Ah, I sure am looking forward to summer vacation starting. Thankfully, it's not much longer now.
Anyways, it's time for a new chapter of Reflecting Balance, and in this one, we learn a few more things, but we'll have to wait just a little bit longer before we find out just what the story behind all this is. Sorry to have to keep you guys waiting!
Also, this chapter might end a bit abruptly, but the next chapter will deal with the aftermath, so I guess you could consider this the second part of a three-parter?
Well, as usual, I hope you guys are enjoying the story!
Chapter 32: Guys, he's not an ordinary Sigilyph!
Bow just sat there inside the force field that she had been trapped in; as there was not much else she could do until a rescue team arrived. Her powers wouldn't work as long as she was inside this dark bubble, and she couldn't think of any other ways she could escape. At least the one keeping her trapped here hadn't done anything else to her, but she was still worried about what he planned to do to the Pokémon of whichever rescue team found her first.
Judging from what her mother had told her, he was capable of causing a lot of destruction at his worst…
"What's the matter, Bow?" asked the Sigilyph, startling Bow by suddenly appearing in front of her. "Are you bored?"
Bow remained quiet, looking away from the Sigilyph.
"Don't you worry your pretty little head," the Sigilyph said, snickering a little. "I have a feeling that a rescue team is on its way, and the suspense is killing me all over again!"
"… Which rescue team…?" Bow muttered, glancing at the Sigilyph.
"Oh, I don't know," the Sigilyph responded, hovering in circles around the bubble. "But they don't seem all that tough. Still, I can probably have some fun with them!"
"What are you planning on doing?" Bow asked.
"I haven't decided on anything in particular yet," the Sigilyph replied. "I was thinking I'd just improvise a bit based on what kind of Pokémon show up."
"… Why… Why are you doing this?" Bow whispered.
"What was that?" the Sigilyph asked, moving closer to Bow. "Why am I doing this? Is that what you asked?"
"You said you wanted revenge, right?" Bow responded, glaring at the Sigilyph. "But the ones who defeated you are long gone!"
"Well, I suppose I'll admit it would've been more satisfying if my sister and those foolish Pokémon she chose to protect were still around," the Sigilyph replied, giggling a little. "Ah, I would've loved to see the looks on their faces when their home was swallowed up by the distortion!"
Bow wasn't sure how to respond to that.
"Still, even if I won't have that pleasure, I'll finish what I started anyways," the Sigilyph continued. "Plus, I just enjoy messing with the other Pokémon."
"I figured as much," Bow responded, sighing.
"Don't you worry, darling, you only need to wait a little longer," the Sigilyph said. "Soon, a rescue team will be here… and then things should be getting more interesting…"
Blitz and his teammates were making their way through the mystery dungeon, and had made it to the seventh floor. There were still many floors to go, though, before they could reach the top of Turmoil Hill and rescue Bow. Blitz hoped to make it through the dungeon as quickly as possible, and that they wouldn't have to use too many of their healing items. Even though he didn't know what they would have to fight in order to save Bow, he was already trying to think of a few battle strategies. The Vile Seed they had gotten earlier that day could prove to be useful.
If they used that to lower their opponent's defenses, while Sera used her Helping Hand to increase the power of her teammates' attacks… Of course, in order for that to work, the Vile Seed would have to hit its intended target. Maybe Chiaki could use his Swift attack to launch the seed at the enemy; the same way he used it two days ago back at Mt. Caldera to give a Silver Spike to Inferno so he could dig the crystal out?
Elina had gone back to town to find some more help, which they would likely need if Elina's frightened reaction to the presence she had felt earlier was any indication. Hopefully they would be able to fight off the enemy at least until help arrived.
"I'm hungry," Frederick commented, doing his best to keep up.
"Dude, we're not even halfway through the dungeon," Azure responded, glancing at the Deino behind her.
"So? I'm still hungry," Frederick replied, sighing.
"It's okay, he can have one of the apples," Blitz said, opening the treasure bag. "That way, we'll also have more room for other items, in case we find something useful lying around."
"Thank you, Blitz!" Frederick responded, grinning.
