Chapter 11: Achieving the Impossible

Even after what happened at the Circhester Gym, Karthaniel's strength has finally been uplifted to a million fold spiritually. When he saw that he had nearly killed his beloved Hatterene, that was the last straw for him. He's vowed time and time again since his journey began that he would overcome his demonic subconscious with or without Hatterene's help and this time, that's been set in stone for her sake. In fact, that benefactor seemed to attract quite the crowd within the Pokémon Center as it was just Hatterene alone on the healing table after the rest of his pokémon companions were healed. Seeing her in such a state sent horrific chills down everyone's spines and they all mentally prayed for a full recovery. Karthaniel even held on to his beloved Silent Pokémon's signature hat during the process.

Meanwhile, at the restaurant near the Circhester entrance…

"My Arceus!" Leon softly exclaimed as he was sitting at a private table with his younger brother, Hop, and Piers and Marnie. "Is Hatterene okay?"

"She was unconscious when I last saw her." Hop admitted. "They're at the Pokémon Center right now. I hope it'll be enough."

"Same here. Piers, Marnie… you are already fully aware of Karthaniel's mental struggle with finding out whether or not his parents survived a shipwreck that happened just offshore near the Isle of Armor. This Wonder Guard Demon keeps invading his mentality and makes him think that his parents didn't make it. Obviously, he doesn't want to believe it. The authorities are dubbing them as 'missing' for the moment with no straight answers. It's like someone above them is commanding them to keep the information from him on purpose… and it's not Officer Jenny."

"Obviously." Piers agreed with his younger sister nodded in agreement. "Whoever that person is… they need to shut it and confess it all to Karthaniel now. He needs it more than ever since he nearly killed Hatterene."

"My sentiments exactly. Since your gym and Hammerlocke's gym are the last two before Karthaniel faces me, we've gotta strike that bloody demon down while we still have the chance. Now, you know already his title. Do you have his weaknesses, despite being dark-type experts yourselves?"

"Of course. He's obviously dark-type, so his weaknesses are fairy, fighting, and bug." Marnie replied. "Hatterene will be getting some help very soon when they get to Spikemuth. I just recently caught quite the rare pokémon around here. It made Piers here a wee bit jealous, but he knows this will help all of us out in the long run. We're way ahead of the curve already, lad."

"Excellent! I'm guessing you won't tell me what it is."

"It'll spoil the surprise. No matter what happens there, that demon… will. Be. Destroyed. And whoever's responsible will have no choice in the matter."

"Wow…" Hop said breathlessly with astonishment. Leon nodded twice in agreement with folded arms of confidence on the table.

"And I thought Raihan would be the one to do this." The champ added. "I guess in the meantime, Hop and I will head to the Crown Tundra. Sonia informed me that this 'hidden facility' might be there… if not in the Slumbering Weald."

"It's an even 50/50." Piers agreed as the four of them stood up from the table simultaneously. "Good luck to ya."

"Same to you two." The two men shook hands at that last word from the Galar Champion.

An hour later, back at the Pokémon Center…

"It's good to have ya back, love." Karthaniel greeted in his sweetest tone of his deep handsome voice since meeting the anthro Silent Pokémon, who had just opened her eyes while resting in a recovery bed within the back of the facility. She saw that she was also surrounded by Melony, Gordie, Jennifer, Nurse Joy, and her trusty Wigglytuff. "Now, it's finally my turn to apologize for hurting you. That demon was much more determined than ever. Probably because we're nearing the final stretch of our journey to dethrone Leon as Galar Champion, even though we're still nowhere near finding my parents."

"…so glad you put it that way, Sir Davis." Hatterene replied weakly with an adorable smile. The two held hands with all the passion in the world after that was said. "But with Spikemuth being a dark-type gym, he'll surely have the advantage."

"That's not gonna stop us this time! Besides, I'm sure you and Jennifer have quite the discussion about all this and more. I shall not hold you two back any longer and neither will the rest of us." At that last word, everyone took this hint immediately as Karthaniel gave his beloved Hatterene a quick kiss on the mouth as well as her famous hat before leaving with Nurse Joy, Wigglytuff, Melony, and Gordie. As soon as they were gone and the nurse locked the door along the way, Hatterene slowly sat up in bed and placed on her hat before Jennifer took a seat in a folding chair at the Silent Pokémon's right side corner at the foot of the bed.

