As Sunset and Wyatt entered Telnor Cave, they found themselves in a decently large chamber within the cave where sunlight filtered in from cracks and holes in the ceiling, allowing the chamber to be illuminated enough to where flashlights or other light sources weren't really needed. They were currently on an overlook that allowed them to see that the chamber went down in elevation towards the middle where at the bottom of the chamber and towards the left was a hole with a ladder sticking through it which likely led deeper into the cave. Dotted around the chamber as well were decently sized puddles filled with water that probably went up to their knees in terms of how deep they were. Next, there were three other people in the cave, possibly trainers who would likely battle them if they passed them considering they had at least a Pokeball in their hand while they went about the cave. Finally, there were a variety of different Pokemon here and there that Sunset immediately began to scan with her Pokedex to learn what they were and found that almost all of them were either Ground, Rock, or part Ground or Rock type. These included what appeared to be small moles whose heads stuck out of small holes in the ground called Diglett, actual rocks with arms and a face that were known as Geodude, and strange Pokemon that looked like a mix between a clay doll and a top known as a Baltoy. There were also some Pokemon lounging around in the puddles, a pink sea slug with a white underbelly called Shellos and a blue Pokemon with a large head and small torso that Sunset thought looked similar to that of an axolotl called Wooper.
Traversing through the chamber, Sunset and Wyatt found themselves being challenged by some of the trainers wandering around to a battle. Sunset was somewhat confused as to why people would challenge others to a battle out of the blue, but Wyatt explained that it was simply a basic rule of being a trainer. He did say that if a trainer wasn't interested, they could simply refuse and continue on their way. Though, in the case of the two newfound trainers, they decided to accept their challenges so that their Pokemon could grow stronger and so Sunset could have her first battle with another trainer.
To put it simply: she actually did pretty well. Her first battle against a trainer and their Machop, a gray humanoid Fighting type Pokemon with yellow ridges on its head that Sunset was assured was actually a Pokemon, was pretty much over the moment Petunia was sent out to battle as her dual typing of Fairy and Psychic made her extremely resistant to any Fighting type moves the Machop used. After the battle, she was a little bit surprised when the trainer handed her some money before they began to head to Telnor Town and to the Pokemon Center to heal up their Pokemon. The money the trainer handed her looked similar to that of the parallel Equestria's currency as it was a few paper bills and some coins, though they had a different symbol on them that was similar to a dollar sign.
"Two questions. One: why did that trainer give me money when I defeated them? Two: what kind of currency is this?" Sunset asked.
"That's actually one of the main ways trainers make money. By battling and winning against another trainer, the trainer that loses has to give up a little bit of prize money to the victor. That's sort of another reason why so many people become Pokemon trainers even if they have an actual job. Pokemon battling is not only fun, but it's also very profitable. As for the currency, we use Pokedollars. Pokedollars come in either two forms, coins or bills. You can see how much a Pokedollar is worth by looking at the number on it." Wyatt explained, pointing out that some of the coins had different numbers on them. Mostly either 1, 5, or even 10. The bills on the other hand all had the number 100 on them.
"Its like the currency of where I'm from then. We use bills and coins as well, though the coins are actually a percentage of a single dollar. Though, I guess that's not the case here, is it?" Sunset asked.
"Not really. A single Pokedollar is the coin with the 1 on it. We don't really have anything that's a percentage of a Pokedollar." Wyatt explained.
"Good to know then." Sunset said as they continued going through the chamber.
As they continued going through the chamber and battling the other trainers, something interesting happened. During a battle against a trainer and their Aipom, a Normal type Pokemon that looked like a purple monkey who had a large hand at the end of their tail, Shade did something that Wyatt hadn't commanded him to. Shade raised his arms above him as three orbs of different colors, one orange, one purple, and one light green, appeared between his hands before he brought them down and launched all three of them at the Aipom. The orbs then circled around the Aipom at various different angles and inflicted Confusion onto the Aipom before they disappeared. After the battle, Sunset decided to ask what had happened as Wyatt scanned Shade with his Pokedex.
"What were those orbs Shade launched at that Aipom?"
"Looks like Shade learned Confuse Ray and used it during the battle! It's a Ghost type Status move that, as the name suggests, inflicts Confusion." Wyatt said.
"Pokemon can learn new moves?" Sunset asked.
"Yeah! When a Pokemon gets strong enough, they are able to use new moves that they can utilize. The thing is, a Pokemon can only know and use four moves at a time, so when a Pokemon wants to learn a new move and already knows four moves, they need to replace one of the ones they currently know with the new one." Wyatt explained.
