There's been a Tumblr post about why I increased the death count cap in Destiny. Check that out if you haven't done so already (QnA, Destiny #012).

Chapter 13: Eye of the Storm

August 30, Violet City, Johto, 2 pm…

Green kept his arms crossed as he thought. This was the very first time in recent memory where he was involved in such a one-sided battle in the opponent's favor. Though this incident was rather shocking, experience told him that he had plenty of tasks ahead of him. He had to prepare the others for the follow up battle, but he didn't know where to start. Pallet Town had fallen, and he wasn't sure if Prof. Oak and Daisy managed to escape. He told them to get to safety before the battle, but he wasn't sure.

So retaking Pallet Town was a priority, but not the highest one. Green really didn't know what was the highest priority. Was training for the next fight the highest priority? Or was gathering everyone and retaking Pallet Town? But with Red and a handful of other Dex Holders currently in Kanto, regrouping may be near the top as well.

Right now, there were a few safe spots where the Dex Holders could rest. Violet City was one such location, whether it was in Crystal's house, or in the orphanage. Crystal had a pretty strong influence in Violet City, so as long as she was with the other Dex Holders, Violet City was a safe location.

Green looked around Crystal's house. The other Dex Holders were currently scattered about, doing various things. Some were tending the minor cuts they received, while others were lost in thought as well. Some looked worried, however. Diamond and Pearl looked quite concerned, as they were aware that Platinum was still in Kanto. X didn't look any better, as he had witnessed what happened to Y, and knew that she was still in Kanto as well. So perhaps gathering everyone together was indeed the highest priority…

"Green, I know this loss was hard," came Crystal's voice from the side.

Green snapped out of his thoughts and faced his junior. Crystal had a warm smile on her lips, as if she was trying to console him.

"But knowing you, I'm sure you already have a plan to retaliate," she said again.

Green let out a short sigh. "In retrospect, it was inevitable that we lost. Right now, with the sudden inclusion of so many junior Dex Holders, it was safe to say that we didn't know ourselves. We also have no idea on who our enemy is exactly, or what he was capable of. So we didn't know ourselves, or the enemy, and yet we fought. It wasn't a battle we could win."

Crystal nodded. "Right. So we should work on changing that."

"Yes. We will continue to train with the juniors so that we will know ourselves and what we are capable of doing. At the same time, we need to know who the enemy is. A trainer with that amount of battle capabilities must have been seen somewhere at some point. Maybe a young prodigy, or tournament winner, or things along those lines. Next, we need to know what he intends to do, and why. All we know is that he attacked those with Mega Evolution capabilities and stole the necessary components for Mega Evolution. But we don't know why, and what for. Next, we need to analyze the strategies he used in battle and find a way to counter it. Air superiority is one thing, but the enemy also has ground superiority. But I don't know what we should do first. Red and the others are still in Kanto. We have to get them over here. But Pallet Town is gone right now, and that town is symbolically important. We have to retake it." Green's expression darkened as his thoughts went towards Blue. She would know exactly what to do right now…

Crystal thought for a short while. "I think we should send a small group to Kanto to find Red and the others. And someone can go into Pallet Town and see what's happening over there. If it's empty, we can move in again. And in the meantime, the rest of us can stay here and train."

Green slowly nodded. He soon got everyone's attention in order to declare the next course of action.

"Everyone, listen up. Right now, we lost Pallet Town, and we had a rough fight. But it's not over yet. We need to regroup with everyone and figure out a way to beat the enemy. So here's what we're going to do. We'll need to send a small group of people over to Viridian City to find Red and the others. Last I heard, Red was heading towards the hospital after finding Y. Next, we'll need another small group to head towards Pallet Town to see what's happening there. Crystal and Emerald are going to look for any detail about this Mega Hunter, and who he is and what his motive could be. Everyone else will stay here and train."

"So, who's going to volunteer to go to Viridian City?" Crystal asked.

Diamond quickly raised a hand. "I will." 'I have to know that the Lady is safe…'

X also raised a hand. "If Y is alive, I have to go see her."

"Great. I'll lend you some aerial transport Pokémon so you can get there fast," Crystal said. "Now, I think it'd be best if Silver goes to Pallet Town."

Silver slowly nodded. "Very well then."

"Okay. Emerald, let's see what we can uncover about the Mega Hunter," Crystal said to Emerald afterwards. "We may not know his name, or his appearance other than the fact that he has black hair, but his Pokémon were all shiny. That's bound to get some attention."

…

Viridian City, 6 pm…

…

Platinum silently stared at what was written on her notes. White read the notes as well, and the two continued to see if there were any flaws in the strategy that they came up with. Y had fallen asleep on the bed, so Platinum and White had to be extra quiet.