"First of all, I must say that this Karthaniel fellow is quite the gentleman for someone who's constantly at a crucial war with his own mind." Jennifer admitted with a pleasant smile. Hatterene returned it with a nod of her hat.

"Thank you for your kind words, Jennifer." The Silent Pokémon started with just as much sincerity. "Now, let's get to the topic at hand. I must ask you: What in Arceus' name made you divorce that bloody bastard, Lawrence?"

"Long story short; Constant disagreements and quarrels. I may not look the part here, but I'm a poison-type expert. His expertise in the fairy type is beyond superb, I'll give him that. But it was when he was dethroned by Opal many years later after our first meeting that sent him over the edge, especially after he realized my favorite type."

"Humph! Figures."

"Now my question to you, Hatterene-dear: What made him and his staff seek you out specifically?"

"I didn't know at first. Of course, I really played the part that I was born for that probably furthered the desperate hunt."

"I've heard about that, lass. You practically had a blood bath with those members of the facility's staff, including some members of Lawrence's family… all because you were just trying to sleep that night and their equipment was too loud. It's no wonder you're called The Silent Pokémon."

"It's a moniker I'm used to by now. Aside from that, I am a special hatterene, even without this seemingly permanent transformation."

"How so?"

"I was somehow born with 10 times more fairy and psychic power than any other hatterene. I can bear witness to many paranormal activities, the supernatural, and so on and so forth. Apparently, I can also see my own visions of my past. This transformation gave me a 40 percent boost to all of those powers and then some. I cannot unsee what I've witnessed from here on out, whether its an illusion or not."

"Incredible, but why say that this transformation here is seemingly permanent?"

"I realized that there's a chance that, when I do finally find out where Sir Davis' parents are, there's a possibility that I'll lose this form as well as this power. It's… a risk I'm willing to take for him. I love him enough to do it." Hatterene then used her hat to hide the sorrow in her eyes. Jennifer frowned with her and nodded twice in understanding.

"I see. And what if it does actually happen? Will he still love you?"

"…I could only hope so. So, I'm cherishing every last moment with him until that time as finally come. Not even that damn demon will keep us apart."

"Amen to that. I guess now would also be the perfect time to also tell you this about Lawrence: Since he's been such a sexist since our divorce and since you escaped, no women are on his staff at that facility."

"Makes perfect sense." Hatterene perked up a bit after that last word. "Especially since he actually owned me after the capture. I was to be his slave rather than a Pokémon companion."

"Ugh! Disgusting ol' pig! I sure do hope they do find him soon. Personally, I want him dead as well."

"Same here, but with me being gentle towards you humans now, I cannot even think about that chance without a shiver."

"Hmm… I'm sure something will turn up. In the meantime, he is to remain hidden until all of this Hell blows over for Mr. Karthaniel Davis. You have my full support, love." Jennifer smiled her biggest since reuniting with her old friend as she stood up from her chair at the exact same time Hatterene got out the healing bed once she was 100 percent better and the two shared a friendly handshake, having the hat claw perform it. "I already have quite the team to make it so."

"A full six?"

"Yes. Would you like to see them before we depart?"

"Just one in particular that can surely help me out, if you have it, that is."

"Name it."

"Well, if there's one poison-type I respect the most, it's one that considered an old classic to you all: Nidoking."

"Huh! I'm shocked! Well, yes. I do have him along with his female counterpart, Nidoqueen. You wanna see both of them?"

"Yes, please." Jennifer wasted no time pulling out two pokéballs and tossing them up in the air to reveal the two aforementioned pokémon themselves, having Nidoking appear untamed, but well-behaved simultaneously. Hatterene's eyes lowered with expectancy, which made her appear regal towards her new human friend. "Mm-hmm! Your Nidoking knows what he's in for. Quite impressive."

