Chapter 29
Storms Brewing
DJ, Katara, and Leaf stood silently before Tobias, who sat behind his desk. The Gallade had his hands steepled over his desk, his face a blank mask.
"...So it is true?" he asked, breaking the silence. "Luke is dead?"
"Yes, sir," DJ said grimly. "He sacrificed himself to seal away the dark well before it could fully activate."
Tobias nodded slowly, closing his eyes and releasing a soft huff of air. "I see. This is truly upsetting news, despite the good that came from it." A small smile formed on the Gallade's lips. "Even after everything that has happened, there was still a part of him that remained pure."
"He said that he was doing it for Ester," DJ commented, earning a chuckle from Tobias.
"Yes, Ester always was sweet on him, almost motherly in her interactions with him. It comes as no surprise that she was able to reach him. How is she faring?"
"Not well," Leaf answered. "She was almost catatonic when we left, hardly responding to anything. I believe that she blames herself for convincing Luke to join the fight."
"Alistair stayed behind to help console her," Katara added. "He said he'd be back in a few weeks."
Tobias nodded sadly. "I hate that I cannot be there for her, but things have gotten worse." Tobias opened his eyes and pulled out a series of papers and laid them out on his desk.
"What are those?" DJ asked curiously, taking a half step forward.
"Reports of weather changes across the continent," Tobias responded.
"Weather reports?" Katara asked, trying and failing to keep the disbelief from her voice.
"They are not simple weather changes," Tobias said. "There are three separate reports, one of extreme torrential rain, one of a blistering heatwave, and one of hurricane winds."
"What does this mean?" DJ asked.
"It means the Weather Trio are becoming active," Tobias answered.
"The Weather Trio?" Katara repeated fearfully. "You mean Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza?! That Weather Trio?!"
"The very same."
Katara blanched, her expression screaming with apprehension and terror. Even the stoic Leaf appeared greatly unsettled by this new information, his mind racing with potential outcomes.
"Um, judging by your expressions, I'd say that the trio is really strong," DJ said.
"How can you not know about the Weather Trio?!" Katara exclaimed loudly, flailing her arms wildly. "They are some of the strongest legendaries in history."
Tobias raised a hand, stopping Katara's tirade and saving DJ's eardrums. "DJ, the legends surrounding the Weather Trio speaks highly of their power," the Gallade explained calmly. "Kyogre, the legendary of the sea, filled our planet with water and its counterpart, Groudon, the legendary of earth, is said to have created the very land that we walk upon. The duo's very presence caused the weather around them to change and react violently. As you can imagine, the two were bitter enemies and constantly clashed, each battle affecting our world in terrifying ways. With the two continuing to fight, the world was close to collapse and its inhabitants close to extinction. Just when all seemed lost, Rayquaza appeared.
"The green dragon descended from the sky before the quarreling legendaries, stopping their fight. With a single roar, Rayquaza stopped the weather disruptions all across the world. Kyogre and Groudon then returned to their dwellings, their anger quelled by Rayquaza's appearance."
"Wow," DJ gaped. "That's intense."
"Quite," Tobias nodded. "Since these weather changes started, the guildmasters and I have sent out various scouts to pin point the Weather Trio's specific locations. It wasn't until a few days ago that we received results."
"You found them?" Leaf questioned.
"Yes." Tobias turned to Katara, a sad look in his eyes. "Katara, I'm sorry to say that Surge was injured while he was searching for Kyogre."
"Dad?" Katara whispered, sounding lost. "Is...Is he okay?"
"His injuries were severe," Tobias said, not sugar coating it. "He encountered Kyogre while exploring a deep sea dungeon. He was grievously injured, but managed to escape with an escape orb. He is currently under constant watch, but the doctors believe that he'll make a full recovery."
Katara let out a breath of relief. The tensions in her shoulders releasing as she heard that her father would be okay. "Can I...go see him?"
"Normally I'd allow that, but we are in difficult straits," Tobias said regretfully. "With the information we have obtained, we need to act now before the damage that the trio is causing grows."
