Content Advisory: This chapter contains an elevated level of violent combat compared to previous battles, including major injuries and minor instances of gore. Additionally, the story's one and only F-bomb is found here. This chapter likely exceeds the limits of what's allowed for a T-rated fic, but this will only be a one-time occurrence. Thank you for understanding. Enjoy!
Chapter 93: Menacing Maelstrom of Fire and Lightning
Volcarona's dive wasn't as fast as Team Go-Getters expected. They easily jumped to either side of her. Mew floated beside Swampert and the two flung water bubbles in Volcarona's direction. Figuring his best attacks wouldn't do much to Volcarona, Blaziken ran around to flank her in the hopes of driving her further toward his teammates.
What no one was expecting was for Volcarona to rapidly slash at the air with her blade and vaporize the water bubbles like they were nothing but streams of tissue paper. Volcarona gave one final, meatier slash. A crescent of blue fire headed right for Mew and Swampert. Both of them backpedaled, but the crescent followed Mew's path.
"Oh, come on! It's homing like an Aura Sphere?" He groaned and fired an Aura Sphere of his own. Volcarona watched the bright-blue explosion, so Blaziken chose to make his move. Though it wouldn't do much, he ignited his legs and darted toward Volcarona.
However, Volcarona vanished in a plume of pink fire. Blaziken stumbled to a halt amidst silhouettes of pink hearts. Before he could get his bearings, he heard a cry of, "Behind you, Feathers!" Blaziken spun a fiery leg around, connecting with Volcarona's blade and knocking her back. Her arms trembled, as did the sword in her hand.
Mew tried to hoist Volcarona into the air with his ESP, but she jumped over his Psychic rings and slashed the air with her blade. A half-dozen blue meteors streaked toward the team. Blaziken immediately realized they were Draco Meteors. After all, Rayquaza had tried that attack on him back in the day. Blaziken hopped up and propelled himself backward with his legs. Swampert tried to destroy the meteors with a Waterfall plume, but they sailed right through it and exploded on the ground, leaving small areas of dragonfire behind.
Volcarona disappeared before any of them had the chance to react. Blaziken whirled around, expecting Volcarona to appear behind him. She did, but Volcarona disappeared a second time. "You're kidding me! That thing can feint us so easily! How are we supposed to get a decent hit in?"
Pained cries caught his attention. Mew hit the ground hard in front of him and Swampert. Across from them, Volcarona slowly slashed the air in front of her three times, summoning three Aura Sphere crescents. "Not this nonsense again," Blaziken said. He picked Mew up and tucked him under his arm. Something sticky grazed his armpit. If Blaziken had to venture a guess, it was Mew's blood.
"Still feel like joking about all of this?" Blaziken said, keeping an eye on Volcarona while waiting for the Aura Spheres to fizzle out. To his surprise, Volcarona merely hovered in place. Blaziken wasn't even sure if she was staring at him, since her helmet obscured her face.
"Ugh. Aren't you… supposed to have a Mega Evolution?" Groaning, Mew managed to squirm free of Blaziken's grip. He took a deep breath and concentrated. The gash in his shoulder sealed itself, leaving only a red splotch over his normally-pink fur.
"And aren't you supposed to be able to use Transform?" Blaziken retorted.
"Save the bickering for the afterparty, you two! We've still got a problem to deal with," Swampert said. He hopped into the air. Orange light encased him. Mega Swampert hit the ground hard enough to send fissures rippling toward Volcarona. She vanished in another plume of pink fire. Swampert refused to be deterred, however. He turned around, ready to fling mud at Volcarona.
Mew's ears twitched. He looked up, then flung Blaziken back with a burst of levitation. Mew barely managed to avoid Volcarona driving her sword into the ground. Blaziken could only watch as a column of fire rose up around Volcarona, searing Mew and sending him tumbling back toward Swampert.
There was no way around it. One Mega Evolution wouldn't be enough to deal with… whatever he was supposed to call this thing. "All right, jerk. You asked for this," Blaziken said, concentrating on the well of energy in his looplet. Invigorating power flowed through his veins. He lunged for Volcarona with a newfound burst of speed. Unfortunately, she still had enough time to jump over him.
Luckily, Swampert was quick on the draw and hurled the mud already in his hands up at Volcarona. She was too focused on trying to attack Blaziken to notice. The mud globs splattered against her wings. Volcarona flailed briefly, before looping through the air and diving toward the ground with her sword outstretched and a trail of multicolored silhouettes behind her.
Volcarona didn't get anywhere close to hitting anyone. However, she spun around and hopped back. When Blaziken shot toward her as a bird-shaped wind torpedo, she stood her ground and raised her sword high. The silhouettes erupted in a blaze of pink fire. Blaziken didn't have the control over his Brave Bird's direction to reroute himself. He flew directly into one of the blazes and crash-landed by his teammates.
"Hey, knock it off, you lame Two-y impersonator!" Mew growled. "Why are you even doing this anyway? Do you want to go up in flames with the entire world? Because that's what's going to happen if you don't stop attacking us! We have to get to the center of that storm and stop time from collapsing!"
Volcarona said nothing. Instead, she teleported near Mew and flapped her wings rapidly. "Eep! Not cool, Impostwor!" he squeaked, trying his best to weave through an Air Slash barrage. Some of the crescents nicked his tail, drawing pained grunts.
Blaziken and Swampert had regrouped while Mew kept Volcarona occupied. The latter had a grip on the former and hurled him forward as soon as Volcarona's wing beats slowed. Volcarona spun around and slashed at the air. Draco Meteors streamed toward Blaziken, but the giant wind tunnel surrounding him proved strong enough to get through the meteors and slam into Volcarona.
"Yeah! Take that, Impostwor!" Mew cheered, summoning floating rocks to throw at the reeling Volcarona. They knocked her back even further.
Blaziken landed safely and turned to look at Mew in disbelief. "Seriously? Impostwor?"
"What? It was the best I could come up with to describe this, uh…" Mew scratched his head. "Well, if we weren't under such stress, I'm sure I could do a better job describing what it's supposed to be." He shrugged.
"I thought you were finally taking this seriously." Blaziken sighed and tensed up, wondering what Volcarona would offer as a counterattack. Initially, the answer was nothing. She swayed erratically in midair. Though a fair distance separated her from the trio, she made no effort to attack. Then, without warning, she gripped her sword with both hands. Shadow fire swirled around it.
"Gah! Quick, do something to throw her off," Swampert cried, looking at Mew.
"Me? Why do I have to do something, huh?" Mew pouted.
"Because you have the best ranged attacks," Swampert said, pointing frantically at Volcarona.
"Oh, right. Yeah, you guys really didn't plan that out well when you made your team, huh?" Mew chuckled, oblivious to the vein bulging on Swampert's forehead.
Blaziken meekly spewed a Flamethrower, hoping it could do something to interrupt Volcarona. She dashed those hopes almost immediately, teleporting behind the group and holding her sword high. Four large, fiery phantoms popped up around her, with black eyes and mouths reminiscent of Necrozma's face when he possessed Lunala.
Mew's expression changed on a dime. "W-What the… what in the world are those things?!"
