Ecruteak City: Johto Region.
Sunset fell over the old Johto city as a rainbow haired trainer stepped into the city, wearing a very thick brown fur coat to shield her from the cold winds as it billowed behind her. Beside her was a very large lynx like Pokemon, covered from head to toe in black fur with light blue highlighting in his ears, back legs and paws. Jutting out from its maw were two very large fangs. Trailing behind it was a small whip like tail ending in a gold star. This was Rainbow’s faithful partner since childhood, way back when it was just a simple Shinx. However, nowadays he was a fully evolved Luxray who Rainbow had named Raijin.
Rainbow looked at the so-named Gleam Eyes Pokémon and his amber eyes met hers.
“So this is it, huh buddy?” Rainbow remarked with a toothy grin, looking at her partner as he gave her a small nuzzle on the leg. Fierce looking as he may have been, and it showed on the battlefield when the time called for it, when it came to her he was still like a small kitten.
Raijin nodded, smirking slightly. He knew exactly why Rainbow was here, in this very city. To chase her dreams, and quite possibly catch a living Legend.
“So, after all this time, this is it isn’t it?” he asked her. Nobody knew how it was done really, but the bond between Trainer and Pokemon had some benefits. One of which was the ability to understand your partner’s speech, even if it came out as their natural cry to everyone else.
“Yep, tonight’s the night Rai,” his partner and best friend said as she ran her fingers through Luxray’s mane, ruffling it affectionately. “Tonight, we meet Entei, and nothing, come Hell or high water, is going to stop us!”
“That’s the spirit! That’s the girl I know!” the Luxray laughed, his mane crackling with small lightning bolts in anticipation of facing the world famous Volcano Pokémon. To him, it was the ultimate challenge, a battle against one of the Legendary Beasts themselves.
He knew Rainbow’s reasoning for wanting to see this Pokemon; she’d been tracking the Fire-Type member of the Legendary Beasts for weeks, just in hopes of catching a glimpse of it. And now, she’d finally gotten a lead from a friend in the Pokemon League that it was here in Ecruteak.
Rainbow smiled to herself as the wind whipped through her hair, blowing some of it in her face but she quickly brushed it away. She remembered it like it was just yesterday. How could she not after all? It was the very moment that Rainbow knew she wanted to become a Pokemon Trainer…
Sixteen Years Ago…
It was a six-year-old Rainbow who ran through a small glen outside of Sandgem Town, the starting point for every young Pokemon trainer. Unsurprisingly, it also happened to be the location of Sinnoh’s regional professor, Professor Rowan.
Rainbow had met the older man a few times before, he was a nice guy. He always encouraged her to follow her dreams, whatever they were. He actively encouraged her to go on adventures, when she got old enough to receive her Pokemon Trainer’s License of course.
Not that that little age limit was going to stop the six-year-old Rainbow of course. Laughing, she pulled her best friend along with her into the nearby woodland. In the distance behind them, the giant windmill that powered Rowan’s lab could be seen along with the small houses that made up the tiny beachfront town.
“Come on Flutters, you’re going to miss the best Pokemon for your camera if you don’t catch up!” Rainbow shouted behind her to a young pink haired girl wearing a yellow sundress, as opposed to Rainbow’s tank top and jeans.
Slung around Fluttershy’s neck was a small camera, themed after a Parasect of all things. She had a passion for photography and capturing Pokemon in their many forms on film.
“But, but what about all the dangerous Pokemon that live in the woods?” The slightly younger girl asked nervously, preferring to err on the side of caution. Sometimes, she didn’t know how Rainbow talked her into these little adventures of hers.
“Relax, the chances of us actually running into one of those so-called dangerous Pokemon is... “ Rainbow said before she trailed off for a moment in thought, placing a hand on her chin before she came to a decision. “Eh, I’d say about 25%,”
“Somehow that doesn’t reassure me, not with your luck,” Fluttershy deadpanned. She had a point; it wasn’t that long ago that Rainbow had wandered off into the forest and nearly ran into a swarm of Beedrill and their nest. Suffice to say, both her mother and father had words with her and she’d been grounded for a good solid month.
