Are you ready for the deadliest nostalgia trip imaginable? I hope so! Since we're finally at a new boss, I'm bringing back the boss descriptions. They're at the end of the chapter. You're going to want to read them, because they have some juicy nuggets of information. Enjoy!
Chapter 46: Mind Over Matter
No one on Team Radiance had time to react as Prism Medicham sprang forward, socking Shane in the jaw with a Mach Punch. He howled in pain and skidded back across the ground. Prism Gengar levitated into the air and launched a Shadow Ball toward Mimikyu. His eyes widened and he threw a cloth arm up, looking to deflect the attack with a Shadow Claw. But to his surprise, Silvally jumped in front him. The Shadow Ball struck and fizzled out harmlessly. Prism Gengar's eyes widened in surprise.
"How the–? You're a normal-type?" Mimikyu gasped.
"Right now I am," Silvally said, turning to face Gengar. His eyes narrowed and his cheek bolts rotated in their sockets. "You go help Shane with Medicham. I've got this guy."
"Are you sure?" Mimikyu squeaked.
"GUUUUYS! SOMEBODY HELP MEEEEE!" Shane wailed, flying back through the air and landing in a heap on the ground. Beside him, Tessa sidestepped Prism Ekans' lunge and slammed into him from behind with a burst of speed. He slumped forward, some of the crystals lining his body grinding into dust on impact.
Mimikyu nodded to Silvally and hopped forward. His spectral arm shot out from his disguise. But Prism Medicham's eyes flashed blue. A shield appeared and deflected Mimikyu's Shadow Claw, much to his frustration. Behind him, Silvally lunged at Prism Gengar, opening his beak wide so black shadows could flood into it and take the form of a massive set of fangs. Gengar tried to gather the toxins needed to toss a Sludge Bomb at his attacker, but Silvally proved too quick. He bit down on Prism Gengar's forehead, shattering some of the red crystals sticking out of it. Gengar hissed and staggered backward.
"Silvally, look out!" Shane cried. His teammate turned in time to see Prism Medicham descend from the air. Her foot connected with Silvally's right flank, propelling him back across the room. He struck the far wall with a hard thud. Shane sprinted forward. He opened his mouth, expecting an Icy Wind to rush out. What he got instead was a multicolored energy beam. Prism Medicham turned around in time for the Aurora Beam to strike her in the face, freezing it solid.
Mimikyu paused in the midst of readying a Shadow Claw and broke down laughing at the shocked expression on Prism Medicham's face. "Hey, stay focused!" Shane scolded, before a Shadow Ball struck him in the chest, knocking him backward. Mimikyu stiffened and sent an ectoplasmic arm toward Prism Gengar. Mimikyu's Shadow Claw caught him between the eyes. Gengar threw his arms up over his face and levitated into the air, growling. Mimikyu looked over his shoulder and noticed Prism Medicham about to break out of the ice, when several blades of air struck her from behind. She fell flat on her stomach.
Mimikyu's body glowed white and he raced forward. Prism Gengar noticed him moving in and fired a Shadow Ball. It struck Mimikyu, but he was completely unaffected. The sounds of a deflating balloon filled the room and the head of Mimikyu's disguise flopped against his shoulder. He reached Prism Medicham and dived on top of her. A massive animated fight cloud encased both of them. Prism Gengar winced, but immediately turned and hurled a Sludge Bomb forward. It struck the charging Shane, tripping him up and sending him crashing to the ground. Gengar snickered, but his victory proved short lived. Silvally jumped up behind him, golden energy swirling around his body. His talons flashed bright pink and he slashed Gengar.
The gems lining Gengar's back turned to dust and he screeched as he fell toward the ground. He bounced up from the floor, and then shattered like a broken mirror. Silvally hit the ground, pink energy streaming from his glowing eyes. He prepared to charge at Prism Medicham, when Prism Ekans leaped onto his back. Black energy filled his mouth and he sank his fangs into Silvally's hide. Silvally screeched and hopped around, trying to buck Ekans off.
"Sorry, Silvally!" Tessa cried. She hopped onto his back and socked Ekans between the eyes with a Thunder Punch. Paralysis raced across his body, allowing Tessa to roundhouse kick him off Silvally. She jumped down, tossing Silvally an oran berry as she went.
"What about me?" Shane croaked, coughing up a mouthful of black sludge. Purple splotches now peppered his hide.
