It was once said, that the only thing to fear is fear itself. But what if fear became manifest? Tangible. What if it lived, breathed and ate like all living organisms? What if it could hunt? What if it stopped being just a word...and became a constant state of reality? Fear incites a fight or flight reaction and for many it turns out well. But sometimes it doesn't...
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The snow had fallen upon Lumiose City. Many of the denizens of the city were getting off work and getting ready for their nightly activities. A group of young trainers had just arrived in Lumiose City and had already gone off to challenge the leader, Clemont. The trainer was down to his last partner and considering this was the last badge he needed in order to make it into the League, he needed to pull a victory here. His name was Axel Harrison. He had dark brown hair with green eyes and lightly tanned skin.

He glanced down at his last partner and took a deep breath. Okay...this is it. I'm counting on you...

Axel primed the ball and pulled his hand back in preparation. "Tyranitar, let's go!" Axel shouted, firing the ball onto the field.

The towering behemoth roared onto the battlefield and faced the opposing Luxray wth a determined expression. A sandstorm suddenly brewed on the battlefield, obstructing vision and making conditions harder to battle in.

"Tyranitar, Stone Edge!" Axel called out.

"Luxray, Ice Fang!" Clemont countered.

Tyranitar snarled and stomped hard on the ground, forming several large stones that rotated around his body in a crisscross fashion. With a deafening roar, Tyranitar hurled the stones towards the swift-moving opposition. Luxray dodged and weaved around the stones, lacing his teeth with ice before leaping up with his mouth a gape, ready to bite down upon Tyranitar. The rock behemoth growled and unhinged his jaws, loosing a blast of draconic energy, blasting Luxray back, sending him skidding across the ground.

Luxray rose to his feet and staggered forward, shaking his head vigorously before refocusing on the fight.

"You okay Luxray?" Clemont queried, getting an affirmative nod from the lion. "Right, use Wild Charge!" Clemont commanded.

"Dark Pulse!" Axel countered.

Tyranitar snarled viciously and opened his jaws once more, gathering in dark energy in preparation for his counter attack. Luxray hammered into him with great force, sending the Armor Pokémon skidding back with his claws digging into the arena floor. With an agitated roar, Tyranitar released a cannon blast of dark energy that tore up the ground before hammering into Luxray. The electric lion struggled back up and snarled at Tyranitar in a challenging manner. Tyranitar roared back and slammed his tail into the ground.

Something doesn't seem right. Tyranitar is usually more composed than this. I know he gets competitive in battles he likes, but he's being a bit too aggressive, Axel observed as Tyranitar began stomping towards Luxray, saliva dripping from his teeth as he neared.

Luxray crouched low, ready to attack.

"Luxray, use Ice Fang!" Clemont called out.

"Stone Edge!" Axel countered.

Luxray darted forward, pushing off with his powerful hind legs before leaping high, jaws agape with an icy sheen to his teeth. Tyranitar simply stood there until Luxray neared only to whirl around and slam into Luxray with his tail coated in steel. Luxray flew backwards and hit the wall hard, falling to the ground in a heap, barely conscious.

"Tyranitar, I said Stone Edge, not Iron Tail!" Axel shouted.

Tyranitar didn't seem to listen. He continued to stomp towards Luxray, ignorant of his trainer's commands. Suddenly, he stopped, placing his claws on his head as if he were in pain. His eyes flashed between white and red. He began staggering and roaring in rage. A dark aura began to wrap around Tyranitar. Axel and Clemont looked on as Tyranitar stumbled around, his tail flailing about until finally, he stood still. With a deafening roar, he shook the gym and whirled around to face Axel.

Axel's eyes widened in terror as he saw the deranged look on his companion's face. Tyranitar began to stomp towards Axel, a malignant look in his eyes. Tyranitar's back spikes began to glow one by one as energy was gathered into his mouth. A bright orange light flashed in his mouth before he loosed it with a roar in Axel's direction. Axel dove out of the way and rolled back up. Tyranitar growled fiercely at Axel.

"Thunder!" Clemont commanded after assessing the situation.

