Chapter 619: Battle at the Dream Yard
~Third POV~
[Unova Region, Later, Striaton City - Fennel's Lab]
The heavy oak door of Fennel's laboratory swung open with a soft, pneumatic hiss, releasing a warm scent of ozone, old parchment, and the faintly sweet aroma of roasting coffee beans. Black groaned, the sound rumbling deep in his chest as his eyelids fluttered.
The ceiling above him wasn't the tall grass and clear sky, nor was it the damp dirt where he had collapsed. Instead, it was a grid of bright, recessed fluorescent lights framed by exposed brick and dangling wires. A familiar, slightly exasperated voice chimed in, "Easy, hothead."
Black blinked. He looked confused. White was sitting in a metal-framed chair beside the makeshift cot, looking down at him with her arms crossed, though the tension in her shoulders gave away her lingering worry.
White said tiredly, tapping a polished fingernail against her knee, "You completely flatlined back there, Black. Or, well, you fainted from the surprise attack. If it weren't for these two, and Azure, I wouldn't have been able to drag your heavy, league-obsessed carcass all the way here from Route 2."
"Ahoy-hoy!"
A cheerful voice piped up from the doorway, causing Black to flinch and sit up too fast, sending a sharp throb through his temples. Two women stepped into the warm glow of the lab.
The taller of the two, sporting messy purple hair tied in a loose bun and wearing a lab coat splattered with various colorful concoctions, offered a wide, welcoming grin as she introduced herself, "I am Professor Fennel! And this…"
Fennel gestured to a shorter, neatly dressed woman carrying a clipboard, "… is my brilliant younger cousin and assistant, Amanita."
Amanita greeted, adjusting her glasses as she eyed Black's still-dazed expression with a smile, "Hello there."
Before Black could process the introductions, heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway, and Azure stepped back into the room. A tiny, yellow-furred Pikachu sat comfortably upon his right shoulder, its ears twitching with curiosity, while a sleek, cream-colored Eevee rested like a fuzzy crown atop his dark hair. Hidden deep within the lining of Azure's heavy jacket, Pichu (Mew) let out a soft, melodic pi-chi sound. Azure said casually, offering a half-smile, "Welcome back to the land of the living, Black."
His eyes swept the room before landing on Fennel, saying, "Sorry for barging in like this, Professor, but I took a breather of fresh air, and the kid here looked like he'd been run over by a Sawsbuck."
Fennel laughed, practically vibrating with academic enthusiasm, "No trouble at all!"
Without waiting for Black to stand, she grabbed his hand, hoisting him up with surprising strength as she asked, "Come on! Since you're awake, you have to see what we've been working on. It's revolutionary!"
She dragged him down a short corridor into the heart of the facility, where a massive, dome-shaped machine hummed with quiet electrical energy. Intricate glass tubes filled with a swirling, iridescent pink mist lined the walls.
Fennel declared, throwing her arms wide, "Behold! The Dream Analyzer! Our research focuses entirely on the neural links between Pokémon trainers and their sleeping dreams. If scientists can harness the dream energy of Pokémon and their partners, the possibilities are endless. We're working on a global network system to gather diagnostic and psychological data on trainers from all across the Unova region!"
Black stared at the glowing machinery, blinking away the lingering fog in his brain. He said in a respectful tone, "That... sounds incredible, Professor. Truly. But I can't stay."
He reached down to grab his baseball cap from a nearby stool, and as he did, his Pokédex slipped from his pocket, clattering noisily onto the checkered linoleum floor.
*Clatter-whir*
Amanita gasped, leaning down to pick it up and exclaimed, "Wait a minute... Is this a standard-issue Unova Pokédex?"
Fennel's eyes widened behind her spectacles. She snatched the device from her cousin, turning it over in her hands as she asked, "Hold on. This registration tag... Black? Do you know Professor Juniper?"
Black said, crossing his arms defensively, "Yeah. She gave it to me."
Fennel squealed, clapping her hands together, explaining, "No way! We went to university together! Juniper never mentioned she had a young prodigy running around with one of her devices. And speaking of which..."
She leaned in close, her eyes narrowed with sudden intensity. She asked in a serious tone, "That Munna you mentioned earlier—the one you call Musha... is it by any chance a Pokémon you lost track of?"
Black said seriously, his voice rising in volume and pitch in a worried tone, "Yes! She's a Munna. Have you seen her?"
