(Only this chapter will be written in third-person. Enjoy!)
Chapter 12: The Ultimate Final Battle
Although a good majority of the Hoenn region is completely oblivious to it, an epic battle was about to unfold, determining the fate of not only the region itself, but whether or not Yvelton's parents will be avenged in Machete's behalf. Up in Victory Road, Machete, Midas, and Diancie's training was really coming together in full swing and they were due to have one hell of battle between only those three and 12 ground-type pokémon or pokémon with ground-type moves. All three of them knew very well that they were both outnumbered and overpowered by them, but the unrelenting determination and bravery overshadows it by a million-fold and they will not let it die, even if there's an extremely high risk that they will and spare Pheromosa's life in the process.
As for Yvelton, Meloetta, Ash, and Meadow's family, they all stayed in Lilycove City for safety and hoped that there would be a live broadcast of it somehow. If not, they only had Meloetta to give them the feedback from her mind. It was silent at the Carnation Mansion and Meadow was already in full prayer mode for Diancie, Machete, and Midas as she leaning up against Yvelton's shoulder for comfort. He added more to it by give her gentle rubs on her shoulders. Same could be said for Kintini and Vantavia on the other side of them. Meloetta had just allowed Ash inside after he knocked on the front door and they too held on to each other with high hopes. All in all, they prayed for the best and endured for the worst simultaneously.
As for the PokéDestructor twins, Zane and Dane, they were actually at the champion's arena at the Pokémon League, waiting patiently for Machete and his team to arrive for the epic battle of the ages. Deep inside, they were completely confident in the fact that they will succeed without effort. Since they know that Machete's Primal Reversion has inexorable power beyond anyone has ever seen before, they had to think up the perfect stratagem to ensure that it never happens… and they had the perfect pokémon to make it happen:
"Zane, we may not have gotten groudon, but we've got someone just as good, don't we?" Dane asked as he was just sitting in a lounge chair alongside his older twin brother in front of the champion chamber doorway. The blue-eyed brother nodded twice.
"My rhyperior with Solid Rock is the perfect match against Machete's primal power." He replied with confidence. "I've heard that he struggled with one that was owned by that weak-ass ground-type farmer from Fallabor Town during his Weakness Therapy session. This time, we're gonna top that for sure. How about you, bro?"
"I've got my silvally implanted with the ground memory and his Tailwind to amp things up on the side. That way, when he does go into his primal reversion mode again, he'll be slaughtered before he even gets to move. Make sure Diancie doesn't interfere this time."
"Gotcha! Oh, and I've heard that Machete's got his shiny brother with him, too."
"What?!" Zane sat up and snatched off his sunglasses on the way while Dane slowly sat up with him. "How come we're the last to know about this shit?!"
"Nobody likes us, that's why. Anyway, his name is Midas. Apparently, his shiny colors involve some gold on him somewhere, but I don't know much else about him."
"Damn! Does he go through primal reversion, too?!"
"That I don't know, but regardless, we're not gonna let our guard down."
"Right, right. We're gonna win this battle and there's not a damn thing anybody can do about it, especially Yvelton."
Meanwhile, inside the champion chamber…
Pheromosa was the only one who heard the whole conversation and was mentally surprised to hear that Machete has a shiny twin brother. With all of the other ground-type offenders fast asleep in their pokéballs, she was able to make her way out and see this for herself, since she knew that the training was happening not too far away in Victory Road.
It took the shiny lissome pokémon approximately one whole minute to make it there with her signature blinding speed and saw them training in the distance from the entrance as she stood there casually with her usual left two-clawed hand on her hip. She was impressed by Diancie's change in appearance, but when she saw Midas, her purple and blue eyes went wide with astonishment. It was the most prodigious sight she's ever seen, even for a prehistoric pokémon. She took this wide open opportunity to take a closer look at him by being as stealthy as she possibly could within the nearly darkened cave, but when she was about twenty feet away, a Sludge Bomb was hurled at her by accident and she was able to dodge out of the way swiftly, but the sound of it caught the three pokémon's attention. Pheromosa never showed a look of fear or asperity as she casually stood up and dusted herself off as Diancie slowly approached her with a threatening glare in her red and pink eyes.
