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Elohim: term for legendary Pokemon or good or evil spirit in the Legends Canon.
Then, Galar
The way was swift and without peril, for the Galarians knew the hidden routes through the choking mist and shade of the Girdle. From the Sea-palace the Hunter's Moon illuminated the fair fields of Galar, putting to flight all the lesser stars.
Low in the southern plains a gimmer shone, and it was told to Ishmael by the venerable captain that it was Wyndon, a knotty bunch of wood hovels and stone strongholds circling the Altar of Zacian and Zamazenta, where the twin sleepers gave their will and decrees from their bed of the Slumbering Weald. For the Crowned Shield and Sword has suffered many grievous blows in Elder Days, and they now rested for aye within the silent barrow-mounds.
"What were they fighting?" Ishmael said through the interpreter. "Was it the Dark Lord Mbelekoro?"
"The Mbelekoro knew not of this place, nay, it was not him." the captain said. "A servant of the Mbelekoro it was. Eternatus, who in the High Speech is called the Valaruakar, Demon of Terror. For it was one thousand and five hundred years ago when both elohim rose up in the defense of Galar, and they emerged victorious after a terrible battle that no song tells of. Who can remember the strength and surpassing nobility of the blows and lunges of the Two, and who may know of the Black Terror of Eternatus? That demon is bested, and it lies broken."
"Broken, not slain?"
"Slain?" the captain exclaimed. "No, you cannot kill an elohim. You may diminish it, or bind it, for if they have bound their fate to the earth by taking upon themselves a form of a Man or Pokémon, they might be broken to an impotent shade upon the death of the body. But Eternatus was of a different order of demon, one of the few that could hold an audience with Eveningstar himself. Eternatus lies unseen in the waste places of the world, where one day it is said he shall return at the Last Battle and the Day of Doom. But we have had peace for a long while, and most of what has come before has been forgotten."
Ishmael shuddered, a chill wind passed over his heart. "What a vile creature! Did it arrive upon Earth in the tumults of the Elder Days, as most evils did?"
"It came from the Stars twenty thousand years ago, as our oldest records claim. It went about in the service of the Dark Lord until it came to Galar to further its evil ends. There it spread the Dark Light from its twisted heart, and our Pokemon grew exceedingly large and brought ruin to the whole of the land. The Two arose as our Champions and cast down the Valaruakar, but the Dark Light remained. Our Pokemon still might grow very great and large upon the regions of the Blessed Land, for the Dark Light is strongest there. We name this Dírnaith-móro, for our greatest warriors among us wield it in battle."
"My heart is glad to learn of this," Ishmael said. "For we are among those few not of the Galarian race that possess this secret. Your people are a great race."
The captain saw that the ship came slowly into port, and Ishmael beheld Galar, and he was moved. A cliff frowned upon the north, and to the right of the port rose gray slopes, dim and shadowy in the late night. Bushes grew with little patches of grass by their sides, and green were the wide meads of Galar. The mountains rose into sharp peaks, tipped with glimmering snows, pale with the glint of moonlight.
"And now I see that you behold Galar!" the captain said. "It is a fair land. But a shadow lies upon it, from the folly of its own people. Things have been forgotten that perhaps should have not, and much that did not come to pass it remembered as truthspeak."
"And what is this shadow?"
"There are many among us who do not believe that the Crowned Sword and the Crowned Shield speak what is true. They say that twin heroes of Men felled Eternatus low, and that Zacian and Zamazenta speak otherwise because they wish to enslave us with their phantom of a tale, and keep us subject to their lordship. They say that we ought to not take the counsel of Pokemon, as they have lesser Knowledge and Willpower than Men, for they are enslaved to their passions. This is a lie, but you will meet many of those who believe such things, mostly among the young. Be wary, for at the noontide of our strength, the Tree of Darkness now bears fruit."
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Now, the Magnolia Van
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I have always considered the pain of the flesh to be the most important human sensation. Not life and death, but death and pain is how the saying should go.
-Emrett Dialogues, compiled works
"Alright," Marvin said. "Let me get this all covered..."
