Pokémon Umbral ~ Renny's Sidequest Chapter 1

[Astral Harmony]

Kiyomi Instructs Renny

Kiyomi looked over the Registeel 2.0 closely, then frowned. "It will certainly take those Pokemon some getting used to. But if worked correctly, it may see some successful combat use. Still, for best results, you'll need some backup electric Pokemon to amplify movement and attack speed. The strongest attacks in the world are useless if they cannot hit the target."

"I guess that's where I come in," Evangaleen said. "Me, the electric trainer."

-----

Shizuka Teaches Impact, Part 1

Shizuka didn't move from her spot except to use her left hand to deflect each of Impact's first three attacks. Her eyes remained on him and her hand movements were so fast.

Then Impact brought out the Claws of Twilight. Both of Shizuka's hands flashed out and grasped Impact by the wrists, then she pulled him to her as she fell backward. Impact barely had time to register Shizuka's sandals in his stomach before he was suddenly launched. The air time was roughly ten seconds. Shizuka literally launched him skyward.

Just as Impact was nearing impact with the ground, he felt two soft hands on his chest that rapidly slowed his descent to a near halt. Shizuka caught him and then-

Impact was launched again, this time more laterally. He landed on his back and came to his feet in a split second. He and Shizuka were now separated by twenty yards. Shizuka whirled her arms around and squated. Both hands were palms up, one towards Impact and the other higher and away from him. She made the "come to me" motion with the hand in front of her.

Great. Shizuka was going all Matrix up in here. But even though it looked like she was playing with him, her eyes were still dead serious. Impact may have been only human, but Shizuka never underestimated an opponent, and always took every fight seriously.

"I think she likes you," Mika said.

[Dracorion]

Pierce burst into laughter as he saw the ungodly abomination that Renny had created out of the team's Steel pokemon. He saw his poor Metagross, supporting half of that weight. He might have to get Renny back for putting Metagross through that. He wondered if the thing could actually move. The pokemon might be expending all their strength and electromagnetic energy just to keep themselves together. Still, maybe they could come up with something battle worthy if they reduced the number of pokemon they were putting together. Like, say, two.

Elsewhere, Nagarai was utterly confused. She had been thinking how best to implement her plan, when suddenly Shannon, Evangeleen, Lola and Harliette approached her and started spewing out names. She wasn't sure if she should hate them. On one hand, they weren't near Pierce. On the other, they probably would be at some point in the future. She tried to respond to their name suggestions, but she was so confused her mouth only opened and closed a few times. The only thing she was certain of right now was that she didn't want to be named Boko, Miffy, or Clingy. Finally, she managed to utter: "I want Master to pick a name he likes!"

Pierce smiled as Shizuka challenged both him and Impact. This was going to be fun. He planted the scythe handle on the ground, grabbed a beer and chugged it in one before facing Shizuka. He was thinking about how best to go about it, as he took his jacket and belt off and placed them on the ground. He was reaching into his jacket to draw his knife, when Impact tossed his sheathed Dragon Slave. "Right." He replied, nodding back. He probably would need it. He wasn't nearly as good a fighter as Impact. He picked up the sword, unsheathed it, and held it ready. He hadn't had much training in handling a sword, but he knew where the pointy end was supposed to go, and he'd seen and deduced a great deal more.

He sprang into action as soon as Impact moved. He approached Shizuka from the side opposite Impact's, closed the distance as quickly as he could and thrust the sword at her abdomen. He followed with a slash at her chest, another slash at her neck, a stab at her head and finally a wide swing. That would do to start with. He made sure not to accidentally hit Impact with any of his strikes.

He was lucky Nagarai was currently distracted, or she may have tried to kill Shizuka like she'd just caught her in bed with Pierce.

[Astral Harmony]

Shizuka Teaches Pierce, Too

Shizuka's attention changed to Pierce and she literally backhanded his swings out of her way. Then, on the wild swing, Shizuka clapped her hands onto the blade, stopping it in mid-swing. Then she leaned in suddenly and-

Oh, hell no! Shizuka just kissed Pierce!

In the instant that Pierce was a little disoriented by what just happened, Shizuka whirled into him, knocked him to the ground, and planted the Dragon Slave a split inch from his testicles.

"A strong fighter doesn't wait for the enemy to leave an opening. A strong fighter makes his own."

Shizuka bounced back from Pierce and left him alone. Her eyes darted between Impact and Pierce. So Shizuka kissed Pierce to cause him to lose his focus. Crafty demon bitch.

And she still didn't draw her katana.

[Dracorion]

Pierce was so utterly flabbergasted as Shizuka threw him down that he didn't immediately get back up. She didn't- I don't- He couldn't even form a sentence in his thoughts. He could handle close contact with people he was familiar with. He could be in the same immediate area as strangers. But a kiss? That he couldn't handle. He couldn't process it.

"A strong fighter doesn't wait for the enemy to leave an opening. A strong fighter makes his own."