Katara nodded her head in understanding, though she looked depressed about it. She then felt a soft paw touch her shoulder in a comforting manner. Turning she saw DJ smiling sympathetically at her, sending his own emotions of understanding and support to her. The newly evolved Greninja smiled in response, feeling a bit better.
"With these three legendaries under the control of this darkness, we must act immediately," Tobias continued, drawing attention back onto himself. "Teams Stardust, Sunflare, and Odd Squad will be sent out to combat these legendaries, however, because of the trio's immense power, you will also be working with several guild members from Chrysolis will be there to assist you."
"Wait," DJ said, frowning deeply. "Chrysolis? You don't mean..."
-Legend-
"Spire," DJ growled as he and the others from Gallade's Guild -their guildmaster included- stepped into Charizard's Guild's main room where Team Fireheart, Dire, Oceanus, and Aodhan were waiting.
"Pup," the Charizard responded with a sneer.
"Easy you two," Landon said, getting in between the glaring duo. "We're both on the same side here."
"Whatever," both DJ and Spire said in unison, turning away from the other with an annoyed huff.
The shiny Charizard sighed tiredly at his brother's antics. At the same time, Asura was massaging his forehead. "Dammit DJ."
"Enough," Aodhan grunted from his throne like chair. "We aren't here for petty arguments, we're here to stop these damn legendaries!"
"Eloquently put, Aodhan," Tobias commented sardonically, earning a growl. The Gallade chuckled before sobering up and addressing the assembled Pokémon. "As you all know, the Weather Trio are under the same darkness that consumed Zygarde all those weeks ago."
"What is this darkness?" Specter asked bluntly. Unlike Guise, Specter did not exude malice, just mischief, though it was muted behind his worry.
Tobias glanced at Aodhan, seemingly having a silent conversation, before he turned back to the Gengar. "We, being the other guildmasters and I, believe that this darkness is a result of the dark wells."
"WHAT?!" Oceanus yelled, jolting to the point where the Gyarados' head slammed into the ceiling.
"Oceanus!" Aodhan barked. "Calm yourself!"
"Yes Guildmaster," the sea serpent said sheepishly.
"I hate to say it, but I find myself agreeing with Oceanus' sentiment," Aquilla said, flipping his 'hair' out of his eyes. "How is it possible that the dark wells are involved? Are they activating?"
"Unfortunately, yes, the wells appear to be in the process of activating," Tobias responded grimly, causing muttering to break out among those from Aodhan's guild.
"S-Seriously?!"
"The dark wells are really activating?"
"I thought they were just a myth! How is this happening?!"
"Now, now," Tobias said, pulling everyone's attention back to him. "While we believe that the wells are activating, it is uncertain when they will actually happen. It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be several months from now."
"If that were the case then how are the legendaries being taken over like this?" Scorch, now an Emboar, demanded.
"From what we have gathered from, not only the legendaries that have been defeated, but also several others that have been under this influence, there is someone that is purposely infecting the legendaries with this darkness," Tobias answered.
"Do we know who this Pokémon is?" Geyser questioned.
"Unfortunately, no."
"Enough of this senseless chatter!" Aodhan snapped suddenly. "We're not here to focus on the dark wells or this supposed 'mastermind'. This is about the Weather Trio and nothing more!"
"Thank you, Aodhan. We were getting off topic" Tobias said. "Now, onto why you're all here. We have found the locations of all three of the Weather Trio. They are much to powerful for a single team to face so we have decided to combine all of you together into three groups to face down each legendary."
"All of us..." Landon began, eyes wide.
"...Together?" Spire finished, his face a picture of shock. "That's crazy!"
"It's our only option," Aodhan said gruffly. "These three are some of the strongest out there. We cannot afford to treat them as anything but dangerous."
"But aren't all of us together a bit overkill?" Kimberly questioned.
"Better to be over prepared then under prepared," Tobias said sagely.
"I guess that makes sense," Kimberly accepted.
