Chapter 12: Klara vs. Zeraora
"Any sign of him yet?" Klara called up to the Talonflame that she'd asked to keep watch for any signs of Zeraora.
The fiery bird Pokémon shook its head.
"OK. Let me know when he arrives." Klara called back.
The Talonflame nodded and circled through the sky again to sweep its eyes over the ocean for any indication that the Legendary Pokémon was here.
Klara had never felt more nervous in her life. She had every right to be. This was going to be the kind of battle where she'd be lucky to survive or would end up dead within seconds. What else was she to expect when she was about to take on one of the world's strongest Pokémon? There were many powerful species that lived out there but Legendary Pokémon were in a league of their own. Even famed Champions living in both the past and present struggled to win battles against them. Even last year, Leon had taken on Eternatus and had utterly failed to defeat it, which necessitated Ruby and Hop stepping in to battle it for him! Klara had even wondered why Mustard and Honey didn't just call Ruby and ask her to come over and help defeat Zeraora but she imagined that the two didn't want to risk the life of Galar's current Champion, nor leave Galar undefended by asking Ruby to come over. At least with them handling the situation by themselves, it left Ruby to still be around to defend Galar if needed.
Klara was currently standing at the mouth of Brawler's Cave and awaiting any updates on Zeraora's position. She'd set everything up for her ambush and all she could do now was wait for the fly to come into her web. Although in this case, it was a fly that could easily fight back and kill her if everything went wrong. Her heart could barely keep still, she was constantly pacing back and forth and her hands were drenched in sweat. She had to force herself to try and remain calm by breathing in and out slowly a few times. It was no good trying to battle Zeraora if she was going to have a panic attack! All six of her Pokémon were out of their balls and ready for action but they could sense their trainer's fear. Trained Pokémon were capable of having bonds so deep with their trainers that they could feel whatever emotion they had, no matter how weak or strong those emotions were at the time. They all gathered around Klara and took turns to nuzzle her to reassure her that they were there for her and everything was going to be alright. Smiling appreciatively, Klara hugged them back.
"Thank you my pretties. I don't know where I'd be without you." she said warmly, "Poison types you may be, but you're certainly not toxic by nature."
She hugged her Slowbro last, though with her being her personal ace, she naturally gave the pink and purple Pokémon the longest hug.
"I really hope we all survive this battle." Klara said worriedly.
"We will Klara. With your trap set up, Zeraora won't know what hit him." Slowbro droned.
Despite talking in her usual dopy voice, Klara could hear that she was genuinely sincere in her attempts to reassure her. Yes, they would stop Zeraora, or at the very least weaken him enough that he'd be unable to battle for a while! The trap would work and she would help save the Isle of Armour! No one would look down on her as the failed pop princess that bombed big in the music industry or the Gym Leader that gave up too easily again! She would be seen as a hero and everyone would be flocking to her Gym for a chance to battle her. She could just imagine lines of people outside her Gym for a chance to take on the heroic Klara, the girl who helped save the Isle of Armour from a killer Pokémon. It was a wonderful thought and Klara was sure it would become a reality.
She was snapped out of her thoughts by a loud screech from outside. The Talonflame had seen Zeraora and had come in to warn her. He'd just pulled up on the beach right now! Klara ran to the cave entrance and saw the electric feline jump off of Wailord's back, scaring away a bunch of Krabby and Kingler that were enjoying a relaxing sunbathe on the sand before he arrived. It was the first time she'd ever seen a Zeraora and she had to admit, there was something strangely beautiful about his white fur and agile, cat-like appearance. If this Pokémon wasn't here to kill, she'd be more excited to see it. Zeraora took in a moment to feel the sand beneath his paws and breathe in deeply as if reminding himself what the Isle of Armour smelt like. He was back: twelve years had gone by and the island looked, felt and smelt the same as last time he'd seen it. He would happily live here if there weren't humans using it. It didn't matter for he was sure he could find another island as beautiful and as tranquil as this to live on without any humans to bother him. But first, Mustard.
Zeraora sprinted towards Brawler's Cave on all fours. He was so familiar with the island, he could run to the Master Dojo blindfolded. As he ran to the cave entrance, Zeraora found himself face-to-face with some scrawny, feeble looking human that he didn't recognize. Her uniform told him all he needed to know: this was one of Mustard's students and she was either an innocent who picked a bad time to be out here or someone Mustard had sent to try and stop him. He'd make short work of her by knocking her and all her Pokémon out and then he'd get one of the Talonflames outside to deliver the student back to Mustard as a message to tell him that he was here and he better watch out. Zeraora growled, bearing his teeth in a vicious grin that made Klara's knees wobble. She was terrified but she tried her best not to show it. She wouldn't give Zeraora the satisfaction of seeing her scared! Zeraora sprinted towards her.
