Chapter 86: Nosepass Evolves
The morning came gray and damp, the kind of cold that seeped through walls and settled in bones.
Briv woke to the smell of something burning.
He sat up on the couch, his back stiff from a night spent in awkward angles, and found Dariana in the kitchen. She was hunched over a portable stove, prodding at a pan of eggs that had gone black around the edges. Her hair was pulled back in a messy knot. Dark circles ringed her eyes.
"You're burning breakfast," he said.
"I'm aware."
"You want help?"
"I want coffee."
He found a kettle and set it to boil.
The safehouse was quiet. The civilians were still asleep—most of them, anyway. Nurse Joy had taken the night shift, watching over the wounded. Her Blissey was curled up beside her, its soft body rising and falling in slow, steady breaths.
Patricia was still on the floor, her back against the wall, Floatzel's head in her lap. She'd fallen asleep sitting up. Her mouth was slightly open. A strand of blond hair had fallen across her face.
Briv didn't wake her.
---
Nicola was already awake.
She stood by the window, her arms crossed, her eyes fixed on the street below. She hadn't changed clothes. Her shirt was still stained with soot from the escape. Her hair was tangled.
She looked like she hadn't slept at all.
"You okay?" Briv asked.
She didn't turn around.
"I'm fine."
"You're lying."
"Obviously."
He walked over and stood beside her.
The street was empty. Gray light filtered through the clouds. A few birds had gathered on the power lines. The world looked almost normal.
"I've been thinking," Nicola said.
"About what?"
"About Lucas. About the match."
"And?"
She finally turned to look at him.
"He was holding back."
Briv frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"His Metagross. It could have ended the fight in thirty seconds. But he didn't. He let it drag out. He wanted to see what I was capable of."
"That's what good trainers do."
"No." She shook her head. "That's what scouts do. He was evaluating me. Testing my limits. He wanted to know what I'd do when I was cornered."
Briv was quiet for a moment.
"So what did you learn?"
"That I'm not strong enough."
"Bullshit."
She blinked.
"You took down two of his Pokémon," Briv said. "You fought one of the best trainers in the region with a team that was exhausted and hurt. And you still made him work for it."
"That doesn't change the fact that I lost."
"No. But it changes what the loss means."
She stared at him.
"I don't need a pep talk."
"Good. Because I'm not giving you one."
He turned and walked back toward the kitchen.
"Breakfast is almost ready," he called over his shoulder. "You should eat."
---
The group assembled in the living room.
Dariana had salvaged what she could from the burnt eggs—scraped off the worst parts, mixed in some cheese, wrapped it all in tortillas. It wasn't good. But it was food.
They ate in silence.
Samuel was the last to wake. He stumbled in from the back room, his dreadlocks wild, his eyes bleary. Ambipom trailed behind him, its tails dragging on the floor.
"Morning," he mumbled.
"Afternoon," Dariana corrected.
He blinked.
"Shit."
---
Axel arrived at noon.
He came through the back door, his gray coat damp with rain, Rotom flickering at his shoulder. He didn't bother with greetings. He just walked to the center of the room and stood there, his arms crossed, his green eyes scanning the faces around him.
"We have a problem," he said.
"What kind of problem?" Briv asked.
"The kind that doesn't wait."
He pulled a folded map from his coat and spread it across the kitchen table.
"We're here." He tapped a spot in the eastern district. "The League headquarters is here." His finger moved to the center of the city. "The path between them is compromised. Eclipse Squad has checkpoints set up along every major road."
"So we go around," Dariana said.
"Through what?"
She leaned over the map.
"The old industrial district. It's abandoned."
"It's also contaminated. The soil's toxic. The air's worse."
"Not the whole district. The eastern edge. There's a corridor that runs along the river."
Axel studied the map.
"That's a long detour."
"We have time."
"Do we?"
---
Nicola stepped forward.
"What's the plan?"
Axel looked at her.
"We split up."
The room went quiet.
"Absolutely not," Patricia said.
"It's not negotiable."
"We're not splitting up."
"We are if we want to survive."
