"Sygna Suit EX synchronization stable at 95%"
"Executive control override activated."
"Motor control system activated."
"Wormhole Creation Device attached."
"All systems green. Prepare for deployment!"
As she laid her eyes on the room Reina was supposed to be in, Kumiko was shocked at what HTT did to her beloved. Forget her worst fears, what Kumiko saw presented the most unexpected sight possible.
Despite witnessing firsthand how badly Reina had worn herself out when fighting HTT, Kumiko was surprised to see her beloved looking all fresh and rested up, as if she had been staying in a five-star hotel this whole time. No matter how Reina had managed to keep herself looking as beautiful as ever, Kumiko was grateful beyond words to see that she had been unharmed.
With her nose currently buried in a book, Reina paused for a moment before looking up to see Kumiko, whose eyes sparkled with tears of elation. About to run over and embrace her beloved in joy, it was Kumiko who initiated, wrapping her arms around Reina before planting a kiss right on her lips. Unable to contain her feelings any longer, Reina returned the favour, Kumiko's warmth reassuring her that everything was all right.
"Now, and always. That's what you said to me back then, and here I am. After all, I do intend to keep my promises to you." Kumiko declared as she broke off the kiss, her eyes regaining their soft glow upon finally reuniting with her beloved. Hearing Kumiko echo her own words, Reina couldn't help but laugh, and Kumiko joined in as well.
"Yes, Kumiko. We'll always be by each other's side, no matter what happens. That's what we promised to each other." Even while the building they were in shook and crumbled around them, the two young lovers remained locked in their tender embrace, oblivious to anything but each other.
At this moment, nothing else mattered to Kumiko and Reina.
"Haruka?"
Seeing the helmet's visor retract, Nozomi instantly recognized the face of her mentor and friend peer out from within, staring down at everyone below. Noticing Haruka's eyes were now a dull yellow instead of their regular lively gold, Nozomi knew HTT had done something to her, but couldn't place what it was until Sawako broke the uneasy silence.
"Alright, Haruka-chan! Send out your Pokémon and activate that wormhole! Time to show your friends what you're made of!" Her face now sporting a triumphant grin, Sawako's orders immediately made it clear to everyone that Haruka was under some sort of mind control. Otherwise, Nozomi couldn't think of any plausible explanation for her strange behaviour.
"Understood." Nodding once as she spoke in monotone, Haruka used both her hands to grab the Pokéballs attached to her waist before throwing them out, revealing all six of her Pokémon ready to battle. Confused as to how they should deal with a friend's Pokémon while she was being mind-controlled, everyone was frozen with inaction even when a strange device dropped from Haruka's back.
"Wait, isn't that…" As the mysterious device let out a few pulses of energy, a blue glow shone down from above. Looking up, Nozomi couldn't believe her eyes when she saw an Ultra Wormhole appearing in the sky, the space around it distorting before Ultra Beasts came pouring out. With the imminent threat they were facing suddenly spiralling out of control, the throngs of fear Nozomi felt almost left her immobile before she heard Hashimoto shout.
"Niiyama and I will deal with Miss Ogasawara! Everyone else, prevent the Ultra Beasts from escaping the area!" Rapidly taking control of the situation, Hashimoto's words quickly snapped everyone back into action, allowing them to instantly shake off the shock of everything that just happened. Despite what she needed to do now preventing her from saving Haruka, Nozomi was almost thankful she stayed away after what happened next.
"Hydro Pump." Speaking in an emotionless voice again, Haruka thrust her hand towards her Kingdra, who fired out a torrent of water at Niiyama's Mega Pidgeot. While she had seen Haruka's Kingdra use Hydro Pump before, Nozomi was caught off-guard when the deluge became more ferocious than she expected, slamming into Niiyama's Pidgeot with enough force to blast it out of sight.
Unable to recall her Pidgeot back into its Pokéball once it was knocked unconscious, Niiyama was forced to have her Swellow search for its location, taking another one of her Pokémon out of the fight. Her Kingdra swiftly defeating an ex-Elite Four member's strongest Pokémon in a single attack, it was clear to everyone that Haruka was now a threat to be taken seriously.