Blitz took an apple out from the treasure bag and gave it to Frederick. The Deino promptly ate it up in a single bite.
"Shouldn't you chew your food?" Chiaki asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Oh, um… I forgot," Frederick responded, smiling sheepishly.
"I've told you that you shouldn't eat too fast, buddy," Azure commented.
"Guys, focus," Blitz said, pointing a paw forward. "The stairs to the next floor are just ahead."
"He's right," Sera commented, nodding her head slightly. "We can't keep Bow waiting!"
Blitz and the others headed up the stairs, and found themselves on the next floor. A few wild Pokémon awaited them on the next floor, two gray pig-like Pokémon bouncing on spring-like tails while keeping a pink pearl balanced on their head. The two Spoink fired multicolored beams of psychic energy from the pearls on their heads, but Frederick quickly defeated them with a couple of Bite attacks.
Azure also easily took down a wild Phanpy with a Bubble Beam attack, before the five of them moved on to further explore the floor.
Meanwhile, in Fenix Town, Elina had alerted Stella and Hercules to the whereabouts of Bow and Sera's rescue team, and the three of them were now on their way to the rescue team HQ. Upon getting the news, Hercules had asked Lotus and the other Pokémon working at the dojo to keep things going as usual while he went out to help with the rescue mission.
"Thanks for coming along, Hercules," Stella said, glancing at the Heracross while they were heading towards the HQ.
"Well, it's only natural to want to help, isn't it?" Hercules responded. "Besides, Blitz and his friends might get into trouble too, so I…"
"I understand," Stella replied, nodding her head slightly.
Elina glanced at the two older Pokémon, thinking about how both of them wanted to protect someone important to them. This made Elina wonder if her father was doing okay, and she figured he was probably worried about her. It was probably going to be such a relief for him once this whole situation was sorted out, and everything could return to normal. However, Elina herself wasn't entirely sure if she could feel the same way when it was all over…
The three of them quickly headed inside the HQ, and entered Kala's room. Stella quickly ran up to the Abra and started lightly shaking her by the shoulder.
"Kala, wake up!" Stella exclaimed. "We need to get to Turmoil Hill right away!"
"I didn't even touch your rock collection…" Kala muttered, before sleepily opening her eyes and looking up at Stella. "Oh… Hi there. You need anything?"
"Yes, you need to teleport me and Hercules to Turmoil Hill!" Stella responded.
"Oh, is that where Bow is?" Kala asked, sitting up. "I heard from the other rescue teams that something had happened…"
Kala focused her energy, and in a green flash of light, teleported Stella and Hercules out of the room. Kala then yawned and stretched, before turning to Elina.
"Oh, hi Elina," Kala said, rubbing her eyes. "Anything else I can help with while I'm at this…?"
Blitz and his teammates continued making their way through the mystery dungeon, now having reached the fifteenth floor. The group took a short break to catch their break, having been moving quickly through the mazes. A few healing items had been consumed, but they still had plenty left.
"I hope we have enough," Blitz said, looking over their inventory. "There are still five more floors, and we don't know what awaits us at the top."
"I'm sure we'll be fine," Azure commented, grinning.
"Are you really sure about that?" Sera asked, one of her ears drooping down slightly. "Like Blitz said, we don't know what to expect."
"Well, when all of us are working together, surely we can handle anything?" Azure replied, shrugging slightly.
"Yeah, I feel that way too!" Chiaki exclaimed, nodding his head and smiling. "No matter how difficult the challenge, we can get through it together!"
"Now, that's what I like to hear!" Azure responded, grinning.
"Apples are tasty…" Frederick muttered, happily eating another apple.
"… Will we really be okay?" Blitz thought to himself, rubbing his forelegs together.
"Nervous?" Sera asked, looking over at Blitz.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little worried," Blitz responded, nodding his head slightly.
"Well… They do have a point, don't they?" Sera asked, briefly glancing at the other three Pokémon.
"Yes, we do need to work together," Blitz replied, taking a deep breath. "I just hope at least one of the possible plans I came up with will allow us to defeat the bad guy and save Bow, or at the very least, stall for time until help arrives."
