Chapter 8:
The Shadows
“Impossible…” He sounds more in awe than actual surprise. “If you can stand up to Landorus Incarnate, then you might just have a chance. I suppose I owe you some answers, huh? Alright, we’ll start with my discovery. I had been researching ways to optimize the combat power of Pokemon, especially Landorus-Therian. For comparison, I also observed the similar Therian relatives: Thundurus and Tornadus. However both of these Pokemon had an Incarnate form. I was stumped. Never had we observed an Incarnate form for this Therian, but it would complete the symmetry. Fast forward several failed experiments, and my team was exhausted. I took a walk through the city hoping to relieve some stress and get some air. While walking, I saw something I had no explanation for. I was inexplicably drawn to a Porygon that was, for a lack of a better phrase, glitching. It spoke to me, and it told me that there were Pokemon that had been removed from existence entirely. I didn’t believe it at first, but when I mentioned my work with Landorus-Incarnate it pulled the one you see here out of the very fabric of reality. I was stunned. Distracted by this Pokemon, I failed to see this Porygon vanish. With my newly found Pokemon, I raced to show the Council. It was revolutionary, groundbreaking even! I had found an entirely new form of a Pokemon, whose combat power was immense. When I reached the council, though, I realized I had made a mistake.” He looks down at the ground for the first time since you’ve met him. “If I hadn’t had been so caught up with the rush of discovery I would have been able to realize that my contact with that strange Porygon had had some additional effects on me. Bits of information swirling around in my head, fuzzy and indistinct. They suddenly turned sharp and I realized, too late, several things. Landorus Incarnate wasn’t a new Pokemon--it was an old one, removed from the world. Moreover, removed intentionally, for its power was too much for most citizens to bear. So it was removed from our world, and memory. And it wasn’t the only one.” He looks up once more, a crestfallen look upon his face. “You surely encountered “The King of Jamrock”, yes? He is one of the few individuals whose memory was not fully wiped. People treated him like a madman, and I fear it might have driven him to actual madness. At the core, though, he’s closer to reality than most.”
He lets out a sigh. “Anyway, the council was responsible for this and other bans, so you can imagine their surprise when I showed up with it. They began bickering, and as the fight escalated I realized my mistake. Fearing for the safety of Landorus, I raced back to my lab and grabbed my current team of Pokemon and retreated to this city,” He gestures to the city around you “You see, this remote city was originally and observatory and was built without any stairs--only those with flying types could reach it. It is easy to defend this place for me with 6 flying Pokemon, as attackers don’t have the same numbers. I also have the high ground, so to speak. This is how I’ve been maintaining this small utopia with those who were working here when The Great Tilt Happened.” You notice the sun is nearly setting behind you. TQJ seems to notice this as well. “I’ve told you my story now. You might be able to bring balance back to the world after I sent it into chaos, but it won’t be easy. The Council is made up of the four strongest trainers in the region. Somehow they bested Porygon2, the one who was able to remove these Pokemon from existence. I left before it happened, so I don’t know how. I can point you to the council headquarters, and get you past the guards--the systems that run this observatory also give me the ability to check the systems in their HQ. They still haven’t changed their passwords. Go figure, right?” He lets out a small chuckle, and approaches you. In his hand, a circular badge; a dark blue background with a lighter crescent across it. “Here. This is the Horizon Badge. Take it as a mark of my respect--and hopes. May your horizons ever expand, and bring light to our world once more.” He gives you a sheet of paper with a long passcode on it. He waves farewell, as you once more take flight on Quote’s Skarmory, who never seems to tire. As you descend into the clouds, sun in the distance, you take in the view of all the regions you’ve traversed so far. Soon, this world will view you as a savior. Or so you hope.
After a ride to the Capital that went far too long, Skarmory lands near a conspicuous but putrid area of land below the hill of the Capital. For a moment, you’re confused til you realize going through the Capital’s gates asking for the Big 5 isn’t the best idea. You bid Skarmory goodbye as you climb into the sewers. The sewers eventually get larger and darker as you get further and further in. You reach a final fork in these sewers. On the left, is a ominous purple light and on the right is a passage too small for you to crawl through and seems to lead to a water reclamation plant.
You walk towards the tunnel with the purple light to see a dulled out... Pokemon? It looked alien, with its shadowy tentacles. You begin to run back the other way when one of the tentacles grabs you not letting you escape and holds you upside down in front of its face. You’ve come so far and just when you’re so close to taking down the council and restoring the divine Porygon, you’re caught by this purple and black monster of sorts. You break into a cold sweat fearing what might happen to you. Quickly thinking you reach for a Pokeball and begin to throw it out, but you stop short upon hearing the "thing" talk.
