Hall of Origin

The Legends chosen by Lugia eyed the newcomers brought in by Ash with either unease or scorn. Serena, Tobias and Mr. Star himself now shared his pedestal. None of them felt remotely comfortable. Tobias in particular felt weak on his knees with fear. He was definitely the one the surrounding Legends seemed to stare at the most

"...I fear this is becoming a pattern," Remarked Kyogre, ending the silence.

Mr. Star attempted to kneel before them, but an audible crack followed by a yelp from the old man stopped the action dead in its tracks. A few of the Legends winced. Ash and Serena quickly went to his side, preventing him from falling. "Mr. Star!" They cried.

Ash tried to place an Aura-coated hand on his back, but he held his hand out to stop him. "D-don't worry about me," He told him, pushing on his back to straighten it. "I'm not as young as I used to be." A loud pop sent another wave of winces across the Hall, but allowed Mr. Star to stand straight again. About as straight as he could, at least.

Looking up to Arceus, he bowed only his head and said, "My apologies, Lord Arceus, but I cannot properly bow to you."

Arceus tried to reply, but Giratina beat him to the punch. "There's no need for formalities," He told him oddly politely. "I said this during the previous meeting to his other friend there. A friend of Ash is a friend to us."

"Indeed," Spoke Lugia with a nod, surprising many. "It may be hypocritical of me to say after what I previously said, but I rescind that statement. The other Legends are incapable of aiding us in a battle of this magnitude and, after what Ash and I discovered, I now realize we do not have the luxury of discrimination, especially when he is offering aid."

Ash nodded, stepping forward to speak, and to get everyone's eyes off of his friends. "We found out that the Nova Branch HQ has some method of masking the Aura of everything there. That means they might have weapons that can either use Aura, or counter it." He held his arm out to Mr. Star. "But Mr. Star has found ways to do this too. He also has tons of weapons of his own."

The old man gave Ash an annoyed look. "The weapons you refer to were made solely for the purpose of countering another otherworldly threat like Necrozma. They are...something I am not entirely proud of, given their potential for destruction, but something that may be necessary." He looked up at Arceus, adding, "I had no intention to use them on...domestic threats such as Team Rocket and its Nova Branch. Using them on human lives, regardless of who they are, is unthinkable."

He glanced back at Ash. "You do not know what those are capable of. You saw what one shot from Necrozma's ship did to Goldenrod City! These weapons are made to counter things of that scale! To use them on the Nova Branch would be beyond unnecessary!"

"You do not know that!" Roared Lugia, making the old man and Ash's friends jump. He quickly simmered himself down as much as he could before saying, "...I mean no disrespect to someone Ash holds in such high regard, nor do I know of your exploits thus far, but the capabilities of the Nova Branch are something that is unknown to even us, but we know they are powerful. Perhaps even more so than the forces we can bring."

Arceus added, "I myself will not be taking part in this battle." Mr. Star looked up at him in shock. "This," Continued Arceus, "Is not because I do not wish to. I very much yearn for the power to fight alongside my children, but as it stands, I hardly have the power to move." He mulled over his decision to restore New Bark Town, debating if doing it so hastily was the right decision. If he had that power now…

Lugia said, "As of now, we do not have the benefit of time. If we do not strike now, Lee will get away and we do not know how long it may take for us to get another chance, if we even will get one." He flew to Ash's pedestal, looming over the old man. Overwhelmed by the Beast's presence, Mr. Star fell on his backside. "You speak of brutality, but surely you must know what the Nova Branch will do if we fail! That brutality you fear will be inflicted on innocent people and Pokemon both! If you have weapons that can stop that, you must use them!"

Ash and Serena reached down again to pick the old man back up, but he made no move either to accept or reject this. His gaze slowly lowered from Lugia to the ivory ground, and his teeth grit. He looked about the Hall, briefly observing the faces of the Legends, as well as the structure of the Hall itself while he seemed to mull over Lugias' words. Eventually, he bowed his head, gritting his teeth as he rose back to his feet on his own.

Mr. Star turned around, looking to Ash and his friends. "...Ash, Serena," He spoke, looking between the two. "You two have gone through much; seen war, death and more. Those weapons you saw, Ash, were not created with restraint in mind. They were made for something as drastic as the survival of our world by any means necessary." Ash and Serena felt unnerved by the old man's stare. He was far more serious than he'd ever seemed before. "There's a good chance these weapons will make you feel as if you are in that terrible war again, even though they would be on your side now. Can you deal with that?"

Ash nearly gave him an answer without thinking, only stopping when he remembered Serena and Tobias. He believed himself entirely capable of dealing with that again if it meant no one else would ever have to...but he was not alone. He turned to them with visible worry, But as he opened his mouth, Serena was quick to place a finger over it to get him to close it again.

"...You don't have to ask," Serena told him. She smiled, looking into his eyes. "I told you a million times by now that I'd be there when you needed it. We're a team, and always will be. I go where you go. End of story."

The two then turned to Tobias, who had been looking away to try to ignore the stares of the Legends. But now all eyes were on him, and he shuddered under their weight. "...I've already long since accepted that I'm a fool. Maybe the biggest this world's ever seen. What kind of fool would I be if I didn't throw myself back into the exact same position that made me realize it?" He gave an exasperated shrug, turning back around with a low gaze to avoid looking at the Legends. "In other words, I'm in."

Mr. Star let out a long, weary sigh of resignation. "I suppose that settles it, doesn't it? I'm to become a monster to stop a monster." He turned back around to the others. "I'll need time to prepare them. The people under my command that are capable of piloting them are even fewer than those who know of their existence." He nodded to Ash. "A few of those people are in the midst of preparing to aid, train and guide the incoming trainers. I'll have to contact them, gather them and brief them on the situation."

Arceus said, "Here, I'll transmit the island's location to you."

But before he could make good on that, Mr. Star raised his hand and told him, "My memory's not so good sometimes. Could you send it to him instead?" He motioned to Tobias, raising a few eyebrows. It was especially surprising to Tobias himself, considering he'd never actually interacted with the man before. Tobias didn't even remember if he ever saw Mr. Star face to face before today.

Confused, he asked, "Why me?"

Mr. Star shrugged with his shoulders and replied, "Simply for convenience. I want you to accompany me back to Star Towers." He tapped on Ash's Secretary Bot with his knuckle, cracking a small grin at him. "I've been told you have been helping Ash with my missions of your own accord, so I must thank you properly. I'll make sure you get back to Ash and the others soon, so don't worry."

"Uh, sure," Tobias responded flatly, unsure of what to say beyond that.

Arceus's eyes glowed for a brief moment, causing Tobias's head to to jolt up when the information was transferred to his mind. "...So it's Hoenn, huh?" Tobias mused aloud. "Seems to be south of Sootopolis City."

Nodding, Mr. Star tried unsuccessfully to reach Tobias's shoulder and settled for patting halfway up his arm. "We should be going now. Time is of the essence." He made his way toward the portal back to his office, but stopped just short of it and turned back around to Ash and Serena. "You two take care of yourselves. I mean that, you hear? Don't go doing anything risky if you can help it."

Serena giggled. "Ash? Not doing something risky? It's like you're asking him not to be Ash."

Ash and Mr. Star laughed at that, the latter doubling over. Arceus stifled a chuckle of his own watching this. When he regained his senses, the old man looked back up at the Legends. "It was an honor to meet you all," He said, bowing as much as his fragile body let him. "Thank you for allowing me within this grand place. I will...do everything in my power to stop the Nova Branch, and I hope you will allow me to work alongside you in the future. I will not rest until the world is restored."

With that, he departed through the portal, taking Tobias with him.

