As the sun set on the horizon of this critical evening in Arcana, in the road that was in front of the Ranch, Ryan, Michael, Giselle, Chris, Cam, Mark, Lizzie, Tommy and the Arc Resistance Team all stood at attention as Piper hobbled her way out to give the group a parting farewell speech. With the first and second waves having already left for Pocus Town, this left Michael's team as the only ones who remained behind before the great war. Wanting to inspire the team, Piper came out to address them as they went off. She hobbled her way out in front of the seven fliers, giving Giselle a bit of a passing dirty look as she did, before standing in front of all of the others happily.
"Well guys" she remarked. "This is it. You've all been so strong for so long. But after today, we won't have to be so strong for each other anymore." She looked towards the ArcResistance team, with both Corey and Dylan being enamored with the Queen of Arcana while Amber rolled her eyes. "I know you all will do everything you can for us who can't fight."
"Most certainly" Corey chirped.
"You can count on me, Your Highness" Dylan proclaimed.
"Oh brother" Amber grunted.
Piper laughed as she came up to Mark and Lizzie. "I don't think I ever really ever thanked you two."
Lizzie paused. "For what?"
"Because of you guys showing him the light" she explained gently, "you helped Mike come home."
"We never turn away friends in Kanto, Piper" Mark assured her.
"And I wouldn't turn away a friend either" Lizzie confirmed.
"See that you don't here too" she said brightly as she made her way over to Chris and Cam. She warmly embraced the two of them. "Please be careful and take care of yourselves?"
"Like we always do" Chris assured her.
Cameron scoffed. "I'll be sure to keep an extra eye on him." She gestured towards Chris.
"Hey!"
Piper came in front of Giselle and glared at her. "I still don't know why they needed you, but I guess so long as you're going to be a part of this, you should take care of yourself and my friends. But I'll always have my eyes on you."
"And it is Her Majesty's prerogative" she mockingly saluted Piper.
Piper made her way towards Tommy and Ryan and beamed at both boys. "You two have grown up so much since you left on your adventure. I'm so proud of the both of you." She tussled Tommy's hair and then turned over to Ryan. "Keep your chin up, Sweetie. You're going to find her." She then leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.
Ryan nodded. "Thanks, Your Highness."
"We won't let you down" Tommy insisted.
Piper then came in front of Michael, her eyes watering After a moment of simply staring into each other's eyes, the Queen finally spoke to her close friend. "Why is it, every time you come back, you have to go away again?"
"It's what heroes do, Piper" Michael told her.
She flung her arms around him as Michael picked her up. She planted a kiss on his cheek and hugged him. "I want you to promise me something, Michael."
"What?"
She lowered her head so that she could look into his eyes. "Come back this time."
Michael sighed. "I'll do whatever I can." He then lowered her back to the ground and kissed her on the forehead. She then looked towards the rest of the group one last time.
"Look after each other and please be careful" she pleaded with them. "We're all counting on you, here." With that, Piper headed back into the Ranch to comfort Lady Bonnie, Robert and Big Mike, who had already bid the heroes their farewells prior to the Queen. When the doors closed behind her, Michael decided to take command.
"Alright" he said authoritatively. "This is it. Today, we flatten the Syndicate once and for all."
"Tell me you're not about to give some heroic speech" Giselle gagged. "I might just throw up."
"How are we going to do this?" Lizzie asked Mike. "Who's flying with who?"
"Aerodactyl won't fly anyone to Mt. Heatmor except for me" Giselle insisted.
"Do you honestly think we'd trust you to fly these kids in?" Cameron snapped.
"Good to see you too, Speck."
"Don't call me that!"
"Enough" Michael growled, prompting both to quiet. "We have seven fliers and four passengers that need a lift. Chris, you'll take Amber and Tommy. Mark, you'll take Dylan and Corey."
"What about us?" Lizzie asked.
"I need you to use those goggles of yours, Lizzie" Michael told her. "That might mean you may fly right into danger for us." Michael then turned to Cameron. "And Cameron is going to take command if anything happens to me in this fight, so I need her focused on the mission and not on keeping one of the passengers safe."
"Nothing is going to happen to you" Chris told him.
"Well, you never know" Giselle suggested.
"I could take one" Ryan offered.
"No" Michael replied. "You're the least experienced flyer among us, Ry. I need you to stick tight to me, Lizzie or Cameron."
"I'll keep an eye on him" Cameron offered.
Michael nodded. "Okay then. Pokémon at the ready!" Soon, seven Flying Pokémon appeared to serve as transport and as faithful Pokémon to their riders and passengers: a Dragonite, an Aerodactyl, a Pidgeot, two Salamence and two Charizards. Chris and Mark then proceeded to Mega Evolve their Charizards on command to increase their strength and allow them to carry multiple people. Without a moment's hesitation, Amber and Tommy climbed up after Chris and Dylan and Corey up Mark's Charizard after him. Giselle mounted her Aerodactyl and gently pet the fierce jawed Fossil Pokémon. Ryan then took a moment to climb onto the back of Marahute and watched as Michael climbed onto Rhaegar.
"Is everyone ready?" Cameron called.
"Ready" Lizzie answered.
"Ready" Mark replied.
"Ready" echoed Chris.
"Ready" Ryan insisted.
"Let's do this" Giselle snapped.