"We have an upgraded item bag, you know," Tessa said. "If you think about the item you want, it should appear in front of you." She grabbed a pecha and oran berry from the bag and tossed them over to Shane anyway. He gave her a thankful nod and gobbled up the berries. The poison faded and his vitality returned. He looked back up in time to see Mimikyu land another blow with Play Rough. Prism Medicham staggered backward. She dropped to one knee and slammed her fist against the ground before shattering into thousands of pieces.
That only left Ekans. The three unoccupied members of Team Radiance ran over toward Tessa, watching her dodge a poisonous strike from Prism Ekans' tail. She retaliated with a Quick Attack shoulder-ram, knocking Ekans to the ground and pinning him down with a foot. Ekans looked up and saw the other members of Team Radiance staring right at him. The color drained out of his face, and he raised his tail up in surrender. Tessa's fists glowed red and she punched Ekans in the snout. He exploded into glass shards.
System error. System error.
The room started shaking. Team Radiance turned toward the glass wall and saw the eyes disappear, along with the centermost glass tiles. "Look! Right there, in the middle of the electricity! That's gotta be Tapu Lele!" Mimikyu cried, pointing a ragged arm forward.
Tapu Lele fell out from behind the glass wall. Four bundles of electric wires stuck out from her back, anchoring her into place. She bounced around in midair until a series of small explosions destroyed the top right bundle. Tapu Lele lurched violently toward the floor. Behind her, electricity wildly shot around. Some stray bolts fell onto the ground and shot forward, forcing Team Radiance to scatter. Shane looked back at Tapu Lele and noticed the thick metal hoops surrounding her body like a planet's rings. A large antenna stuck out from her head, topped by Necrozma's star icon. She fixed her empty black eyes on Shane and her antenna flickered red. The remaining wire cables yanked her back inside the wall and the glass tiles reappeared.
'What the heck did the Prism Virus do to her?' Shane thought as the red eyes returned to the glass tiles.
Reboot complete. System ready.
The room resumed shaking violently. Tessa and Mimikyu frightened squeaks rang out. They looked around in a panic.
Charging space-time transceiver. Charging complete. Extracting program "Prism TDS Dark Future dot exe."
Shane's ears stuck straight up 'Wait, 'Dark Future?' She doesn't mean–?'
The centermost glass tile disappeared and a green crystal floated out. It split in half, flooding the area in front of the wall with green smoke. Team Radiance immediately regrouped, assuming fighting stances.
Engage.
A green blur shot out of the mist, a pair of glowing Leaf Blades sticking out of its arms. "I've got Grovyle!" Shane shouted, spitting out an Aurora Beam without a second thought. Prism Grovyle was far too agile, however. His Leaf Blade connected against Shane's right shoulder. Shane buckled, allowing Grovyle to strike him with his other arm and knock him into Mimikyu. The two collapsed into a heap. Silvally looked up and noticed a Shadow Ball drifting toward his teammates. He deactivated his Memory Looplet and leaped into the attack's path, rendering the Shadow Ball harmless.
"I guess I'll take Dusknoir, then" he said, and sprinted forward.
Tessa jumped toward Prism Grovyle, aiming to strike him with a Force Palm. But he ran out of her range. Pain immediately wracked Tessa's body. An unseen force hurtled her back across the room and she struck the wall, grunting. Mimikyu scuttled forward, narrowly dodging slashes from Prism Grovyle's Leaf Blades. His Shadowy Arm raced into the lingering mist cloud. The fog disappeared, but Mimikyu only succeeded in slashing air.
"Celebi's right above you!" Shane hollered, firing an Aurora Beam skyward. Prism Celebi summoned a barrier. Shane's attack pinged off it harmlessly. But she had no defense against Mimikyu's Shadow Claw. It struck her tiny, translucent wings, sending her into a freefall. Mimikyu hopped forward, trying to avoid blocking Silvally, who was weaving through Shadow Balls launched by Prism Dusknoir. Mimikyu spun back around, hoping to strike Prism Celebi from behind yet again. But his Shadow Claw barely made it a few inches in front of him when a metal-coated tail struck him in the neck. Mimikyu lurched violently to his side and toppled over, down for the count.
Beast Boost activated.
Prism Grovyle gave a triumphant smirk and raised a fist. A red glow enveloped his body, prompting Tessa to halt her charge and turn around to retreat. Grovyle hunched over and ran after her, Leaf Blades at the ready. He noticed a blur of motion out of the corner of his eyes and quickly twirled around, striking Shane in the side.