Arceus nodded to the others. "And neither must we. Lugia, you have my authority to mobilize whenever you are ready. I will be observing from here. Should the tide of battle shift against your favor before Mr. Star is able to reach you, I will deploy Zekrom, Rayquaza and Xerneas to heal the wounded."

Lugia's face wrinkled at the second name. "...Zekrom and Xerneas will be more than enough." He turned around, raising his head high. "Though I would like to rally you all with words of encouragement, I fear the time for such things has passed. For now…" His expression darkened, and Ash winced when he felt the sheer animosity that emanated from him so suddenly. "...Let us inflict upon them what they have on our world tenfold!"


Nova Branch HQ, surrounding islands.

Two white portals appeared in the ocean. Out of them swam Lugia and Kyogre. Following them was Suicune, who swiftly bolted to the surface and leapt into the sky. She craned her head down, freezing the sea beneath her to create a platform. When she landed, the portals of Entei, Raikou and Keldeo appeared beside her. From the sky came Articuno, Moltres and Reshiram, soaring high above the clouds to descend swiftly upon the island when the attack signal came.

Keldeo looked back as another portal appeared behind him. Ash and Serena stepped out, the former helping his partner up when she slipped on the ice. Keldeo looked at her with concern. "Is she seriously going to be okay to fight?" He asked.

While Serena chuckled in embarrassment, Ash confidently replied, "Absolutely!" Serena's continued struggling to find her footing did not do him any favors regarding believability.

Watching this, Suicune used a weak Frost Breath attack on the platform, coating it with a firm patch of snow. Ash raised Serena into the air when it came close to her feet, then set her back down. She stumbled for a moment, still expecting it to be somewhat slippery. However, it felt as firm as any other common ground.

"It's not slippery anymore," She said aloud, taking a few short steps forward to test it. Shooting a smile Suicune's way, she added, "Thank you, Suicune!"

The Beast of Water nodded silently, turned back toward the target island, and began hopping toward it. The sea froze under her feet, even when they did not directly touch it. The snow seemed to latch on and spread wherever new ice formed as well for the sake of Serena.

Watching them go, Serena soon had to shield her eyes and squint just to see them. In a matter of seconds, they had become unidentifiable shapes in the distance. Serena whistled in astonishment. "They're crazy fast!" She exclaimed. "I hope we can catch up before the fight starts." She turned to Ash and stepped to the side of the platform. "You'd probably get there much faster alone, and they'll need you more than-"

She eeped in shock as Ash suddenly went for her legs and hoisted her onto his back. Pikachu acted similarly, protesting and jumping onto Ash's hat when Serena nearly fell onto him. "No can do," Ash said with a sly smirk. "You go where I go, remember?" Ignoring her protests, Ash merely laughed as he ran after the beasts, fully aware that riding Noivern or Charizard would have been faster from the beginning.

Elsewhere, Lugia hastily circled the island, scanning it for any possible weak point they could start their attack from. He recoiled as loud alarms began blaring from above. It was enough to shake the very water he swam in. "Curses!" He raged. "Fine then, Lee! Have it your way! If stealth is not an option, so be it! I will play on your terms!"

Shrouded in a vortex of raging water, Lugia surfaced with all the speed of a bullet and sent a message to the others with his Psychic abilities. "Forego stealth! Attack from all angles to divide their forces!"

Slowly rising from the depths after Lugia came a smirking Kyogre, eager to show off his might. "That is exactly what I wanted to hear. We have no need of tactics when we are surrounded by my element!"

The progenitor of the ocean surfaced as well, coming to a halt once his eyes were set on the island. The crimson markings decorating his body burned brightly, resulting in what sounded like a loud groan coming from the sea itself. It swelled and raved all of a sudden, churning in response to its master. Like the night before, clouds manifested from seemingly nowhere, darkening the skies and casting down a cascade of rainfall.

A bellow from the proud whale sent up a massive wave from underneath him, raising him high into the air until he could look down upon the island that was soon to be sent to the ocean floor. Lugia and the other flying Legends, in the wake of the sudden storm surge and oceanic madness, soared higher into the air to avoid being struck by a stray wave. Suicune stopped in her tracks and tried blasting an incoming wave with Ice Beam to freeze it, only for the frozen wave to be shattered by another swell. Luckily for them, Ash managed to catch up and surround them all in a barrier before the wave came down on their heads.

"What the heck is going on?!" Shrieked Serena.

Ash growled, attempting unsuccessfully to see past the raging ocean that surrounded them. "It's Kyogre. He's trying to sink the base all at once!"

"That idiot's going to sink us!" Yelled Keldeo.

Rising to the peak of the crest of the monster wave he'd summoned, Kyogre loomed over his target anxiously. He could see dozens, perhaps hundreds of shadows racing to all corners of the island. Scoffing at their foolishness, Kyogre asked, "Do they seriously think to combat the ocean? While on an island?" Raising his head, he bellowed out a laugh, then roared, "FOOLS! This is your end!"

Then, his wave came bearing down upon the island in full. Kyogre could practically see the faces of the Nova Branchers as his domain closed in on them. Yet...there was no fear on their faces. And he had stopped falling. "...Wh-what...is this…?!" He, his wave, the rain and the sky had all fallen silent and still. Frozen in the air, the rain looked like needles. Even the mighty ocean was chained by something unseen. Then, Kyogre saw it.

"Good to see you all again," Said Mewtwo, smirking up at Kyogre with an excited, devilish grin. "As much as I would love to chat, I have a duty to protect this island." A backhand from Mewtwo sent everything into chaos again. The rain bent away from his might, and so too did Kyogre and his wave. Once he had flown from beyond the island's edge, Mewtwo cast his hand down, and the ocean fell into place once more. The storm, however, stayed intact.

Ash and his group crawled out of the ocean one by one and ascended to the plateau's top from a staircase of ice and snow made by Suicune. They all looked down at the ocean with worry. "What happened?" Asked Ash aloud. "The ocean...just a few minutes ago, it was going crazy! Now it's not even moving during this storm…"

Keldeo gritted his teeth nervously. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

However, they did not have much time to contemplate this. Now that he was on the island, he could sense the lives within it. As well as their hostilities. Ash summoned another barrier around them, deflecting what looked like dozens of small Flash Cannons. Entei raced forward and let out a fearsome roar, sending up a Heat Wave attack that burned away much of the surrounding plant life before the fire was doused by the rain.

This exposed their attackers: numerous men in camouflaged gear that all sported a patch of an exploding star on them. Undeterred by their sudden lack of cover, or the fact that they had been momentarily set aflame, they took aim again.

Ash mentally cursed. "Look alive, everyone. It looks like we're already out of the fire and into the fryer."

Lugia's jaw dropped witnessing this act from one he thought was one of their own. "M-Mewtwo! What on Earth do you think you are doing?!"

'Mewtwo' lulled his head over, staring into Lugia's eyes with but one eye and a sickening smile. Lugia recoiled at the sight. His eyes were different, changed. There was something new in them. Something evil. "I am only doing what I was born to. I was created by Team Rocket to serve Team Rocket, Nova Branch and all."

His head snapped back to its original place to stop a massive, potent Hydro Pump coming his way. He made a crushing motion with his hand, obliterating the attack. From the ocean, Kyogre rose again, looking beyond angry. "Traitorous bastard child of Mew!" He cursed. "How dare you use my domain against me?! For this, I will make you drown in the darkest abyss in the sea!"