"That ground-typing on the side makes him quite the powerhouse. His move set is Drill Run, Poison Jab, Stone Edge, and Megahorn. I want to bring out the strongest muscle he has."

"I see." Hatterene became a little coy as she approached the snarling, but calmly standing Drill Pokémon and gently stroked under his chin with the hat claw, instantly giving him a sense of confidence. "You be a good boy for Jennifer, Karthaniel, and I, okay? Give it all you got when the time comes." Nidoking nodded twice in response and pounded his chest like a primate as his sign of agreement. "Excellent. How about the rest of your team, Jen?"

"I also have the Amped Form of Toxtricity, Toxicroak, Drapion, and Venusaur. In other words, my poisonous team is unstoppable. I have yet to be defeated since I formed it."

"Splendid. Well, I look forward to seeing you again really soon, then." After that last word from Hatterene, Jennifer kept her smile of hope upon her face as she summoned her trusty Nidoking and Nidoqueen back inside their pokéballs while her new Silent Pokémon friend casually made her way out to join Karthaniel and the others at the hot springs at the center of Circhester.

Several minutes later…

"Hatterene! You're okay!" Hop exclaimed as he just saw her arrive and ran towards her without a tackling embrace. Karthaniel and Melony were the only other two at the springs and admired the scene with compassionate smiles as the two casually approached them. "I knew you Karthaniel couldn't kill ya, even if he was under the spell of that stupid demon!"

"Glad you've been watching us, lad." Hatterene replied with a regal and casual smile of her own. "How's your champion brother?"

"Fantastic, thanks! He and Professor Sonia are really digging deep to provide the cure for Karthaniel and find Lawrence and that secret facility you escaped from. With Officer Jenny added to the investigation, it'll all be found sooner than we think."

"That's good to hear."

"Do you know where it is?"

"Of course, but until the demon is gone, I won't say where. Can you tell me where Leon and Sonia are heading?"

"They're taking two guesses here: The Slumbering Weald and The Crown Tundra. We already know it's not here in the main Galar region and the Isle of Armor."

"Mm!" Hatterene's smile slowly transitioned into a sultry frown that would've mesmerized Karthaniel, if he too wasn't as concerned. Hop followed suit. Same went for Melony.

"Uh, oh… are they… heading towards dead ends here?"

"…no." All three of them jumped with surprise. "One of those locations is where the facility takes place, but trying to find it will be a futile struggle."

"Why?"

"Three words: Top. Notch. Security."

"…damn." Karthaniel muttered with anger. "So, since that's the case, where is it exactly and will Lawrence put up a fight when they do find it?"

"I still won't say exactly which one, but when they eventually get within five feet of the exact location, they better be prepared for anything."

"Whoa…" Hop muttered with astonishment. "…well, knowing Leon, he's always prepared. Nothing surprises him anymore nowadays. He's got this. In the meantime, I can tell ya that you'll have nothing to worry about when you guys get to the Spikemuth Gym to challenge Marnie and Piers, despite the dark-type atmosphere."

"Really?!" Melony asked with shock. Karthaniel and Hatterene stood next to each other and holding hands as they too paid very close attention to the younger brother of the Galar Champion. "How so?"

"Leon gave 'em the details about how he's called The Wonder Guard Demon and we all know what that ability is. It only allows super-effective attacks to make contact and so far, only Shedinja has it. Now this demon you deal with; he's only dark type, right?"

"Yes." Karthaniel replied.

"Well, that means that his only weaknesses other than fairy are fighting and bug. Piers and Marnie are allowed to cheat the system this one time by using pokémon in their teams that can hit the demon and hit him hard! Well, only Marnie will do it, actually. She said that she caught a rare one and she'll use it to fight the demon when he shows up. In other words, the impossible will finally be achieved for ya, Sir Davis and Hatterene, you can finally reveal whether or not his parents survived the shipwreck."

"…" Both Hatterene and Karthaniel were speechless and just didn't know what to say to counter everything that was said. Hop kept his adorable smile of hope with his golden eyes glowing in the same manner. Melony pulled off her biggest smile with a light lone applause before she decided to speak on their behalf.

