Ch.26
Showdown
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A long, overdue thank you to everyone (reviewers, followers, people how favorited the story, or just read every chapter without doing any of those) who decided to join Dmitri and friends on their journey.
Salamence waited patiently at the front gates with a hard, expectant gaze; awaiting his foes with steeled resolve. He did not know how they would treat an enemy who was friends with a human, but he prepared himself for combat if they decided to attack him rather than go to the battlefield of Stephanie's choosing. The entire school had been evacuated, but some tried to stay and help Karen like Malakai and the headmaster, but they were urged to leave the campus. In Stephanie's words, their pokemon couldn't handle the level of battle that was going to occur and as such she only trusted Hope to stay behind and help out if needed. Lucario and Electivire soon joined him at the front gates with the same solemn expression as they knew the grim thoughts he was thinking; any one of them could die in the battle and after they had just been reunited too.
Why, he wanted to challenge Electivire to a burp off, challenge Slowbro to a staring contest, and exchange tales of strength and valor with Rhyperior even though the stories sometimes deviated from what actually happened just like the old days. All three knew why Stephanie chose Rhyperior and Slowbro to engage the Swords of Justice first as much as it pained them to admit it; Stephanie, Slowbro, and Rhyperior were the strongest on the team and as such Stephanie chose him and his teammates to wait on reserve.
"(Friends, the time of battle approaches; our foes are here,)" Salamence said solemnly as he heard the thunderous, booming footsteps of the their opponents causing Lucario and Electivire to tense up as Cobalion and her friends came to a halt in front of the trio with angered gazes.
"(Cobalion, Terrakion, and Keldeo...welcome. If you would allow me, I will show you the being whom you seek vengeance against,)" Salamence stated calmly as Cobalion intensified her narrowed, harsh gaze at the elderly pokemon, but nodded warily and gestured to the entrance.
Nodding in return, Salamence slowly lead them to the area Stephanie told him to go as Lucario and Electivire flanked the legendary pokemon at either side; preparing to intervene if they attacked. Keldeo walked up to the old pokemon with a hot, yet hurt stare as Salamence looked at him with a blank expression.
"(Why do you allow yourself to be enslaved by a human old one?)" Keldeo demanded furiously as Salamence snorted and hardened his gaze.
"(I have not been enslaved; I chose to go with Karen because I wanted adventure, battle, and friendship and she provided all of those in spades. She has not done anything that would make it seem that I am a mere laborer and she has showed me that she is a kind, selfless being,)" Salamence retorted with equal vigor causing the young legendary to grunt contemptuously.
"(Then why does she keep you in those infernal sphere prisons?)" Keldeo retorted smugly, thinking he won the argument, but instead he was surprised when his question was meet with a rude, brief chuckle by the old dragon.
"(She doesn't keep me in there without my permission and if I don't want to be in there then she respects my decision,)" Salamence rebutted as he came to a stop at a gate and gently nudged it open with his wing.
Salamence gestured with his wing to the gate causing Cobalion, Terrakion, and Keldeo to walk through it with steady, focused steps as Salamence and his teammates let them pass before following them from behind.
Meanwhile
Hope stood on the balcony at in the teacher's lounge with his arms crossed and his face contorted into an unsure, scared gaze as Gengar had reported back to him in record time after he surveyed the surrounding area and it was just as he feared; the other legends felt Virizion's death and were coming here to investigate what happened. They wouldn't be happy when they found out that a pokemon who was friends with a human caused their brethren's death.
"That means we're going to have one hell of a fight on our hands," Hope mused grimly as he skimmed through his pokegear and came upon Dmitri and Delia's numbers.
Staring at them in contemplation, he ultimately set the device on the table and fingered the pokeballs on his belt. Releasing his team consisting of Klinklang, Reuniclus, Golurk, Dusknoir, and Sawsbuck, he petted all of them and explained to them the situation.
"Guys, my friend is in danger of being killed by legendary pokemon." Hope said bluntly as the uproar of rage caused Hope to grin slightly as they stared at him in shock while Golurk accidentally banged his head against the ceiling and waved apologetically to Hope.
