Joshua Tamashii

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

Amelia's expression remained somber as she watched Aegislash leave. She could tell by the expression that the possessed boy had given her that this was likely not to end well for her. Regardless, she turned to Jonas to say something to him quickly.
"They might do that on occasion but I doubt they always do it. They might simply want to play at times or have someone to talk to. Not all Driffloon want to kidnap children and not all of them want to be friendly to humans. Remember, each pokemon has it's own personality. I doubt your Vanillite is like every other Vanillite. You should try and talk and play with it as often as possible. Your pokemon are not simply tools." She said, her tone gentle. "Also, you might want to follow me but keep your distance. The boy Aegislash is using to talk to me might be a little distressed when he's finally let go again. Your team says they like helping others, so help.."

With that, she would follow Aegislash back into the tomb. If the Yamasks would still follow her for any reason, she would reach out and pet them, as the simple contact would help her relax and feel calmer. Once She reached where Aegislash was waiting for her, she would bow to it before speaking.
"So we reached the chamber were your master was sealed away. By the time we got there Darkrai was already released. We had very little time to prepare before those who were attacking the tomb were on us. My teacher held off not only their leader but also the rival of your master, Cresselia, as best he could. But in the end, the battle only stopped because my teacher and the leader of the enemy army came to an agreement of sorts after Darkrai forced Cresselia to flee. My master is currently trying to, or has succeeded or failed at, trying to capture your master to make Darkrai his own pokemon. In exchange, the assault on your home was called off. Even Darkrai seemed to agree to this, as it got in place to battle my teacher before I left. I didn't want things to end this way, and I'm sorry you might lose the master you obviously hold rather dear. But it was the only way to protect your home and the rest of your friends. But, that's how things have played out." She explained before lowering her head, waiting to hear how angry Aegislash might become.

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

Amelia sighed in relief as the army of Ghosts came to a stop as the last of the Team Virtue members left the scene. She heard some talking behind her but paid it no mind as her focus was on the mass in front of her. Aegislash was, probably unsurprisingly, the most willing to call a stop to things. Gengar and Cofagrigus were less then happy but still called off their forces. However, upon hearing Aegislash's words, Amelia's expression fell a bit. She knew the Royal Sword pokemon deserved to hear the truth and resolved to tell it that.

However, it seemed she was due for a small series of interruptions. The first was a small group of Yamasks appeared and flew around them for a bit before presenting them with what looked like some gold. Amelia smiled to them and gave her thanks before Aegislash returned with a Golurk, possessing the boy and speaking through him again. When Golurk handed her the orb, she took a couple of seconds to examine it and take in it's appearance before taking off her backpack and carefully putting both objects in it. Just as she finished, someone shouted and she jumped as the man from before suddenly dove and bowed to her, his head on the ground. She watched him for several seconds before sighing.
"As I told you, I was perfectly safe. I was negotiating with the Drifloon so I could catch it. You attacking it and forcing me to protect it probably made that easier though and it's now one of my partners and friends. Now if you don't mind, I need to go back into the tomb." She said to him, her tone calm but rather displeased. She obviously did not remember their encounter fondly. Having addressed him, she turned to Aegislash. "Sir Aegislash, might I have a bit more of your time. I would like to ask you a favor... and also to explain what's happening down in the bottom of the tomb. You... might not like what I have to say about that."

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

"Ah, you got one thing wrong about me. I protect both people and pokemon and strike a balance between the two. I believe we have no business deciding the fates of pokemon. Likewise, I believe that we humans are on this planet for a reason. I just act for the betterment and protection of either side when one threatens the other while I'm around." Joshua said to Roderick calmly.

Amelia turned to Dawkin as he spoke of using his escape rope to get them to the entrance of the tombs. She was about to agree when the girl from earlier spoke up, saying her Abra could take them there instead. She figured this would be the better alternative and it would spare Dawkin the use of his item.
"We'll use your Abra then Miss.... um... We've never asked you for your name have we?! I'm so sorry!" Amelia said, sounding rather apologetic at the last part. the girl had been helping them but they hadn't even bothered to learn her name despite all of that.