"Your domain?" Mewtwo chuckled, soon rising into a mad laughter as he threw his head back. His arms spread, he rose to the sky, and with him, hundreds of massive pillars of water. They raced past their summoner until they touched the clouds themselves. "I think not! It clearly obeys me." Without waiting for a retort, Mewtwo grinned sadistically at Kyogre and lowered his arm. Lightning raced across the clouds, and when they made contact with the water pillars, they raced down and struck all across the surrounding ocean.

Kyogre scarcely had the time to react before his body was wracked by the potent lightning, strengthened both by his innate weakness to the element, and by how vast its area of effect had become so quick. His creation and domain, weaponized against him. Mewtwo looked to the blinding sky, utter exhilaration upon his face watching the way the water he summoned twisted and turned while wracked with his power. He stared down at Kyogre suddenly, lowering his arm. The pillars of water and lightning convened upon Kyogre all at once, creating an explosion that momentarily blinded those who watched the duel.

Laughing like a madman, Mewtwo raced down after Kyogre. Shots of concentrated water were launched from the ocean up at him as he closed in, but still wearing a crooked grin, Mewtwo did not slow his descent. He spun through the air, weaving past the jets of water. He caught and froze some of them and held his arm back to throw them back at their creator, but a massive geyser strong enough to split the sea burst was suddenly launched his way.

This wiped away Mewtwo's expression in an instant. Dropping the jets, he shot his arms forward and caught the geyser. Its sheer force and speed, as well as the constant stream of new water, prevented him from fully stopping it. He grunted in exertion as he was pushed back, but that exertion in and of itself swiftly brought back his crooked smile.

"...I had forgotten," He rasped quietly. "Forgotten what the pain of fatigue felt like." His shoulders rapidly heaved up and down as he laughed, strained by the action while fending off Kyogre's attack. Bringing his arms close to his head, he dug his rounded fingers into the water jet and tried to pull it apart. "My other vessels expired far too quickly. With this one, I feel alive again!"

He let out a fearsome roar that echoed through the skies, and with his body's power that did not belong to him, split both the Hydro Pump and the ocean water beneath in two. Kyogre's eyes went wide as he found himself falling into a ravine. On both sides, massive waterfalls poured down into a black abyss below. With wild eyes, Mewtwo followed after him, allowing the rift he made to close with a resounding crash.

Reshiram watched on with worry. "Lugia," She spoke, snapping the Beast of the Seas out of his trance, "Should you go down and help him? I do not know if Kyogre can fight Mewtwo alone. Even down there, in Kyogre's domain...Mewtwo already proved that the ocean poses no threat to him."

Lugia turned away, looking down at the island. Even through the storm, he could see the enemy's numbers. Somewhere, among them, was Lee. "...No," He answered, shocking her. "We cannot afford to divide our numbers any more." Something had caused the birds to go into a frenzy. They shrieked, seeming panicked. When Lugia traced their vision back to the island, he quickly found out why.

Many of the shadows below were those of Black-Suited Men. Compared to the twelve he saw before, there were easily over fifty here now. "...That's them," He hissed under his breath. "The ones who invaded the Elemental Islands before. The ones wearing black."

Reshiram's eyes widened slightly. "That's them? The ones who injured Zapdos?!"

Nodding, Lugia replied, "There were only a dozen before, and from what the birds told me, just one could fight on an even playing field with them. It took Moltres a while to take down even one." His eyes narrowed down at them, both with anger...and fear. "Our attacks must be fast and devastating, so that they may have no chance to retaliate! If they get the chance-"

His attention was caught by something silver, shimmering from below. A series of them arose, appearing like stars. That lasted for all of a second before Lugia suddenly found himself face to face with a wall of spears that drilled through the air. His head swerved at just the right moment, scarcely avoiding a spear as it sailed past his face.

He casted up a mighty Aeroblast, then scattered its winds with his wings in an attempt to blow their ammunition right back at them. This, however, failed. The spears drilled through the hurricane-like winds as if they didn't exist at all. He, the birds and Reshiram were nearly torn to scrap by them, but Lugia managed to catch them with Psychic just as one reached the underside of his neck. Yet not even being frozen in place stopped them entirely, for they began beeping rapidly.

Lugia threw them back toward the island, setting them all alight with a sweeping Hyper Beam. The Black-Suited Men raised their arms, manifesting gridscale barriers that shielded them. Some of the foot soldiers were quick enough to dive behind the closest Black-Suit they could find, and that's what saved them. Others were struck either by the shrapnel from the drills or Lugia's beam itself.

Seeing the area now covered in smoke, one of the Black-Suits smirked and cupped his ear. "Anti-Air team, we've got four Legendary farce's dead ahead of my location and about one-hundred and twelve meters high."

"Roger that," Answered a voice from the radio. "Save your spear ammo and wait for further instructions. We'll clip their wings."

The Black-Suited Men signaled to one another, then flattened themselves on the ground. Wisely, the surrounding foot soldiers followed suit. They winced as the near-deafening noise of roaring bullets shot out from behind them. Dirt-topped turrets had risen from all across the island's top and aimed themselves squarely upon the flying Legends. A veritable wall of orange raced out from them to meet their targets, blasting away the smoke that stood between them.

Collectively, the eyes of the Legends went wide. Lugia didn't know exactly what they were from the fraction of a second he was given, but if these things were anything like the spears, he wanted no part of them. "EVADE!" He roared, diving for the water below. The propulsion jet in Reshiram's tail glowed red, then sent her speeding off to the sky. The two birds nimbly evaded the first wave that headed their way, but more were upon them in an instant.

A worried Lugia scowled up at the birds with a contorted look on his face. Thinking quickly, he opened his mouth and shot a Hyper Beam up at the cliffs of the plateau in an attempt to cut off a chunk of the enemy's movement and weapon space. His jaw dropped with shock when the beam hardly cut into it. There was a visible black mark and indent where he struck, but that wasn't the issue. The entire cliffside should have fallen into the ocean!

"What in the world?!" Yelled Lugia. "Don't tell me...these madmen created an artificial island?!"

Just as this revelation struck him, he was met with the sound of whirring noises. Openings unveiled themselves all along the walls of the island's rise, as did more turrets within every single one. Lugia's eyes narrowed. "You must be kidding!" More hails of bullets were on him in a single second. He dove down further into the ocean in an attempt to lose them, but their tracking systems were easily able to follow.

Lugia soon found himself tired of them following his every move. Raising his jaw, he took a gambit and launched another Hyper Beam their way, sweeping it across the turrets. Evidently, they proved to be less durable than the island itself, and were obliterated. "And there's our ticket," Said a smirking Lugia. He opened his mouth once again and repeated the attack, this time making sure to hit every single one of them he could.

A few bullets nicked his wings, but they scarcely left more than bruises and thin cuts. He had been hit by far worse things in his life. Compared to the monstrous blows dealt by Necrozma, these were nothing. Those controlling the turrets soon realized they were achieving little besides wasting ammunition and weaponry, and the last remaining turrets retracted. Lugia's smirk grew at this. The celebration was far too early.

More openings appeared, this time in the undersea portion of the island's cliffs. What appeared from them were not turrets, but rather, a series of cylindrical lights. When they began to spark, Lugia's heart sank. He immediately shot up for the surface, and not a moment too soon. Just as he escaped the water, it lit up again, sending waves of lightning all across the ocean. It was Mewtwo all over again.

Lugia's jaw gaped watching the water below churn as it was fried. "This entire island is a weapon!" He exclaimed. He winced as bullets impacted his side again, the turrets taking advantage of his stunned state. Growling, he caught them with Psychic, throwing them back down at the turret that fired them. "This is ridiculous!" He raved. "We can't even get onto the island! At this rate, Lee will…"

He shook his head to dispel that putrid thought, instead looking out into the open ocean to place his anger somewhere else. "Damn you, Giratina!" He cursed. "Where are you?! What in the world are you doing right now?!"