To make matters worse, it seemed Haruka was now aware of everyone's efforts to contain the Ultra Beasts. Thrusting her hand out again, all of Haruka's Pokémon moved out to intercept the dispersing crowd with the exception of her Golisopod, who stared down Hashimoto and Niiyama with its intimidating visage. As its mandibles clawed at the air, Hashimoto cracked his knuckles.
"Well, looks like it's time to prove that us geezers here aren't just for show."
"Kumiko, did you do anything to the building?"
Readjusting her dress, Reina was confused at why everything was constantly shaking around. Kumiko told her that Sparkle somehow shorted out the building's power supply earlier, which explained the sudden blackout from before, but didn't provide a reason for all this quaking. While Reina's first guess would be an earthquake, everything which had happened over the past few days had taught her to expect the unexpected.
"No. Must be HTT, knowing their extreme methods and all." Despite being reunited with Reina, Kumiko's voice still sounded a bit dead from constantly worrying about her beloved the previous night. Pulling up her shorts, Kumiko turned to look at Reina as the ceiling above them shook again. "Come on. We should get out. Staying here any longer isn't going to do us any favours."
Slipping their shoes back on, Kumiko and Reina then realized they had spent a little too much time on their romantic 'catch-up' session, forgetting everything else in their moments of passion. Exiting the room HTT kept Reina in, the lovers were then greeted by a hallway with one end caved in by assorted debris, leaving them with only a single route they could take.
"What could've caused all this damage?" Kumiko wondered to herself, noting how the building seemed to be tearing apart with each successive rumble. With this strange phenomena, Kumiko wouldn't have been surprised to see a Legendary Pokémon behind it all. Walking with Reina back to the stairwell she came out of, Kumiko recognized the area where she fought Mugi when Reina shouted a warning.
"Look out!" Kumiko barely had time to react before the wall in front of her burst apart, revealing a Buzzwole on the other end. While Kumiko hadn't seen one before, she naturally assumed that this muscular abomination was the aforementioned Ultra Beast based on the description she had heard before. Quickly jumping out of the way, Kumiko was soon caught by Reina, who steadied her beloved with her firm hands.
"Wait, why would an Ultra Beast…" Confused as to how a Buzzwole managed to end up here, it only took mere moments for Kumiko and Reina to deduce its presence was somehow connected to HTT's appearance in Termezzo Town. Though Kumiko could've gone down this train of thought for far longer, she and Reina had more pressing matters to deal with, namely that this Ultra Beast seemed intent on fighting.
"That doesn't matter right now. If we don't get it out of the way, then we can't escape from here that easily." As Reina sent out her Pokémon, Kumiko was amazed at how magnificent her beloved was in battle, even so soon after she had been captured and kidnapped. Ordering her Pokémon to fight the Buzzwole as well, Kumiko soon found herself in a harrowing situation.
"Uhh, do you remember how to defeat a Buzzwole?" she asked Reina as her Pokémon were getting thrown around left and right. Surprisingly, their Pokémon were taking the hits better than she expected, recovering rather quickly as they continued to throw everything they had at the Buzzwole. After telling Handel to use an Ice Beam, Reina turned to address her beloved.
"Since a Buzzwole mainly uses close-range attacks, it's best to use ranged moves when fighting one." Recalling the advice she was given, Reina suddenly became aware that was the exact strategy she was currently using. Without thinking about it, she had defaulted to the most effective method of fighting simply by observing her opponent's battling style. Kumiko also noticed this, and made a strange face even as she replied.
"Got it!" Mega Evolving Sparkle, Kumiko was thankful Reina was now back to guide her. If she had encountered an Ultra Beast all alone, she wouldn't have known the best way to defeat it, even if she had the power to do so. To Kumiko, it wasn't an understatement to say she wouldn't be where she was without Reina's assistance throughout her journey. Reina just meant that much to her.
"Thunderbolt!" The wool on Sparkle's back crackling with electricity, she fired out a single arc of lightning towards the Buzzwole, directly hitting the Ultra Beast from afar. As the Buzzwole struggled to stand up again after being struck by that bolt of lightning, this provided a prime opportunity for Kumiko and Reina's Pokémon to take it down without any further interruptions.