Regardless, once they were teleported to the entrance of the tombs where the battle was taking place, she glanced around at the two armies. She spotted one trainer in particular among the Team Virtue members, the one who had attacked the Driffloon that was now hers. She had other things to take care of though and pushed that aside. Once all, or at least most, of the Team Virtue army retreated, Amelia moved forward, putting herself between them and the army of Ghost-Types. Most would be scared but Amelia simply stood there calmly, aware of the danger but not scared.
"Aegislash, Grengar, Cofagrigus, that's enough! You're enemy is retreated and the threat to your master is no more!" She called out to them, still staying calm. Assuming they even slightly hesitated instead of moving to run her over, She would continue to speak. "Darkrai is safe, at least for the moment. You need to fall back so that your wounded can be taken care of. I will explain more once you calm down but please, let your enemies leave for now. It's your win and there's no reason to pursue them further!"

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

Joshua's expression only soured more as Roderic began ranting. Forget being an extremist, this man was completely touched in the head. Taking down legendary pokemon, even Arceus, just because they were judged to be a problem. Such a person was a threat not only to the pokemon in his sights but also to the people around him. Keeping these thoughts to himself though, he calmly watched things play out around him. Seeing Hydreigon getting brushed by the Moonblast caused him no small amount of concern but luckily his pokemon managed to stay afloat, if just barely.

Thankfully, Darkrai seemed to have recovered enough to actually begin doing something and something it did. It drove off Cresselia by disabling it's only decent attack in this scenario, forcing it's rival to flee. Joshua motioned Bisharp to come back down, which the pokemon did, landing next to Oscar and his Smeargle. The Dark/Steel-types glanced at the two as it passed but it gave off no signs of hostility, but rather pity if anything. Joshua moved over to Hydreigon and applied a Hyper Potion to his injured pokemon before doing the same to Bisharp. He listened to Roderic's generally hostile words before standing up and looking at the man.
"Since I know my student well, would you mind calling off your forced upstairs. She'll go and negotiate with the Ghost-types to get them to calm down. We've already caused enough destruction to this tomb and we don't need anymore to happed and threaten it's stability more. Let the children go and we can debate the rights and wrongs of the world as you wish." He said, his tone calm. "As for you taking me or Darkrai down, I've fought Teams Magma, Aqua, Galactic, and Rocket. The first two were a lot like you, but in the end, their forms of thinking were flawed. I'm sure you and Amethyst are not much different in that regard. I was in Hoenn when Kyorge and Groudon were released. You should have seen the chaos that erupted from that. I wonder what you would've done in that scenario? Try to make sure they couldn't cause trouble... permanently?

As for Darkrai, it does not always cause eternal nightmares. I mean, it's prescience doesn't always cause nightmares in general. I know a town in Unova that a Darkrai resides in. I happened to catch a glimpse of it. Yet no one suffered from anything more then the occasional nightmare there, like normal people. Why do you think that is?

And as for Cresselia having a disadvantage over Darkrai, you can put that down to nightmares being stronger then dreams, at least for a little while. We never remember the dreams we had the night before but we can remember nightmares we had several nights ago. However, dreams slowly but surely wipe the nightmares away. Doesn't the dynamic between Darkrai and Cresselia not resemble this. Darkrai is stronger, thus it can travel safely, causing nightmares if it chooses to do so. Cresselia follows close behind, bringing with it good dreams to everyone indiscriminately.

Regardless though, I'm not a terrorist or the kind of person you think I am. I don't go out of my way to cause others to suffer, be they pokemon or people. I do, however, go out of my way to interfere with people like you and Team Amethyst. You folk just typically cause pain and suffer for people, pokemon, or both."

His speech to Roderic done, he finished healing his pokemon before returning all but Absol to their pokeballs and turning to Darkrai.
"Now, my friend, shall we see wether or not I'm worthy of catching you?"

Meanwhile, Amelia made her way over to Dawkin, gently touching his arm.
"Are you okay?" She asked him gently while also watching Oscar and his Smeargle. Once Dawkin gave her a response, she made her way over to Oscar. "Are you two okay as well? If so, do you think there is anyway we could go up and stop the fighting between your group and the pokemon who live here? There's no more reason for anymore poekmon to get injured."