“Relax Flutters, this is Sandgem Town; since when has anything exciting ever happened around here?” Rainbow asked, eyebrow raised.
“With you? About every other week with you...” Fluttershy thought to herself. Honestly, even if she was far too polite to admit it aloud, she had reservations about her best friend becoming a Pokemon Trainer. She was far too reckless, not always thinking ahead.
And in a world where there existed creatures who could wreck landscapes with powerful attacks or change the very shape of the earth itself, that could get someone killed if they weren’t careful.
Suddenly, from out of the bushes stumbled a small, light blue lion cub like Pokemon with yellow eyes and two big ears. It limped towards them before taking a stumble and falling face forwards into the grass in front of the two young girls.
“Shinx…” the Pokemon murmured. In an instance, Fluttershy rushed over to the Flash Pokémon.
“Oh, you poor thing…” Fluttershy whispered as she inspected its leg. “What happened to you?”
Fluttershy lifted the injured leg up as the Shinx whimpered in pain and her eyes widened. There was a distinct slash mark on the right leg, blood dripping onto the ground in a small puddle. Her head whirled around to face Rainbow’s, who had a look of rage on her face and fists curled up into small balls.
“We’ve got to get this little one to a Pokemon Center, now!” Fluttershy yelled.
“Who’d do this to that Shinx?” Rainbow growled as she punched a nearby pine tree in frustration. “I swear, when I find them…” Rainbow trailed off, her voice descending into indecipherable angry mutters. Then, a loud roar cut through the forest as Pidgeys scattered from their nests and Deerling galloped past them in fear, the sound of their hooves thundering through the forest as they fled the area.
One Deerling tripped and fell right into Fluttershy’s arms, the tiny Pokemon trembling on for dear life. Fluttershy held it tight and whispered “It’ll be alright; nothing’s going to happen to you now that I’m here, I promise,”
Funny, nothing had an odd way of showing itself.
“Not who… What,” Rainbow corrected herself as something crashed through the trees. In the distance, trees began to topple over like dominos and another loud angry roar cut through the forest.
Both Rainbow and Fluttershy’s eyes became as small as pinpricks as a massive form, covered in brown fur with a yellow ring on it’s chest crashed onto the scene.
“U-Ursaring…” Fluttershy whispered in fear. Rainbow grabbed Shinx in her arms and ran for it, Fluttershy and the Deerling following close behind as the ferocious grizzly bear-like Pokemon ran after them in a fury.
If there was one good thing that could be said about Rainbow despite her many flaws, it was that she had a love for Pokemon in all of their forms, perhaps surpassed only by Fluttershy’s. Whatever this Shinx did to anger the Ursaring, she wouldn’t let the small cat-like Pokemon endure any further harm.
But then Rainbow and Fluttershy got a good look at the Ursaring. Foam dripped from its mouth and the eyes were a blood red color. Rainbow swallowed nervously and let out a small “Oh crap…”
She knew normal Ursarings were dangerous when mad, but a fully rabid one was something else entirely. Mustering up her courage, Rainbow looked at the Shinx.
“I promise, we’re getting you out of here.” she stated as despite not entirely believing her own words.
The Shinx looked back at her, eyes widened in surprise. Was this tiny human really willing to risk the wrath of an angry and rabid Ursaring just to save him?
As if to confirm that, Rainbow nodded and smirked. However, as her eyes were solely on Shinx and the road ahead, she didn’t notice Fluttershy’s plight until it was too late.
She heard a scream from behind her, and saw that Fluttershy had tripped over a fallen log and now the Ursaring was looming dangerously close above her, fangs bared. The Deerling had taken an uncharacteristic show of bravery and was standing firm in front of the gigantic monster of a Pokemon, an Energy Ball charged up in her mouth.
With one massive swing of its paw, glowing dangerously with a dark purple aura, the Ursaring was ready to strike.
