Emboar reacted immediately to Hilda's scream, ignoring the stabs of pain from his back as he began to lift himself off the ground. With a single push he flew backwards, the claws on his feet sliding against the marble's surface. Emboar raised his arms and with practiced ease caught his trainer just before she hit the ground.
The fire pig allowed himself a smile at how the how the roles had been switched. Not even a year had passed from when he was a Tepig, starting his journey with Hilda in Nuvema Town. It was just after their victory in the Striaton City gym that she held him in her arms just as he did with her now. For someone who commanded so much of his loyalty and power, she was truly a fragile creature.
"Thanks Emboar," Hilda whispered into his fur, her body pressed against the golden swirls of his stomach. He could hear the sound of her tiny heart beating against him, the strength in her arms gradually slackening. Her shoes met marble once more when he put her down. Emboar smacked another salvo of icicles aimed at her head out of the air just as she tiled her head to gaze up the hole her Pokemon had created.
A burst of light drew her attention to one particular section of the hole, N's Archeops materialized from the brilliance, weaving gracefully through the falling debris as it flew full circle around the abyss before returning to where it had been summoned. Hilda watched N shakily reach out to Archeops, still desperately clinging to his throne's once immaculate cobalt carpet, as if not entirely confident that the First Bird Pokemon could safely carry him.
Hilda waited patiently as Archeops glided over to them, the Team Plasma king hanging from his claws. N stumbled upon landing, his shoes skidding across the dusty marble floor.
The once thundering booms that had nearly shaken the castle to pieces were now reduced to muffled trembles. Whatever climactic fight their dragons were having was now a distant one, yet one that still managed to make N's castle quiver with each blow. The sound of sliding sand filled the air every few seconds, raining over the ruined halls. Whatever remnants of the hall that hadn't initially fallen were periodically shaken loose from their niches, gently sprinkling over the combatant.
Without a word N turned his back to Hilda, walking briskly towards the crater her Emboar had made. The young king quietly returned whatever was left of his Vanilluxe from the crater's epicenter and into its Pokeball. N stood silently at the crater's edge, and although his face was not visible to her, she knew along the lines of what it was.
The extent of the damage Vanilluxe sustained had been visible only to N himself; the mere sight of it pained him. It was here that Hilda could see the good qualities in N shine. Hilda could tell N loved Pokemon, not just the ones within his party, but the ones in the wild, the ones owned by trainers, and Pokemon he had never even met before. In all their previous battles, she had watched N's anguished expression surface as his Pokemon fainted. To force friends that he held so dear into battle was no different than if she had sent Bianca or Cheren to fight and faint for her.
N seemed rooted to the spot where he had returned Vanilluxe for the longest time. It was as if nothing else mattered, as if everything that was happening around him, everything he had been doing up until that point had been forgotten.
"I know you don't want your friends to get hurt, you can give up now and spare them any more pain," Hilda offered.
The royal youth shook his head, eventually turning to her and disarming Hilda once again when his stare bore no hatred, anger, or sorrow, but a smile.
"I said I would not stop, even if my friends were injured. To falter in my conviction would be an insult to their sacrifice and determination to help me. I respect the honor you've shown, seeing as you didn't attack me when you had several opportunities to do so, I'll let you have the first move."
Hilda nodded, working quickly and grabbed two Pokeballs from her pockets: one a vacant Pokeball, one an occupied Ultra ball.
Emboar's Head Smash could deal massive damage to Archeops since it was a flying type, but landing the move was another thing entirely.
Archeops was more than twice as fast as Emboar and easily could deal just as much damage. Betting on Emboar's Quick Claw was a gamble, one that Hilda didn't feel like taking her chances with.
Emboar's body went through several shades of crimson before his features eventually disappeared until nothing but his scarlet neon husk remained. His form faded from existence, a single thin beam of red light that connected him to his Pokeball retracted back into the capsule.
"Go Galvantula!" Hilda yelled as she tossed the black and yellow ultra ball she had caught the Elespider with.
"Archeops, use Acrobatics," N calmly ordered, his eyes trailing the ascension of his Pokemon. Hilda knew the attack well from her gym battle with Skyla, the power of the move doubled if the Pokemon using the attack wasn't holding an item. It was then that something caught Hilda's eye as her gaze followed the Archeops reach the roof the top floor.
Light trickled from the gashes Zekrom had carved into the ceiling, catching something that was tied to Archeop's neck. Hilda's eyes darted to the king that stood before her then back to his Pokemon.
Clever Bastard
If Hilda didn't know any better, she could swear she knew Archeops was holding a Flying gem.
Archeops launched itself off the ceiling to give itself more speed as it plummeted towards its target. The Flying gem around it's neck cracked and exploded, enveloping its body in a pale blue aura. Using a flying move allowed the Flying gem to double the power of that attack for one time only, but now with no held items, the power of Archeops' Acrobatics attack would triple.