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

Joshua grit his teeth as Roderic used the high ground as cover for his pokemon. He was going to have to change that and quickly. But he had too much going on right now. However, he did want to get a few more jabs in at Roderic as well, so that first since he could still observe the battle while doing so.

"But you do admit to being an extremist and therefore your vision and perception of things is cloudy at best. At it's worse, like right now, you're flat out blind to the possible implications of your actions, nor does it seem you care for them." Joshua shouted at Roderic. "Well intentioned or not, what you're trying to do is wrong. It messes with the balance of things. If you're going to seal Darkrai away, you might as well seal Cresselia away as well. But in the end, even if you do or don't seal them away, it changes nothing."

"People will still dream, good and bad dreams." Amelia chimed in. "I used to have nightmares all the time. That is not Darkrai's fault. It's just how things are."

"It's like sealing away Yveltal for eternity without sealing away Xerneas. Sure, you won't have to worry about entire area's dying but then you make Xerneas' sacrifice utterly pointless. In fact, you will eventually turn the life energy it gives into a poison. Too much of a good thing will eventually turn it into a bad one. Pokémon like Yveltal and Xerneas, Darkrai and Cresselia, Groudon and Kyogre and Reshiram and Zekrom are all weights and counterbalances on multiple sets of scales. Tell me, what do you think will happen when you mess with those scales and put them out of balance?"

Seeing Cresselia momentarily distracted by Dawkin, Joshua silently signaled Hydreigon to switch targets.
"Keep behind it." He said to his Dragon. The pokemon proceeded to silently fly away and around the chamber, to circle around Cresselia. Once in place, it would strike, using left hand/head to tightly grab Cresselia's neck where it met Cresselia's body and it's right hand/head to tightly grab were neck met head, effectively suffocating Cresselia unless it somehow dodged when all it's focus was entirely on Darkrai. Once in place, assuming it succeeded, Hydreigon's main head would proceed to use Crunch on Cresselia, once again biteing down on it's neck, only this time doing so in the center, to not only deal damage but once again cut off even more air, if it could get any at this point.

As for the moonblast itself, Bisharp was once again thrown by Pangoro at the fairy energy blast, using Metal Blade to try and cut down the damage. Wether it would survive this second blast or not remained to be seen. If not, Joshua had gathered plenty of revives over his journey. He would not mind spending a few in this scenario.

By this point, Roderic had finished setting up buffing and setting up his pokemon. The agility and mimic didn't bother him, though he could guess full well what the Chattot had mimicked. That was going to be a hassle. Still, the greatest concern was the Electric Terrain. The electricity passing through ground wasn't really an issue but it was the effects it could have. Their shoes prevented them from feeling anything, as rubber was an insulator. But his main concern now was Amelia. This could effect her. So he needed to end this fast. Thankfully, Electric Terrain only lasted for a little while, so if he could knock out that Luxray before it could set up another things should be fine.

Joshua gave a whistle that got Pangoro's attention before signaling his orders and the targets. He uickly withdrew Greninja, Absol, and Weavile, not wanting them to get caught in this. Pangoro smirked before raising a fist, which glowed with energy and slamming it into the ground. The entire room began to shake before cracks began appearing on the ground, spreading from Pangoro's fist towards Oscar and his Smeagle, then towards the wall and up around Roderic and the floor he was on. Pangoro used Earthquake, hitting everything in it's targeted direction. Also, it probably damaged the pyramid and the it's foundation a bit. Worse case scenario, the entire Pyramid began collapsing. Best case, only Roderic was brought tumbling down as the floor collapsed frim underneath him and maybe Smeargle and Luxray got hurt.

Regardless, once the earthquake passed, Joshua would either let out his vanguard again or begin making a hasty retreat with the building was collapsing. It all depended on how much damage that earthquake did to the ancient structure. Darkrai could fly to avoid the tremors and Cresselia might be too busy getting choked to death to be worried about them or it was still too focused on it's rival. There were too many possibilities for him to know how things would turn out.