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow screamed in terror. Suddenly, something even larger, covered in muscle and with a plume of grey smoke as a mane ran out of the forest and body-slammed the Ursaring into a massive boulder, reducing it to rubble. Rainbow couldn’t entirely see the face of the creature, but she knew what it was all the same. Her eyes widened in awe, it couldn’t be.
Entei, one of the Legendary Beasts. The gigantic mastiff like Pokemon stood over both girls in a protective fashion, fire snorting out of his nostrils.
Ursaring roared again in anger at the new attacker, not seemingly caring about who it was dealing with. A glowing orb of yellow energy charged up in its mouth and Rainbow’s eyes widened in fear at what Ursaring was about to unleash.
Entei showed no such emotion and snorted, almost in disbelief, before unleashing a blast of fire which quickly took the shape of a Chinese Kanji and enveloped the Ursaring in flame before it even got a chance to fire off the Hyper Beam.
It gave them a look which both girls immediately understood. Run.
On that day, Shinx and Rainbow’s friendship was forever sealed. Rainbow’s gained a dream that day. That dream was to at least meet Entei once more, and thank him for saving her and Fluttershy’s lives.
Because of that, even the chewing out both girl’s parents gave them was worth it. Nobody in Sandgem quite believed her when she said she’d saw Entei that day, and who could blame them? But both Rainbow and Fluttershy knew what they saw, and Rainbow had stuck by her beliefs every day since...
Now:
Today, at 22 years of age, the colorful-haired Trainer was more than ready to meet that Pokemon again.
Rainbow looked out to the structure known as the Burned Tower out in the distance, a sea of multicolored trees consisting of red, orange and yellow leaves complementing the sunset quite nicely. Long ago, it had been known as the Brass Tower and it was said that the Legendary Pokemon Lugia, Guardian of the Seas, and Master of the legendary Bird Trio, once perched there. All the while, its companion Ho-Oh, Master of the Legendary Beasts, perched in the tower’s companion, the Bell Tower.
But there had been a great fire, and the Brass Tower had nearly burned to the ground. Lugia fled, and Ho-Oh left the Bell Tower in search of a trainer with a pure heart never to return.
But that wasn’t the end of the legend. It was said three Pokemon had perished in that devastating fire, consumed by flame. Ho-Oh, if only for the briefest of moments, had returned to that tower and resurrected them, like a phoenix, from the ashes into the three Legendary Beasts: Suicune, Raikou, and, last but not least, Entei.
Rainbow smirked in anticipation. The day had finally arrived.
She then turned to look at her partner, who was covered in cuts and bruises and sighed.
“Guess that three on three battle with that trainer and her Lucario a few miles back didn’t do you so good, did it?” She muttered to herself but her Luxray smirked a fanged grin.
“I won, didn’t I?” Raijin asked with more than a small tinge of arrogance in his tone. “My Meema chose a very good name for me I’d like to believe,” he remarked, ‘Meema’ being the Pokemon word for ‘Mother.’
“By Arceus,” Rainbow swore to herself quietly. “You’re almost as arrogant as I am…”
“You do know that I can hear you, right?” Raijin asked in complete deadpan, eyebrow quirked upwards.
Rainbow chuckled and ruffled Raijin’s mane again.
“Well, you have every right to be proud,” Rainbow remarked with a good-natured laugh. “Kicked that mutt’s sorry tail. Now c’mon, let’s get you to the Pokemon Center,” she continued. “Can’t have you battling Entei in your sorry state now can we?”
Raijin smirked, although not for the reason his trainer suspected. He remembered exactly who worked at that particular center after all…
Ecruteak City Pokemon Center:
With a small dinging sound as the electronic doors slid open, Rainbow and Raijin strode inwards into the Pokemon Center. Nearby, various Trainers sat on benches with their Pokemon awaiting care.
Much to Raijin’s satisfaction, he saw that trainer, a red haired woman with yellow highlights with her Lucario amongst them. With an impish smile that Rainbow failed to notice, the Luxray stuck out his tongue at the Fighting-Steel type.
