Whispering Darkness Part 6 By Crysta Disclaimer: The usual. Nintendo and Gamefreak own everything except the fic and Crysta, who are mine. Note: the POV still stands. And yes, Crysta and Tracey can have POV's too. ********** Crysta sat on the rock. Ash shuddered. "It's gotten colder!" Crysta handed him his jacket from her backpack and slid her own jacket back on. *Thanks* Ash thought. "No problem. And remember, I can also hold a conversation like this with Misty, Tracey and even Pikachu." *How comforting.* Ash thought. Crysta laughed. Ash looked at her. She winked. He nodded. Crysta looked up. "We're nearly there. just a little more." "Good. I'm tired." Pikachu said. "You haven't done anything except sit on my shoulder and eat that ketchup, how can you be tired?" Ash said. Crysta looked at Pikachu, and they both giggled. Ash knew Crysta was being sly and talking to Pikachu psychically. "What did you say to him?" "Nothing!" Crysta said, a little too fast to be sincere. Ash frowned. "Hmm." "Never mind, this is the place!" Crysta scrambled over a rock. Ash and Misty followed, Tracey bringing up the rear as per usual. Crysta stood in a rocky section of the mountain. "All right Ash, you wanted a battle, now you can face me in a five on five battle!" she said. "Five?" "I only have five pokemon. It's unfair if you have an advantage by using six." Misty explained. Crysta nodded. "I'm ready when you are!" Ash said. Crysta walked to the opposite side of the rocky plateau. "We'll have a five on five battle. No time limit. Tracey will judge." "Sure." Tracey nodded. "Choose your pokemon Ash." Crysta said. Ash nodded. "Flareon! I choose you!" "Flareon!" (Ready!) "A fire type! Your Flareon better be strong! Marril, go!" Crysta said, throwing a pokeball. "Marril!" (Let's go!) "Flareon, Flamethrower!" "Marril, counter with water gun!" "Flareon, try your leer!" Ash yelled. Crysta smiled. "Marril, this is your chance! Use your Surf attack!" "Marril!" (Bye!) Marril called out as it soaked the Flareon. Flareon fainted. Crysta winked. "Next pokemon!" she said. "I choose you! Bulbasaur!" "Bulba!" (Yeah!) "Marril!" (Watch it, bulb-boy!) "Marril, I know it's a plant type, but do your best. Bubblebeam!" "Bulbasaur, block the bubbles with your vine whip!" "Bulba!" "Marril, hydro pump!" "Bulbasaur, prepare for Solar Beam attach now!" "Marril, try your bubblebeam again!" "Fire the solar beam!" "Bulbasaur!" "Oh no! Marril!" Crysta said, catching her water pokemon. "Hah! Choose your next pokemon!" Ash told her. Crysta smiled grimly. "I know you can do it if you try hard enough. Blaze!" "Charmander!" (I'm ready!) "A Charmander? OK Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf!" "Blaze, Fire Spin!" "Bulbasaur!" The Bulbasaur was caught in a spiral of flames. When they cleared, Bulbasaur fainted. "Oh no! Bulbasaur, Return!" Ash said. ********** They were down to one pokemon each. "I choose Pikachu!" "Let's go!" Pikachu said. "Then my choice is Cubone!" "Cubone!" "Pikachu, thundershock!" "Cubone, Bone club!" Ash was surprised to see Pikachu's thundershock didn't hurt Cubone. "Any master should know that Cubone is a ground type!" Crysta said. "Cubone, Focus Energy!" "Pikachu, Quick attack!" "Cubone, use Rage!" "OUCH!" Pikachu was thrown backwards. He jumped back up. "Slam, Pikachu!" "Cubone, Bonemerang!" Pikachu slammed Cubone before it could react. Cubone was tossed back into Crysta's arms. "Oh, Cubone! Are you OK?" she said. "Cu. Bone." (yeah.) "Yeah! We did it Pikachu!" Ash said. Crysta smiled. "I was wrong to underestimate you. You're in the right place as the Pokemon League champion and pokemon master." "Thanks. I'm sure someday you'll make it to the top too. You seemed to know which pokemon had the battle advantage over mine." Ash told her. Crysta smiled. "I've trained intensively. I would like to compete in the pokemon league, but now I see I need more training if I'm to make it." She delved into her bag and walked towards Ash, holding something. She held her hand to Ash and opened it. On her hand was a badge. "This rightfully belongs to you, for beating the master of the Healer's gym. Your pokemon are the strongest I've ever met. As a trainer, I see you've trained them well. You deserve this badge as proof of your victory." Ash was shocked. "I didn't challenge you to a gym battle. I didn't know you were a gym