"NOW!" Klara yelled.
Slowbro took aim with her shell-cannon and fired a Shell-Side Arm attack while Roserade aimed her rose hands and used Sludge Bomb, Salazzle opened her jaws and used Flamethrower and Dragalge took aim with its snout and used Dragon Pulse. Drapion and Scolipede stepped back as they only knew ranged attacks and couldn't join in with the assault. Zeraora was hit by the multiple attacks and sent crashing into a nearby wall, more surprised than hurt that he'd been ambushed so easily. As soon as he hit the wall, he peeled away and hit the floor, the impact stunning him for the moment. Now he was down, Klara's Pokémon launched their attacks at the ceiling and caused a massive rock slide that blocked the entrance. Chunks of rock and rubble crashed down and filled in the mouth of the cave to keep Zeraora from leaving. Upon arriving at Brawler's Cave, Klara had done the same to the other entrance too so now Zeraora was completely trapped in the cave with her and her Pokémon. He had no choice but to fight them if he wanted a piece of Mustard! Zeraora picked himself up and shook off the pain from earlier as Klara pointed at him sharply.
"You're stuck here, mate!" she sneered, "If you want to kill Mustard, you've got me to deal with first so you can either surrender now or put em' up and fight me!"
Zeraora didn't seem too fussed with Klara's interference. If anything, he seemed amused that some puny human girl was actually daring to challenge him and thought a simple cave in would stop him from getting to Mustard. Why not toy with this pink-haired nuisance and show her how out of her depth she was? Zeraora stretched and relaxed, looking casual as if he was just hanging out in the bar with friends than about to fight against a wannabe Gym Leader. He flashed his fangs as he smiled tauntingly.
"Where's the Armour Warrior?" he sneered.
"How do you know she's not standing right in front of you?" Klara scoffed, clearly offended that Zeraora wasn't taking her seriously.
The Mythical Pokémon laughed mockingly at the pink-haired teenager.
"You think I'm a fool?" he snorted, "I know you're not the Armour Warrior! You don't even have the secret armour with you!"
Klara winced. Zeraora was right of course. If she WAS the Armour Warrior, than she'd have a Kubfu by her side. As Mustard's former partner, of course Zeraora would notice the absence of a Kubfu with her! Instead, it was just her and her Pokémon team she'd been training for Gym Battles. They all growled venomously at Zeraora, angered he was mocking their trainer like this. Zeraora continued, unfazed by the threatening stares of Klara and her team.
"I've heard that the secret armour was bestowed upon a visitor from the Galarian mainland: a girl who is in relation to Galar's current champion." the electric feline explained, "Said girl utterly humiliated you in Mustard's trials and was granted the secret armour in response to her skills as a Pokémon trainer."
"I think he's talking about Sapphire." Slowbro said dopily.
"Ssshhh!" Klara hissed angrily. Nobody was supposed to tell him about Sapphire and what her name was!
Zeraora grinned unpleasantly upon hearing this name.
"So that is her name…Sapphire." he purred, his voice tinged with the kind of enthusiasm a serial killer might have when they were about to stab someone, "Finally! A worthy opponent! The battle will be LEGENDARY!" he declared, raising his fist with excitement.
"You're not getting anywhere near her or the Master Dojo, cause I'm gonna kick your arse back to whatever prison you were locked up in!" Klara retorted, "Slowbro, hit him with Focus Blast!"
Slowbro obeyed and aimed with her shell cannon. Focus Blast was not only Slowbro's strongest attack, but it could potentially lower a Pokémon's Special Defence so if it hit, she could weaken Zeraora's defences a little and make it easier for her Pokémon to win. Slowbro launched a huge sphere of energy straight at Zeraora but she missed completely as the Legendary Pokémon effortlessly dodged the attack. With how quickly he'd moved, Slowbro may as well have been attacking in slow-motion. Zeraora somersaulted through the air and landed directly in front of Slowbro. He raised both hands and socked the Poison/Psychic Pokémon in the face with both fists as he used Plasma Fists on his opponent. Slowbro was thrown off her feet as if she weighed no more than a feather and was thrown into a rocky pillar nearby. She smashed through the pillar and lay down on her back surrounded by rocks. Klara gasped in horror while Zeraora approached Slowbro, ready to whale on her some more. But as he came close to her, he stepped on something sharp and he winced in pain. The pain only got worse as he flashed purple for a moment and something surged through his bloodstream. He yelled and doubled over in agony, wondering what had happened to him. Klara put her hands on her hips and smirked.