“Just you wait, arrogant cat,” the Lucario muttered. “Wait till I get a Mega-Stone and then we’ll see who’s laughing.”
“I’ll be looking forwards to it, and I’ll still kick your ass.” Raijin chuckled. Right then, he heard the trotting of hooves and saw a Sawsbuck wearing a scarf with a red cross embroidered on it approaching. Now, Sawsbuck and their pre-evolved form Deerling were very unusual Pokemon to be sure. You see, they changed their appearance with the passing of the seasons. Right now, the Sawsbuck had giant bushels of red leaves growing out of its antlers.
“Guess what they say is true,” the Sawsbuck mused in a feminine tone of voice. “Pokemon and their trainers do think alike,” she teased. Raijin could only roll his eyes.
“So, haven’t seen you in a while,” the Luxray commented lightly. “Guess I haven’t needed to pass this way in forever.”
“Shame really; I’d grown to miss your company. We did grow up together in the same forest, after all,” the Sawsbuck replied.
“And look at you now,” Raijin mused. “Might be the only Sawsbuck in the world who works at a Pokemon Center.”
“Well, these antlers of ours don’t lend themselves well to a nurse’s cap, now do they?” Sawsbuck teased and Raijin laughed.
Meanwhile, Rainbow rang the bell at the Center’s desk and, like Raijin before her, was greeted with a familiar face.
“H-Hey Flutters,” Rainbow stuttered out as Fluttershy strode up clad in a nurse’s uniform and her pink hair in a ponytail. Both Sawsbuck and Raijin shared a smirk at Rainbow’s slip-up, general nervousness and the usage of the childhood nickname.
“Rainbow, what are you doing here?” Fluttershy asked curiously.
“Came to get my Pokemon healed after a tough battle, why else?” Rainbow asked. Fluttershy crossed her arms. She could always tell when her best friend was lying.
“You already beat Morty and earned his Badge months back, so I can’t see any reason you’d be back in Ecruteak,” Fluttershy replied. Behind her, the local Nurse Joy and her Chansey pushed a Sandslash back into the emergency room on a stretcher.
Fluttershy sighed to herself as she watched.
“‘Nother loss against Morty, huh?” Rainbow asked.
“Yeah. He’s been on a winning streak as of late even since he got that Mismagius a short time ago. Tougher than ever really,” Fluttershy said sadly. She knew Pokemon Battles were a way of life, but she still hated seeing Pokemon hurt and in pain all the same. “Now, why are you really here?”
“What, a girl can’t make up an excuse to see her best friend every once in a while?” Rainbow lied, pulling up a chair and placing her legs up on the desk in a relaxed posture. She had admittedly been surprised when Fluttershy chose to become a Nurse instead of a photographer. But then again, in hindsight, it was kind of natural. After all, Fluttershy did care for life in all its forms above all else so becoming a Pokemon Nurse was probably the next logical step.
Speaking of Fluttershy, she knew Rainbow was still lying and gave the patented eyebrow raise. Rainbow suddenly realized at that moment knew where Raijin had learned that technique.
Nearby, a certain Luxray and Sawsbuck were sharing a look of exasperation.
“Honestly, can’t they just spit it out? Personally, I’m so glad Pokemon mating rituals are so much easier,” Raijin muttered. “Just drop your balls and let the females or males know your intent.”
“Crude as you put it, you do have a point,” Sawsbuck admitted begrudgingly. “Honestly, human mating rituals are so weird. Just wish they’d stop dancing around each other for Arceus’s sake.”
“Looks like Rajin and your Sawsbuck still get along well,” Rainbow remarked, looking back towards the two.
When Fluttershy had first turned fourteen, she’d received a Pokeball from her father as a gift and almost immediately used it on a Deerling that she’d become friends with over the years. They had a sister like relationship not too far removed from Raijin and Rainbow’s brother-sister relationship.
“Rainbow, you know I don’t like it when you lie to me,” Fluttershy replied. Rainbow rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment, flushing Magikarp red.