He traced a line on the map.
"Briv, Patricia, and Dariana take the river corridor. It's slower, but it's safer. The Eclipse Squad doesn't patrol that area—not in force, anyway."
"And us?" Nicola asked.
"You, me, and Samuel take the direct route. Through the checkpoints."
"That's insane."
"That's the point. They won't expect it."
---
The debate lasted twenty minutes.
Patricia argued. Dariana argued. Briv argued. Samuel sat quietly in the corner, his guitar in his lap, his eyes distant.
In the end, Axel won.
Because Axel was right.
---
They left at dusk.
The rain had stopped, but the streets were still wet. Water dripped from gutters and awnings. The city's crystal towers caught the last light of the sun and scattered it across the pavement in fragments of gold and silver.
The group gathered at the edge of the eastern district.
Briv stood with Patricia and Dariana. Their packs were heavy. Their Pokémon were ready. Lopunny stood beside Patricia, its ears twitching, its eyes sharp. Gallade was with Dariana, its blade-arms crossed, its red eyes scanning the shadows.
Nicola stood a few feet away with Axel and Samuel. Tangrowth loomed behind her—a mass of blue vines and quiet strength. Staravia perched on her shoulder, its crest raised. Skorupi crouched at her feet.
Nobody spoke.
---
"Be careful," Briv said.
"You too," Nicola replied.
She looked at him for a long moment.
Then she turned and walked away.
---
The river corridor was a narrow strip of land that ran between the canal and the old industrial district.
It was dark. The water was black and still. The air smelled like rust and rot and something chemical.
Patricia walked in front, her hand on Lopunny's shoulder. Dariana walked behind her, Gallade at her side. Briv brought up the rear.
Floatzel stayed close to Patricia, its eyes scanning the shadows.
Torterra hadn't been released. It was too big, too slow, too conspicuous. It would only draw attention.
Infernape was with Briv. The Fire-type moved like a ghost—silent, precise, its flame crown dimmed to a faint glow.
---
They walked for two hours.
No one spoke.
The only sounds were the lapping of water against the canal walls and the distant hum of the city's power grid.
Then Dariana stopped.
"What is it?" Briv whispered.
She held up a hand.
"Listen."
They stood still.
At first, there was nothing.
Then—a low hum. Faint. Steady. Like the buzzing of a hive.
"We need to move," Dariana said.
"What is that?"
"Something we don't want to meet."
---
They picked up the pace.
The hum grew louder.
Not a hive. Not a machine. Something else. Something deeper. A resonance that vibrated in the bones.
Briv felt it in his teeth.
"What the hell is that?" he asked.
"Magnetic field," Dariana said. "A strong one. We're close to the old power station."
"The one that was decommissioned?"
"The one that was abandoned."
---
They emerged from the corridor into a clearing.
The old power station loomed ahead—a massive structure of rusted steel and shattered glass. Its cooling towers rose into the sky like broken fingers. Its walls were covered in vines. Its windows were dark.
But the air around it shimmered.
Faintly. Almost imperceptibly.
Like heat rising off asphalt.
The hum was everywhere now. It pulsed through the ground, through the air, through their bodies.
---
"Fuck," Dariana whispered.
"What?" Patricia asked.
"This is worse than I thought."
She pointed to the ground.
The soil around the power station was black. Not dirt—something else. Something metallic. It glittered faintly in the darkness.
"The magnetic field is bleeding into the earth," Dariana said. "It's changing the composition of the soil."
"Is that dangerous?"
"Not for us. But for Pokémon—"
She didn't finish.
---
Samuel appeared out of the darkness.
He was running.
"It's Nosepass," he said, breathless. "Something's wrong."
---
They found Nosepass at the edge of the clearing.
The Rock-type was trembling. Its blocky blue body was vibrating, its large red nose glowing faintly. It had buried itself in the magnetic soil, and now it was... changing.
Its body was growing.
Its shape was shifting.
Its eyes—wide and confused—stared up at Samuel with something like fear.
"Get back," Axel said.