Shane squealed in pain and dropped to his knees. "Wait, did that Leaf Blade just hit me harder?" he gasped, staggering to his feet. "Don't tell me he knows Swords Dance or something."
Grovyle's smirk widened and he readied an Iron Tail. Tessa came charging in, fists glowing red, and socked Grovyle in the gut as hard as she could. Bits of gemstone flew off his body and he skidded back across the floor, hissing his displeasure. "He's much too quick," she muttered, tossing Shane another oran berry. "We've got to find a way to slow him down or he's going to run circles around us!"
"Don't you have a wand or a seed that could do that?" Shane wondered.
"Yes, but I need you to keep him busy," Tessa said. Shane nodded and squeakily Roared Grovyle. This flung him back against the wall. Shane took a protective stance in front of Tessa.
However, their focuses were momentarily shaken by the sounds of an explosion. Behind them, Silvally slammed into the ground. Prism Dusknoir descended from a cloud of smoke, Will-O-Wisp fireballs circling around his body. He pointed a hand forward and the flames descended on Silvally. He got to his feet, his Memory Looplet channeling water-type energy into his body. Silvally stomped the ground with his forelegs. Plumes of water shot up, dousing each of the fireballs. Prism Dusknoir was undeterred. Electricity encased his fist and he descended toward Silvally.
Dark energy once again filled Silvally's mouth. He stood his ground, watching Dusknoir rear back to Thunder Punch him. At the last moment, Silvally sprang forward, sliding along the floor. Wisps of electricity grazed the tips of Silvally's head crest, but he skirted the brunt of the attack. He dug his talons into the floor, using them as a fulcrum to pivot his body around. He lunged at Prism Dusknoir, biting down on his shadowy tail and slamming him into the ground. Dusknoir grunted loudly. Silvally hastily jumped back, fearing a retaliatory strike. What he wasn't expecting was a bevy of razor-sharp leaves peppering his body.
Silvally screeched in pain and turned toward the source of the leaves. Prism Celebi stuck her tongue out, then turned and fired a blast of Psychic behind her. She caught Mimikyu in midair and knocked him back to the ground. Despite the attack hitting, Mimikyu's Shadow Claw still managed to clip Celebi's shoulder. She squeaked and grabbed it in pain. Silvally prepared to launch an attack, when he sensed movement behind him. He ran toward Prism Celebi, narrowly dodging another Thunder Punch from Dusknoir. As Silvally lunged for Celebi, Dusknoir levitated upward, gathering the energy needed for a Shadow Ball.
He hurtled it forward and, just as Silvally sliced Prism Celebi into fourths with X-Scissor, detonated it like a bomb. Silvally roared in frustration and plummeted to the ground, landing unconscious in a small impact crater. Mimikyu's eyes widened as a red aura encased Prism Dusknoir.
Beast Boost activated.
Prism Dusknoir opened the mouth in his stomach wide. A ball of swirling black and red energy gathered inside it, distorting the air around him. Mimikyu looked over and confirmed Silvally was staggering back to his feet. He launched a Shadow Claw at Prism Dusknoir. However, the black hole forming in Dusknoir's stomach swallowed up the attack. Mimikyu's arm tugged against his body. Prism Dusknoir yanked Mimikyu off the ground, drawing terrified squeals.
"Aggggh! Only… gonna have… one shot at this…" Mimikyu hollered. As the distance between him and Dusknoir lessened, Mimikyu's disguise turned dark black. Prism Dusknoir didn't notice the change. He pointed his hands up and the black hole exploded outward into a massive shockwave. Mimikyu had no means of escape. His body spasmed in midair before he fell to the ground in a smoking heap.
Prism Dusknoir crossed his arms, a pleased look on his face. The victory lasted for a few seconds, before the same black glow that had enveloped Mimikyu wrapped around Dusknoir. His eyes widened and then his body exploded into tiny glass fragments. Silvally looked up in confusion, before racing to Mimikyu's side. A loud hiss drew his attention and he crouched low into a fighting stance. But a look toward the other side of the room showed that Shane and Tessa had finally managed to corral Prism Grovyle and freeze him in place.
Tessa stood in front of him, wound up, and struck him in the gut with Force Palm. The impact knocked Prism Grovyle backwards, where Shane waited. A cloud of Frost Breath enveloped Grovyle. He screeched in agony and fell to one knee, where the ice again froze him. Tessa socked Grovyle in the snout. Cracks splintered across the ice, before Grovyle crumbled into dust.