"Let's not stick around and find out," Blaziken said, grabbing a protesting Mew by the tail and running away. Two of the phantoms gave chase. Volcarona dropped to the ground and flapped her wings, conjuring more Air Slash crescents. Swampert was too preoccupied blasting the other two phantoms back with Waterfall plumes to notice. The wind blades tore open gashes on his backside.
"Swampert!" Blaziken cried. He had the team's item bag, so he had to make a beeline for his teammate before it was too late. "Mew, deal with these things." Blaziken shoved Mew toward the phantoms and ran off.
Volcarona teleported in front of him, right hand held up. Pink energy balls surrounded Blaziken. Volcarona squeezed her hand into a fist and the psychic orbs shot toward him. Blaziken tucked his head in and shot fire jets from his legs. He avoided most of the attack, but a few stray energy balls caught him from behind and blasted him into the phantoms Swampert failed to dispel. A tearing pain burrowed deep into his bones.
Blaziken fell to the ground, limbs shaking. Try as he might, he couldn't get back to his feet. The weird energy in the phantoms had left his legs feeling like soggy pasta noodles. Volcarona took notice of his helplessness. She jumped into the air, somersaulting with her blade to act as a deterrent. Volcarona hovered over Blaziken for a moment before diving toward him.
"Get away from my best bud!"
Swampert drove a shoulder into Volcarona, a grimace on his face. They tumbled to the ground, but Swampert still had enough left in him to generate a small Earthquake and toss Volcarona around like a ragdoll. He caught sight of a Keldeo racing toward him atop a wave of water. Safe in the knowledge Mew was finally putting his transformation skills to use, Swampert headed for Blaziken.
He grabbed an oran berry from Blaziken's bag to heal off some of the nasty nicks Volcarona's Air Slash had dealt, then produced a heal seed and jammed it into Blaziken's beak. Relief spread through Blaziken as his strength and muscle tone returned to his legs. He hopped back to his feet and put a hand on Swampert's shoulder. "Thanks for the save."
"Any time, buddy," Swampert said, smiling. "So, what do you think we should to here?"
"I don't know. If we get close, it teleports away. But it's also got too many projectiles." Blaziken scratched his chin.
"Hey, guys! Any time you want to jump back in, let me know… please!"
Still masquerading as Keldeo, Mew shot water from his hooves to fly around Volcarona. Though some of the water jets pelted Volcarona, she swung her sword slowly and clumsily. After her fourth slash went wide, Volcarona clasped her sword with both hands again.
"She's charging up again. We've gotta help Mew," Blaziken said, racing toward Volcarona. He closed the distance quickly thanks to the speed boosts he'd accumulated from his Mega Evolution. Still, it wasn't good enough. With Mew trying to attack Volcarona from behind, he wasn't prepared for her to suddenly vanish, only to reappear on the ground to his right and uppercut him with her blade.
Blaziken couldn't help but stumble to a stop in disbelief as Volcarona teleported all around Mew and unleashed a flurry of rapid slashes with her blade. Blood splattered across the ground inches in front of Blaziken. Flames swirled around his hands. He wanted to try and attack, but Volcarona moved so quickly, he couldn't pinpoint her.
At last, Volcarona teleported above Mew, shadow fire swirling around her sword. With one large, flaming slash, she sent Mew rocketing toward the ground. Blaziken acted on instinct, redirecting his flames to his legs to propel himself toward Mew. He barely managed to catch Mew. The impact rattled his bones. For the few seconds he needed to skid to a halt, Blaziken wondered if he'd dislocated his arms in his rescue attempt.
"Eyes up above, buddy!"
Swampert's shout made Blaziken kick off the ground in a burst of flames. He flew toward Swampert seconds before a wind vortex turned the spot where he was standing into a splintered crater. "W-Was that… Hurricane?!" Blaziken turned his head in mid-flight to see Volcarona pointing her free hand at him.
In a spiral of flames, the hand morphed into a small version of Yveltal's head. Red and black energy gathered within the tiny maw. Between carrying Mew and shooting Flamethrowers from his legs to maintain his flight, Blaziken had no effective counter for whatever strange attack Volcarona was preparing.
Fortunately for him, Swampert chose to remind Volcarona of his presence by shooting up into her from below using a Waterfall plume. Volcarona buckled from the impact. She fired a red and black beam into the air, several feet above Blaziken's head.
Swampert wasn't done, however. He managed to grab hold of Volcarona and throw her down while he fell back toward the ground. Swampert stretched an arm out, ready to give Volcarona a taste of his "Death from Above" technique. Unfortunately, much like in the battle with Lycanroc, his fist met nothing but solid ground.
"Yow! This stuff's hard!" Swampert said, hopping up and down and wringing out his throbbing hand. Blaziken landed next to him.
"Keep Impostwor occupied. I've gotta figure out how to patch up Mew," he said, glancing down at the blood strewn across his arms and chest and wincing. The distal half of Mew's tail was missing. Blood dribbled out of the leftover stump and trickled onto the ground.
Swampert's face paled. "Y-Yeah. You, uh, you do that, bud. I'll handle the creepy murder-fusion-bug-thingy." He backed away, then summoned a wave of water to carry him toward a still-dazed Volcarona.
Blaziken set Mew down. After confirming Mew was still breathing, he plucked two oran berries from his bag and mushed them together. The juices covered Mew from head to toe. Blaziken pressed the remains to Mew's wounds. "Come on, come on… surely this has to do something?"
While the wounds didn't close, it at least seemed that they had stopped bleeding. Blaziken heard a loud fwoosh from behind him, followed by a holler. Not wanting to leave his teammate along for too long, Blaziken grabbed a Reviver Seed and jammed it into Mew's mouth with, perhaps, a bit too much force. Mew coughed and sputtered. He rolled onto his side, groaning.
"D-Did anyone… get a good glimpse… of the Wailord… that flattened me?" Mew rasped.
"We're not out of the woods. I used some berries on your wounds, but you're going to have to take care of the rest," Blaziken said, getting to his feet. He looked down, but Mew remained silent. He was trying to curl into a ball, but with such small arms and legs and his tail reduced to a pointed stub, it looked more like Mew was twitching uncontrollably. It hurt Blaziken to see Mew like this, given how cheerful and bright-eyed he was before all of this started. Still, he had business to take care of.
When he turned around to appraise Swampert's situation, he found his teammate blasting Volcarona out of the sky with a well-placed water glob. Volcarona hit the ground hard. Her blade slipped from her grip and evaporated into tiny emerald wisps. Blaziken had to resist the urge to visibly fist-pump. Whatever strategy Swampert had cooked up on the fly, it paid dividends.
Thanks to all his acquired speed boosts, Blaziken reached Volcarona in a few seconds. However, before his Brave Bird charge could connect, Volcarona teleported away. Blaziken broke out of his bird-shaped wind spear and skidded across the ground. "Now what is it doing?!"
Volcarona teleported above them and raised her hands high. Emerald fire swirled around her head.
"Quick, take my hand!" Swampert said, reaching out toward Blaziken. He did as instructed. Swampert threw him at Volcarona like a living spear.
Volcarona glanced down at Blaziken. Just when it looked like Brave Bird Special would connect, Volcarona thrust her arms apart and disappeared. Flailing in shock, Blaziken broke out of his attack and quickly shot dual Flamethrowers to send himself back toward the ground. This proved a huge mistake. Volcarona reappeared below him and pointed her glowing hands up.