"That's, interesting. So when a Pokemon replaces a move with a new one, is that move just gone forever?" Sunset asked.
"Not exactly. They still know how to use the move, it's just that they've replaced it with a new one and aren't able to use it. There are ways to reteach a move a Pokemon has forgotten, but I don't think we're going to see any of those ways anytime soon." Wyatt explained.
"That's nice to know." Sunset said as she looked down at Petunia. "I wonder what moves you'll learn."
Petunia simply gave a happy smile at Sunset before they reached the ladder. Thinking that Damian headed deeper into the cave, Sunset and Wyatt had to temporarily put Shade and Petunia back in their Pokeballs before they began to climb down the ladder and into the lowest level of Telnor Cave. They had climbed down into a chamber that was a lot bigger than the one above them and also slightly darker, though there were still cracks and holes in the ceiling where sunlight could pass into the chamber and slightly brighten the place up. There were still deep puddles of water scattered around the chamber as various inclines led to higher parts of the chamber, with another ladder leading up into another part of the cave being seen on one of the higher parts. There were roughly two trainers wandering around as well and Sunset was able to see three new Pokemon as well that she scanned. There were four new ones: a small reptilian Pokemon who was a light shade of brown, was carrying a small bone in one hand, and whose face was covered by a skull that was known as Cubone. A blue rocky Pokemon that had a triangular red rock on its face called Nosepass. A dark blue rocky Pokemon with two small feet, some sort of rocky appendage on its head, and had a small hole in its face that was surrounded by yellow rock called Roggenrola. Finally, a large snake Pokemon that seemed to be entirely made out of rocks called Onix. The last of which startled Sunset as it dug out of the ground beside her and simply dug into the wall after looking around for a bit.
While going through the second chamber of the cave and battling the trainers they passed, Petunia herself learned a new move during a battle against a trainer's Pidove, a Flying and Normal type bird Pokemon that looked almost exactly like a pigeon. The move in question was a Fairy type move known as Fairy Wind where pink wind gathered around Petunia before she sent it forward as a sharp gust of wind that swirled around the Pidove and damaged it. After congratulating Petunia on learning a new move and healing up their Pokemon, Sunset and Wyatt continued going through the chamber and eventually reached the ladder on one of the upper parts. Briefly returning their Pokemon into their Pokeballs, the two of them climbed up the ladder into what appeared to be the third and final chamber of Telnor Cave.
The chamber was as bright as the first one with holes and cracks in the ceiling allowing sunlight to brighten the place up. They had climbed up into the lower half of the chamber with the area they climbed up into having rocks and stalagmites scattered about here and there. To the right of where they climbed out was a small pond that seemed to be a couple of feet deep. Across from them was a slope that led to the upper half of the chamber which simply skimmed around the perimeter, with what appeared to be the exit to the cave right at the opposite side of the chamber and on the higher part. A bridge could be seen connecting two side of the upper half that went over the small pond. As Sunset and Wyatt climbed into the new chamber and let out their starters, Damian and Hero saw them as they had been looking near the stalagmites and came over to them.
"Wyatt! Sunset! You two were really slow! You took forever to get here!" Damian said as he and Hero approached them.
"Sorry, we kind of kept getting challenged by trainers and Sunset had her first battle on the way here." Wyatt explained.
"Really?! How did you do? Did you enjoy battling? Who or what was your opponent?" Damian asked excitedly.
"It was a Ghastly. It got the jump on me by using a Super Potion as a trap. And, well, I think the both of us did a pretty good job." Sunset said as she looked down at Petunia who was on the ground next to her who gave a happy nod in response.
"A Ghastly, huh? I remember that they would sometimes come into Telnor Town at night and would scare people who were still outside. Regardless, did you also fight some of the trainers on the way over here?" Damian asked.
"Yep, with Petunia and Shade learning new moves as well." Sunset said.
"Neat! Hero also learned a new move as well! Anyways, the two of us have been looking around and we think that the Rare Stone is somewhere among these stalagmites. We've only just started, but I have a good feeling that we're close to finding it!" Damian said. Meanwhile, Sunset was looking around before she noticed someone standing on the bridge to their right.