"Henry Sword, a weaponsmith and Pokedex Holder. Chosen by Professor Magnolia, nominated by Chairman Bronze. Your Pokemon are a Sirfetch'd and a Grookey. Casey Shield, a skilled programmer, also a Pokedex Holder, the creator of the Dynamax Simulator that we are about to test. Professor Magnolia, the Galarian Professor of Pokemon, born before the Great Discovery. Well, I'm Marvin, and I don't have much to say about myself."
"No, you don't!" Casey bubbled. "Now, get that VR deck back on already!"
The virtual world nebulously amalgamated itself, bring Marvin back to the feet of the virtual Pangoro. Casey, Henry, and their Pokémon equipped their modified plastiglass VR decks, sending a real-time sim of their bodies into the artificial realm. Rudimentary nanite-based thoughtrodes provided basic sensations, dull pain, and a sense of physical being. Magnolia controlled the sim from Casey's realspace computer lab, ready to begin the Pokemon battle or destroy the virtual world in case of an emergency. according to the Tercano Accords, at least one layer of human interaction had to occur in a VR environment, as to prevent a rouge superintelligent AIC evermind from being able to gain control of a virtual world.
"Alright, this shouldn't be too hard," Casey said. "Are you ready, Marvin?"
"For what?" She means to test me! Arceus, have mercy!
"To defeat this virtual Pangoro in a Pokémon battle, of course!"
There it is. "But I never have been in a Pokémon battle before! Of course, I've seen them, and I know the basic theory. Every Pokemon, through the use of a biological ability that is not fully understood, has special moves that produce a variety of effects, which are used in a Pokemon battle to attack other Pokémon. This is necessary to capture a Pokémon with a Poke Ball, because the Pokémon needs to be weakened to be contained by the capture lining."
"That is accurate and sensible," Henry said. "Then you have little to worry about. This is a simulation, after all. Professor, please begin the battle."
Magnolia started the animation, and the Pangoro moved with a swiftness that Marvin would never have expected from such a towering beast. A fist the size of a small car crushed Marvin, and every color began to bleed out in the sim as the frightened boy writhed within the fist. Thoughtrodes stimulated his pain sensors, creating a lingering shock.
"Wait, am I feeling pain?!"
"Of course!" Casey bubbled. "The thoughtrodes in the VR deck release a high-frequency electronic wave every time you get physically attacked! In testing, I decided that it would be more realistic if there was element of pain. I read that such a thing was needed in the Emrett Dialogues. No risk of death if you're hit, though! True, it does hurt quite a bit, so the shock might make you wish you were dead..."
Marvin asked for Magnolia to stop the battle, and the Pangoro froze with an unnatural stiffening. "Marvin, you know the rules and conditions of a Pokémon Battle," Henry said. "Most would scramble away in terror when they saw that giant Pangoro. Why is that?"
"Because I want to prove that I'm worth something!" Marvin said. "I want to catch my own Pokémon, and beat skilled trainers! Perhaps I could even take on a Gym. I was an honors student at my old trainer's school in Unova, but I don't know much about the one in Galar."
"You need to practice!" Casey yelled. "Gym Battles in Galar are all Dynanamax Battles. We'll restart the sim, but Scorbunny and Grookey will hold back the Pangoro."
The sim resumed. "Grookey, Leafage! Scorbunny, Ember!"
"Now," Henry said. "We must consider a few variables. There is always a pause between Attack and Defense. Because of entropy, Pokémon need time to prepare for their next move. Hopefully, you have learned about that in whatever school you go to. Make your attack in the pause. Continue until you win."
"And we also have to consider the Type Advantages."
"Yes. Pangoro, even in the sim, is a Dark-type. Sirfetch'd is a Fighting-type, and it knows a unique move known as Meteor Assault. Thus, we are at an advantage with that Type. But there is another variable in a Dynamax Battle that must be taken into account. A Dynamaxed Pokémon is far more durable and stronger than its unenhanced counterpart. Keeping your distance is a death knell. You must charge it! No restraint can be given..."
Marvin trembled, and he remembered the Unovan Mantra Against Fear. Fear is the mind-slayer, fear is the little death that shall bring destruction. I will face my fear and permit it to pass over me, and when the fear is gone, only I will remain.
With little glory or pomp, Marvin and Sirfetch'd charged the Pangoro. Too slow. A simulated foot fell, and chunks of micropixilated ground went flying about. Marvin fell again, and the limb fell upon him again.