On the chance the battle could resume, Joshua would bring out his vanguard again with a sigh.
"We're quickly getting no where." He said to Roderic. "I left you be to come here so I could catch Darkrai myself. That would've solved your problem. But you, blinded by your crusade, decided to just bully a pokemon, an intelligent one capable of communicating with others that is not even at full strength at that, because of what might or might not have happened centuries, maybe a millennia ago. Remind me again how you're so righteous?"

"Posturing and insulting each other isn't getting us anywhere.." Amelia said to Joshua, her tone calm but he could sense that she was becoming a bit upset. "Things are becoming too violent. Even if one side wins this battle, no one truly does. Surely we can reach some kind of compromise?"

Joshua glanced down at her before letting out another long sigh.
"The moment the kids start talking more sense then the adults." He muttered before looking at Roderic. He then jerked his thumb towards Cresselia. "Call her off and call for a ceasefire? Talk this out peacefully, with all non wild pokemon in their pokeballs. If you did release Cresselia and it's now wild again, we may have to knock it out. And we'll keep Darkrai from hurting it as well. Does that sound reasonable enough to you? Or are you going to keep up this crusade until someone or one of the pokemon here get's seriously hurt for no reason?"

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

Joshua was surprising silent as his pokemon engaged in battle. He was giving no orders and instead simply observing. He was thankful Dawkin got the staff with the pokeball that Cresselia had been in but now it was up to the boy to make use of it. Who knew, maybe Cresselia would be Dawkin's pokemon by the time this was all over... bit of a scary thought actually.

Now, onto his pokemon.

Greninja and Weaville recovered very well from the quick guard, flipping in midair as they were blasted back to land on their feet, skidding to a halt with a decent distance between them and their quarry. Both kept an eye out on their surroundings, and as such, both spotted the Chattot before Absol let out a warning cry. Weavile used Quick Attack to dash back to Absol's side, avoiding the Chatter attack while Greninja retreated back as well. The three pokemon looked at each other from the corner of their eyes before deciding on a plan. With little warning, Weavile and Absol released dual Blizzard attacks on the Luxray, Archeops, and Chattot. Once the blizzards were going, Greninja used Water Shuriken into the blizzard, the watery projectiles freezing but still flying towards their targets to hit them for possible damage.

Hydreigon didn't take well to being Bug Buzzed. While the attack was still going on, Hydreigon's two arm-head things grabbed the Yanmega and it proceeded to unleash a point blank Flamethrower at the Bug-type adversary, attempting to make it very nice and toasty.

Bisharp was blasted back by the Moonblast, but Pangoro caught it and helped it onto it's feet. Both pokemon eyed the Legendary pokemon as it readied another Moonblast. neither was certain what to do as their opponent was just too powerful with that very effective Fairy-Type move. Bisharp could probably take one more blast without being knocked out, AT BEST. Worse case, this next one would knock it out. And Pangoro could only take one Moonblast. They couldn't protect the Darkrai for long.

-------------------

Amelia was infuriated at Roderic's complete dismissal of Darkrai. She quickly glanced around and saw that this was getting nowhere fast. Darkrai was still in danger and with all of Joshua's pokemon being Dark-Types, Cresselia's Moonblast would probably tear through all of them in no time. Not to mention Darkrai itself. But what could she even do? Her pokemon were too weak to do anything and she didn't want to risk their safety for this.

So, effectively, all she had were her words and she hoped that might be enough to at least do something, though she doubted this would be the case.
"Silence proves nothing if it'll just fall on deaf ears regardless." She shouted at Roderic angrily. "You're just scared of your own nightmares. You're scared of something that all of us have and you want to try and seal away a pokemon that causes them, not through it's own choice, because of that fear? How childish can you be? How cruel and heartless can you be to do something like this to someone who hasn't even done anything?"

"Heartless? Amelia, he's well past that. Someone like him is more like soulless. Even Giratina would want nothing to do with him." Joshua said.

"Still, even if Darkrai did something in the past, such as a large scale nightmare, it's only because of that that we can appreciate the good dreams we have now. Arceaus had a role for Darkrai to play and us not letting it play that role is wrong."

The Rise of Azure [18+]

Is this still alive?