The person had white skin, pale red hair, and red eyes. They also wore an outfit that consisted of a red hood with three ridges on the top and a black stripe that went around it. The hood was also connected to a red cape with various parts trailing off into points that gave off the impression of fire. They wore a red and yellow shirt and pants that were white but had a red outline of the pockets, blue bands around the knees, and a pale red fire design around the ankles. The wore white gloves that went up to their shoulders with gold bracelets on each wrist. Finally, the shoes appeared to be some kind of boots that were mostly hidden under the pants, though the parts that were seen were golden in color. Something felt wrong about the person and Sunset couldn't help as she grabbed both Wyatt and Damian and pulled them behind some of the stalagmites, with their starters following their trainers as well
"Sunset, what are you-" Damian began to say only to be cut off by Sunset.
"Shh! There's someone on the bridge." Sunset whispered, prompting Damian and Wyatt to peek out from behind the stalagmite. Damian gasped as he saw the person.
"No way! That's a member of the Infernal Cult! What's an Infernal Cultist doing all the way out here?!" Damian whispered as he was shocked. However, his question would go unanswered as someone walked through the exit of the chamber and made their way to the Infernal cultist.
The person in question was a woman who had white skin, pure white hair, and gray eyes. Her outfit seemed to almost resemble a two piece swimsuit with the way it looked. The top half was like a tank top and was blue in color with red lines around the collar and shoulders. On her arms were disconnected sleeves that were also blue and had red lines around the wrists. The bottom half consisted of blue tights with red lines around the waist and red circular outlines on the sides of her legs. Around her waist seemed to be some kind of blue skirt that went to her knees, though the front part was missing. Finally, the woman was barefoot as she walked towards the Infernal Cultist and began talking.
"It seems like you are early."
"More like you're a little late. I've been waiting here for a little while now." The Infernal Cultist said whose voice revealed him to be male.
"Don't start with me like that. I had to ensure that something delivered to Miara Town made it safely. And what about your leader? Where's he?" The woman asked.
"Still waiting for that thing to do something. Seriously, I get that he trying to find out the complete thing but he has been waiting weeks for it to activate. So, he sent me instead." The Infernal cultist said with an annoyed tone.
"Regardless, he will not leave Telnor Town alive." The woman said, causing the three hiding trainers to focus on what she was saying. "My agent is already in place. I assume yours is, too?"
"Yes, and armed to the brink with the strongest Pokemon we had available. He's visiting a no name town out in the middle of nowhere. There's no way he would bring his Pokemon with him for just a short and simple visit. Rest assured, he will be dead before he leaves Telnor Town." The Infernal cultist said as Sunset felt chills crawl up her spine.
"Very good. This Augur disgusts me. I could at least grudgingly respect the first one, but this one is just useless." The woman said. "He's practically brainwashed the entire region with all this propaganda he's spread about himself."
"Yeah. It's really annoying hearing people say stuff about how great and wonderful he is." The Infernal Cultist responded.
"Have you heard how ridiculous some of it is? He was born of fire and lightning and he rode Xerneas as a steed? The man's been Augur for a year and already the people are worshipping him." The woman said.
"Well, we won't have to worry about him after today, will we? Anyways, we should be going. I suppose it was nice meeting with you at least." The Infernal Cultist said as he began to walk towards the exit.
"I suppose so." The woman said as she followed him out. Once they were both gone, the three of them stood up from behind their hiding place with looks of worry.
"Guys, this is bad. Both of those people were cultists! That woman looked like a member of the Abyssal Cult! And did you hear what they were saying?! They're planning to assassinate the Augur when he comes to Telnor Town!" Damian exclaimed as he began panicking.
"We were lucky to have not have been seen. Thanks for pulling us down Sunset." Wyatt said.
"No problem, but I can't believe we we just got caught up in the middle of this." Sunset said.
"Yeah! We... we need to help! We need to go back and warn the Augur before the assassins get to him!" Damian said as he returned Hero to his Pokeball and rushed to the ladder. "We have to hurry! The Augur might have already arrived!"
Following Damian's lead, Sunset and Wyatt returned Petunia and Shade to their Pokeballs and headed down the ladder, though Wyatt noticed something glimmering towards the bottom of one of the stalagmites and picked it up as it caught his eye. They rushed as fast as they could through the cave's chambers before they eventually made it back out to the entrance of Telnor Cave. They didn't stop as they continued running through Shade Forest and made it back to Telnor Town in just a couple of minutes, though all three of them were out of breath from the constant running and took a quick breather at the entrance to Shade Forest and headed into town where Damian's father called out to him.