"Wait! Above you!" Just as she was about to give the order to attack, Reina then saw cracks rapidly forming above where the Buzzwole stood. Looking on in confusion as its opponents abruptly retreated, the Buzzwole soon found out why as it was crushed beneath a mixture of concrete and metal from above. Courtesy of the ceiling, the Ultra Beast was now pinned down to the floor in a painful display.
"Ugh. That looks messy." Seeing strange juices begin to leak out from the Buzzwole's body, Kumiko thought now was as good a time as any to leave. Not wanting to risk any chance of the Ultra Beast counterattacking, Kumiko took Reina's hand as they quickly fled the scene, hurrying to the nearby stairwell.
For now, all their worries had disappeared, and the two young lovers were back in their personal paradise once more.
"A hailstorm? Just where did this come from?"
After seeing Haruka send off almost all her Pokémon to prevent everyone else from fighting the Ultra Beasts, Hashimoto and Niiyama did the same. Telling their team members to assist the others in fighting Haruka's strengthened Pokémon, the two ex-Elite Four members were now only left with one Pokémon each against Haruka's Golisopod when sleet began blowing out of nowhere.
"That doesn't really matter. Swanna, carry Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd on your back!" As snow began to cover the roof, Niiyama realized this would prevent her friend's Pokémon from being able to attack effectively, so she decided to give him an assist. Swooping down from above, Niiyama's Swanna flew close to the ground, allowing Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd to hop on and begin attacking.
"Use a Brave Bird!" Channeling Flying-type energy into its leek lance, Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd thrust it out several times in the direction of Haruka's Golisopod, who dodged the incoming blasts with surprising speed. Her mind currently split between micromanaging six Pokémon at once, Haruka paid little attention to Hashimoto and Niiyama's offensive until she received her next direct commands.
"Launch a sneak attack at the Sirfetch'd and Swanna!" she heard a voice coming through her ears. Unable to resist those orders, Haruka could only nod once in response before deciding on her next course of action. Though her Golisopod then bared its claws in an attempt to intimidate Hashimoto and Niiyama's Pokémon, their Trainers quickly realized this was a feint to draw away their attention from something else.
Seeing a faint shimmer approach from behind Haruka's Golisopod, Hashimoto's suspicions were proved correct, but what was being concealed remained unknown. As Niiyama's Swanna continued to evade attacks, it managed to outspeed both Haruka's Golisopod and its mysterious invisible ally, keeping a low profile.
"At this speed, whatever's chasing us can't catch up. If I can just locate it…" Noticing that snow was being flung up as Niiyama's Swanna continued to fly around, Hashimoto had an idea to use this to their advantage. Having Niiyama tell her Swanna to suddenly brake, this rapid deceleration threw up a curtain of snow between their Pokémon and whatever pursued them, revealing the silhouette of Haruka's Inteleon.
"Leaf Blade!" Seizing this opportunity, Hashimoto had his Sirfetch'd jab out its leek lance at Haruka's Inteleon. The super-effective attack not only scored a direct hit, but also threw Haruka's Inteleon away with how much force it was packing. Now that one of Haruka's Pokémon was out of the way, Hashimoto and Niiyama were free to continue attacking her Golisopod.
"Brave Bird!" Using Niiyama's Swanna as a launchpad, Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd leapt up to attack Haruka's Golisopod from above, its lance shining with the glow of Flying-type energy. As Niiyama's Swanna provided covering fire (or water in this case) from below, Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd was able to land a clean hit on Haruka's Golisopod, managing to make it stumble back a few steps.
Quickly pivoting once it landed, Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd thrust its leek lance several times in rapid succession, sending a flurry of small bursts at Haruka's Golisopod. Those attacks combined with the pressure Niiyama's Swanna was giving out sent Haruka's Golisopod on the defensive, forcing it to retreat as it tried its best to dodge the barrage being hurled at it.
Thankfully for Haruka, her Inteleon had recovered by now, and quickly returned to assist its teammate. Shooting out blasts of compressed water from its fingertips, Haruka's Inteleon expertly parried its opponents' shots with its own in midair, turning the tide in its favour.