"This… this is getting too tough," she grunted, grabbing an oran berry and an elixir from the item bag. "How much longer do we have to keep this up for, huh?"
System error. System error.
Just like before, the room shook. The middle glass panels in the wall disappeared and Tapu Lele fell out of the electric machinery. Explosions destroyed her bottom left bundle of wires. Tapu Lele bounced around like a ragdoll, the remaining wires keeping her suspended in midair. The wires seized on her, yanking her backwards into the electricity once again.
Xurkitree power cells at fifty percent ca-pa-pa-pa-pa–
Static overtook some of the glass panels and loud hissing filled the room. Both Shane and Tessa grabbed their ears and pressed them flat against their heads. "It looks like we're making progress," Shane said through gritted teeth. "But at this rate, we're going to run out of stuff to heal with before we can beat everything Tapu Lele throws at us."
Tessa tightened her item bag. "Then we need to make use of some more attack items. Let's get the jump on whatever she summons next." She pulled a blast seed out from the item bag and held her paw behind it. "Everyone else think of an item you'd like to draw on."
While Team Radiance armed themselves, the red eyes reappeared on the glass tiles that were still functioning.
Re… re… boot complete. System read-y-y-y-y-y-y-y.
The room start to shake again. Tessa waved her paws in each direction. "Fan out, guys. If we're together, we'll just leave them with one easy target to hit." Her teammates did as she instructed, forming a semicircle around the center of the wall.
Server access compromised. Backup data initialized. Extracting program "Prism GTI Cold and Calculating dot exe."
For the third time, the central panel disappeared. A blue crystal floated out, and broke off into two halves. Blue energy exploded out from each half. "Now!" Tessa shouted, hurling the blast seed forward. It struck one of the energy bursts and exploded. Shane watched as the blast flung Prism Kyurem backwards.
"Nighty night, you ugly dragon!" Shane cried, pointing the sleep wand in his mouth at Kyurem. Still dazed from the explosion, he didn't see the attack, and slumped onto his side, snoring loudly. Beside him, a massive whirlwind whipped up, flinging Prism Munna into the air. Her stubby little legs flailed about.
"Get ready, Mimikyu!" Silvally called. He shifted to a flying-type and thrust his head upward. Air Slash blades whizzed forward, pummeling Prism Munna and shattering most of the crystals jutting out of her body. She plummeted from the air, only to get cut off by Mimikyu. He slammed into her and they crashed into the ground. Dual Shadow Claws raked Prism Munna's sides. Mimikyu launched her back into the glass wall. She struck it, screaming in agony. A large crack appeared along her back, leaking blue energy.
She saw her injury in her reflection and her eyes widened. She turned and glared at Mimikyu, only to burst into a shower of pink powder. Prism Kyurem didn't even get the opportunity to realize he had lost his battle partner. Shane and Tessa flanked him on either side while he slumbered. Tessa uppercut him with Brick Break while Shane hit him between the eyes with Aurora Beam. Kyurem briefly stirred, before another blast seed hit him. The explosion sent Kyurem into a marble pillar, destroying it. The resulting cascade of rubble buried Prism Kyurem. Muffling sounds of shattered glass filled the room.
"Wow, you don't think that was overkill, was it?" Tessa squeaked.
"For those two? Not a chance," Shane scoffed.
"Not a fan of them when you were human?" Tessa wondered.
"Yes, in a manner of speaking," Shane grumbled. Their conversations were interrupted by the room shaking again. They exchanged panicked looks and raced back to the center of the battlefield.
Critical systems failure. Sys… tem… fail-ur-ur-ur-ur-ur–
More glass panels filled with static. The central ones shattered and Tapu Lele fell forward as the bottom right set of wires exploded beneath her. She bounced around like a slinky as the lone remaining set of cables tried to reign her back in.
"Now's our chance to save her!" Shane cried. He raced forward, the gemstone on his Naturia Looplet glowing brightly. But a surge of electricity blindsided him. Shane skidded backwards, howling in pain.
"Shane!" Tessa hollered, running over to him with a pair of berries at the ready.
The wires yanked Tapu Lele back into the electricity. Red eyes popped up on the glass tiles that still functioned.
Power circuit overload. Circuit overload… load… load… load…
One of the glass tiles exploded. Silvally and Mimiky backpedaled to avoid the glass shards. Smoke vented out of the hole in the wall.
Auxiliary power cells engaged. Reboot complete. System ready.
