We're nearly done here...
Chapter 32
Resistance
Coran sat on his bed, unable to get to sleep. What he had told Squirtle was a lot to take in. Maybe he wasn't as sympathetic as he should've been. Squirtle did seem really shocked, and Coran didn't blame her. Telling someone that the entire purpose of your whole world is pure entertainment isn't the easiest thing to take. I should be glad she even believed me...
There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Coran said quietly.
Monty took the invitation and stepped inside. "Hello, Coran. Do you...do you know where Mew is?" he asked.
"No, sorry," Coran replied, shaking his head. "You came here looking for her?"
"Wrong, I came here to pay off the mortgage," Monty said, giving Coran a look.
Coran held up his arms. "Alright. I'm giving Squirtle some space right now, so I could help you look for her if you want."
"I would appreciate that, thanks," Monty nodded.
I can't believe it...But...but I have to. It's the only explanation to all of Coran's problems...Squirtle thought frantically. But I'm not fake...I'm real...aren't I? What was it Coran said? "You're as real as I am"? What's that supposed to mean?...Well, I guess...it makes sense...That's the problem. It makes too much sense. It's the only solution that makes sense. Except...
Squirtle gave a tentative look at Coran's results of the Sanity Test.
"Where do you think she could be?" Monty asked as he and Coran walked down the main street of Nuzlocke.
Coran looked up at Monty. "I'm not sure. She wouldn't be someone to go on a mission by herself, would she?"
"No, she's more into fun things. She's probably out socializing or something," Monty shrugged.
"Socializing?" Coran wondered. "I...actually don't think I've seen Mew talk to anyone but us out of her own volition."
"Really?" said Monty. "I hadn't noticed that. Strange, with her talk of 'doing fun stuff', you'd think she'd be the type to go out and talk to Pokémon. I suppose I could've had her pinned wrong."
"Actually, I'm beginning to have my doubts about Mew..." Coran mumbled.
Monty crossed his arms...or at least tried. "What makes you say that? Mew's a fine Pokémon, and she's helped us through a lot of tight spots!"
"Yes, but," Coran said, putting a paw to his chin, "how much do we actually know about Mew?"
"Excuse me, Monty?" a low voice came from a nearby shop. "I have overheard something I thought you might appreciate."
Monty turned and saw Marvin walking towards him. "You sound oddly helpful today."
Marvin stared at Monty with half-closed eyes. "I resent that. But since I'm feeling generous, I'll still tell you. Xerneas and Yveltal have been found. And apparently, one of them is the Voice. Pokémon are saying the world's ending."
No. He can't be insane. Not after all this. But...it would explain...
"Agh! I'm so confused!" Squirtle yelled in frustration.
Coran and Monty burst through the door in a panicked frenzy.
"Squirtle! Squirtle, we have news!" Coran cried.
"Big news!" Monty added.
"The biggest!"
"Such newsy news!"
Coran stopped and turned to Monty disapprovingly. "Not the time, Monty."
"Monty, what are you talking about? What's happening?" Squirtle's eyes connected with his. She was dazed and tired, exhausted from trying to decide whether Coran needed to be detained or not.
"Xerneas and Yveltal have been found. One of them's the Voice. Mew's missing. The world's ending. What isn't happening?" Monty yelled.
Squirtle closed her eyes, putting a paw to her forehead. It had to be now. Arceus, it had to be now. "Alright. Let's get packing and go. Where are they?"
"Remember the volcano where Aldolpho was?" Coran asked.
"...Yes." Squirtle said slowly.
"The volcano's gone. The field's back. Except from the way they're fighting, it won't be a field for much longer."
Squirtle's senses jolted. "Wait, they're fighting?"
"From the looks of it, other Pokémon are fighting, too. A...a lot of other Pokémon," said Monty, looking out the south window.
"We need to stop them now! Before they destroy Nuzlocke!"
With that, Squirtle forgot about the problems concerning Coran, the problems with her world and the problems concerning the budget. All she was devoted to, all she could think about, is that this world is real enough for her, and it's about to be obliterated.
Cappy's village was in shambles. When the Pokémon residing found out about the fight between the legendary Pokémon, they all freaked out and bolted, some running away, some to try to stop their fatal bickering. Cappy was left alone in an empty village.
He sighed, and thought to himself, The world's ending, is it? Well...if that's true...then I have to know. I have to go see her.
Phari sat in her living room, looking at the setting sun for what she believed to be the last time. A small tear formed in the corner of her eye at the thought of never seeing Coran again. Or...Cappy...
No, Phari. He's gone. He's dead, probably at the bottom of the sea.
Phari had heard that morning that Xerneas and Yveltal were waging war against each other. The world as they knew it was ending. Was this the last time she'd see this house?
She stood up.
I don't want it to be. I don't want to see Cappy just yet. I won't be able to die knowing I didn't do what I could to stop this...apocalypse.
Coran, eyes wide with fear, stared at the battleground of the legendary Pokémon.
Xerneas and Yveltal were certainly going at it, trading blow for blow, each of them roaring...something at each other. Coran couldn't understand them.