He'd arrived with Nicola, Tangrowth trailing behind them. His eyes were fixed on Nosepass. On the magnetic field. On the way the ground was humming.
"What's happening?" Samuel asked.
"He's evolving."
"Into what?"
Axel didn't answer.
---
The process took three minutes.
Nosepass's body expanded. Its nose elongated. Its eyes shrank. Its limbs grew—massive, trunk-like arms, massive, trunk-like legs. Its body became rounder, heavier, more solid.
And then—hair.
A thick mane of iron filings erupted from its head, bristling and twisting in the magnetic field. Its nose became a massive red sphere. Its eyes became tiny, sharp, calculating.
When it was done, something new stood in Nosepass's place.
Something bigger.
Something stronger.
Something evolved.
---
"Probopass," Axel said.
The name hung in the air.
Samuel stared at his Pokémon.
He'd never seen it before. He'd never even heard of it. But it was his. He could feel it—the bond, the connection, the thread that tied them together.
"Hey," he said.
Probopass turned.
Its tiny eyes fixed on Samuel.
It didn't speak. It couldn't. But Samuel understood.
"Damn," he said.
He laughed.
---
The others gathered around.
Patricia reached out a hand. Probopass leaned into it, its metal body cool against her fingers.
"Congratulations," she said.
Samuel was still laughing.
"I didn't do anything."
"You were here," Dariana said. "That's what matters."
---
Axel stepped forward.
He studied Probopass with a careful eye. The magnetic field was still humming, still pulsing through the ground. The evolved Pokémon seemed to be absorbing it—channeling it somehow.
"This changes things," Axel said.
"What do you mean?" Samuel asked.
"The magnetic field. Probopass is drawn to it. It's part of his biology now."
"Is that bad?"
"No."
He looked at Samuel.
"It means he's stronger than he was. Much stronger."
Samuel nodded slowly.
"Good."
---
They didn't stay long.
The power station was too dangerous—too exposed, too unpredictable. Axel led them away from the magnetic field, back toward the river corridor, back toward the path that would take them to the League headquarters.
Probopass followed.
It was slower than Nosepass had been. Heavier. More deliberate.
But there was something new in its stride. Something steady. Something solid.
---
They reached the edge of the industrial district just before midnight.
The League headquarters was visible in the distance—a cluster of lights on the horizon, bright and warm and impossibly far away.
"No more stops," Axel said. "We move fast from here."
Briv nodded.
Patricia squeezed his hand.
Nicola didn't look at him.
Samuel walked beside Probopass, his hand resting on its metal shoulder.
---
They moved.
Into the dark.
Into the city.
Into whatever was waiting.
---
The magnetic field still hummed behind them.
Faint.
Persistent.
Watching.
It made him feel sick when he realized the change that had happened in his own body. No, not his body. His partner.
The Probopass looked at his master, waiting for his next command, with steely eyes that betrayed no emotion. There was a moment where they simply looked at each other, one looking up, one looking down, as the new metal hulk glimmered in the dark.
Samuel was sure he saw a faint smile on his partner.
Whatever had just happened, it was meant to happen.
---
They passed through another checkpoint, this one abandoned with a half-eaten sandwich still on a table and a radio buzzing with static.
Flickers of light. Shadows that moved. The city felt different. The air felt different.
The world had changed.
They could feel it.
---
They reached the river.
The canal stretched out before them, black water reflecting the distant lights of the city like scattered stars. A bridge arched across it, narrow and old, its rails rusted.
They crossed one by one.
Briv went first. Then Patricia. Then Dariana.
Then Nicola. Then Samuel.
Then Axel.
The bridge creaked under their weight. The water below was still and dark. The city hummed.
They reached the other side.
They kept moving.
---
The sun would rise in six hours.
The League awaited.
The Eclipse Squad was out there.
And Probopass—new, strange, powerful—marched beside his trainer with steady, unshakeable purpose.
Whatever came next, they would face it.
Together.
They disappeared into the city, shadows swallowed by shadows, carried forward by momentum and the quiet knowledge that whatever waited ahead—victory or ruin—they would meet it with everything they had.
