"Luke… Luke!"
"Wha– what?!" Recognizing Uxie's voice, my eyes flung open as I sat up with a start. Still in nightmare mode, my mind calmed down as the surroundings came into view; I was finally back on the bridge. However, I was immediately reminded of my injuries; my head throbbed from the lingering headache and all the pain from my leg injury returned.
"Oh, thank Arceus you are okay… I was beginning to worry we would lose you in there." Uxie sighed. She was floating in front of me, looking extremely relieved.
I seemed to be sitting up against the thick wooden railing at the right edge of the bridge. To the left, Sycamore and Dusty were also resting against the outer fencing, both of them looking on and smiling at me. I was surprised by the fact that they looked mostly unscathed, suddenly reminding me that the nightmare battle was in a dream. Surrounding us were all the Pokémon that Uxie had brought with her to help us battle the Ultra Beasts, protecting us from harm if need be.
"D-did we…?" I stammered, still in disbelief that we actually made it out.
Yes, we did… And we made it out in time! Sycamore said before pointing further down the bridge. I turned to see the guarding Pokémon duck down a little, revealing the garrison of Ultra Beasts further down the bridge. They all silently watched us with their foreboding alien glare, but from behind them, I could still see a glimpse of the rainbow hued portal. From what I could tell though, it was getting very small. Sighing in relief, some of the weight on my shoulders disappeared now that we were out of the nightmare, but the finish line was still being guarded.
"I would have never thought the power of Mega Evolution could be utilized inside a dream… There is much research to be done on this mysterious energy." Uxie then added, glancing over at Sycamore. "But that is for another time. For now, we must focus on getting you to that portal quickly, as it is on its last legs. We still–"
Uxie was silenced by a pulse of energy from above. All of us looked up to see Darkrai's giant ghostly orb shrinking in size rapidly, and I could see the outline of Eliza about to slip out of the sphere.
Dusty immediately sprung up onto his feet and raced over to the middle of the bridge. Eliza plummeted through the air for less than a second, but Dusty was right on time. Landing safely in his grasp, I could tell she'd passed out. However, although it was slight, I could see her chest rising and lowering, showing she was at least still breathing. Dusty looked back to me and smiled.
"T-thanks, Dusty," I replied, recognizing his grit for doing such an action after being pummeled into oblivion just before in the nightmare.
Right after, the orb loudly collapsed in on itself and completely disappeared without a trace, leaving only Darkrai floating in the air. His eye was still closed, but he continued to hover in place. Silence ran through the air as everyone observed him closely.
"...Beaten… By humans…" His voice suddenly ran through the air with a tone of defeat in it. "...Send out… Plan B…" With his last words said, Darkrai leaned back as if he'd lost consciousness. We all watched as he dropped out of the sky, quickly falling out of sight behind the wall of Ultra Beasts. Uxie floated up to see what happened and looked visibly happy for a moment.
"Darkrai has disappeared! Now is our chance to get the human to the portal!" she yelped excitedly. All the Pokémon rejoiced, sounding ready to get me there. But at the moment, I had something more important on my mind.
"Uxie, what are we going to do with Eliza?" I could tell she'd gotten one step ahead of herself by the look she gave me. Sycamore and Dusty both stared at Eliza with the same expression on their faces.
"Well… I am unsure." Floating down to inspect Eliza herself, Uxie glossed over her injuries quickly. "I can tell she is not in the best condition… But after Darkrai's first attack, most, if not all our medics are busy… And with the portal closing any minute, time is of the essence currently."
Then who will take her to get aid? I heard Sycamore ask in my head.
"...Garbodor." Dusty asserted just then, glancing down at Eliza and then up at us with confident eyes. I immediately knew what he had said.
"...You want to take Eliza, Dusty?" He nodded yes and gave one of his open-mouth smiles. I felt a crack on my heart as I saw his usual confidence and knew there was no way to stray him from his decision; Sycamore looked just as heartbroken. Eyeing the Pokémon looking on at our conversation, I hoped with all my might to find that one of them was willing to take Eliza, but as my pause got longer and more awkward, I had to take what I could get. Taking a deep breath and struggling to stand up, I knew I wouldn't be ready for what I was about to do next.
"Dusty… Please, take good care of Eliza for me. Even though she was our enemy for most of the trip, we all know it wasn't her own doing." His confidence held at first, but then I saw the emotion slowly creep onto his face. "I'm sure you'd be able to find supplies in the nearby town or any abandoned houses… Or maybe there's survivors out there who are willing to help." I added, trying to stall the conversation for as long as possible. The tears were starting to well up in my eyes. "We've been through so much together… And I really wish we had more time for everything… But we both know all good things must come to an end, eventually."
Dusty nodded as he wiped away a tear. I then hobbled over until I was just before him.