"Good," Tobias said. "Now for the teams..."
"Don't we get to pick the teams?" Davis questioned.
"No, we already chose the teams," Aodhan answered before Tobias could. "We have chosen the teams based on typing and the environment your quarry is found in."
"Fine," Davis huffed, turning his head with a scoff.
Aodhan growled threateningly at the Togekiss, but said nothing. "Anyway, the team that will be going after Groudon will be as follows." Aodhan pulled out a sheet of paper and read out aloud. "Landon, Scorch, Gaea, Geyser, Specter, Alex, Collin, Kimberly, Katara, and Bertha."
"Those facing Kyogre will be Asura, Leaf, Garfield, Jet, Blitz, Blade, Jesse, Katerina, Oceanus, Shima, and Malum," Tobias added, reading from his own list.
"And those going after Rayquaza will be Spire, Aquila, Dire, Winter, Max, Tyler, Jackson, Grace, Drake, Davis, and DJ," Aodhan finished, tossing the paper aside. "You all will leave immediately and I expect you all to be finished by tomorrow!"
"Let's be a little more realistic," Tobias suggested, chuckling anxiously before becoming serious again. "You all need to be careful in these battles, legendaries are incredibly powerful, these three especially. You'll need to keep your wits about you."
"Understood," Asura said determinedly.
"This will be a cake walk," Spire scoffed, not at all worried.
"That's my boy!" Aodhan said with a wide, proud grin.
Tobias just shook his head as the two Charizard ignored his warnings. "Just be careful and leave immediately. "
-Legend-
Magma Cavern: Landon and co.
The first group, upon traveling to Groudon's dungeon, witnessed first hand the damage that the continental Pokémon was causing. The scarce flora that grew in the area was all brown and dying. The sun seemed to burn brighter in the sky, unimpeded by clouds. Rivers and lakes had fully evaporated, leaving the water dwellers helpless into the dry beds. Even the wind itself seemed to burn as it whipped across their faces.
With a sense of urgency, the group entered the cavern dungeon that held the ground type legendary. Dry and blistering air blew through the dungeon, stemming from the dark red walls themselves. Small craters and cracks bubbled with red hot magma, adding to the heat of the dungeon. The air constantly undulated under the oppressive warmth of the dungeon, causing all of the non fire types to break out in a sweat.
"Geez it's hot," Bertha rasped.
"What'd you expect? It's called Magma Cavern. Not Cool and Temperate Cavern," Scorch sneered, earning a bone club to the back of his head. "OW! What the hell?!"
"Sarcasm isn't attractive," Bertha huffed, turning her head in a regal manner.
The Emboar growled angrily, but was stopped from acting on his anger by Landon. "We don't have time to argue with one another. We need to get to Groudon," the shiny Pokémon said.
"Then we need to get a move on because we're about to have company!" Gaea shouted, pointing behind the group.
The group turned and were immediately met with the visage of a giant rock snake baring down on them. The Onix reared up, glaring hatefully at the group. It opened its mouth to roar when a wave of murky water slammed into the large snake, sending it tumbling to the ground.
"Well, that was anticlimactic," Kimberly commented, unimpressed.
"Good to know tubby's good for something," Specter joked before he started to sweat when Kimberly turned to glare at him.
"The hell did you say?" Kimberly demanded, her tone taking on a dangerous edge.
"Uh..." Specter's eyes shifted frantically, searching for something to get him out of his current situation. "I said...Oh look! The Onix is getting back. Up!"
As the Gengar said, the Onix was indeed getting up, though very slowly. The rock snared growled lowly, giving Kimberly an angry stare. With a roar that shook its entire body, the Onix summoned a flurry of rocks that raced towards the the Swampert.
Before the stones got even close to Kimberly, multiple spinning stars of compressed water flew at the stones, cutting through them and continuing on towards the Onix. The rock type screeched in pain as the stars cut across its form before it fell forward, this time not getting back up.
"Can we go now?" Katara asked, stepping forward to make sure that the Onix was unconscious. "Pokémon are suffering from the effects of these legendaries you know."