"Well, well, well, Hop!" She exclaimed after her fifteen second applause. "I'm absolutely impressed. All of you are really keeping Karthaniel's safety and sanity alive here as a team and I'm so proud of you all."

"Hey, it's what we do." Hop agreed with confidence. "We look out for each other. Speaking of which, how did your conversation with Jennifer go, Hatterene? Is she in on this, too?"

"Of course." The anthro Silent Pokémon replied in her most sultry tone since her discovery as she embraced the silently crying Karthaniel within her slender arms. He was overwhelmed with joy. "She's got her unstoppable poison-type team to help us out with Lawrence. Of course, she already knows where the facility is, so she may beat Leon and Sonia to the punches. I guess with all of this settled in stone, Sir Davis and I can head towards Spikemuth with no worries for once."

"Huh! Lawrence is a fairy expert, eh?"

"Yes. Karthaniel already knows this because I told him and he took the hint, but Lawrence owned me before I escaped. It was for… explicit reasons."

"Oh, no! That's terrible! No wonder you want him dead now."

"He's a threat to all women here at Galar, so Sonia had better keep her eyes open."

"I'll definitely let her and Leon know about this right away! Good luck, guys!" After that was said, Hop made his way out of Circhester by means of a flying taxi. When he was gone, Melony approached the couple and gave Karthaniel a reassuring pat on his visible shoulder, which made him almost immediately stop his joyful tears while he paid very close attention to the ice-type leader.

"I know you must be so relieved to finally have this light shining at the end of your superficially endless dark tunnel." She started in her sweet motherly tone. "How do you feel about all of this, Sir Davis?"

"Exhilarated!" Karthaniel replied with all the honesty in his heart. "And I can slowly feel my sanity coming back to me, even without the potential cure from the extract of the Ballonlea Mushrooms. I do still want it after all of this blows over, so it won't happen again in the future."

"Consider it done. In the meantime, you shall continue your journey. You can continue on through either Route 9 up ahead or go back from whence you came and take the Route 9 tunnel near Route 7, whichever suits you."

"I was about to take the former, but after gaining all of these revelations and having my fear dwindled down to near nothingness, I'm feeling brave enough to take the latter path. That last tunnel I took was a horrifying experience, but not this time around. Hatterene-love and I… we've got this now."

"That's the spirit! Good luck to both of you and be careful."

Meanwhile, at the small town of Freezington in the Crown Tundra…

"Well, the Slumbering Weald was a no-go." Sonia muttered with sarcasm as she and Leon had just arrived at the entrance to the town. "I figured it would be a cliché move at having the facility hidden within the lake at the end of the path, but that was an absolute negative. This Lawrence fellow's really on to us. He knows we're looking for him."

"Doesn't seem like it." Leon softly protested as he allowed his trusty Charizard to remain outside his pokéball and by his left side opposite of the young professor. "He's saving his energy for when we do eventually get within range and probably attack us head-on with everything they got. Since we're here, we might as well settle in for now. It's gotta be here."

"Leon, lad!" Called out an old, but friendly male voice from the distance from their right side. The two humans and Charizard looked over in that direction and smiled as a warm greeting. "Good to see ya!"

"Good to see you too, Peony." The two leaders approached each other for a handshake while a young female trainer with pink hair approached Sonia and they embraced each other as their greeting. "I see you and your daughter there are holding out in this chilly section of Galar."

"Eh, doesn't bother us in the least. Doesn't it, Peonia?"

"Nope!" The daughter agreed as she ended the embrace with Sonia. "What are you two doing here, anyway?"

"We're looking for a top secret facility that's owned by a man named Lawrence Charleston Vanhart." Sonia replied. "Long story short, he's a former fairy-type expert with a reputation so bad, no women work for him at that facility. He used to own a very special Hatterene and was gonna use her as a sex slave before she escaped after 10 long years. Do you two know about it?"

"Calyrex warned us about him moving it here from a different location within the outskirts of Galar." Peony replied with no issues. His daughter nodded in agreement. "According to him and from what we overheard before we arrived, this Lawrence bastard is indeed on to ya. And we find this hard to believe, but Calyrex also mentioned something about Mr. Vanhart acquiring some unexpected assistance from someone you're probably familiar with."