The room once again began shaking, this time even more violently. "Oh gods, what's she summoning now?" Mimikyu groaned. Team Radiance collectively flinched as, one by one, more glass tiles exploded, exposing sparking pieces of machinery and circuitry.
Cha… cha… charging… extra-dimensional tran… tran… transceiver. System… access granted.
Tapu Lele trembled and the rings encasing her revolved wildly around her.
Extracting program "Prism PSMD Dark Matter dot exe."
Shane's eyes widened. "Wait, did she just say Dark Matter?"
Tessa's aura feelers shot up. "We've gotta get out of here!" she screamed.
Tapu Lele's eyes glowed bright purple and she summoned a purple crystal. Rather than exploding into mist or bright energy like the ones before it, this one liquified in midair. The gelatinous blob pulsated wildly, forming into a red sphere. A white dot appeared in the center of the sphere. Corrosive black crystals formed a cage around it. Prism Dark Matter let out a mighty roar. Black-tinted wind exploded out in all directions.
Team Radiance all shouted as the wind blew them back across the room. The wind also buffeted Tapu Lele, destroying the last set of cables. Tapu Lele dropped to the floor and the last of her glass tiles exploded, revealing bits of machinery venting smoke and other parts that were on fire.
Fa… tal… err… or…
Prism Dark Matter started taking in large amounts of energy. Light distorted around it. "Everybody back! Take cover behind the pillars!" Shane bellowed, sprinting for the nearest marble column. He leaped into the air, freezing a part of the column with Aurora Beam, and dug his paws into the ice. He stopped sliding down with his tails dangling inches above the floor. To his right, Tessa climbed up the remnants of the destroyed pillar from earlier.
Dark Matter finished gathering energy. Shadows raced across the floor and massive, spike-shaped tendrils shot up, looking to impale whoever stood in their way. Fortunately, Shane's teammates heeded his advice, and they all safely avoided the attack. Dark Matter sank down to the ground, its core pulsating as it tried to recharge. Shane leaped off the column and fired an Extrasensory. The psychic blast raced forward, gradually weakening until a small portion struck Dark Matter, shattering a few pieces of its gemstone shell.
"What are we supposed to do to hit this thing?" Tessa wondered, producing another blast seed from the item bag.
"It doesn't have a type. Just hit it with whatever!" Shane barked. He raced toward Dark Matter, readying an Aurora Beam. But it rose into the air, red core glowing. A black laser surged toward Shane. He stopped running and fell to his side, rolling over to dodge the attack. Dark energy grazed his fur, drawing a pained squeal. When he came to a stop, smoke rose off the left side of his body. However, Dark Matter kept up its attack. "Tessa, watch out!" Shane shouted.
Tessa was preoccupied with throwing the blast seed forward. Dark Matter's beam vaporized it instantly. The beam struck Tessa's chest and hurtled her off the rubble pile. "TESSA!" Shane screamed as she struck the wall, leaving a noticeable crack. She fell toward the ground. Shane raced forward, not bothering to notice that Dark Matter aimed to sweep its beam back onto him.
A roar caught Dark Matter by surprise and, an instant later, golden talons struck its shell and hammered it into the ground. Mimikyu jumped off Silvally's back. He successfully slipped an arm through Dark Matter's shell and slashed the core with Shadow Claw. It screeched its annoyance at this turn of events. Spiky black thorns jutted out of its shell in all directions. Silvally barely managed to jump out of the way, but Mimikyu's arm was pricked by the spikes. Poisonous splotches popped up on his disguise.
Across the room, Shane had dragged an unconscious Tessa back behind the rubble. "Tessa? Tessa! Oh, please god, no! I can't lose you too. Wake up! Wake up!" he blubbered, shaking her body with his forepaws. He managed to roll her onto her belly, only to recoil at the sight of her smoldering, furless torso. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" he panicked, yanking the item bag off his teammate. Images of Espeon's battered, mangled body from the Catacombs flashed through his mind. "I've got to save her, I've got to save her!"
A weak cough made his ears twitch. He looked up from the item bag to see Tessa's eyes wide open and filled with terror. Her jaw fell open. She was trying to scream, but only a gasp of air escaped her. Shane managed to dig an oran berry out of the bag, but spotted movement out of the corner of his eyes. Silvally and Mimikyu were fleeing toward the other side of the room, shadows racing along the floor behind them. He saw the shadows moving in his direction and his tails shot up in fright.