"I agree with the Greninja," Geyser gurgled. "Let's get this over with. I'm drying out!"
"Yes, let's get a move on," Landon said agreeably. "This is a longer dungeon so monster houses and traps are most likely present. Proceed with caution."
"You act like we've never been in a high tier dungeon before," Alex scoffed, tilting his head upwards in a regal manner. "We're all members of diamond rank teams. This is nothing new."
The Ninetails then walked past the Charizard, ignoring his attempts to call him back. The fire fox just scoffed and made to leave the room when a faint click was heard from right under him. Before the Ninetails could move, a blast of green liquid shot up from the ground, covering Alex from head to toe with green viscous fluid.
"Guh! It's sticky!" Alex bemoaned, trying, and failing, to remove the gunk from his fur.
Katerina walked over to the distressed Ninetails and scooped a small dollop of the goo with her claw and held it up to her eyes. "Sticky trap," she said, observing the green goo. "This stuff covers and item and makes it useless." She glanced at Alex. "It also is a pain to get out of fur."
"GAH!" Alex cried out, getting head shakes and sweat-drops from the rest of the group.
-Legend-
Stormy Sea: Asura and co.
Just like the other group, those seeking out Kyogre were met with devastation. Instead of incredible heat and drought, the area near the coast where the dungeon was located was experiencing torrential rains. Black clouds covered the entirety of the sky and gushed sheets of water down to the earth below. Rivers were flooding, dams were breaking under the influx of water, crops and other vegetation had been drowned and sunk in the muddy soil. This made the dungeon even more difficult to get to.
Stormy Sea was a strange dungeon. To get there, for one, the team had to sail into the middle of the incredibly tough and choppy ocean and, literally, take a leap of faith into the waters below. After sinking a few feet, the group was found themselves miraculously in an underwater cave of sorts. The floors were covered by inch high water, pools of deep water could be seen every few feet or so. The walls were a teal colored stone, with bits of green coral sprouting out here and there.
Another thing that was strange about the dungeon was the Pokémon that inhabited the dungeon. Many of the water Pokémon were streamline or water dwelling. Meaning, that Pokémon that should not have been able to move outside of water, like Huntail or Relicanth, were some how able to 'swim' in an inch of water.
"How the hell are they swimming?!" Blitz shouted, sending a blast of electricity at a Gorebyss that was getting too close. "There's like an inch of water on the ground."
"Another mystery of the the mystery dungeons," Garfield replied dryly.
"Could I get some help over here?!" Malum shouted as an Octillery proceeded to try and choke her. "It's getting hard to breathe over here!"
A pool of water nearby the group began to ripple violently before Oceanus exploded out of the water. He roared fiercely and slammed the Octillery away with a brutal aqua tail. A sound reminiscent of a deflating balloon came from the eight-limbed water type as it was jettisoned away. With a splat, the water type hit a wall and slumped to the ground.
"Thanks Oceanus," Malum said gratefully, struggling to catch her breath.
"Don't thank me yet," Oceanus growled just as another Gyarados exploded out of the pool. The new sea serpent roared ferally and tackled Oceanus, sending them both tumbling to the ground in a writhing mess of violently flailing tails.
On the opposite side of the room, Leaf, Shima, Blade, and Jesse, were fighting a trio of incredibly hardy Relicanth. They pushed the rock-water types back, their type advantages allowing them to do a significant amount of damage. Just as they got them to back away, Asura jumped right in the middle of them and knocked them all out with a three thunder punches.
"This is getting tedious," Asura muttered, glancing around at the multitude of Pokémon that filled the room.
"Monster houses always are," Shima said, panting lightly from exertion.
Leaf did not pay attention to the conversing duo, instead he looked around. There were still several dungeon Pokémon still in fighting conditions and while Leaf had no doubt that they could have beaten them, time was an issue. Nodding to himself, he pulled out a blue orb with a flourish and activated it.