"My friend's team is currently out there prepared to fight them, but they will need help when the others arrive and I know you guys don't know-" Hope didn't get to finish as Reuniclus, Sawsbuck and Klinklang opened the window and descended down to the battlefield while Golurk and Dusknoir disappeared in a flash of purple mist where they reappeared at their teammate's side.
Chuckling lightly, he waved his hand which caused his shadow to move in a marionette like manor and materialize in front of him as his trusted starter Gengar. The ghost pokemon chuckled solemnly and flew out the window where it appeared at his teammate's side with a wide grin causing Hope to smirk and walk over to the couch where Karen was starting to stir.
"H-hope…w-what happened?" Karen asked groggily as she tried to sit up, but he gently pushed her back down eliciting an indignant huff from the former champion.
"Relax, you're still healing from the wound you got," Hope told her as Karen faintly recalled Virizion attacking her and blacking out.
"Stephanie killed Virizion," Hope stated tersely causing Karen to do a double take and make sure she heard him right.
"Damn it Stephanie, why you'd have to go and do that?" Karen mumbled angrily as she pounded the couch with her fists.
"Although I wasn't there, I was told Stephanie asphyxiated Virizion by squeezing all the air from his lungs," Hope said simply as he offered her a shrug and knelt down next to her.
"And where is she now?" Karen demanded as Hope sighed and ran a hand through his gray hair.
"Out in the battle ace area with my pokemon and yours, preparing to fight for your life as the other Swords of Justice have come to take yours for penance," Hope responded calmly as Karen sat up and brushed aside the psychiatrist's hand.
"But the legends say…"
"If one legendary pokemon is to fall, than the others in the region will come to their brethren's aid," Hope finished for her as Karen laughed dryly and folded her arms.
"So here we are; a former master battler and this school's premier psychiatrist against the legendary pokemon who shaped the world. If it were just the Swords of Justice I wouldn't worry too much, but all the legendaries in Unova are going to come. I sincerely hope that Stephanie and the others can win despite the odds," Karen stated seriously as Hope furrowed his brow and stood up with his hands in his coat pockets.
"And if they can't?"
"Then I'll give them what they came her for; an eye for an eye, a life for a life, a friend for a friend."
Battle Ace Training Field
Stephanie waited for her foes as she properly breathed in and out; trying to focus her attention on the battle ahead. Granted, she knew she would have overpowered Virizion without using her powered form, but she needed to get it over with quickly and that's why she ascended into it and she would have let the forest guardian keep his life if he hadn't attacked Karen, a noncombatant. This showed that he wasn't a being of his word and meant he would take any opportunity to defeat his foe and even if he somehow managed to beg for his life and say he wouldn't kill Karen, she couldn't trust him; he left her with no choice.
She felt bad, sure; although she would only admit it to Karen, she use to look up to the haughty sword of justice when she was younger, but that feeling turned into disdain as she got older and studied her former idol and his companions. She was offended and hurt as she studied these so called guardians of pokemon as they would forcibly remove pokemon from their human companions; seeing them as slave drivers and Stephanie realized that assumption proved to be true only a few times, but they ignorantly used this assumption to judge all humans. When they separated the pokemon from their friends, most pokemon they "freed" ended up trying to find their human friends once again only to find them lying on their backs across the ground with a deep, long cut along their abdomen.
Stephanie held a dislike for some legendaries for a few reasons; their great power wasn't earned, they treated non-legendary pokemon like naive children, and they thought their great power meant that their way was the only one and would harshly punish those who didn't follow it. Stephanie glanced around and found Hope's team at her right side and locked eyes with Gengar as the two grinned at each other and nodded. She found the ghost type strange and odd, but eventually warmed up to him and his strange sense of humor consisting of random jump scares and making objects fly randomly across the room. Seeing her approaching foes, the floral serpent tensed up and readied herself for battle as she looked at Rhyperior with a stern look.
"(Try to convince them to leave in peace; I don't trust myself to say pleasant things to them,)" Stephanie whispered as Rhyperior nodded slowly and stepped forward as she offered the three legends a deep bow of respect.