"Pardon my language before I ask you this, but what the fuck are you doing here? Are you trying to cheat your way to winning by telling the twins about this?" The anthropomorphized Diamond Domain Princess asked with no remorse as she was exactly eye-to-eye with the tall lissome pokémon.
"I mean no disrespect, Your Highness." Pheromosa verbally replied in a deep female voice that had a small hint of a heavenly echo that caught the attention of Machete and Midas as they approached the two ladies. "And to answer that latter question, no. As an ultra beast, I do have the authority to make it so, but I won't. That just wouldn't be fair."
"Humph! Says the same creature that tried to take my beloved Machete away from me with her pheromones." Diancie summoned her crystal sword with a cold glare, pointing the tip of the blade at the cockroach's neck afterwards. "You won't take him this time."
"I truly apologize for that act. I know that my enticing pheromones are powerful, but at this rate, gaining him is deemed impossible, now that we see that he goes through primal reversion. That's why we don't have groudon."
"…huh?" All three of them asked together with bewilderment by accident. Pheromosa bowed her head with closed eyes before she continued.
"When Zane and Dane were ready to ascend Mt. Pyre, I knew they were ready make the ultimate mistake by acquiring the Red Orb in order to fully awaken groudon's primal power. I've already heard of the severe consequences if they did so: a never-ending harsh sunlight that would almost instantly dry up the entire planet of its water… and I didn't want that to happen. So, being the stealthy and fast ultra beast that I am, I snuck my way up the quicker way from behind the mountain and had a small friendly chat with the elderly couple that lived there. They were guarding both the Red Orb and the Blue Orb with literally every little amount of years they have left on this Earth. I warned them about the PokéDestructor twins heading up there to try to ask them for the Red Orb in order to awaken groudon and go for an instant kill towards Machete when the final battle commences. They were shocked at that factor and I suggested to them that they should ask them NOT to obtain the orb as politely as humanly possible. I knew for a fact that, despite the fact that they killed the other 18 members of their PokéDestructor team in cold blood, Zane and Dane respected their elders more than anyone else in the world as long as the elders themselves were polite and naïve towards them first. Turns out, my suggestion worked to perfection and the twins kindly respected the elderly couple's wishes without any hesitation at all… and it's all thanks to me." It was deathly silent after that incredible story from something like an ultra beast. Diancie, Machete, and Midas just couldn't believe their ears, even as Pheromosa continued whilst walking up to just Machete casually. "To be honest, Machete, I respect all pokémon and humans alike and I know you enough to know that your primal power is unlike kyogre's or groudon's. Yours is… deadly… to say the least. That's why I'm telling you this story." She gently stroked the Poison Dart Pokémon's metal face with compassion. "Machete, I want you to defeat these twins and their pokémon with every… last… ounce… of your power. Besides…" Pheromosa paused as she eyed Midas for three seconds before she continued with: "…your brother is who I want in return for my generosity."
"Why this change of heart, though?" Machete asked with curiosity. Pheromosa walked backwards with finesse after that last word from the silver armored brother.
"I have to be honest with you all. Zane and Dane are psychopathic manipulators and will do anything to get whatever they want. I was forced against my will when they found me in Verdant Cavern in the Alola Region. They used a Master Ball on me and I couldn't escape. I knew they were dangerous humans from my very first sight of them and they knew that I wouldn't join them if they used any other kind of pokéball to catch me. I honestly don't want to fight with them anymore. Yvelton is 100 times more reverential and a natural caregiver than those twins and I'd like nothing more than to be with him, you three, and the rest of his fairy-type team."
"…wow." Midas and Diancie said in unison before the shiny Poison Dart Pokémon approached Pheromosa and stood on his hind legs with utmost authority, turning her on instantly with her blushed cheeks. "Well, it's good to hear that you've changed since that episode that my brother told me about. And ironically, we were planning to spare you within the battle. I sensed positive vibes from your presence and I was right. The key to pulling this off is to disguise it within the hype atmosphere of it all. Can you do that without making the twins become suspicious of your intentions?"
"As stealthy as I was on Mt. Pyre, I can absolutely make this work during our battle. You can count on it." Midas got back down on all fours after that was said from the shiny lissome pokémon. "Will you let me be your mate after it's all over?"