"G-goodbye, Dusty. You'll always be with me." Hesitating again, I took a deep breath and got ready to hug him. But as I held out my arms and edged closer, I was surprised when he backed up a little and said,
"Gar! Garbo, no." Confused, I looked up to see him outreaching his pronged tendril out to me with his eyes closed and the biggest smile I'd ever seen on his face.
He just wants to shake your hand, Luke. Knowing why he was doing so made a smile emerge on my face, too. Reaching over and clutching his 'fingers', we tightly shook hands.
"Thank you, Dusty. For everything."
"Garbo, Gar!" he added joyfully. And with that, after nodding at Sycamore, he spun around and was off.
As the Pokémon in the back made way for him, the sadness crept in again. Although our sendoff was nothing short of cheerful, saying goodbye to anyone is hard for me. I then felt Sycamore's arm on my shoulder and peered over at him.
Garbodor asked me to tell you that he will look after Eliza as long as it takes… And that he will never forget the adventures he got to go on with his best friends.
Hearing Sycamore's translation filled me with an even deeper sadness, but also with a new hope. Knowing what Dusty had done for us during our journey to the portal made me remember exactly what I was doing all of this for.
Just then at the end of the bridge, Dusty turned around and began waving to us. Immediately, once Sycamore and I noticed and began waving back, I felt the sadness inside of me begin to disappear. And as he turned around and disappeared out of sight down the ramp, I knew both Sycamore and I were fully confident that he would get Eliza exactly what she needed to get better.
"Well, that settles that. I see no other better candidate to get Eliza the medical assistance she needs." Uxie then added, bringing everyone's attention back to her. "Now, back to the job at hand. We must quickly find a way through these Ultra Beasts! It seems we now have the numbers advantage, but–"
Suddenly, a roar echoed through the air. Everyone froze in place, searching for the culprit. I tried to look through the crowd to see what was happening, but I couldn't see from where I was sitting. All of a sudden, a red and black portal appeared above the bridge behind the Ultra Beasts, swirling with red lightning.
It grew in size, lengthening to almost the width of the bridge. Another roar resounded through the air, this time even louder and closer. My heart began to beat faster as the source of the voice showed itself.
A set of long stubby legs first appeared from the portal, with black with yellow markings. Then, something toothy appeared, revealing the mouth of a giant beast. As more and more of the monster emerged from the portal, I could feel myself becoming more unnerved.
It had two giant black arms coming from its mouth with pincers on the ends, and a light blue opening in the back of its mouth that opened and closed at random like a machine. Above the mouth were two sets of light blue eyes and another pair of stubby hands.
Finally, as the giant monster reached the floor and the red portal disappeared, it let out a battle cry, shaking the bridge with its mighty voice. Whatever it was, it was creeping me out and I felt like I could feel it breathing from across the way. It brought its attention to us, seemingly staring me right in the eyes. I gulped nervously, extremely intimidated.
"...Guzzlord. I should have known he would be 'Plan B'," Uxie said, sounding stern. Without hesitation, she then turned around before yelling out her next command. "All attacking Pokémon, focus solely on Guzzlord! Do not let his size scare you and remember what we are fighting for! Psychic types, bring the shield back up! Flying types, try to stop the portal closers! Guzzlord is only here to buy them time! Go, now!"
A purple energy shield materialized around my partners and I, taking up a little over half the bridge's width. Then, most of the Pokémon fearlessly dashed towards the opponent, some even climbing over the Protect. Meanwhile, Uxie floated down to us from outside the barrier.
"Making it to the portal in your state will be very difficult, human. As you know, we have no time for medical attention, so it will be best to craft a plan to get you into the portal with your injuries. However, it may not be the safest or quickest, so if you or Lucario have any ideas, do not hesitate to speak up." Sycamore looked at each other with blank faces, unsure what to say.
"Uhh…" I said just to show I was thinking. Suddenly, I remembered what was in my front jacket pocket. "Oh, wait! What about this?" Undoing the zipper and reaching in, I pulled the somehow unharmed Starf Berry out. Uxie audibly gasped when she saw the berry and moved in as close to the Protect as she could to inspect it.
"That… That is a Starf Berry! Where did you get that, human?"
"Slowking handed it to Sycamore right before she was captured, and then he gave it to me after all the battling was done… Slowking told us not to use it until the time was right, but to be honest, neither of us know what it does."
"That Starf Berry holds a great power! How Slowking acquired that is beyond me, but what you must know is that although the Starf Berry is very, very hard to find, it can heal even the worst of wounds in any being!"