Galvantula hissed uncomfortably, bringing Hilda's attention back to him.
"Galvantula, use Thunder, but wait for my signal," Hilda whispered, watching the prehistoric bird pass the hole in the floor above them. What little light that began to trickle through the gaps in the slashed ceiling faded as the heavens darkened.
"Now!" Hilda yelled, watching N mimic her as she backpedaled away from her own Pokemon. She allowed herself a smile, watching N's once confident expression morph into one of panic.
Archeops may have naturally been faster than her Galvantula, a fact that fed the young king's confidence, but Hilda had spent weeks training the Elespider to be not only fast, but faster than the typical Flying Pokemon. Skyla and now the Team Plasma leader were about to experience the fruits of their labor.
Slabs of stone and dust erupted from the ceiling, a bolt of lightning skewering through the cloud of debris, closing the distance in an instant. Galvantula darted away from where he once stood.
N and Hilda had averted their gaze at the last minute, being spared the blinding flash that lit up the entire hall. The resounding explosion from the Thunder attack threatened to throw both trainers across the hall, each one fighting for balance as they slid across the room. Having ventured through the Chargestone Cave for several hours, both combatants had grown used to the stench of ozone filling in the air.
Galvantula kept his distance from the twitching form of the charred and steaming Archeops. The blackened marble tiles beneath it had cracked from the impact, Hilda inched away cautiously lest it became a repeat of the earlier incident. She raised her sights to N, anguish now painting his features as he stared at his unconscious Pokemon. With an unsteady hand he raised Archeops' Pokeball and returned him.
Anguish quickly gave way to frustration then anger as the young king exchanged Poke Balls and summoned his next Pokémon. The flash of light gave way to a black and blue figure, a loud thud resounding through the room upon its landing.
Long blue flippers were brought up to shield whatever the Carracosta's natural black armor didn't cover.
Hilda made no attempt to return Galvantula, seeing as she had a bit of a type advantage at the moment.
"Carracosta, use Stone Edge!" the king commanded, watching as the remnants of the upper floor levitate off the ground as they were given new purpose. Chunks and shards of marble and stone circled the Prototurtle's body as if caught by its gravity. Hilda bit her bottom lip at the sight. The purpose of Galvantula's speed was to dodge anything his opponent threw at him. As a consequence for his speed, he was unable to take a hit, especially from something that hit hard and used his type weakness. Yet, the young king would be joining Galvantula's previous victims in learning of his second ace in the hole.
The electric arachnid surged forward, becoming a yellow blur and bridging the distance between himself and his opponent in an instant. The young king's eyes widened in surprise; realizing what was happening just as it was already too late. Amidst the swirling stone fragments that cycled round him like so many electrons around an atom, Carracosta was able to make out the shimmering emerald sphere of energy cradled between Galvantula's mandibles.
N had enough sense to start running just before Galvantula's Energy Ball rammed into Carracosta's core. The blast launched the Prototurtle across the hall, barely missing his master before he slammed into the wall at the end of the room. Plumes of powdered marble engulfed the site upon impact; an encroaching opaque wall of dust slowly devoured the hall. Hilda could hear N cough through the smoke, his dark figure stumbling through the earthen mist.
Galvantula scuttled back to his trainer, awaiting his next order as he watched the dust settle. It wasn't long before the fog of debris cleared, unveiling Carracosta's body imbedded in a wall, his head lolled limply to a side. The Team Plasma leader returned his fallen friend, the empty crater left behind marking his third failure.
Without a word N summoned his next Pokemon, the flash of light dimming down to a shifting steely mass of gray. Hovering just above the ground and rotating in place was the Gear Pokémon, Klinklang. Yellow darkened into crimson as Hilda returned Galvantula with one hand and cast a second Pokéball with another.
N watched the light take form, white becoming a bright magenta that flanked a black underbelly with purple rings. Standing in at eight feet and weighing in at over four hundred and forty pounds was the Megapede Pokémon, Scolipede.
The heir to the Harmonia throne threw Hilda a puzzled look, wondering why she had summoned a bug and poison type to battle a steel type. Hilda remained silent, eyes locked with the Plasma king as if awaiting him to make the first move. Just as he was about to indulge her the hall began to shake, the marble halls muffling a far-off explosion, no doubt from their distant dueling dragons.
At this, Hilda gave her command, her voice drowned out by the sound of shifting sands and echoing booms that resonated off the acoustic walls. Unable to make out her voice and read her lips, N was unable to prepare for what she had planned, but Scolipede had no such qualms.
The Megapede reared itself back and gave a menacing roar, balancing itself on its two hind legs.
"Klinklang, use Flash Cannon," the king commanded, hoping to take out the Pokémon before it could launch any kind of offensive. A cloud of iron filaments sloughed off Klinklang's gyrating body, melding into a quivering liquid platinum sphere. It held its form only for an instant before spewing outward, the explosion channeled towards its target as a stream of silver.