"Then LET'S GO!" Michael roared and in a flash, all seven fliers were into the skies and flying towards Mt. Heatmor.
{Meanwhile}
Piper watched from the window of the Ranch as the seven fliers took off into the distance towards Mt. Heatmor. She held her hand close to her heart and thought of all of her dearest friends that were now off risking their lives to protect the region from the Syndicate. Ryan, Tommy, Chris, Cam, Mark, Lizzie...oh Mikey, please come back. What would I tell Julia if you didn't?
Piper looked behind her and saw Robert, Big Mike and Bonnie sitting in the Living Room of Michael and Julia's home, all nervously twiddling their fingers about the terrifying battle that was unfolding only a few miles to the north of them. She was expecting Robert to be the most worried, considering Alison and Ryan would be in the thick of the battle, but it was Big Mike and Bonnie who seemed the most worried about how things were unfolding. Piper decided she knew she would have to cheer them all up one way or another.
"You guys can't be so dour" she called. "They're counting on us to keep morale up." The three didn't look her in the eyes. Bonnie seemed lost in thought, while Big Mike and Robert merely shook their heads. Piper sighed. "Who am I kidding? Even I'm worried sick about this."
"I feel so helpless" Robert growled. "My wife and sons are going to be battling in Mt. Heatmor and I can only sit here on the sidelines!"
"I wonder" Bonnie asked herself and those in the room, "if I had handled things properly when Balthazar and James died, might we have been able to avoid this calamity?"
"We can't sit around here and think about what we could have done" Piper told the few Kingstons left in the Ranch. "The only thing we can do now is keep holding our position here and trust in Michael and the others."
Big Mike shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Mikey..."
"Is something wrong?" Piper asked, coming towards her friend's father's side. "Come on, Big Mike. You can tell me."
Mike frowned. "I don't think I can."
Robert looked over. "Mike?"
"What is it, Michael?" Bonnie asked.
Big Mike grunted in agony. "It's Michael. I'm worried about him."
"Why?" Robert asked. "He's the best we've got right now."
"You didn't hear what I did" the Champion's father remarked. "You don't know what I do."
"Then you can tell us" Piper said.
Big Mike sighed. "He told me...he told me...he doesn't have Celebi, okay?"
Piper's eyes widened. "What?"
"Why doesn't he have Celebi?" Robert asked. "That's the only reason he's still with us, right now!"
"He left Celebi in Orre to look after the Queensbury Girl" Big Mike explained. "He told me she needed Celebi more than he did."
"But that means-" Bonnie cried out.
"When I asked him why" Mike explained worriedly, "he told me that it didn't matter anymore. Once he took down the Syndicate, he told me that Arcana would be someone else's to look after."
Piper looked out the window and towards the skies. The color of the moon was already starting to shift, towards a pinkish glow. "He wants to Fury to consume him" she realized. The Queen of Arcana punched the window in anger. "I told Julia this is why she couldn't avoid him like this!"
"Why Julia?" Mike asked.
"Julia was the only reason he ever came back" Piper told the Champion's father. "Without her-" She fell to her knees and folded her hands. "Oh, Mikey. Please. Please be safe."
{Meanwhile}
Ryan could barely keep up with the other six fliers, which was bad considering it was only he and his Pidgeot at the end of the right wing of their formation. It didn't help that there was a ridiculous amount of mist blocking their view from most points. It was only from the basic howling from Cameron's Salamence that he was able to know which was was the correct way to keep Marahute flying. But the last thing he could do was show the others that he wasn't up for the challenge. Even Giselle, who had taken up formation between Cameron and Michael, was flying with a poise and grace impressive for someone who until the day prior had been incarcerated for ten long years.
"How you holding up, Ryan?" Cameron called back to him.
"Oh you know" Ryan replied, "doing as good as I can."
"Keep it together" she encouraged him.
"I will, Cam" Ryan assured her.
"Flying through the air isn't meant for kids" Giselle scoffed back towards Cameron and Ryan. "Maybe he should have been sent with the others."
"I need flyers I can trust" Michael cautioned Giselle. "Specifically so I know you won't try to double-cross us."
"Oh, you know me so well" Giselle winked.
"Lizzie" Michael called to his other wingman. "How's visibility up ahead?"
"Almost non-existent" she warned the team. "There isn't supposed to be this much fog in the forecast."
"Expect the unexpected" Mark told her. "We're entering the Syndicate's stronghold. We should expect the worst."
"Oh, I'd go far beyond that" Giselle smirked. "This fog isn't a natural occurrence."
"How can you tell?" Cameron hissed.
"Simple, Speck" Giselle reasoned. "The fog is too thick for it to be like this around a volcano. Didn't you take any science classes in school? The air is too warm for there to be this much fog coming from the heated earth."
"Good to know she still won't shut up about what she knows" Chris grumbled.
"Why invite me if you didn't want to know when I realized we're walking right into a trap?" Giselle asked Chris.
"Be ready for anything" Michael encouraged to the group.
Ryan strained to see as he flew into the thickest fog he'd ever seen in his life. He continued to urge Marahute forward, until he heard a rumbling in the clouds. "Thunder? Is that Thunder?" He pulled back on his Pidgeot and looked around for the source of the rumbling. He paused when he saw something yellow flash through the clouds. Then, a massive dark shadow went through the fog and out of sight.