=====
The river corridor opened onto a shattered plaza, its cobblestones cracked and heaved upward by years of frost and neglect.
Patricia stopped at the edge of the square, her breath misting in the cold air. Behind her, Dariana and Briv emerged from the narrow passage, their footsteps echoing off the crumbling facades of abandoned buildings.
The League headquarters was visible now—a cluster of illuminated towers rising from the city center like beacons in the dark. So close. Almost within reach.
"We made it," Dariana whispered.
"Not yet," Briv said.
He was right.
---
The figure emerged from the shadows of a collapsed archway.
Pale skin. Violet hair pulled back in a severe knot. Indigo eyes that reflected the distant lights like chips of ice. A dark cloak billowed behind her, revealing a leotard studded with red gems that caught the moonlight and scattered it in bloody fragments.
Raven.
She didn't speak. She just stood there, her arms crossed, her expression unreadable.
Behind her, three figures materialized from the darkness.
Roger. Spiky hair, leather jacket, a sneer carved into his face like a scar.
Callum. Purple hair, pierced ears, tattoos crawling up his neck. His grin was all teeth.
And between them, taller than both, dressed in black with an Eclipse Squad emblem pinned to his chest—Revan Stormcloud.
His silver-gray eyes found Patricia immediately.
"Well, well," he said.
---
Patricia's hand moved to her belt.
"Don't," Revan said.
His voice was soft. Almost gentle. It made her skin crawl.
"We're not here to fight," he continued. "Not like this."
"Then what do you want?"
He smiled.
"To talk."
---
Axel stepped forward.
His Rotom crackled with warning static, its orange body flickering between forms—fan, frost, wash, heat—before settling back into its base shape.
"You're blocking our path," Axel said.
"I'm standing in a public plaza," Revan replied. "That's not a crime."
"It is when you're Eclipse Squad."
"Allegedly."
Revan's smile widened.
"You have no proof. No warrant. No authority. Just a lot of assumptions and a convenient narrative."
---
Nicola's hand drifted toward her Pokéballs.
Revan noticed.
His eyes slid over her—slow, deliberate, lingering in places that made her jaw tighten.
"Nicola Sunfall," he said. "I heard about your match with Lucas. Tough break."
"Fuck you."
"Charming."
He turned back to Patricia.
"But you. You're the one I've been wanting to meet."
---
Patricia didn't move.
"I know who you are," she said.
"Good. That saves time."
"You're the one who attacked the western district. You're the one who burned those buildings. You're the one who put those people in danger."
Revan tilted his head.
"Prove it."
---
Silence.
The wind picked up, carrying the distant sound of sirens. The city was still recovering from the attack. The League was still scrambling to respond.
Revan spread his hands.
"See? You can't. Because you don't know anything. You're just repeating what you've been told."
"I saw you."
"No. You saw a man in black. There are a lot of men in black."
He stepped closer.
"You want to fight me, Patricia? Fine. I'll give you that chance. But not here. Not like this."
---
Raven spoke for the first time.
Her voice was low. Flat. Devoid of inflection.
"A sanctioned match. Three-on-three. Your team against mine."
Patricia blinked.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"Why would I agree to that?"
Raven's indigo eyes met hers.
"Because if you don't, we'll take what we want by force. And people will get hurt."
---
The threat hung in the air like a blade.
Briv stepped forward.
"You can't just—"
"I can," Raven said.
She reached into her cloak and produced a League-issued badge. It gleamed in the dim light—official. Recognized. Legal.
"I'm a registered challenger," she said. "So are Roger and Callum. We have every right to issue a formal challenge."
Axel took the badge.
Examined it.
His jaw tightened.
"It's valid."
"Of course it is."
---
Patricia stared at Raven.
"Why?"
"Because I want to."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting."
---
Axel pulled Patricia aside.
His voice was low. Urgent.
"You don't have to do this."
"Yes I do."
"You can walk away. We can find another route."
"And then what? They follow us. They attack us. People get hurt."
She looked at him.