leader." "The Healer's gym is wherever the leader chooses. I chose it should travel with me. I made this a gym battle. You've proven your worth to me as a trainer and friend. Take it." Ash's hand moved slowly closer to Crysta's. He looked at the badge. It looked like a pokemon clutching a healing herb, although the pokemon he had never seen before. "Go on." Crysta urged. Ash's hand closed around the badge. Crysta's eyes twinkled. "Well done." She said softly. Ash felt great. Crysta took some herbs from her bag and began healing her fainted pokemon. She also healed Ash's. Her soft touch as she held them and tended to their wounds made Tracey think. "The herbs aren't all that heals the pokemon, are they?" Crysta's gaze fell upon Tracey. She laughed. "You'd be worthy of a badge too, should you challenge me. You're right. The herbs only help the job along a little. The true healing component is no secret." "What is it?" Misty asked. Crysta smiled as she cradled her Marril in her arms. "It's no secret that a little TLC is the best healer there is!" she said softly, her green eyes catching the light and glinting. Tracey took the Marril from Crysta. "You raised these pokemon from a young age, didn't you? I can tell. They're strong. Your Marril's stronger than mine." Crysta nodded. "I did. Your Marril's older than mine, it knows attacks mine does not. It's strong in its own special way." Tracey grinned. "You're a great trainer." ********** I needed time alone. Ash had beaten my pokemon, and I needed to think about what I'd done wrong and how I could improve my abilities and fix my mistakes. Tracey and Misty had been really understanding. I was thinking, but my mind wasn't on the job at hand. I sighed and picked a pokeball. Without a word I released its content, a Mew. This was my sixth pokemon. I didn't use it in battle because it was too strong, and made the battle unfair. But if I competed in the pokemon league, I would consider using it. I smiled at the pink cat-like pokemon. "Mew?" it asked softly. I smiled. "Hey Mew." I said softly. Mew rubbed its head against mine. I stroked its soft fur. Then, there was something odd. "Prepare for trouble and make it double!" "Oh no." I whispered softly. I knew who it was without their motto. "To infect the world with devastation." "To blight all peoples in every nation." "To denounce the goodness of truth and love." "To extend our wrath to the stars above." "Cassidy!" "Butch!" "Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night!" "Surrender to us now or you will surely lose the fight!" "That's right!" "Raticate!" I smiled. "Hello Clumsy and Botch." Cassidy and Butch glared at me. I sighed. "What do you want today?" "Your Mew, of course." "No way! You can't have her!" "That's a shame, because we'll have to take her by force then." "Over my dead body!" "Preference noted." Cassidy turned to Butch. "Use Drowzee!" "Drowzee, go!" Butch threw the pokeball. The weird psychic pokemon came out. "Drowzee." it said. "Drowzee, metronome!" Cassidy ordered. I waited to see what would happen. There was a faint rumbling. "Cassidy, let's move!" Butch grabbed Drowzee and they darted away. I looked up to see the rocks. I never had a chance. ********** "Mew?!" Crysta looked up weakly at Mew. "Take this." She held out a pokeball, containing Sparkle. "Take it to Ash and the others, bring them back here. Don't give in to them." with that, she fell unconscious. Her blood seeped from below the rocks. "Mew." Mew took the pokeball and flew off to find the aforementioned group. ********** Ash stretched. "I'm worried about Crysta." "I know. Maybe we'd better go look for her." "Tracey, we don't have the slightest idea of where to look." Tracey sighed. Misty was right. "Mew!" Ash looked up. "What's that?" He pointed his pokedex, Dexter, at it. "Mew, the psychic cat pokemon. It is incredibly rare. Its powers exceed every other pokemon's, as it can use all abilities. It is uncertain that this pokemon exists." "We know it does now." Misty said. Ash smiled. "Look, it's holding something." Tracey reached up. Mew dropped the pokeball. It opened. "Pika!" "That's Sparkle!" Tracey said. "Something bad must have happened to Crysta!" Ash realised. Tracey nodded. "We have to find her." "Mew!" Mew flew off. "Follow the Mew, maybe it'll lead us to her!" Misty said. They ran after Mew. To Be Continued.