The Rise of the Purple Witch

It was an eerie day.. The group lost their closest friend to an evil witch. One of the members then spoke. "So where should we start?" Heza asked as Kazuma then spoke. "Well I can go up towards Lavender Town." He said as Heza raised an eyebrow. "But that place is swarming with Team Rocket Grunts. You'll get caught." Heza warned which Kazuma smirked and pointed to himself.

{BGM: Team Rocket}

"That's where you're wrong, Heza." Kazuma said. Haruko then spoke. "Heza, Kazuma was a member of Team Rocket for a time, and some members still consider him as a member. Which is useful to us so he can gather intel." Haruko said. Heza pondered for a moment. "So an inside agent. Clever." Heza added in. "I'll go scout ahead, and i'll contact you via the Pokegear if i find something." Kazuma said as he ran up ahead. "What should i do?" Valiona asked. "Stay out of the way. You'll only interfere." Heza said in her usual cold tone. Valiona sighed and a voice was heard. "So I hear Neo got taken away, is that right?" the voice asked as the group turned around and gasped.

{BGM: Aether Foundation}

"Huh? What kind of greeting is that, huh my little friends?" Reijiro said. "Reijiro! What are you doing here? Where have you gone after we left alola?" Haruko asked. "Went and did my own thing. Still doing my own thing. I'm only in Kanto to do an Errand. Oh? Who's this blondie?" Reijiro asked as Heza folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "My name is Heza, a friend of Neo's. You are?" Heza asked. "Reijiro Kojima, Former Aether Foundation Employee, Full time scientist. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Now go into full detail. It's not like Neo to get taken away like this." Reijiro said. "Well... Neo started to date this girl named Arisa, and then Neo changed, big time. Like he wasn't his usual self. Arisa did something to him. I just wonder what she did." Heza said as she pondered once more. Reijiro placed his hand on her shoulder. "Well my dear, I'm here to help. Besides, i've been wanting to battle him again." Reijiro said as he then placed his hands in his coat pockets. "So what now?" He asked. "Well Kazuma went on ahead to Lavender Town to investigate." Haruko said. "So that pipsqueak turned over a new leaf eh? Good for him. What of Richter? How has he been?" Reijiro asked. The group remained silent which Reijiro then spoke. "I see, Well I'll be sure to give him an ass kicking later. Right now time is of the essence." Reijiro said as Haruko's pokegear beeped. Haruko opened it and read a message. "Alright, Lavender Town is our next stop. Kazuma heard some rumors of a ritual going on. the people Kazuma asked mentioned a white haired person. Must be Neo. Let's get going!" Haruko said as he closed the pokegear and ran ahead. "Wait up! Shouldn't we wait for Kazuma?" Silas asked. "Big brother, we should just follow him. He's not going to listen." Kaiden said as he and Silas ran after him. Valiona quickly followed. "Hang on Neo, We're coming for you." Heza said as she ran after the others. "Me and my big mouth... Still, I did make a promise to help out when they need." Reijiro said as he ran up to the others.

About a half hour passes, and they arrive to Lavender Town.

"Good timing you guys. I just so happened to run into an old friend of ours." Kazuma said in a sarcastic tone as he pointed towards a purple coated man. "Richter! Do you have a hand in this ritual thing?" Haruko asked. "Au contraire. I'm actually investigating this too. My research was stolen, and I'm going to get it back. Neo isn't with you sorry losers?" Richter asked. "Nope, He's been taken from us. We're about to go rescue him. Are you going to stop us? You've fought us plenty of times just to get in our way." Heza said. "Heheh... Well i wont be fighting you lot today. In fact, this falls in line with my goals. Let's team up, for old time's sake." Richter said. "In your dreams, What do you mean 'For old time's sake'? How do we know you aren't going to backstab us?" Heza asked in anger. "By old time's sake, i mean i used to travel with you guys before you came into the picture, Heza. Besides, I only backstab if it's needed. Anyway what do you guys say? Let's team up, Get back what was stolen from me, and save Neo. Reopening old quarrels will serve little purpose." Richter said as he held his hand out. Haruko smiled and took him by the hand.