"...So that's why Slowking wanted me to wait to use it. B-but…" I immediately felt guilty, realizing I could've given it to Eliza and kept Dusty with us. Not to mention, since it was apparently rare and the only keepsake I had of Slowking, part of me knew I wouldn't be able to eat it. Uxie, seeing my hesitation, knew exactly why I had paused and added,
"Lukas, I understand that you are wary about using the berry, but if Slowking was here now, she would not take no for an answer. And do not forget that it is Garbodor who is getting Eliza the aid she needs. He will not fail."
I was still worried, imagining a scenario in my head where I accidentally dropped the berry in the middle of a heated battle. Nonetheless, if this berry truly had the ability to heal my injuries, it would prove more than useful, no matter its rarity. But as Slowking had said, I was only going to use it when I needed it the most.
Suddenly, at that moment, there was an explosion from down the bridge as we came back to the battle at hand; the Pokémon finally made their attacks on Guzzlord. It looked like most of the defending Ultra Beasts had been dealt with now, probably since the Pokémon had to get through them first.
Their initial attacks on Guzzlord seemed to have caught him off guard as I saw him stumble a bit, but a being that powerful had many tricks up its sleeves. With another roar, Guzzlord began using Thrash, flailing its arms around in all directions. Incoming Pokémon were pummeled and sent flying back through the air. Some flew off the bridge into the valley below, while others got knocked into their allies, enemies, or even right into the Protect. At this point, it was safe to say that the only remaining Ultra Beasts on the bridge were those still closing the portal behind Guzzlord.
Ranged attackers also tried their best, yet Guzzlord was too strong to even be bothered by them. Slinging Dark Pulses around in the middle of his thrashing, Guzzlord swatted down anyone who tried to even fly near him. And those that tried to get around from the other side were no match for the portal-closing Ultra Beasts, who combined their power to knock out the assailants.
Seeing the complete chaos and the number of Pokémon rapidly depleting, Uxie called out,
"All remaining Pokémon, clear out and retreat to the back of the bridge! Take those who are fainted with you and help mend their wounds! We are going to have to find another way to deal with this foe! Psychic types, keep the shield up on the human for now!"
The Pokémon almost instantly stopped attacking and began running back to the edge of the bridge, taking the fainted with them. Within no time at all, the bridge emptied out besides the down Ultra Beasts, leaving only the only thing between Guzzlord and us being the shield.
Surprisingly though, after the cease fire, Guzzlord stopped attacking too. What was it planning? It continued to stare at us, its glare piercing through me. No one moved or said anything. I think Uxie was at a loss too, considering all the Pokémon that were just defeated.
"Guzzlord seems to be waiting for us to make a move… Yet I am unsure on how to get past him." I looked down at my wrist and then at Sycamore. He seemed to have the same idea as me. Nodding at each other, I announced,
"Uxie, tell the Psychic types to drop the shield. There's only one quick way to get Guzzlord away from that portal." As she saw me pull down my sleeve to reveal the Mega Stone Bracelet, her eyes widened and she said,
"No, Mega Evolution is far too dangerous, especially right after all that has happened! Lucario informed me that he lost control in the dream, so I am still unsure if you have what it takes to fully control Mega Evolution! It will do nothing but hurt us!" Briefly recalling everything that happened in the final part of the nightmare, I started to have second thoughts. Sycamore looked uncertain too, yet there was no other option I could see with how much time we had left.
"Look, Uxie… We've made it across two states, survived ambushes, won many battles, and a lot more, all without the power of Mega Evolution. We've got a world to save and all of us are ready to take on any challenge! Plus, now that we're not in Darkrai's nightmare anymore, I know we can both handle the power of Mega Evolution, berry or not!" I looked at Sycamore and we nodded in unison. Uxie was still hesitant, but quickly gave in.
"As you wish… Normally, I would testify against this, however we do not have time to dawdle. If you think you can deal with the power from Mega Evolution, do what you must, and I will help out the best I can. Contact me through telepathy and I will drop the shield on your command. But please, do not hesitate to use the Starf Berry… And most of all, may Arceus guide you. " As she fluttered away, I turned back to Sycamore who was staring at me.
"Sycamore… Are you a hundred percent ready for this? I don't want to set up a plan without your approval."
…Well, I cannot say I am one-hundred percent positive, but I am nonetheless ready for any challenge. I will not let you down, no matter what! I put my arm on his shoulder and smiled.
"We've got this." I said, a smile forming on his face too.
I then paused for a moment and let out a sigh before giving Uxie the signal.
I'm ready, Uxie. Drop the shield!
"Psychic types, get ready!" Uxie cried out after a short pause. Taking another deep breath, I gritted my teeth through the pain of it all. I may have just had to say goodbye to one of my best friends, but I was determined to win this final battle. Opening my eyes again, I saw Sycamore turn back and nod at me, so I did the same. He turned and faced Guzzlord as the nerves set in.
"Alright Sycamore, time to finish this!"