It took him a moment to realise why she'd done that, and he smiled. Make an opening? He could do that. He got up, shot a quick look at Impact, hoping that he would realize the plan, picked up the Dragon Slave and faced Shizuka. "Eh, I'm not impressed. I mean, that was a cute trick and all, but you can lecture me only after you give me your best shot. Why don't you draw your katana?" He said, smiling wildly. He circled around Shizuka so that her back was against Impact, and charged.

It was a mad rush. The sky darkened and there was the sound of thunder, and he was laughing maniacally as he charged. He started with a one-handed slash, as his free left hand formed a fist and took a swipe at her. It then came at her again in the form of an elbow jab. He did a horizontal slash, and his left hand came at her again in the form of an uppercut. He stabbed at her midsection, and his foot came in as a brutal kick. Finally, he attempted another horizontal slash.

It was insane. He was leaving himself wide open, and he counterattack would probably be very painful. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that Impact picked up on the goddamn plan.

----

Nagarai was still looking confused, until she noticed something that chilled her to the bone: That raven-haired scantily-clad whore just kissed her Master. Her face contorted into pure rage as she let out a loud "AARRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHH!!!" She was no longer a girl with a teenage crush. She was a Thunder Mistress, a Nagarai, and she was going to fry some bitches. Where the sky had been cloudless, sunny and blue just a moment before, now it was covered with gray, rain was pouring, and there was the distinct crack of lighting. She was flying with, well, lightning speed, straight at Shizuka with murder in her heart. Of course, she was using Extreme Speed to move faster and closing in to beat the shit out of Kimonos' leader.

[Geminex]

((Argh, spent too much time making my posts hard to read. Summary now, I'll flesh it out this morning.

Impact decides to use an adrenal boost after all, sees what Pierce is doing, approaches Shizuka silently from behind, leaps at her as soon as he comes into range, looses a flurry of attacks at her back, leg, and right shoulder. Just a mixture between stabs and slices, with some extra footwork involved, and this time careful that, if she did block his attacks again, he'd at least cut her in the blocking hand. I'm not expecting Impact to do well, though I'd remind people that he is a slayer, so maybe show him to be more effective than Pierce?))

That had been... interesting. Impact had, of course, to some degee expected superhuman speed from Shizuka, but damn. He was impressed. And somewhat envious. It annoyed him that she seemed to be just playing with them, but, again, that had been predictable. They wouldn?t pose a serious challenge to her, not with that much power and experience on her side. It?d be quite interesting to see how she?d perform on an even field... But that was over-amibitious. For now, they were here to learn... and maybe, just maybe, land a glancing hit. Pierce was being useful, at least. His attack would be utterly ineffective (Impact was known for preferring strength and deception over speed and technique, but even he?d be embaressed to attack that with), but striking at Shizuka with her back turned would be much easier than when she was aware of him. She?d most likely be capable of evading whatever he threw at her, but, still, worth a try, right?. And speaking of an even field...

He was getting quite good at applying Adrenaline boosts, nowadays, this one barely took two seconds. And the effects were worth it. He stood stock-still for a second, then dropped into a fighting crouch, took two quick steps, and then fluidly leapt the distance between them, slicing and dicing. The blades he was using weren't long, but they could be quite savage at short range.

[Astral Harmony]

Shizuka Teaches Impact, Pierce, and Nagarai

Shizuka blurred from motion to motion. She deflected the first slash with her left hand, slapped the fist away with her right, and jumped back from the elbow jab. She jumped up and did a backwards somersault that got her just over the horizontal slash and back on her feet, then sidestepped the uppercut. Then she dropped to the ground underneath the next horizontal slash and took the kick full in the stomach. Nagarai and Impact both opened up on her, then were surprised when Shizuka's body faded.

An afterimage! But where did she go!?

Suddenly, a blast of energy struck Impact from behind which caused him to stagger, and then a second knocked him into a sort of tuck and roll that he recovered from only a second later. Pierce and Nagarai faced Shizuka as Nagarai was smashed with no less than four consecutive waves of power, sending her flying. Nagarai instinctively regained control in mid-flight and attempted to protect Pierce, but Shizuka finished her assault with a final bolt that struck Pierce's hand and knocked the sword out of it. It all hurt like hell, but pain was all it was. Shizuka's hands were glowing from the use of her ether powers.

"It takes a rare warrior, even a rare group of warriors to actually make me rely on my demonic powers," Shizuka said approvingly as her eyes illuminated with malevolent red light. "The humans and creatures of this world are actually quite strong."

Then, before Mika's stunned eyes, Shizuka slowly drew out her katana. With the blade in her right hand, she reached between her breasts and produced a ripe, red apple, holding it before her. "I assume this is what you were waiting to see from me?" Shizuka asked. "Very well, then. Let us begin round two."
"Ho, boy." Mika breathed. "I haven't seen Shizuka this serious since we fought that one chick who kicked all our asses."