"(Ancient ones, I am humbled to be in your presence,)" Rhyperior stated sincerely as Cobalion and the others bowed back to her and stared straight ahead; glaring at Stephanie darkly.
"(Finally, another pokemon owned by that human who shows us the respect we deserve; we have come for the human and if you give her to us none of you will be harmed,)" Cobalion boomed as Stephanie gritted her teeth and tried to keep her calm while Rhyperior winced at what she said, but kept her cool composure.
"(Ancient ones, I implore you to abandon your quest of revenge and return to your places of residence. My friend may have killed one of your own, but he tried to kill our human friend with unjust cause,)" Rhyperior begged them as Cobalion snorted smugly and held her head up high.
"(I trust Virizion's judgment more than some pokemon reduced to a slave by a mere human,)" Cobalion retorted as Stephanie resisted the urge to attack the legendary pokemon by clenching her teeth and inhaling and exhaling slowly.
"(I'm sure that Salamence has already told you ancient one that we are no slaves; we are friends with Karen and she treats us all with respect, love, and dignity. So please, I ask you of you to stop this and leave us in peace,)" Rhyperior stated firmly as the sky thundered loudly causing Stephanie to look up and curse under her breathe; the Kami trio and Kyurem had arrived.
"(Cobalion, I sensed Virizion's life force fade; what's going on?)" Landorus inquired as Cobalion looked at him with sad, bitter eyes and gestured at Stephanie.
"(She killed Virizion, Landorus; we're merely here to exact our revenge and then we'll be on our way,)" Cobalion stated as the leader of the Kami trio floated to Stephanie and observed her with a blank stare.
"(Powerful one, is it true that you killed Virizion and if so, for what purpose?)" Landorus asked calmly which caused Stephanie to inwardly sigh with relief; at least this legendary wasn't treating her like a child.
"(Landorus, it's true that I killed Virizion, but he unfairly tried to decide a fellow pokemon's fate when their mind was already made up and he attempted to kill my friend Karen,)" Stephanie answered coolly as Cobalion snorted in disdain and pounded her foot on the ground angrily which caused a small tremor that shook the earth for a brief moment.
"(Even if that's true, his actions are justified as he was trying to look out for a fellow pokemon and he was getting rid of human scum!)" Cobalion shrieked furiously as Stephanie's breathing became angrier and louder while Slowbro patted her back to calm her down and noted that Genesect, Victini, and Meloetta had arrived as well.
"(Powerful one, may I speak to this Karen and the pokemon whom Virizion tried to pass judgement upon?)" Landorus peacefully asked Stephanie who stared down at the ground for a brief moment before reluctantly nodding and looked to Salamence and gestured to the open window in the teacher's lounge.
The elderly dragon ascended to the window near the teacher's lounge which gave Karen the chance to jump on his back, allowing the dragon to slowly descend near the leader of the Kami trio. Karen offered a small bow to the legendary pokemon who returned the sentiment in kind as Karen, knowing already what he wanted, sent out Kiera who looked up at the leader of the Kami trio with blank, unamused eyes and greeted him by rolling back and forth. Karen verified what Stephanie said was true as she told him that Virizion did indeed attack her and the events leading up to it while Kiera backed her up with excited clicks and grunts. Landorus rubbed his chin and tilted his head to the side as the duo explained the events and as they finished, he nodded to them and bowed.
"(Thank you; Cobalion, now that you sense this human, do you believe that she's the monster you make her out to be?)" Landorus asked her calmly as Cobalion huffed angrily and contorted her face into a dark scowl before hesitantly shaking her head.
"(That's all I need to know; we, the Kami trio, withdraw our support and will return to where we belong,)" Landorus boomed as the pokemon around him stared wide eyed in shock at his decision while he ascended up into the air and flew away with his companions following close behind.
Victini and Meloetta soon followed, sensing the kindness and sincerity from the human, and left the Battle Academy leaving only Cobalion, Terrakion, Keldeo, Kyurem, and Genesect.
"(Where's Reshiram and Zekrom?! Why aren't they here?!)" Cobalion demanded hotly as Kyurem gazed at her blankly and blew out a puff of cold mist.