"What's the holdup?" Cameron called down to him.
"There's something following us" Ryan insisted as he sent Marahute up to meet in the skies with Cameron. "I don't know what it is, but it's enormous."
"You sure it wasn't just one of us?" she suggested.
"It was a lot bigger than any of our Pokémon" Ryan recalled.
"I don't like this" Michael said. "Lizzie, see what you can scope out."
"Let me just see if I can-" she began, before an earsplitting roar shook the clouds.
"What was that?" Dylan called out while riding on Mark's Charizard with him.
"Stay strong" Mark encouraged the group.
Ryan saw as the shadowy serpent flew in the air around them, the yellow lights flashing from what must have been the creature's head. Ryan nearly fell off of Marahute in panic. "There it is!"
Cameron looked towards where her cousin pointed and gasped. "Brace for impact!"
The dense wall of fog evaporated and a massive emerald-colored Dragon Pokémon loomed in the skies above them with weird glowing symbols on it's back. As it bellowed in the air around them, the dense clouds soon surrounded the group from their backs towards the back of the beast, encircling them in a ring of mist and dense haze. The Dragon launched a devastatingly powerful attack at the group, but Michael and Lizzie swerved out of the way in time to avoid a colossal hit.
"That's Rayquaza" Lizzie exclaimed.
"But how?" Mark cried.
"I figured you guys would want a warm welcome" a voice called out to them on a megaphone. The group looked around as Rayquaza slithered its way towards them, eyeing them with the purest intent to kill. They spotted someone standing on the head of the Legendary Pokémon. "After all, it's the best opening act I could plan for you guys!"
"Hunter!" Lizzie hissed.
"Well lookie what I've got here" the poacher cackled. "Five puny little brats who should have stayed safe at home, a half-baked former Syndicate Admin-"
"Half-baked?!" Giselle snarled.
"-two of the Champion's boot polishers and the three people who are the BANE OF MY EXISTENCE!"
Michael led the way and the seven fliers floated ahead to confront Hunter. "I figured the Syndicate was digging for scraps, but did they really have to go that low to dig you up?"
"Nice words as always" Hunter grinned. "But this time's different! Thanks to this gift from The Grand Master, I now have powers I could have only dreamed of having before. And this time, there won't be any mercy shown to any of you for crossing us!"
"What kind of power could someone as worthless as you get?" Mark demanded.
"Plenty, Markie Boy!" Hunter grinned. The poacher snapped his fingers. A beam of freezing energy missed Ryan and Cameron by inches. A scorching fireball appeared from below, but Rhaegar blasted it away with a Draco Meteor of his own.
"You came prepared, I see" Lizzie scowled.
"More than, Lizzie" Hunter fumed. "And now, I'll break you in half!"
The Seven Fliers bunched together to think of a plan. They looked down and saw two more colossal beings looming just above the water and one standing on a molten island. Lizzie groaned. "Groudon and Kyogre, too!"
"I didn't sign up to battle Legendary Pokémon!" Giselle insisted.
"Looks like it's an added bonus to your pay stub" Michael told her sharply. "Alright, we're going to have to split up from here. Mark and Chris, find some place to land and drop those kids off. Then, head for Groudon." He then turned towards Cameron. "Cam, you take Ryan and Giselle and go for Kyogre! If Giselle tries to run, blast her out of the skies."
Giselle scoffed. "I'm no coward."
"Forgive me for not trusting you" Michael snapped, before turning towards Lizzie. "We started this a long time ago. Let's finish this."
She nodded. "Let's go!" With that, Michael and Lizzie took off like bullets towards Rayquaza, while Mark and Chris soared low to try and find a safe place to land the ArcResistance Team and Tommy.
Cameron flew in front of Ryan and Giselle. "Come on, you two! Let's go!" She led the way as the three fliers soared low to confront Kyogre. Ryan gasped at the sight of the enormous blue beast of the seas. It resembled a Waillord, but was less bulky and seemed far less friendly. The Legendary Hoenn Pokémon shot another Ice Beam directly at Ryan, who used Marahute to swerve past it.
Cameron sent her Salamence charging towards the Kyogre, but a rock hurled from seemingly no where struck her Salamence square in the head. As her Dragon spiraled in the air, Cameron tried to recover. "Where did that come from?"
"Down there!" Ryan called, pointing towards a golem-like creature that was hurling rocks at the attacking Pokémon to protect Kyogre.
"Regirock?" Cameron snarled. "Just great."
"Leave the rock to me!" Giselle insisted. "You two distract Kyogre!" Giselle sent her Aerodactyl at almost supersonic speeds down towards the Regirock. She went low enough to dip her Aerodactyl's tail in the water before swooping back up in the air and smashing her Aerodactyl directly into the face of the Legendary Golem Pokémon. Before the Regirock could recover, she flipped her Aerodactyl's most devastating move, Aqua Tail, and smashed it into the head of Regirock, who collapsed to the ground.