Luxray snapped off a blast of lightning that slammed into Tyranitar, further angering the beast. The towering rock titan rounded on Luxray with a Dark Pulse that blasted him through the wall.

"Luxray!" Clemont cried out as his friend crashed through the other side of the building, quickly clinging to the edge so as not to fall to the street below. Clemont quickly returned Luxray, only to find Tyranitar charging up fire within his maw.

"RUN CLEMONT!" Axel cried out.

Clemont duly did so, avoiding a catastrophe as flames melted the wall behind him. Axel reached for Tyranitar's ball and attempted to return him. As the light consumed Tyranitar, he roared in annoyance and with a powerful shout, shook the tower and sent Axel off balance, causing him to drop the ball. The ball rolled across the floor a good distance away. Axel made a break for it only to be barred by a massive stone that crashed in his path, sending the ball crashing through the floor to the lower levels.

Clemont, though terrified, knew that getting that ball was the only way to contain the monstrosity that Tyranitar had become now. He still had Luxray, albeit he was pretty beaten up. He needed to stall. "Axel, you get the ball, I'll hold him off!"

Axel looked down the hole and then back towards Clemont. Was he nuts? Then again, desperate times called for desperate measures. He watched as Clemont released Luxray again to buy some time. Tyranitar, however, had other plans. He began stalking towards Axel, paying no mind to the thunder lion before him. Luxray leapt and Tyranitar batted him aside with his tail and kept walking. Axel jumped through the hole, tucking and rolling as he landed. He gritted his teeth as his landing wasn't exactly soft.

Axel looked up to see Tyranitar loose a Dark Pulse. Luxray cried out in pain as his body crashed into the opposite wall. Clemont rushed towards Luxray to check on him. Tyranitar turned and marched towards the edge of the hole and glared down at Axel who was struggling to his feet. Tyranitar gathered flames into his mouth and prepared to release them, only to be slammed in the back with a bolt of lightning. With a gutteral growl, Tyranitar whirled around and reared his head back, his back spikes lighting up before he loosed a Hyper Beam towards Clemont and Luxray. The ground shook and began to give way as the beam traveled towards Clemont.

A loud explosion, followed by a scream took place. The tower shook violently from the blast.

"CLEMONT!" Axel cried out.

Axel looked around in a panic, trying to locate Tyranitar's ball. Spotting it, he made a run for it. As he picked it up, a loud crash was heard behind him, causing him to turn to see Tyranitar had smashed through the floor and was now rising up to tower above him. With a threatening roar, Tyranitar charged. Axel turned and bolted making his way towards the elevator. Tyranitar opened wide and fired a blast of dark energy towards the elevator, causing it to explode. A wall of flames erupted before Axel. Thinking quickly, Axel turned and tried once again to recall Tyranitar.

Once again, he had no success. The ghostly aura warded off the recall beam, rendering the ball useless. The only thing that Axel could do at this point, was run. A deafening roar split the air followed by the shattering of glass as a beam of light punched a hole in the side of Prism Tower. Axel had ducked another Hyper Beam. He turned around and made a break for the hole and stared outside into the night. The city was now alight and people were peering out the windows of their homes at the scene. He looked behind him and saw Tyranitar getting closer, his teeth crackling with dark energy. Taking note that he had a platform to work with, he sidled onto it and began to climb down the steel beams that made up the tower.

A beam of dark energy smashed through the metal, sending shrapnel flying past Axel, cutting the side of his face. Axel cried out and gripped the beam he was on to steady himself as he continued his descent. Tyranitar stuck his head out of the recent hole he punched and began looking for Axel. The lad pressed himself flat against the side to avoid being in direct line of sight of the beast. Axel slowly made his way to the next part of the tower until he wasn't but another floor from the ground. As he began his descent, a terrifying roar sounded behind him.

A powerful earthquake shook the ground, rattling the tower and throwing Axel off the second floor of the tower. Axel tucked and rolled, and then popped up as he hit the ground running. His shoulder ached, his leg was in pain and his mind raced. It was dark, he needed to find cover and fast. Another rumbling sound followed by a crash was heard behind him as Tyranitar had crashed through the side of the structure and landed hard on the ground, shaking it.