"(They've been enslaved by humans claiming to be heroes of truth and ideals, Cobalion. When we finish here, we can rescue them,)" Terrakion suggested as Cobalion nodded and crouched down as if she were hunting causing the pokemon who opposed her to tense up.
"(I will give you one chance; leave now…or suffer the consequences,)" Stephanie said deathly calm as Cobalion shook her head and gestured to her fellow Swords of Justice who readied themselves for combat along with Kyurem who stood up to his full height while Genesect charged up his signature move and stamped his foot into the ground.
Stephanie gestured to the building causing Karen to nod as she and Hope retreated to it while Cobalion stepped forward as if to pursue them, but the grass snake slithered in front of her, blocking her path.
"(So be it,)" Stephanie growled as she seemingly teleported in front of Keldeo and made a quick, devastating slash across his leg and caused the legendary to howl in agony as he collapsed on the cold, unforgiving earth nurturing his useless limb with some of the muscle exposed.
Before any of the other legandaries could get over their initial shock, Cobalion was bum rushed by Rhyperior and violently plowed through the many buildings in the school while Terrakion was blown back by the combined attacks of Salamence, Lucario, and Electivire. Slowbro and Genesect were currently engaged in a firefight with both combatants shielding themselves from the other's attacks while trying to find opportunities to counter attack as Slowbro put a screen of light to cause Genesect's attack to bounce off and divert off to the side.
The entirety of Hope's team was ganging up on Kyurem, showing no quarter, until the ancient dragon unleashed a blast of deadly, icy winds that froze everything in its path, but the psychiatrist's team stood strong and advanced toward the ice dragon steadily. Stephanie, seeing that Slowbro and Rhyperior were holding their own and were slowly gaining the upper hand on their opponents, decided to help out her weaker allies and viciously assaulted Kyurem knowing he was the greatest threat. Stephanie ducked under an a beam of chilling ice that dropped the temperature down to zero and unleashed a wave of destructive, draconic energy from her mouth that sent the massive dragon tumbling off his feet and onto his back as the Hope's team proceeded to pound the ice dragon's vulnerable stomach with their strongest attacks. Kyurem responded by erratically spewing a burst of draconic plumes for his mouth that sent every member of Hope's team flying back and harshly colliding with the wall, but Stephanie managed to dodge it in time and swung her tail at his chin. The attack ceased instantly and caused a small explosion in Kyurem's mouth causing him to howl in agony.
Rhyperior coughed and gritted her teeth as Cobalion kicked her with her hind legs and sent her sailing backwards until she placed her ball like tail on the ground and like an anchor, held her in place. Rhyperior charged at her foe with her horn getting longer and shining a light green while Cobalion summoned a pillar of light that acted like a sharp, sword on her head and charged at the elderly pokemon who did the same. The two sword-like appendages clashed in brilliant show of hot sparks as neither side was able to overpower the other as Rhyperior dug in and tried to endure while Cobalion tried to push forward to no avail. Cobalion suddenly stepped to the side, averting her foes momentum, and struck out as the elderly pokemon stumbled right into her attack, but wore a face of shock as Rhyperior caught her blade in one and brought her other arm back while still holding onto her.
With a war cry, Rhyperior simultaneously pulled Cobalion towards her and swung her arm at her resulting in the leader of the Swords of Justice being violently clotheslined and sent harshly tumbling to the ground. Cobalion gagged violently as she desperately tried to get air back in her system, but her damned opponent grabbed her neck and waist and hoisted her up in the air. With a roar, Rhyperior slammed her foe gut first onto her awaiting knee as hard as she could causing Cobalion to yell in pure agony as she felt her entire rib cage crack and coughed up copious amounts of her blood onto the ground. Rhyperior, however, wasn't done yet; she picked Cobalion by her neck and faced her other palm upwards as a giant, red glowing rock materialized onto her palm as Cobalion could only watch with a face of pure terror as the elderly pokemon smashed it right into her face sending bits of rock everywhere.
