"What a buffoon." Colress scowled. A group of trainers had gathered around Zinzolin. The link was among them.
"Looks like your plan is starting to fall apart." Colress ignored Clay's remark. The two of them were on the deck of the frigate. Colress took a deep breath. They didn't have much time before the legendary pokemon would start appearing. The link needed to be recaptured.
"What would you like us to do?" Rood's voice came through Colress's earpiece.
"Hang back; I'm going to take care of those trainers." Right on cue, the link and a pair of trainers were approaching the frigate. The others were heading for the airport. "Keep that signal going," Colress ordered. Clay did not comment. Colress approached the side of the deck, displaying two pokeballs. He sent out a Conkeldurr and a Druddigon. The link's Emboar charged ahead, engulfing in flames.
"Heat Crash!" Andrew shouted. Emboar slammed into Conkeldurr, pushing it back. The other two, Mary and Ron, sent out their pokemon. Stoutland bit at Druddigon, Gigalith fired a volley of stone projectiles at the frigate. Colress dove to the floor. The stones ripped through the hull, shaking the frigate.
"Why, you." Colress clung to the railing. He shouted orders. Conkeldurr swung its pillars wildly, Striking Emboar. Gigalith jumped in, knocking it back. Stoutland was biting into Druddigon with an ice fang. Colress fumbled with another Pokeball, hesitating.
He glanced at the battle, then up at the sky. Thunderclouds were gathering. Colress's stomach dropped, the Pokeball fell from his hand. It couldn't be. He snatched up the Pokeball and sent out a Beartic. Druddigon went down. Conkeldurr went down. The trainers were climbing up onto the frigate. Colress held out a needle, his arm trembling. Andrew paused a few feet away. Emboar was dangling from the side of the frigate, struggling to get on.
"Stay back!" Colress hissed. Andrew's eyes moved up to the sky, then over to Clay.
"What's going on?"
"I said stay back!" Colress yelled. Emboar rolled onto the deck with a heave. Beartic roared, matching his ferocity.
"Clay," Andrew said, somehow calm. "What are you doing?"
"I'm sorry," Clay didn't look at Andrew. "I don't have a choice." The sky rumbled, strokes of lighting stretched amongst the growing clouds. Ron and Mary climbed onto the frigate, taking in the situation. Colress found the trigger in his pocket and pulled it out.
"Chargestone Cave." Colress waved the trigger. "The entire population of Driftveil is trapped inside, ready to blow." Andrew's face slowly contorted in fear.
"What?" Mary stepped forward. "Are you serious?"
"H-he's bluffing," Ron shook his head. Andrew gave Clay a nervous look. Colress smiled. A light downpour slowly started. Colress raised his chin to the gray sky, grinning.
"I'm going to summon legendary pokemon."
"Why?" Andrew asked. "Are you just trying to bring destruction?" Colress slipped a metallic headband on. He poked Beartic with the needle and injected the dark fluid. Beartic roared, churning up a hailstorm. Gigalith attacked first, a volley of stones pummeling Beartic.
Mary lunged, grabbing Colress's coat and slamming him to the floor with shocking strength. She grabbed at his hand, the trigger. Colress kicked violently, pushing her away. Beartic roared, lunging at Mary. Gigalith slammed into it, throwing it off the side of the frigate. Beartic recovered fast, ice missiles flying at Gigalith. They shattered against its body. Gigalith started to charge up a solar beam.
The hailstorm grew stronger, winds gaining speed. Beartic leaped through the air, landing in front of Colress. Stoutland charged for it, fangs burning. Beartic dodged a few times, keeping away from Stoutland's flames before following up with a slash across Stoutland's side. Emboar unleashed a barrage of flaming punches, knocking Beartic back.
The solar beam barely missed Beartic, ripping through the sky. Beartic jumped, avoiding another rush from Emboar and landing by Gigalith. Gigalith spun, firing a flash cannon. Beartic took the blast, falling over. Stoutland took advantage of the moment, biting into Beartic and hurling it into the air.
Emboar was ready, punching Beartic just before it landed. Beartic careened off of the frigate, landing on the street.
Andrew and Mary rushed at Colress. Beartic slowly got up.
"Stay back!" Colress yelled. A bolt of lightning cut through the clouds, striking the antennae. The frigate rumbled. No one moved.
A blue figure slowly descended from the clouds. Thundurus.
Rood laughed. A pair of trainers had appeared outside of the airport. His Galvantula hissed.
"You guys are crazy." Duke crossed his arms. Corban glanced over his shoulder at the frigate.
"What are you going to do about it?" Rood cocked his head. Duke sent out his Heatmor; Corban sent out a Dewott. Rood blinked, glancing past them. "Oh?"
Skyla slowly walked past the two of them. Her grandfather, Miles, followed behind her. She sent out Braviary.
"I'm done with this." She warned. Braviary cawed determinedly. "Back off." Braviary took flight, snatching up Galvantula and hurling it. "Hurricane." Skyla sent out Swanna; it immediately whipped up a strong wind. Rood was thrown backward against the wall of the airport.
"Whoa," Duke scratched his head. He shared a look with Heatmor. Skyla pushed the doors open; several Neo Plasma grunts started yelling. Swanna and Braviary swooped in behind her, stirring up chaos inside. It was a few minutes before Neo Plasma was rounded up in a pile.
Skyla found the captives locked up in the cargo room. Bronius approached her, chin low.
"This is on me, I know." Skyla sighed.
"No."
"I have to stop them." Thunder rumbled outside. Bronius' eyes widened.
"The legendary pokemon!" He rushed past Skyla, running to the front doors. He spotted Thundurus in the sky, breathless.