Fennel grabbed his wrist, her grip iron-tight, replying firmly, "Munna is the very cornerstone of my research! They are deeply connected to the Dreamyard, feeding on the ambient thoughts and aspirations left behind in old ruins."
Black explained, his hot-blooded passion flaring up, "Musha and I have been together for a long time. Munna is a Dream Eater Pokémon, sure, but the reason I call her Musha is that I know she's going to evolve into a Musharna someday!"
At the word Musharna, Amanita and Fennel gasped in absolute delight, writing furiously on their respective clipboards.
Azure crossed his arms, leaning against a steel pillar. A small, floating, orange-and-blue device materialized beside his ear with a digital chime. Rotom's voice chirped brightly from the Arc Phone resting in Azure's pocket, "Bzzzt! Warning! Elevated enthusiasm levels detected in local human population!"
Azure smirked, glancing between the professors and the stressed-out trainer. Then he said casually, "Well... if Munna is the key to her research, and Black is practically having a heart attack over losing his partner on the run, why don't we all head over to the Dreamyard and look for her together?"
Black's eyes lit up looking at Fennel and asked, "You'll help?"
Fennel beamed, her eyes sparkling as she replied excitedly, "Are you kidding? An active Munna specimen in the wild? I wouldn't miss this for the world!"
/////
[Unova Region, Night, Dreamyard]
The night air of Striaton City's outskirts was thick, cool, and heavy with the scent of damp earth and decaying concrete.
The Dreamyard loomed before them like the skeleton of a forgotten titan—crumbled brick walls overgrown with creeping ivy, rusted iron girders jutting out into the starlit sky like broken ribs, and shattered windows framing the pale, ghostly glow of the moon. Black muttered, sweeping his gaze across the shadowy ruins, "Man, it's pitch black out here…"
White asked, shivering slightly as she pulled her jacket tighter around herself, doing her absolute best to avoid brushing against any suspiciously sticky spiderwebs, "And just how do you expect to find a tiny pink Pokémon in a place like this?"
Azure said calmly, "Let me handle the recon. Arise, Gengar."
*Swoosh*
With a soft, mischievous cackle that echoed strangely off the stone walls, a massive, obsidian-colored shadow detached itself from Azure's feet. Gengar materialized, her eyes glowing a vibrant, malicious red against the gloom.
Fennel and Amanita shrieked in unison, stumbling backward into each other. Amanita squeaked, clutching her clipboard to her chest like a shield, "Wh-what is that?!"
Azure replied smoothly, scratching behind Gengar's spiky ears, "Don't worry, she's friendly. Most of the time…"
Gengar rasped out in a raspy voice that made White's hair stand on end, "Heh heh heh… fresh meat in the dark…"
Azure rolled his eyes as he asked, "Go scout ahead, girl. Find the pink one."
*Swooosh*
Gengar grinned wickedly, slipping seamlessly back into the shadows without making a single sound. Black warned, his voice dropping an octave as he clenched his fists, "Keep your eyes open. Whatever hit me was huge. We need to be careful."
Fennel asked quietly, tiptoeing carefully over a rusted pipe, "Did you actually see what it was, Black?"
Black admitted, frustration bleeding into his tone, "No… I didn't see the Pokémon clearly, but I know it was big. And it hit hard."
As the group navigated deeper into the crumbling courtyard, a faint, iridescent pink vapor drifted past a broken archway. Fennel pointed excitedly into the gloom, exclaiming, "Look! Over there! That mist... Munna must have floated in that direction. It's almost as if she was being lured away by something."
Black's blood ran cold as he whispered, "Lured?"
*Crunch-crunch*
He broke into a sprint, his boots crunching loudly over gravel and shards of glass. He yelled, "Musha!"
He rounded a crumbling brick pillar, coming to a sudden, skidding halt in a moonlit clearing. There, held tightly in the grip of three figures clad in dark grey uniforms bearing a bold, stylized blue 'P', was a small, round, pink-and-purple Munna. The poor Pokémon was kicking its tiny stubby legs in distress, its large, soulful eyes wide with fear.
Black roared, charging forward, "Let go of her!"
One of the grunts—a female with a stern, unyielding expression—stepped forward, holding up a hand. She replied dismissively, "I don't approve of such loud, uncouth behavior. Besides, you fundamentally misunderstand the nature of our work. Pokémon are not human belongings."