The graven shield of Sirfetch'd held back the great paw, the light of heaven's stars reflected in the steel eyes of the noble creature. Marvin saw the Pangoro waver, and he remembered. The pause!
"Sirfetch'd! In the name of Henry, Magnolia, and Arceus, use Meteor Assault!"
Sirfetch'd sprang into a flaming arc, and the blade went upward, deep into the vitals of the Pangoro. With no wound of entry or exit on the dark body, Pangoro fell, and then was gone, a gust of pixels flowing on a digital wind.
...
"It is over," Magnolia said. "I must commend you, Young Master Marvin, for your timing and surpassing courage! Sirfetch'd is also worthy of praise, for it protected you despite the present fact that you were not its trainer. Now that you have completed a battle in practice, you might be ready for a training journey."
"That all sounds very nice," Marvin said. "But we probably should tell my parents! And who shall I go with?"
"Us, of course," Henry said. "We will notify your parents of your location, whereabouts, and intentions on the way. Magnolia is a renowned researcher, I assure you that she can get your parent's permission. Be thankful you aren't in Roria, they would have kicked you out on a Training Journey as soon as you could order a meal."
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Now, Wyndon
Whenever I debate with Rose, it is a clash of Willpower. I am the greater, but he is strong nevertheless. The bastard. Great Arceus! What an assorted menagerie of insults comes to my mind when I think of him!
-personal diaries of Bronze Tercano
Bronze walked through the penthouse floor of the gaudy structure that was Rose Tower. With a topmost dome like a half-sphere atop a stylized support, the great pinnacle was the headquarters of the Macro Cosmos Corporation, along with its various holding companies. Rose presided over an interlocking directorate of his economic interests from a single location, his foothold of entrenched power.
Surreptitiously, Bronze had studied Rose's administrate critically through the blueprints he had poured over in his private shuttle, along with Rose's routine and his movements. He learned of the layout of research centers, office blocks, and the design of Rose's personal quarters where he determined the responsibilities of the League's political bureaus. He wished to know what precisely his foe had access to, what he did not, and his resources before attempting to defeat him using whatever means necessary.
Oleana sat behind a white crysplaz desk, chattering into a comlink. When she saw Bronze approaching, she hurriedly stopped the conversation and began to reach for Rose's intercom button. Bronze noticed how her hand slowed ever so slightly over the panic button. She considers me a threat, this one. Perhaps not irrationally.
"Please, that will not be necessary," Bronze said, smiling. "I left my Poke Balls back in Roria. Rose has been expecting my report on his request regarding the projected energy crisis."
"Yes, Chairman." Bronze heard the note of vitriol in that voice, saw the hand move to a bulge at Oleana's wrist. A Poke Ball, or perhaps an illegal projectile weapon. Why am I hated so greatly? What can one man do in the face of such reckless evil?
Oleana allowed Bronze to enter Rose's office, and he walked into the white hall. It was lit by a single, concentric plastigalss window, with no pillar or support to uphold the domed roof. Busts of figures and Pokémon renowned in Galar and the wider world were set on pedestals about the contours of the room. Two chairs lay before Rose's own desk, and before the Chairman of Macro Cosmos sat another guest.
Lady Caitlin of Sinnoh and Unova was exchanging final pleasantries with Rose, sealing off another deal to supply one thousand rental Pokémon to the Sinnoh Battle Castle. Bronze saw her youthful face, and remembered the first time he realized that she had hardly aged over the decades.
Using her innate psychic abilities, Lady Caitlin had engineered her body's physical structure to stave off the ravages of age. Removing free radicals, clipping off dangling protein threads, and destroying and replacing cells displaying signs of senescence. My Moon shall die before Lady Caitlin even becomes an old crone. Those witches, proclaiming their near-immortality like a validation on their sleeve!
Rose saw Bronze approaching, and their gazes met. They greeted each other with beatific smiles, but Caitlin almost fell back in terror from the hatred she sensed between the two men. What happened between the Chairman Bronze and the Chairman Rose?!
"Little service, no doubt, can I bring to one so great," Rose said. "What is your decision? You wish for an audience, when you might have simply sent a call. Do you wish to discuss this matter on a...personal basis?"