Hopping back on Niiyama's Swanna, Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd was now the one fleeing as it avoided the shots being fired in its direction. Though Haruka's Inteleon caught up to them this time, the speed Hashimoto and Niiyama's Pokémon were travelling at made it impossible to land a direct hit.
With one of their opponents now in front of them, Hashimoto used this chance to relentlessly attack Haruka's Inteleon, knowing that moment could disappear at any second. Using Leaf Blade as it jabbed at a frenetic pace, Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd made short work of Haruka's Inteleon, the short distance between them not doing the latter any favours.
"Gah! Switch to full output right now! We can't afford to lose here!" As her Inteleon was quickly knocked unconscious by Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd, Haruka heard that voice echo through her ears again. Not knowing where it came from or who it belonged to, her eyes widened as she felt the last remnants of her conscious mind melt away, disappearing into the endless void.
As Hashimoto and Niiyama watched on in confoundment, the orange highlights on Haruka's bodysuit began glowing ominously.
"Kumiko, do you even know where we are right now?"
After telling Ai to fire a Leaf Storm at an approaching Kartana, Reina then realized she had no idea where they currently were, much less a solid escape route. Since she had been brought to Houkago Records' headquarters while unconscious, Reina was completely clueless about the building's layout, and hoped Kumiko would have some plan prepared given that she successfully pulled off a rescue.
"Mm, maybe? But every hallway here looks exactly the same." Even though Kumiko had gone through nearly all of the building's floors trying to find Reina, that was still a matter of having enough time to search through everything. With how bland the building's interior was, Kumiko didn't really pay much attention to how many floors there were, and the Ultra Beasts wreaking havoc had only made matters worse.
Their attacks sealing off previously accessible passageways with debris and creating new ones in the process, the formerly organized building was now turned into a three-dimensional labyrinth by the Ultra Beasts. The main stairwell Kumiko relied on to quickly travel around and look for Reina when she first arrived had been blocked off or destroyed in multiple places, forcing the couple to take the long route around obstacles.
Directly Teleporting out wasn't an option either, as the couple found out early on. Despite the building being trashed so thoroughly by the Ultra Beasts, Kumiko and Reina discovered to their chagrin that the one thing which hadn't been destroyed were the hidden Psychic jammers. Not even a single trace of them were visible from all the holes put into the walls by the Ultra Beasts.
With their only options for leaving the building now whittled down to retracing Kumiko's steps as best as they could, the couple's harrowing journey was further complicated by the appearance of more Ultra Beasts wherever they went. Initially assuming the Buzzwole's appearance was somehow a simple fluke, a swarm of Kartana appearing a short while later threw Kumiko and Reina in for a loop.
Now stuck here confronting this horde, it was immediately apparent to Kumiko and Reina that whatever HTT had been planning back in Termezzo Town had come to fruition. Just by taking a quick look, the number of Kartana present greatly exceeded how many Ultra Beasts emerged from their wormhole during Kumiko and Reina's first encounter with them.
"Well, then our only option now is to head up. There's bound to be some way we can escape from the roof." Having Demi freeze more Kartana in their tracks, Reina proposed her idea to Kumiko. "Since this building's already half-destroyed, nobody's going to mind if we put a few more holes in it."
"Gotcha. Give me some cover here." Agreeing with Reina's plan, Kumiko then called Marcato over, with Mitsuke helping to clear a path for him using Hurricane. Once he arrived, Kumiko told Marcato to use Second Valve before she slipped her Grassium Z into her Z-Power Ring, and channeled her energy at him.
As he directed it upwards, the resulting Z-Move Marcato launched out was combined with the power boost he got from directly absorbing intense sunlight, manifesting itself as a gigantic laser beam. Shielding her eyes from the immense glare, Kumiko was then greeted with a gigantic hole stretching through multiple floors when her vision became normal again a short while later, with sunlight shining from above.
"There. One hole straight up to the roof, as you requested." Turning to Reina, Kumiko was pleased to see that her beloved had been protecting her all this time. With most of the Kartana either knocked out or in the process of being defeated, there wasn't much preventing them from escaping now. "Shall we head up together, my love?"
"Gladly." Kissing Kumiko on the cheek as she took her hand, Reina embraced her beloved, thankful that there was someone so devoted by her side. From staging a one-woman rescue operation just for her sake to giving her the emotional support she needed to get through this, there really wasn't anybody who could take Kumiko's role in Reina's life.
