So very sorry for the ridiculously long delay- motivation was needed, was absent, and my laptop suffered some issues that needed fixing. But I am back in the game and am working to keep this story rolling!
That night, as the sun set and darkness blanketed over Kalos, the team woke up and readied themselves for the battle ahead. Choosing warmer, darker clothing in their respective colors, the Trainers walked out, where Rayquaza awaited them. Valin released his Latios and climbed aboard its back, while Elly and Jethro mounted the black dragon. Froakie held on tightly to the Wandering Hero's shoulder armor as they took off, Latios keeping a steady distance ahead of them.
They had been flying for a while before Elly tugged at Jethro's coat sleeve and pointed toward the ground. He followed her gaze and burst into a grin, laughing over the wind.
Barreling across the ground directly underneath them was another Legendary that they all recognized. One that Eloquence especially had come to know quite well.
The Volcano Pokémon, Entei, charged along the rocks, leaping from boulder to boulder. It stopped atop a tall outcrop, and watched as the two dragons banked to the right to meet it. Before they had gotten within earshot, Elly stood up on Rayquaza's back and leapt off, throwing herself forward. Rayquaza jerked its head towards her in attempt to catch her, but she rolled out of the way. Valin and Latios dove down to intercept her descent, but pulled up as they saw movement nearby.
Entei burst forward, the shiny Legendary catching Elly on its back. The young woman clung tightly to the Pokémon, burying her face in its fur. "It's good to see you, my old friend," she said. Entei merely sent a small wave of heat through its body, conveying its mutual opinion.
The three Legendary Pokémon turned towards the Sinister Division's headquarters once more, their Trainer companions bent on conquering this evil once and for all.
The masked Dark Trainers stood guard, their HUD systems giving them a clear view of the dark landscape before them. Their Pokémon stood by them, their dark aura and menacing eyes clear in the reflection of the moonlight. A Houndoom, Abomasnow, Aggron, Greninja, Breloom, and Dusknoir stood around a single hooded figure, the Aggron growling with each breath as it looked around with its steely blue eyes.
The Hunter stood with his arms crossed, his light breath visible in the frigid night air. He took in a deep breath and let it out through his nose, a low growl rumbling in his throat as a cloud of mist puffed out of him.
"I don't know about you, but I question the sanity of whoever's idea it was to put a base in a mountain range that freezes half the time," he muttered. Aggron chuckled darkly, its laugh akin to bones crunching underfoot and rolling around on a hill. "No idea why they'd want us out here anyways. It's not like anyone's dumb enough to actually attack us."
Rayquaza and Latios descended, joining Elly and Entei on the ground several yards out of anyone's sight. Latios stayed behind Rayquaza, out of sight from any of the Dark Trainers. The team dismounted, and the three of them ran up to a large rock, peeking over the top of it. They each took out a pair of specialized safety glasses, ones that Jethro had the Devon Corporation craft to his specifications, and put them on, tapping the front of the right arms. The lens lit up dimly, a grid flashing across their visions before they adjusted to the environment. The night vision settings activated, and the Trainers scanned the mountains before them.
"I'm seeing over forty-eight individual hostiles," Valin said, glancing over to his cousin. "Each with at least two Pokémon."
"So if we're seen, we're facing a small army coming at us from all directions," Elly pointed out. "No pressure…"
"That's merely on this side of the mountain," Rayquaza said quietly. "You'd be assaulted by teams from the entire perimeter."
"Eh, comforting," Jethro muttered. He looked amongst the Trainers, stopping as his vision came to rest on a certain Trainer. He zoomed in with his glasses and his shoulders slumped. "Guys, zoom in on that little group next to the main entrance," he said. "Six Pokémon, one of them a very scary-looking Aggron. Look at who's in the middle."
Valin and Elly looked to where he described, their spectacles zooming in. It took them a few seconds to see the hooded Trainer in the middle of their small circle.
"Oh, no," Elly muttered.
"Should I recognize him?" Valin asked.
"That's the Hunter," Elly explained. "He's the one that attacked Sycamore's lab in Lumiose. Guess we know where he escaped to."
Froakie growled softly, and Jethro patted its head. "Easy, little buddy," he whispered, ducking his head down and pulling the other two after him as he saw a Dark Trainer turn her gaze towards them.
"How are we going to do this, Jethro?" Elly asked, taking a quick glance over the rocks. "Do we sneak in or do we go in blazing?"
"I'm still weighing out the outcomes," the Wandering Hero replied, stroking his goatee. "If we go in stealthy, we can at least penetrate the base's defenses and get inside, but then we'll be trapped inside with an entire army at the doorstep." He shrugged. "If we go in blazing, we eliminate the outer forces but run the risk of locking ourselves out…"
"We can always blow our way in or out of the place," Valin pointed out.