Shane lunged forward, pressing himself against Tessa and pushing her against the pile of rubble. A black energy spear shot up behind Shane. The spear grazed his back. Pain surged through him, lingering even as the spike retreated and the smell of burnt fur intensified. Shane fell off his partner, his world growing blurry. In desperation, he managed to grab the oran berry and squish it against Tessa's chest. Then he collapsed onto the floor. Tessa stopped hyperventilating, slowly regaining her wits.
Before she could sit up, the room shook. She squeaked and poked her head out between pieces of rock. She saw Silvally ferrying Mimikyu out of the way of Dark Matter's latest attack: serrated crystal blades jutting out from the ground like they were Stone Edge shards. Silvally dropped Mimikyu to the ground and turned around, shooting Air Slash blades at Dark Matter.
'It's totally distracted. I might be able to hit it from here!' she thought. She raised a paw and a fresh blast seed popped into her it. 'Come on, Riolu. You've got to make this one count.' She stood perched on the rubble, watching Dark Matter dispel Silvally's attack with a gust of shadowy wind. Mimikyu conjured up a Shadow Ball and hurtled it forward, but a gem-encrusted tendril shot out of Dark Matter's shell and destroyed the Shadow Ball.
Tessa hurled the blast seed forward. She immediately ducked back behind the rubble, not bothering to see if it hit. Silvally spotted the seed flying through the air. He roared and fired more Air Slash blades at Prism Dark Matter. It once again dispelled the attack using a gust of black wind. It couldn't multitask, however, so the blast seed struck it and exploded. Silvally jumped in front of Mimikyu, forming up an Iron Head and using it to deflect the gem shards that rained down on them from Dark Matter's shell.
Prism Dark Matter roared furiously. It turned in the direction of the explosion, and started gathering up dark energy. Realizing it intended to go for Tessa, Silvally switched forms to a dark-type. A golden wheel appeared around his torso and he lunged for Dark Matter. The golden energy raced into his forelegs, turning them pitch-black. Silvally slashed Dark Matter with his talons and threw the entirety of his weight onto it. Dark Matter struck the ground. It detonated the energy it was charging. Mimikyu toppled over from the massive eruption of black shadows.
Tessa watched the explosion and her aura feelers shot up. She heard shuffling behind. "Was… was that Dark Matter blowing up?" Shane croaked.
"Sort of? Maybe?" Tessa mumbled, voice riddled with uncertainty. "Silvally attacked it, but I think he got caught in the explosion, so–"
Shane's eyes widened in horror. "WHAT? NO!" He sprinted forward, back muscles spasming in pain.
"Shane, wait!" she called, to no avail.
'He's gotta be okay. He's gotta go be okay. This isn't how we're losing him. I refuse to lose him!' Shane thought, trying to see through the smoke. But as Shane neared the site of the explosion, what he spotted wasn't his teammate, but the glowing red core of Dark Matter. Shane skidded to a halt, eyes widening as a red laser swept toward him. At the very last second, Mimikyu's cloth arm wrapped Shane up and yanked him out of the way. Shane watched the laser stream right past him, heart pounding in his chest.
Prism Dark Matter floated back into the air. The bulk of its shell had fallen away, and the core hovered in place erratically. Tiny cracks dotted the red sphere, giving off small beams of black light. To Shane, it looked as if it could explode at any second. But somehow, someway, the core stayed together. It rotated around, and Shane's gaze fell on Silvally. The blast had charred every square inch of Silvally. Smoke billowed off his body.
"No… no, it can't be," Shane whispered. Dark Matter started charging up. The slivers of light poking out of its core glowed even brighter. Shane wrestled himself free of Mimikyu, ignoring his teammate's panicked cries. "Get away from him!" Shane shouted, racing toward Dark Matter. Orange light gathered in his foreleg and spread across his body. His core temperature plummeted. Chilled air encased him and he jumped into the air.
"GET AWAY!"
A massive iceberg jutted out of the ground, catching Prism Dark Matter by surprise. It floated backwards, its core spinning about in a frenzied panic. Shane landed atop the iceberg and fanned out his tails. The frigid air encasing his body coalesced in his mouth. He opened it wide and shot a gigantic ice river at Dark Matter, instantly freezing its core solid. Shane maintained the ice beam, pushing Dark Matter back toward the destroyed wall. It struck a shard of broken glass and ricocheted down toward the floor. Shane cut off his attack in time to watch Dark Matter slam into the unconscious Tapu Lele. Dark Matter shattered, spreading bits of glowing ice across her body.