"This is the only way."
Axel's green eyes searched her face.
"You're one win away from the League. One loss away from elimination."
"I know."
"If you lose this—"
"Then I lose everything."
She didn't blink.
"But if I win, I prove I'm not afraid of them."
---
The arena was an old amphitheater.
Once, it had hosted concerts and plays and public gatherings. Now it was abandoned—its stone seats cracked, its stage crumbling, its acoustics warped by the passage of time and neglect.
A few spectators had gathered in the shadows. Eclipse Squad operatives, mostly. Silent. Watchful. Their Pokémon hovered at their sides, eyes gleaming in the dark.
Axel stood in the center of the stage.
Rotom flickered beside him, its orange body casting strange shadows across the ancient stone.
On one side stood Patricia.
Lopunny. Gligar. Cranidos. Floatzel. They emerged one by one, taking their positions, their bodies tense and ready.
On the other side stood Raven.
Her team was already released.
Muk—a massive pile of purple sludge, its body rippling, its eyes barely visible in the toxic mass.
Honchkrow—a huge black bird, its feathers sleek, its red eyes burning with malice.
Gengar—a grinning ghost, its body shifting between solid and vapor, its hands wreathed in shadow.
---
"This is a sanctioned League challenge," Axel announced. "Three-on-three. No items. No substitutions except by knockout. Victory by elimination of all opposing Pokémon. Are both trainers ready?"
Patricia took a breath.
"Ready."
Raven nodded.
---
"Begin."
---
Patricia moved first.
"Gligar. Quick Attack."
The small Flying-type launched itself forward—fast, silent, its wings barely brushing the air. It aimed for Honchkrow, its claws extended.
Raven didn't react.
Honchkrow pivoted.
It didn't dodge. It didn't block.
It simply moved—a blur of black feathers and red eyes—and Gligar's attack passed through empty space.
"Wing Attack," Raven said.
Honchkrow's wing caught Gligar mid-turn.
The Flying-type spiraled backward, its body slamming into the stone floor. It skidded, struggled, rose.
"You're predictable," Raven said.
---
Patricia didn't respond.
She was already calculating.
"Gligar. Sand Attack."
Gligar kicked up debris from the arena floor—dust, grit, fragments of stone. Honchkrow's vision blurred. It screeched in annoyance.
"Now. Acrobatics."
Gligar launched itself upward.
It twisted in the air, changing direction mid-flight, using the debris cloud as cover. It struck Honchkrow's back before the bird could react.
Honchkrow staggered.
But didn't fall.
"Night Slash," Raven said.
Honchkrow's wing glowed dark purple.
It spun.
The attack caught Gligar before it could retreat. The small Pokémon tumbled through the air, its body carved with dark energy.
It hit the ground.
It didn't get up.
"Gligar is unable to battle," Axel said. "Honchkrow wins."
---
Patricia recalled Gligar.
Her hand was steady.
Cranidos.
The Rock-type burst from its ball with a roar—its thick skull lowered, its eyes burning with aggression. It charged before Patricia could give a command.
"Cranidos! Wait!"
Raven smiled.
"Honchkrow. Tailwind."
The bird flapped its wings.
A current of air swept across the arena—fast, sharp, purposeful. Honchkrow's speed doubled.
"Dodge."
Honchkrow moved.
Cranidos's head slammed into the stone wall.
The wall cracked.
Cranidos didn't.
It turned.
"Headbutt!" Patricia shouted.
Cranidos charged again.
This time, Honchkrow couldn't dodge fast enough. The Rock-type's skull connected with the bird's chest. Honchkrow screeched. It tumbled backward, its wings flailing.
"Finish it! Zen Headbutt!"
Cranidos's skull glowed.
It lunged.
Honchkrow tried to rise. Tried to fly. But its body wouldn't cooperate.
The attack connected.
Honchkrow collapsed.
"Honchkrow is unable to battle," Axel said. "Cranidos wins."
---
Raven recalled her Pokémon.
She didn't look concerned.
If anything, she looked bored.
"Muk," she said.