Emerald flames engulfed Blaziken. Even as a fire-type, the heat was unbearable. A pained caw escaped his lips. He crashed headfirst into the ground, arms and legs burning as if he'd tried to run across the entire Air Continent.
"W-What the— it just hit you with Rayquaza?! No, wait…" Swampert stared at his downed teammate and scratched his head. "Maybe it was more like those shadowy embers with the faces?"
Tears blurred Blaziken's vision, but he could see emerald streaks in the air. "S… Swampert! Whatever it is… it's still active! Watch out!" he cried.
Swampert looked up to see that, indeed, a Rayquaza phantom snaked through the air, made entirely of emerald flames. Volcarona teleported below it and pointed in Swampert's direction. "Aww, nuts," Swampert whispered. He chucked mud globs at the phantom. They evaporated the moment they struck it. Swampert stiffened. He pointed his hands straight down and summoned another water pillar.
Blaziken managed to stumble back to his feet in time to see Swampert soar over the Rayquaza phantom. However, rather than striking the ground and disappearing, the phantom made an abrupt U-turn and flew away from Team Go-Getters. Blaziken quickly realized what Volcarona was trying.
"Dang it, that's where Mew is!" he said, sprinting toward Volcarona. If he could just connect with one attack, the phantom would surely disappear. Volcarona spun around and teleported several yards away, but Blaziken corrected his course and was on her within seconds.
Volcarona swiped at the air with her hands. Out of the corner of his eye, Blaziken saw the phantom make a sharp turn right in his direction. However, it only got a few feet before giant water globs rained down on it from above. The phantom disappeared in several puffs of emerald mist, which lingered on the other half of the battlefield.
Blaziken seized his opening and finally managed to connect with a Brave Bird. The wind torpedo blew Volcarona back, where Swampert was waiting to blindside her with a Waterfall plume. She tumbled into the air for a matter of seconds, before a large water torrent sniped her from the depths of the emerald mist.
"Whoa! Mew, was that you? Are you okay?" Blaziken called. He wouldn't have expected Mew to bounce back like that, but he supposed that whatever hesitancy Mew had toward attacking Volcarona was gone.
The emerald mist cleared, revealing Kyogre hovering off the ground, large red eyes fixed on Volcarona, who had managed to right herself. The illusion was shattered when Mew's familiar, squeaky voice huffed, "I'm not letting you get away with this anymore!"
"Now he pulls out the big guns," Blaziken said, facepalming. Volcarona fixed her attention on Mew, tilting her head at this new development.
"Suck on this, Impostwor!" Mew cried. Water brimmed in his blowhole. Blaziken quickly backpedaled, fearing he'd get swept up in the Water Spout if he didn't.
Except Mew never got the chance to fire his attack. Volcarona teleported behind him. Wings fluttering rapidly, she unleashed multicolored waves. A loud, off-pitch buzz echoed across the platform. Blaziken dropped to his knees, grimacing and throwing his hands up against his head.
Mew hollered in pain. He shrank back to his normal form in a swirl of blue light and a loud schlurp. "Th… that. Is that… Bug Buzz?" Mew whimpered, blood trickling from his ears. Volcarona teleported closer to Mew and unleashed more Bug Buzz soundwaves. This time they blasted Mew straight into the ground, where he lay still.
Blaziken forced himself to stand back up, only to find Volcarona in front of him. He was fast enough to duck under the Bug Buzz waves while running, but Swampert wasn't so lucky. In the brief moment Blaziken tried to choose between regrouping with his teammate and running to Mew's aid, Volcarona teleported behind Swampert and blasted him with more multicolored soundwaves. Even if Blaziken wasn't caught up by the attack, the sound was so grating it made his insides squirm.
Swampert stumbled about in a daze, completely oblivious to Volcarona now standing next to him. She formed a new sword from wisps of emerald fire and clutched it with both hands. Fearing that Volcarona would use the crazy multi-slash attack that almost did Mew in, Blaziken sprinted toward his teammate.
Instead of uppercutting Swampert with the sword, however, Volcarona flew around him. She slammed her sword into the ground. Five giant fire tornadoes formed around her. Blaziken tried to grab Swampert, but the tornadoes pulled him in. Volcarona plucked her sword out of the ground and pointed it forward. The tornadoes charged Blaziken and Mew down. Volcarona stutter-stepped backward, sword at the ready in case one of them somehow slipped through her attack.
Blaziken had no choice but to turn and run at an angle, hoping the tornadoes would slip him by. Instead, they converged on him. Blaziken belted out a loud, "No!" when his feet left the ground. Emerald flames and razor-sharp wind blades pummeled him from every angle, ripping feathers off his body.
He had no idea which way was up and which way was down. The repeated blows from the wind proved to be too much for him. Blaziken felt the last threads of his Mega Evolution give out just as the winds died down and he found himself several yards in the air.
"Did you see those tornadoes? I don't think those came from any of our allies!" Lugia said, trying his hardest to keep pace with Latias without dropping his passengers.
"I know! I know! We… I…" Latias bit her lip. She was still exhausted from her fight with Lugia, but whatever was going on needed their attention badly. That's what her gut told her, anyway. "I'm gonna fly ahead and try to intervene."
Lugia raised his brows. "Are you sure about that? What if it's a—"
Latias zoomed off before she could hear him finish speaking. Sure enough, it didn't take long for her to spot signs of a serious struggle. Mew lay unconscious on the ground. And Blaziken and Swampert were sailing through the air. Squinting, Latias realized they were unconscious, too. She tucked her wings in and sped toward them, only for their assailant to appear in front of her in a plume of emerald fire.
If this had happened earlier, Latias might've stopped to gawk at her would-be foe. However, after her most recent ordeal, she wasn't going to let another fusion monster throw her off. So, Latias rolled right, zooming toward Team Go-Getters. Heat grazed her backside. It stung, sure, but she was tough enough to withstand it and safely snag her friends in her levitation. Latias sped toward the ground, glancing around and wondering if she'd have to withstand another attack.
Luckily, the cavalry wasn't far behind her. From Lugia's back came a volley of dragonfire, lightning, and water, bolstered by an orange Aeroblast beam courtesy of Lugia himself. Latias refocused on setting Team Go-Getters down safely, when a blue glimmer caught her eye in the distance. Just as she was about to release her psychic grip, she spotted a giant iceberg close to the center of the temporal storm.
"What the— Shane?"
It was the first thought that crossed Latias' mind. She was so preoccupied with the sight, she accidentally dropped Team Go-Getters onto the ground. The pair of thuds caught her attention. She hovered down to ground level and looked them over. Blaziken had scattered clumps of missing feathers and bloody flesh, while Swampert had huge gashes on his back and belly.
Latias knew she had to work fast. Two Heal Pulses first, then Reviver Seeds to get them back on her feet. Latias sighed in relief when Blaziken shot up into a seated position while Swampert rolled onto his belly, coughing and sputtering.
"L-Latias? When did you get here?" Blaziken scratched his head. "And what about Impos— I mean, Volcarona?"