Ryan piloted Marahute down as low as he possibly could and reached for the Poké Ball containing Sparks. "Okay, Sparks! Let's do this!" The Jolteon leaped out of the Poké Ball and stood on the Pidgeot's head. Ryan's oldest Pokémon friend glared down the Kyogre, as if he was unafraid of face even this titan of the seas. "Use Thunderbolt!" Sparks leaped off of Marahute's head and launched a bolt of devastating Electrical force down on the Legendary Pokémon, before landing on a nearby islet. The bolt struck the Kyogre in the head, who simply rolled out of the way of further damage and spat an Ice Beam directly at Marahute. The blow struck Marahute in the head and flung Ryan from her back.
"RYAN!" Cameron cried out.
As Ryan fell, he saw Marahute slowly recover and realize her trainer was no longer on her back. The Pidgeot soared down like a bullet to try and catch her, but was intercepted by another rock being hurled from the recovering Regirock. Before Ryan could collide with the water, his arm was grabbed and he was flung up onto the back of Giselle's Aerodactyl.
"You'd better hold on, kid" Giselle called back to him. "This is gonna get rough." Ryan did as she told him and wrapped his arms around her. With the speed of a military grade jet, her Aerodactyl soaring towards the small island, allowing Ryan to quickly recall his Pokémon and take back into the skies on Giselle's fossilized terror. When Giselle and her Pokémon reached back towards where Cameron and her Salamence were in the air, his cousin heaved a sigh of relief when she saw him.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Cam" Ryan insisted.
"Revive your Pidgeot" Giselle told him. "Aerodactyl doesn't like to carry people besides me."
Ryan nodded and used a Revive on Marahute and leaped onto her back once more, but by this time, Kyogre had recovered and spat another Ice Beam in their direction. The three were overwhelmed by the awesome power of the Legendary Pokémon Hunter had at his disposal.
"We have to take the fight back down to the land" Cameron told them. "We're no match in the skies."
"This thing will swallow us into the seas" Giselle warned.
"Not if we can take on both at the same time" Cameron suggested. "Come on, let's alter our strategies." The three flew over towards the small islet where Sparks and Marahute had landed previously and climbed off of their flying Pokémon. Cameron turned towards the Pidgeot, Salamence and Aerodactyl. "These guys can be our cover, while we prepare an attack!" While Marahute and Azure flew off without putting up a fight, Aerodactyl had to be convinced by a stern look from his trainer to take off without them.
Cameron called out her Lucario, while Ryan sent Sparks back out. Giselle called out her mighty Haxorus, a massively strong Dragon with fierce almost uncompromising power. While Cameron and Giselle sent their Lucario and Haxorus to battle Regirock, Ryan and his Jolteon squared off against Kyogre. The Massive Water Pokémon launched a torrent of water directly at Jolteon, who nimbly dodged the blow and launched another wave of Thunderbolts down on the Legendary Pokémon. The Kyogre bellowed as the Thunderbolts rained down from the skies, but then made a piercingly loud call that ringed loudly in Ryan's ears, calling a wave of water to come and crash down on the islet. Before it could hit the young trainer and his Pokémon, Marahute swooped down from the skies and used Whirlwind to blow the massive tidal wave away.
"Way to go, Marahute!" Ryan cheered. He looked behind him and saw as Giselle's Haxorus and Cameron's Lucario double teamed the Regirock and used devastating Earthquakes and Aura Spheres to knock the golem Pokémon into the water. Lucario then turned towards Kyogre and sprinted for it, smashing his devastating Thunder Punch into the Pokémon's head, before Sparks sent another Thunderbolt from the skies that struck Hunter's beast of the seas. The Kyogre collapsed into the waters from the devastating blows. But before the trio could celebrate, a huge wall of water began to rise around the islet.
"If that won't take this thing down, what will?" Ryan cried out.
"Not us" Cameron insisted. She whistled into the air and called down their flying Pokémon. As all three remounted their steeds and recalled their land based Pokémon, they took off as high as they could into the air as the wall of water crashed over the islet. While they had avoided being swept into the oceans, they watched in frustration as Regirock climbed out of the water and looked at them menacingly.
{Meanwhile}
After splitting up from the others, Chris and Mark found a small island to drop the ArcResistance Team and Tommy and made sure the quartet would be safe. When they had lowered the four onto the rocks, the frightened young trainers looked up to them. "Is this really happening?"
"Welcome to our lives" Mark replied, somewhat sarcastically.
"This is your average Tuesday with us" Chris insisted.
Dylan turned towards Corey. "Film this action! This is can't miss stuff!"
"Are you out of your mind?" Corey argued. "We were almost killed by a Pokémon and you want to film it?"
"If we get a video like this out online, we'll never have to work another day in our lives" Dylan insisted.
Chris and Mark looked towards Groudon, who loomed on a nearby island it had created. "Stay here, guys!" Chris demanded. With that, the two took off on the backs of their Charizards and soared at the colossal Legendary Pokémon. It didn't take long to see that Groudon had a friend on the island to protect him. A massive golem that was seemingly made entirely of ice.
"Regice" Mark groaned. "Just terrific."
"I think of this as a golden opportunity to let loose some steam" Chris insisted. The two steered their Charizards directly towards Groudon, who swiped his tail at the duo of incoming Pokémon. Chris and Mark easily dodged the massive Tail Swipes and fired Fire Blasts at the Groudon, who simply used the intense heat it was giving off to absorb their flames. Before they could truly feel safe, a beam of ice shot right past them, coming from the Regice.