The orb released a pulse of energy that washed through the entire floor. When the energy came into contact with a dungeon Pokémon they would cease up and were unable to move.
"The hell?!" Oceanus shouted as the Gyarados he was fighting suddenly froze mid-attack.
"Foe-hold orb," Leaf replied simply.
"And why didn't you use it earlier?" Jet questioned/demanded.
"I only had the one," Leaf answered. "If we encounter another monster house then we will be on our own."
"Great," Asura muttered. "Let's hope the others are making better progress then we are."
-Legend-
Sky Pillar: DJ and co.
Wind whipped violently upon the lands below sky pillar. Trees were uprooted and tossed around like the leaves that they bore. The cliff face the canyon that sat just below the aerial dungeon was crumbling and breaking apart under the intense winds, making it dangerous for anyone to get near. Tornadoes and hurricanes were a constant, tearing through the lands and villages in the region, leaving many without homes.
"We're standing on freaking clouds!" Spire shouted with almost child-like glee as he stomped on the floor, or rather clouds.
After meeting with an Alakazam, an old friend of Tobias', the group was teleported with the help of a teleport gem, similar to the ones in their badges, to Sky Pillar. The domain of Rayquaza, as Spire had said, was made up completely of clouds. The cloud in question were strangely blue in color, almost reflecting the skies below them. The walls, on the other hands, were the normal white color that one would normally expect to see when they looked at clouds, just more tightly compacted. There were small tears in the floor from where the clouds met, forcing the group to be cautious as to not accidentally fall through, or at least get a foot stuck.
"We heard you the first ten times," Grace said patiently, though her voice was beginning to become strained.
"But we're on actual clouds!" Spire stressed as if they were not understanding.
"We know!" Max snapped, his own patience running out. "We can all see it!"
"Can we maybe focus on the mission and not on the landscape?" Davis question. "Or lack there of?"
"Or maybe we can focus on the Dragonite flying towards us," DJ supplied.
"What are you talking about?" Spire questioned, not believing the Lucario. "There's no-"
Spire turned to where DJ was indicating to prove the aura Pokémon wrong, but trailed off when he came face to face with a scowling orange dragon. The Dragonite stood a few inches taller than Spire, forcing the Charizard to look up into angry feral eyes. The Dragonite glared for several seconds before roaring right in Spire's face, causing him to give a rather feminine scream and jump back.
Dragonite, by nature, were typically kindhearted and docile by nature, but, as is typical in a relative sense, mystery dungeons changed them.
The enraged Dragonite reared itself to its full height, flaring out its wings in an intimidating manner. A ball of wild purple energy pooled in the dragon's mouth before it released a large hyper beam at the group, forcing them to scatter.
Spire, surprisingly enough, recovered first and lunged at the large dragon, raking his claw, that were coated in green dragon type energy, across the Dragonite's stomach. The dragon Pokémon screeched in agony, but responded immediately with a dragon claw of its own.
"Grah!" Spire roared, both in pain and anger. Tail flame building in strength, Spire unleashed a point blank fire blast at the dragon, causing it to go flying across the room, smashing into the clouds, a puff of mist erupting from around it.
As soon as the Dragonite started to get up, Grace leapt into action. With a swing of her second mouth, a tornado of pink wind was created and sent towards the stunned dungeon Pokémon. Unable to move away, the Dragonite was swept up by the winds and trapped within the violent vortex of fairy wind.
"Winter!" Spire shouted to the Weavile.
"On it!" The Weavile running over to Grace. Without further delay, The Weavile swung her arms and released a powerful blizzard. The amalgamation of snow, sleet, and freezing wind mixed with the pink vortex, dealing even more damage to the trapped Dragonite.
The dragon-flying type screamed in pain as it was bombarded with fairy and ice type energies. When the swirling vortex finally petered out, the Dragonite fell limp. Bruised, cut, and covered in ice, the Dragonite fell to the ground unconscious.
"Well that was eventful," Tyler commented.
"You could have helped," Spire spat spitefully.
"You seemed to have it handled," Tyler said nonchalantly.