"Oh yeah man! The OG squad is back together once more! Let's go save Neo!" Haruko said as the group then yelled yeah in unison. They made their way to the only area in town that was ominous, The Pokemon Tower.

{BGM: Pokemon Tower}

This place... scares the hell out of me." Valiona said. "Keep your wits about you. Keep in mind, these are ghosts, they cant do real harm to us." Richter said in a brotherly tone to Valiona. "There's a door over there with a paper seal over it." Silas said as he and the others walked over it. "I've seen this in a movie, usually with these, there's a trick to unlock it... The thing is i'm not sure what it used to unlock it. Blood perhaps?" Haruko asked. "Correct. These seals are often used in various rituals. To keep any intruder out. Any takers?" Richter asked. "I'll do it. Neo is most likely behind this door, waiting for help. Him and I go way back, I'll do anything to save him." Haruko said as he held his wrist out. Richter pulled out a small pocket knife and sliced Haruko in the arm. He winced in pain as blood dripped down his arm. The blood dripped onto the seal, and it turned to dust. Before entering, Valiona took out a ace bandage from her bag and wrapped it around the slice on Haruko. "This is it, everyone here ready?" Reijiro asked. Silas and Kaiden nodded. Richter folded his arms and nodded once. "Do you even need to ask?" Haruko asked. Heza then smirked and replied. "For once, i agree with him." She said in a snarky but playful tone.

{BGM: Predator}

The door opened, and the group entered a huuuge pitch black room. Suddenly, candles lit and the group gasped. Right infront of them, was Arisa and Neo, 4 other people. Neo was as lifeless as he has been but shirtless, as the 4 other people were. Arisa had a ceremonial knife in her hand and was about to begin her ritual until she stopped and looked over. "Well, look at what the diseased Litten dragged in. "I knew you lot were coming. I forsaw it." Arisa said as she laughed in a maniacal manner. "N-Neo!" Heza cried out as she was about to run to him. Reijiro and Richter used their arms to block her. "Don't rush in, You'll end up getting hurt. We have to play it smart." Richter said. "Arisa, What were you going to do with him!?" Haruko asked. "Glad to answer. As you know, A girl's desire is to remain forever beautiful. Using rituals, I can remain eternally beautiful and young. The cost? Virgin Blood... I was go to kill these men here, and take their blood." Arisa said as Heza stepped forward. "Like hell you will!" Heza yelled out as Arisa snapped her fingers. All of the victims were looking towards the group now and growled in anger. The four that werent Neo each gripped their pokeballs and threw them. Out came handful of pokemon, A Toxicroak, A Roserade, A Machamp, A Salazzle, Umbreon and Espeon appeared out of the pokeballs.

{BGM; Shadow Lugia}

"Looks like we're doing this. I find it a perfect time to try out my newest experiment. Come forth, Codename: XD001! Shadow Lugia, assist me in saving my friend!" Richter said as a huge portal of darkness opened and out came a shadow lugia. "You...You had to go there." Reijiro said in a disgusted tone. "Stay back everyone. If we're to save these people, we have to go all out. I'll take them all on at once!" Richter said. "A Shadow Lugia? Perhaps i'm not the only one with a sense of wickedness. Richter was it? Why not join me? I admire those with power. We, can kill Neo together. I know very well that you desire to destroy him." Arisa said. Haruko gripped his pokeball at the same time Heza gripped her's since they were preparing for him to backstab the group. "Well, you're right on the destroying Neo part, however, I prefer doing it by my own hand. I'm taking him back, and then i'll destroy him. Nothing more I want then to see him..no..seeing the whole group im with getting obliterated by Lugia." Richter said. "Just who's side are you on anyway? One minute you claim you want to destroy Neo and his friends, next minute you work with them." Arisa said. "Well, I do hold a certain fondness towards them. I traveled with them in the past, and when a greater evil emerges, you for example, I'll work alongside them to vanquish it. Nothing more. Hey Neo, you gotta be in there somewhere. Guess what, idiot? I'll enjoy snuffing your life out, and then i'll murder Heza in cold blood, you weak hearted coward!" Richter said in a taunting way. Neo growled in anger and spoke. "Sh...ut your...mouth.. Ri..chter!" Neo said as Arisa sighed She noticed Neo was starting to wake up so she enhanced her control over him. "A pity, you'll have to die then, Richter. Alright boys, go sic him!" Arisa said as she and Neo watched. "Neo is still in there." Richter said as Heza growled in anger at Richter's statement but sighed in relief. "All of you, stop Arisa, I'll keep these people at bay. Get going!" Richter said.