"This isn't going to end well" Mark said bluntly. "With our Charizards, we're just going to be in a war of attrition with this Groudon."
Chris thought for a moment. "I think I have an idea, but I'm going to need you to hold Groudon back by yourself for a minute or two."
Mark sighed. "I'm almost afraid to ask what your plan really is."
"Just keep the Groudon busy for a few minutes" he insisted. He then took off towards Regice and had his Charizard launch a Fire Blast at the Legendary Ice Golem. The Blow struck at Regice, who turned to face him, wailing in fury. "Come and get me you glorified snow cone!" He looked back and saw Mark and his Charizard wailing into Groudon as he taunted the Regice. "You might want to get out of the way, Mark!"
"What?"
The Regice gathered in energy and fired a powerful Ice Beam directly Chris and his Charizard, who simply flew out of the way and watched as the Ice Beam struck Groudon in the back of the head. As Groudon roared in pain, the intense heat it was radiating suddenly evaporated into steam. He watched as the molten surface Groudon had been standing on solidified into rock. He looked back towards Mark. "Now, you can battle that thing on your terms!"
"I never know why I underestimate you" Mark insisted.
"Mike trained me in the art of dumb luck really well" Chris laughed. He then turned his attention towards Regice. "Let me finish this thing, first!" He called out his prized Pokémon and hurled the Poké Ball onto the ground level to oppose Regice. "Come on, Chocobo!" A Blazekin emerged from the Poke Ball and growled furiously at the Regice.
"Spyro! Use Flare Blitz! Chocobo, Use Close Combat!" Chocobo rushed towards the Regice, dodging constantly firing Ice attacks and then laid into the Ice Golem with a series of ferocious punches and kicks, causing Regice to tumble backwards, before he and his Charizard smashed into the Legendary Pokémon with colossal force. The Regice collapsed off of the rock it stood on and landed into the seas.
"YEEHAW!" Chris cheered.
"I could use a little help here" Mark called over.
Christ turned and saw Mark directing his Goodra and Inteleon to combat Groudon, though the behemoth was relentless. Chris directed his Pokémon over to help Mark. His Blazekin sprinted across the land mass and then leaped high into the air, over the head of Groudon, while Spyro and Chris flew towards Groudon. "Looks like we're going to hit this one with everything we've got! Spyro! Use Flare Blitz! Chocobo! Use Bounce!"
Chocobo came down with incredible force on Groudon and smashed his elbow into the head of the Groudon, causing the great beast to roar in fury, but was then ambushed by Chris and Spyro with another devastating Flare Blitz. Before the Groudon could recover from both attacks, Mark was on the move.
"Inteleon! Use Snipe Shot! Goodra, use Power Whip!" Both the Goodra and Inteleon were on the move, with the Inteleon, using his finger as if it were a gun and firing a barrage of water pellets at the Ground Pokémon. Goodra raced forward and smashed it's tail into the Groudon, causing the beast to lose it's footing and collapse.
Mark climbed onto his Charizard's back, feeling victorious, and recalled his Inteleon and his Goodra. "Whew. That was rough."
Chris shrugged as he climbed off of his Charizard to look over their fainted foe. "Eh, I've had worse." He then paused. "Is it just me, or is this rock getting hotter again?"
"CHRIS, GET UP!" Mark cried. Chris leaped back onto his Charizard as Groudon recovered. The colossal Ground Pokémon was glowing with tremendous force and causing the rocks to begin to melt into molten lava once again. Chris yanked his Charizard back into the skies after Mark. Before they could be safe, the two looked down and saw the seas where Regice had fallen was transforming into ice.
"Oh son of a-"
A beam of Ice shot directly at the two, but Spyro used a Fire Blast to melt it before it reached them. Regice emerged from the Frozen Ocean and let out a moan as it's Ice counteracted the heat coming from Groudon.
"What the heck do we do now?" Chris asked.
Mark looked down towards the ArcResistance team and Tommy on their small little island. "We have to keep the battling from them. We need to take this back into the skies. He looked and saw Cameron, Ryan and Giselle retreating as well. "Looks like we're not the only ones having problems." The two then soared back into the skies as Regice and Groudon fired upon them.
{Meanwhile}
Once their group had split up to combat the colossal might of Hunter's Pokémon, Michael and Lizzie took off after their foe themselves. Rayquaza was certainly an imposing challenge for even trainers of their mettle, but they would have to try to oppose Hunter with all of the tricks and powers they had learned over their time fighting as a team. As the two soared towards Hunter, the poacher only laughed at them.
"You guys really think you can stop me?" he mocked. "Let me show you MY POWER!" With a movement towards his wrist, Rayquaza howled into the night skies and began to glow with a terrifying aura.
"This can't be good" Lizzie groaned.
"He's Mega Evolving it?" Michael gasped.
"Let's see you take on Mega Rayquaza!" Hunter snarled. Then the light aura surrounding Rayquaza had faded, the Legendary Pokémon had indeed transformed. It had sprouted out long golden tendrils that extended out into ring patterns that resembled the markings that had once been on it's back. It had also grown exponentially in size. The green serpent now seemed to be glistening in the power of the very weather itself.
"It won't be in the skies for long" Michael declared. "Rhaegar use-" He paused to cover his ears when an immeasurably loud screeching noise prevented him from communicating with his Dragonite. "What the heck? Ergh! What is that?"