"I think it's perfect," White whispered. "See? I knew you could do it."

"I appreciate your confidence. But this is merely a theory. If some of our seniors see this as well, we may be able to develop a better strategy."

"Maybe, but I doubt that."

For a while, the two girls silently read the notes. Y occasionally moved in her sleep, and whenever she did, the two girls momentarily held their breath, in case they were making too much noise.

A few minutes later, Platinum looked up from her notes as she could hear something strange. She focused on her hearing and looked over at the door.

"Do you hear that?" White asked as she focused on her hearing as well.

"Yes. It sounds as if someone is coming here," Platinum said as she approached the door.

"It sounds like a whole bunch of people coming closer," White said.

Platinum opened the door just by a little and peeked out. To her surprise, she saw dozens of people marching in the hallway, coming towards her. And even worse, they were the same people she had seen previously, before the battle against the Mega Hunter.

The heiress gasped in shock and quickly shut the door. The moment she did, there was a loud thud at the door, waking up Y in the process.

"Lady Platinum, what's happening?" White asked in surprise.

"The Mega Hunter's scouts," the heiress answered as she backed away from the locked door. "They are here for us. We must escape."

"But… how?" White asked. "We don't have our Pokémon, and we're on the 4th floor."

There was another loud thud at the door. The door started to crack as the mob outside applied more pressure.

"Well, we can't stay here," Y said as she shook away her sleepiness. "Maybe we can escape through the windows."

She soon managed to climb out of the bed. Things were rather hectic now, so injured or not, she had to move. White glanced at the shaking door before she opened the windows.

"We can't jump from this height," she said as she looked down.

"We must climb down," Platinum said. "Unless there is an alternative solution."

There was another loud thud at the door and this time, an arm had smashed through. Platinum climbed out of the windows and carefully stood on the windowsill. White and Y soon followed, just as the door smashed in and people began to flood inside.

Platinum quickly grabbed White by her wrist and helped her climb down towards the lower floor's windowsill. She then helped Y do the same, while White helped the Kalos Dex Holder reach the windowsill safely. The heiress climbed down just before several hands reached out for her, and her two juniors did their best to help her from below.

The process repeated until all three Dex Holders reached the ground safely. But the people who were chasing them were not going to let them escape so easily. Several Pokéballs opened around the Dex Holders as more Pokéballs rained down from the open window.

Platinum and White each grabbed Y's wrist and began to run. They didn't have time to stand there and watch what Pokémon would try to attack them. But something flew past them and blocked their path. A Crobat, but not shiny. The Crobat flew at Platinum with its fangs bared for a Poison Fang. Platinum narrowly managed to dodge, but the Crobat was returning for a second attack and there were other Pokémon charging over as well.

"Lady! Get down!" a familiar voice suddenly came from afar.

Platinum immediately recognized the voice and dropped down to the ground, dragging White and Y with her. A large white beam flew overhead and hit a few of the attacking Pokémon while several sharp leaves sniped the rest. Platinum looked up and saw Diamond running over with his Torterra and Bastiodon out. X was with him as well, but he didn't have his Pokémon out. Diamond's two Pokémon occasionally stopped running to use Razor Leaf and Flash Cannon to repel the attackers.

"Diamond, thank you so much for coming," Platinum said with a sigh of relief.

Diamond helped her up to her feet and hastily scanned her from head to toe to ensure that she wasn't hurt in any way. White slowly got up as well, and helped Y off the ground. The Kalos girl kept her head down, however, as she was rather embarrassed about being helpless. Especially in front of X. X didn't say anything as well, as he didn't know what to say. He felt quite relieved that Y wasn't too badly injured (especially given what happened to her), but at the same time, he felt sorry that he wasn't there to save her.

Platinum glanced back and saw more Pokémon coming. "This is not the time to dawdle. We must get to senior Red and the others immediately if we are to repel this attack."

"Lady, go on without me," Diamond said as he took out more Pokéballs from his pocket. "I'll take them on and make sure they don't chase you."

Platinum looked quite surprised at the offer. "… Diamond, I will not leave you in harm's way. If you are staying, then I will stay as well. Lend me some of your Pokémon."

Diamond shook his head. "No. I won't let you stay here. It's too dangerous for you, without your Pokémon. Just get to safety. I'll be fine."