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

"... I might actually hurt a human today." Joshua muttered to himself after they were all rather rudely interrupted by Cresslia, Roderic, and Oscar. When he spoke next, it was loud enough for all of them to hear. "Okay, now you're definitely pulling Team Rocket tactics. Honestly, you all have to be the most cowardly people I know alongside them. Regardless of that..."

He pulled out his pokeballs again and this time he had all five of them. When he released them, Bisharp, Absol, Pangoro, and Weavile stood at attention but floating behind Joshua was probably one of this deadliest pokemon: A Hydreigon. The three headed dragon let out a powerful roar quickly joined by the rest of Joshua's team, as they were ready to go to town and excited for the battle they sensed was coming.

Pokédex Entry #635 - Hydreigon, the Brutal Pokémon. This brutal Pokémon travels the skies on its six wings. Anything that moves seems like a foe to it, triggering its attack. The heads on their arms do not have brains. They use all three heads to consume and destroy everything.

Pokédex Entry #461 - Weavile, the Sharp Claw Pokémon. They live in icy cold regions in groups of four or five, using symbols they carve into into frozen trees and ice to coordinate and take down their prey. Meals are carefully divided between the members of the group.

Pokédex Entry #675 - Pangoro, the Daunting Pokémon. Despite their vicious temper, it does not put up with bullying of any kind. The bamboo leaf in it mouth is not simply for show, as it's subtle movements allow Pangoro to anticipate it's opponent's moves and react accordingly.

Pokédex Entry #625 - Bisharp, the Sword Blade Pokémon. Often seen leading groups of Pawniard, this pokemon leads them like a general, surrounding and immobilizing their prey. This merciless pokemon then finishes the harried prey off itself. However, any failure will result in it being expelled from the group.

"I agree that things are going to become violent. Greninja, take out that Archeops! Weavile, your target is the Luxray! Absol, you got Chattot. Bisharp, see what you can do about that Cresselia. And Hydreigon, smash that bug and the painter. I don't care if the rider get's hurt that this point." Joshua said, his tone very unlike any he had up to this point. It was as cold as an icy tundra. He was not in the mood to give out any mercy. His next words were much gentler though, if not a little concerned."Dawkin, do what you can. It doesn't matter what it is, so long as you remain safe while doing so."

Regardless of what Dawkin did, Joshua's pokemon sprang into action. Greninja used Quick Attack to close to distance on Archeops before unleashing a Water Pulse. Weavile also used Quick Attack to close the distance, only it decided to go with a Poison Jab to open up on Luxray. Absol just shot an Ice Beam at Chattot, possibly grazing Roderic a bit by 'accident'. Not enough to actually hurt the old man but enough to possibly shake him.

Bisharp, let out a cry towards Pangoro, who smirked, before taking a dashing jump towards it's ally. Pangoro in turn grabbed Bisharp before throwing her at the Cresselia, the Sword Blade pokemon using Metal Claw to try and cut through the Moonblast Cresselia was building up. If this move was successful, Bisharp was attempt to cling or ride on Cresselia, at which point she would unleash a Dark Pulse on the legendary pokemon.

Hydreigon, meanwhile, began unleashing Dragon Pulses at the Yanmega that Oscar was flying on, the Brutal pokemon flying after the insect as it possibly flew around to dodge, not letting up on the ruthless wave of attacks, more then eager to squish the bug.

--------------------

Amelia had regained her composure at this point and knew she had heard the name of Team Virtue before. It didn't take long for her to remember the man who had tried to attack her Driffloon before she had caught it, simply because she had been holding onto it. This, of course, immediately infuriated her.
"Why are you bullies even here?" She shouted at Roderic. "Are you picking on the pokemon here simply because you don't like them?"

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

Released from her dream by the giver of nightmares, Amelia was slow to wake up because she had been put into a rather deep sleep. After all, pokemon can be burned, shocked, frozen, stung, cut, punched, kicked, and possibly more while under the effects of any move that puts them to sleep and still sleep through it. So, waking up from such a move naturally definitely took a while longer then it usually would for her, though Dawkin's gentle shaking did help.