Lizzie focused in on her goggles, revealing a metallic golem perched on a rock nearby, protecting Rayquaza. "Registeel!"
Michael growled. "We need to take that thing down before we can hit Rayquaza."
"But how?"
Michael looked to her. "You and Crush head down there and melt that glorified slab of metal. I'll hold off Rayquaza on my own."
Lizzie sighed. "Okay, I'll do what I can." She took off on her Salamence to clash with Registeel, while Michael stared down Hunter and his immeasurably powerful Pokémon. The poacher gestured for him to come at him.
"Don't you think we chose the perfect day?" Hunter asked Michael.
"What?"
He pointed above the enormous veil of mist and clouds Rayquaza had created. "Beyond this veil, lies the ultimate source of power in Arcana. The Crimson Moon. I wonder, does it control you, or do you control it? The deep amount of fury and hatred that dwells inside of you." He points towards Michael. "Come on, Mr. Champion. Show me all that Crimson Fury you've been holding back!"
Michael laughed to himself. "Well, don't worry, Hunter. I may end up needing to use it, but I won't need it to beat a wash out like you!"
Hunter snickered. "You may want to rethink that strategy of yours." He sent his Rayquaza forward, who fired a Draco Meteor at Michael and Rhaegar, but Michael and his trusted Dragonite whirled out of the way.
Michael looked to Rhaegar. "Do you think we can get this, Rhaegar?"
Use the Fury, a voice echoed in his head.
"What the-?"
It is your gift, Michael. Call upon the Crimson Fury. It is the only way you can save your friends.
Michael shook his head. "No. Not when we're just getting started." Rhaegar looked back at him and grumbled to his trainer. Michael sighed. "It's nothing, Rhaegar. Come on, let's beat this ugly looking thing! Use Ice Beam!" The Dragonite leaned back it's head and spat a powerful beam of frozen energy at the Rayquaza, but by the time it reached Rayquaza, the Ice had melted into a mist.
He looked down towards Lizzie, who was pummeling the Registeel with a torrent of Flamethrowers. but the Steel Golem appeared to be refusing to budge. No matter what he could plan, they were pinned in the skies and Hunter had the clear edge on them.
The Crimson Fury would protect your friends and loved ones. Do they need to suffer?
Michael shook his head. "No! I don't need it!"
You and I both know that is a lie.
"STOP IT!" Michael snarled.
"Mike?" Lizzie called up to him. "Are you okay?"
Michael rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Lizzie floated her Salamence back into the air and looked at Rayquaza alongside him. "Unless we can get rid of that mist that's surrounding Rayquaza, I don't think we're going to be able to hit him."
Michael sighed. "There might be one way..."
"Don't you dare, Michael" Lizzie snapped. "Not now."
"What other choice do we have?" Michael asked. "If I don't use it-"
"If you do use it" Lizzie argued, "especially during the Crimson Moon, you may never be able to recover."
Hunter laughed viciously. "You fools should never have picked a fight with me. Rayquaza! Use Draco Meteor!" The enormous emerald Dragon spat a massive bolt of energy at Lizzie and Michael, who were only barely able to dodge it. As the beam went off into the horizon, Lizzie and Michael looked to each other.
"Lizzie, there is no other way" Michael told her.
"There might be" Lizzie suggested.
Michael shook his head. "If you do that, you'll be giving Hunter what he wants. We can't do that!"
"We're running out of time, Mike" Lizzie countered.
Hunter cackled. "Hammer them again, Rayquaza! Draco Meteor!" Another colossal blast came out of Rayquaza's mouth and was sent in their direction, just narrowly missing the two. Lizzie and Michael looked over towards their opponent and realized by just how much Hunter was better than them.
{Meanwhile}
From the Observation Deck of the Syndicate Base at Mt. Heatmor, Elezar and Cassius watched with deep interest as Hunter's army of Legendary Pokémon clashed with the Elite Four and Michael. The two leaders of the Syndicate watched in almost childish delight as no matter how many times the Golems or any of Hunter's other Pokémon were knocked down, they kept getting back up stronger than ever.
"Simply astonishing" Cassius remarked. "I believe I grossly underestimated Hunter's value to the Syndicate."
Elezar nodded. "He makes for an effective first line of defense. But I suspect that someone like Michael will have sent more than one attack wave. We need to ensure the Base's security measures are still enforced." He turned to Cassius. "Are the Gyarados hordes ready by sea?"
"As they'll ever be" Cassius assured the Syndicate Leader, who was transfixed on the battle occurring barely a mile away from them over the ocean. "It is quite an achievement. I know the Legendary Pokémon are supposed to be immeasurable in power, but these titans are even exceeding my own expectations. It's amazing how someone who cares as little about his own Pokémon as Hunter can have a team so ruthlessly strong."
Elezar thought for a moment. "Perhaps he has had an enhancement from the Crimson Moon?"
Cassius shook his head. "What Hunter has is different. When you've been around as many Crimson Branded subjects as I have, you can tell. He's in complete control of his actions. It's almost euphoric."
Elezar eyed the situation carefully. We need him to nip this in the bud, before he realizes just how much power he has.