{BGM: VS Leader}

Toxicroak rushed forward with a Poison Jab, Roserade used Sludge Bomb, Machamp used Low Kick. Salazzle then shot a huge fireball at Lugia. Espeon and Umbreon used Psychic and Dark Pulse respectively. "Lugia, Shadow Rave!" Richter ordered as Lugia shot a huge dark tornado towards the pokemon, inflicting super effective damage to them all. "Most times i hate Richter, but this time, he is actually proving to be useful." Heza said. "Heheh, Unleash havoc! Take those fools down!!" Richter said as Lugia shot dark wind blasts at the opposing pokemon. "On second thought..." Heza said. Espeon and Umbreon took the hits head on and Espeon was KO'd. Umbreon tanked them though and used moonlight to heal it's wounds. Toxicroak shot a huge poison sphere towards Lugia which took the hit head on. It let out a roar and opened it's mouth. It was charging a laser. "Shadow Blast!" Richter shouted as Lugia shot a huge purple beam from it's mouth. It knocked out the opposing pokemon in one fell swoop. That didnt stop the controlled victims. They sent more pokemon out. "Is there no end to this?" Richter asked.

{BGM: An Intense Situation}

Arisa got her knife and was about to carve into Neo. It wasn't until Reijiro interfered and got cut instead. He winced in pain as some blood trickled down his arm and onto Arisa's blade. "That was foolish of you, well either way, i got some Virgin blood, it matters not on where i get it!" Arisa said as Reijiro laughed. "Sorry to break it to ya Doll, but i ain't no virgin." Reijiro said as he dodge rolled over to the wall and picked up a sword that was on the wall and pointed it at her. "I'm not going to let any of my friends die. Got that?" Reijiro asked as Arisa snapped her fingers and caused Neo to rush towards Reijiro. Reijiro quickly dropped the blade so he wouldnt impale Neo and braced himself for the attack.

Richter ordered Lugia to use multiple dark attacks on the pokemon and saw they got knocked out. "Lugia, use gust on the hypnotized trainers, and make them crash into the wall to knock them out!" Richter ordered as Lugia roared and sent a massive gust of wind towards the trainers and KO'd them. Lugia however landed and fell down. "You overdid it. Return to the lab. I'll be back soon." Richter said as Lugia went 'Scree' and warped away in darkness.

"ENOUGH!" Arisa shouted out in anger as the air tensed up. Reijiro managed to push Neo to the side and knocked the dagger out of Arisa's hands, shattering it in the process. Neo flipped over to Arisa and grabbed Reijiro by the neck and threw him back over to the others. "It appears... The ritual is ruined, i'll have to replan this. but first, all of you are going to die!" Arisa shouted in anger as Neo growled in anger. For a brief second, Neo's eye flashed back to what it used to look like but then it faded back out to pupiless eyes.