I know we will succeed this time! Whatever comes in our way, we will prevail and get you to that portal… This is for everything we stand for, and everyone who is cheering us on! We cannot fail!
Holding my hand to my heart, I felt my heart racing. This was it; nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. I was beyond nervous and all my racing thoughts clouded my mind... But there was no time like the present.
"Now! Let down the shield!" As soon as the shield dissipated, Sycamore and I held our arms out straight and put our other arms over the respective Mega Stone. Like before, the stone was warm with energy and pulsed immediately into my body when I touched it. As it billowed between the two of us, I began to feel Sycamore's heartbeat and breathing alongside my own. Letting the energy take its course through my body this time, I looked up to see the last of Sycamore disappear into the white sphere with a flash of pink light. The buildup was shaking the bridge around us and kicking up some leaves. Meanwhile, Guzzlord's expressionless face did not change as we went through the process, like he didn't even care.
Just a second after, the orb around Sycamore bursted spectacularly into a sparkling dust, making the same rupturing sound it had made in the nightmare. The flowing energy stopped as he stood in a battle pose, looking as determined as ever with his new form. He then glanced over his shoulder and said aloud,
"Luke, I feel like I can control the power here! Your aura is strong and in line with mine, so give me a command!" I nodded as he turned back around.
"Alright! Use Force Palm to start!" Sycamore dashed in and leapt up at incredibly fast speeds, nearly disappearing from my vision; his charge up on the attack was so quick, I didn't even see the aura form around his palm. It exploded in Guzzlord's face even faster, catching the beast off guard and sending him back a couple steps. The entire bridge shook and squeaked loudly as the mighty beast stumbled, showing just how much he weighed.
Guzzlord shook off the attack and let out a formidable roar as Sycamore landed safely on the bridge again. He then took a step forward and began to start another Thrash attack, battering every inch of space it could. It stepped closer and closer to Sycamore who was waiting for my next command.
"Sycamore, I don't think you can dodge here! Try to Counter it!" Looking back forward, Sycamore closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He then lunged towards Guzzlord, pulling both of his arms back. As soon as the first tendril was about to hit him, he caught it somehow and used the last of its momentum to move a little bit to the side. Suddenly, he began ripping punches at mach speeds at each of Guzzlord tendrils, blocking the Thrash with his own onslaught of attacks. Somehow, Sycamore was gaining height too, floating further and further up the massive beast.
Guzzlord was taken back again and staggered backwards once more as Sycamore's Counter continued to take its toll. With one final punch, Sycamore put all his power in and smashed Guzzlord right in its tiny head, picking it up off the ground for a moment.
It crashed back into the bridge, sending an even larger shockwave through the mass of metal and wood. I fell to the ground as the remaining Ultra Beasts did too, breaking their progress on the closure. From what I saw when Guzzlord was in the air, the portal was now around half my height in size. Nonetheless, if it was still open, everything was fine. It was just a matter of time before we broke through Guzzlord and reached the goal.
Sycamore then gracefully landed off to the side of me with a determined look on his face.
"Nice going, Sycamore! That was a very powerful Counter!"
"Thank you, but…"
"What's wrong?"
"I went all out with that Counter. I feel as if my energy is drained…" It was then that I noticed him panting. I guess blocking all of Guzzlord's movements took more of a toll on Sycamore than I'd previously thought, not to mention everything we'd been through leading up to the fight.
"Now is not the time, Sycamore! We've got to keep pushing! Just try to be careful and conserve some of your energy if needed!"
"Right, tell me my next command!" Just then, Guzzlord got up and began preparing a Dark Pulse. The dark energy poured into a small ball around its mouth and was pointed directly at Sycamore. I reacted, telling Sycamore what to do.
"Get ready Sycamore! Wait until the attack comes at you!" He nodded as Guzzlord continued to spool his attack. Something seemed off to me though. I would have figured Guzzlord would release his attacks quickly to counter Sycamore's speed, but it obviously wasn't attempting that. Did it have a trick hidden away?
Finally, Guzzlord let the Dark Pulse go. Waiting right for the moment he did, I called out, "Dodge up and use Force Palm again!" Sycamore leapt into the air, barely eluding the attack and flew over towards Guzzlord, readying his attack. However, Guzzlord wasn't going to just let this happen.
Although Sycamore was fast, Guzzlord predicted where he was going to go and grabbed him with one of his small hands right as Sycamore was about to let the Force Palm loose, stopping him dead in his tracks. He held Sycamore in a way that made it so that the Force Palm couldn't come in contact with him. And because of this, Sycamore had no target to let the Force Palm onto besides himself. Guzzlord let go of Sycamore right as it exploded and watched him soar backwards from the recoil; his immense power sent him high into the air.
