Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Pokémon: The Azure Stone ❯ Chapter 5: Cynthia’s Trial UNFINISHED ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
As Ash, Pikachu, Dawn and Cynthia entered the room, bracing themselves for whatever lurked within, the doors of the chamber suddenly shut behind them, filling the room with darkness.

This caused Dawn’s fears and worries to arise, especially when she felt something latch onto her hands, causing the dark blue haired coordinator to let out a small shriek.

But it was then Ash’s voice say to her reassuringly. ÒIt’s alright, Dawn. Remember, we’re all in this together.Ó  

Hearing his voice helped Dawn relax, as a smile appeared on her face knowing that her friends were there for her.

And it was when all of a sudden the room was illuminated with light that Dawn could see that the things that had taken a hold of Dawn’s hands were Ash and Cynthia’s, making her smile, before they broke from their hand holding and took in their surroundings.

From what they could see, they were in a chamber not to similar to that like the one Dawn had been trapped in when she unintentionally triggered one of the trials, the only differences were that spread across the floor was covered in clay dust, while infused within the walls were several mysterious Claydol statues.

And even though they looked like statues, Ash wasn’t going to take any chances, in which the PokŽmon Trainer pulled out his PokŽdex and began to scan through the area, just in case any of the statues were alive and lying in wait to attack or trigger any traps.

But all the Claydols were clear, mere statues.

With that, Ash put his PokŽdex away, looked over at Dawn and Cynthia and nodded his head, before the pair nodded back and then continued to walk forward.

However, it was then the trio stopped as they all began to feel lightheaded, causing Cynthia to place her left hand on the side of her head as the blonde tried her hardest to fight whatever was affecting them.

But it was no use, as her dizzy and clouded vision turned to darkness, before she collapsed and fell into unconsciousness.

----After an unknown amount of time had passed----

As Cynthia’s vision returned as she regained consciousness, the Champion of the Elite Four slowly got to her feet, unsure of how long she had been out or what had caused her to lose consciousness in the first place, she wondered if Ash, Pikachu and/or Dawn were alright.

And to her shock they weren’t, as Ash, Pikachu and Dawn were all frozen in place, looking like mere statues made of clay.

ÒAsh! Dawn! Pikachu!Ó Cynthia called out in concern for her friends.

But no response, that was until a familiar feminine voice told her. ÒThey cannot hear you, Cynthia.Ó

Hearing the voice filled Cynthia with confusion and caused her to question. ÒWho are you? And why do you sound like me?Ó

It was then a black coloured ooze began to seep through from beneath the stone slab floor before the ooze began to pile up upon itself, until it was the same height as the confused blonde.

And then to Cynthia’s shock the ooze form then transformed into a humanoid shape and then formed an exact copy of her, the only differences between Cynthia and her duplicate were that her mysterious look-a-like had dark red eyes, was radiating with black mist and around her neck was a mysterious looking necklace, which seemed similar in appearance to that of Ash’s bracelet and Dawn’s ring.

ÒI am the guardian of this chamber.Ó Cynthia’s clone replied, before the shadowy version explained to the original. ÒFor decades I have laid dormant, awakening every few years whenever intruders enter my domain and I challenge them to my test.Ó

Cynthia’s doppelganger then brought up her right arm, creating a sphere of darkness, which she threw before her, which burst upon hitting the ground and spreading more ooze across the ground, only this time the ooze took on a larger form, which Cynthia recognized as her Garchomp, only this Garchomp had black skin, darker markings on its body and was radiating the same mist as Cynthia’s dark duplicate.

And it was then to Cynthia’s surprise she got out her PokŽball, containing Garchomp, and threw it, causing the Dragon-type PokŽmon to emerge before the Champion of the Elite Four, who let out a proud and vicious roar at the Dark Garchomp, who roared back.

Confused as to why she felt the need to bring out Garchomp, as if compelled to do it, the blonde’s double then told her. ÒBe forewarned, Cynthia. Nobody has passed this test and should you fail it too, you will wind up like your friends. And as time passes, you will end up like those before you, who tried the test, only to fail it.Ó

ÒYou mean all this dust...?Ó Cynthia began to ask, only for her shadow side to nod her head and say. ÒWas once those who had challenged me and failed.Ó

Hearing this shocked Cynthia, but knowing there was no other way to escape, and determined to save her friends, caused the elite Four’s Champion to nod her head in determination as she braced herself, in which Dark Cynthia announced. ÒNow the test shall begin!Ó

It was after Dark Cynthia’s words echoed throughout the chamber that, without warning, Dark Garchomp opened its maw and unleashed a large torrent of dark blue flames, which Cynthia immediately recognized as Flamethrower, in which the Elite Four’s Champion quickly commanded Garchomp to counter the flames with her own.