"Absolutely. What moniker should I call you by?"
"You can all me whatever your heart desires, Midas." The two engaged in a passionate lip lock after that last word was whispered and this sight made Diancie and Machete watch with compassion in their hearts, having the silver dartrog wrap an arm around her shoulders for added comfort for the next two minutes. When the kiss was over after that timeframe, Midas came up with the perfect name:
"Mmmm… that was spectacular, Avalon."
"Avalon, huh?" The shiny pheromosa asked with approbation.
"It's the only perfect name I can think of. I trust you won't let us down when the battle begins."
"I promise. See you in an hour." After that was said, Avalon dashed out the exit and back to the Hoenn League building within seconds. The three looked towards the blackened exit with smiles of respect.
"Well! She can clearly control the pheromones." Midas said to his silver brother, who nodded once in agreement. "Now that we will truly spare her, how exactly can we pull it off?"
"It's a plan that doesn't need a name, but it should be effortless." Machete replied. "Just leave it up to me. My primal reversion can… and will… be controlled just for this occasion. I promise."
"Can it?!" Diancie asked her Poison Dart lover. "It seemed uncontrollable last time and I had to nearly slice your armor open to stop it."
"I know, but this time, I think I figured out why I lacked control in the first place. This plan is a long shot, but trust me… both of you…" Machete paused as he gently stroked the anthro jewel pokémon's face with all the passion in the world. "…especially you, Diancie."
"I always do." She replied with compassion before the two engaged in a passionate kiss that was true to the heart. Midas watched this with honor for the next three minutes. When it was over and the couple looked over at him with hope written in their eyes, he just had this to say to sum it all up before the final battle for justice:
"No matter what happens within the battle, we… will… avenge Yvelton's parents."
An hour later, at the Champion's Arena tunnel entrance…
Diancie stood tall and proud with Machete and Midas on the left and right of her respectively as they slowly walked into the light ahead of them with regal glares of determination within their eyes. They were ready to settle the score with the PokéDestructor twins once and for all, no matter what may come their way. It took them approximately three slow minutes to finally make it and, once they did step foot inside, there was actually a crowd of 200 people seated on both sides each. The uproar from them didn't even make them flinch as they continued on their courageous walk until they stopped at just five feet before the center line. On the other side before them, Dane and Zane stood with just as much bravery with their respective six pokémon walking out behind them:
For Dane: Golurk, Silvally, Electivire, Swampert, Nidoking, and Avalon (Pheromosa)
For Zane: Dragonite, Hydreigon, Rhyperior, Machamp, Steelix, and Venusaur
For Avalon, however, she stood tall and proud, but slyly gave Machete, Midas, and Diancie a wink, telling them they her plan to betray her masters was still in effect and had nothing to worry about. The three saw it, but never motioned in agreement to give it away to the crowd, the brothers, and the other pokémon surrounding the elegant shiny lissome pokémon.
Back around the arena, the atmosphere of it all was just simply electric with excitement and only the audience was in the highest anticipation as Officer Jenny volunteered to be the 'referee' just for this battle.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to witness the battle to end the terror that has haunted Hoenn since the death of Brontavis and Lariva Vorintine. They will be avenged after this battle. Zane and Dane's lives depend on it!" Jenny spat at the twins on that last statement, making them scoff with overconfidence and ignorance all at once. "It'll be an all-instinct battle on Machete's team since Yvelton's decided to let him do this on his own, but Zane and Dane, you two will abide to the triple-battle rules. Only three pokémon at a time for each of you. If either one of you and your pokémon are left standing, you both are declared the winners and, as you promised in your deal, doing so will give you permission from Yvelton himself to have Machete and his shiny brother, Midas. If anyone in Machete's team is left standing, you both turn yourselves in with your pokémon for your lifetime sentences in prison. Is that clear?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Both twins and all of Machete's team replied together. The officer nodded once with satisfaction.