{Meanwhile}
Julia climbed up the rafters of Kingston Castle after Amanda called her up to see something. She had heard the loud claps of thunder and seen the flashes of light in the distance, but she could not have been prepared for what she was going to see. When she made it to the rafters to stand by Amanda, she watched in horror as the Crimson Moon shined above Mt. Heatmor. But more pressing, was the immense vortex of clouds that were engulfing as far wide as up to Pocus Town and the Northern Outpost. This had the Syndicate written all over it, there could be no doubt. But Julia could not keep her eyes off of the Crimson Moon above Mt. Heatmor, without her heart rate increasing.
"Michael..." she uttered worriedly.
"Professor" Amanda said, coming to her side. "Go."
Julia shook her head. "I can't, I-"
Amanda put both her arms on the Professor's shoulders. "Professor, this may be the most colossal mistake you ever make in your entire life. You need to go there and help him! Do you love him, or not?"
Julia closed her eyes as she reached for her Poké Ball containing her Altaria. "You can watch things while I'm gone?"
Amanda nodded. "Go. Please. For him."
Julia called out her Altaria and climbed up onto her back and took off from Kingston Castle for the nightmare-scape that was taking place by Mt. Heatmor. Her concern for Michael was rapidly becoming a feeling of total existential dread for the man she loved. It didn't matter to her what happened in the past or the present. But if she lost him now, there was no coming back from that. You don't get many second chances. She couldn't squander hers.
{Meanwhile}
On all sides of Hunter's death trap for them, the Seven Fliers were being pushed back. Kyogre and Regirock continued to force Ryan, Cameron and Giselle backwards, while Groudon and Regice did the same with Chris and Mark. Eventually, all seven of them were trapped up against each other's backs, under attack from all directions. Ryan couldn't believe it. They were being beaten back on all fronts. This couldn't be happening. Who would have guessed Hunter was capable of having these kinds of devastatingly strong Pokémon?
Giselle seemed to echo Ryan's sentiments. "Is this even happening right now? How are these Pokémon still getting back up after these blows?"
"That's what constitutes Legendary Pokémon" Cameron groaned.
"What the heck do we do?" Ryan asked.
Hunter laughed as his voice echoed throughout the storm clouds his Rayquaza was creating. "Are you guys really giving up this easily? You have all let me down. I'd like to report to the Grand Master that you guys went down fighting. Don't make me blast you all right out of the skies right now." The Dragon Pokémon he road bellowed in the skies, intimidating the Pokémon that the Seven flew atop of.
Chris is eager to fight to his last breath, but Michael stops him from flying into battle. "You'll only get yourself killed."
"We can't just sit here!" Chris argued. "We need a plan!"
A massive Fire Blast was hurtling towards the team from Groudon, but Ryan called on Marahute to use a Hurricane to wiped the fire away. While it succeeded in doing so, he didn't know if Marahute had another powerful Hurricane left in her. "Guys? Do we have a plan?"
Michael sighed. "Just one."
"Well, it had better be a good one" Giselle insisted. "I'd like to enjoy at least one day of my freedom I was promised."
Michael made a movement towards his arm. "Cameron? Lead them on from here."
"What are you-"
"GO!" Lizzie cried out. "Jirachi!"
Michael looked over to her in shock. "What are you doing?"
"Saving our lives" Lizzie insisted. "You're important to too many people to sacrifice, Mike. I can do this. Jirachi trusts me!" She turned towards the floating Wishing Star Pokémon and nervously reached for one of the tags on Jirachi's head and whispered a wish to Jirachi. The Pokémon happily smiled and flew high into the skies above them. Lizzie took a deep breath. "Please, Jirachi. Don't let me down!"
"You used a Wish?" Mark asked her. "But what about-"
"Jirachi only has the power to grant good wishes" Lizzie explained. "Let's just hope that this is one of them."
Hunter growled. "I've had enough of waiting for your glorious charge! Rayquaza! Destroy them all with one last Draco Meteor!" The Rayquaza charged one last colossal blast of energy and sent it hurtling towards the seven fliers. As they collectively braced themselves for the end, a beacon of light shined down and destroyed Rayquaza's attack. Hunter was aghast. "What the-"
Ryan opened his eyes and saw a rainbow of colors shining around them. Jirachi hovered above them and made a gesture towards the group. Within an instant, three of Poké Balls from Mark, Chris and Cameron rose and opened to reveal three more Pokémon: Mew, Manaphy and Victini. Ryan was in utter shock. "What's happening?"
"The Mythical Pokémon?" Michael asked. "But how did-"
"Look!" Cameron pointed towards the edge of Hunter's dark tornado. A beam of light shot right through it and joined the others.
Michael gasped. "Celebi?"
The five Mythical Pokémon shined a powerful light around the seven fliers and looked down on their lifelong friends and compatriots. In a rainbow of colors, all five descended down to their respective friends and came in front of them, Mew wagged his tail in Mark's face, causing the trainer to beam happily. Victini appeared in front of Cameron and glowed brightly, shining as brightly as a supernova, prompting Cameron to shed a tear. Manaphy gently rubbed his antennae on Chris, who laughed in kind. Celebi, having sent his spirit from Orre to be with Michael, glows down in front of him and floats in front of the trainer and touches his heart lovingly. And Jirachi floats back down towards Lizzie and smiles happily, before turning into a ball of light, along with the other Mythical Pokémon and shooting like cosmic lasers at Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza.