"Sycamore!" I yelped in horror, watching him drop. But Guzzlord wasn't done yet. It slung out a quick Dark Pulse at Sycamore, hitting dead on. Normally not being very effective, the attack still hit hard and sent Sycamore barreling into the floorboards, skidding off of the hard wood and metal tracks. Sycamore stopped just before me, and I could tell right away he was seriously injured. Even though he was Mega Evolved, that attack from Guzzlord was extremely powerful. I bent down and tried to help him up.
"Are you alright? Can you still battle?"
"...I-I am fine. You know I won't give up so easily!" Sycamore cried, pushing away from me, and dashing in towards the fight by himself. I smiled at his hastiness, but I knew we had to be careful from here on out; if Sycamore fainted, there wasn't another chance at this.
Guzzlord, also understanding the circumstances, knew he couldn't let up now. It began charging a new attack; its right tendril was glowing a red-brown aura and Sycamore it got within range, Guzzlord sent his arm up and immediately back down.
"Dodge the Hammer Arm and get onto its body!" Sycamore sidestepped out of the way as the powerful attack punctured a hole in the bridge. The entire structure shook again, not being able to take much more damage.
Guzzlord went to pull his tendril out, but it looked to be stuck. Sycamore used this time to hop up onto his arm and dashed up towards its head. Guzzlord panicked and swung its other tendril at Sycamore, to which he hopped up in the air, dodged, and got ready to attack again.
"Full power Force Palm! He can't get away!" As Sycamore began to store all the energy he could into another powerful force palm, Guzzlord continued to panic, waving all over the place. Sycamore continued to dodge the swings, jumping on and off of Guzzlord's body until his Force Palm was completely charged. Then, he thrusted himself at Guzzlord's head, and in the matter of a second, the attack exploded, sending both Pokémon in opposite directions.
As Guzzlord fell backwards, it tore some more of the bridge up, sending debris through the air, and shaking the structure yet again. The Ultra Beasts who were trying to close the portal just recovered from the first time when Guzzlord fell down, and now their progress was ruined again; they flew off the bridge from the shockwave.
Although Sycamore had done considerable damage to Guzzlord, he'd also sustained a lot of damage as well. As Sycamore landed in front of me again, I noticed he was covered in scars and bruises and was panting harder. This battle needed to conclude quickly or else he was going to run out of steam.
"Sycamore, I think it's time to try out your Aura Sphere again! It may be risky, but we don't have time for anything else!" I yelled and pointed at Guzzlord. Out of breath, he replied,
"...I will… Try my best…" He then took a quick second to catch his breath before running back in as fast as he could. Sycamore then began to charge the Aura Sphere along the way, and I could see the blue orb growing in size in his palms. As he was about to release it, I was confident that it would hit given the range. But suddenly, I noticed something odd about Guzzlord. It seemed to still be downed from the last Force Palm, yet the way it was positioned…
Before either of us could react, Guzzlord whipped around and slung another Dark Pulse right at Sycamore's Aura Sphere. Sycamore tried to let the attack go, but his inexperience with the move held him back. The Dark Pulse connected with the Sphere, adding onto its power. Sycamore's sphere grew in size and turned into a completely black hue; I swear I could feel the energy from the attack where I was standing. Unable to control its power, Sycamore stood still, unsure what to do. Suddenly, a bright light burst from the orb and a huge explosion ruptured from inside.
"Sycamore, no!" Is all I could say as the full power of the attack sent Sycamore through the air. I tried to look up to see where he would land, but the energy released from the attack was too intense and shook the surroundings. I collapsed to the ground and held onto the train tracks for dear life, the force pushing me backwards like a tornado. The attack also sent the last of the portal-guarding Ultra Beasts behind Guzzlord flying far off into the valley, leaving the portal completely unguarded.
As the force stopped, Guzzlord stood back up and let out a battle cry. Struggling to get up too, there was only one thing I had on my mind.
"Wh-where's…?" I asked as Sycamore crashed into the bridge behind me, stopping him dead in his tracks, and sending another small tremor through the bridge. It was a miracle the wood underneath didn't completely break under him. Then, a bright light surrounded Sycamore for a moment as he transformed back into his normal form.
I was about to rush over to Sycamore when I felt the bridge beginning to falter; it finally had enough of the weight and battles going on atop it. I was nearly deafened as a large section of bridge below Sycamore slowly began to crumble. The wood floorboards split at the seams and fell down to the Earth with the tangled mess of steel beams. The original part of the bridge that connected to land was fine, but the gap between that and our side of the bridge was massive, being at least twenty yards away.