Scolipede brought itself down, his monstrous weight managing to make the tiles beneath his feet crumble and then some.
N watched the Megapede Pokémon sink through the floor, barely dodging the river of iron shrapnel. Hilda had to throw herself to the ground to dodge the Flash Cannon, unaware that it dissipated before it left too far from its source. The brunette threw him a scathing glare, wordlessly baring her teeth. N would've apologized, but this far into the battle would've made it just empty words.
Despite being an obvious obstacle to his goal, he had no intention of killing or even hurting Hilda. If he could help it he wanted to complete his mission without killing anyone. People would be hurt, dreams would be shattered, but they were a small price to pay for the liberation of all Pokémon.
Hilda began to pick herself up off the ground, staring down the hole her Scolipede had made. She seemed completely unfazed by the fact that her Pokémon had fallen to the floor below; in fact, she was too calm for his liking. Hilda lifted her gaze and smiled sinisterly at him, taking great pleasure in watching his shocked expression when the realization hit him.
The ground beneath Klinklang exploded like a set off landmine, lances of magenta speared through the stone and into the shifting gears. Hilda had been patient, waiting for the precise moment when Zekrom's battle with Reshiram would make an explosion loud enough to mask her command. The fact that her opponent bought into the idea that Scolipede had simply fallen through the floor was an added bonus. Had he known the Megapede was using Dig, he might've changed strategies.
Hilda proudly watched her Scolipede practically rocket from the floor below them, finding no end to her amazement. Throughout her journey she often found herself wondering how something so large and heavy could move so fast. Burge's veneration of bug types was becoming more and more understandable.
Klinklang's body began to shimmer as Scolipede fully ascended into the room, its form wavering unnaturally and uncontrollably until the image could no longer be maintained. Hilda watched in amazement as the Klinklang's steely gray form darkened into a magenta cocoon, dissolving to reveal a long deep crimson mane tipped black at the edges.
Scarlet talons clutched Scolipede's jagged horns, struggling to keep them from sinking any further into the flesh that lied behind Zoroark's dark gray fur. A solid inch of the megapede's horns had sheathed into Zoroark, tiny rivers of blood and poison traversing its length.
Zoroark's claws began to glow like burning rubies before it swiped at Scolipede's head, launching the two combatants away from one another. Hilda quickly sidestepped as her Pokémon soared through the air and landed, quickly sliding towards her. The tipped edges of his legs carved through the floor, eventually finding purchase once he stood beside his trainer.
Zoroark landed before the Plasma king, wincing and clutching his wounded midsection. It had been Hilda's first time fighting that particular Pokémon, its illusion completely catching her off guard. The brunette shook off her bewilderment, thrusting her arm towards the illusion fox.
"Scolipede, use Megahorn!"
The Megapede nodded, lowering his head and propelling himself forward with a speed thought impossible by everyone in the room. Hilda shielded her face with her arms as the powdered ground sprayed over her.
Despite his king's command, Zoroark found himself unable to retaliate or move out of the way. With only seconds to spare, the dark fox's paws blurred forward and grabbed Scolipede's horns just before they impaled him once more. N's tea green hair whipped around his face as Scolipede rushed past him, the sensation akin to a speeding train rushing by.
Zoroark's feet dragged against the ground, offering little resistance before the Megapede raised his head slightly and lifted the fox off the ground. Every ounce of strength left in his body was dedicated to keeping the nudging horns from digging any deeper into his chest, his battle being short-lived when they reached the end of the hall.
Hilda expected the hall to shudder from the collision, clouds of powdered marble erupting from the crash. Instead she saw her Scolipede stand just before the wall in an amazing display of strength and control considering the speed with which it was charging.
Zoroark's body was mere inches from the wall of stone, his body hanging limply from twin lances of magenta. The dark fox's body crumpled onto the ground, Scolipede backed away to allow the plasma king passage. Hilda could only imagine Scolipede's poison from the brief instances of contact had taken its tool on the fox, making him faint before they had crashed.
Scolipede found that there was no point in needlessly exerting and hurting himself by crashing into the wall. The thought of striking at an unconscious opponent left a bad taste in the Megapede's mouth. A single look at Hilda's smile as he made his way back assured him that she approved. Hilda peered past Scolipede to find N staring silently and grimly back at her, holding Zoroark's body in his arms.
A weak smile broke through the frown on his lips, a look of gratitude conveyed through his gaze alone.
"Great job Scolipede," Hilda whispered, returning the Megapede to his Pokéball as N did the same for his. The young girl reached for the Pokéball that belonged to her Emboar. If she remembered correctly, Zoroark took the form of the last Pokémon in its holder's party, leaving only the real Klinklang left to battle.