“...That bad huh?” Rainbow muttered and Fluttershy nodded. “Okay, yeah, you caught me. Received a tip-off from a friend in the Pokemon League that Entei’s been seen in the Burned Tower. Me and Raijin, soon as you heal him and my other teammates up, are going after him!” Rainbow said confidently.
“O-On this night?” Fluttershy asked nervously, pressing her fingers together. “Are you sure?”
“Piece of cake, it’s just like capturing any other Pokemon. Just battle it until it’s weakened and capture it,” Rainbow Dash said, ignoring Fluttershy’s nervousness and shrugging off her concerns completely. “Plus, I got the perfect tool for the job!”
With this, she produced a Pokeball. But not any other Pokeball. Unlike the usual red and white color scheme, this one had white and purple. Fluttershy’s eyes widened and a chorus of gasps filled the Pokemon Center when everyone saw it, a Master Ball. Incredibly rare, this Pokeball was guaranteed to catch any Pokemon, no matter what it was.
“It’s not that Rainbow, it’s just I’ve heard… Legends…” Fluttershy trailed off.
“Legends? What legends?” Rainbow inquired, leaning forwards in her chair.
“You do remember what tonight is, right?” Fluttershy asked.
“Nightmare Night, what a fright. Give me something sweet to bite,” Rainbow commented, reciting off the old rhyme. “Why should I care? It’s just a holiday for little kids.”
“Perhaps… But… No, I’ll tell you later,” Fluttershy murmured as she went for Raijin. “Right now, I’ve got a job to do.”
“Alright, spit it out Flutters!” Rainbow snarled as she slammed her hands on the counter. Night had fallen upon the Center, and the moon rose high in the sky. “Why are you so scared of me going to the Burned Tower? What’s this crap about legends?”
Fluttershy sighed as she brushed her hair away from her face.
“Alright. You know Nightmare Night wasn’t just originally a holiday to go out and collect candy right? It’s origins, they’re far darker,” Fluttershy murmured.
“So what?” Rainbow asked with a shrug, completely clueless.
“Long ago, or so the legend states, Giratina, furious at Lord Arceus for locking him away in the Reverse World, created the very first Ghost Pokemon,” Fluttershy began to explain. “Now, most ghost Pokemon are harmless, well, as harmless as wild Pokemon can be in most cases. But some, they’re angry spirits infused with Giratina’s rage. People began creating pumpkins to ward off their evil spirits. That’s how Nightmare Night was born. Got watered down over the years to what you see today,”
“But I thought Giratina was calmed and, if I heard right, caught by that rich-kid Platinum girl when that whole Team Galactic fiasco went down,” Rainbow said.
“Yes, true,” Fluttershy replied, “but some Ghost-Types still have that residual anger left over. And every Nightmare Night, they’re at their strongest. And going to Burned Tower, that place has a lot of Ghost Types leftover from when it burned to the ground. And they’re all quite restless,”
“So me and Raijin will just thunder our way through them, big deal. We’ve fought Ghost Types before,” Rainbow said, shrugging Fluttershy’s worries off and gesturing to the Fog and Relic Badges pinned on her shoulder bag.
“Damnit Rainbow, I, I just…” Fluttershy stammered, unable to say what she really wanted to. “I just don’t want you doing anything stupid, even for a dream!”
“Excuse me!?” Rainbow yelled out. “This is a dream I’ve been chasing my entire life, and I’m not going to back out now! Ghost Pokemon or not, I’m going to catch Entei, this may be my only chance!”
Her voice broke.
“H-Hearing you, hearing you say that, that I should give up on my dream. Arceus above. Go, just go,” Rainbow whispered.
With that, she grabbed Raijin’s Pokeball along with the Master Ball and stormed out of the Center. Fluttershy turned her head and stifled a sob as she whispered Rainbow’s name to herself and Sawsbuck nuzzled Fluttershy, in an attempt to comfort her. Fluttershy sighed. Why wouldn’t Rainbow listen? She punched a wall in frustration as tears dripped from her eyes.