Axel's heart pounded as he made a break for nearest route. He couldn't remain in the city for long. The swamp was his only hope for cover. While Tyranitar was still looking around, Axel took the opportunity to slink through the shadows of the night in attempts to escape his desperate situation.
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The Laverre Nature Trail was eerily silent, save for the pounding footsteps approaching from the route entrance and the rain hammering the ground. Axel panted as he stopped at the swing set. Soaked and exhausted, he leaned looked back at the once silent and now lit up, and probably panicking city. To his surprise, there was none of that. Unbeknownst to him, there were firefighters on the scene dealing with the fire. There were no screams of terror. No cries for help. Just the sirens and usual sounds.

That's when it hit him. Tyranitar was either hiding...or no longer in the city. The swamp grounds began to tremble. He needed to run. Axel took off in a full on sprint, darting into the murky waters, disrupting a few Goomy and other creatures in the process. Axel ran as fast as he could up the route until he came to a house that was lit. Desperate to hide, he rushed to the door and banged on it.

After a moment, the door opened to reveal an old man in a suit with a wooden cane. On his shoulder was a Murkrow that looked at him curiously.

"Oh my, you're all wet! Come inside quickly, we need to get you dry," the old man said as he ushered Axel inside.

Axel panted and slumped down by the fireplace that was already lit. Axel went for it quickly and began to warm himself while shaking off the experience he'd gone through.

"Good heavens my boy, what were you doing out there in the rain?" The old man asked as Axel sat before the fire with his hands out.

"Well...it's a bit of a long story. Let's just say that I don't think my Tyranitar will be listening to me anytime soon," Axel sighed.

"What happened?" The old man inquired, preparing a cup of hot chocolate for Axel and setting the tray beside him.

"Thank you..." Axel began, taking the cup and sipping a little before setting it down. "See, I was battling Clemont for my final badge. Everything was going well until it got into the later parts of the battle. For some reason, Tyranitar became more aggressive than usual. I thought it was just because he was pumped for the fight, but then he began to get brutal. He suddenly stopped listening and just went...crazy. His eyes turned red and he was surrounded by this weird ghostly aura. It was like he was-"

"Possessed?" The old man finished.

"Yeah...that..." Axel replied hesitantly.

The old man sighed and sat down in his rocking chair by the fireplace and began to relax. "You see my boy several cases like the one you are describing have happened before."

Axel blinked. "I know...but I just never thought-"

"It would happen to you? It's understandable. After all, there are millions of people in Kalos, so why you?" The old man reasoned, scratching his chin. "You see, there's talk of a malignant spirit that's trapped in this world. From what Olympia has said, this spirit feeds on the souls of strong trainers and their partners to keep itself alive," the old man stated with a serious expression.

"On their souls? So it essentially eats them. Well that's great...it sure picked a good host body to take over," Axel muttered.

"Yes, a Tyranitar would be ideal. After all, they can destroy landscapes and tear anything apart that is in their way to get to their prey. Arceus help whoever it pursues am I right?" The old man stated.

"No kidding. My Tyranitar wasn't exactly the easiest to train. He was stubborn and did not like taking orders at first. But he eventually learned to trust me," Axel sighed, glancing down at his keystone which was embedded into his necklace.

"Ah, so he can Mega Evolve? How interesting," the old man chuckled. "Or should I say...perfect?" The old man stated in a slightly darker tone.

"Yeah...it is per-" Axel froze as he heard snarling outside the door. "He's outside, I have to-"

"Run? My dear boy, your escape was doomed the moment you walked into this place," the old man grinned, his face suddenly morphing into a more hideous and disheveled look. It was as if he was withering away slowly.

"Y-y-you're..." Axel stammered.