"How about we just keep moving," Aquilla said, flying between the Charizard and Larion, stopping the impending argument. "We are on a time crunch."
"Fine," Spire growled reluctantly.
-Legend-
Magma Cavern: Deepest Chamber
The group made their way down to the deepest part of the dungeon, a large chamber with streams of lava spewing from the opposite wall like twin waterfalls. The lava flow trickled to the ground, wrapping around a circular platform in the center of the chamber. The only way to the platform was a rather narrow stone bridge.
The exploration members tentatively trekked over the bridge and to the platform. They all looked around for Groudon, but the only thing they could see was the same deep red stone of the dungeon and the pouring lava.
"What the hell? It's not here!" Scorch shouted angrily.
"This is the deepest part of the dungeon, right?" Bertha asked, looking around confusedly.
"This is as far as it is reported to go," Landon assured, a frown marring his face.
"Then where the hell is Groudon?" Katerina questioned.
Before any of the group could say anything a low rumble shook the room. "...Who dares distub my domain?"
The group was immediately put on guard as the voice rumbled through the chamber. They moved closer to each other, forming a circle as to not be surprised.
"Speak now mortals," the voice growled when no one answered.
Landon took a step forward, delegating himself as the spokesman of the group. "I take it you are Groudon?"
"I am," the voice confirmed. "Why have you come to my domain?"
"We have come to stop you and put an end to the weather changes you are causing in this region," Landon answered confidently, betraying the knot of fear that rested in his stomach.
There was silence for several seconds before a ground shaking roar echoed through the chamber with enough force to cause the group to stumble. "You dare come into my domain and speak such words?" Groudon questioned, his voice edged with blatant danger. "I will not stand for it!"
The lava pool in front of the platform began to quiver and bubble. Lava began to overflow and seep onto the platform, not enough to reach the group, but enough to give the impression that something was moving below the molten rock. Slowly, something began to emerge, the burning lava spilling off of it as it began to ascend. A large, black, ridged head burst from the molten material, followed by a pair of deep red, hate filled eyes.
The exploration members watched in awe as a prehistoric Pokémon, much larger than a Tyrantrum, towered above them. The Pokémon stood over sixteen feat in height and was covered in coal black plates. The seams between the plates, including the ones around its face and eyes, looked as if magma was coursing through them and ash gray spikes jutted out of its body, running down the sides of its head, body, and serrated tail. Its underbelly was the same color as its spikes and three razor sharp claws came from its hands and feet. On both of its arms the Greek symbol omega was imprinted.
The legendary glared down at the group and roared in challenge. "You will not leave this place alive."
-Legend-
Stormy Sea: Sea Floor
Asura's group stepped out into a wide chamber. The same turquoise stone of the rest of the dungeon made up of formed a series of large platforms sat placidly over top of a giant pool of sea water, spread out almost like a checkerboard. A larger area of open water was lay just beyond the platforms.
A teal green light illuminated the chamber, stemming from a luminescent coral that grew on the walls, both above and below the water. Looking down, even with the glow of the coral, the group could not see the bottom.
The team cautiously made their way out over to the platforms, the stones just being big enough to hold two Pokémon each. They all looked around warily as the water type could pop out anywhere. After a few minutes of no movement, a serene, yet hard voice spoke out.
"So, you have come."
"Who said that?!" Blitz yelped, looking around frantically.
"I am Kyogre," the voice answered, sounding distinctly female. "And you are trespassing in my domain."
"We are here to stop you, Kyogre," Asura stated, his eyes roaming over the deceptively calm waters for any sign of the legendary.
"Stop me?" Kyogre asked, the faintest hint of amusement filtering into her voice. "You believe that you are capable of stopping me? A foolish sentiment."
"What you're doing is causing harm to Pokémon everywhere!" Jet shouted. "This rain is killing everything!"
"I am very much aware of that fact," Kyogre responded.
"It is no use arguing," Leaf said. "The darkness is clouding Kyogre's mind. She is not herself."