"Since you came up with it, I'm sure it'll work!" Sera responded, smiling at Blitz.
"Oh, um… Thanks," Blitz replied, blushing slightly. "… So, you ready to get going again?"
"Yeah, I'm ready!" Sera responded, nodding her head.
"What about the rest of you?" Blitz asked, looking over at the others.
"I'm ready!" Chiaki replied, raising his paw.
"Do you even need to ask?" Azure responded, grinning. "Of course I'm ready!"
"Uh… What are we ready for?" Frederick asked, with a bit of apple juice dripping from his chin.
"He's asking if we're ready to keep going," Azure responded.
"Oh, right!" Frederick replied, nodding his head. "Yeah, sure, I'm ready."
"Okay, everyone," Blitz said, narrowing his eyes. "Let's not waste any more time. We need to get through these last few floors in order to reach Bow, so let's keep moving!"
The last five floors seemed to go by so fast, and as they approached the last set of stairs, Blitz mentally counted through the items in their treasure bag. He could feel his heart beating faster as he got closer and closer to the stairs, but he managed to remain calm. Blitz took a deep breath, and walked up the stairs. As he and his teammates reached the top of Turmoil Hill, they immediately began looking around for Bow.
"Bow, where are you…?" Blitz muttered, looking around.
"Up here!"
Blitz immediately looked up to where the voice came from, and saw Bow trapped inside the floating dark bubble.
"Whoa, what's that?" Azure asked.
"What's what?" Frederick inquired, tilting his head. "What's going on?"
"Finally, the fun can begin!" said a certain Sigilyph, laughing ominously as he suddenly appeared above the five Pokémon on the ground.
"What? Are you…" Chiaki muttered, and a strange chill went down his spine upon seeing the Sigilyph.
"So, you're the one who captured Bow," Blitz said, looking up at the Sigilyph with a cold stare.
"And…?" the Sigilyph responded, in a playful tone. "Are you going to fight me?"
"Well, I'm assuming you don't intend to just let her go," Blitz replied, glaring at the Sigilyph.
"Ooh, aren't you a smart one!" the Sigilyph responded in a mocking tone. "You figured out that I was the one who captured your friend and that I do not plan on just letting her go just because you said so!"
"Yeah, Blitz is way smarter than you!" Frederick exclaimed, nodding his head. "So, you'd better watch out… whoever you are!"
Chiaki was just staring absent-mindedly up at the Sigilyph. Chiaki wasn't sure why, but something about the Sigilyph and the sound of his voice… it was giving him a really strange feeling. He couldn't seem to move at all, but he didn't really mind or even care.
"Have I… heard this voice before…?" Chiaki thought, continuing to stare up at the Sigilyph.
Strangely enough, Chiaki thought he suddenly heard the sound of thunder and of rain pouring down, even though the weather was clear aside from a few clouds in the sky.
"I… I'm forgetting something… something important…" Chiaki thought.
Meanwhile, the Sigilyph had been examining the five smaller Pokémon on the ground, seeming somewhat amused.
"You're all just kids, aren't you?" the Sigilyph commented, snickering a little. "I guess the so-called rescue teams aren't as clever as they used to be, seeing as a bunch of children managed to find me first!"
"Well, I bet some of the other rescue teams will be showing up soon!" Azure responded, smirking. "One of our friends went to go get some reinforcements!"
"Oh my, so there is an angry mob on the way?" the Sigilyph asked, chuckling. "Ah, just like old times!"
Blitz discreetly pulled some seeds out of the treasure bag, and moved over to Chiaki.
"Chiaki, use Swift to launch these at the Sigilyph," Blitz whispered, trying to hand the Vile Seed they got earlier that day, along with two Sleep Seeds and an X-Eye Seed over to the Mienfoo. "Come on, hurry up!"
"Huh?" Chiaki replied, blinking a few times and snapping out of a trance-like state. "Oh… right…"
Finding that he was able to move again, Chiaki quickly took the seeds into his paw and then fired them at the Sigilyph in a burst of glowing golden stars. However, before the projectiles could reach their target, the Sigilyph's eye suddenly flashed dark purple and the stars froze in mid-air.