Ash let out a sigh of relief as Entei dealt with the last soldier, blasting him off to who knows where with a Fire Blast. The area around them was already burnt to cinders, and both he and Serena had to unleash their entire teams just to keep up. They were lucky the Johto Beasts and Keldeo were there to watch their backs, otherwise they definitely wouldn't have gotten out unscathed.

Yet, they were still at the island's edge. They hadn't progressed an inch. But there were other things he had to worry about first. "Everyone alright?" He asked. "If anyone's hurt, let me know and I'll take care of your injuries."

Aside from their scars from the battle against Necrozma, the Beasts were unscathed. His Pokemon and Serena's worked in sync with one another just as their trainers did, and they were able to cover each other's weak spots during the battle. Ash had made sure to keep Serena shielded at all times, given her vulnerability.

"All good!" Replied Keldeo.

From the pain Ash sensed in him, he immediately knew it was a lie. Keldeo hobbled back toward the group, hiding one of his back legs. Ash sighed. "You can try being tough all you want, but you can't hide pain from me." He made his way over to Keldeo's side, soon seeing a large gash across his leg. If whatever the heck these guys were shooting at them did this, he was right to have kept that barrier around Serena. He knelt down and hovered his hand over the wound, letting his Aura seep onto it.

As Keldeo's wounds closed, Ash noticed something small and metal in the gash and quickly swiped it out just before it healed entirely. "The heck is this thing?" He asked, bringing it up. He recalled similar objects being hurtled at him before when he first went to Celadon's underground facility. The ones Riley blocked were much bigger.

He suddenly sensed danger. Throwing the metal thing away, he stepped forward and put himself between the danger's source and Keldeo. Another man in camouflage jumped out of the bushes, wielding a sparking, red knife. Ash grabbed him by the wrist and shirt collar, then plunged him into the ground. The man tried grabbing him with his free arm, but Ash let go of his collar to instead get his other wrist and easily overpowered it as well.

"Ash!" Cried a worried Serena. "What happened?!"

He answered, "I caught this guy as he was trying to go for Keldeo." He eyed the knife warily. The man didn't let go of it, clinging onto it like it was his lifeline. When he noticed he was holding the man's arm that carried it over his chest, he pulled it away to the ground, where the man proceeded to drop it and wince. It pierced through the dirt like it wasn't even there, only stopping at the rounded hilt. "Pikachu," He ordered simply.

Nodding, Pikachu sped toward the weapon and used Iron Tail to knock it away. As it spun across the ground, it sliced through the dirt in circular patterns. What's more, the loosened dirt was charred black. "Whatever that knife is, it's dangerous," Ash remarked with a wince that was mirrored by Keldeo, realizing he'd nearly been stabbed by it.

Ash turned back to the man, pressing him further into the ground. "Alright, you. Talk. Where's Christopher Lee?"

The soldier reached his head up toward a pocket in his shirt and shouted, "I've got the Chosen One on me! Open fire on my position! Confirmation: Green!"

Ash heard a whirring noise from somewhere off in the forest and instinctively brought up a barrier. Evidently, it was just in time. Entire trees were turned into confetti as more of the metal projectiles were hurtled his way, but the force behind these ones knocked him on his side. He was able to keep the barrier up, but the soldier was freed. Rolling onto his stomach, he crawled away into the green and was gone before anyone could notice.

"Barrier, Clefable!" Ordered a panicked Serena swiftly.

Not needing to be told twice, Serena's Clefable summoned another barrier, but the sheer power behind the things assaulting Ash quickly shredded through it. The Beast trio prepared to sprint for the source of them, but Greninja and Sceptile reacted quicker. Now that Sceptile had a new Mega Form, it was easily able to match Greninja's speed even in its bonded form. The two raced past the trees, quickly spotting a large black cylinder that poked up from the ground.

The two sliced at its base on opposite ends, severing it from the ground. It rolled away, sparking where it had been cut. Sceptile kicked it off the edge. With that out of the way, they raced back to their trainer at breakneck speeds. Surprised they were able to keep up with each other, they briefly flashed a grin at one another before returning their attention to Ash.

He was panting heavily, Serena tending to him. "I'm...fine," He said between breaths. "Just tired after that. Man, whatever the heck that was packed a punch. It's no wonder Riley seemed so tired back then…"

"That explains what that loud noise is," Mused Keldeo.

Looking to the sky, Ash asked, "So where's Lugia and his team?" The trees were high and numerous. Their tangles of vines did not make seeing anything above them any easier. But Ash could see something. He narrowed his eyes and spotted streaks of orange sailing through the air, much like the ones that had just been attacking him.

He closed his eyes and extended his sensory abilities to wherever they shot at. Surely enough, he could sense Lugia and the birds, and they seemed frantic. "So that's what happened. More of these things must be preventing Lugia from landing!"

Keldeo dug his hooves into the dirt. "Then it's settled! Let's find whatever's shooting these things and take 'em down! Then things might be easier for us."

The group wandered through the jungle shoulder to shoulder. Ash kept his barrier around them all at once. It was snug, but ultimately better than leaving themselves open for another ambush. He sensed many lifeforms with hostile intentions closeby, but those intentions were aimed skyward rather than at them. The Beast Trio also kept a watchful eye. Serena had to shield her ears as they neared something incredibly loud. They were going off a guess that loud noise would lead them to another one of those things.

Surely enough, they found a clearing with another one of the black cylinders. Two long, silver things pointed up, letting loose that same stream of orange from before. "It's probably too dangerous to approach," Ash said. "Charizard, use-"

"Not so fast."

The group immediately whirled around. Four men, clad in identical black suits walked out from the trees. Their stances were lax, and they wore smirks on their faces. "Step away from the turret, please," One of them said. "We can't afford to take any more off of those monsters in the sky."

"You're the only monsters here!" Retorted Serena. Her Pokemon agreed, growling at the newcomers menacingly.

The four men laughed, shaking their heads. One of them looked over the group. Ash couldn't see his eyes because of the man's sunglasses, but he could tell he was planning something. "The Chosen One, his girlfriend and their army of mindless animals. I'm not going to bother trying to talk sense into two traitors to humanity. You're lucky the boss wants you both alive." He looked to Pikachu. "But your Pokemon...are not necessary."

Ash held his hand out to the turret behind them and fired an Aura Sphere, not taking his eyes off the men. They jumped back and raised their shields. Ash and his friends were shielded by him, but the landscape could not say the same. When the brilliant light of his Aura faded, much of the surrounding jungle was gone, creating a decently large opening.

Ahead of them, the Black-Suited Men lowered their protective barriers, revealing themselves completely unharmed. One of them whistled and said, "So that's the power of the Chosen One. Between him and the beasts, we may have our work cut out for us."

"A beast is nothing more than a mindless animal," Replied another one of them, "And a Legend is just a fancier beast." His eyes drifted away from the Pokemon to Ash. "...Let me deal with the traitor. Chosen or not by whatever god, a human that would side with Pokemon over his own species doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as the rest of us."

They nodded to one another, then bolted for the trees again. An Ice Beam from Suicune froze the path of one of them, stopping them in their tracks. He cursed in frustration, turning back to look at them all. Suicune prepared another one, but before she could fire it, she heard something ringing loudly. Upon turning her gaze, her eyes widened when she saw a spear nearly upon her. She instinctively raised her head, dodging most of it. A small part of it scraped the underside of her chin as it sailed past and drew blood. It left a clean hole in every tree it touched afterwards until it exploded loudly.