"Damian, Wyatt, and miss... umm..." Damian's father said as he saw Sunset.
"Sunset Shimmer." Sunset said.
"Well, nice to finally meet you miss Shimmer. Anyways, the three of you are late. The Augur arrived five minutes ago and he's waiting in the Town Hall." Damian's father said as he walked towards the building with the dome roof and entered it.
"We have to hurry! The Augur could be attacked any minute now! Let's go!" Damian exclaimed as he rushed towards the Town Hall with Sunset and Wyatt close behind him.
The three of them entered the Town Hall and found that the inside was just one massive room. The room was quite long in terms of length with the floor being hardwood while the wallpaper was that of vertical stripes of two different shades of green. There were multiple table lined up in two columns that stretched across the room's length as sunlight shone upon the inside through the roof which was that of the dome they saw outside, the dome being made of glass itself. Finally, lined across the walls were small lights that were turned off as the sunlight streaming through the roof provided enough light to illuminate the place.
Multiple people who lived in Telnor Town were gathered around some of the tables in the room and Damian's father could be seen standing near one towards the back of the room. The table next to him had three people gathered around it, two of whom were shrouded and dirty brown cloaks that made it hard to tell who they were. The other person standing definitely gave off an aura of importance as he stood there and talked to Damian's father. The man had white skin, green eyes, and had blond hair that swept upwards towards the front while the back was tied into a ponytail. His outfit was quite unique. It consisted of a white shirt with gold lines on it. A white cowl was wrapped around his neck with a gold line wrapping around it towards the edge while a red necklace with green crystals was worn on top of it. His pants were white and a little bit baggy, but the front had a gold line going down the middle with it becoming two golden circles right above the knee on each pant leg before it became a line once again. Finally, his shoes were primarily green in color while gold bangles were worn around his wrists that also had green gem crystals inlaid within them.
Damian quickly led the three of them towards the man talking with Damian's father who noticed the three of them approaching and turned to them. When the three of them reached the man, he began speaking to them.
"Oh, hello. I'm Jaern, the Second Augur. It's nice to meet you all, you have a very lovely town. What might be your names, young ones?" The man now known as Jaern asked.
"Umm, my name's Damian... This is Wyatt... and this is Sunset..." Damian began saying as he introduced the three of them. "And I'm a huge fan, sir! But, the thing is, we're here to warn you that one of the guests here wants to kill you!"
Jaern, Damian's father, and the two cloaked people turned to look at Damian as it got so quite you could hear a pin drop. After several moments of tense silence, Jaern spoke.
"That's a very serious accusation Damian." Jaern said while Damian's father quickly went over to his son.
"I am so sorry about this, sir. Damian what are you saying? You're embarrassing us! You know that you shouldn't say something like that in front of the Augur! I'm sorry, but you will be punished for this." Damian's father said.
"Actually, I wouldn't worry about it. He'll get enough punishment here as is."
The five of them turned toward who had spoken, which was one of the cloaked people at the table. The two of them walked closer towards them and stood side by side.
"And who might you be?" Jaern asked.
"We're cultists." One of the cloaked people said as both of them ripped off their cloaks. "And we're here to kill you."
The person on the left looked and was dressed exactly the same as the Infernal Cultist that Sunset, Wyatt, and Damian saw in Telnor Cave. The person on the right had an outfit that was more in line with the one the Abyssal Cultist they saw in Telnor Cave wore, albeit a lot different. First, he had white skin, slicked blue hair that had a small cowlick at the top, and blue eyes. His outfit was mainly that of a blue bodysuit and he had a cowl wrapped around his shoulders that was primarily blue, but was red around the collar and shoulder and was white at the middle and bottom. He wore gloves that extended pas his elbows with the part around his hands being dark blue while the rest was the same blue as the bodysuit. Finally, he wore boots that were red for the most part but were dark blue at the bottom.
"W-what? No, you can't! In fact..." Damian said as he pulled out Hero's Pokeball. "You won't even get a chance to battle him!"
Wyatt looked between Damian and the cultists before he got a determined look as he decided he would join him and pulled out Shade's Pokeball. "I'm with you!"
Meanwhile, Sunset was starting to get anxious as she looked between the cultists and both Damian and Wyatt who were ready to fight them off. Steeling her nerves, Sunset pulled out Petunia's Pokeball and stood beside her two new friends. "If you want to get to him, you'll have to go through us!"
The two cultists looked at the three of them with a deadpanned look before the Abyssal Cultist spoke up.