Obeying Cynthia, Garchomp opened her maw and let out her own Flamethrower attack, causing a conflagration of flames to clash furiously against her shadow counterpart’s.

However, Cynthia could see that their attacks were equal in power and was getting nowhere, in which the blonde then called out, wanting to end the Battle as quickly as possible to save her friends. ÒGarchomp, dodge and follow that up with Giga Impact!Ó

As Garchomp ceased the inferno, jumping to the right as she did, before the Mach PokŽmon shot forward, surrounding herself in spiralling orange coloured streaks, before the orange streaks transformed into a sphere of purple coloured energy, surrounding Garchomp as she continued to shoot towards her shadow doppelganger at an incredible speed, only for Dark Garchomp to mimic her actions perfectly.

After Dark Garchomp had put an end to its dark Flamethrower attack, it too jumped to its right and executed its own Giga Impact, only it was encased within a sphere of dark red energy, before the Mach PokŽmon clone slammed into Cynthia’s Garchomp, creating a massive explosion of energy and dust, blinding Cynthia from being able to see what was happening to her Garchomp and her dark double.

But that soon changed.

As the dust from the explosion began to die down, Cynthia could see her Garchomp and Dark Garchomp were slashing at one another with their claws, exchanging blow after blow.

And while Cynthia was stunned to see that their strikes continued to counter one another, every now and again one Garchomp would manage to get in and strike, only for the opposite Garchomp to strike back in the exact same spot, leaving nasty cuts, scratches and other painful looking wounds.

But what was most astounding to the real Cynthia was that the injuries that Dark Cynthia’s Garchomp sustained would regenerate moments later, as if nothing had struck the shadow copy, but there was something else bothering the blonde, even though the Garchomp clone’s wounds repaired themselves Dark Garchomp showed signs of fatigue and acted as though as it was still wounded.

However, Cynthia decided to figure what was going on later, as she knew she would have to change her strategy in order to save Ash, Pikachu and Dawn the Champion of the Elite Four from their clay prisons.

ÒGarchomp, use Dig!Ó Cynthia then called out, in which Garchomp stopped exchanging slashes and blows with Dark Garchomp and quickly burrowed under the stone floor of the arena, only to watch as the shadow Garchomp bent down and then shot up, digging into the roof.

Unsure of where or when Dark Garchomp would emerge, Cynthia carefully examined the roof, checking for any signs to signal the position of her enemy, in the hopes she’d get the upper hand.

And opportunity showed arose as a section of dust particles crumbled from the rooftop, allowing Cynthia to see the position of where her dark doppelganger’s Garchomp was hiding.

Pointing at the section where Cynthia was certain Garchomp’s shadow copy was hiding, the Champion of the Elite Four then exclaimed. ÒGarchomp, strike right there with Dragon Rush!Ó

Garchomp then burst from the ground and lunged upward, her body enveloped in a light blue aura, but the second she revealed herself, Dark Garchomp broke from the roof, encircled in a dark red aura, and struck at Cynthia’s partner, in which the pair slammed into each other with full force, causing the pair to create another explosion of sheer energy, before both fell to the ground.

ÒGarchomp!Ó Cynthia called out in concern for her PokŽmon partner, who had taken some serious damage from the attack and was struggling to get up, while Dark Garchomp had fallen before Dark Cynthia and wasn’t getting up, even though its wounds had automatically repaired themselves.

It was then Cynthia smiled as she figured out how to win against herself in their heated, and seemingly equally powered, Battle, in which the blonde pulled out Garchomp’s PokŽball and said. ÒGarchomp, return.Ó

After uttering the command, Garchomp was then sent back within her PokŽball to get some well-deserved rest after all she had been through, and if Cynthia’s hypothesis was right than the test would be put to an end.

And Cynthia was.

Dark Garchomp’s body then broke apart into countless particles of darkness, which scattered throughout the chamber, leaving Cynthia and her shadow counterpart as the only ones in the arena.

ÒVery good work, Cynthia.Ó Dark Cynthia told the original happily as the dark aura around her faded, before Cynthia’s look-a-like walked up to her and said. ÒYour trial is complete.Ó

It was then the Cynthia clone removed her necklace, placing the charm around the real Cynthia’s neck, who felt no reason to resist as all she could do was stare deeply into her duplicate’s red eyes.

And before Cynthia knew what happened, the doppelganger Cynthia’s eyes began to glow brightly, causing her to feel the same dizziness she felt before the trail, followed by darkness consuming her mind yet again.