"Ooh, really neat trick," the Sigilyph commented, before the stars turned black and then disintegrated, taking the seeds inside a few of them with them. "But you'll have to do better than that if you want to keep me entertained!"
"What… was that attack?" Azure asked, looking to Blitz.
"I… don't know…" Blitz responded, looking rather stunned. "I… don't think I've seen an attack like that before…"
"He stopped my Swift attack…" Chiaki muttered, tilting his head.
"Guys, he's not an ordinary Sigilyph!" Bow shouted. "He's an evil spirit possessing an ordinary Sigilyph!"
"Uh… What?" Azure responded, looking rather confused.
"Did she just say "evil spirit"?" Sera asked, tilting her head.
"That's what I heard," Frederick commented, nodding his head.
"… I don't get it," Chiaki said, glancing around at his teammates.
Blitz didn't even say anything, just staring blankly at Bow and the Sigilyph.
"It's true!" Bow shouted, hitting her hands against the inside of the bubble. "His name is Erebos and he…"
"Bow, please, I am perfectly capable of introducing myself!" the Sigilyph commented, snickering a little before turning his attention back to Blitz and co. "So, shall we resume our little game?"
And with that, the Sigilyph fired several Shadow Balls at the Pokémon on the ground, forcing the five of them to quickly dodge out of the way.
"Okay, I don't know what this guy's deal is, but I say we take him down!" Azure said, glaring up at the Sigilyph.
Azure began firing Bubble Beams into the air, trying to hit the Sigilyph. However, he easily dodged her attacks.
"You can do it, Azure!" Frederick said, cheering his friend on.
"I wonder how we can break that force field…" Blitz muttered, looking up at the dark bubble containing his captured friend.
"Erebos…?" Sera said, tilting her head slightly. "That name… sounds kind of familiar…"
"I think… I've met this guy before…" Chiaki thought, staring up at the Sigilyph. "That has to be the reason why I'm feeling this way… Come on, try to remember…"
"Ah, look at all the pretty bubbles!" Erebos said, putting up a force field to block a stream of bubbles.
"Ugh, this isn't working…" Azure muttered, taking a moment to catch her breath. "Hey, Sera? Give me a Helping Hand, would you?"
"I'm on it!" Sera replied, using her Helping Hand move to power up her teammates.
"Ha, as long as I stay up here, you can't hit me!" Erebos commented, chuckling. "It's a bit unfair, isn't it?"
"Hey, I'll knock you out of the sky eventually!" Azure responded, smirking. "Besides, I'm not the only one here with long range attacks!"
"Yeah, I know a few attacks like that too," Frederick said, nodding his head.
"And uh… I can use Swift," Chiaki added, still seeming a bit out of it.
"No matter what you throw at me, I can easily block it," Erebos replied, his eyes glowing. "In fact… I could just stop you from using those attacks in the first place!"
"And how would you do that?" Azure asked, looking skeptical.
"Like this!" Erebos responded, firing a strange bolt of dark energy at Azure.
Azure was sent rolling backwards, before bumping into a rock. She quickly got up, albeit a bit dazed.
"Azure, are you okay?" Sera asked.
"Y-Yeah…" Azure responded, nodding slightly. "He just caught me off-guard with that attack, that's all…"
Azure attempted her Bubble Beam attack again, but to her surprise, nothing happened. She then tried her weaker Bubble and Water Gun attacks, but nothing happened.
"Huh?" Azure said, blinking a few times. "Why isn't it working?"
She then looked over at her tail, and decided to see if she could still use Aqua Tail. She tried focusing her power as she usually did, but the blue ball at the end of her tail wouldn't shine with blue light.
"E-Even my physical water attacks?" Azure exclaimed, staring blankly at her tail. "W-What is this!?"
"You know the move 'Disable', right?" Erebos asked, snickering. "It's like that, only better! Because you see, I've just sealed all the water attacks you know, and the best part is, this won't wear off when you leave the dungeon!"