"Well, that's true, but-" Jethro froze, raising his gaze.
"We have incoming," Rayquaza whispered, lowering itself to the ground and curling up over the Trainers, covering them with its dark form and shadowing them. A helicopter could soon be heard approaching the mountain, and the lights of it could be seen shortly afterwards, descending to a hidden platform that had raised itself to meet it. Jethro peeked between Rayquaza's body and the rocks they had been hidden behind and pressed a different hidden button on his glasses, activating the zoom feature.
The black aircraft's door slid open, and five Sinister Division grunts hopped out, parting and standing at attention on either side of the hatch. Their heads turned to the copter and glanced at each other and back to the vehicle, as if they were waiting for someone else. Another grunt tumbled forcefully out, rolling on the ground and coughing as he struggled to get up. He was promptly shoved back down into the helipad as a foot landed in the middle of his back. Someone was running away from the helicopter, their face having been hidden by the lights they had bolted past. Security floodlights clunked on audibly, and the person froze, covering their face as they slid to a stop.
Jethro had to cover his mouth to keep from being heard as he gasped. He recognized that shirt… he prayed that it wasn't who he thought it was…
Whoever he was praying to apparently hadn't heard him.
Felicia raised her head, blinking against the harsh lights as her eyes adjusted to the sudden change of brightness. When her gaze met those of the Dark Trainers who turned to her, her eyes widened and her mouth opened in a scream that Jethro couldn't hear with his ears, but one he heard with his heart.
Jethro clenched his hands into a fist and crouched down, whipping the glasses off and stowing them forcefully, drawing his sword. "We're going in blazing," he said darkly.
"What's got you in a—?" Valin asked.
"They have Felicia up there," Jethro answered roughly. He furrowed his brow tight; he had seen the bruises on her face and her arms. The Sinister Division had gone too far. He released his Pokémon, their expressions as dark as his. "Ready?" he asked.
"Ready," his friends responded, releasing their Pokémon as well.
"Ready," the Pokémon said in unison.
"Ready or not," Jethro said, turning to their rock cover as Rayquaza unwound itself, rearing its head and glaring fiercely at the surprised Dark Trainers that had almost soiled themselves as they froze in fear by the dragon's gaze and exclaimed as the yellow markings along its body glowed brightly.
"Here we come."
Rayquaza let out an ear-splitting roar, shaking the ground and making several of the Dark Trainers cover their ears, screaming soundlessly in pain. A few ran forward to meet the Wandering Hero head-on, but were sent to the ground effortlessly by both him and his Pokémon, all roaring in rage as they stormed forward.
A multicolored light flooded Rayquaza's mouth as it charged and released a Dragon Pulse at the helicopter, the aircraft exploding in a ball of fire. Felicia, having made it down a level outside, was safe from the shock of the explosion. The grunts that had escorted her here, however, soared over her while trailing smoke, landing on a few Dark Trainers. A Mightyena landed in front of her, snarling and snapping viciously. She jumped over it as it charged at her, cursing her handcuffs as she ran for her life down the stairs, raising her hands so she could be seen. "JETHRO!"
The Wandering Hero cracked a Dark Trainer's mask with a vicious punch, knocking him right out and sending him to the ground as Metagross spun wildly, sending the Trainer's Pokémon flying in all directions. "Burner!" he bellowed, pointing to Felicia with his sword. The Fire-Type leapt up high into the air, appearing to fly as it arched towards the young woman. Just before it could reach her, it was tackled midair to the ground by a familiar Houndoom, the two of them tumbling to the earth, with the Houndoom on top.
"Ready for a rematch?" it snapped in Burner's face.
"Not gonna be much of a rematch," Burner growled, planting its feet on the underside of the hound and pushing off hard, its powerful legs launching it high into the air.
"Burner, no-!" Felicia shouted, interrupted by the Mightyena returning and tackling her to the ground, its claws digging into her back ferociously and making her scream in pain. It was about to bite down on her neck when it was slammed into broadside by Garchomp, the Dragon-Type slapping its tail across the other Pokémon's face and sending it spiraling away, unconscious.
Garchomp bent down to pick up Felicia, and ducked underneath an Ice Beam. The Hunter's Abomasnow lumbered towards them, its mouth seeping with chill air as it panted and huffed. Garchomp roared and charged it, slamming it away with a Dragon Claw.
Entei pummeled a Dark Trainer and her Feraligatr away, unleashing a devastating Flamethrower upon a nearby Tropius, Empoleon, and a Bronzor. It turned to a man wearing a heavy cloak, his mask being the only thing to be seen. He threw back his cloak, and two Weavile darted out, attacking the Legendary Pokémon with several swift and well-placed cuts. Entei snarled, pinning one of them under a massive paw and headbutting the other unconscious as it tried to swipe at its face. Pressing down on the other Weavile, Entei let loose another Flamethrower at the Trainer. It reared its head in surprise when the Trainer remained unscathed. He chuckled behind his mask.