"Good. Now, let's have a clean and fair battle. You may begin!" That's when the crowd cheered at a slightly lower volume this time as Dane stepped up first and allowing his first three pokémon to take the battle stage before him: Electivire, Silvally, and Swampert, who had already mega evolved by the time he stopped next to the synthetic pokémon. Zane stepped up next at a good distance of six feet from his twin brother's left side with his first three pokémon: Rhyperior, Steelix, who had mega evolved, and Venusaur. That last one traumatized Machete and Diancie immediately grew worried through a side-glance.
"A grass-type can learn ground-type attacks?!" He asked his jewel pokémon lover.
"In all due respect, it does make sense since grass is technically in the ground." Diancie replied with every last ounce of her honesty and expertise. "I know you vowed to never harm any grass-types because of your love for cradily, but breaking a promise just once in order to free these people from the terror that those dangerous twins have wrought is nothing to kick yourself for." The silver poison dart pokémon was indeed about to protest the decision after that very first statement, but thought hard about the rest of that speech and took it all in with a grain of salt. Midas felt the same way, but shook it off by patting his brother on the shoulder for added comfort.
"You can do this, Machete." Midas encouraged. "Just be glad that it's not a cradily we're battling."
"You're both right." Machete replied. "We've got this, regardless of what types stand before us."
"Okay, you three fuckers!" Dane screamed out towards the three heroes, immediately getting the crowd silent. "Enough talk! Let's do this shit once and for all! Swampert, use Dig while Silvally uses Tailwind and Electivire, shock 'em with Discharge!"
Immediately after those commands, Swampert didn't waste a moment as he dove underground and was nowhere to be seen from Machete's team. Seeing Silvally made Diancie even more pissed off than ever before as she saw that Tailwind blow from behind him. She ran towards him first for an all-out attack with her famous crystal sword while Midas and Machete both combined their Sludge Bombs together to successfully block Electivire's Discharge. Seeing this pissed off Dane, but he didn't say a word as he saw that his male thunderbolt pokémon automatically made a run for the two poison dart brothers with his two tails ready to give them the up close and personal shock of their lives with his Thunder Punches in both fists ready to add more to the devastation. Midas and Machete galloped towards him together before the golden twin made a graceful leap over the angry Electivire while Machete sent out a Toxic Punch towards an electric fist, struggling to break each other apart by force one way or another. Midas, on the other hand, wasn't going to let that struggle last for long. He used his blue tentacles to wrap around the thunderbolt's midsection, having the very tips stab into his chest with force, which made him roar with excruciating pain, before he squeezed his poison into his very heart. Machete saw this and stood back in time to see a trail of uprooted dirt approach him at a fast pace and at approximately a foot away from impact, the silver poison dart pokémon used every last ounce of his strength to get both of his hands underneath the ground and he successfully grabbed Mega Swampert's massive neck, making the audience, Dane, and Zane gasp with absolute shock as Machete pulled the mega mud fish out and snapped his neck in one swift twist, making a loud, sickening CRACK! echo all through the now stunned silent arena.
That sure didn't stop Diancie and Silvally's furious battle. The synthetic pokémon had his front green claws clanging against Diancie's now two swords with bravery and neither one of them were ready to give up. When she saw his head shining silver for an Iron Head attack, that's when she finally backed up, used her swords to form an X before her and it was blocked without effort, but the impact caused her fragile blades to shatter to pieces, making her back even further away with fear. Machete saw this after he just dropped Mega Swampert's dead corpse on the ground as if it was garbage before he blocked another Iron Head attack that was coming immediately after that first one by means of his pure titanium blades upon his wrists. Diancie blushed with appreciation as she summoned a new sword, casually walked behind the still shivering Silvally, and without a second thought, used that brand new blade to decapitate the synthetic pokémon, which only shocked the PokéDestructor twins as the crowd cheered in a frenzy for the trio of heroes, even after Midas treated Electivire's now dead body like trash by plopping it on the ground with force after filling his heart with poison. Even Avalon was impressed as she continued to stand in her current position at a good distance away from the battle.