"My Father told me you would be coming,” it says.
And that moment you piece it all together. This is a Porygon. This is the Porygon that is the son of the Porygon2. You gasp.
“It appears that you just put this is all together. The many other Porygon have gone extinct in a sense or at least have become very rare and hard to find. The council has been systematically killing off any and all Porygon in hopes of finding me and ending my life.”
You look back at him, confused.
“The council banned Shadow Tag much to the dismay of Porygon2 so he created me, his son, and infused me with the ability. I was a sort of glitch in a system. This whole mess went down when the council discovered me after I pulled out Lando-I out of Ubers for TQJ. The council got rid of my dad and I went into hiding. And essentially the Shadow Tag ability locks me in a battle with the other person until one of us wins this matchup. I specialize in Doubles -- something you probably have never encountered in your journey. I guess it’ll be a test of your strength and versatility."
He lets out a sigh. “Anyway, the council was responsible for this and other bans, so you can imagine their surprise when I showed up with it. They began bickering, and as the fight escalated I realized my mistake. Fearing for the safety of Landorus, I raced back to my lab and grabbed my current team of Pokemon and retreated to this city,” He gestures to the city around you “You see, this remote city was originally and observatory and was built without any stairs--only those with flying types could reach it. It is easy to defend this place for me with 6 flying Pokemon, as attackers don’t have the same numbers. I also have the high ground, so to speak. This is how I’ve been maintaining this small utopia with those who were working here when The Great Tilt Happened.” You notice the sun is nearly setting behind you. TQJ seems to notice this as well. “I’ve told you my story now. You might be able to bring balance back to the world after I sent it into chaos, but it won’t be easy. The Council is made up of the four strongest trainers in the region. Somehow they bested Porygon2, the one who was able to remove these Pokemon from existence. I left before it happened, so I don’t know how. I can point you to the council headquarters, and get you past the guards--the systems that run this observatory also give me the ability to check the systems in their HQ. They still haven’t changed their passwords. Go figure, right?” He lets out a small chuckle, and approaches you. In his hand, a circular badge; a dark blue background with a lighter crescent across it. “Here. This is the Horizon Badge. Take it as a mark of my respect--and hopes. May your horizons ever expand, and bring light to our world once more.” He gives you a sheet of paper with a long passcode on it. He waves farewell, as you once more take flight on Quote’s Skarmory, who never seems to tire. As you descend into the clouds, sun in the distance, you take in the view of all the regions you’ve traversed so far. Soon, this world will view you as a savior. Or so you hope.
After a ride to the Capital that went far too long, Skarmory lands near a conspicuous but putrid area of land below the hill of the Capital. For a moment, you’re confused til you realize going through the Capital’s gates asking for the Big 5 isn’t the best idea. You bid Skarmory goodbye as you climb into the sewers. The sewers eventually get larger and darker as you get further and further in. You reach a final fork in these sewers. On the left, is a ominous purple light and on the right is a passage too small for you to crawl through and seems to lead to a water reclamation plant.
You walk towards the tunnel with the purple light to see a dulled out... Pokemon? It looked alien, with its shadowy tentacles. You begin to run back the other way when one of the tentacles grabs you not letting you escape and holds you upside down in front of its face. You’ve come so far and just when you’re so close to taking down the council and restoring the divine Porygon, you’re caught by this purple and black monster of sorts. You break into a cold sweat fearing what might happen to you. Quickly thinking you reach for a Pokeball and begin to throw it out, but you stop short upon hearing the "thing" talk.
"My Father told me you would be coming,” it says.
And that moment you piece it all together. This is a Porygon. This is the Porygon that is the son of the Porygon2. You gasp.
“It appears that you just put this is all together. The many other Porygon have gone extinct in a sense or at least have become very rare and hard to find. The council has been systematically killing off any and all Porygon in hopes of finding me and ending my life.”
You look back at him, confused.
“The council banned Shadow Tag much to the dismay of Porygon2 so he created me, his son, and infused me with the ability. I was a sort of glitch in a system. This whole mess went down when the council discovered me after I pulled out Lando-I out of Ubers for TQJ. The council got rid of my dad and I went into hiding. And essentially the Shadow Tag ability locks me in a battle with the other person until one of us wins this matchup. I specialize in Doubles -- something you probably have never encountered in your journey. I guess it’ll be a test of your strength and versatility."
Meet ShadowTagPorygon, The Outcast
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