"NO!" Hunter screamed in fury.
Groudon took the beam of light directly to his head, slowly recovering. But as it did, the Legendary Pokémon simply began to move his own island away from the battleground. Kyogre was also struck in the head by a beam of light, before descending back into the seas, never to resurface in Arcana again. And when Rayquaza was struck, the mythical Dragon roared and reverted back to it's normal form.
"That's amazing" Ryan remarked. "Those Pokémon drove off Groudon and Kyogre!"
"No" Michael insisted in disbelief. "They broke them free from Hunter's control. Which means they'll all return from whence they came." He looked over towards Hunter, but was surprised to see the once confident and arrogant poacher clutching at his heart and wobbling where he stood. "What's up with him?"
Hunter fell to his knees atop Rayquaza's head. "It-can't-be-"
Lizzie began to fly her Salamence over towards him, coming to a stop so that the two could stare directly at each other. "Hunter. It's over."
"Nnnnn-no. It-it cannot be." Hunter fell onto his face.
She shook her head. "Was all of it worth it, Hunter? Killing my Grandfather? Burning the Day Care Center to the ground? You have done awful and evil things in your life, all in the pursuit of power. But where did that get you in the end?"
He looked up at her, wheezing heavily. "I failed. I failed you, Grand Master."
Lizzie kept her gaze on him. "You have a chance to do right by the Pokémon and people you have wronged. You have a chance to come back and be a decent human being. I'm willing to give that to you, Hunter. But you have to be willing to take it for yourself."
Hunter shook his head weakly. "No. There's no going back for someone like me."
Lizzie frowned. "There's always a chance, Hunter. You just have to take it."
Hunter weakly rose back to his feet. "No. I will get what I deserve! I will have what I deserve! Jirachi will be MINE!" He sent Rayquaza forward to attack Lizzie. Michael, Cameron and Mark were on the move immediately to protect Lizzie. But Rayquaza reared back and flung Hunter from its head and disappeared into skies above them. Hunter plummeted towards the raging seas below.
"HUNTER!" Lizzie cried out, dropping down on her Salamence to try and catch him. As she neared him, she held out her hand to him. "Come on! I can help you!"
Hunter looked at her and almost made a motion to reach for her, but stopped himself and grinned evilly as he allowed himself to fall. Realizing his plan, Lizzie stopped her Salamence and looked away as Hunter was to collide with the seas below. The six other fliers flew down to her level to check on her as they heard an unmistakable crash into the waters.
Ryan looked towards where the Regi Pokémon had stood and watched as all three reverted back to stone statues and remained frozen in time. Apparently, there were Pokémon that had been loyal to Hunter after all. But without their trainer, the Regi Pokémon soon blew away into dust in the wind.
Michael came up to her. "You gonna be okay, Lizzie?"
Lizzie was silent for a long moment, as if reflecting on what had just exited out of her life. "He killed my Grandfather. He put the three of us through total misery. And he did it all just to get ahold of Jirachi. It'll be strange, knowing that no matter what he's done or how much he's hurt me, that he won't be there to pursue us anymore." She held her hand close to her heart. "It's okay, Grandpa. I didn't let you down. Hunter is gone."
"Lizzie" Mark said sadly.
She looked to her friends and smiled, doing her best to avoid confronting what had just transpired. "What's up, guys?"
"You sure you're gonna be okay, Lizzie?"
Lizzie nodded. "Of course I am. We've got work to do."
Giselle grunted. "And that was just the opening act."
Chris sighed. "One down and eleven more to go."
Michael, sensing that Lizzie was still a little unsure how to feel with her arch-nemesis gone forever, looked towards Chris and Mark. "Pick up the ArcResistance Team and Tommy. We're just getting started here. We need to get to that beach head."
Chris and Mark quickly descended towards the kids below to pick them back up, while Michael and Ryan approached Lizzie. "Hey, Lizzie?"
"Mike" she assured him, "I promise you that I'm okay. We can't just sit around here all night. We have to go and clear the beach up for the others to show up." With that, Lizzie soared on ahead towards Mt. Heatmor.
"Lizzie" Ryan said sadly.
"She's tough" Michael assured his cousin. "She'll pull through. It's just hard to take sometimes, knowing that someone who has been a part of your life for so long, positive or negative, is gone." He looked to Ryan and grinned. "I'm sure this won't be the last time someone feels like this tonight. Not when we have a few scores to settle between us."
Ryan nodded. "You said it."
"Yeah" Giselle moaned, "I've already done more than I bargained for."
Michael looked back at her. "Your job is done when we get to Elezar. Then, he's all yours. Until then, you're still working with us."
Giselle sighed. "But you clowns can do the rest of the battling yourselves. I'm taking it easy for a while."
"What a coward" Cameron snapped.
"Come on" Michael called to the team as Chris and Mark returned to their air with the ArcResistance Team. "We've still got work to do."
Ryan gave his cousin a thumbs up. "Yup. And we're with you." As the group flew off towards Mt. Heatmor, Ryan looked above them and saw that the thick fog that Rayquaza had created was dissipating. In it's place Ryan could see the moon shining in the color of blood. He felt a tingling feeling in his heart as he looked at it, but shook it off and flew atop Marahute after the others.