"Yeah. Some guy that goes by 'Chairman Rose'." Peonia agreed. "Do you know him?"

"…no way!" Sonia exclaimed with shock. Leon's golden eyes widened with absolute surprise as well. "I thought he was outta the woods here."

"Same here." Leon agreed as his widened eyes slowly transitioned into a regal glare of determination. "I wonder if he knows about Karthaniel Davis' dilemma as well."

"Karthaniel Davis?" The two asked simultaneously in wonder. Leon chuckled at the tone of their voices as he heard that. Same went for Sonia as the champion continued.

"You two obviously don't know him. Karthaniel Harrison Davis is the newest trainer here in the Galar Region. Unfortunately, he came here under pretty bleak circumstances. He survived a fatal shipwreck that happened during a storm one day just offshore of the Isle of Armor. He had an exoskeleton to keep him walking, but ever since he met that special serene Hatterene that we mentioned earlier, he's somehow been healed from his physical injuries. Now, the two are in love and inseparable. His mentality is the only true battle he's facing right now and only Hatterene can save him. It comes in the form of a dark-type entity they like to call 'The Wonder Guard Demon'."

"It haunts him at his most vulnerable moments, usually during his battles against the gym leaders." Sonia continued. "His latest one against Melony and Gordie did it for him after that bloody demon nearly made Sir Davis kill his beloved Hatterene. This time, when they get to Spikemuth against Marnie and Piers, they'll have him cornered and hopefully, defeat him at last and find out where his long, lost parents are. That's why his mind's in that fragile state."

"Oh, wow." Peonia exclaimed with astonishment. "He's one strong-willed trainer, Dad."

"He sure is." Peony agreed. "Come to think of it, we have heard about that shipwreck from Calyrex. He says that among the massive passenger count of 155 people, only three survived. Obviously, Karthaniel is one of them."

"Who are the other two?!" Leon and Sonia asked simultaneously with desperation in their voices. Peony was about to provide his answer, but before a sound could come out of his mouth…

"ROOOOAAAARRRR!"

"Charizard!" Leon exclaimed as he saw that his beloved Flame Pokémon was hit by an ice cold Snipe Shot from an unknown location right at the nape of his neck and the chill caused him to pass out, having the flame on his tail become extinguished by the time he collapsed onto the snow. This shocked everybody as they all tried to tend to the unconscious fire dragon, having Leon being up front in his most panicked state. "CHARIZARD! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL HAPPENED?!"

"Looks like a Snipe Shot hit him, but-" Sonia started, but was abruptly interrupted by a strong hit to the back of her head at the same exact time the other three trainers hit the same way by four mysterious dark hooded agents altogether! One of those agents placed a gloved hand towards his earpiece and spoke in a quiet male voice:

"Sir, we got to them before they got the information out."

Did you execute Calyrex along the way? Asked another mysterious male voice with a bit of static.

"No, sir. He's hidden himself really well and we haven't been able to find him since we moved here several days ago."

Damn! Well, no worries. At least, we've got Hatterene's support group on the mend for now. Bring them here now and make sure that Charizard doesn't even get to move when you get here.

"Yes, sir!"

Meanwhile, within the Route 9 tunnel…

"…huh." Karthaniel sighed as he and Hatterene had just arrived at halfway through the straight tunnel. "I thought this would be a cave."

"On the contrary, Sir Davis." Hatterene replied. "It used to be, but it's more like a shortcut road towards Spikemuth, especially for those who don't want to venture through the ice cold path among Route 9 itself. We'll be at Spikemuth in no time." At that last word, the two stopped when they spotted the same two mysterious shadowy figures from before and the anthro Silent Pokémon used her hat claw to hold her beloved trainer back as her eyes glowed blue for a closer look with her psychic powers. "Wait! It's those two figures again. I was wondering where they disappeared to after I saw them back at Hammerlocke."

"They're too far for us to see, love. Will you be able to approach them this time without them walking away?"