That being said, she missed a bit of what Dawkin said due to her mind still picking up speed. She managed to catch bits and pieces of it though, so the first words out of her mouth were confused.
"Superpowers?... Roderic?... What do you mean Dawkin?" She asked sleepily. Even if Dawkin replied and clarified, he would get a response out of Amelia as she finally realized that Dawkin was carrying her and how he was doing so. Her eyes shock open as her face became a very, very lovely shade of red and anything she might've said got caught in her throat, her embarrassment effectively robbing her of her ability to speak.

Thankfully, it was at this time that Joshua arrived from his run through the ruins, having only stopped to get instructions from some random guy he came across (convenient, but he wasn't going to complain). Walking into the room, he spotted the Darkrai, Dawkin carrying Amelia, and the girl the random guy had brought up. He had noted the earlier shaking of the tomb and could guess the cause. Virtue must've gotten rather desperate. So, with that, he walked into the room, stopping by Dawkin and Amelia first, smirking a bit.
"So, when's the marriage ceremony?" He asked jokingly, causing Amelia to go even redder. He swore he could see steam coming out of her ears. Chuckling, he made his way to Darkrai and eyed the pokemon before extending his hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet one of your kind. I've been looking for one of you for years now. I'm sorry it couldn't happen under better circumstances but for now, let's work together to help you out. I know a Cresselia is on it's way here. I'm going to defend you against it. However, more people are coming to either seal you away or to possible catch you and use you for their own means, seeing you as nothing more then a simple tool. If you get too weak in the ensuing battle, our enemies might succeed in catching you. I don't think either of us wants that. I would rather make you my own partner.

So please, stay back and rest, regain your strength and think things over. I'll work to defend you from your rival. I'll be your champion if thinking of me in such a manner will please you."

Regardless of wether Darkrai shook his hand or not, Joshua would return to the center of the room, grabbing his pokeballs from his belt. He glanced over at Dawkin and Amelia and spoke.
"We got a hostile Legendary pokemon heading our way. I don't think either of you can help out here, but if you can, try to help protect Darkrai. If we lose... him? Her? regardless, if Darkrai falls, we lose the entire war going on here. One the other hand, if you found something or have an idea, I'm happy to hear it. I'm not expecting an easy battle." He said. "Oh, and please put Amelia down. If she get's any more embarrassed, she might actually pass out."

Pokémon: Start

@PlatinumSkink@Eklispe

Amelia listend the Darkrai and... immediately became rather somber.
"I... I don't really know. I'm not strong at all. I'm just a child with a weak body. And my pokemon aren't very strong either, though I have faith in them." She admitted. "But you do have some hope. My mentor is in the tomb and if he realizes you're inside of it, he'll come for you. He's always wanted a Darkrai and he specializes in Dark-Type pokemon such as yourself. He won't let them seal you away, I know of it. He'll do his best to prevent it, though his motives might be mostly selfish since he wants you to join his team as his own pokemon. But... he would let you out, let you see the world, and even battle other pokemon. That would be better then being sealed away again, wouldn't it?"

----------------------

"Ah, I can't stay here then. I gotta find and catch that Darkrai." Joshua said with a wide smile, only for it to turn into a frown. "But I can't let you seal it away for crimes it didn't commit. Sure, it bring nightmares, that that was ARCEAUS' design for it. That's why ARCEAUS made Cressilia, which you much have, to counter it. Though, admittedly... never mind. I'm going deeper in, I don't got time for ants like you when I got a real prize to catch. And unlike you, I understand how that poor pokemon feels. So, do everyone in this tomb a favor and crawl back into your hole..."

With that, Joshua returned all his pokemon, sans Greninja, to their pokeballs before turning his back on Roderick. "Or get squished like the bugs you are. You will not get a second warning.

If you're going to pursue someone, why not made sure that whoever undid the seal doesn't get out, assuming they didn't already. Maybe that other team in this region, Amethyst I believe, had a hand in this and you should make sure none of their members are snooping about?"

With that, Greninja would release a massive and thick Smokescreen to give itself and Joshua time to get further and deeper into the tomb, in the hopes of finding that Darkrai and quickly. Greninja would run ahead and explain things to any ghost-type pokemon, telling them about the white-robed men coming to seal their master away and Joshua wanting to defend that master directly. A bit of a lie but also a bit of truth. Hopefully ones of the Ghosts would be a guide for them.