Angel of the Shadows

13. Roar, Gyarados

Shadow Skill: Silence. Prevents the opponent from using moves such as Roar or Intimidate

From the moment they evolve, Gyarados are struck by a desire to destroy. They will not calm until nothing is left. Shadows, however, seem incapable of such ferociousness.

Angel sat down at one of the little tables that overlooked the ocean and wondered if Maya would still be alive had she chosen to turn down the mission for Team Rocket. She probably should have to begin with since she'd both succeeded and failed in the mission. But at least everyone had gotten what they wanted. The meddlesome goody two-shoes were out of the way so they could get things done. Part of her felt she could have done more good if she had continued to work for them after the organization revealed the truth to her.

But one thing she'd chosen to live her life by was the fact that things happened for a reason. And her father now had some of that glowy liquid from the Silph Co. So regardless, if they could figure out its purpose, they could use it against Team Rocket. They could even become as much of a thorn in their side as Ash Ketchum and his friends. Perhaps it was for the better, too. She doubted she would have been able to play Team Rocket from the inside, what with how easy she was to read and how she couldn't lie. At least, not very well. Not to mention, it was unlikely they would have believed her anyway. Do-gooders didn't just up and change overnight. Horrible things had to happen to them to set them on a different path.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and glanced up to see Faolan. Only then did she realize she'd been quiet for far too long, and she blushed. "Sorry. I was just wondering if..." Angel trailed off, shook her head, and looked back to the ocean. Though she barely knew Faolan, she knew he would be like every normal person and tried to convince her that she was not at fault. And honestly, that wasn't something she could deal with now. No matter how badly she tried to deny it, Maya would not have been docked that day had Angel not pushed for a bit of speed.

After a little while, her gaze went to the shrunken pokéballs still in her hand. She pressed the buttons to enlarge them and released her friends. Sylvie, her Shiny Sylveon. Dreamer, a black and white Absol. Rosie, a Leafeon who'd grown up around cherry blossom trees and taken their appearance. Anya, a mischievous Litten. And Aleu, a Midday Lycanroc who did not have the neck fluff that all others had. They all instantly began to shower her with questions and demands for attention. Anya was surprisingly quite upset that she hadn't been invited—something along the lines of being rude not to include her. Of course, she didn't care that the others weren't invited, either. Just herself. All in all, it made her laugh. Even Faolan seemed to be amused, for she heard a soft chuckle.

Anya began to look around for Ebony, but when she didn't smell him on her, she just jumped atop Angel's head and curled up. Angel choked up at that, for she knew the little one merely thought Ebony was off to himself. As soon as Anya found out the truth, she would be devastated. Hopefully, Angel could keep it from her, and she would never have to know. Ebony was Anya's best friend. Aside from her, that is.

When she looked at Faolan, she saw that he was focused on Sylvie, Rosie, and Dreamer. Well, more so Rosie and Dreamer, which made sense because, although rare, Shiny Pokémon weren't quite that rare. Angel pointed at each Pokémon as she introduced them, then went into details about Rosie and Dreamer. She explained how the young Eevee had grown up in and evolved beneath a Cherry Tree, so she was shades of pink and red instead of green and brown. And how, though Dreamer's color origins were unknown, she was certain Absol's reverse-colored coat made him a bearer of creation, purity, and good luck. Not that she believed the superstition of them being harbingers of doom and destruction.

"Do you only have five?"

"Yes and no. My sixth member, Ebony, is a Sableye with Melanism. I don't know if you've ever heard of that, but it's an excess of pigmentation and makes his skin darker than the rest of his kind. I named him Ebony because I thought he was the same shade as the gem. He carries a topaz-colored gem, as big as the one you would see a Mega holding, but he can't Mega-volve. Maybe he's in permanent Mega form? Heh. Never thought of that."