She turned her gaze down to the struggling Munna. She ignored her discomfort as she said happily, "Tell me, little one... do you truly hate being ordered around by humans? Do you long for true liberation?"
Black shouted, desperation making his voice crack, "Stop asking stupid questions! Just look at her! She doesn't want your 'liberation'! She's struggling because she wants to come back to me!"
Black lunged forward to grab his partner, but before he could take three steps, a tremendous gale-force gust erupted from the shadows, accompanied by a heavy, bruising blow that sent him tumbling backward onto the dirt.
*THUD*
The grunt sneered, her voice dripping with self-righteous smugness, and spouted aloud, "Foolish boy! How dare you tread upon the sacred grounds of the Dreamyard? This place was once a proud factory where human beings labored while chasing their fleeting industrial dreams. Munna came here of its own free will, drawn by the residual psychic energy of those very aspirations! We are merely utilizing her to witness how her dream-eating nature responds to such concentrated history!"
Fennel blurted out, stepping out from behind a pillar with her notebook out, "Oh! Oh, fascinating! A localized psychic resonance triggered by residual industrial dreams? I have to take notes—"
White hissed, grabbing Fennel by the sleeve and yanking her back, "Professor! Whose side are you on?!"
Fennel blinked, looking genuinely apologetic. She said quickly, "Ah. Right. Sorry, White. But... who are these people?"
White whisper-yelled, crossing her arms, "They're Team Plasma! They're radical activists who go around giving grand speeches about Pokémon liberation!"
Fennel murmured, adjusting her glasses, "Their stance is certainly extreme. Even if they speak politely, I can never trust anyone who resorts to brute force against those who disagree with them."
Black picked himself up, brushing the dirt off his jeans. Through the dim moonlight, the massive, imposing silhouette of the hidden Pokémon shifted in the darkness. It was built like a tank, standing on four thick legs with a terrifyingly rigid posture.
Black thought frantically, his mind racing, 'What kind of Pokémon is that?. I must get past it to defeat Team Plasma and save Musha! But... how am I supposed to fight all three grunts and a heavy-hitter like that at the same time?'
He tried to run the math, searching his memory for battle strategies, but his brain instantly short-circuited. Every logical thought pathway in his head was completely clogged, choked out by a single, overwhelming obsession: 'The Pokémon League. I have to win the Unova League. I have to be Champion. I have to—'
A sharp, stabbing pain lanced through his temples. Black gasped, clutching his head, "It's no use! I can't think of anything else!!!"
Sensing her master's distress, Musha's eyes flashed with a soft, comforting pink light. And she detected Black's dream delicious ~
*Fwump*
Using a sudden burst of pure psychic energy, Musha wrenched herself free from the grunts' grasp. The psychic shockwave rippled outward, catching the three Team Plasma members square in the chest and blowing them backward off their feet.
With a joyful squeak, the pink Pokémon bounded across the clearing and landed squarely on top of Black's head, curling up into a warm, heavy ball, "Mun-na!"
Fennel whispered, watching in awe, "What on earth is it doing?"
White explained with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose, "It's eating his dream. Black's head is literally packed to the brim with his obsession about winning the Pokémon League. It happens every time he gets too stressed."
Azure nodded sagely, a wry grin playing on his lips, adding, "Kid doesn't know the meaning of subtlety. His brain is basically a billboard for the Unova League."
White let out a nervous, high-pitched laugh and added, "Yeah... exactly."
*Chomp-Gulp-gulp*
As Musha consumed the overwhelming mass of league-related ambition, Black felt the crushing weight lift from his skull. The blinding white noise in his mind dissolved, replaced by a sudden, pristine clarity. The mental static turned to absolute black, and for the first time all night, his senses sharpened to a razor's edge.
Black realized, a sudden wave of calm washing over him, 'The clues... they're right under my nose. The noise is gone. I can see the enemy now.'
Musha hopped off his head and levitated softly on the ground.
Black commanded, his voice ringing out with sharp, crystalline authority, "Come out, Tula! Use Flash!"
*Pop—FLASH*
From his belt, a sleek, long-legged Galvantula materialized, instantly discharging a brilliant, blinding pulse of electric-white light that illuminated every shadowy corner of the Dreamyard. The harsh light caught the hidden Pokémon dead in its tracks. Black whipped out his Pokédex, pointing it at the beast. The synthetic voice of the Pokédex chimed, "Watchog, the Lookout Pokémon. Normal type. It is exceedingly cautious. It uses the patterns on its body to intimidate enemies and can create powerful optical illusions."