Not now, not ever.
"Oh, come on! Can someone give me a break here?"
As her Komala Berceuse was knocked out by a powered-up attack from Haruka's Blastoise, Natsuki was witnessing first-hand how unfairly HTT was fighting. Not only did the rock band unleash a literal horde of Ultra Beasts right on top of them, but also turned Haruka into their puppet and somehow beefed up her Pokémon's strength to absurd levels. After this, she wasn't planning on listening to their music anymore.
Frantically trying to take control of the situation, Natsuki soon found herself on the ropes as three Naganadel began spraying poison at her from their stingers. Her Meowstic Soul managed to intercept and deflect those attacks in time, but that left him open to yet another shot from Haruka's Blastoise. No matter what Natsuki did, this was going to be a losing battle, especially with Niiyama's Togekiss being taken out of the fight a few moments before.
Gnashing her teeth, Natsuki surveyed the battlefield for a solution to this no-win scenario, only to find that three of her Pokémon remained in fighting condition. After the battles they had gone through, all of Natsuki's team members were exhausted from everything being thrown at them, and were now easy pickings for both Haruka's Pokémon and the Ultra Beasts.
Looking around to see how her friends were doing, Natsuki's hopes were crushed even further when she saw they were also struggling with the same problems she faced. Even Mizore was having some trouble, having to dedicate four of her Pokémon to holding back one of Haruka's Pokémon. Her strength still wasn't enough to match what Haruka and the Ultra Beasts could dish out.
Natsuki never expected this raid to be easy, doubly so when all the Gym Leaders and Elite Four abruptly left to help fight the Ultra Beasts. However, with how quickly everyone's Pokémon were being defeated by what HTT had up their sleeves, she was starting to lose hope that this mission would be successful. The only thing Natsuki could do now was to prevent everything from spiralling out of control more than it already had.
Even if their main goal of capturing HTT was surely going to be a bust, Natsuki still needed to defeat all the Ultra Beasts here. If left unchecked, they would definitely escape and give the already ravaged region even more trouble. Unfortunately, Haruka's Pokémon were blocking any effective attempts at that, which meant everything they tried so far resulted in a fruitless endeavour.
As the Naganadel flew closer while being accompanied by Haruka's Blastoise, Natsuki prepared to face them down in one last stand as she called her Pokémon over. By now, there were no other options left for her. Steadying herself for the inevitable clash, Natsuki was about to heal up her Pokémon one last time when something threw a wrench in her plan.
Without any fanfare, a gigantic beam of light burst from below, directly striking the three Naganadel. Though Haruka's Blastoise escaped the blast by withdrawing into its shell and spinning away, the trio of Ultra Beasts weren't so lucky. Their Poison and Dragon-typing allowed them to resist the worst of the impact, but it was still powerful enough to seriously hurt the Naganadel.
Her opponents significantly weakened by the surprise attack, the three Naganadel were now easy pickings for Natsuki and her remaining Pokémon. In a few short moments, all of them were unconscious and lying on the floor in defeat. Breathing a sigh of relief, Natsuki was pleasantly surprised at how this unexpected turn of events played out in her favour. With one bunch of Ultra Beasts out of the way, things were looking up for her.
Then Haruka's Blastoise, now glowing orange, took out all her teammates in one well-aimed hit.
"AAGGGGHHH-AAGGGGHHH-AAGGGGHHH!"
Hearing Haruka loudly scream even as the rest of her body went limp in midair, Hashimoto and Niiyama suspected that nothing good had happened. Her hands abruptly jolting up and clutching her helmet-encased head, Haruka continued to cry out as her Golisopod jolted and fell backwards.
"It suddenly stopped moving?! Did something happen there?!" Hashimoto wondered out loud in surprise, but a part of him was grateful Haruka's Golisopod wasn't attacking anymore. Now that his opponent couldn't do anything to stop him, Hashimoto told his Sirfetch'd to thrust out a few shots before swooping in. As it got close while riding on Niiyama's Swanna, Hashimoto heard a loud crash.