It was now Zane's turn as she shook out the shock and allowed Rhyperior, Mega Steelix, and Venusaur to step forward, having the mega iron snake pokémon waste no time heading for Diancie for an Iron Tail attack while Rhyperior ran towards Machete while using Rock Polish, the same technique the silver poison dart had seen before during his Weakness Therapy. This time, he used Stainless Toxin to counter that as he galloped up towards him in reflexive response and their brawl began with him giving a Titanium Fist hookeroo to the male drill pokémon's face. Midas, on the other hand, had his attention set on Venusaur and they were in a staring contest for thirty seconds before three Leech Seeds came out of the seed pokémon's tree and made a direct hit to his wrists, feeling his energy getting drained instantly upon impact. Despite that factor, Midas still fired up his wrists blades and galloped towards Venusaur for a counterattack.
During that time, Dane and Zane closely observed how very well organized Machete and his team were without Yvelton behind them. Just seeing Diancie engaged in a sword and Iron Tail fight like a pair of knights, Machete going steel punch to rocky punch with Rhyperior, and Midas giving Titanium Fist jabs against Venusaur's Energy Balls was suffice to call it an epic showdown of the ages. So far, however, their ultimate plan to weaken them all simultaneously wasn't in full focus yet. They wanted to wait until just the right moment and just seeing the three heroes positioned together by the end of their respective brawls, which lasted for five minutes altogether, that's when it happened after Zane snapped his fingers twice, immediately silencing the rowdy crowd.
Mega Steelix heard those snaps and roared for Rhyperior to use Protect while Venusaur hopped onto the mega iron snake's back simultaneously, shocking Machete's team as they all stood together, despite Midas still getting hurt from the Leech Seeds.
"What's happening?" Diancie dared to ask as she still had her two new blades on the defensive between Machete and Midas. The twin poison darts never said a word as they watched carefully, having the silver twin silently tell his anthropomorphic jewel pokémon lover to get on his back and she did so without hesitation after making the diamond swords disappear into pink particles. Zane then said the unthinkable:
"Mega Steelix, kill them… NOW!"
After that command, Steelix used all his strength to stab his tail into the ground at the weakest point and Machete's eyes went wide as he saw that it was splitting open. It was Fissure!
"Hang on!" Machete screamed as he used his purple tentacles to stretch towards the ceiling at the same exact time Midas did, but…
"Ah-ah-ah!" Dane eerily sang out as he allowed his Golurk to fly up and grab all three with all his might within his strong arms, but Machete continued to pull up with all his might whilst holding on to his golden brother within his very own arms and Diancie was hanging on to her silver poison dart lover's neck with all the strength her arms could muster. Pretty soon, it was an extremely desperate struggle in midair above a now permanent death pit within the arena. The audience at the edge of their seats with their heads held high to see this horrifying moment. "PULL 'EM, GOLURK! GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT!"
"The rest of you, help him out!" Zane commanded towards his Dragonite, Hydreigon, Rhyperior, Machamp, and Mega Steelix with Venusaur still on his back for protection, especially with his vines keeping a good grip on the iron snake. Even Dane's Nidoking automatically decided to help weigh down Machete and his team by pulling down on Steelix's tail. Avalon was the only one standing back and she watched this unfold with terror in her heart. Since she was behind the dangerous twins, her look of worry was completely oblivious to them. She had to do something before they were all pulled down into the blackness below.
As for Machete, he was literally sweating poisonous bullets as he continued to pull up despite the massive weight holding him. Midas' life was slowly draining away from the Leech Seed and he couldn't stay up for long. He just went limp into his brother's arms in defeat, which weight them down even more. Machete felt this and looked down with extreme panic.
"Midas! Don't give up on me! Uuuugh!" He screamed.
"It's… not… worth it, brother." Midas weakly confessed. "We… can't win… even with Avalon's assistance."
"We will win, Midas!"
"Machete!" Diancie screamed as she was slipping away. "I can't hang on!"
"We've got to keep… tryyyyyying!"
"Machete! I'm… slipping!" Diancie tried her hardest to retain her grip, but finally, after struggling for a slow three minutes…
"(GASP!)" The audience couldn't watch.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
"DIANCIE!" Machete yelled at the very top of his lungs, but his arms were within Golurk's arms. He couldn't reach down for her, but alas...
"What the…?" Officer Jenny whispered as she saw a black and white blur flash by past her and between Dane and Zane before that same blur seemed to have grabbed Diancie when she was just a foot away from the bottomless pit and it was all revealed on the safer side of the crack in the ground: "Dane's shiny pheromosa saved Diancie!"