"Really? Have you three been watching too many superhero movies? We're cultists. We have strong Pokemon and actual weaponry." The Abyssal Cultist said as he pulled out a dagger while the Infernal Cultist pulled out a metal bat to prove their points.
"Both of us have only come here to eliminate the Augur. Step aside, and we won't kill you too." The Infernal Cultist said.
Seeing the weapons the cultists pulled out caused the three of them to start getting nervous. While Wyatt was somewhat panicking a little bit at the death threat, Sunset began internally freaking out. Murder was a crime that was unheard of back in Equestria due to how peaceful everything there was. And while the alternate version wasn't as peaceful, murder was something really only heard about happening in other places. The fact that these two cultist were willing to kill all three of them without hesitation made her blood freeze. She was snapped out of her mental freakout when Damian spoke up.
"No, I won't back down! This is my chance to prove myself and show that I'm not some scared kid!"
Sunset was amazed at Damian's courage, and decided that she should gather hers and not back down. She had faced many magical threats like the Sirens or Gloriosa when she transformed and tried to "save" Camp Evrefree, and she wouldn't have been able to beat them if it wasn't for her friends. So, she decided to help one of her new friends of this world too. She stood beside Damian and was joined by Wyatt moments later as he managed to quickly calm down as well.
"Alright then. Just say we didn't warn you." The Abyssal Cultist said. The two of them brought out Pokeballs of their own as the battle between the five of them began.
"Wash them away Skrelp!" The Abyssal Cultist said as they sent out a Pokemon that had the appearance of a seahorse. Its skin was a mixture of purple and brown as it also had blue fins and red eyes. It stood on its tail where three small brown fins were attatched to the end.
"Burn them Litleo!" The Infernal Cultist said as they sent out their Pokemon. The Pokemon in question looked like a small lion cub with light and dark brown fur. It had a small tuft of red hair on its head between two round ears and a small red nose. Overall, it looked pretty cute.
"Let's take them down Hero!" Damian said as he sent out Hero who emerged in his battle stance.
"Shade, let's go!" Wyatt said as he sent out Shade who, upon seeing his opponents, got into his aggressive battle and glared down the cultists' Pokemon.
"We're up Petunia!" Sunset said as she sent out Petunia who got a little nervous upon seeing the cultists, but did her best to remain confident.
"What the? Those are some weird looking Kanto starters." The Abyssal Cultist said as he saw the Delta Pokemon.
"Yeah... But now's not the time." The Infernal Cultist said.
"Right. Skrelp, use Bubble on that Charmander!" The Abyssal Cultist called out.
"Litleo, use Ember on that Bulbasaur!" The Infernal Cultist ordered.
A large bubble appeared on the end of Skrelp's snout before it was launched forward towards Shade and burst into multiple smaller bubbles. The Litleo on the other hand opened its mouth as a small flame appeared before Litleo raised its head and brought it back down, sending the flame forward as it grew into a small fireball that was sent towards Petunia.
"Endure it Petunia!" Sunset shouted.
"Brace yourself Shade!" Wyatt called out.
The bubbles struck Shade as he went into a defensive position by crossing his arms in front of himself while Petunia braced for herself as the fireball struck her. While the fireball did a little bit of damage to Petunia, the bubbles hardly seemed to do any damage to Shade.
"What?! Those attacks should have been super effective!" The Abyssal Cultist cried out.
"Wait... Those are Deltas! They aren't their normal types!" The Infernal Cultist exclaimed.
"Seriously? That changes things." The Abyssal Cultist said.
"Ok, it's our turn. Shade, use Confuse Ray on Litleo!" Wyatt called out.
"Petunia, use Fairy Wind on Skrelp!" Sunset called out.
"Hero, use Pursuit on Litleo!" Damian exclaimed.
All three of them used their moves at once, with the Confuse Ray hitting Litleo and making it Confused before it was punched by Hero as he used Pursuit. Meanwhile the Skrelp was assaulted by Fairy Wind as the sharp pink wind swirled around it, though it didn't seem to do much damage. Pulling out her Pokedex, Sunset quickly found out why that was the case as she saw that Skrelp was a Water and Poison type meaning that it resisted Fairy type moves. She also took the liberty of scanning Litleo, seeing that it was a Fire and Normal type.
"That's not good. Litleo, fight the Confusion and use Headbutt on that Squirtle!" The Infernal Cultist yelled out.