Dispelling the accompanying plume of smoke with one arm, Haruka's Golisopod burst out towards Hashimoto and Niiyama's Pokémon. With a single strike, it knocked the lance of Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd out of its right arm, while also sending Niiyama's Swanna tumbling sideways.
About to tell his Sirfetch'd to use a Body Slam with its shield, Hashimoto was caught completely off-guard when Haruka's Golisopod appeared out of nowhere and smashed his Sirfetch'd from behind. With it now glowing the same colour as the highlights on its Trainer's bodysuit, Haruka's Golisopod seemed to have taken on several levels of ferociousness.
"What?!" Shocked by how brutal Haruka's Golisopod had become since the aura appeared, Hashimoto could only have his Sirfetch'd try to escape from it, but another merciless attack prevented that from happening. Even with its Trainer being mind controlled, there wasn't any reason for Haruka's Golisopod to act in such a horrifying manner. There clearly was something wrong with this entire scenario.
"Why?" Hashimoto questioned, but he received no answer as Haruka's Golisopod got in close for a decisive blow. Slamming its right claw into Hashimoto's lance-less Sirfetch'd with full force, Haruka's Golisopod landed the decisive blow it needed to corner its opponent. Unable to call any of his other Pokémon over to help, Hashimoto was left trying to find a way out of this harrowing situation.
"She can read my moves perfectly! Is that the secret of her strength?" With both the lance and shield of his Sirfetch'd lying on the ground, Hashimoto couldn't deny the futility of this situation anymore. However, he still had to try and break through this nonetheless. After all, making sure this raid went smoothly was what he promised Taki he would do in the first place. "But it's not over yet!"
As his Sirfetch'd leapt forward, Hashimoto told it to use Brick Break with its bare wing, though Haruka's Golisopod effortlessly dodged the attack. Knowing that his opponent would attack his Sirfetch'd the moment it stopped moving, Hashimoto didn't want to waste this opportunity he had. In this dire battle, every movement had to count. "Not just yet!"
On Hashimoto's command, his Sirfetch'd expertly pivoted on its leg and charged up another Brick Break on its other wing. Despite that effort, Haruka's Golisopod moved out of its way again, and soon countered with a well-placed Liquidation. That powerful strike was strong enough to send Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd flying before it landed on the ground with a painful crunch, but it soon stood back up.
"I can't give in this easily!" Even with all the damage it had endured, Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd still kept charging towards its opponent, which was met by another Liquidation from Haruka's Golisopod in response. Jabbing Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd directly in the chest, Haruka's Golisopod was then caught off-guard when its opponent grabbed its arm. Pulling itself closer, Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd stared down Haruka's Golisopod, intimidating it with an imposing Leer.
"Since there's no other option left for us, I'm inviting you to… our self-destruction show! Sirfetch'd, this is our Final Gambit!" Defiantly ramming into Haruka's Golisopod with all its remaining strength, Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd then fainted from complete and utter exhaustion. With it unable to continue battling anymore, Hashimoto was about to recall his Sirfetch'd back into its Pokéball when something unexpected happened.
"What?!" As Niiyama looked on, Haruka's Golisopod ruthlessly kicked aside Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd before slamming a Liquidation-powered claw into it again. And again. Then a third time. At this rate, his Sirfetch'd was limply twitching around in pain, but Hashimoto was powerless to do anything, frozen in shock at this brutal sight.
"The executive control override and motor control systems' output is so high that her consciousness…" Even as that voice echoed in her helmet, Haruka was in no condition to hear it, her mind's desires being warped out of her control. Blindly obeying her prime directive to eliminate her opponents, nothing else mattered to Haruka.
"Sirfetch'd…" Seeing his partner being viciously hurt, Hashimoto couldn't hold back his feelings anymore. Though he knew Haruka clearly wasn't doing this of her own volition, Hashimoto's nascent rage was starting to pass its tipping point, and he was barely containing his unbridled anger. "You…"
Appearing abruptly from the shadows, Nozomi's Zoroark Cambiare slashed in the direction of Haruka's Golisopod using Night Slash, forcing it to abandon attacking Hashimoto's Sirfetch'd and dodge instead. As he leaned in closer, Cambiare extended the length of the Night Slashes on his claws, knowing that the opponent he currently faced was completely unhinged. Now that all his teammates had fainted, Cambiare was Nozomi's last hope.