“Damnit Rainbow, I support your dream; and in any other situation and if I were in her place, I probably would go after Entei as well,” Fluttershy thought to herself. “But, but why do you have to be so stupid?”
“It’s because she’s passionate, that’s why,” Sawsbuck answered as it trotted into the room. “Crazy as she is, she’s following her dreams. You can understand that right?”
“Yeah, I suppose…” Fluttershy trailed off. For years, she wanted to be a photographer, get up close and personal with Pokemon. However, as time flew on by and she cared for Deerling as she got older, tended to her wounds, she realized something. She wanted to look after Pokemon, help them when they got hurt or sick or wherever.
“And, and I chided Rainbow for following her dreams,” Fluttershy whispered to herself as the tears continued to flow. “What kind of friend am I?”
“One that cares,” Sawsbuck stated. “But, there’s something more between you two, isn’t there?” she pressed.
Fluttershy had never really thought about it, but Sawsbuck might have had a point. Rainbow had been surprised, sure, when she said she was going to nurse school, but she encouraged her all the same. And then there was that incident…
Sixteen Years Ago…
Fluttershy whimpered as several of Sandgem’s local boys ganged up on her and her beloved Deerling.
“You gotta be kidding me, what a pathetic Pokemon!” One taunted.
“Suits her, doesn’t it? Girly, and quite weak!” Another chimed in.
“D-Deerling isn’t pathetic!” Fluttershy yelled as she tried to shield the trembling Season Pokémon with her body, fearing the bullies would go after her. “She’s my best friend!”
“Well, isn’t that cute!” A third, the leader laughed. “She actually thinks she can protect that thing! C’mon, let’s get her!”
Fluttershy trembled and shook before a rock hit the leader of the bullies in the head.
“Hey, get away from her! Deerling isn’t Flutter’s only friend you know!” Rainbow snarled, marching up to the gang, Raijin, still a Shinx, by her side.
“Raijin, show them what happens to people who mess with my friends!” Rainbow ordered. The Pokemon in question grinned before unleashing a Shock Wave attack on the bullies, who quickly got the message and ran off.
Rainbow meanwhile helped Fluttershy up.
“You alright?”
“Y-Yeah…” Fluttershy stuttered out before she pulled Raijin into a hug, much to the Pokemon’s protest…
Now:
Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she realized exactly what Rainbow meant to her and how much.
“That’s my girl,” Sawsbuck smiled. “Now, if you excuse the pun, buck up and go after her.”
Fluttershy nodded before her eyes narrowed and she grabbed her coat and her three Pokeballs, including Sawsbuck’s, before pocketing them as she ran out of the Pokemon Center with Sawsbuck following.
Burned Tower:
Rainbow growled to herself as she marched into the ruined hulk that was once the magnificent Brass Tower.
“Sure you should have stormed off like that?” Raijin asked worriedly. “What if Fluttershy was right? What if this is just plain suicide? Now, I’m all up for a good battle, but legends do tend to have a habit of coming true.”
“Not all of them,” Rainbow muttered to herself. “Now, let’s find Entei and catch it, okay?”
“You’re the boss,” Raijin sighed, hoping this wasn’t the stupidest move in his entire life as a Partnered Pokemon. He understood Rainbow’s dream, but was it worth getting yourself killed over?
The floors creaked with their every step, and Raijin kept his eyes peered for any sign of the Volcano Pokemon.
“Not like you’d miss him, really,” he snorted to himself. His ears perked when he heard a small giggling sound come from somewhere in the darkness. “Hey Rainbow, you heard that right?”
“Heard what?” Rainbow asked, looking at her best friend.
“Thought I heard… Ugh, never mind,” Raijin muttered to himself.
Right about then, a shadowy figure appeared in the darkness. It appeared to be male, holding a lit candle on a small bronze plate. The candle flickered with a bluish-purple flame. Raijin’s eyes widened as he saw a small eye on the candle wink at him. Rainbow evidently missed it.
“Oh, so someone else heard about Entei hmm?” Rainbow growled to herself. “Not going to happen, I’ve waited years for this chance and I’m not going to let somebody else take it away from me!