With wild eyes, she glared at where it had come from, but only saw the trees, bent back from Ash's attack. The Black Suit she'd cornered earlier took the opportunity of their distraction to ready another spear shot. Sensing malicious intent, Ash looked over to him and saw what he had planned. But his barrier still surrounded the entire group, so he simply watched on. If he distracted the rest of the group, the rest of them might miss a chance to spot the other men.

The Black Suit aiming at them noticed Ash's stare. With a cruel smile, he turned the spear gun away from Suicune to aim at Ash. Ash narrowed his eyes at him and widened his legs to prepare for the impact, bringing up both arms.

Serena noticed this, worried. "Ash…?"

"Just stand out of the way," Ash told her. "I might have to defle-"

A loud boom made everyone jump. Ash cried out when the spear hit his barrier, skidding back several feet but managing to stay on his own.

"ASH!" Cried Serena.

Ash unintentionally let out a gasp of air as the wind was nearly knocked out of him. The sheer force behind the spear was far more than he anticipated, and he immediately had to concentrate the entirety of the barrier directly in front of him. A wave rippled through Ash as if he'd been hit by a truck. His arms felt like they were on fire trying to hold it back. The way it drilled rather than simply flying in a straight line made it even harder. His shield was being torn apart by it, so he had to constantly put more Aura into it to keep it stable.

His Pokemon immediately jumped into action. Using Cut, Greninja summoned a sharp, white kunai to try to deflect the spear's course. "Wait, stop!" Cried Serena. Greninja swiftly brought back his hand, looking at Serena questioningly. She turned to Braixen. "Braixen, use Psychic and throw it back!"

Nodding, Braixen cried, "Brai!" She took out the stick in her tail and pointed it to the spear. Both her stick and the spear turned a deep purple color, causing the drilling motion to slowly come to a halt. Ash's arms slumped down now that he was able to rest. He nearly fell to his knees, but Serena caught him in time.

"Thanks, Braixen," She said with a relieved sigh. She said to the others, "That last drill exploded. If you cut it, Greninja, it may have done the same."

While they conversed, the Black-Suited Man who shot the spear scowled, reaching for a remote. "She's a clever one," He admitted, "But not clever enough if she turned her back on us. Do you really think we wouldn't have a plan B?"

Ash's head suddenly shot up. He pushed Serena behind him, reaching out for the spear and summoning a barrier around it. The spear flared white for a brief moment, and then Ash suddenly found his barrier growing. In an instant, the forceful expansion caused its size to triple. He gasped out in pain as his aching arms protested, struggling to keep the explosion contained.

"Ch-Charizard!" He rasped.

The faithful dragon raced into action, grabbing the barrier's edge and digging his claws into it. The raging fires within were nothing to him. Using his tail to kick him off the ground, he soared high into the air with the barrier.

Lugia's team couldn't help but notice this. "What in the world?" Asked the Beast of the Seas. "Is that a Charizard?"

Ash was at the end of his strength. "THROW IT NOW!" He roared.

Not needing to be told twice, Charizard let out a mighty bellow and hurled the orb upward, diving for the ground. Ash's arms collapsed, and the explosion was let loose. Everyone was forced to shield their eyes from its explosion. Even Lugia had to squint his eyes. However, the shade-wearing Black Suits were unaffected.

"Well, I guess we're going with Plan C now."

When the light faded, Serena found a blade at her throat and gasped in shock. When he saw this, Ash felt his blood burn. Ignoring the pain, he jumped to his feet, but was wise enough not to make any movements beyond that. The Beasts of Johto snarled at him menacingly until they looked down, finding themselves in a similar situation to Serena. The other three Black Suits held their plasma knives up to them challengingly, meeting their glares with smirks.

"You're lucky, Ash Ketchum," Said the one holding Serena. "You're still wanted alive. I figured if you could take down big bad Necrozma, you could handle a spear or two. But your girl?" He held his blade closer to her neck. Serena winced, feeling the heat that radiated off of it even without it touching her. "She's not needed."

He motioned with his head to his fellow Black Suits. "What's going to happen here is those three are going to fight those Legends. No one else will move if you value your life, including either of your Pokemon or that other shrimp of a Legend there."

Hearing that, the Beast Trio glared into the dark sunglasses of the other Black Suits, growling menacingly. Their smirks only grew. The three Black Suits distanced themselves from the Legends. One of them threw their spear gun to the one holding Serena. "As for you, Ash," He said, opening its chamber and letting the spear fall to the ground, "I have a demand for you as well."

He began slowly backing away from Ash, who eyed his every move. If he tried anything, Ash swore he would make him regret it. When he reached the edge of the jungle opening, he shoved Serena to the ground roughly. It took Ash's entire will not to rush at him, and he could feel the same anger from his and Serena's Pokemon. He pulled at her shirt and stabbed the spear into it, piercing through the ground. He showed the remote to her face clearly, letting her know what would happen if she moved.

With that done, he stood up and began making his way toward Ash. "All I want," He said, "Is to take you down one on one. But I'm not that cruel, so I'll let you fight back. Alone." He jabbed a thumb toward the other Pokemon. "If any of them interfere, you can kiss your girl goodbye. If you lose, then I guess that's up to the boss. It just depends on how useful he finds all of you."

"And if I win?" Ash asked shakily, trying to contain his rage.

The Black-Suited Man chuckled. "If that happened, then I guess you'd just have to deal with the five-thousand soldiers, the other forty-nine of us and the real monsters we've got below." He put a hand over his ear suddenly, nodding to something. " Oh, and one last thing." He looked to Keldeo, who bared his teeth at the man furiously. "You there. Shrimp Legend. Lee wants to test something."

He pointed back toward a portion of the bent trees. "Keep running that way and you'll find a black door on a rock. From there, you'll be able to meet Lee."

"Why the heck should I do anything you say?" Demanded Keldeo. "I know you're just trying to lure me into a trap!"

The man slapped a hand on his forehead. "You animals really are dumb, aren't you?" He took out the remote again and pointed it at Serena, who's eyes went wide. She tried to glare defiantly, but the fear on her face was easily seen. "I'm not going to repeat myself. Get going now."

Serena opened her mouth, but the man beat her to the punch. "Say anything and you're dead!" Keldeo bit his lip and growled, barely holding back profanities for Serena's sake. Closing his eyes in shame, he ran to where the man pointed, soon disappearing into the trees. He could at least take solace knowing he was going to Lee. If he was lucky, he could put an end to this soon.

Pikachu sparked his cheeks at the man angrily, hardly able to contain his rage. Ash held his arm to stop him. "It's alright," He told Pikachu. "You don't have to do anything." He took off his hat and vest, throwing them behind him. Pikachu's vision was blocked for a moment when the hat landed on him. When he tilted the hat up to see, he saw Ash and the Black Suit marching toward each other.

"Because I'm going to make this guy regret ever being born!"


Keldeo raced through the dark, empty metal halls he found below the island for minutes on end without seeing another living soul. The walls and doors shifted occasionally, closing off certain entryways and making sure he followed designated paths. Someone was watching him. He knew this, and knew he was most certainly walking right into a trap. The only reason he didn't stop or at least destroy the cameras was for fear of Serena's life.

He didn't know how deep into this place he was, but he knew he was deep. Occasionally, he could hear sounds of water through the walls. Luckily, his typing would prevent that from being deadly to him. Hopefully that was the trap they intended. He could feign death until help came. By then, Serena surely would have been rescued. He would not be the death of a friend of Ash's.

"Stop right there, if you would."

Keldeo screeched to a halt and looked to the roof as he heard the voice over the intercom. "Who is that?!" He demanded.

The voice replied, "You likely already know me as Lee from Arceus, correct?"