[Menarker]

"Thanks for bearing with me guys! I kinda realized that most of the time, we would be in cramped conditions indoors. Something that big would hardly be practical. Sorry about that! You're all fantastic though!"

Renny sighed as he got the pokeballs and started recalling the steel pokemon. Metaleon, Empoleon, Bronzong, Bastidon and then Registeel in that order while the Magnezones hovered back down to solid ground. The Metagrosses then got recalled and then Evangaleen's Magnezone. He passed the pokeballs to their respective owners. When he has saw the weather changed violently and Nagarai jolt toward the Kimonos, Renny excessive paranoia took over and he rush toward the Kimonos, but it then became apparent that Shizuka was quite something else.

"Wow, that's really incredible!" He then handed Metagross's pokeball to Mika. "Could you pass this over to Pierce when they are done? I'd really appreciate it. I hope you're enjoying yourself."

[Bard The 5th LW]

Charlotte soon lost interest in her meal and soon gained interest in Pierce and Impact. That Kimono was handing their asses to them. It was lucky Charlotte had her camera around her neck, and was already recording. This would let her review to watch things more closely, and laugh at Pierce and Impact. She was also sure to get a few pictures of the PatcaZord, but she lost interest soon after the beat-down the Kimonos started giving. She briefly considered the Nagarai, and almost had Buck, who was sitting at her side, attack it because she wanted a fight also, and Pierce probably wouldn't mind to much if Charlotte put Ol' Lassie down, but she decided to let it join in and see how it panned out. It was worth it to see that annoying bitch of a pokemon get beat by a barehanded Shizuka.

This fight was very interesting. Charlotte would have to consider such a battle sometime. Maybe she could get in a fight while she was here. She would have to probably user a pokemon though. Perhaps she should look into a career as a slayer...

[Menarker]

Renny suddenly got alarmed as he heard Mika's statement
"I haven't seen Shizuka this serious since we fought that one chick who kicked all our asses."


"Ummm, Mika? I don't mean to be terribly alarmist, but that might be something we all need to know about. If someone is out there who is against the Kimonos and wiped out your entire group singlehandly, it's possible we would be next. It would be AWFULLY nice to know who such a person is and why she is such a threat. In particular, what she looks like so we can all call for reinforcement or retreat if she shows up."

[Dracorion]

Pierce was surprised when he saw Nagarai jump in out of nowhere. He had completely forgot about her. He'd have to apologize to Shizuka later. He wasn't without sympathy for Nagarai: She had after all protected Pierce from Shizuka's blasts. "You okay?" He asked, putting his hand on her shoulder. In response, her body crackled with electricity and she was growling. He pulled his hand away. "Ow!"

Pierce sighed, moving in front of her and blocking Shizuka from her sight. He placed his hands on her shoulders, keeping her in place. "Nagarai, calm down." He said simply.
"But Master she jus-"
"I know, but she was only distracting me for an opening."
"That's even worse! Master just let me-"
"No. This is a friendly sparring match, and I won't have you trying to kill anyone. You really need to stop being so jealous. You don't get to decide who I end up with. But I can tell you, it won't be her. So just go back over to the party and try to enjoy yourself."

"Please?" Pierce added. To seal the deal, he pulled her in for a hug. It was the shortest hug in the world, barely a second and trying not to touch anything he didn't have to. For Pierce it was one of the hardest things he ever had to do. For Nagarai it was one second of utter bliss. The sky cleared up immediately. She smiled, and started walking back in the direction of the crowd. "Be careful Master!" She called as she left.

Pierce sighed again as Nagarai left. He looked around for his sword, and found it a short distance away, behind Impact. Perfect. "What, that's all it takes for you to go all out? We haven't even tried." He said, chuckling at Shizuka. It was bullshit, of course. Impact had taken most of the hits, so he was probably hurting. Pierce would just have to pick up the slack. He moved slowly behind Impact, his back turned to him, and knelt to pick up his sword. "I got an idea. She seems like the proud type. We might be able to taunt her into getting distracted. It's a longshot, but it shouldn't interfere with anything else we do. I'm thinking, you could try to flirt or grope her. If I do it, she'll see right through it, but there's a slight chance she might not with you. I'll try to distract her my own way."

"Next charge, I'm thinking we either switch places, you distract her and I'll try to get a shot at her, or we take the defensive and let her come to us." He whispered, quickly as he could. Suddenly, he turned and charged past Impact straight at Shizuka. As he was about to reach her, he jumped in the air, sword raised over his head and brought it down on her. He followed with a horizontal slash at her thigs, and another at her neck. He thrusted forward, sword first, then threw a punch at her solar plexus with his left hand and finally a vertical slash.

"Woohoo! Get that bitch Master!" Cried Nagarai, jumping up and down on the spot. Her bust bounced gratuitously, to the benefit of the bystanders.