"W-What did you just say!?" Azure exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the Sigilyph. "N-No… That's not possible!"
The other Pokémon on the ground were rather shocked by this as well. Their opponent could just seal their attacks like that? How would they even fight back against such a foe? Blitz could tell that was what they were all thinking, however…
"… Bow! Do you know of any way to defeat him?" Blitz asked.
"Um… There is a way, but…" Bow responded, but before she could finish talking, Erebos suddenly picked up Blitz with telekinesis.
"Well, still not giving up, are you?" Erebos asked, curiously looking at Blitz.
"I… I have to save Bow!" Blitz responded, trying to make himself look a bit more intimidating despite not being able to do much while stuck floating in the air like this.
"Ah, I see," Erebos replied, snickering. "Always have to save the girl, even when the odds are against you, huh?"
Blitz was attempting to figure out what he could do while suspended in mid-air by the Sigilyph's powers. Perhaps if he could reach one of the items in the treasure bag, then… However, before he could reach for it, the psychic energies suddenly shifted, holding Blitz in the air by one of his front paws.
"Hey, I was always wondering…" Erebos said, examining Blitz's paw curiously. "Those yellow lines… What are they for?"
"Huh?" Blitz responded, glancing up at his paw. "It's… for charging electricity…"
"Oh, is that it?" Erebos replied, seeming rather intrigued. "Because I always thought it was there to show enemies where they should start if they feel like cutting your paws off!"
"W-What…?" Blitz responded, starting to feel rather nervous. "I don't like where this is going…"
"Let's see… Is there anything sharp I can use around here?" Erebos said, glancing around.
Looking around on the ground, he soon spotted some rocks on the ground.
"Hmm… Maybe that'll do…" Erebos muttered, using his powers to break off a piece of rock and then lifting it up to examine it.
"W-What are you doing?" Blitz asked, squirming a bit.
"Let's just sharpen this a little…" Erebos said, snickering as he used his powers to sharpen the edge of the rock. "Ooh, maybe this will do?"
"Please, don't!" Blitz exclaimed, desperately trying to shake free.
"This might hurt a bit…" Erebos said, giggling maniacally as he slowly began levitating the pointed end of the rock towards the yellow line on the paw he was telekinetically holding Blitz by.
"This… this can't be happening!" Blitz thought, staring wide-eyed at the floating rock. "I… I have to think of something fast!"
"Ooh, I love that frightened expression!" Erebos commented, chuckling. "Ah, I'll just be enjoying this moment for a bit!"
On the ground, Blitz's teammates were watching, or in Frederick's case, listening in horror at the scene playing out above them.
"Is he… really going to cut Blitz's paws off?" Chiaki asked, watching in horror.
"We've got to do something, right?" Frederick said, tilting his head slightly.
"Yeah, but… what can we possibly do?" Azure asked, squeezing her eyes shut and turning away. "I… I feel so helpless…"
"Blitz…" Sera muttered, shivering as she looked up at him.
Bow was also watching from inside the force field, but she quickly turned away.
"I… I don't want to watch this!" Bow said, covering her eyes with her hands.
Blitz's heart was beating so fast that it almost felt like it might burst out of his chest at any moment. Yet, as the pointed rock slowly hovered towards his paw, the spirit possessing the Sigilyph clearly enjoying every moment of his fear, Blitz still tried to think of a way out of this.
"There might be a way out of this after all…" Blitz thought, closing his eyes for a moment. "I… just need to wait for the right moment…"
"Just a little further…" Erebos commented, snickering.
Blitz opened his eyes, watching the sharp rock which was getting closer to his paw. Despite his fear, Blitz managed to wait until it was about to hit the paw before suddenly making his fur glow brightly, catching his opponent off-guard.
"Ah!" Erebos shouted, momentarily blinded by the light.
"Well done, Blitz!" a familiar voice called out, and before Blitz even had time to turn his head to see where it came from, a certain Heracross suddenly flew out from the bushes, giving Erebos an angry glare. "I won't let you hurt him!"