The iceberg promptly melted. Shane hopped off of it. His attention returned to Silvally and he sprinted over to him, ignoring the fact that all of the metal pieces were breaking off of Tapu Lele. He paused beside his teammate as an agonized yell echoed through the room. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw black smoke evaporate up to the ceiling. He ignored it and focused on Silvally.
"Hang on, big guy," Shane pleaded, pressing his forepaws to his torso. 'Come on… come on… just like you did with Espeon in the Catacombs.' He shut his eyes and gritted his teeth. Warmth spread across his body, weaving its way into his forepaws. Bright orange light washed over Silvally, restoring his feathers, scales, and fur to their natural colors. Silvally's eyes slowly opened. He shakily lifted up his head to look at Shane, who let out a relieved sigh.
"Did… did we win?" he whispered.
"We did, big guy," Shane said, voice trembling. Without warning, he threw himself against Silvally's shoulder. "We did."
~Mt. Thunder Peak~
Waves of distorted red energy spread across the mountaintop, turning the neon-yellow rocks black and the dark gray storm clouds blood-red. The first wave buffeted Zapdos, freezing him in midair. The remaining waves battered his convulsing frame. Zapdos' wings locked up. He plummeted from the sky, screeching in agony, and slammed into the ground with tremendous force. Zero's distorted waves fizzled out, restoring the mountain's normal colors.
Zapdos weakly raised his head, only for his eyes to bulge out as a yellow and black blur raced toward him. Dragonite reared back and drove her ice-covered fist into Zapdos' beak. It scrunched up like an accordion. The force of the collision rippled through Zapdos' body, rattling his bones and snapping his joints. Zapdos sunk deeper into his impact crater and slumped over, breaths coming in short ragged gasps.
Dragonite stood triumphantly atop Zapdos' stomach. "How pathetic. You hardly proved a fitting test for my strength!" She looked up across the area and beckoned Zero over. "He's all yours, mistress!"
Zero strode forward, pointing her glowing staff at Zapdos' broken, bloody face. "I've waited a year for this moment," she said. "Now that it's finally here, I must say I'm disappointed."
"W… what are you… talking about?" Zapdos wheezed. "Who are you? Why… why are you doing this?"
Zero knelt down beside Zapdos. She grabbed his injured beak and squeezed. A muffled squawk rang out. "There we go. That's more like it," she said. "That look of hopelessness and despair in your eyes. That sense of unimaginable pain... of everything you worked for unraveling before your eyes. That's what I've been waiting for. I want you to know exactly what I felt when you stole the most important thing in my life away from me." Zero gripped Zapdos' beak even harder. Tears welled up in his eyes.
"Mmmmmffffrrrggggggh!" Zapdos groaned, eyes darting about in a panicked frenzy. He tried to move his wings, but they spasmed uselessly by his sides.
"I just have one question for you," Zero hissed. "One year ago, did you fly over Aeon Town and Sunrise Village without giving prior warning?"
Zero released Zapdos' beak. His head slumped back against the ground. "I don't… how should I know?"
Zero's lone eye flickered in rage. "Wrong answer." She snapped her digits.
Dragonite leaned over, putting the full force of her weight on Zapdos' sternum. "AHHH! AHHHH!" Zapdos screeched, eyes wide open in agony. "YES! YESSS! I was there! I was there! Make her sta-ha-ha-ha-p!"
Zero grabbed a pawful of feathers on Zapdos' forehead and yanked him back up. "And did you bring a storm over the area?" she snarled.
"I did! I did!" Zapdos wailed. "What does it matter? I bring storms wherever I go!"
Zero slammed Zapdos' head back against the ground. "That storm ruined my second life," she seethed. "It cost me my soulmate. The one and only thing I valued in this wretched world… you stole it from me!"
Zapdos shuddered under Zero's piercing gaze. "Nuh-no! That's a… that's a mistake! I'd never intentionally kill someone with a storm! This has to be some sort of misunderstand–"
"Consume!" Zero shouted, shoving her scepter into Zapdos' face. Corrupted energy blanketed his body, sucking the life and color out of him and sending it into Zero's mask. A faint rainbow glow spilled out of her mask. Zero pulled her staff back and nudged the mask up. "Destroy," she whispered, holding her free paw over Zapdos. Dark shadows strangled Zapdos' lifeless body, covering it in crystals that immediately shattered when Zero clenched her paw into a fist.