So this was Lee. Keldeo scowled at the nearest camera to him. "What do you want from me?! Why don't you meet me face to face?"

"And what would you do if I did?" Asked Lee. "Surely you do not need to be reminded of your situation if you came all the way down here of your own volition." Keldeo merely growled without answering, so Christopher Lee continued. His sickening laughter echoed through the hall, irritating the young Legend. "So few Legends came to oppose us here," He mused. "Arceus clearly knows I am a threat, so he is not underestimating us. Could it be that he is...short on Legends?"

Keldeo snarled at him, but continued to not reply.

Lee said, "I'm quite the historian, you know. I know much folklore and Legends about the...well, Legends." He laughed again. "A part of that is quite entwined with the history of humans. Such as wars. Among many wars between humanity and Pokemon, in Unova, there was a particular band of three whose names appeared quite often."

At this point, Keldeo knew what he was getting at and could no longer contain himself. "Enough! What do you want with me?!"

He heard chiding tsk's. "Patience is a virtue, young Keldeo. I'm not finished, and there's a question I want answered."

"You really brought me all the way down here for that?!" Snarled an irate Keldeo.

"That," Said Lee, "Is a dangerous tone. One that could get a certain someone hurt." Keldeo's teeth clenched so much he could feel them digging into each other. Lee continued. "But very well. I'll get to the point. You, Keldeo, are known to be close to Terrakion, Virizion and Cobalion. Those three are often in lore regarding Pokemon-human wars, but they have yet to appear to combat any of us. Come to think of it, they were never seen during the battle against Necrozma either. Even more reclusive Legends appeared there."

Christopher Lee leaned into the microphone, a grin upon his face when he asked, "So what happened to them? Did they die before that? The tales would suggest they were far too strong to be killed so easily. Or were those tales wrong?"

At this point, Keldeo was so angry he couldn't even see, let alone think. He stamped his hooves into the floor angrily, denting them. "SHUT UP!" He shouted, running down the hall. "YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH INSULTING THEM LIKE THAT!"

Lee's laughter continued to echo throughout the hall on loop, driving Keldeo into a further rage. He saw a door in the distance. The intercom gradually became quieter, allowing him to hear that same laughter coming from the opposite side. "There you are!" He roared. "You're through!"

The intercom returned as loud as it was before. Lee's fading voice seemed to have only been an effect. "I disagree," He said. "Allow me to show you why I called you down here. Beginning field log one. Title: The Burned Man."

The black door bent toward Keldeo suddenly. He skidded to a stop and readied his horn. Another dent sent it flying toward him, and with a Sacred Sword, he sliced it in two. Its halves flew past him, skidding loudly as they continued moving into the distance. A large humanoid figure clad in black armor stepped out of the smoke, walking toward Keldeo with loud, heavy steps.

Their armor was jagged. Bright red lines decorated the spaces between each plate, and his fingertips curled into what looked like sharp claws. Though it may have been more accurate to call each one a knife. This figure was so tall that he nearly touched the roof with his head. His helmet was perhaps the only round part of his body. The back was heavily armored, but the front appeared to be only a black sphere. Ordinarily, it would have been a visor. But this was more of a sensor, for the man inside no longer had eyes that functioned.

"Mr. Harper," Said Lee, "...Take it away."

The Burned Man looked up. "...Tell me," He said. "His voice came out as heavily metallic and computerized. It was deep and booming, much louder than Keldeo expected. "Is Moltres above?"

Keldeo turned his scowl upon him, aiming his horn at the man. "Why do you want to know? Why should I tell you anything?"

The man, who Keldeo identified as 'Harper' from Lee, looked back down to him. "I care not for what Lee says. I am already a dead man walking, killed by Moltres. My only objective is avenging myself. If it is a test he wants, he will have it with my battle against it, not you."

He attempted to step forward, but Keldeo created a long blade of light from his horn with Sacred Sword and pointed it at Harper. "If you think I'm just going to let you walk past me and put Moltres in danger, you have another thing coming!"

Harper stepped back. "I have no quarrel with you," He said. "Get out of my way or I will."

Lee's voice returned. He said, "Keldeo, Moltres, it matters not to me. Do what you will."

Seemingly unafraid of Keldeo, the Burned Man began walking toward him again in spite of the blade pointing his way. "Move aside or I will make you," He ordered again. His massive arms reached up, flexing its metal fingers.

Keldeo stood unmoving. "I've already given you my answer!" He brought the blade up, slicing cleanly through the walls and ceiling. "If you want to hurt Moltres, or any of my friends…" His head tilted down, and with it, his attack, aimed right at Harper's head. "You'll have to go through me!"

A loud clang rang throughout the metal hall, echoing far. Keldeo gasped in shock. The Burned Man caught his blade with one arm. Despite it sparking furiously against the metal of his hand, it bore no visible damage.

"It would seem Lee went all out with these upgrades," Mused the Burned Man. "I told him I would not be made a member of Ryder's squad."

Keldeo tried unsuccessfully to pull away. "What the heck are you talking about?!"

Shaking his head, he replied, "Nothing that concerns you." He crushed the blade, making Keldeo stagger backwards in its absence. "Now then, if you're so adamant on a fight…"

Jets of flame spewed from Harper's shoulders, elbows, and the back of his boots. He sped toward Keldeo with speeds the young Legends didn't expect, and he barely had the time to process what was happening before an armored fist the size of his head slammed into the side of his face. Keldeo was sent hurtling down the hall before skidding to a halt as he dug his hooves into the metal floor. He combated the burning that was caused by spraying water from his hooves.

Turning his back to Harper, who was storming toward him, he kicked up his back hooves and sprayed a Hydro Pump at him. Harper, in retaliation, held up his hand and unveiled a burning red opening in his palm. The air whistled as it was burned all of a sudden. A powerful stream of raw, concentrated heat blasted out from the opening, crashing against Keldeo's Hydro Pump.

The hall became swamped with steam from the combination of elements. This was something Harper used to his advantage. With his free hand, he shot a ball of flame toward Keldeo's side. He didn't even know what hit him before he was knocked into the wall by the burning explosion that happened when the ball touched the floor beside him.

Harper stampeded toward Keldeo and ripped him from the wall, throwing him ahead. He shot a thick wire from armor above his wrist, which curled around Keldeo's leg and pulled him right back to him. He extended an armored arm to catch Keldeo in a clothesline, but the Legend swerved his body midair to avoid the arm and deliver a Double Kick to his helmet. Harper staggered a bit, but otherwise seemed unaffected.

Keldeo used Sacred Sword again, aiming to thrust into his back. Harper reached around and grabbed it, then hoisted Keldeo over his head by it and slammed him into the ground. He kicked Keldeo in the back, sending him flying forward, and raced after him. When he caught up, he grabbed his back and plunged him into the ground before throwing him further. They soon came to the end of the hallway, but it wasn't an end for harper.

He drove his shoulder into Keldeo and plunged both of them through the wall into a new corridor. Keldeo cried out in pain, but was swiftly silenced when Harper grabbed his face and drove him into the floor. His hand glowed over Keldeo's mouth, making the Legend's eyes go wide. He quickly used Sacred Sword, and with the angle it was at, it shot straight into Harper's helmet.

The hulk of armor staggered backwards, grabbing at his smoking face. Keldeo jumped up and distanced himself from him. It was hard to tell if any actual damage was done, but attacking the face of his helmet seemed to stun him.

The Burned Man was left in near emptiness, his senses completely stripped from him besides hearing static as his systems tried to restore itself. He placed a hand to the wall, finding, to his surprise, that his armor granted him the ability to feel through the layers of folded metal coating him. Though absent of pain, he also felt when Keldeo tried unsuccessfully to drive another Sacred Sword through him.