"Fireproof cloak," he boasted. "Let's see you land a successful—ohhhh," he groaned, stepping back as Entei leapt up and looked him dead in the eyes. "Didn't think about that…" He let out a hard 'oof!' as he was slammed into the ground. What air left in his lungs was driven out forcefully as Entei jumped off and attacked the next Dark Trainers.
The perimeter alarm began to blare, and the heavy blast doors thunked shut. Valin flipped a Trainer over his back, punching him unconscious before he hit the ground. His sword collided with that of a Dark Trainer, his Infernape leaping overhead and diving down, its entire body enveloped in a bright flame. It suddenly stopped in midair, and was thrown to one side, slamming into several other dark Pokémon and their Dark Trainers before being slammed into some loose ground. Latios zoomed by, throwing the Dark Trainer off-balance and allowing Valin to overpower him, sending him to the ground in a heap.
Elly's Squirtle launched Hydro Pump after Hydro Pump as she made her way up the mountain, making a B-line for Felicia. She and her Pokémon were hurled back by an explosion, her Lucario flipping back and landing on its feet. A Dark Trainer and her Electrode stood before them, the volatile ball smiling in a way that gave Elly actual chills down her spine. Lucario charged the ball Pokémon, jumping over the Thunderbolt sent its way. Using Bone Rush, it smacked the opposing enemy away and into the hillside where it promptly exploded and buried several Dark Trainers in an avalanche.
"Well that solves that problem," Elly muttered as she leapt over and kicked down the Dark Trainer.
Jethro smacked another Dark Trainer away with the flat side of his sword, cracking off the mask and letting Torterra stomp him unconscious. The Continent Pokémon launched an Energy Ball straight ahead, the resulting explosion throwing the mass of Dark Trainers that had been charging at them into the air and over their heads. The Wandering Hero looked up to see Burner gather Felicia into its arms and leap towards them. Its attention was diverted when it heard a cry from the side. The Hunter's Greninja darted across the mountainous terrain effortlessly and leapt right up at them. Burner tossed Felicia ahead, taking the brunt of the tackle and landing hard onto the ground, grabbing the blue Water-Type around the middle and hurling it off itself.
Jethro sheathed his sword and booked it up the mountainside, arms stretched out to catch his girlfriend. Just when she was inches away, she was yanked out of his grasp by a Skarmory. He landed hard and growled out loud. The Skarmory smirked, and its eyes widened as its body began glowing blue, and its flight path was diverted back towards Jethro. He looked over to see Metagross glaring at the Steel-Type bird, its eyes glowing brightly as it held down an Arbok, the snake writhing in vain to free itself. Metagross used its Psychic to release the grip that Skarmory had on Felicia, dropping her right into Jethro's arms, her momentum making him slide back down the hill a small distance. Metagross clamped down on the Arbok and tossed it up, smacking it into the Skarmory in midair. Rayquaza flew by and smacked them away with its tail.
"Hold still," Jethro said, taking out his multitool and unfolding it to reveal its laser-cutter. "Boy, what timing, huh? Had I known you were going to be in this neighborhood, I would have gotten you something."
"Oh, you are just unbearable sometimes," Felicia said, unable to keep from laughing a little. "Sometimes I wonder why I date you when you crack jokes in times like these."
"Well, you need someone to stay sane and not lose their cool in the middle of a fight, right?" Jethro pointed out as he finished slicing through her bindings. She immediately threw her arms around him, mashing her lips to his, catching him off-guard just a little.
"Thank you," she said when she pulled back from him.
"I would have come for you if it were the end of time itself," Jethro said, stroking her face.
"Let's hope Dialga manages to outlive us by several more years, then," Felicia chuckled. She whipped around when they heard the roar of an Aggron. They covered their eyes as several large floodlights suddenly clacked on, coating the mountainside in light. The battle immediately ceased, and a high-pitched whistle rang out. All the Dark Trainers moved back immediately, and Elly and Valin regrouped with their Pokémon, jogging up behind the reunited couple. Burner and Garchomp returned to Jethro, growling as they landed just behind the two.
"Well isn't this just grand?" the Hunter called out, spreading his arms wide as he walked confidently towards them. "And here I was just saying no one was stupid enough to attack this place. Thank you so much for proving me wrong, Mister Striker. You've really made my day." He grinned behind his mask and lowered his hands. "Unfortunately, even I'm not the one in charge here, so, I don't get to say whether or not we get to continue this little powwow. I'm getting orders in my left hearing-hole to get rid of you guys as soon as possible and by any means necessary." He crossed his arms. "So take solace, Wandering Hero… in knowing that your final resting place is going to be at the feet of the Sinister Division." He chuckled. "You never stood a chance."