"Skrelp, use Faint Attack on that Charmander!" The Abyssal Cultist exclaimed.
The Litleo managed to focus on its target as it ran towards Hero and launched itself towards it head first and managed to collide with Hero. Meanwhile, the Skrelp hopped towards Shade with surprising speed as it feinted left and then right before an aura similar to the one that appears during Pursuit appeared as it slammed its tail against Shade and knocked him back a few feet.
"Well, at least we know that Charmander's weak to Dark type moves." The Abyssal Cultist said as Shade stood back up and glared at the Skrelp.
"Shake it off Shade! Use Twister on Skrelp!" Wyatt called out.
"Petunia, help Shade out by using Confusion!" Sunset shouted.
"Hero, hit that Litleo hard using Pursuit!" Damian yelled.
The Skrelp was assaulted by Confusion which did a lot of damage to it as it was forced onto its stomach, only to be sent flying into the air from Twister as it soared towards the Abyssal Cultist and landed right in front of it. Unfortunately for the cultist, Skrelp remained laying down as it was knocked out by the two moves used against it. Meanwhile, Hero struck the Litleo hard and pushed it back a couple of feet.
"You just got lucky. Horsea, your turn!" The Abyssal Cultist said as they returned the Skrelp to its Pokeball and sent out their second Pokemon. As the energy dissipated, a Pokemon that actually looked like a seahorse stood on its tail and tried its best to glare at its opponents. Other than having blue scales and cream colored scales, Horsea had a large snout and a small fin on its back with their also being small spines on the side of its head.
"Litleo, use Tackle on the Squirtle!" The Infernal Cultist cried out.
"And Horsea, use Water Gun on that Squirtle as well." The Abyssal Cultist said.
"Hero, protect yourself using Withdraw!" Damian shouted.
As Horsea launched a decently sized stream of water from its snout and Litleo began rushing towards Hero, Hero retracted its head and limbs into his shell. This time, a red aura and red sparkles appeared around him with the red sparkles flying upwards. Also, because Hero had made himself a smaller target, both the Water Gun and the Litleo's Tackle missed as both overshot him. In addition, the Litleo put too much force into the Tackle and ended up crashing into the ground hard, resulting in it fainting as it could no longer battle.
"Ok, what does a red aura mean?" Sunset asked.
"Withdraw is a new move that Hero learned while we were searching Telnor Cave. It helps him make himself a smaller target, and it also increases his Defense." Damian said.
"So a blue aura means a stat is being lowered while a red aura means a stat is being increased? Good to know." Sunset said.
"You kids are starting to get annoying. Go Pansear!" The Infernal Cultist said as he returned his Litleo to its Pokeball and sent out his final Pokemon. Pansear had the appearance of a small monkey with its head and ears being covered in red fur as a tuft of fur that looked like a flame sat on its head. Its chest and arms were slightly tan as it also looked like it was wearing pants as red fur covered its lower half. Finally, it had a tail covered in red fur with the end looking like a small flame.
"Petnuia, use Baby-Doll Eyes on Pansear!" Sunset called out.
"Shade, use Scratch on the Horsea!" Wyatt yelled.
"Hero, use Tackle on Horsea!" Damian exclaimed.
While Petunia used Baby-Doll Eyes on Pansear, lowering its Attack, Shade and Hero rushed towards the Horsea and attacked together. Shade rapidly scratched the Horsea a couple of times before he leapt away and let Hero ram into the Horsea and launch it a few feet towards its trainer.
"This is starting to get really annoying! Horsea, use Water Gun on that Bulbasaur!" The Abyssal Cultist called out.
"Use Lick on the Bulbasaur as well Pansear!" The Infernal Cultist said.
Pansear was the first to rush towards Petunia and gave her a giant lick with its tongue, inflicting a good amount of damage thanks to Petunia weakness to Ghost. The Pansear then leapt away as Petunia was hit by the Horsea's Water Gun straight in the face, resulting in her being pushed back a little bit as she began to look exhausted. However, Petunia let out a small battle cry as a pink aura appeared around her. Using her Pokedex to see Petunia's ability, she found that her ability was called "Psycho Call". It worked exactly like Shade's Spirit Call and Hero's Shadow Call, except it boosted the power of Psychic type moves. And since Petunia knew Confusion...
"Petunia, take down that Horsea with everything you got! Use Confusion!" Sunset called out.