“Rainbow, no!” Raijin shouted, his eyes widening in alarm as he saw his trainer dash off into the darkness after the light. “That’s not another Trainer, that’s a-”
He growled and ran after her into the ever welcoming black…
Rainbow eventually chased the figure up flights of stairs into a large empty room.
“Alright, if you’re here for Entei, then you’ve got another thing coming buster!” Rainbow shouted, going for her Pokeballs and shouting out “Espeon, I chose you!” as she pulled her arm back and tossed.
A bright flash filled the room as a cat-like Pokemon with a gem on its forehead appeared from Rainbow’s Pokeball. It was a pinkish color with a long tail and two big ears.
The figure just laughed and faded away leaving only the candle in its place.
Rainbow’s eyes widened as she went for her Pokedex, the Pokemon’s entry playing as several more of the Pokemon appeared.
“Litwick, the Candle Pokémon. Litwick appear to be helping to guide the way of people by illuminating areas that are darkened, but in reality they are actually leading them to the Ghost World. They feed off the life energy of people and Pokémon, and use it as fuel for the flames on their heads.”
“Espeon, use Psychock!” Rainbow shouted and gritted her teeth. Despite knowing that the move wouldn’t be that effective against ghost type Pokemon, and she was outnumbered, chances are these were low-level Litwick, at least she hoped they were.
The Espeon created globs of energy in its mouth and fired them at several of the Litwicks. Several were hit and knocked out, but that’s when things took a turn for the worse.
Several of the Litwicks fired Night Shade at the Espeon, doing some damage and sending it sliding back against the wooden floor. It grunted in pain, but still stood firm. Rainbow then threw another Pokeball and, about this time, she realized she had begun to feel faint as the Pokeball released a black and silver wolf-like creature which let out a howl as its battle cry.
Rainbow, ignoring how weak she was beginning to feel, shouted out,“Mightyena, Shadow Ball now!”
Mightyena snarled and fired a pure black ball of energy at the attacking Litwicks, knocking some of them out. Rainbow, taking the wise choice, threw a Pokeball and, in a bright red flash, a Litwick was sucked inside. The Pokeball shook for a few moments before making a small dinging sound, letting her know the capture was a success.
A low unearthly growl filled the room, but Rainbow couldn’t tell where it was coming from until she, Mightyena, and Espeon looked upwards and their eyes collectively widened in horror.
There was a chandelier in the middle of the room, which suddenly became ablaze with the same type of flame as the Litwicks’.
Her Pokedex went off once more.
“Chanderlure, the Luring Pokémon. It absorbs a spirit, which it then burns. By waving the flames on its arms, it puts its foes into a hypnotic trance. Being consumed in Chandelure's flame burns up the spirit, leaving the body behind.”
Rainbow clutched her chest in pain and she collapsed to the floor, realizing what was happening as more Litwicks filled the room laughing at her plight.
“No, I, I won’t go…” Rainbow whispered in terror, tears coming to her eyes. “I’m sorry Flutters; I should have listened, but I had to be an idiot and charge in here, didn’t I?”
Just then, both Raijin and Sawsbuck burst into the room smashing through the doors. Fluttershy swiftly joined them.
Raijin sliced at the Litwicks with a powerful Thunder Fang and Sawsbuck fired off several red beams from her antlers in a Hidden Power attack taking down several more.
Raijin then filled the room with a powerful Thunder, lighting it up in a bright flash of lightning taking down the remaining Litwick and finishing them off.
“Fluttershy?” Rainbow whispered in shock. “What are you doing here with Raijin?”
“I, I met up with him while looking for you,” Fluttershy explained before her eyes narrowed and the Chanderlure seemingly froze in place in fear. Fluttershy stepped forwards. A nurse she may be, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t handle herself. Like the bullies back in Sandgem, these Pokemon needed to be taught a lesson.
“Crobat, take that thing out!” She shouted and threw a Pokeball.