"But…"

"Lady, I'll be okay. Look, the Mega Hunter isn't here. These Pokémon are by themselves, without their trainers to give them orders. It won't be hard for me to distract them long enough for you to escape safely. And once you're safe, these Pokémon will probably back off too. So don't worry about me." Diamond looked ahead and saw his Bastiodon take down several Pokémon at once with Flash Cannon. "See? It's not a problem. So get going, Lady."

Platinum reluctantly nodded. "… Please be careful."

Diamond watched the others leave and let out a sigh of relief. Platinum was safe now, and it was up to him to make sure she stayed that way. Some of the enemy's Pokémon tried to fly past him, but his Torterra shot them down with Razor Leaf. Diamond let his Torterra continue doing that and ordered his other Pokémon to form a wall, effectively blocking the enemy completely.

After several repeated failed attempts to get past him, the enemy Pokémon tried to attack his Pokémon directly to clear a path. But Diamond got his Pokémon to focus on defense, so the enemy dealt minimal damage.

Once he felt that Platinum and the others were sufficiently far away, Diamond slowly backed away while maintaining a defensive stance. If he stayed close to the hospital too much, then he would eventually get surrounded. The enemy Pokémon slowly followed him, occasionally trying to attack again or bypass him. But with the Torterra using Razor Leaf, no Pokémon were able to pass.

Eventually, the enemy Pokémon retreated, having realized that they were unable to accomplish anything. Diamond watched them for a while before he returned all of his Pokémon except Torterra and headed towards the Pokémon Center. Occasionally, he glanced around to make sure that no one was following him. The last thing he wanted was to inadvertently lure more danger.

…

August 31, Couriway Town, Kalos, 12 pm…

…

Blue followed Peter as he led her up north. According to the map, they were approaching Terminus Cave. She wanted to know why they were going there, but kept silent for now. She spotted a sign that said that the deeper parts of the cave were off limits, but Peter kept walking.

"Where are we going?" she asked eventually.

"Somewhere open and hidden," Peter answered. "What happens here must not be seen by random people."

"Why?" Blue asked again. "Why any of this? What is it that you want to accomplish, and why does that involve attacking the other Dex Holders or taking Mega Rings?"

"There are certain Pokémon in the world that have lost their full power due to years of inactivity," Peter answered. "I am merely trying to restore them to their full potential. It's what they want. Everything I have done was for that."

Blue didn't know what he meant exactly, but followed him anyways. It really wasn't her business, so she wasn't going to ask any deeper. If anything, she was satisfied in knowing that Peter would at least answer her questions instead of ignoring her.

After what felt like an hour, they reached a large cavern in the deepest corner of Terminus Cave. Peter entered without hesitation, and Blue had no choice but to follow. The cavern was largely empty, but had a strange mystical feel. There was a large elevated platform near the far end that was illuminated by light somehow, despite the fact that this cavern was deep inside a mountain range. But more surprisingly, there were two people in the cavern, seemingly waiting for Peter. Blue didn't recognize either of them, but found it odd how they were standing perfectly still.

"Korrina, Diantha, prepare," Peter ordered as he took something out from his bag. The two did as told and took out a strange looking device that was hidden behind a large rock.

Blue glanced at Peter and noticed that he was holding an Ultra Ball with both hands. He pressed a button and held it, but kept it pointed at the elevated platform. With a burst of light, a Pokémon came out of the Ultra Ball. And it was big. Quite big. Its lower half was green while its upper half was black. It had 6 tentacles in total, 3 on either side. Its left 3 tentacles were green while its right 3 were black. It had… many hexagonal eyes seemingly all over the body, with various ones glowing white from time to time. It had five black tag-like appendages on its back, which were quivering as it… sensed the area?

Blue noticed that this Pokémon looked more like a slug than anything. A really big… ominous slug. Why did Peter have this Pokémon? And why in an Ultra Ball, when all of his other Pokémon were in Pokéballs? And why did he hold it with both hands?

"It's time," Peter said as he revealed the Mega Ring on his wrist. Diantha and Korrina powered up the device they had prepared, and Peter's Mega Ring began to glow in response.

"What's happening?" Blue asked.

"The restoration," Peter answered. "It starts now. Zygarde will return to its full power." He pressed the button on his Mega Ring and the large green and black Pokémon began to glow…

This is a short chapter, so as compensation, I give you an important plot piece! Zygarde! That strange, totally-not-a-bug Pokémon of XY that would clearly be important in the next Kalos game. And it better get a huge stat boost, because it's 80 points behind Xerneas and Yveltal in the base stat totals. Kyurem was only 20 behind in BW, so this is unacceptable. As a result, Destiny gives Zygarde a chance to shine before the games do.

This was from the very first chapter, mind you. Terminus Cave. Where Zygarde is found in the games.