{BGM: To be Fearless}

"Stay back. I can most likely assume he'll be using shadow pokemon. Dragonite! Time for battle!" Richter said as he threw a dusk ball and out came A Shadow Dragonite. In a monotone voice, Neo spoke. "Scolipede...Battle..." Neo said as he threw a pokeball and out came a shadow Scolipede. "As i thought.." Richter said as a pokeball was thrown next to Richter and out came a Salamence. "I thought i said i can handle this." Richter said as Haruko walked over. "I got a bad feeling. You'll need back up." Haruko said as other pokeballs were thrown, and out came a shiny Alolan Ninetails, an Aggron, A Shiny Metagross, A Houndoom and an Alcremie. "We're all joining in on this too. We've come too far. We're all stepping in to save him." Valiona said. Suddenly, One more pokeball was thrown and out came Scizor. "Do you guys think i'd sit this one out? I was fortunate to have Neo's original pokemon on hand before he left us, so i have his team. His pokemon are stronger than mine." Heza said. Neo looked at Scizor and grunted. He was slowly but surely starting to become slightly aware. Suddenly, one of his eyes returned back to the way it was. He was able to see out of it but couldnt speak on his own behalf or move. He was simply forced to watch as Arisa controlled his movements and speech. A tear fell from his eye as he then spoke. "Destroy them.." Scolipede started to attack. "L-Look! He's crying..? He's coming back. We just have to beat him." Haruko said as a dark barrier appeared around the door. "W-We're trapped!" Silas said. "Come on, we have to work together." Richter said. "Trust in our bonds." Kazuma said. "Haruko, you ready?" Heza asked. "Yeah, let's do it." Haruko said.

{BGM: Wave of Darkness}

Arisa used her power to cause Scolipede to change. He became gigantic and glowed a sinister aura. "What the?" Haruko asked as Neo's eye widened in shock at what Arisa can do. "It's called Dynamaxing. It's the topic of my studies over in the Galar region. It allows the trainer and pokemon to sync. In return, the pokemon becomes gigantic. We're in for a world of hurt if we don't do this right." Reijiro said. "Ninetails, use Ice beam!" Silas said as Ninetails shot a beam of ice at Scolipede but it did only a bit of chip damage. "Alcremie, use Light Screen! and follow it up with Reflect!" Valiona said as her pokemon made two walls appear around the team to shield them from damage. Reijiro made a fist and raised it close to his face. "Achieve your true form, and Mega evolve, Metagross!" Reijiro said as his mega ring glowed and Metagross mega evolved into Mega Metagross. "Alright buddy, Zen Headbutt!" Reijiro said as Metagross rammed into Scolipede with psychic energy. Scolipede took a lot of damage and threw up several layers of shields. "Max Ooze..." Neo said as Scolipede roared and made several pillars of poison rise up, hitting all the pokemon and poisoning them. "Houndoom, Flamethrower!" Kazuma said as Houndoom shot a fiery beam towards Scolipede, taking a shield down. Scolipede retaliated by making a dark sphere form in front of it's mouth and made it fly towards the group. The sphere then broke into many small spheres, striking the team. Haruko's keystone began to shine and he placed his hand over it. "Salamence, Take your true form, and mega evolve!" Haruko said as Salamence transformed into mega Salamence.

Heza looked at Neo and called out to him. "Neo, you have to stop this! We're all your friends here. You have to fight for your freedom. I know you can do it, So help us already, fight Arisa!" Heza yelled out as Neo grunted and hesitated. He held his head in pain as Richter spoke. "Neo, get a hold of yourself. Is this how you want it to end? I thought you wanted to crush me. Are you going to let Arisa have a hold on you? Are you really that much of a coward?" Richter asked. Neo closed his eyes and screamed in pain. He opened them and they returned to normal for a moment. "I'm not a coward! I'll beat your face in, Richter!" Neo shouted out as he glowed. Falling back under control. "Simpleton. I must give you credit though, you almost shattered my control over him." Arisa said as Scolipede roared louder and used it's tail to swing at the group. Houndoom, Ninetails, Alcremie and Aggron got KO'd.