Hercules' horn was glowing green as he quickly charged at the Sigilyph, and rammed into him with the horn. The attack caused Sigilyph to lose his grip on Blitz, as well as making the force field containing Bow dissolve, sending both Pokémon falling towards the ground.
"It's okay, we're here now!" another familiar voice called out, as Blitz and Bow were suddenly caught mid-fall with telekinesis and gently lowered to the ground.
"Mom, you're here!" Bow exclaimed in delight, before happily running up to the Gothitelle.
"Oh, sweetie," Stella responded, picking up Bow and hugging her tightly. "I was so worried about you…"
"S-Stella…" Blitz muttered, before sighing in relief and turning to look at Hercules as he landed beside him.
"Are you okay, Blitz?" Hercules asked, gently petting Blitz.
"Y-Yeah…" Blitz responded, nodding his head slightly and wiping away a few tears with his paw.
"Blitz!" Sera exclaimed, running up to the Shinx and nuzzling him. "Thank goodness you're okay!"
"Wow, you sure know how to make an entrance!" Azure shouted, grinning at Hercules.
"I don't know what just happened, but thanks for coming to the rescue!" Frederick said, smiling.
"Hercules, I'm really glad to see you and Stella!" Chiaki said, smiling. "Although, is it okay for you to not be at the dojo?"
"Don't you worry about that, the other Pokémon have everything under control," Hercules explained, smiling and patting Blitz on the head. "When I heard you guys had gone off to look for Bow, I just had to come to make sure my apprentice was okay!"
"You… came here for me?" Blitz asked, looking up at Hercules.
"Of course I did," Hercules responded, nodding his head. "It's my responsibility looking out for you, you know?"
"… Right," Blitz replied, smiling back at Hercules. "Thank you."
"Nobody gets to mess with you when I'm around," Hercules responded, before turning to Stella and Bow. "You two okay?"
"We're fine!" Bow responded, smiling at Hercules.
"We should hurry back to town before…" Stella said, noticing that the Sigilyph was starting to get back up.
"Ugh… Catching me off-guard… Not bad…" Erebos commented, snickering a little.
"Erebos…" Stella said, glaring at the Sigilyph.
"Ah, Cassandra's great, great granddaughter," Erebos said, looking over at Stella. "We finally meet."
"How did you escape your prison?" Stella asked.
"Well, you see this Sigilyph?" Erebos responded, snickering. "His name is Forks, an outlaw who happened to find the place where I was locked away while escaping from a rescue team. I guess he thought he'd found a treasure, and once he got close, I broke out of the box my sister put me in and claimed his body. Of course, this guy ain't too happy about it, fighting in the back of the mind for control of the body. I mostly just ignore him."
"I see," Stella replied, nodding her head slightly. "Since she left this world a long time ago, it's only natural that the seal would've weakened…"
"Yes, I felt her magic slowly fade over the years," Erebos responded, giggling. "I just waited and waited for the moment where I could escape, and finally get my revenge!"
"You won't succeed," Stella replied, forming a Shadow Ball between her hands. "This time, we will make sure to take you down for good!"
"Ooh, more aggressive than Cassandra, I see?" Erebos inquired, snickering. "Well, I won't make the mistake of underestimating the town oracle this time!"
Stella flung the Shadow Ball at Erebos, but he easily dodged it and then fired a purple wave of energy towards Stella.
"Stella!" Hercules exclaimed, flying in front of her and taking the hit.
Hercules collapsed on the ground, and Blitz quickly rushed over to his side. Stella blinked a few times, before helping Blitz check on Hercules.
"Is he okay?" Blitz asked, shaking Hercules' shoulder.
"He's just unconscious," Stella responded, noting a faint purple glow around Hercules, before glancing back up at Erebos.
"Aw, I missed," Erebos said, looking somewhat annoyed. "Well, I'll just try this again!"
"Oh, no you won't!" a female voice suddenly called out, before something leapt out from the shadows and slashed at Erebos with sharp claws.
"Nice one, Mirage!" another female voice said, as the illusion flickered out, revealing Mirage and her two teammates.