Emerging from it was a purple bodied bat-like Pokemon, with an extra set of wings in place of feet.
“Crobat, Whirlwind!” Fluttershy commanded.
The next thing anybody knew, the entire room was filled with a powerful wind and a cyclone was created by Crobat flying around in circles. It swept up Chanderlure and sending it flying out a wall into the darkness of the night.
“Come on,“ Fluttershy said softly, helping Rainbow up off the floor and wiping away blood off her forehead with a soft cloth. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow groaned weakly. “I’m such an idiot, thinking I could just charge in here and find Entei off a rumor.”
“No, you were following your dream. I shouldn’t have stopped you,” Fluttershy apologized as the two trudged down the stairs, their Pokemon right behind them. Raijin fired off Thunderbolts to any more Litwicks or their evolved form Lampent who were stupid enough to get in his way, with Espeon and Mightyena helping out with Psybeam and Shadow Ball respectively.
“Probably should have, otherwise we wouldn’t be in this predicament, to begin with,” Rainbow replied with a dark chuckle.
“Guys, much as I love all of the love being shown here, trouble!” Raijin shouted as several Ghastlies led by a Haunter appeared from out of nowhere. Then, Fluttershy threw another Pokeball at them and a red, orange and purple spider-like Pokemon appeared in front of them, glaring at the black gaseous orbs and their leader venomously.
“Get out of the way,” he chittered.
Ariados fired off a String Shot and wrapped up the Ghost Types in webbing before Mightyena finished them with a Fire Fang as the Pokemon and their trainers ran for it, down every step and all the way out the front door.
Ariados allowed himself a smirk as he asked “Who you gonna call?”
“You know,“ Rainbow started as she grasped Fluttershy’s hand and intertwined her fingers with her own as the dawn finally broke over the horizon. It’d been a long night, and to see the sun again for Rainbow was incredibly refreshing. “I may not have gained Entei on this little adventure, but I think I might have found something even better.”
Fluttershy smiled and kissed her on the cheek before Rainbow groaned and slapped a palm to her face.
“What’s wrong?” Fluttershy frowned.
“That sounded so cheesy,” Rainbow muttered.
“I don’t mind.” Fluttershy smiled and hugged her. On a nearby hill, sitting unseen was a giant of a Pokemon, with armored red and gold plating over his mastiff like face that seemed to have a handlebar mustache, and his entire body was covered in brown fur. He smiled to himself.
“Don’t worry Rainbow, we’ll have our battle, someday.” Entei said before he dashed off into the wilderness and into parts unknown.
The End
Author's Note
Okay, I admit this is my first foray into Pokémon fanfiction, and it shows in some places. I had to use Bulbapedia for quite a bit of this really, a refresher course if you will. But I hope even with any mistakes I probably made, that you enjoy this all the same. Sorry if I didn't have Rainbow reach her goal of capturing Entei in this story, but I wanted this story to be more about the relationship between Rainbow and Fluttershy along with their bonds with their Pokémon than anything else. But hey, knowing Dash, she'll get Entei one day right?
Anyways, interesting fact. I based the origins of this story's version of Nightmare Night off the real world origins of Halloween. Basically, without going into too much detail and boring you, it originally was known as Samhain in the medieval Gaelic calendar and over time with various influences from other cultures became what we know today. Like this little tidbit on the origin of Jack-O-Lanterns.
On route home after a night's drinking, Jack encounters the Devil and tricks him into climbing a tree. A quick-thinking Jack etches the sign of the cross into the bark, thus trapping the Devil. Jack strikes a bargain that Satan can never claim his soul. After a life of sin, drink, and mendacity, Jack is refused entry to heaven when he dies. Keeping his promise, the Devil refuses to let Jack into hell and throws a live coal straight from the fires of hell at him. It was a cold night, so Jack places the coal in a hollowed out turnip to stop it from going out, since which time Jack and his lantern have been roaming looking for a place to rest.
Anyways, you can read more here. Actually, you probably should, as it explains Halloween's origins far better than I can. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween
Comments and critique are welcomed.