"We're on the losing side of this now..! Kaiden said as he returned Aggron to it's pokeball. "Scizor, Use Bullet Punch!" Heza ordered as Scizor went towards Scolipede and attacked, taking a shield down. The remaining shields were broken and Scolipede's defenses went down. "My turn! Salamence, Use Fire Blast on Scolipede! Take him down!" Haruko said as Salamence roared and shot a fire ball at Scolipede. "Metagross, back him up and use Zen Headbutt once more!" Reijiro said as Metagross covered itself in Psychic energy and rammed into Scolipede. Scolipede reverted back to normal size and was weak. Upon reverting to base form, It caused a massive explosion of shadow energy, pushing everyone, Neo and Arisa included, into the wall. Neo was on the ground now, KO'd from the attack, and Arisa lost control of Neo. Scolipede was still under her control though. Heza was about to run to Neo as Scolipede charged up an attack in it's horn. Valiona gasped, and she quickly shoved Heza onto the floor, and took the attack. The horns managed to impale her in the heart. Arisa got up and winced in pain. "Forget this lot. I think it's time to retreat." Arisa said as she levitated away using her psychic powers.

{BGM: Missing You}

Valiona coughed up blood from the attack. She managed to pull herself out of the horns and limped over to Neo who just woke up. "Ergh.. What happened?" Neo asked as he got up was hugged by Neza. He then saw Valiona. "You.. What the hell happened to you?" Neo asked as Valiona limped over. "...I...I'll never forget... the time i spent with all of you. Sorry... So..rry for failing everything. You'll be...better off now without me." Valiona said as she collapsed on the floor. Richter's eyes widened in horror as he quickly ran over to her. "Valiona!" He cried out as he held her in his arms. "My little sister...You...fought on till the end." Richter said in a calm tone. His calm demeanor changed right away to a hateful demeanor. "You're an idiot, Neo.. You had to go hook up with that Arisa girl. Because of her controlling you, I became an only child now. You caused my sister to die!" Richter yelled out as Haruko walked over to Valiona and shed some tears. He was crying a bit. "Please...rest easy." Haruko said. Richter then picked up Valiona, and handed Haruko Valiona's pendant. "I'm going to go bury her. Haruko, Could you stop by my lab later..?" Richter asked as he carried Valiona. "Yeah, i'll be there later." Haruko said as Richter nodded and looked back at Neo. "When we next meet, you're good as dead." Richter said as he left with Valiona's corpse. "Valiona... my dear... Your heart gave out... Did you...purposely die to end your suffering...? Is that why...you took the attack?" Haruko asked to himself as he cried once more while holding onto the pendant and fell onto his knees. "She was crazy... No.. She was insane. Did it not bother you that she was swooning over someone else and not you?" Heza asked. "You ... You don't know anything Heza. You insulting a dead person... thats low, even for you!" Haruko said as he stood up. "You weep for a girl that didn’t even love you, she still wanted Neo’s affection even after all these years. You’re a cuck, Haruko. You need to grow up.” Heza said in anger. "I loved her, and she did love me. She wanted to be with all of her friends until the end. If you cant accept that, then so be it. I'm outta here" Haruko said as he left. "So much for our team being unified." Silas said. "Sheesh.. I leave for a few years and it's a soap opera with you kids." Reijiro said with a sigh. "Haruko needs to cool off and vent some steam. All of us need to get out of here and set up camp somewhere. We're all on edge. Plus, Neo needs to recover." Kaiden said. "Everyone... Thank you so much.. for saving me. You guys...really are my best friends. I do hope that Haruko calms down. I've never seen him like this, even back when we first met in the Alola Region." Neo said. "You guys go on ahead. Im going to escort the other victims to a hospital." Kazuma said as he went to go tend to the wounded. The group then left the tower to set up camp.

 ~~To be Continued...?~~