"Yes, I am exactly what you're thinking," the old man stated with a chuckle, a dark aura suddenly surrounding him as the roof was ripped off by Axel's Tyranitar. "You see, it was getting to be that time for me. I was weakening and this old body wasn't going to last much longer, so I needed a new soul. I needed the blood and the soul of a strong trainer. Someone who had a unique spirit that was pure and rich with power. That was when I felt yours."

Axel stepped back, his eyes looking up at Tyranitar and then back to the deranged old man whose hair was now falling off his head and his skin was starting to shrivel up.

"You see...possessing your Tyranitar was quite difficult. You were right about him bing stubborn. He nearly threw me out had I not strengthened my hold on him. Once that was done, all that was left to do was lead you straight to me. I'll admit...there was an unexpected casualty, but there are a lot of those I suppose," the old man shrugged.

"Y-you killed-"

"Clemont. Well...I'm not sure if I killed him. I didn't see a body afterwards. Maybe he was turned to ash," the old man cackled, hacking and coughing as he finished. "He certainly was persistent though.

"You won't get away with this!" Axel snarled, clenching his fists and readying himself to fight for his life.

"Oh how adorable. You plan to fight me without the help of your companions. I guess you are in better condition than they are considering they're all out of commission aren't they?" Laughed the old man.

Tyranitar crashed through the door and stood behind the old man, his glowing red eyes fixed upon Axel. "Fight it Tyranitar! You're stronger than that!"

"Oh this is rich! Yes, go ahead. He can't hear you though, his mind is completely blocked off. No amount of shouting will change that. He won't listen to anyone except for me now," the demonic old man said with a wicked grin. "You can shout as much as you want, it will make it all the more entertaining when I devour your soul!"

Axel sweat-dropped and stepped back, knowing there was no way out. He was trapped. If he tried to get to the roof, Tyranitar would blast him down. There was only one way to do this. One way to free Tyranitar. He had to get rid of the old man. Reaching for his mug, he chucked it at the old man, knocking him square in the head. He fell backwards and then Axel charged. As he jumped, Tyranitar whipped around and slammed a fist into Axel's ribcage launching him backwards. Axel gripped his ribcage in pain. He was bleeding severely and was starting to lose focus.

The old man stood up, rubbing his head and cursing under his breath. "A valiant effort my boy, but all you did was make me hungrier for your soul. I'll feast upon you until your blood runs dry," he said as he neared, baring his decayed teeth.

Axel struggled to move. His ribs were busted and his consciousness was fading.

Is this it? Am I really going to die this way? Why...why Arceus? WHY!? He screamed in his mind as the old man unhinged his jaws, preparing to clamp down. Axel shut his eyes, preparing for the worst.

The sound of tearing flesh echoed through the house. Blood spilled out onto the floor and a head rolled onto the ground. Axel slowly opened his eyes in confusion to see a Luxray in the midst of the room, standing in a pool of blood. He looked over to Tyranitar who was now no longer shrouded in a shadowy aura. He seemed to be in the right state of mind.

"Wait...Luxray? Then...that means!"

"Whew! I just made it!" Clemont said in an exhausted tone. With him was an young female officer who had her motorcycle with an attached car on the side.

"H-how did you...find me?" Axel asked, holding his ribcage in pain as he tried to remain conscious.

"Well..." Clemont began telling the tale of how he and Luxray survived the fall they took when the floor beneath them gave way. Clemont had time to heal Luxray with a few potions he had to spare. After enlisting the help of an officer, Clemont had managed to use Luxray to lead them to Axel.

"So yeah...that's the jist of it," Clemont said with a sigh.

"It's a good thing you got here in time...I thought I was a goner," Axel said, just before passing out.

"We need to get him to a center on the double. Clemont, I'll take him from here," the officer said as she and Clemont lifted Axel up and carried him to the cycle car.

"Oh! I nearly forgot," Clemont said as he made his way back into the house and grabbed Tyranitar's ball. Clemont looked at the rock titan and returned him. "He'll be wanting this," Clemont said as he hopped on Luxray and clipped the ball to his belt.

The officer nodded and then they rode off. The rickety house suddenly began to decay at a rapid pace and exploded into dust. The sinister presence that tainted the air...was no more...