Cobalion let out a strained cough as her vision was obscured by the bits of rock that got jammed into her eye while feeling other bits stabbing into her face like tiny knives. Little streams of blood flowed down from her eye sockets making it look like she was crying blood as she felt herself getting roughly grabbed by the waist and felt herself in her foe's grip. She wanted nothing more than to break free, but she simply didn't have the strength to do it as Salamence flew an unconscious Reuniclus, Dusknoir, and Sawsbuck over to the battle rookie area as they had fallen in their arduous battle against Kyurem.
Gently placing their bodies on the ground, he flew back to the battlefield and prepared to engage Kyurem until he had to swoop right in order to avoid a hail of bullet like stones being shot at him by the strongest member of the Swords of Justice causing the old dragon to huff indignantly and slowly settle on the ground; glaring at Terrakion.
"(Friend Lucario, Friend Electivire, stand down. She's mine,)" Salamence stated fiercely as Lucario and Electivire looked to one another for confirmation before nodding at Salamence and stepped back; giving him enough room to fight Terrakion.
"(The same goes for all of you; you've done enough now it's my turn,)" Stephanie shouted determinedly as Gengar nodded and beckoned his comrades back to a safe distance just as Genesect was sent crashing near the ghost type's feet with several burn marks and various parts of his mechanical body missing.
Slowbro approached the ghost type and tilted her head to the side while plopping down on the ground onto her belly and waited for the battle to begin.
"(No more fighting!)" Rhyperior boomed angrily as she threw the broken form of Cobalion towards Keldeo who frantically inched his way to his fallen leader and tried his best to comfort her.
"(Slowbro, please heal Cobalion and Keldeo just enough so they won't die from their injuries,)" Rhyperior commanded in a calm, steady voice as the dim pokemon hobbled over and unleashed a pink ray of energy onto the two fallen legendaries who slowly felt their wounds healing until Slowbro suddenly stopped.
Keldeo still felt like his leg was on fire, but the feeling had subsided somewhat while Cobalion gritted her teeth and slowly stood up with the aching, searing pain still very much apparent, but thanks to Slowbro the pain lessened. Cobalion grunted and limped in front of Keldeo while Terrakion rushed to her side and helped brace her while Kyurem stared at all the pokemon with an impassive stare while snorting out icy mist from his mouth.
"(Take your hurt friends and leave…now!)" Rhyperior demanded furiously as Cobalion glowered at her darkly before turning to her friends and hesitantly nodding.
"(Very well old one; we'll abandon our quest to avenge our comrade. Now that I've seen the way humans can brainwash pokemon into making them think they're friends, it's apparent that we've been too merciful in dealing with humans. Just like the days of old, if any human is seen with a pokemon, they will be forcibly stripped of them and be cut down like the dogs they are,)" Cobalion stated calmly as she painfully limped back into the forest with her two companions slowly limping behind her while Kyurem picked up Genesect and flew away to parts unknown.
"(As the old saying goes; some pokemon never learn,)" Stephanie voiced exasperatedly as Rhyperior sadly shook her head, but was glad that the nightmare was finally over.
"(Come friends; we must tend to the wounded,)" Salamence stated solemnly as Slowbro nodded and went to work healing those who were injured in the brutal fight while the floral serpent slithered in front of Rhyperior and placed her vines on her shoulders.
Releasing warm, soothing energy, Rhyperior let out a sigh of relief as she slowly felt her wounds healing while Stephanie looked up and stared at her straight in the eye.
"(Healing isn't really my forte, but Slowbro has taught me a thing or two during our training sessions,)"Stephanie told the behemoth rock rhino simply while Rhyperior just stared back blankly at her in response while Stephanie suddenly smirked at her.
"(Looks like Cobalion got some good shots in; was the big bad Cobalion too much for Karen's tank?)" Stephanie taunted lightheartedly causing Rhyperior to smirk and put her hands on her hips.
"(It would seem that you have several burn marks and bruises on your body; was the massive Kyurem too difficult of a foe for Karen's ace?)" Rhyperior countered smugly causing Stephanie to glare at her teammate, but reluctantly let a grin come to her face.