Petunia did so, with Horsea being hit by the boosted Confusion, resulting in it being launched towards the Abyssal Cultist and struck him in the chest as both of them were knocked to the ground. As the Abyssal Cultist began getting up, his face had a shocked expression as he found that his Horsea had been knocked out, meaning that he had no other Pokemon to fight with.
"You can't be serious..." The Abyssal Cultist said as he was dumbfounded that he had been defeated. Getting up, he begrudgingly returned his Horsea to its Pokeball.
"Nice going Sunset! Hero, let's end this fight together! Use Pursuit on Pansear!" Damian called out.
"Shade, help Hero out by using Twister!" Wyatt called out.
Shade's Twister was the first of the two moves to hit, launching the Pansear into the air as it was struck by the Dragon type move. Shortly after, it was slammed back into the ground by Hero jumping up into the air and hitting it with Pursuit. As soon as the Pansear hit the ground, it struggled to get back up before it fell back to the ground as it was defeated.
Thus, the battle between the cultists and Sunset, Wyatt, and Damian ended. With the three of them emerging as the victors.
"Ugh... You can't be serious." The Infernal Cultist said as he returned his Pansear to its Pokeball.
"It doesn't matter if we lost or not..." The Abyssal Cultist said as he took his dagger back out. "We can still take you three down with him."
"Right you are." The Infernal Cultist said as he took out his bat.
"No, you won't."
Everyone went silent as Jaern slowly made his way past Sunset, Wyatt, and Damian and their Pokemon before he stood only a couple of feet away from the cultists.
"Trying to kill me is one thing, but threatening innocent children? That's one strike to many." Jaern said as he glared at the two cultists.
"Oh yeah? And what are you going to do about it. We're the one who are currently armed." The Abyssal Cultist said.
"I'm sending the two of you to Helios City for your trial... although after all that, I don't see a bright future for either of you." Jaern said before he held his arm up and made it so his palm faced the two cultists before he began speaking in Latin. "Vinculorum mortae!"
Sunset felt possibly the biggest chill of her life crawl up her spine as a bright flash of light came from both of the cultists that filled the whole room, blinding everyone within. After several seconds, the light faded away, with the cultists no longer standing where they were. Damian went over to where the two cultists were before, and to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating, swept his arm back and forth to make sure they were still there. Though his arm simply swept through the air uninterrupted before he turned back to Jaern.
"Did you just kill them?" Damian asked with a small amount of fear in his voice.
"Of course not. I've just sent them to Helios City where they are awaiting their trials." Jaern said. "Sorry for letting you three fight my battles, but I was curious to see how you would do. Don't worry, if you lost, I wouldn't have let you get hurt."
"Did, you just use magic?" Sunset asked. Whatever Jaern had just used to send those Cultists away didn't look like Equestrian magic, and also had a very different feeling than it as well, considering that Equestrian magic didn't send shivers down people's spines.
"Indeed I did. I have studied the art of spellcraft almost all my life, pursuing all different forms and kinds of magic. As you saw just now, it certainly has become useful when dealing with cultists. Regardless, I'm very impressed. You three are talented and responsible to have stood up against those cultists. If you ever happen to pass through Helios City, why not stop by? I'd love to see the three of you again" Jaern said as he held out his hand.
"We would love to! We're taking on the Gym Challenge anyway, so without a doubt we'll pass through Helios City!" Damian said as he shook his hand.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to say hi while we're there." Wyatt said as he shook Jaern's hand.
"And what about you miss Shimmer?" Jaern said as he held out his hand to her.
"Of course. I would love to-" Sunset began saying as she began shaking Jaern's hand. Only for her geode to flash orange as her eyes began glowing white.
Sunset found herself standing in what appeared to be some sort of plaza within a giant city. Nearby, she could see a giant green building that seemed to extend into the clouds above her.
"Where am I? All I did was touch Jaern's hand and-" Sunset stopped before she immediately figured out what was going on. "I guess my magic activated when we shook hands, so that must means I'm looking at Jaern's memories. But, this is different than the previous times. Normally, they would be as though I'm watching the memories, but this is the first time that I'm actually in the memories. Why is this time different?" Sunset asked herself before she heard Jaern's voice.
"Thank you all for coming."
Sunset looked in the direction of the voice and found a crowd gathered around a small stage, on top of which, Jaern was looking and talking to the crowd gathered around him. Seeing this, Sunset made her way over as Jaern seemed to be giving some sort of speech.