"Not myself," Kyogre repeated. "On the contrary, my mind has not clearer."
The open water in front of the platforms began to bubble violently as a dark shape began to rise from the depths. Emerging from the water was an massive Pokémon, almost thirty-three feat in length. Its skin was primarily an inky black with dark red lines running down its back. Eight trailing parts, four on each side, a translucent webbing connecting them to each other.
It had two large pectoral fins were on either side of the legendary with four square gray 'nails' on each fin and a dark blue alpha symbol, with dark maroon lines that connect the outer nails to the inner nails and the center of the symbol glowing a deep red. On its forehead was the same symbol that it had on each fin, this one connected to two red ovals on either side of its head.
The darkened legendary stared impassively at the group in front of her, her red eyes glowing with boredom, as if the group was beneath her notice. "This world has been polluted by greed and strife. It must be washed clean so a new utopia can be birthed."
"So you plan of flooding the entire world to reach that goal?" Oceanus demanded, slipping into the water and glaring defiantly at the legendary.
"If I must, yes," Kyogre responded. "If you seek to stop me..."
The waters began to ripple and swirl violently, bowing to Kyogre's influence. The pressure in the chamber increased tenfold, becoming almost stifling.
Kyogre's eyes seemed to glow with energy. "...then you shall become another group of souls lost to the sea."
-Legend-
Sky Pillar: Pinnacle
The final group reached the the final floor of the billowing tower of clouds, an open room with no ceiling. Unlike the floors below, the clouds that mad up the room were slightly darker, like the ones that formed before a storm hit. Through the open ceiling, the bright sun beat down on them, a cool breeze blowing through the room.
"Rayquaza's...not here?" Davis said, looking around the empty room.
"It would appear so," Grace said, moving deeper into the room.
The rest of the group soon followed the shiny Mawile, looking cautious. DJ brought up the rear, deciding to hang back and use his aura sense to try and find any trace of the legendary. Just as his second vision activated, and everything went blue, a presence appeared right behind him.
"Wha-" Before DJ could finish his sentence, dark tendrils wrapped around his arms and face, covering his mouth, before everything faded from view and the feeling of being pulled through a thin tube enveloped his body.
"DJ?" Grace asked, hearing him. She turned around, but saw no sign of the Lucario. "Has anyone seen DJ?"
"He was right behind us," Drake said, frowning.
"What the hell?!" Spire shouted. "We're supposed to be fighting a legendary, not gallivanting around like-"
Whatever he was going to say was lost as a violent gust of wind rushed blew through the room. A distant roar echoed in the distant followed by a clap of thunder. Everyone looked skywards the group watched in awe as a large black serpentine creature descended from the sky. It had two rudder-like wings, dipped in red, on its shoulders and down its body. Dark red rings trailed down its body from its head to its tail. It had two three clawed hands and two flat horns on its head with two shorter horns along its jaw. It had prominent red gums with two distinct fangs poking out of its upper jaw.
Two blood red, beady eyes regarded the group in front of the legendary. "I am Rayquaza!" the beast roared. "Speak your purpose here and I will make your deaths swift and painless!"
"That's not a very good deal," Jackson commented.
"We're here to stop the damage you're causing!" Spire shouted.
"Stop me? You fools can't even begin to comprehend the power I possess!" Rayquaza scoffed. "I am the legendary of the wind, the guardian of the skies. The very air is my domain and power! You cannot hope to compare to me!"
"Wow, he's as big of a blowhard as Spire," Dire said.
"What was that, mutt?!" Spire snarled.
"Boys!" Grace snapped, causing both Pokémon to fall silent. She turned back to the large serpent and glared. "I frankly don't care who or what you are," she said. "You are causing problems for Pokémon everywhere and we will stop you!"
Rayquaza lowered his head so that he was on eye level with Grace. The two stared at the other for several seconds before Rayquaza threw back his head and let out a belly laugh. "You...You believe that you can defeat me? Hilarious. I haven't laughed like this in decades!"