"Volcarona?" Latias raised a brow. Blaziken pointed behind her. Lugia had dropped off the other teams. Short bursts of lightning, fire, water globs, and blue-purple Dragon Breath split the air as the group tried to down what Latias was supposed to believe was a Volcarona. "But that looks more like Mewtwo in some, uh…"
She shook her head. This was the Prism Virus. Nothing about it made sense. "Okay. Um…" Her brow furrowed. "Did you two use Mega Evolution?"
"We did, but it wasn't enough," Blaziken said, staggering to his feet.
"Well, that's a problem! Because if that is an infected Volcarona, then the only way to save it is with a Mega or a Z-Move," Latias said. "And I, uh…" She raised the arm that previously held her looplet. "My looplet blew up."
Swampert's jaw dropped. "How—"
"Long story." Latias bit her lip, but then her gaze fell on the other teams and a figurative torch turned on in her head. "Ah, wait! If the others have awakening emeras, we should be okay, right?"
Blaziken and Swampert exchanged uncertain looks. "Maybe?" Blaziken said, shrugging.
"Well, we've got to try. Hop on." Latias hovered close to the duo.
"Right." Blaziken jumped onto her back.
"Uh, I think I'll take my chances on the ground. You look a bit woozy and, well… I was hitting the snacks a bit too hard before this whole nonsense started up," Swampert said, patting his belly.
Latias nodded, appreciating Swampert's consideration. She sped across the platform, swerving right to avoid Volcarona, who had teleported in front of her. Volcarona slashed the air with her blade, sending meteors in her direction.
"Watch your back!" Blaziken shouted, trying to spew a Flamethrower behind him.
"We got you!" Feraligatr said, riding a Waterfall plume into one of the meteors while Lugia shredded the other two apart with a small wind vortex.
"What the heck is this crazy thing doing? Those looked like Draco Meteors!" Haxorus said, eyes wide in disbelief.
"It's her blade! It's, like, all Rayquaza-y!" Swampert cried from the other end of the battlefield.
At the mention of Rayquaza, Latias tensed up. She had thankfully reached Team Paradise, so Blaziken could jump off her back before she turned her attention on Volcarona. Upon closer inspection, she determined Swampert was right. She balled her paws into tiny fists, but Lugia stuck a wing in front of her.
"Please. You've done more than enough." He narrowed his eyes at Volcarona. "Allow me."
As if she understood the challenge, Volcarona pointed her blade at Lugia. He responded with a bright-orange waveform beam. Volcarona teleported over Lugia's head, but an orange flash distracted her from raining Draco Meteors on him from above. She turned to her right in time for a large, silver wind tunnel to smash into her.
Mega Blaziken drove his shoulder hard into Volcarona's chest. Her blade flew from her hand. Lugia spotted it and, squinting, smashed it to pieces with Psychic rings. Blaziken pressed down on Volcarona with as much weight as he could. Her arms twitched, as if she was trying to muster up an attack. But the Brave Bird's sharp currents proved too much.
They slammed into the ground. Blaziken grabbed Volcarona by a freshly-made crack in her armor. "This is for hurting Swampert and Mew," he cried, then drove a glowing fist into Volcarona's helmet once. Twice. Three times. It promptly shattered. Then, he brought a flaming leg around and kicked her into the ground.
Volcarona brought her burnt hands up to her bloodied face. She arced her back and opened her mouth, but not even a cry of pain escaped her lips. Her armor shattered, leaving only Mewtwo's body and two glimmers of emerald light. They flittered around Mewtwo's unconscious form before gently touching down next to him.
The glimmers expanded, taking the shape of both Rayquaza and the real Volcarona. The latter, however, disappeared into a stream of light after a few seconds. Haxorus tilted her head at the sight. "Huh." She crossed her arms. "So, it was another whacko fusion, then? Like with Lugia and what's-his-face?"
"Ish Marawoah." The lingering effects of the petrify wand muffled Marshadow's speech. He lay paralyzed next to Raichu, who looked disapprovingly at him.
"Ah, wait! We forgot about Mew! Someone has to tend to Mew," Swampert cried, pointing frantically in Mew's direction.
"Oh, right." Latias made a beeline toward Mew, cringing as she caught sight of the severity of Mew's injuries. "They really put you through the ringer, huh?" she whispered. Latias applied gentle, pink Heal Pulse waves. Unfortunately, her work left several scars and failed to regenerate Mew's tail.
Mew groaned and squirmed. "Is… is it over?"
"It is," Latias said, extending a paw toward Mew.
Mew blinked slowly. He needed time to recognize who was hovering next to him. Once it finally registered, he gave Latias a hand. She pulled him up and gently cradled him in her arms.
"What happened? Is Impostwor gone?" Mew said, rubbing his eyes.
"Um, I'm not sure who Impostwor is, but we saved Mewtwo, Rayquaza, and a Volcarona," Latias said, holding Mew up so he could see.
"Ah! T… T… Two-y!"
Mew pushed himself free of Latias' arms and shakily difted toward Mewtwo. He lay down on Mewtwo's belly, blinking tears out of his eyes.
"Sheesh, I didn't think the two were that close," Lugia whispered, earning a stern look from Latias. He turned away, whistling innocently.
Latias fixed her gaze on Rayquaza. Of all the things she expected to have to deal with, saving Rayquaza from the Prism Virus was not one of them. She tried to go through scenarios of how this could play out when he woke up, but his golden eyes opened before she could work anything out.
Rayquaza groaned, catching everyone's attention. Even Mew looked up. Rayquaza stared back at everyone. "What's going on here? Where did all of you mortals come—" He cut himself off when his gaze fell upon Latias and Lugia. "You two! What's the meaning of this?" He narrowed his eyes. "Are you really so cowardly that you went running off to tattle to your mate after our discussion?"
Lugia frowned. "What are you talking about? We—"
Latias flew up and put a paw on Lugia's mouth. "Sweetie. I think I've got this."
Lugia went cross-eyed looking at her paw. He shuffled back. Latias floated toward Rayquaza, clearing her throat. "What's going on here, is that we," she gestured to the group, "just saved your ungrateful, pretentious ass from being part of some hideous fusion monster with Mewtwo and a Volcarona."
She paused, but before Rayquaza could retort, she continued, "It's the truth. Everyone here can attest to it. So, you can take your usual lineup of 'worthless idiot' insults and fuck right off."
Everyone's jaws dropped in unison. Lugia tucked his head into his wing to stave off a coughing fit.
But Latias wasn't done. "Because we're busy trying to stop all of time from collapsing and listening to you would do nothing but slow us down. I could not care any less about you or your stupid dragon pride. News flash! That pride of yours got you corrupted by the Prism Virus. And guess who wound up having to do the brunt of the work saving you?"
Latias gestured to Team Go-Getters. Blaziken crossed his arms and smirked, while Swampert cheerfully waved and said, "Long time no see, Meanie-Greenie. Still as grouchy as ever, eh?"
Rayquaza's jaw dropped. He turned and glared at Latias. "You… you…"
"If you want to lay here and wallow in pity or whatever, then go right ahead," Latias said, turning away from him. "The rest of us are going to the center of that vortex to finish this fight."
"Hell yeah! You tell him, you crazy bitch!"