"Only one way to find out." Hatterene continued on her way slowly towards the two figures alone while Karthaniel stayed behind in full observation mode with his muscular silver gear tattooed arms crossed. After five slow minutes, Hatterene was able to get within five feet and still, they seemed like they saw her and Karthaniel before walking away. This made her widen her eyes with shock before she did what she thought wouldn't work:

"HOLD ON! STOP! WHO ARE YOU?!" She screamed at her loudest, creating an echo throughout the empty tunnel as she instinctively used her hat claw to perform a Psychic hold on the figures, just to keep them from escaping. It worked, but they never turned around. This was her chance. "Why do you keep walking away from us?!"

"…" Silence from both figures. They just stood perfectly still and kept their focus on the other end of the tunnel ahead. This puzzled both Hatterene and Karthaniel, but the anthro witch pokémon decided to take a few more daring steps closer. When she was within two feet away, the famous sound of two pokéballs popping open was heard and they were shocked to see Metagross and Tapu Fini appear before them. Then, without a command or a warning, the former performed Meteor Mash at the exact same time as Tapu Fini's Smart Strike towards Hatterene and she was hit so hard that she was blasted back towards Karthaniel's feet, making her signature hat fall off her head upon landing. It didn't damage her too much and she was able to recover quickly as soon as she sat up, but she was still flabbergasted at what just transpired. Karthaniel was the same as he kneeled down towards her for a good tending towards his beloved as he tried to speak to them:

"HEY! What was that for?!" It was still silent from that end of the tunnel for the next five minutes before the shiny silver Metagross and Tapu Fini went back towards wherever they came from and, as soon as the figures realized that they were free from the Psychic grip, they casually continued on their way. That was when Karthaniel realized it: "…no. It couldn't possibly be…"

"You recognize those two pokémon?" Hatterene asked as she was fully recovered from her injuries, but still sat in a sultry pose within her trainer's strong arms. She even placed her famous hat back on in the process. "Who were they? I've never seen them before."

"That was a shiny Metagross and one of the legendary Tapus from the Alola region: Fini. They… supposedly belonged to my father and mother respectively."

"What?! Are you sure?!" She turned towards him with amazement written all over her black with white pupil eyes. Karthaniel reluctantly nodded twice slowly as they both finally stood up, dusting themselves off along the way. "So, could we be right about those two figures being your parents?"

"They couldn't be. I know that they know that I'm here as well and yet, they still attacked you. My parents would never harm my own pokémon."

"Maybe… they don't know that you're my trainer. They did attack me without turning around to see the damages. Either that or the shipwreck altered their judgement and mentality, just like you. Anyone who approaches them is considered a potential threat and will attack without remorse, no matter what."

"…impossible. We must hurry to Spikemuth and get these answers now!" After that was said, the two took off in a hasty run towards that said small city to get it all done once and for all.

Meanwhile, back at Freezington…

"LEON! LEON! Where are you?!" Hop called out at the very top of his lungs as he was currently riding on his beautiful female Galarian Rapidash and saw that there was no sign of his champion brother and Sonia. "LEON!"

"Hop?" Asked a deep male voice from behind him. He and his fairy horse turned around slowly to see Calyrex riding his own steed, Spectrier to be exact. "You're in search for your brother, correct?"

"Yeah! I know he would be here with Sonia looking for Lawrence and his hidden facility, but…"

"…he, Sonia, Peony, and Peonia have been ambushed and taken away."

"WHAT?! By who?!"

"Most likely some agents who work for Lawrence. I sensed that disturbance and came here to investigate. Even Regidrago and Regieleki can't even rest right now because of this. As far as their safety goes, however, they are being held in a safe location within the hidden facility, but Leon's Charizard has been detained in an inhumane setting. Even his ability to gigantamax has been taken away."

"Whoa! That's no good! We've gotta get Officer Jenny and her force in on this while Karthaniel and Hatterene are still dealing with their journey in Spikemuth."

"I've already sent my distress call towards a police officer's gallade. They are on their way here. So, whilst we wait, let me lead you to the facility. Turns out it was at an island several miles away from the Isle of Armor for approximately thirty years before Hatterene escaped and they decided to move it here to plan an ambush on her. Come." Calyrex's Spectrier made his way past Hop on his Rapidash and the two horses were in sync as the King Pokémon continued. "We must make haste immediately."