"Another rescue team, is it…?" Erebos commented, snickering a little. "This body isn't all that strong, but… I can still have a bit more fun with this!"
Erebos' eye began to glow again, and hit Mirage with an orb of light.
"What was that, a psychic attack?" Mirage asked, smirking. "I didn't feel anything."
"Try using your Illusion ability," Erebos responded.
"Uh… Why?" Mirage replied, tilting her head slightly.
"Just do it and you'll see," Erebos said, hovering around.
"Um… Okay?" Mirage responded, and attempted to use her ability. However, nothing happened. "… That's strange."
"He can seal abilities too?" Sera asked, exchanging concerned glances with Azure.
"Okay, I don't know what just happened, but I don't need my illusion powers to win this!" Mirage said, grinning.
"Oh, not all that upset about losing your power?" Erebos asked. "That's kind of disappointing."
"She doesn't use it all that much, anyways," Megara commented, shrugging her shoulders.
"The mushroom thinks we should attack all at once," Cordyceps said, in his usual monotone.
"All right, let's go!" Mirage shouted, firing a stream of dark energy at the opponent.
"This ought to heat things up a bit!" Megara said, spitting out a stream of fire at the Sigilyph.
Erebos easily dodged the two attacks, and noticed a cloud of spores floating towards him.
"Oh, nice try," Erebos commented, blowing the spores away. "Is that the best you can come up with?"
"Do not mock the mushroom," Cordyceps responded. "The mushroom will make you regret your evil actions!"
"Parasect are such funny creatures," Erebos said, before sending an eerie wave of energy at Cordyceps. "Let's see how this works."
"H-Hey, what are you doing?" Cordyceps asked, staring blankly as usual. "Huh? Why can't I hear the mushroom?"
"Okay, who's next?" Erebos said while Cordyceps' confusion had him distracted. "I suppose I should do something to the Magmar next!"
"I'm not scared of you!" Megara responded, glaring at Erebos.
"You're not?" Erebos asked, snickering. "Well, you should be scared. Now, say good-bye to your fire attacks!"
However, before Erebos could cast his next curse, there was a flash of light, and shortly after, Erebos was struck from behind by an icicle launched at him by Frosty.
"Nice shot, Frosty!" Melody said, bouncing on her feet.
"Ugh… There's another rescue team here now…?" Erebos asked, noticing two more flashes of light.
"Are we late to the party?" Regina asked, winking as she and her teammates appeared.
"What took you so long?" Mirage responded, grinning.
"Well, I suppose Kala must've dozed off at some point between finding and sending you guys here, and finding and sending the rest of us here," Calder replied, shrugging slightly.
"At least we're here now," Sting buzzed.
Erebos looked around at all the Pokémon gathered.
"Hmm… This body can't handle many more attacks…" Erebos said, sighing. "Well, I guess I'll retreat for now."
The Sigilyph soon became veiled in a dark mist, as the leaders of the gathered rescue teams fired a few attacks. Once the mist cleared, there was no one to be found.
"Aw, he got away!" Mirage said, pouting.
"G-Guys, the mushroom has lost its voice!" Cordyceps exclaimed. "What do we do about it?"
"And my water attacks still aren't working…" Azure said, sighing.
The Pokémon began talking amongst themselves for a few moments, wondering what had been going on. Stella and Bow exchanged glances, before Stella spoke up.
"Everyone, we should head back to Fenix Town," Stella said. "A lot has happened here today, and I think it'd be best if we all get some rest. Tomorrow, I'll explain everything."
The other Pokémon looked around at each other, but agreed that Stella was right. Mirage helped Stella pick up the unconscious Hercules, and the rescue teams then lifted up their badges to teleport home.
At the rescue team HQ, Kala was asleep as usual. Of course, she had used a lot of power today with all the rescue teams she had to teleport back and forth, so naturally she was tired. Elina had also been taking a nap in Kala's room, but as she sensed the return of the various rescue teams, she opened her eyes slightly.
"They're back…" Elina thought, sitting up. "… I wonder how things went."
End of chapter 32.