Other Pokémon were fighting, too. From the looks of it, most were just lashing out at whatever was closest to them. It was a massacre, and Coran, strangely, wanted in.
"Are you coming with me?" Coran asked, turning back to his friends.
"What!?" Monty exclaimed. "Are you insane?"
Squirtle looked down at the ground.
"At this point, does it really matter? I can't stand just...well, standing here, and doing nothing while our world is on the edge of collapse!"
"This isn't your world," Squirtle whispered to herself.
Coran looked straight at Squirtle. "But it's yours."
Then he ran off into the fray, aiming a Force Palm at Yveltal's head.
Monty looked at Squirtle, waiting to see what she would do. "What's your plan of action?"
Squirtle took a deep breath. "...Let's do it."
Phari gaped in horror at the brawl sprawling in front of her. In all honestly, I can't say I didn't expect the end of the world to be any less...violent.
Closing her eyes, psyching herself up for what she was about to do, she took her position to dash into the fray.
"...Phari?" a quiet voice came from behind her. She knew it well. "...You're still alive..."
"No. Not now. The world is ending, and now is not the time to drag up memories."
"I'd say now's the perfect time. Since, well, there won't be any time left after this."
Phari turned around slowly, and witnessed the sad smile of Cappy, her dead husband.
"You...you aren't dead," Phari said quietly, holding Cappy close.
Cappy smiled, shaking his head. "No, Phari, I'm not. I'm as alive as you."
"I...I missed you...I missed you so much!" Phari burst into tears, throwing her arms around Cappy. Cappy returned the favor, holding her close.
They stayed that way for what felt like an eternity, two dead lovers brought back to life, ignoring the danger just adjacent to them, and enjoyed each other's company. Finally they pulled away from each other.
Phari looked back warily at the battle behind them. "With that battle going on, we might not have that much time together left..."
"What do you say we make the most of it, if you know what I mean?" Cappy said, smiling.
"I agree emphatically," Phari nodded, before seizing Cappy's hand, forcibly dragging him off into the fray.
"This isn't what I meant at all!"
Squirtle could not see anything. She was blindly slinging Swifts back and forth in the battlefield, not caring whom she hit as long as she could do something. She was being barrelled by attacks from all sides, and she tried to retaliate to each one, her feral mind telling her each attack was from an enemy that needed to be eliminated.
Monty was beside her, clearing paths of hostile Pokémon with powerful Leaf Tornadoes. He zeroed in on Xerneas, and tried to use a Giga Drain. He landed a direct hit, but Xerneas didn't even seem fazed. Monty was suddenly enveloped in a blinding white beam of light, sapping him of his energy. Dazed and hurt, he lay on the ground, wincing as Pokémon fought on top of him.
Coran was getting tired too. The facts of the battle began to fade in his mind; where he was, how long he had been fighting, how long he could keep it up. All he knew was that there was pain surrounding him, and the only way to end it was to win. Coran felt like he took a backseat inside his head, and let his body take over. Without his permission, he started throwing around moves he had never seen before; probably Copycat. He didn't know what he was doing, only that he was doing it.
Is this what it's like to be controlled by the Voice?
Coran gasped in sudden surprise and fear. Am I controlled by the Voice?
Coran stopped, stood still on the ground and surveyed his surroundings. No. I'm fine. I'm not-
He couldn't finish before feeling a powerful blow to the side of his head. Seeing stars, he blacked out.
"It's...It's over," Squirtle breathed.
The battlefield was a bloodbath. Xerneas and Yveltal were both on the ground, unmoving. It was obvious the Voice had seized some Pokémon judging by the corpses lining the once green grass. Squirtle wanted to cry from the carnage surrounding her. But no tears came. Only pain. She collapsed onto her back, finally realizing how tired she was.
How tired everyone was.
After catching her breath, she finally sat up. Where are Monty and Coran and...Mew?
She looked around, seeing some Pokémon get up sleepily, unable to move much from the borderline murderous battle they had taken part in. Coran and Monty were both rubbing their heads in pain, but they were alive.
"Hey, Squirtle!" a cheery voice came from behind her. "What'd I miss? I swear, as soon as I go for a minute, you do all the cool stuff without me!"
"Mew?!" Coran said incredulously from the other side of the battlefield.
"C-Coran?" Shuppet came from beside him.
"Shuppet? You're here too?" Monty asked, shock extremely evident in his voice.
There was a raspy laugh beside him. "Who isn't, huh?" Banette chuckled.
"What's goin' on, guys?" Mew asked, crunching on a berry.
"You...you missed the battle to end all battles. One of those Pokémon there is the one projecting the Voice, since...all Voice activity stopped," Squirtle said, looking around her.
Mew put her paw to her chin. "You want me to scan Xerneas and Yveltal? I don't think that's necessary."
"It'd be good just to make sure, don't you think?" Squirtle asked.
"No," Mew shook her head. "You're wrong. Neither of them is the culprit."
"H-how can you say that so surely?" Monty stared at Mew suspiciously.
"I'm the Voice."
Coran's mouth dropped open, along with everyone else conscious and present. "W...what?"
"I'm the Voice. I'm kind of surprised you hadn't figured it out till now."
Ah ha ha ha ha ha...