"Right!" The two made a break for it heading out the exit to Freezington, into the snowy mist towards the Giant's Bed and beyond.

Moments later, at the Spikemuth Arena…

"Ya saw two figures and they attacked ya, eh?" Piers asked after Karthaniel and Hatterene introduced themselves to the two dark-type siblings and explained their current situation.

"I've only seen them once before." Hatterene replied. "I automatically assumed they were Sir Davis' parents because they appeared to be holding hands at the time. They still were this time around, but somehow, they sensed us as a threat and attacked me as a result."

"And ya did say that your parents would never harm you or your pokémon." Marnie added. Karthaniel nodded twice in response. "Hmm… Piers, we may have the true fighting chance here. That bloody demon is sure to appear any moment now. I've got the pokémon ready to go."

"Same here. Since this is the second to last gym before you face Leon, we're giving Raihan a break here." Piers said with confidence. "We're strictly facing that demon alone as your gym challenge. We all defeat him together, you'll earn our Dark Badge, and you'll finally get all the answers you need. Sound good, lad?"

"Sounds perfect. Ugh!" As soon as everyone stepped into the arena with a few members of Team Yell as the audience surrounding the fence, that's when Karthaniel felt the demon making his possibly final reappearance. At that sight, Hatterene, Piers, and Marnie stood at a good six feet before the trainer and it was silent as they waited patiently for him. After five minutes…

Karthaniel! Your beliefs are futile! And there's still nothing you can do to stop me!

"Not if we can help it, ya bastard!" Piers taunted as he pulled out his ultra ball at the same time his younger sister did the same. "Ready, Marnie?"

"Ready!" She replied as they both tossed up their pokéballs simultaneously, having Piers reveal his most prized shiny grimmsnarl while Hatterene and the others, except Karthaniel, were shocked to see what came out of Marnie's: It was a slender, pure white feminine cockroach-like creature that was a biped at a height of nearly 6 feet tall and stood on a pair of two toed feet with elegance, even with a two-clawed hand on her left hip. She also had a long pair of wings that acted as her 'hair' and stopped just before her feet and even longer antennae that were practically like a pair of ponytails that started at her 'crown' above her purple with blue pupil eyes. Marnie stood behind her with pride, despite the shocked faces. "Everyone, meet Pheromosa! She's sure to defeat you once and for all, ya bloody demon!"

HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAA! You expect this frail bugger to defeat me?! Preposterous!

"I do believe you are the one who's dubbed as 'preposterous'." Pheromosa spat back in an extremely deep female voice that sent chills down everyone who heard it, especially the Wonder Guard Demon, who was taken aback by that statement. "After everything I've heard from all of these humans, I think you've haunted poor Sir Davis over there long enough. He deserves to know the truth and I'll be glad to assist in that knowledge." She got into her fighting stance after that was said and Hatterene snapped out of it as she got into position on her left side and Grimmsnarl on the opposite of the frail Lissome Pokémon.

Humph! We'll see! This man knows his parents are deceased after that shipwreck.

"I said it once…" Karthaniel managed to speak, even under the spell for a moment. "…and I'll say it again! They… are NOT… DEAD! I strongly believe that they're alive! We saw them in the tunnel!"

Ha, ha! Your mind is lying to you, lad! How do you even know?

"My Father's shiny Metagross and my Mother's Tapu Fini appeared before me! That's how!"

You're starting to bore me with your lies. Finish these bastards off! That's when the spell took over and Karthaniel was like a zombie as he ran towards the three strong pokémon before him. Hatterene performed her part of the fight by holding him back with Psychic at the exact same time Pheromosa made a lightning fast dash towards the demon for a graceful, clean, and extremely powerful set of three roundhouse kicks towards the demon's chest. This was super effective and, while he was stunned, she balled up her two-clawed fists for a right hook and a left hook to his face with the essence of her bug-type. When the demon was knocked out for the moment, this was Grimmsnarl's chance to use his Spirit Break while the demon was on his back. He somehow managed to block it with a deadly five fingered claw of his own and tried to use his Hyper Voice to possibly stun his attackers, but Pheromosa's impressive speed beat him to it by reflecting it back with her wings by using Bug Buzz. She increased the damage by revving up for a Drill Run and it made a direct hit to his entire body, having him severely pushed all the way back to the sturdy metal double doors at the entrance, creating a massive dent in the aftermath.