Everyone turned to look at Haxorus, who had a fist raised high. She quietly pulled her arm back to her side. "S-Sorry. Got a bit carried away there."
Rayquaza balled his tiny hands into fists. Lugia waddled up to him. "You're not the only god who had to be saved today, y'know. I'm sure you feel ashamed of yourself. I know I do." He extended a wing toward Rayquaza. "That's why we have to try and fix this mess, don't you think?"
With a long, drawn-out sigh Rayquaza took hold of Lugia's wing. "Very well. I'll—"
A loud yell startled everyone. Mew floated away from Mewtwo, shaking. "T-Two-y? What are you—"
Mewtwo, now very much awake, hovered at the head of the group, grabbing his head and screaming his lungs out. Before anyone could say anything else, Mewtwo flew toward them, arms outstretched.
The entire group vanished in a flash of blinding light.
~Rainbow Island~
"Thing have really gotten out of hand, haven't they?"
Ninetales stood at the edge of the altar, stiff as a board. She watched Ephemeris bow his head while offering his greeting. Ho-Oh returned the gesture, saying, "We weren't as prepared as we thought. I apologize if we caused you any trouble."
"It's fine. I'm here now, aren't I?" Ephemeris straightened himself up and looked at the spirit pool. "I noticed Hoopa's spirit is in there, among many others."
"We were hoping you could revive him first. Then, we'd take the rest of the spirits back to your home, revive them safely, and head for Temporal Tower," Totem Ninetales explained.
"Mmm. I see." Ephemeris looked at the spirit pool. "I suppose I could do that."
There was something bothering Ninetales about the whole idea. One look up at the dark sky with its ominous red and purple clouds made her stomach churn. Were there more of them than when the group had set out for the Invern Mountains? That should've been impossible if the planet was paralyzed, right? Ninetales knew she had to say something.
"Um, excuse me? Can I interject?" Ninetales stood tall as everyone's gazes fell on her. "See, I've been thinking a bit about this plan and… is it really the best course of action?" She scrunched her snout up. "I'm not saying I don't have faith in the others or anything, but can we really afford to spend time reviving so many spirits? What if something bad did happen to them? What if we should be gearing up to fight Zero now?"
Silence followed. Ninetales was sure she'd raised a good point. Her icy counterpart was looking between Magearna, Ho-Oh, and Ephemeris. Ninetales stared at her companions, trying to avoid putting on a pleading expression.
"I agree," Mawile said, to Ninetales' joy. "With the planet paralyzed, we can't say for certain how long we've spent getting here. But the fact that there's still a bizarre storm in the sky tells me that Zero hasn't been taken care of."
Ninetales nodded. "I'm not saying Ephemeris has to join us in battle or anything. He can stay here and work on reviving Hoopa. But, at the very least, couldn't he open an Ultra Wormhole to send us to help the others?" She looked to Ephemeris, whose heavyset eyes gave her pause. "Err, is there a problem?"
"I'm afraid so. There is, unfortunately, a limit to what I can do with Ultra Wormholes," Ephemeris said, sighing. "I did have to open one and fly through Ultra Space in order to get here." He raised his right wing and flapped it slowly. "Every time I open an Ultra Wormhole, I have to 'recharge' for an extended period of time before I use another one."
Ninetales stiffened. "Y-You're kidding!" She curled her tails up. Of all the lousy technicalities she could've imagined his powers having… it had to be one of the worst. Ninetales shook her head. "But you can still use your Sacred Ash?"
"Yes, however, since I don't have Hoopa's actual body to work off of, it will take some time to revive him," Ephemeris explained.
"Then maybe it's best if we split up?" Ninetales looked around at the others. "If anyone thinks they wouldn't be helpful in battle, they can stay with Ephemeris. Otherwise, Ho-Oh can fly us to Temporal Tower, right?"
Ho-Oh tensed up. "I… I suppose I could, yes." Her brow furrowed. "It's not exactly close by, though. It's all the way on the other side of the world."
And that's why I didn't propostulate such an idea, Magearna said. My calculations suggest it will be faster to stick together and let Ephemeris work.
That still didn't sit right with Ninetales. "Well, maybe once Ephemeris has revived Hoopa, he can use a ring portal to send some of us to Temporal Tower?" Surely, that idea could work. Her tails wagged when Magearna's eyes brightened up.
Hmm… well, I think it wouldn't hurt to try, Magearna said. She looked at the others, who nodded and mumbled various agreements. Okay, it's settled then.
"Allow me to retrieve Hoopa's spirit," Totem Ninetales said, approaching the spirit pond.
Ninetales stepped up at the same time. "I'll help. Anything to help speed the process up."
Her counterpart smiled and nodded. "Thanks."
They approached the spirit pool in tandem, studying it intently.
~Prism Wastelands~
Silvally shifted to his ground memories, only to find they did nothing to stop a searing flash of pain from striking his back and spreading down to his legs. His cheek-bolts rattled in their sockets. Something sharp jabbed into his mesh of fur on scales. Silvally screamed and bucked. The pain faded, leaving only stars in his vision.
"Silvally!" Tessa gasped. Black blood oozed out from his back. None of this made sense. His ground memories should've kept him safe from an electric attack.
"Worry about yourself, whelp!"
Tessa's right ear twitched. She hopped backward. A tan arm shot out inches in front of her snout, crackling with lightning and ending with bright-blue Dragon Claws. Tessa instinctively thrust a glowing paw forward. Her Force Palm slammed into something hard and scaly. But electricity singed her paw and she yanked it back. She a saw a stream of lightning zip away from her. It formed up into Dragonite, who stood clutching her left shoulder.
"Well, isn't this a surprise? You hit harder than your mother," Dragonite said, rotating her left arm and wincing. "But I can hit harder than you both!" She disappeared into a lightning bolt again. Tessa propelled herself right with a burst of Quick Attack speed. "Ha! Not fast enough, mutt!" Dragonite crooned. Chilly, gray claws grazed Tessa's right flank.
Tessa flung a desperate Aura Sphere behind her, even as ice spread across her wounds. Dragonite materialized and batted it away with an electrified spear. "Aww, what's the matter? Still stuck using Quick Attack, are we?" Dragonite smirked. "Your evolution gave you some new tricks, but it looks like you're still sorely lacking."
"H-How—" Tessa looked down at her side. The chill from the ice seeped into her body. It felt as bad as her time in Aurora Vale. And yet, there were lingering bits of static making the surrounding fur stand on end. "How are you doing this?"
Dragonite lightning-dashed toward her again. Running wouldn't work, so Tessa stood her ground and fired a meek pink Psychic ring toward the lightning. It cut above her, but that was exactly what Tessa wanted. With her other paw, she fired stronger Psychic rings, knocking Dragonite out of her dash.
"You'll pay for that. Lightning Javelin!" Electricity crackled in Dragonite's hand, forming a spear. She reared back to throw it, when an Ice Beam struck her between the wings. Dragonite flailed, her spear dissolving. She wheeled on Silvally, only to find a half-dozen copies running around in different directions, leaving salmon-colored trails behind them.
Tessa didn't hesitate in firing a gray, lustrous beam up toward Dragonite. She lightning-dashed right to avoid it, only to find two Silvally copies lunging for her, fairy energy brimming in their forelegs.