"What?!" Cried Keldeo as he watched his attack bounce off the man in bright sparks. "That's a direct hit! Why isn't it going through?!"

Harper grabbed the blade, and when Keldeo canceled the attack to free himself, Harper lurched forward and grabbed him as well. With his senses restored, he glared into Keldeo's face. "You lack power," He said simply before bringing him over his head and driving him into the ground with enough force to make a large indent in the floor. He stomped down on Keldeo, earning a cry of pain from him.

The soles of his boots lit bright red, and Harper made sure to clasp his hand over Keleo's head to prevent another attack. He crouched down, raising his free hand and preparing to fire with it as well. "I told you not to stand in my way. I gave you a chance to go find Lee on your own. But it was my mistake for believing a beast could have higher thought!"

The hall was filled with fire racing down it, created by a massive explosion. Keldeo was sent hurtling down floor after floor, still in the fiery grasp of The Burned Man. As they descended, Harper drove his body into the burning walls and dragged it along. And when they finally stopped descending, Keldeo was slammed into the floor with enough force to make the walls crumble and bend around them. Harper then delivered one final kick to Keldeo's gut to knock him into a wall, where he laid unmoving and embedded. His body slumped forward, limp.

Scoffing at him, Harper turned away and looked up at the series of floors he'd have to climb back up to get to Moltres. He raised his arm, preparing to see if his wire could carry his weight when he heard Keldeo speak.

"I lack power?" He repeated, pushing himself out of the wall. "You don't know who you're messing with! Resolute-"

His eyes widened as Harper sprinted toward him like a bull. He tried to jump out of the way, but he was too slow. Harper delivered a bone-shattering punch to Keldeo's side that filled the room with the sound of a sickening crack. Keldeo let out a choked, pained gasp as every ounce of air in his body was driven out of him.

Keldeo was sent flying through wall after wall, feeling his broken interior continue to be shattered with each crash until he was met with...water? Opening his eyes, Keldeo yelped as they were stung by salt. He didn't have much time to contemplate what he would make of this before a wire tied itself around his legs and dragged him right back in.

Harper threw Keldeo behind him just as an emergency door closed, shutting off most of the water coming in. There was still enough of it to rise to Harper's knees and Keldeo's neck when he raised his head high enough.

"I assume you have some sort of form change," Surmised Harper, "But I see no need to further waste my time with you when Moltres lies above us." The palms of his hands opened, causing Keldeo's eyes to widen. Instead of firing, Harper clasped his hands together, heating them up to extreme temperatures. The knifes on his fingers burned a bright red, and the heat radiating off of them distorted Keldeo's vision.

Harper dug these claws into a light above him and tore down a series of wires, which he then proceeded to dunk in the water. To make it worse, more water from the floors above rained down from the sprinkler systems. Keldeo let out cries of agony as the electric currents coursed through his body, rendering him unable to do anything but spastically twitch. The current was so strong that the falling water ignited before it could touch the sea water below. But Harper himself was unaffected. The electricity bounced right off his armor.

As the Burned Man walked past Keldeo toward the open ceiling, Keldeo managed to glare daggers at him. It was all he could do. Harper, meanwhile, paid no more attention to him. He'd wasted his time enough. He shot the wire up, propelling himself with the fire from his boots and leaving Keldeo alone. Keldeo tried to cry out for anyone, but it only came out as choked gargles.


Author's Note

Pokextinction Fact of the Day: Christopher Lee was a bit cruel when making The Burned Man's suit. His offensive abilities are almost entirely based upon flames, the very thing that irreparably scarred him. Among Ryder's squad, Harper's defensive prowess surpasses even Heavy. His offensive power is more destructive, though not as versatile as Pyro's was. Naturally, his massive suit also makes him, ordinarily, slow. However, the suit reacts to his body movements and uses small jets of fire to propel his necessary body parts, increasing his speed drastically. Ryder's speed far surpasses Harper's though.

Moltres's attacks left him stripped of almost every sense, given how his entire body was burned black.

Lee's scientists, as well as Auto from Ryder's squad, managed to replicate human senses all across his suit, barring pain. Sight, hearing and smell are all dependent on the sensor in front of his helmet, and while that area is durable, it is also highly sensitive because of this. He cannot eat anymore, so taste was omitted in his design.

If he fought Keldeo to the end, regardless of Keldeo's resolute form, it wouldn't end well for him.

Creator: We've been wanting to do this chapter for a very long time, which is why it came out so fast. This is the true turning point in Ash's quest for this arc. How did you all like seeing 'Mewtwo' again? Do you think Ash stands a chance against a Black-Suited Man after being weakened so much? Where do you think Giratina is? And what will happen to poor Keldeo?

Hydra: Well this chapter came out certainly quick. I must say it's such a relief to finally be at this point since we've been sitting on the idea for this chapter for over 6 months. Things are certainly getting tense for our heroes. Let's just hope they can hold out till Mr. Star arrives.

Onto the reviews.

Amourshipper35: "Wow I liked seeing Ash and the Legends find the base."

Creator: I bet you liked seeing them raid it even more.

Hydra: As well as seeing Harper once again.

Guest1: "I like Serena but she hasn't been doing nothing for a while."

Creator: I feel you. I've been trying to give her instances of importance, but much plot importance comes in the form of strength, which she lacks being a relatively new trainer. Her role is more of a backup for Ash, helping him when he can't help himself and acting as motivation for him. He constantly struggles with thoughts of alienation ever since he received Aura's 'gift,' but having something he loves right in front of him at all times gives him a reason to use it and acts as a constant reminder that he is needed.

Hydra: One if the hard parts when writing her character compared to Ash is that she doesn't have any aura abilities of any kind which makes her completely reliant on her Pokemon where as Ash can get right into the fight with his Pokemon.

Guest2: "Good chapter, so Ash and his friends had a meeting with Arceus and the surviving Legendary pokemon to discusses their next movement to faces Nova Branch and Team rocket, well it is sad to see how much Ash could noted the notable change of personality of Lugia since the last time that they meet each other, as during the events of Pokemon 2000 movie, Lugia showed be a composed pokemon with a personality wise and calmed, and he was always willing to acts like a mediator in arguments, but now, as result of the incidents with Necrozma and Lee, Lugia became a shadow of his past self; to become a pokemon that harbors a notable grief and anger for his losses and humiliations, and displays a personality more reckless and pragmatic to solves the problems, than a more calmed personality that would prefered solves the problems with a more diplomatic way, notably showed by his intention of kill in cold blood the agent Thorn after surrendered himself and begged for his life, if Ash wouldn't discouraged him from accomplished this. I hope that Ash can heal the grief of Lugia eventually, and can help him to restore his previous personality to a certain extent, as is sad to see Lugia acting in this ruthless way, even if the Nova branch members deserve this.

Also, as other point, is disturbing to see the finding of Ash and Lugia about the aura camouflage technology of the Nova branch, as apparently Mr Star has something similar to this, implying some possible connection between his corporation and the Nova branch, giving a possible explanation about the advanced technology and weaponry of the Nova branch; they have a powerful benefactor. And even if we cannot be sure if Mr Star is directly involved with this, perhaps this implies some rat and spy within his corporation, that is sponsoring the Nova branch to the backs of the coalition. And if this is true, this could mean other bad news, like that this rat could reveal all the plans of the coalition to the Nova branch to give them the upperhand, to know every action from their enemies beforehand, meaning that it could be truly necessary to find this rat before it is too late.