Bronze sat in the second chair, his flowmetal left foot making a curiously regular clinking sound when he moved. "Lady Caitlin, I request that you stay present to perform the duty of a Truthsayer in our conversation. Such a mediator will be needed."
Rose outstretched his hand. "Now, Chairman Bronze Tercano shall tell me what he thinks of my proposal to stop the projected energy shortage in one thousand standard years, although that is an estimate likely far past the actual threshold of crisis. The Chairman and I have voiced different views on this matter before, Lady Caitlin."
Caitlin heard the statement and unraveled its inherent subtleties. Rose did not lie, and if he had, the slight facial motions in his expression would have revealed his falsehood to one trained in the Psychic Art, although they might have been missed by an observer of lesser stature.
"And I say I to Rose," Bronze said. "That his plan is unreasonable, economically infeasible, and wholly unnecessary. The reduction of Dynamax Particle usage through the use of modified public infrastructure and propaganda, the development of the Galar Particle Tachyonic Resonator, and the construction of several thousand GP accelerators to synthesize more particles based on a debunked pseudoscientific theory cannot be done at this present time. The cost alone would exceed the projected budget of the Rorian Convention, the Pokémon Association, and Macro Cosmos Conglomerated Energy Solutions combined for half a century. I reject your fantastical proposal. It will not pass through the Council of the Change as a bill. I shall ensure that."
Rose's dark eyes met Bronze with a hint of wrath, and Caitlin saw the strain between them, and pictured a line of smoldering fire drawn from eye to eye. Rose did indeed look more like a person deserving of the position of the Chairman of the Association that Bronze, for he was of royal blood and was greatly regal if need be. No eye was suffered not to notice Rose's great natural heritage. Yet by a sense other than sight Caitlin perceived that Bronze held the greater power and the deeper strength and wisdom. His anger was veiled, and he was older, far older. He had walked through fire and death in his life, and his character had been forged from the many perils that he had witnessed and lived through in the Great Years.
"I see," Rose said, his voice soft as he broke the connection of sight. He had faltered again. "Your reasoning is strong, and there is little that I may say to dispute such an argument. You will not aid me. I will now pursue my own means of preventing this terrible crisis. Ah, do not be alarmed! All that I shall do will be perfectly legal. My work on creating an artificial Galar Particle will surely bear fruit."
Bronze stood, satisfied. Rose now knew he would not cooperate. The board was set, and the pieces would soon move. He must get to Leon next, although the Champion would prove resistant to coercion...Henry Sword and Casey Shield must become Gym Challengers!
After wrapping up the debate with a number of meaningless vocalizations, Bronze turned with Caitlin to leave. The Truthsayer exited the chamber, and then Bronze shot a glance at a statue near the sealdoor, one he had not recognized before.
It was new, judging from the conspicuous lack of dust atop it when the other two about it were in need of cleaning. Raven features, short, immaculately combed hair, the top of an expensive dining outfit around the bust's collar. The face opened a door in Bronze's memory, and his vision went red.
Cypress!
Rose had placed the head of that damnable Eclipse Lord atop a pedestal, for all his visitors to see! Oh, Rose had not started that demon in his violet eyes. Rose had not been put into deadly peril time and time again by that madman! The war had taken many, damn it all! If Rose puts forbidden things in his office, then why cannot Bronze Tercano do forbidden things?!
The haze of fury cleared, and Bronze saw that his dark blue uniform was stained with flecks of rubble. A sprinkled cloud of dust clung to the walls, and the statue of Cypress was nowhere to be found. A small pile of shattered plazcrete lay at Bronze's feet.
Rose was tempted to call security, but he knew that this victory was to be savored alone. Bronze Tercano had lost his temper!
Bronze rose, and gave a parting remark. "Putting statues of the servants of the Mbelekoro within your personal quarters is unwise, Rose. You are unaware of the Powers that are at work within this Shadow War. I leave now, but ponder on this. Since when did you exchange reason for madness?"
No, Rose thought. Not madness. Wisdom to see which way the future moves, old dinosaur. And it is you, Bronze Tercano, who know nothing of what Power now works for my gain. Have you ever heard of Eternatus?
