoh. I didn't want to bother any one again when I emerged as this. It was probably for the better that I stayed out of everyone's business. But then I met Twilight and everyone else. They're my new friends and with them around...I don't have to worry about that." "It can't change what happened, Zorua. You were my only friend back then. Everyone else saw me as crazy when I shared my dreams. You were the only one who would help realize it for me. And you were gone." "But it's never too late, right?" Sci-Twi spoke after understanding Dusknoir's voice thanks to the Arceus Pendant. She would then hold out her hand, inviting Dusknoir. "Let's travel the world, Raine. I have two good friends of mine who know all about it." "She's right." Zorua nodded. "Please trust Twilight. I trust her. And I don't want the same thing to happen to her just like what happened to you, Raine." Raine grumbled before thinking about it for a moment. He looked into the eyes of both Sci-Twi and Zorua and got two different emotions from them. One was of regret, guilt and a drive to make amends for what happened. Another was filled with hope, happiness and a drive to fulfil an old promise. Both exhibited different emotions but the reasons behind them were identical. It was all about mending what was once lost. "I'm not going to be the same as I was before," Raine said. "Now that I'm a Dusknoir. But...is it a promise? One that you'll keep forever this time?" Raine wanted to make sure this promise wouldn't be broken. "It's the same promise as before. And with this, we'll put an end to it so you don't have to ever worry about it, Raine." Sci-Twi replied. She wouldn't make a new promise. Instead, she found it better to finish an old one. And with that, a smile came to the young man's face. His rage subsided after hearing out Hisuian Zorua and Sci-Twi. "Alright, miss. Zorua. I'm putting all my trust into this." "Thank you. Wait...Miss?" Sci-Twi realized that Raine was stuck as his younger self for having his life cut short. Because of this, Sci-Twi was technically older than the Gripper Pokemon who was much bigger. Dusknoir would approach, passing by Pikachu and Hydreigon without any hostile reaction. He held out his hand as this would be the way to put an end to this promise. Sci-Twi held out a Poke Ball, tapping it against Dusknoir's finger. The Poke Ball would then shrink Dusknoir, sending him in as it would wobble in Twilight's grasp instead of the ground. 1...2...3 Gotcha! Dusknoir was caught. Instead of bursting out with joy, Twilight would gently hold the Poke Ball close to her. A new friend had been found. And for Zorua, it was the reunion with an old friend. Zorua would jump on Sci-Twi's shoulder before nuzzling her nose against the Poke Ball. She made amends with him even with this time leap. Due to how far in the present she was thrown into, it was like she wasn't gone for that long at all. "Well...Looks like Ash has been rubbing off on you more than I thought." Carlita said before returning Hydreigon. "Return, Hydreigon. "Ash and the others might still be searching for Dusknoir I bet..." "Just watch Dusknoir. There's so much for you to see. Especially in this Grander World." Sci-Twi said to the Poke Ball. This old promise would finally be fulfilled. And in this current day where the Unovan Zorua are finally free to do whatever they want, neither had to worry about vendettas and revenge. Especially Zorua, who felt safer around her new friend group. And to her, it felt safe with Dusknoir on their side. As the journey continues. Chapter 40 End.