After two minutes of straight laughing, the dragon seemed to regain control of himself. Miming wiping away a tear, the Rayquaza looked back down at the assembled group. "If you truly wish to fight me, then I won't stop you. However..."
A bright red flash erupted from the legendary, enveloping his entire body. Recognizing the light, the group watched in horror as the legendary's form elongated. The horns, fins, and jaw all shifted shape as the legendary evolved further. The light soon dispersed, revealing Rayquaza's new form.
Along the length of Rayquaza's body, in place of the rings that he had on his previous form, were red glowing orbs, the body segments that housed these orbs were gray in color. His fins were now dipped in red, the ones on his tail being completely red. Its two upper horns were much longer with glowing tendrils that end in a circular shape with a spike. Rayquaza's lower horns were also longer and framed in dark red and took on a triangular shape with glowing tendrils stretching out to his tail. On the legendary's forehead was a delta symbol.
The mega legendary grinned evilly down at the group, red eyes flashing with malicious intent. "I will not hold myself back for you sake."
-Legend-
Unknown Location
DJ's vision returned a second later and he found himself on paws and knees, gasping. "What the hell...was that?!" he panted.
Giving a slight cough, DJ pushed himself to his feet and looked around and when he did, he could not stop a gasp from escaping his lips. He was standing on a large stone platform that appeared to be floating in the middle of some kind of space. The 'sky' appeared to be fluctuating from pink to orange, shifting in a way that resembled a kaleidoscope. Walking to the edge of the platform and peering over, DJ saw that the multicolored void just went on an on without any apparent end.
"Something tells me I'm not in Sky Pillar any more," DJ mumbled. He went to bend over further to get a better look when a low hum from behind him nearly sent the Lucario careening over. Whirling around, DJ came face to face with one of the most bizarre looking Pokémon he had ever seen.
Standing before DJ was a thin bipedal alien, for lack of a better word. It was primarily black in color with two tapering legs with a small segmented, vertical strip running down the upper portion. Its arms, or rather, tentacles were twisted around each other in a helix. The upper tendril being black in color and the lower a dark blue. The creature's face was the same dark blue as its lower tendrils, with a red strip running down the center of it and black, flat, rectangular protrusions poking out the sides of its head. In the center of its chest was a ruby red crystal that pulsed with energy.
The creature's tentacles unraveled themselves and swished madly in the air, unnerving DJ. "Okay, that's creepy," he said.
The tendrils then wrapped themselves around themselves again, though much tighter than before. DJ watched in awed disgust as the tendrils squished up against the other, fusing together as if made of dough. Slowly the combined tentacles formed five fingered hands. The creature stretched and wiggled its fingers, seemingly growing accustomed to its new appendages.
"I stand corrected. That was creepy," DJ muttered.
Seemingly just noticing DJ, the creature turned its head and regarded the Lucario with an unreadable expression, however, instead of addressing him, the creature just stared at DJ. After several minutes of awkward silence, DJ began to fidget.
"Who, or what are you?" DJ finally asked, breaking the silence only to be met with more silence. "Can you even talk?"
The creature did not respond, simply continuing to stare blankly at the aura Pokémon. DJ growled in annoyance at the creature's silence. "What the hell do you want?! Why am I here?!"
That seemed to garner a response out of the creature. Its eyes suddenly flashed with energy before twin bolts of black energy shot out of them and raced towards DJ.
DJ yelped in surprise, jumping to the side as the energy bolts exploded against the platform, sending a chuck of stone plummeting into the abyss. DJ wobbled unsteadily, having landed on the edge of the platform, before regaining his footing and glaring at the creature.
"Okay, so that's how it's going to be," DJ growled, touching his mega stone and activating his evolution. The newly evolved mega Lucario flexed his fingers and sent a steeling glare at the strange creature. "If you won't give me answers then I'll just have to beat them out of you!"
The creature's arms separated into four tendrils in response. They raised into the air, shifting in a threatening manner. Its previous blank gaze burned with fury as it prepared itself to destroy DJ.