Amanita dropped her clipboard, her jaw hitting the floor. She exclaimed in a surprised tone, grabbing her clipboard again, "Goodness! It was hiding in plain sight using optical camouflage with those body stripes!"
Black shouted, reaching for his belt, "Alright, let's finish this! Tep! Brav! Let's move! Operation: jump this guy!"
*POP*
A pillar of fire erupted as Tepig hit the ground, accompanied by the razor-sharp cry of Braviary circling overhead. The Watchog snarled, its body glowing with energy as it lashed out with a devastating barrage of normal-type attacks, sending shockwaves across the clearing.
Tepig slid backward through the dirt, and Braviary was clipped by a sweeping tail strike, but Musha wasn't about to sit out. With a fierce cry, the little pink Pokémon unleashed a concentrated bolt of Psychic energy right into the Watchog's chest.
*CRASH*
The Watchog's eyes rolled back, and it collapsed into the dirt, completely knocked out. Black cheered, pumping his fist, "We got it!"
But as the dust settled, he looked around and frowned. That was when he said, "Wait... where did Team Plasma go?"
The three grunts were entirely gone, having abandoned their guard Pokémon in the heat of the battle. Black growled, his fists clenching in frustration, and muttered, "Cowards! They just ran off and left their Pokémon behind."
Azure said, his voice entirely unbothered as he kept a casual smile on his face, "Don't worry about it, kid."
Before Black could ask what he meant, a low, rumbling cackle echoed from above the skeletal roof of the abandoned factory…
*Thud—Thud—Thud*
Three heavy, bound figures dropped from the upper girders, landing unceremoniously in the dirt right at Black's feet. They were tightly wrapped from head to toe in thick, industrial-grade rope, completely unconscious and snoring softly.
Floating leisurely behind them was Gengar, her purple claws glowing with fading purple telekinetic energy. Azure chuckled softly, explaining to Black, "Gengar saw them try to make a run for it toward the upper catwalks. Thought they deserved a little souvenir to take back to their boss."
Fennel and Amanita crowded around the defeated Watchog and the glowing Munna, their scientific curiosity completely overriding the tension of the situation. Fennel whispered, carefully extracting a small vial from her coat pocket to harvest a sparkling sample of Musha's pink Dream Mist, "Fascinating! The chemical composition of this mist is simply unprecedented! Thank you so much, Black. And as for this poor Watchog..."
She gently patted the unconscious normal-type on the head. Then said in a resolute tone to the trio with a determined expression, "Since those cowards abandoned it, I'll take it back to the lab and rehabilitate it myself."
Azure said, grabbing the ends of the rope binding the grunts and effortlessly hauling them over his shoulder like sacks of flour, "I'll drag these three troublemakers down to the Striaton City Police Department."
Pikachu hopped up onto his head, while Eevee curled securely around his neck. As the group turned and began the trek back out of the gloomy Dreamyard toward the twinkling lights of the city, White lingered a few paces behind Black and Azure. She fidgeted with the strap of her bag, her cheeks burning with a sudden flush of embarrassment.
White started, her voice uncharacteristically small, "Hey, um..."
She cleared her throat and tried again, squaring her shoulders. She said nervously, "Black? Azure?"
Both boys turned to look at her.
White huffed, crossing her arms to hide her nervous trembling, "Well… Since I'm managing the BW Agency, and I've been dragged into all this Pokémon battling nonsense... do you think... maybe... you could teach me how to be a Trainer?"
Black stopped dead in his tracks, his jaw dropping in sheer disbelief. His eyes widened as he asked in disbelief, "You? Want to battle? Since when do you care about anything other than commercials and stage acting?"
White snapped defensively, a bright red blush creeping up her neck, "Hey! People are allowed to expand their horizons!"
Azure offered a knowing, triumphant grin, his mismatched eyes gleaming in the moonlight. He had already casually discussed this exact possibility with White while Black was unconscious back in the lab.
Azure said smoothly, winking at her, "Take all the time you need, White. We'll turn you into a competent Trainer yet."
With the night air growing cooler and a new journey stretching out before them under the starlit Unova sky, the group resumed their march forward, leaving the dark, echoing ruins of the Dreamyard far behind.
/////
A/N: Hope you like the chapter!