"That doesn't look good," Corban said. The other trainers slowly filed outside, alongside the rogue Plasma people.
"Why is that thing here?" Skyla stared up at Thundurus.
"Colress. He wants me to suffer." Bronius buried his face in his hands. "His spite has no limits."
"What do we do?" Someone asked. Skyla wiped her brow.
"I don't know."
"Let's get out of here!" Colress ordered into his earpiece. Andrew came at him, pausing when Colress waved the trigger at him. "Clay, you know what to do!" Colress shouted. Clay started fiddling with the antennae. Thundurus reacted fast, slowly descending towards the frigate.
Andrew shared a look with Ron. The three pokemon stirred, unsure. Mary took a step back. Thundurus landed a few feet away from Clay. It cocked its head, nudging the antennae. Colress was grinning like a madman. The shadow triad appeared, each dropping a Neo plasma member. They vanished and reappeared, practically piling them up on the deck. One of them brought Zinzolin, tossing him down.
"You're controlling it?" Andrew could hardly put the words together.
"Not quite." Colress started for Thundurus.
"You wouldn't," Andrew took a step forward. Colress continued his approach. Andrew moved, rushing for him.
"Don't act stupid!" Clay yelled. Andrew paused, fists balled. Colress shook his head. The frigate hummed, starting to lift into the air. Zinzolin got up, rubbing his head. Colress stroked Thundurus' skin, whispering. He revealed the needle; the fluid was a bright blue. In his other hand, his finger hovered on the trigger.
Suddenly the skies quieted. Colress injected Thundurus with the serum. Its body trembled, changing shape. Its hands grew into cloudy claws. Its torso stretched, revealing small legs. It twisted, pupils shrinking to dots. With a roar, it jumped high into the sky. The frigate rocked with the impact. Zinzolin laughed.
"You actually did it!" He slapped his knee. "I can't believe it!"
"Let's go!" Colress yelled. "Before the rampage begins." Two shadow triad appeared, vanishing with Ron and Mary. Andrew looked around, eyes narrow. The frigate started moving up. Stoutland and Gigalith hopped off the side, chasing their trainers.
The thunder came first. A soft rumble in the sky. It seemed peaceful compared to what had come before. The hail and rain had stopped completely. The clouds slowly twisted into a funnel.
"Well?" Colress raised his hands to the sky, eyes on Andrew. "Are you impressed?" A bolt of lightning touched the ground, shaking the earth below. Another cut clean through a house. Thundurus' roar echoed in the sky. It dropped, passing by the frigate.
Thundurus landed in the middle of Mistralton city, leaving a trail of electricity in its wake.
"You have to stop that thing!" Andrew shouted.
"That so?" Colress crossed his arms. "Or what?" He waved the trigger. "You'll glare at me?" Andrew glanced at Emboar.
"I'm sorry." Clay put his face in his hands. Colress sighed.
Thundurus charged through Mistralton, attacking everything that moved.
"Keep it back!" Skyla yelled. Braviary slammed into Thundurus, stopping its rush. Thundurus whipped up a discharge, knocking Braviary out. Another trainer's Vanillish whipped up a blizzard around Thundurus. Thundurus leaped through the ice, slashing at Vanilish and knocking it out.
"That things too strong!" Duke used a revive on his Heatmor. "I only have three more revives!"
"Stone edge!" Mary yelled. Thundurus evaded the stones and knocked Gigalith out with a thunder. "Gigalith!" Skyla's Swanna fired a hydro pump, pressuring Thundurus against the ground.
Thundurus roared, several bolts of lightning whipping out. Swanna took several hits, going down. Skyla had no revives. Thundurus roared, going after another pokemon.
"Does anyone have a revive?" Mary called out.
"Hey!" Bronius was standing by the poke mart. Several of his Plasma followers were with him. They were each carrying piles of revives and potions. "Take them to whoever needs them!"
"You better pay for those," The clerk warned from behind his counter. One of Bronius' followers handed Skyla a pile of revives. She used them immediately on Swanna and Braviary.
"Razor shell!" A Samurott appeared, slashing at Thundurus. Thundurus electrocuted it, blowing it away. Cheren returned it, muttering. Several trainers were gathering up, their pokemon attacking together. Bronius' followers ran through the chaos, passing out revives. The potions were useless. No pokemon could take a single hit from the rampaging legendary.
"Don't back down!" Skyla yelled. "Take that thing down!"
Andrew gave Clay a long look. He was hunched over, silent. Colress was talking, but Andrew wasn't paying attention.
"Clay." Clay slowly raised his head. "Stop acting pitiful." Colress scoffed.
"It's in his nature," He said between laughs. Andrew nodded at Emboar and started for Colress. He raised the trigger. Andrew hesitated but kept going.
"What are you doing?" Clay called out. "Don't tempt him!" The frigate rumbled, lighting rolling across the sky. Colress faltered for a moment, glancing down at Thundurus. Andrew lunged, tackling him to the floor. The trigger fell from his hand. Andrew wrestled with Colress, holding his arms down.
"Grab it!" Colress yelled. "Now!" Zinzolin ran for the trigger. Andrew grunted, turning.
"Clay! Come on!" Clay was already on his feet, running. He beat Zinzolin to it, snatching the trigger up. Zinzolin grabbed at it, but Clay shoved him off. Colress yelled, struggling violently. Two Neo Plasma grunts grabbed Andrew and pulled him off. Colress lunged at Clay. Andrew was thrown to the floor. Several people restrained Clay, Colress ripped the trigger from his grasp.
"Fine." He placed his thumb on the trigger. "You've made your choice."