"That's enough!" Dragonite brought her hands together and pointed them forward. A massive vortex of snow and wind erupted. Silvally's Double Team clones vanished in puffs of smoke. The real Silvally was blown off his feet. A gray aura overtook him and he dropped to the ground with a loud thud. He dug his talons in. Metal coated his body. Chunks of hail and snow plinked off his hide.
Right as Dragonite ceased the Blizzard, blinding white light enveloped her from behind. Tessa looked right to see Espy standing tall, forehead gem venting pink fairy dust like a chimney would smoke. To Tessa's relief, Milotic stood beside Espy. It quickly turned to a sinking feeling when Tessa noticed Milotic's ribbons trembling. An electrical burn sat on her chest and blood streaked her once-sparkling scales.
Espy caught Tessa's gaze. "Focus on Dragonite," she said, gathering more fairy energy for another Dazzling Gleam.
"You losers think you can overpower me with numbers? Ha! That just means none of you are strong enough to stand up to me on your own!" Dragonite said, her Xurkitree-esque antennae bobbing up and down with excitement.
"D-Dragonite," Milotic said, voice shaky. Dragonite glanced at her, smirking and raising a brow. "Don't do this. Puh… please. I'm sorry that Serpy and I weren't there for you after we fought Zero! We… we should've been more—"
"Get down!" Espy yanked a yelping Milotic out of the way of a Lightning Javelin. But she wasn't prepared for a shockwave to race out when it struck the ground and exploded. Espy dropped Milotic to the ground, seizing up as electricity coursed through her veins.
"Leave them alone!" Silvally roared, sending a Flash Cannon up toward Dragonite. Tessa hastily added her own, hoping she could predict where Dragonite would try to dodge. Her brow furrowed when Dragonite slipped left in a stream of lightning. But that frustration turned to panic when Dragonite banked down toward Silvally. He barely had time to end his Flash Cannon before she was practically on top of him, Dragon Claws bared.
In a flash of salmon light, Silvally activated his fairy memories. Nevertheless, Dragonite's claws raked his chest. He stumbled back, eyes widening in shock and black blood staining the front of his feathery plume. "Th… that's impossible!" he said.
"No, it's called mixing types," Dragonite said, raising a hand and flicking blood off her claws. "You think you're special because you can change types on the fly? Well, I'm here to tell you that you're nothing." She zipped left, dodging a swipe of Silvally's glowing talons. Instead, he sliced through a Shadow Ball from Espy.
Tessa stood in place, paw raised to fire an Aura Sphere but unable to send off the attack. Mixing types? How was that even possible? She vaguely recalled Magearna using two attacks at once, but she couldn't mix different attacks together.
"You're only strong because you have that measly trinket on your leg. And even then, it's not enough to deal with me!" Dragonite continued, pointing to the memory looplet. She formed a lightning spear in her hand and swiped at Silvally. He countered with his dusty-brown talons. The spear shattered but Dragonite lightning-dashed up into the air to dodge a second swipe. "Without your looplet, you're worthless! A joke! A failure! Like the rest of your sorry team!"
Dragonite summoned another lightning spear and twirled it around. Storm clouds rapidly spawned overhead. Tessa, whose blood had boiled over when Dragonite badmouthed Silvally, found her nerve and shot a large Flash Cannon toward Dragonite. Espy unleashed Psychic rings and Milotic reluctantly shot an Ice Beam. All three attacks were vaporized by lightning strikes from the storm cloud.
"Guys, run!" Silvally barked. Ground memories still active, he fanned out his head crest. A Tailwind formed behind him, giving him extra speed to run toward Tessa.
A loud voice in her head told her to jump. Tessa listened without hesitation. Next thing she knew, she was on Silvally's back, staring wide-eyed at a lightning bolt that easily could've zapped her. Bolstered by the Tailwind, Silvally snagged his other two teammates and zigzagged across the battlefield, barely weaving through Dragonite's lightning storm.
"Stupid, stupid— you can't dodge forever!" Dragonite hissed. Each successive bolt grew larger, but with the increase in size came a decrease in accuracy. Silvally managed to train his eyes on Dragonite. He glared at her with every ounce of enmity he could muster. A silhouette of his piercing gaze materialized in front of him. Dragonite tensed up, as if the silhouette was looking straight into the depths of her corrupted soul.
Her next two bolts were much slower and easier to dodge, giving Silvally leverage to make a run at her. "You… you slowed her down?" Tessa whispered. It took her a second, but she realized Silvally had used Scary Face. She was amazed it actually worked.
"I will not back down!" Dragonite snarled, her Lightning Javelin increasing in size. However, she never got the chance to toss it. On Silvally's mark, Team Radiance struck in unison. Two Ice Beams, a Flash Cannon, and a Dazzling Gleam merged into a blue blast with white, twinkling lights. Dragonite fell from the sky, writhing in pain and screaming. The prism armor around her chest cracked when she hit the ground.
"Rrrgh… that's enough!"
An orange aura surrounded Dragonite. Tessa's feelers shot up in alarm. It looked exactly like the glows she and her teammates got before using Z-Moves. But how could Dragonite use one?
Electricity crackled through Dragonite's whole body. She hopped into the air and thrust her arms apart. Four different-colored, crystalline dragon heads surrounded her in a ring. A different element gathered up in each of the heads: fire, ice, lightning, and raw aura.
Sparks jumped around Silvally's looplet. Ignoring them, he gathered hot plasma in his open beak. Even with the dungeon's warped energy jamming her, Tessa could sense how strong the blast was. She looked down worriedly at his foreleg. "Um, Silvally, are you—"
"Fuh… fine," Silvally said, the charged attack muffling his voice. "Guh… uhwuh!" Silvally's back was red hot. Tessa had to climb off him or she risked getting burned. Her teammates did the same.
"I am going to bury you, freak!" Dragonite shouted. She pointed her arm high, summoned a Lightning Javelin, and reared back to throw it.
"You're the crazy one from where we're standing!" Espy retorted, shooting a Shadow Ball toward Dragonite. "Do you have any idea what'll happen if we don't stop Zero? We're all going to perish!"
"I know. That's exactly the point!"
Milotic froze in the midst of gathering icy energy to attack. "Wh… what?"
Tessa shot a Flash Cannon at the same time Silvally released his charged Hyper Beam. It swallowed Tessa's attack, but she kept pressing on.
"Big mistake! I'll burn you both to ashes!" Dragonite roared. Silvally narrowed his eyes, trying to force as much energy as he could into the attack. Tessa caught sight of his looplet vibrating against his leg.
This proved a costly mistake. With a gleam in her eye, Dragonite pivoted toward Tessa and hurled the Lightning Javelin. It sliced through the Hyper Beam with ease. Tessa's eyes widened. She dropped to her belly and the spear soared past her. Tessa looked up in time to realize that wasn't Dragonite's actual attack. She stared down the barrel of four gigantic beams, together dwarfing Silvally's Hyper Beam.
She braced herself for what she assumed would be the end. Instead, a hulking mass of fur and scales pressed down on her. At such close range, all Tessa could hear was Silvally's screams mixed with the sounds of Dragonite's unhinged laughter.