The small amount of Pokémon watching on the other side of the bridge backed away, all watching in horror as it began to collapse. I stood back at first from the collapsing part of the bridge, yet as I saw Sycamore slowly falling on top, I knew I had to help. Immediately, I rushed to the edge of the cracks, fell to my knees, and reached down in one last ditch effort to grab him before the bridge took him down with the rubble. My leg screamed in pain, but I neglected it as I stretched out as far as I could and called out to him,
"Sycamore! Grab my hand!" But Sycamore had long since fainted and was unresponsive. I tried to grab him with my extended hand, hoping for the best, but he was just out of reach. "Sycamore!" I cried as he descended lower and lower. Suddenly, a yellow and gray figure zipped in front of me and scooped him up before the section of bridge fully collapsed to the ground. I watched as Uxie struggled to bring Sycamore's limp, fainted body down next to me. She'd come to the rescue just in time, right as a huge dust cloud erupted from below with a terrible metal screech, completely shrouding the mainland.
"Thank you so much, Uxie… I-I thought Sycamore was a goner after I couldn't reach him. I think… I think I'm going to give him the Starf Berry."
"You may do whatever you please with the berry, but might I add that I agree with you. Without Sycamore, there is no one to fight Guzzlord. Although as soon as possible would be the time to use it, I believe we should not let our guard down. Guzzlord will surely attack us– like he is doing now!"
We turned to see Guzzlord preparing a Dark Pulse, aiming it right at Uxie. He let it out an instant after I looked over.
"Uxie!" Instead of trying to dodge or use a counterattack, Uxie hopped in front of Sycamore, holding him in his grasp and shielding him from the worst of the blast. The Dark Pulse hit Uxie dead on and almost instantaneously, sending both of them backwards over the gap and into the dust. However, Guzzlord wasn't just aiming for Uxie and Sycamore. He shot the Dark Pulse down more so it would hit the bridge underneath me as well. And as it did so, the structure groaned from down below and shook, as the wood boards below snapped, and the metal below crunched under the pressure.
Feeling the floor under me start to fall, I reacted fast and leapt for the part of the bridge that was still stable but ended up accidentally putting too much weight on my left leg. Immediately, the pain shot through me, and I cut my jump short in reaction, not getting enough height. I yelped in panic and reached out as far as I could, latching onto another part of the metal rails, dangling over the abyss below.
"H-Help!" I managed to call out. But my voice was lost in the sound of the collapsing bridge. With no one to assist me, I felt the loneliness set in and my fear amplified. I tried to pull myself up, yet it was no use: I simply did not have enough strength to make it up.
I stopped struggling and went limp to try and rest for a moment. Suddenly, the bridge started shaking in unison, almost like something was stepping towards me. Quickly noticing the vibrations weren't changing, I inferred Guzzlord was stepping in place, trying to pry me off. It was working too; my grip was faltering, and I couldn't hold on for much longer. My heart was pumping at a mile a minute, and thoughts raced through my mind since I inches away from a deadly fall. Needless to say, I needed to make a decision quickly.
As my left hand slipped from the rung, I plunged it into my front pocket and pulled out the Starf Berry. Somehow, I was still uncertain if this was the time to use it, especially now that Sycamore had fainted. But as the metal track I was on nearly broke off under my weight and shifted down, causing me to lose my grip even more, I knew that I needed it more than ever.
For the first time in a while, the sense of confidence burst out inside me, and I didn't hesitate to bite down hard into the weird fruit. My teeth nearly shattered, it was so hard. But I didn't give up; I crunched down even harder and twisted, neglecting the terrible pain.
Suddenly, a strange juice that seemed tasteless, but was filled with all flavors burst into my mouth. Every part of my taste buds were stimulated; it was like I was tasting everything at a full course meal all at once, yet not actually eating any of the food. I wolfed down the rest of the berry, trying to gulp down the large pieces of hard rind. As soon as the last of the berry was gone and all that was left was a sticky juice on my fingers, I felt a change.
It was a weird sensation; almost weirder than tasting all the flavors at once. Every part of my body where there was an injury suddenly got red hot, and it almost felt like they were shifting. In an instant, the last of my pain went away and a smile ran across my face. I felt stronger than I had ever before, as a rush of adrenaline jolted through me. Whatever that berry was made of it certainly did the trick. Thanking Slowking in my head, I swung my sticky hand back onto the track and re-tightened my grip.
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes before tucking my legs in and swinging my lower body under the bridge, right in between the small window of time between the footsteps. Then, using that momentum, I sprung backwards and used that little bit of height to reach for a new track. Stretching forward as much as I could, I used the last of my grip to grab on.
Feeling a new rung in my grip, I opened my eyes to see I was successful. I couldn't believe what I'd just pulled off, but I knew I couldn't sit and marvel at my accomplishment. I shimmied my way onto the bridge, pulled my legs over the sides, and slowly stood up once I was on stable ground, the adrenaline still pumping through my body.