"What are you… doing? Your opponent's already unconscious!" Her voice ringing with a mixture of shock and confusion, Nozomi was dumbfounded at how Haruka managed to be so brutal. Just what had been done to her mentor which made her act so mercilessly? The Haruka she knew wouldn't do something like this.
"You won alright, so stay away from it!" Lunging forward on Nozomi's orders, Cambiare attempted to slash at Haruka's Golisopod. However, he staggered once he passed his opponent, with Nozomi realizing Haruka's Golisopod made a few quick stabs in that short instant. Falling down as he keeled in pain, Cambiare painfully face-planted onto the ground, his entire body aching shortly before he fainted.
"Wh-what… what was that move?" Despite her teammates having been on the receiving end of Haruka's other Pokémon, Nozomi didn't know how Haruka's Golisopod could've moved that fast, especially since she knew it quite well from her time with its Trainer. "What have you become?!"
"Nozomi!" Mizore called out from a short distance away. Preparing to send all her Pokémon over and assist her special one, Mizore soon found herself facing the rest of Haruka's Pokémon accompanied by a small horde of Ultra Beasts. With everyone else having none of their Pokémon left to deal with either the Ultra Beasts or Haruka's Pokémon, all hope of this raid being somewhat successful instantly evaporated.
For the third time in fifteen years, it looked like the League's downfall was imminent again.
"There. We've finally made it at last, Reina."
As Eurydice finished levitating them up to the roof, Kumiko set her beloved back down on the ground, having carried Reina in her arms the entire time they were airborne. Recalling Eurydice back into her Pokéball, Reina then looked down at the ground, before turning to look at Kumiko.
"Now all that's left for us is to get back down again." Reina addressed her beloved, looking a bit nervous as she did so. "The distance between the roof and the ground looks manageable, especially with all the grass down there. Since we don't have any other options available, I'll guess we'll have to jump if we want to get out of here. Though I have to admit, I'm a bit nervous…"
"Don't worry." Kumiko reassured her, taking Reina's hand as she felt how cold it was. "I'll do it together with you, so there's nothing you've got to be afraid about. Like you said, the distance we'll drop should be safe enough, and we'll be cushioned by the grass down on the ground. We're at the last step now, so I've got complete confidence you can do it. After all, whatever I can do, you can do better than me."
"Kumiko…" Hearing her beloved's words, Reina was instantly touched by how tender they were. With Kumiko reinvigorating her inner confidence, Reina turned to face her with a prideful smile. "You're right. I can do it. I can definitely do it. As long as you're by my side, I can do anything I set my mind to. Just watch me!"
Now that the assured and assertive Reina she knew was back in business, all Kumiko could do in the moment was give her a smile in response. As she clenched Reina's hand tighter while they composed themselves in preparation for their jump, Kumiko was relieved Reina was now back with her. If her beloved wasn't there to provide a beacon of calmness next to her, Kumiko wasn't sure she could've done this so freely.
Right as they steadied themselves, a lone voice broke through the heartfelt silence between the couple.
While the wind whistled through her ears, Kumiko couldn't hear anything at all.
A/N: Did you expect that reveal? Or both of them? Well, no matter if you anticipated the results or not, they're going to have a major impact on the story going forward...
Sygna Suits are from the mobile game Pokémon Masters, with the EX coming from its relaunched version Pokémon Masters EX. They are used to harness the bond between Pokémon and Trainer to give the Pokémon a boost in strength. The Sygna Suit we see here has also been enhanced using technology from the Essentia suit seen in Pokémon X and Y, which is used to enhance a Trainer's physical capabilities and remotely control their minds.
Haruka and Hashimoto's battle here is a direct reference to a fight from Gundam Build Fighters, my favourite anime (yes, even above Hibike). That fight is between two characters played by Saori Hayami and Yuuichi Nakamura, Haruka and Hashimoto's voice actors. Rather fittingly, the character Saori Hayami plays in Gundam Build Fighters is also being mind-controlled by a suit, which was the reason this battle was written in the first place.
Stay tuned to the climatic conclusion for the Winds of Provence arc, coming next week!