---
The sludge Pokémon oozed forward.
It was slower than Honchkrow. Heavier. More deliberate. But there was something terrifying about the way it moved—the way its body rippled and shifted, the way its eyes gleamed from beneath layers of toxic waste.
Cranidos charged without waiting for a command.
"Stop!" Patricia shouted.
Too late.
Muk's body absorbed the impact.
Cranidos's head sank into the sludge—not colliding, not bouncing, just sinking, as if the Rock-type had thrown itself into a pit of tar. The poison began to work immediately.
Cranidos screamed.
Its body was burning.
"Get out!" Patricia cried. "Break free!"
Cranidos tried.
It thrashed.
It couldn't escape.
"Sludge Bomb," Raven said.
Muk condensed.
A sphere of poison formed at its center.
It fired.
Cranidos was thrown across the arena. Its body was covered in burns—not fire, but acid. The Rock-type struggled to rise. Its legs shook. Its eyes were unfocused.
It collapsed.
"Cranidos is unable to battle," Axel said. "Muk wins."
---
Patricia's heart was pounding.
She had one Pokémon left.
Floatzel.
The Water-type emerged from its ball with a fierce cry—its twin tails lashing, its flotation sac inflating, its eyes locked on Muk. It had evolved. It was stronger now.
But Muk wasn't going to be easy.
"Floatzel. Aqua Jet."
Floatzel became a blur.
It struck Muk with the force of a cannonball.
The sludge Pokémon reeled—its body rippling, spattering. But it didn't fall. It reformed. It always reformed.
"Flamethrower," Raven said.
Muk's body ignited.
A stream of fire erupted from its core—not natural flame, but chemical fire, burning and toxic.
Floatzel dodged.
Barely.
"Keep moving!" Patricia shouted. "Don't let it touch you!"
Floatzel danced.
It was faster than Muk. More agile. More precise. It dodged the fire, dodged the sludge, dodged the toxic waves that Muk sent toward it.
But it couldn't dodge forever.
Muk was waiting.
It was patient.
It was—
"Now," Raven said.
Muk's body expanded.
It collapsed outward, covering the entire arena floor in a layer of sludge and poison. There was nowhere to stand. Nowhere to dodge.
Floatzel slipped.
It fell into the sludge.
Its body burned.
"Floatzel!" Patricia screamed.
The Water-type thrashed. Tried to escape. But the poison was everywhere—in its fur, in its mouth, in its eyes. It couldn't breathe. It couldn't see.
"Finish it," Raven said.
Muk condensed.
Its body wrapped around Floatzel like a fist.
It squeezed.
Floatzel screamed.
Then went silent.
"Floatzel is unable to battle," Axel said. "Muk wins. The victory goes to Raven."
---
Silence.
Patricia stood frozen.
Her Pokémon lay on the ground, covered in sludge, unconscious. Lopunny ran to Floatzel's side, its ears drooping, its eyes wide with concern.
Patricia didn't move.
She couldn't.
---
Raven recalled Muk.
She walked over—slow, measured, her cloak trailing behind her.
She stopped in front of Patricia.
"You fought well," she said.
Patricia looked up.
"Go to hell."
Raven's expression didn't change.
"Your next match is crucial. Win, and you qualify for the League. Lose, and you're eliminated."
"I know."
"Good."
Raven turned and walked away.
---
The Eclipse Squad vanished back into the shadows.
Revan lingered a moment longer.
His silver-gray eyes met Patricia's.
"See you at the League," he said.
Then he was gone.
---
Patricia fell to her knees.
Lopunny pressed against her, its body warm, its breath quick. Briv was there—his hand on her shoulder, his voice in her ear.
"You're okay," he said. "You're okay."
She wasn't.
But she nodded anyway.
---
Axel helped her to her feet.
"We need to keep moving," he said. "The League won't wait."
Patricia wiped her eyes.
"No," she said. "It won't."
She looked at the city beyond the amphitheater—the lights, the towers, the promise of everything she'd worked for.
One win away.
One loss away.
The next match was everything.