After finally getting out of that predicament, I snapped back into reality and realized what was happening. For the first time in a while, I was alone and vulnerable; no one was here to save me now. I slowly looked up to see Guzzlord eyeing me again. He'd stopped stepping in place, probably respecting my ability to make it back alive. I gulped nervously as it let out a vicious roar, deafening me.
My hands were clammy, sweat dripped down my head, and my body was telling me to run away. Yet, I couldn't just flee. Although I was scared silly, I was far from giving up. Just because there was no one here to help me didn't mean I wasn't going to fight.
Sycamore, Dusty, Uxie, and Slowking too… I'm facing my fears and heading for the portal by myself. I know it's a big risk, but I know I'll be alright. Thanks for everything… If we never see each other again… Keep the good memories close, okay? You all were my best friends, and nothing will ever change that.
I quickly thought before looking up at Guzzlord. Taking a deep breath, I clutched my hand into a fist. "Guzzlord! I'm going to give it my all! I will get to that portal, and there's nothing you can do to stop me! Here I come!" I triumphantly screamed before sprinting off towards him at full speed, a single tear falling out of my eye. I let out a battle cry of my own as I dashed towards the giant beast.
Although it was extremely injured, I knew Guzzlord was still going to put up some kind of fight. I figured it was going to try and grab me, so I was ready to duck and dodge if I needed to. There had to be some way to get around Guzzlord or get him to falter one way or another.
And sure enough, just as one of his tendrils reached down towards me, I ducked and slid out of the way towards the right side of the bridge. I thought I was in the clear and finally around him, but Guzzlord began to turn and his spiky tail was headed right for my face. I reacted quickly, but could not stop, and instead leapt into the air and grabbed onto its tail. The force of him turning was too much for me however, and I was sent flying backwards towards the hole in the bridge.
Unable to move myself in the air, I bounced off the wood floor hard on my back and was shot back up. Knowing I was running out of bridge fast, I reached over midair towards the rails in the middle, stretching as far as possible. I grabbed on just in time, right as my legs fell over the hole once more. I definitely should've been very injured from the hard stop, but the Starf Berry was doing its best to protect me. Quickly pulling myself back up, I got back into a battle pose as soon as I could.
"You're going to have to do more than that!" I called out to him. Guzzlord looked a bit surprised and let out another roar that echoed through the area. Taking his battle cry as a challenge, I dashed back in, this time heading to the left. My plan was to hope he would slip up if I changed the way I faced him.
Once again, I dodged under his grasp and hastily made my way to the left side, but he began to sweep again with his tail; I was hoping he would do that. Getting ready for the moment, I leapt up with expert timing and grabbed on tight to its tail, this time prepared for the force of him swinging.
Noticing I hadn't gone flying, Guzzlord tried to shake me off by spinning in place, but I'd figured he would do something like that and clung on. The constant stepping of Guzzlord shook the already unstable bridge more, pushing it beyond its maximum capabilities.
But the longer I held on, the longer I realized he could keep trying to get me off. With my grip slipping, it was only a matter of time before he got me off. Just then, Guzzlord bent down and leapt up, putting a bunch of vertical momentum into his tail. I immediately shot off and flew up over his head.
As I rebounded and began to fall, I was around fourteen feet in the air. A fall from this height would surely hurt, even with the Starf Berry. Knowing this, I tried to stay calm and adjusted my weight midair, trying to aim myself towards its tail again, which was just coming around. Right before I was about to hit the ground, I safely latched onto the tail again, nearly missing the jagged floor.
Guzzlord stopped spinning, unsure where'd I gone; I guess he hadn't seen me gliding through the air just then. His tail was now facing the portal, and I knew I could easily slip away. Doing just that, I dropped off the tail and made a break for it, putting all my might into my speed. I sprinted as fast as I could towards the small portal; I didn't dare look back as the portal got closer and closer.
I'm going to make it… I'm going to make it!
I called in my head as I got mere feet away. I lunged towards the portal to make sure I got there in time, but Guzzlord recovered just in time and saw through my plan. The bridge creaked as the giant monster reached down and grabbed me with its inside small claw hand.
"No!" I yelped, trying to pry open its hand. Through its nails, I saw Guzzlord bring me up to its face before roaring again, showing its dominance. From my attempts to get away from Buzzwole some days before, I figured I definitely didn't have enough strength to break free. However, my master plan worked just the way I planned it; a splitting crack ran through the air as the bridge under Guzzlord gave its last breath.
It quickly began to crumble underneath him and fall into the valley below. Guzzlord panicked and tried to grab onto the sides of the structure as support with his other free limbs, but there was nothing left. As the claw opened, I timed my jump just right and leapt back out and landed safely on the last piece of bridge the portal was on. Although it received plenty of damage, this part of the bridge still somehow stood strong.
