"Glaceon, lets go" May said with the utmost amount of confidence, as Glaceon was released from its pokeball. 

"Greninja, lets do this" Elizabeth sent out her Greninja, water vs ice. Greninja had a slight advantage. 

"Shadow ball, Glaceon!" May went for the attack, the dark energy already forming in a sphere around Glaceon's mouth. It fired the ball of energy at Elizabeth's Greninja, who was stood there one moment and then next to Glaceon the next, in a flash.

"Greninja, smack down!" Elizabeth replied. May was stunned by Greninja's speed and tactfulness as it suddenly had a rock in its hand, launching it at Glaceon in a huge ball, using the palm of its hand to push the stone into Glaceon's body. With smack down being a long range move, the close range attack sent Glaceon flying back, straight past May. The rock type move was also super effective, Glaceon feeling the effects while quickly returning to battle.

"Greninja, smack down one more time" Elizabeth began to counter, but May had devised a plan. 

"Glaceon, ice shard!" She countered the counter, smiling as Glaceon froze the rock that Greninja had just launched at it, firing it straight back at Greninja with a direct hit. "Shadow ball again!" Glaceon repeated the move, this time hitting a recovering Greninja with precision. 

"Greninja, use hydro pump and don't let up!" Elizabeth gritted her teeth. She is proving more of a challenge then I thought, maybe she could be useful for our plan... Elizabeth thought, as Greninja put all of its energy into firing a huge jet of water at Glaceon, who stopped and prepared for the attack, waiting for May to say a move.

"Glaceon, mirror coat!" Was the worst decision May had ever made. Glaceon became encased in a shiny coat, the hydro pump bouncing straight off and hitting Greninja. "Extra effective!" May added, with a fist pump. 

She didn't notice Elizabeth doing a hand signal, who also returned Greninja. 

Suddenly, an airship appeared in the sky and then, the whole arena became encased in smoke. The crowd erupted in confusion, while May looked around. 

"Glaceon, return" She said, really puzzled. Then, the smoke became dark, like shadows. She circled around herself, looking to see what was going on as the darkness consumed her.

"Umbreon, hypnosis" The repeated move was all too familiar to May, who instantly fell asleep. 

There was a moment before she awoke, jumping up. 

May suddenly found herself in an empty white room, like a large box. There was one small window with bars, no furniture and a white door that was cracked open. Then, it opened and one person stood at the entrance. 

"Fail-ure" Dawn shook her head at May, who frowned, still feeling really strange.

W-what's going on? Why is this happening? She thought, just as everyone else entered the room.

"Failure"

"Failure"

"Just stop trying"

"You suck"

The words continued to move around inside her head, mixing up her brain and making her body feel weak. 

Why? May felt tears forming in her eyes. What is going on? She suddenly realized that none of her words were coming out, that they were just empty thoughts. STOP! May clutched her head, which was now thumping like a drum beat. She dropped to the floor, just as it opened up. Then, as the dark void continued to spin round and round, May finally woke up. 

"Oh, May. Don't you like the darkness?" A voice she had never heard before was speaking to her. May looked around, realizing she was just in a dream. The arena was still dark and she could not see The Speaker, it was as if he was in her head. 

"No" She decided to reply, getting up. May decided not to move from where she stood, incase there was trouble. 

"But the darkness is a good thing. It hides you from the real, ugly world. You should embrace the darkness, May, for it can do you so much good" The Speaker  replied, not changing in tone or mood. 

May didn't reply. The words of The Speaker suddenly felt enticing. Her head began to feel strange as The Speaker continued.

"Just relax your body and let me help you" He said, making May twitch. She tried to fight the urge to agree, but it was so strong. Like something was secretly controlling her, making her agree. "I can already tell what your answer is. You will meet me tomorrow at the location noted in your bag, at the time listed. Au revoir for now, May" Then, May felt like the voice had gone, like it was just energy she could sense. The smoke suddenly disappeared, like an illusion. Suddenly, May had realized something. All of her Pokemon on the screen had apparently fainted. 

May looked at Elizabeth, who was returning her Greninja once more.

What? May was still confused, the enticing words repeating over and over again in her head, while she was trying to figure out how she lost without doing anything. 

Elizabeth slowly walked up and, leaning in, she whispered "Sometimes, you should keep an eye on your pokeballs" She said, before turning and walking away. 

May dropped into a sitting position, placing her hands in her head. 

"What just happened" She breathed out, slowly contemplating what had just happened. 

"Come on May" A hand appeared in her vision, Dawn standing over her. "Lets go get something to eat, I have no idea what happened but you did your best, right?"

May took her hand and didn't reply, she couldn't. What did I even do? What is my best? She thought, letting the dream take over her mind. I am just a failure, a big fat nothing. The dream continued to lure her in as she sat down on a bench outside, while Dawn wandered off. 

Embrace the darkness. Her mind suddenly said, making May shake her head. No! Don-. 

Oh come on, it's like he said, the darkness hides you from the real, ugly world we live in. Why not hide in it, even for a little bit? Her mind was fighting with her, like two personalities, the Angel on one side and the Devil on the other, fighting for what they thought was right and wrong. 

But then, Ash was sat next to her and those bad thoughts dissipated. 

Sometimes, different people can become one person saviour. When that person who makes a difference doesn't even understand the persons feelings at the time, they still say something to try and prompt them to feel better, or to prompt their friends to help. 

May suddenly felt the darkness fading, an ever decreasing pulse in the back of her mind. But, she also understood that it was not going to fade and like some cryptic disease, the darkness was going to grow back. May wanted to be ready to fight it. Unlike Parker.

Parker, who had succumbed to the darkness in his first encounter with the Team Shadow at that time, never had any friends by his side to stop him from falling into the wrong hands, moulding him into the human being he was today. 

The mysterious leader of Team Shadow had left many questions lying around in Ash and co's wake, causing them to play detective and check around the area for clues. It was all part of his big plan, by making the kids go on a wild goose chase, he had the freedom to set up the final stages of his plan. But, he wanted his Team to win the tournament, to make it a little easier to prepare. 

This team was not a team that would lose easily. They was nothing like Team Rocket, or Plasma, or Galactic. Even Team Flare was no match for Team Shadow. 

Because the shadows always stay hidden in plain sight, attacking their prey without them even catching a glimpse of the predator. The shadows were strong, resilient and most of all, dependable. But, sadly for the Kanto region, they only depended on the shadows that surrounded them. Even the darkest shadows have shadows within them, that live with them. It's what that first shadow does that changes the way the shadows in the area work. But the strongest shadows adapt to change and eventually get their pray, or make their prey join the shadows and teach them how to stay within the darkness, for all eternity. 

May, who had just realized she had blanked out for a moment, looked up at Ash. 

"You feeling ok?" Asked the voice of reason.

-------------

Sorry this chapter is a little rubbish. I kind of rushed it and it is (or was) 3am so I am only a little sleepy right now.

Also, sorry for the 250 word narration at the end x) I had run out of ideas for dialogue, wanted to get the chapter finished asap and decided to just type whatever came to mind, half of it probably makes no sense.

Oh and, the reference to Parker is for Chapter 15 - Living in The Shadows. This is the same thing that is happening to May, with the man's voice x)

Hope you enjoyed!