"Stop! Stop it, now!" Milotic cried. Her Ice Beam came too late, however. Dragonite's Z-Move faded and she lightning-dashed away from the attack, the crystal dragon heads crumbling into bits. Then, she negated Espeon's Dazzling Gleam with a sparkling, dragon-shaped beam. "I can't believe this! Just how much did Zero twist your mind?"
"Zero? Ha! Don't give me that, 'Millie.' You had the same power coursing through you," Dragonite said, smirking. "We both know who it really came from. And thanks to him… I'm the strongest mortal on the planet! Stronger than any god… stronger than Zero! I'm unbeatable!"
"And what good will that do if our world gets destroyed?" Espeon hissed.
Dragonite smiled. "You think I care what happens to this place? Of course not! This whole planet and its pathetic pantheon deserve to rot in oblivion!" Her grin grew wider. "Why do you think I'm fighting you losers, anyway? For the thrill, of course."
Milotic's ribbons curled up. "N… Air… Dr…"
"Sure, Necrozma wanted us to try and stab Zero in the back should she become too much of a nuisance for him. But at the end of the day, it didn't matter to me which of the two came out on top of their struggle. Because the end result would be the same." Dragonite licked her lips, much like Necrozma had done countless times. "The world would fall to the void, while I would flee into Ultra Space in search of even more power!" Dragonite lightning-dashed toward the two, only to stop short as an Aura Sphere whizzed by her.
Tessa had managed to clamber out from underneath Silvally. She stood hunched over, arms trembling in rage. Tessa could see the damage out of the corner of her eye.
Silvally's fur and scales burnt away, exposing soft tissue leaking black blood. Blackened shards of his memory looplet scattered all around him. The central gemstone lying by his open beak, vibrating intensely.
She was seething. Every kind gesture Silvally had done for her played through her head on loop. And this Pokémon… someone she had trusted… she had the gall to stand there gloating about what she had done. The sigil on Tessa's paw flashed. She didn't care. A small voice meekly tried to blame Necrozma for Dragonite's actions. Tessa didn't care.
Dragonite had to pay.
Fluorescent blue lines shot down Tessa's arms and legs. Dragonite turned toward her. "Oh, what's this? Upset, are we?" She glanced at Silvally. "Is it because I hurt your pwecious fwiend? Ha! You should've gotten his patchwork ass while you had the chance. Now, it's too late." Dragonite thrust her right arm out and an electric spear materialized in it. "Why don't you go curl up with Ninetales and cry your eyes dry like you always do!" She smirked. "Oh, wait, that's right. He isn't here, is here? But don't worry… once I'm done with you, I'll—"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
In the blink of an eye, Tessa took Dragonite's place standing in front of her teammates, elbow outstretched. Her right paw crackled with shadow fire. A stunned Dragonite stood a couple of feet in front of her, clutching at her belly, face twisted in grimace.
"You… but… that…" Dragonite lifted her head. "Nobody makes the jump from Quick Attack to Extreme Speed like that. This is a joke!"
Tessa tensed. Dragonite lightning-dashed right, but Tessa still grazed her with her right paw-spike. Dragonite stumbled out of her dash. She pressed a paw to her side, then lifted it and stared at the sticky red fluid on her scales. Dragonite unsheathed her Dragon Claws, but had to divert the flurry of slashes intended for Tessa toward Milotic's Ice Beam. Tessa kept her distance this time, opting to shoot a Flash Cannon. Espy unleashed another blinding-white fairy energy blast.
Dragonite surged into the air. The three attacks sailed underneath her. "No… screw this! You're not getting some damn heroic second wind! Not against me!" Raising her arms high, she summoned four more crystal dragon heads. "I'll pummel you with Prism Meteors until you're as broken as that abomination you call a friend!"
"Bitch, you take that back!" Espy snarled, firing off another Dazzling Gleam. Tessa noticed scorched fur surrounding Espy's forehead gem but, like her teammate, she was far too angry at Dragonite to care.
"Not a chance! You want that freak's ass so badly? Then you two can share each other's company in the spirit realm!" Dragonite barked, the crystal dragon heads brimming with energy. Tessa's aura feelers tensed. She was ready to lunge for Espy and make a run for it when the forcefield surrounding the battlefield shattered. Dragonite turned right. "What the—"
A massive iceberg sprang up from below. Part of it clipped Dragonite and shattered the crystal heads. Tessa's heart soared the moment her eyes fell on the familiar ice Ninetales standing atop it.
"Get away from my friends!" Shane cried, before engulfing Dragonite in a giant ice beam. He froze her solid inside a huge block of ice, which slammed into the gate with a loud thunk.
"Shane!" Tessa cried, breaking into a huge smile at the sight. Her relief gave way to panic, however, as she remembered the state of her other friend. "You've got to help Silvally! He's… he's…" She pointed a trembling paw back toward him. Espy was already by his side, eyes watering as she desperately smushed a rawst and oran berry against his hide.
"Say no more," Shane said, leaping from the iceberg as it melted away. When he hit the ground, Tessa noticed a few differences in her partner. His fur had an almost metallic sheen do it. Every step he made produced a loud clunk that brought Magearna or Metagross to mind. The gemstone in his looplet gave off an array of different colors and a compass-like sigil glowed on his forehead.
"W… what happened to you?" Espy asked, stepping aside to let Shane have a look at Silvally.
"The short version is that Zero lied to us. Necrozma was still alive and kicking. He had possessed Xerneas," Shane said. Both Espy and Tessa had their mouths open when Shane lifted three of his tails to silence them. "He tried to kill me, but I found the Dawn Hourglass and took in what was left of its power."
"But… but then…" Tessa fidgeted nervously. She definitely sensed something different in Shane's aura. A newfound brilliance that shined through the dungeon's aura-jamming distortion.
"G-Guys… we've got a problem!" Milotic shouted, gaining the group's attention. Tessa turned to see cracks forming in Dragonite's icy prison.
"Necrozma's gone. That's all that matters. You guys help Milotic. I'll tend to Silvally," Shane said, golden light brimming around him.
"Err… r-right," Espy said. She ran toward Tessa, charging fairy energy in her forehead gem.
Tessa likewise gathered up an Aura Sphere. The rush of joy that Shane's appearance triggered had quelled Tessa's building rage. Her paw's sigil had stopped glowing, much to her relief. Still, she had a battle to win. For Silvally's sake, she wouldn't squander the opening Shane gave them.
Chunks of ice shot past the three ladies. "Attack now!" Tessa shouted, firing the Aura Sphere. Espy added fairy energy to it, while Milotic shot an Ice Beam from her position. However, the ice surrounding Dragonite exploded before the attacks could reach her. Instead, they slammed into the chains on the gate and disappeared in puffs of black smoke.
"I have had enough of this!" Dragonite thundered. Four new crystal dragon heads surrounded her. "I don't care how many of you pop out of the woodwork! It doesn't matter! Bonds are worthless! The only thing that counts is pure, raw strength! And I'll prove it!" She fixed the dragon heads on her female foes. "Now, die!"
A furious, distorted roar cut through the air. A pillar of multicolored light erupted to everyone's right. Dragonite pivoted, her eyes widening. Tessa turned and her aura feelers tensed so hard she thought they'd pop out of her skull.