And talking about technology, the freeze mines of the Nova branch are actually dangerous weapons, to mention that these things can freeze their victims completely, to the point of turning them into literal statues, if there wouldn't be some powerful fire type pokemon like moltres or entei. Well, I wonder if Harper could deploy some experimental and upgraded version of these mines, a freezing mine capable of overwhelming any known flame without matter to their temperature with an experimental formula of some coolant that absorbs any heat and lowers the temperature to the absolute zero. And perhaps during his possible battle against moltres, the firebird ended sprayed with some of this formula after some mine being denoted, and the fluid became sticked and bonded moleculary to its feathers, rendering the fire attacks of moltres defunct, and even maybe the external flames of moltres dissappears, leaving moltres flameless (search moltres without fire mod in you tube)

To finishes, after read some responses of the commentaries, so the raid of the Nova branch HQ would begins in the next chapter, well, i hope to see this confrontation between moltres and Harper, as could be interesting to see Harper setting some score in moltres as payback for mauled him, and that if moltres loses its capabilities to uses fire type attacks and even generates fire from its body, this could serves a warning to the others of watch out the new weaponry of the Nova branch, especially fire type pokemon as entei and reshiram.

PS. As another similarity of this fanfic story with other, i noted that the plot is something similar to the plot of "Doomsday, the death of Superman'' movie, as both stories are conformed by two main arcs; the first arcs consists in the attack of a mysterious and powerful alien creatures (Necrozma/Doomsday) that comes of the outer space and once in the native worlds, this hostile creatures starts a killing spree to destroys and kills everything and everyone that crosses in their paths, causing notables casualties, and this incidents brought the attention of the protectors of this worlds (Legendary pokemons/Superman), and they fighted against the invaders, and after a gruesome and titanic battle, the alien creatures are defeated, but not before to caused some notable and tragic incident before to be defeated (some legendary pokemons died/Superman died), leaving their respective worlds devastated and demoralized for this events, bringing as result the second arcs, that as result of this tragic events, some shady and powerful men (Christopher Lee/Lex Luthor), took advantage of this situation to their own benefit (takes over the remannent of the world/creates clones of superman), and would depends of the survivors stops them before be too late.

Keep the good job."

Creator: Lugia's scars are deep. Necrozma just had that effect to him to change anything forever, be it living or nonliving. Ash's presence, and his Aura, can counter this a bit. The similarities in technology between Mr. Star and the Nova Branch are odd, but they are technological competitors considering both sides are aiming to take down each other. Not to mention, Ash made that statue that's permanently covered in his Aura, so samples are easy for anyone to take if they know how.

Of course, a Nova Brancher would have to get into New Goldenrod City in the first place, so the prospect of a spy's existence is still there.

You have some interesting ideas regarding Harper. In this chapter, we only saw a small glimpse of his full arsenal. Maybe some of your ideas might be right in the future. Hey, the Superman thing IS similar actually. It wasn't intentional on our end, but good call. Glad to see you're liking these chapters, and I bet you'll love this one.

Hydra: It was so satisfying to finally show Mr. Harper in action. Hopefully you enjoyed seeing him absolutely destroy Keldeo. I must say I didn't actually think I'd find someone who would actually get much of the references we put into this story, but regardless it's refreshing. If your perceptive throughout the story you might find many of the hidden references throughout it just like the Superman one.

Guest3: "This story is so underrated. This is one of the most excellent stories I've read for two years! Keep up the good work."

Creator: Always heartwarming to know we have plenty of silent readers, and it's even more heartwarming to see them speaking up. We actually checked out our view counts per chapter recently and they were much larger than I thought. Thank you so much."

Hydra: Thanks so much! Just like what Creator said it's really refreshing to know we have a ton of silent readers who love the story! I hope to hear from you again!

DarkPugLord23: "Ah, another great chapter! I'm gonna be honest, I genuinely think the only reason the Legendary Pokemon aren't ripping each other's throats out yet is because of Ash. Kinda like the whole "parents abhor one another but only stay together because of the kid" situation, or something like that. I can't wait for the next chapter; raids are one of my favorite tropes in fics."

Creator: For some of the Legends, it is indeed like that. For others, it is out of respect for slaying Necrozma. There is also a fear of Aura's power among them all, especially Arceus, who actually knows Aura firsthand. But for one Legend, their kindness is borne from both genuinity, and from a plan. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Hydra: Good to hear from ya again! You are definitely right in your assumption of Ash and the legends, while there's many other reasons the legends haven't turned on each other, Ash is definitely one of the biggest influences on why the worst possible scenario has yet to happen.

British-Vulture: "Chad Erusian Spotting Network: I force the enemy to fly through an increasingly narrow canyon for them to avoid my radar, and I have a Searchlights and helicopters lining it to spot any aircraft attempting to run through it, thus giving us time to defend ourselves. It took an ace of aces pilot and his allies copying him to get through it.

Virgin Nova Branch Spotting Network: i have no way to distinguish natural weather from artificial weather, and i have no backup. please don't hurt me.

Yeah, IM BACK BABY! After Late November-Early December being filled with depression and bad thoughts, and spending the rest with my family, and using the first half of Jan to sort and plan some ways to better myself further, ITS RETURN OF THE KING

In all seriousness, I loved this Chapter, especially with Lugia actually averting a trope I see in other fics I've read, where the legendaries are a main player. In those, the Legendaries are either flawed and always in the wrong, with it sometimes veering Designated Villain territory when it's clear they have a good reason for it, or they are portrayed as flawless and always right, no matter what. Of course, this only applied to the ones I've read, so let me know if there are any that avert this, because I'd like to read them. In this, Lugia is a good guy, and he does do some morally ambiguous or outright wrong stuff, but it's actually shown in a way that isn't designated hero/villain. He's actually got reasons, both right and wrong, to be how he is. It's honestly something I didn't expect to be done to this level.

In short, loved this chapter, and I love how Lugia is an actual individual.

Keep up the good work, boys!"

Creator: Return of the King indeed. We've certainly missed you. Glad to hear you're doing better and we're glad to have you back.

To be fair, the Nova Branch thought it was the work of Kyogre since the base is in Hoenn, which is why they circled around the main island on the lookout for him and then retreated to safety. As we saw in this chapter, if it really was Kyogre and he decided to show his face, it wouldn't end well.

We took extra care to make the Legends as morally complex as possible after Necrozma brought them down from their high horse. Throughout history, they were nigh invincible. Ordinary humans had no way to hurt them and even pseudo-Legends were far weaker. Now, that has changed. Their weaknesses have been exposed, reminding them that they're not immortal. Nothing in this fic is. The Legends have all dealt with this in different ways. Arceus reflects on his decisions and tries to make up for his past, but finds he lacks the power to right his wrongs. Lugia's anger is extended toward everything around him, unable to find peace. Rayquaza was humiliated twice, shattering his pride. But Arceus saved him, so Rayquaza feels an undying debt.

And Giritina…

Hydra: Glad to have you back bro! Your reviews are always epic! I'm glad to see you're ok and I can't wait to see how you react to THIS chapter! What comes next will blow your mind.

Creator: Next time on Pokextinction, we see the resolution of Ash and the Beast Trio's battle. Reshiram's use will also be more clear. Someone else will also be joining the fight, but there will be others joining to combat them. Can you guess who these characters are?

Hydra: I'm so happy we finally finished this chapter. This one has been a long time coming and it's really cool to finally see another huge war scene since the last one was back in chapter 18. To all our reviewers I'd like to say once again thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, it's always inspiring to hear your guys theories on what could happen and to all the silent readers I'd also like to say thanks for sticking with us to this point! Once again I hope you all have a great day and we'll see you soon for part two!