"We live in dark time, my friends. A grave loss has recently befallen us all." Jaern said as he began pacing around the stage. "The Augur was a great man. Not only was he an unmatched trainer whose only equal was our Champion, but his heart burned with the desire to protect his people. He was our hero... and possibly the best leader the Torren region has ever known." Jaern said.
"Wait, is this when the first Augur disappeared? I think Wyatt mentioned this when he explained who both Augurs were." Sunset said as she now stood to the side of the crowd so that she could have a good view of Jaern.
"But..." Jaern said as he continued pacing. "As you know, where other regions have evil Teams or organizations, it's Pokemon-worshipping cults that call the Torren region home. But to these cults, religion is so much more than believing. They won't rest until the world is remade exactly how they want it to be."
Jaern stopped pacing as he made his way back to the middle of the stage and faced the crowd head on.
"For our protection, the Augur defeated and disbanded over half of them. He saved us. However, a week ago, he went searching for one of the remaining cults..." Jaern trailed off as the crowd and Sunset watched him. "He has not returned, nor has he been seen since. In addition, I'm afraid our Champion has left as well upon hearing the news, meaning that we are currently without our strongest trainers to help protect the region."
Sunset remembered Damian explaining this, meaning that the Champion of Torren left shortly after the first Augur disappeared. Though, it didn't appear that the stand in Champion has appeared yet.
"People of Torren! I, like you, do not believe our Augur is dead. I assure you, I will search tirelessly until he is found again. With a heavy heart, I accept the burden of taking his place until he is found. Until the first Augur returns, I shall be the second. I promise you, I will use every resource at my disposal to find him!" Jaern said.
"So this is the moment that he became the second Augur? Considering that this might have been around a year ago and the first Augur still hasn't been found, I guess Jaern took up the position permanently." Sunset said.
"We will stand our ground! We will not let these cultists... these insurgents... split apart our families and destroy the place we call home! Long live the Torren region!" Jaern shouted.
"Long live the Torren region!" The crowd repeated as they cheered on Jaern.
As they continued chanting, Sunset couldn't help but notice the smallest of smirks appear on Jaern's face as he watched the crowd chanting. However, she wouldn't have time to dwell on this as her vision began being filled with a bright light.
"Miss Shimmer? Are you ok? You stopped talking all of a sudden?"
Sunset was back in the town hall where she was still shaking Jaern's hand, though he had a look of worry on his face. It also didn't appear that he noticed Sunset's magic activating, meaning she would be able to easily play it off.
"Sorry. I just thought about something funny. What I mean is that I would be happy to visit you." Sunset said as she lied about what had happened.
"Well, I suppose it must have been hilarious if it caused you to stop talking. For now, though, I should get back to Helios City. I have a trial to attend to." Jaern said as he stopped shaking Sunset's hand and turned to everyone else in the town hall. "Thank you for hosting me. You have a very lovely town, and it was nice being here. Have a nice day."
Jaern then began walking to the entrance of the town hall before he left as everyone began talking about what had just happened.
"Did the Augur just give you three a compliment?" Damian's father asked.
"I think so." Damian said as he had the biggest smile on his face.
"I think your foster mother is going to have trouble making you stay if that's the case. Damian, without a doubt, this is your chance to go on an adventure! All of you got an invitation from the Augur himself to visit him in Helios City!"
"I guess you're right." Damian said. "In that case, I need to get ready so I can get going as soon as possible! All my friends have already arrived at Midna Town and are training at the Trainer School! Hey, Wyatt, Sunset!"
The two of the turned to Damian as he called their names. "Why don't we race there? Midna Town is just on the other side of Telnor Cave and past Route 1! All of us can learn more about how to battle and some other things there as well!"
They were about to answer, only for a loud growl to escape from Sunset's stomach, causing all of them to look at her who blushed in embarrassment.
"Hehe... I guess it's been a while since I had breakfast." Sunset said.
"Well then, I suppose that you'll have to wait on heading out then. Why don't you two come over and have lunch with us before all three of you head out on your journey?" Damian's father asked.
"Are you sure? I already felt like I was invading when you allowed me to eat breakfast at your place." Wyatt asked.
"Nonsense. I insist. Think of it as my way of repaying you for protecting the Augur." Damian's father said.
"Well, thank you then, mister..." Sunset trailed off as she didn't know the name of Damian's father.
"Both of you can call me River. Now then, let's head to my home so you three can have lunch before you leave." Damian's father, who was know known as River, said as he began leaving the town hall with his son, Sunset, and Wyatt following close behind him after they returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs.