When it was settled down seconds later, Pheromosa took a few cautious steps back to inspect the damage and keep a sharp eye out for any sudden counterattacks. Grimmsnarl casually approached her right side with all the fury in his eyes and the Lissome Pokémon used her free right hand that wasn't on her hip to keep him from getting reckless for a moment. She even made a regal sideglance towards her left at Hatterene and Karthaniel. The anthropomorphic Silent Pokémon was finally able to achieve the impossible by using her Life Dew upon her beloved trainer's body, which was laid down on the concrete floor and he appeared to be asleep. After that one drop upon his head, she gently placed her hat claw upon his chest, closed her eyes, and began the process of figuring out everything that happened prior to his arrival towards the Isle of Armor. The demon saw this as he finally came to and was immediately angry, which made Pheromosa and Grimmsnarl return to high alert mode.

NO! GET AWAY FROM HIM! The demon exclaimed as he tried to run towards the two, but Pheromosa was, once again, too fast for the weakened monster and practically put no effort into performing her Ice Beam from her right hand as casually as possible. It froze him upon impact and this made the Lissome Pokémon pull off a small smile as she seductively walked towards him until she was in front of him, keeping that famous claw on the hip and her right hand gave him teasing strokes upon his frozen face. Grimmsnarl was preparing for an attack from the demon as Pheromosa spoke:

"Heh, heh! You're so amusing to battle. And yet, your strong will to keep Sir Davis under your control does prove that this ultimate power is not to be underestimated. Fortunately, as the fastest Ultra Beast in all of Galar, I'm always ready, willing, and able to take down even the most stubborn of jackasses. I overheard your entire ordeal from Marnie and Piers and I practically cheered within my pokéball when I heard you were classified as the 'Wonder Guard Demon'. With me being a bug and fighting type, I'm practically a nightmare towards you." She paused as she got closer to the demon's face, looking as if she was about to kiss him, but never got any further as she continued. "From this moment on, the only one with Wonder Guard shall be Shedinja again. I'm sure your trip back to Hell where you came from will be a pretty rough one, lad." After that last word, Pheromosa paused once more as she stood back five steps with grace before she concluded with: "Grimmsnarl, give him his ticket."

"With pleasure, milady Pheromosa." The shiny Bulk Up Pokémon replied in a deep, semi-growling voice before he formed a hand into a glowing pink spear and used all of his strength to impale the demon into his chest with his enhanced Spirit Break, giving everyone very bloody and gory results with his black beating heart sticking out at the spear's tip for five seconds before that arm turned back into a three-fingered hand and he used it to crush it to black ooze before he retracted his arm, allowing the now deceased demon to fall face first onto the concrete floor and he vanished permanently by means of harmless black smoke.

When it was completely gone, all the attention was now fully focused on Hatterene and Karthaniel. The anthro Silent Pokémon was still in scanning mode and after three more slow minutes, Hatterene gasped as she opened her eyes and Karthaniel woke up slowly, sitting up while shaking his half-shaven head to get the dizziness out. He kept his handsome smile of adoration as she saw that she did indeed use that power to get the results, but she never changed back to her original form. Still, he had to know:

"What did you see, love?" He asked with hope in his handsome voice. Hatterene kept her eyes on his one blue eye and one brown eye with all the passion in her soul as she held both hands with him while they both were now sitting on their knees together. "You're still the same and you never lost your power. Could it mean that…?"

"Yes." Hatterene replied with no hesitation. "Out of the 155 total passengers that were within that shipwreck that mentally broke you, only three survived: You… and your parents."

Karthaniel was absolutely…

…stunned, overjoyed, and speechless all at once!

To be continued…