As Guzzlord went down with the collapse, it yelled out one last roar before it tumbled towards the ground. I covered my ears as the ear-splitting sound of metal beams crashed into the valley below. An even bigger dust cloud emerged after the crash and covered the surroundings behind me even more, completely shrouding everything behind me once again.
I...I did it! But, Sycamore and Uxie...
I thought, panting from my daring escape. I took a quick second to catch my breath and calm down my racing heartbeat. The portal was right in front of me, unharmed and still open. I smiled knowing that Guzzlord was finally gone and I could make it to the Pokémon World, yet I couldn't help but think about Sycamore. Part of me hesitated and wanted to find a way to go back and see if he was okay, yet the other part screamed for me to get into the portal. It was right there, and I could easily dart in. Still, I stood motionless, pondering my options.
…What am I doing? I've got to keep going! I have to get to the Pokémon World, no matter what! I thought, pushing away the thoughts of Sycamore. I slowly walked forward, tears forming in my eyes again. But I was a fool to think this battle was over.
A Dark Pulse appeared from the dust cloud and smacked into the beams at the edge of the bridge under the portal. I fell to the ground, holding on for dear life as the last of the bridge collapsed beneath me. As I reached towards the portal, the ground underneath it cracked and chipped away, causing it to slowly fall.
"No!" I called, the bridge underneath me beginning to crack too. As it dropped, I screamed, falling down into the mess. Suddenly, I felt something grasp around my arm and catch me before I fell into the valley. I looked up to see Sycamore grasping me, standing on the last bit of bridge that was still standing.
I got you, Luke! he replied through telepathy. However, he still looked extremely injured and was covered from head to toe in bruises and cuts.
"S-Sycamore! What... What are you…?" I cried in disbelief and joy.
Uxie healed me up with a spare Reviver Seed from one of the medics. Once she brought me up to speed on what was happening, we heard the bridge give away, as well as Guzzlord's final cry. Figuring Guzzlord had fallen, I rushed in despite my injuries to see if you were okay.
"...Thank you. I'd probably be down in the valley too if you weren't here."
Any time, partner. And to think, you took Guzzlord down all by yourself! That is quite an accomplishment!
"Oh, come on, I can't take all the credit!" We both laughed for a second before realizing what was unfolding in front of us.
"But… The portal. It's gone… Guzzlord sabotaged the bridge it was on."
Not entirely. Look down.
Peering over my shoulder, I saw that the portal was falling at a slower rate for some reason, almost like a feather. It must've been the material it was made out of that had this weird property. The portal was only down about twenty or thirty feet below me but offset like five feet ahead.
I let out a relieved sigh once I saw it was okay, yet there was no way to get down, and we were land locked on this small piece of bridge. Then, a troubling thought came into my head. My heart raced at the thought, but it was the only way I could see me getting to the portal in time.
"Sycamore… Did Uxie tell you about what happens next?"
I have known since we made it to Pennsylvania. On the walk to Kinzua, Slowking told us about how you were the only one who could go through, but insisted we not say anything. I sincerely apologize…
"It's okay, Sycamore. Actually, it's kinda better that I don't have to tell you and get all emotional…" There was a pause as no one knew what to say next. "Sycamore… I don't know how to say this… I think it's time. You need to throw me."
…What? You want me to–
"Yes, throw me over to the portal! If we don't do something soon, Guzzlord could wake up, or the Ultra Beasts could come back, or the bridge could even collapse again! We really can't wait any longer!" He hesitated for a second, obviously lost in thought. He then took a deep breath and looked directly into my eyes.
Luke… It is not just the tossing which is causing me to falter… It is that I do not want to say goodbye! After everything we have been through, I just want to continue being partners and travel together… Tears began to stream from his eyes and down into the valley below. I was crying too, but my tears were not of sadness. Instead, they were tears of joy.
"Sycamore… I'm never going to forget you, no matter what. We will always be partners until the bitter end. I swear that after I save the Pokémon World, I'll come back, and we can adventure again. You, Dusty, and I can all go together… But that's in the future..." Sycamore paused as the crying became more intense. He began sobbing and collapsed to the ground.
"Goodbye, Sycamore. I'll miss you." A big smile ran across my face through the tears.
Luke… Good… Bye.
As he swung me back and forth twice to get the momentum, I felt the grip around my hand loosen as I began my free fall. I didn't bother screaming or even looking away. I stared up exclusively at Sycamore, watching the tears pouring from my eyes.
"LUCAR!" Sycamore howled out as we got farther and farther away from each other. A now familiar 'shlorp' sound surrounded me as the scene of the bridge faded away into a rainbow hued place, just like in Uxie's dreams. I began to sob too now, my sad tears returning, falling through space.
I finally made it. After everything we'd been through on the journey there, I actually reached my goal. But although I was one step closer to saving the Pokémon World, I was one step farther away from my partners.