"WHAT?!" Dane exclaimed as he saw this on the other side of the ten foot long and twenty foot wide endless pit. It was indeed his shiny pheromosa, Avalon, that saved Diancie from sudden death. "Pheromosa, what the fuck are you doing?!"
"That's Avalon to you, bastard." The lissome pokémon spat back as she stood up before the shaking anthro Diamond Domain Princess, who was on the ground in an elegant position. Avalon then retaliated even further by doing the following all in midair and all around Machete and Midas after a graceful leap of faith towards them all within a matter of fifteen seconds:
Screeched out a massive Bug Buzz towards them, instantly killing Hydreigon and Venusaur…
Used Drill Run on Nidoking, Mega Steelix, and Rhyperior by means of strong ground-type powered kicks at lightning speed, killing them as well at the exact same time she used Ice Beam on Dragonite and Golurk with one two-clawed hand aimed at each of them…
And finally performed an extremely fatal Brick Breaking jab to Machamp's seemingly iron hard pectorals, exposing his still beating heart to the arena in the process!
After all that was done, the Fissure pit finally closed up and the floor was back to normal as if nothing ever happened and Machete just dropped down to the floor with a very weak Midas still in his arms. He used his own poison secretion from his tentacles to hydrate him back to perfect health. Dane and Zane just couldn't believe it all as they slowly approached the group, stopping in their tracks when Avalon got into defensive mode, even as Diancie ran over to the dartrog twins for assistance behind her.
"I think you two fuckers have terrorized this region long enough." Avalon continued. "By the way, to save time for these heroes, I've already killed each and every last one of your precious pokémon prior to this battle."
"YOU BITCH!" Dane exclaimed at the very top of his lungs before he and his speechless, but equally pissed-off brother both ran for her for retaliation, but security around the arena were not having it and three big male security guards each tackled the twins to the ground and one of them handcuffed them in the process, allowing Avalon to ease off her fighting stance and just stood there casually watching the arrest unfold with Officer Jenny standing next to her right side with total confidence.
"Avalon, you're the first and probably the only ultra beast that I've ever seen to be so nice towards us humans and other pokémon alike… well, with the exception of Dane and Zane's pokémon, of course." The humble female officer said to the shiny lissome pokémon. "What exactly made you turn against them?"
"I sensed their evil aura from the very moment I first met them in the Alola region a few years ago." Avalon replied. "I didn't want to join them, but when they threw a master ball at me, I knew I couldn't escape. I had no choice but to play along with their little charade until I had the opportunity to turn away from them."
"And you've made quite the wise decision. Since that's the case, we won't apprehend you, but please do assist Machete and his team while I deal with these twins." The shiny pheromosa wasted no time heading towards that trio right at the exact moment Midas was healed from his Leech Seed curse and his energy was back to normal.
"Are you alright, Your Highness?" Avalon asked Diancie, who looked up at her from her kneeled down position before she stood up and embraced her so quickly, the lissome pokémon nearly lost her balance with a smile of humor. "Heh-heh-I guess that's a 'yes'."
"You have no idea how relieved you've made everyone here at Hoenn." Diancie replied before she ended the hug slowly. "Yvelton will be so honored to allow you into his team of fairy-types. I hope you won't feel left out."
"Not at all. I promise to take very good care of all of you."
"Thank you so much, Avalon." Machete came in as he stood up on all fours with his shiny dartrog twin brother. "This really means a lot to all of us. Of course, I vowed that promise myself when Yvelton first found me, despite my typing. I even befriended a shiny sandshrew named Hyro and an Eevee that was owned by a ground-type farmer. It's Eevee I love the most, so I'll give Hyro to you.
"Thank you, Machete. Along with him, I'm sure Midas will be an excellent mate to me as well." Avalon approached that said golden dartrog and the two engaged in a compassionate lip lock that was true to the core, making the audience as well as Diancie and Machete watch in awe just seconds after Officer Jenny and her police force left with Dane and Zane.
With that moment etched in stone, a pleasant future was in store of everyone in Hoenn, even for the one lone ultra beast.
To be continued…