"Farewell Zapdos. And good riddance," Zero spat.
"That was anticlimactic," Dragonite said, smirking. "Here I thought the gods would prove a much greater challenge."
"Gods or not, they're still Pokémon. They all have weaknesses," Zero said, waving a paw dismissively. "You'll find a worthy challenger in time. Besides, wouldn't you like to share in this wondrous moment with some old friends of yours?"
Dragonite frowned. "We don't need them. I can handle everything by myself."
"I'm sure you can," Zero agreed. "But there's this old human saying: 'if you fail to prepare, then you're prepared to fail.' Don't remember who said that, but it's a good piece of advice. I want some insurance." Blue aura sparked across her eye. "Besides, I'm sure with a little convincing, your friends will be more than happy to join us in our endeavors." She tapped her staff against the ground and stared into the octahedron. "What if I threw in one of the Tapus as an added bonus for helping me run this little errand?"
Dragonite grinned wickedly. "I'd say you got yourself a deal."
Mindless Machine, Ultra Tapu Lele
Necrozma has stripped Tapu Lele of her free will, imprisoning it underneath layers of Prism Armor and Xurkitree wiring. He's replaced her mind with the memories he received from Zero to help him possess Lunala. Her psychic powers are now being channeled toward giving these memories violent physical forms. Stop her before she burns herself out!
Mischief Makers, Prism Team Meanies
A greedy trainer once ran afoul of a Ninetales, leaving his Gardevoir to take Ninetales' curse in his place. His guilty spirit drifted into this world, bringing forth natural disasters culminating in a gigantic meteor that threatened to destroy the planet. It took the strength Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent to shatter it. However, the energy released by the meteor's destruction tore open countless Ultra Wormholes. When the Voice of Life surveyed the damage, it found only a single Riolu washed up on a beach…
Time-Displaced Warriors, Prism Dark Future Trio
Darkrai disrupted Temporal Tower by trapping Solgaleo and Lunala in their own nightmares, leading them to invade the Hidden Land. Ultra Beasts swarmed Temporal Tower, damaging it enough to break Dialga's sanity. But as the damage weaved its way through the time stream, it generated Ultra Wormholes. One of which would throw an unsuspecting human into the lightless future Darkrai had created, unknowingly setting his demise in motion.
Black-Hearted Beasts, Prism Kyurem & Prism Munna
While imprisoned in the Ultra Nexus, Necrozma came across a lost, severely weakened Munna. She cried out for her one true friend's icy embrace. When Necrozma devoured her light, he learned that some of the world's negativity has traveled through Ultra Wormholes in the past. The negative energy gathered in a seemingly-empty void of Ultra Space, where it formed a heartless, frigid creature known as Bittercold. There are undoubtedly others drifting through Ultra Space, looking for worlds to plunge into darkness.
Revitalized Mastermind, Prism Dark Matter
Tapu Lele lacked the energy needed to fully manifest this horrible creature. But even so, this clone is not to be trifled with. How could Necrozma get her to recreate Dark Matter so perfectly if he was never around for either of its attacks? Could there be a dark, twisted secret lurking at the heart of the Prism Virus?
There you have it. A quick footnote, Zero's quote is from Olympic swimmer, Mark Spitz. I'll leave you theorists to start theorizing. In the meantime, review replies!
Anon Omega: Well, Necrozma considers himself a good actor, so I'm sure he appreciates it. I don't watch much TV, though. And I'm pretty sure I don't get the channel Gravity Falls is on. Sorry. As for Zero, she's most definitely Prisma. Whether you think Necrozma's controlling her or not is another story.
Another Guest: You may get to find out how Tessa reacts to Zero this very episode!
Yoshimaste: Shane's missing memories are of his last day as a human. He doesn't conscious remember getting killed in a car accident way back in chapter 1.
Guest (Veralix?): You guys are all difficult to keep track of (*nervous laugh*). The Valentine's special confirmed that Necrozma is, at least in part, Shane's friend. And yes, Necrozma was referencing Aku. I see you have excellent taste in TV shows!
SuperOmegaGuest: The answer is yes and no. Because, if you look back at Episode 9, you'll see that the Growlithe (Nicky) that was used to make Necrozma was destroyed. So, I'll leave it to you to guess how much of Nicky's spirit is part of Necrozma.
That's all for now. Next time: a real dead-ringer of a chapter! Because it features rings... and someone's gonna die. Get it? Aha ha... ha. I'll show myself out.