"(Touché; look…I'm...glad you guys helped out alright?)" Stephanie said as if every word was deadly poison in her mouth while Rhyperior grinned warmly at her teammate causing the grass snake to look away with a blush on her face.
"(Alright, you should be good Rhy; I'll go check on…)" Stephanie trailed off in shock as the rest of Hope's and Karen's team as looking at the two of them with grins on their faces while Slowbro looked up at Stephanie…and slowly brought up her hand in a thumbs-up.
"(All of you can go to hell!)" Stephanie yelled sheepishly as Rhyperior pulled her into a crushing hug that caused Stephanie to wheeze as her cheeks turned a light shade of pink.
"(Ah, you do care about Karen! I'm so sorry I've judged you in a negative light for all these years! If there's anything I can do to make it up to you just say it!)" Rhyperior cried happily as Stephanie eyes bugled out due to Rhyperior crushing the air from her long, single lung.
"(Then let me go before you kill me!)" Stephanie breathed out as Rhyperior obliged and relaxed her grip so she wasn't squeezing Stephanie, but still hugged her close to her chest.
"(Ironic, I killed Virizion by squeezing all the air from his lungs then I nearly die from the same thing,)" Stephanie mused as Rhyperior smirked and continued hugging the grass snake close to her before finally letting her go.
Stephanie saw that her teammates and Hope's team were looking as if they never even fought thanks to Slowbro's healing and saw that all the buildings in the battle ace area were completely reduced to rubble while seeing Karen and Hope slowly approaching the group.
"(So…want to tell me how you're going to pay for all the damages Kit Kat?)" Stephanie jokingly asked as Karen lightly punched her causing the grass snake to chuckle.
"The headmaster said he would pay for the damages despite being informed of this battle on short notice so don't worry. I can't thank you all enough for defending Stephanie and I from the wrath of the legendaries who tried to take our lives; I am in your debt," Karen shouted gratefully to the crowd of pokemon who whooped and cheered in response.
"Karen, I don't want or need a reward. I did this because I didn't want to see a friend of mine get killed, nothing else," Hope said simply as Karen rolled her eyes and hugged the man as the psychiatrist stood in place as stiff as a statue before awkwardly returning the hug.
"You're such a dork, but that's what I like about you," Karen muttered as she squeezed his chest while the rest of his team and Karen's team crowded around them and hugged the duo as well in a warm, cozy hold.
Everyone broke off the hug after a few minutes as Karen felt Stephanie coil around her waist and rested her head on her shoulder while the rest of her team huddled around her closely while Hope stood next to her with his team huddled around him as the duo overlooked the destroyed Battle Academy and the forest that the Swords of Justice came through.
"Although they tried to kill us, I can't help but feel sorry for them. Just because they had one bad experience with a human they think we're all evil and have ulterior motives for every act of kindness. Even after you showed them the lengths you guys would go to protect those close to you, they still think you were brainwashed," Karen lamented as Stephanie slightly tightened her grip, but not enough to actually harm her friend while Rhyperior placed a strong hand on her other shoulder and gripped it firmly in an attempt to console her.
"(I am too; although they won't mess with us anymore, I'm worried about any other trainer that has the misfortune of encountering the Swords of Justice. You should inform Alder about this and he'll hopefully spread the word for trainers to be on high alert if he isn't off wandering like he always does,)" Stephanie advised her trainer who scratched her gently under the chin causing the grass snake to blush at the contact as Karen took out her pokegear to do just that until it suddenly started ringing.
Looking at the caller id, Karen smiled tiredly and fell onto her butt while her other pokemon, her family, crowded around her as she held the device close to her mouth and started talking.
"Hey Dmitri, how's it going?"
"It's going great mom; Delia is getting in some last minute training before going over to the gym to challenge the gym leader and Catherine is resting with her pokemon under a tree. As for me, I'm still looking for a third pokemon to join my team."
"That's great sweetie; glad to hear you're doing well again."
"Mom, are you okay? You sound tired; is something wrong?"
Karen grinned and shook her head from side to side while Stephanie smirked and gestured to the pokegear with her tail causing her trainer to chuckle and place her hand on her knee.
"Oh geez, where do I begin?"