Silvally was back on his feet, surrounded by a rainbow aura. Rainbow ripples raced through his sclera, cheek-bolts, head crest, and tail. Shane backed away from him, tails curling up.
"What did you do, Shane?!" Tessa cried, holding an arm up over her face.
"I… I healed him… w-with Morning Sun," Shane said, looking down at his looplet and biting his lip. "It didn't feel any different from other times I've used it!"
"Well then, you two mistakes get to die first," Dragonite said. She thrust her arms forward. The crystal heads unleashed a barrage of Draco Meteors much like the many missiles Stakataka had fired at them.
Silvally picked his head up. "No," he whispered, blowing out a cloud of steam. With another loud roar, Silvally unleashed a mighty snowstorm of his own. One by one, the gale-force winds blew the meteors aside, until the Blizzard reached a befuddled Dragonite and destroyed the crystal heads.
"Nuh… no. That's… impossible! Are you even supposed to know that move?!" she said.
Tessa was about to say something to her friend, when he lunged into the air. He shot into Dragonite like a blazing comet, knocking her back.
"I am not a freak!" Silvally cried. Psychic energy gathered in his head crest. He headbutted Dragonite square in the snout. She threw her hands onto her bloody face. "I am not just some mishmash of spirits!" He clubbed Dragonite's head with blue, sparking talons. She fell to the ground, where blazing Fire Pledge plumes were waiting to blast her back into the air.
"I am more than a measly trinket!" A wheel of golden light surrounded Silvally's chest. It turned to bright-pink fairy dust, that swirled around his forelegs. "I am my own person! And I will not let you talk down to me or my friends ever again!"
Dragonite tried to slash at Silvally with her Dragon Claws, but his left foreleg swatted her arms aside. His right foreleg then slashed her wing, tearing it out of its joint. Silvally landed on all-fours while Dragonite crashed into the ground. Espy and Tessa stared at him, muzzles agape. Both weren't sure whether to be happy Silvally was all right or worried that he was acting without the memory looplet.
"Well? We have to finish her with a Z-Move, don't we?" Silvally said, voice still distorted. "Espy, you're the better 'mon for the job. Tessa's Z-Move will be more useful against Zero and Dialga."
Espy blinked. "O-Oh! R-Right!" She stepped toward Dragonite. "Um, are you sure you're—"
"I'm fine," Silvally insisted. "Let's take care of Dragonite."
"N… no. This isn't… I won't…"
The moment Espy heard Dragonite stirring, she concentrated on her looplet. She was about to draw forth her Z-Power, when a bolt of lightning struck Dragonite from above.
"Dragonite!" Milotic cried, shielding her face with her tail. When the light faded, there was no sign of her old teammate.
"W… what just happened?" Tessa asked, looking about nervously. "Where did she go?"
The closest Tessa got to an answer was the sight of the chains and locks on the gate crumbling away. The gemstone eye shattered and the gates swung open, revealing the giant pool of acid far below them and, in the distance, the tower's entrance. Espy and Tessa exchanged glances, then ran over to Silvally.
The sheer worry on Espy's face surprised Tessa. Espy even spoke to Silvally before she could. "What about your spirits? Your looplet got destroyed. You aren't hearing voices, are you?"
"I told you, I'm fine," Silvally said. "I swallowed the gem that housed the extra spirits."
"You did what?!" Espy blurted out. Tessa hopped back in surprise. Espy hopped up onto her hind legs and threw her forepaws on Silvally's forelegs. "Isn't that dangerous? How are you going to think straight? Don't we need to find you another Lunar Wing? I… I…" Espy stared into the swirling array of colors in Silvally's eyes. "S… Silv…"
Silvally raised his brows.
"What memories do you have on right now?" Espy whispered.
A tense silence followed. Silvally avoided his teammates gazes as he whispered, "All of them."
Espy slipped and fell back onto all-fours. "All of them?"
Silvally nodded.
"That can't be safe for you, can it? I mean, your cheeks are venting so much steam you'd think we were in Fogbound Lake," Espy said, eyes glistening.
"I don't know what to tell you. It just… happened," Silvally said. "I can't get it to stop." He looked down. "Besides, even if it isdangerous, this could give us the edge we need to confront Zero, right?" He looked at Tessa, whose aura feelers shot up. She knew he had a point, but that didn't negate the possible danger. Tessa wanted all her friends to make it through the conflict.
"Silvally's right. We shouldn't dwell on his condition. After all, we're running out of time in more ways than one," Shane said, looking up toward the sky.
Tessa was about to respond, when Milotic slumped over. "But we still have to climb up the tower. And who the heck knows what's waiting for us in there?" She looked at the electrical burn on her chest. "After that battle, I'm not sure we still have the resources to deal with Zero."
"Then it's a good thing I caught up with you guys in time," Shane said, grinning and puffing out his chest. "We can skip this dumb tower and go directly to the root of the problem!"
Tessa tensed up. Shane sure sounded confident. Then again, his aura was shining bright and, judging by Silvally's current state, the Hourglass must've given him a heck of a power boost. Though her heart raced at the prospect of finally facing off with her mother, she couldn't deny that, with these new developments, she felt more confident in the team's chances than before.
"The only question here is you, Milotic," Shane continued. "Are you still up for fighting? Because you look pretty out of it."
Milotic glanced at the spot where Dragonite previously lay, wincing at the blood strewn across the ground. Tessa imagined it had to be hard for her. Nonetheless, Milotic straightened up. "I… I can't back down here. I have to see this thing through to the end. It's… it's what Airy and Serpy would've done."
Shane nodded. "Fair enough. Then get ready, guys…" He turned and spat up a blue, translucent sphere. It expanded into an Ultra Wormhole in front of them. Tessa then caught a blue flicker somewhere near the top of the tower.
"Everyone in, now! And get ready to attack!" Shane cried, lunging into the portal with hot air gathering in his mouth.
Tessa took a deep breath, charged up an Aura Sphere, and jumped in after him.
Undead Reaper, Ultra Volcarona
Mount Supernova's molten terrain mixed with the god of death's sacrifice to bring this fearsome fiend into existence. Using the body of "the world's strongest Pokémon" as her own, she seeks to rain fiery judgment upon a world drawing its dying breath.
Electrifying Maiden, Ultra Dragonite
Necrozma not only tampered with the corrupted Z-Power that Zero tried to pump into her, he awakened long-dormant rage that she had subdued through her years of honest work with her friends at the guild. Now, she only cares about bolstering own strength, even if it means surrendering entire worlds to the power of the void.
I realize there's been a lot of action this episode and it's getting pretty, uh, shonen-esque for lack of a better description. I'm trying to keep things varied as best I can, here, and mix in important character moments, but any feedback would be greatly appreciated. And yes, the bit where Volcarona's arm morphs into Yveltal's head is a nod to The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon. Bet you weren't expecting that!
For those not following the blog, the two-year anniversary is coming up fast for the fic. This time around, I won't be doing an anniversary special. As you can see, we're fast approaching the climax of the fic, and I don't want to derail it. Instead, I hope you'll enjoy these upcoming chapters, because they're big ones. More details are available on the blog if you search "anniversary."
Anon Omega: Well, Shane is back among the team. The source of the lightning was Dragonite.
Next time: Zero.