"Oh I'm sorry. Did you just step on a Toxic Spike or two? I must apologize for being so clumsy! I really should watch where my Pokémon put these things!" she taunted sarcastically, "Good thing I thought ahead and lay those Toxic Spikes down to give me an edge! Now the poison will slowly shave off your health and weaken you over time! I'd say I have the advantage in this battle now, and all thanks to my poisonous pals and my cunning working together to lay a trap you never could've anticipated!" she crowed.
Zeraora growled angrily. Even though this girl had Poison-type Pokémon with her, it never occurred to him that he could've set this trap up for him. To make it as painful and as damaging as possible, Klara had ordered her Pokémon to set up two layers of Toxic Spikes in the cave. Poisoning him wasn't enough, she had to badly poison him to really make it count. Pokémon that were badly poisoned lost more health the longer the poison continued so if Zeraora didn't end this battle quickly, he would be finished! Now Zeraora had stepped into her trap, Klara felt much more confident about herself. She was sure to win now! But to her confusion, Zeraora didn't seem too worried. If anything, he looked as if he pitied Klara for thinking a simple poison trick would stop him.
"Well played…but you should know that my brawn triumphs over anyone's brain in a battle." he gloated, "Mustard thought he'd outwitted me by giving me guards that I had no type-advantage over and I STILL managed to escape! I'll easily wipe your Pokémon out long before the poison can make me faint!"
He got down on all fours and threw himself towards the first Pokémon that happened to be in his sights. It was Klara's Salazzle. The Fire/Poison Pokémon yelped and tried to attack but Zeraora had come in too quickly. He lashed out and grabbed Salazzle by the tail. He then proceeded to swing Salazzle over by the tail as if he was throwing a large sack over his shoulder. The fiery salamander cried out as she was swung through the air and she let out a scream of pain as her whole body was slammed into the rocky ground. As painful as that had been, Zeraora hadn't done it with the intention of hurting her. He knew how to get rid of Toxic Spikes and had swung Salazzle into the spikes so she could absorb them and get rid of them. He may already be poisoned but at least now he wouldn't step on any more spikes and hurt himself or get poisoned even more. As soon as Salazzle had absorbed all the spikes, he swung her around in a circle, still holding her by the tail, and let go as soon as he picked up a good speed to throw her far across the cave. He sent Salazzle hurling towards Klara, the teen trainer screaming in horror as her Pokémon was about to collide with her. Luckily, Drapion had scuttled in front of her just in time to save her by catching Salazzle in its claws. Despite how heavily she'd been thrown, Drapion barely even staggered when he caught Salazzle. He put her down and scuttled towards Zeraora. Its claws and tail pincer were raised, eager to seize him and hold him in a big grappling move that would pin him down and leave him wide open for attack.
Zeraora saw Drapion approaching him and wasted no time jumping into action. He sprinted towards the scorpion Pokémon and spun his whole body around. His tail coated itself in metal as he used Iron Tail on his opponent. The metal covered tail swung like a sledgehammer through the air and into Drapion. It held up its claws to catch it but Zeraora had swung too hard and too fast for it to grab. His tail hit its claws and knocked them away with just the force of the attack. Drapion winced in pain and shook its claws to get rid of it as quickly as possible. All it ended up doing was leaving itself wide open for another attack from Zeraora. Even though he had no Ground attacks to exploit Drapion's only weakness, he knew his raw strength was enough to take it down. The Legendary Pokémon kicked it directly in the face with Blaze Kick, his foot slamming into Drapion with such force that it was knocked off its little legs and thrown onto its back. It skidded to a painful halt and groaned. It picked itself up only for Zeraora to whale it on again with Plasma Fists. Zeraora knew just how tricky Drapion were with their tough claws and tail pincer so he didn't want to give it in the slightest chance to grab hold of him. Once he took it down, it wouldn't be an issue. His electrified paws came crashing into Drapion's face, hitting it so hard that he broke its fangs clean in two as a result. Drapion was thrown backwards a second time and this time, it crashed down on its back and didn't get up again. Klara was horrified. In only two hits, her Drapion had bit the dust already! She knew Legendary Pokémon were powerful but to see just how powerful they were really made her realize how crazy this whole idea had been. What was she thinking trying to take on such a powerful Pokémon?! At least with Zeraora being poisoned, she'd still force him to retreat and find a cure for the poison and thus buy Hyde more time to finish the Prison Ball so even if she lost, her mission was still a success. All she had to do was hope Zeraora didn't kill her for this.
She returned Drapion to its Pokéball to spare him further pain and turned to her other Pokémon. It was up to the remaining five to do the damage to Zeraora while they still could. Her Roserade had decided to bravely step up and launch the next attack. She aimed her rose hands at Zeraora and used Sludge Bomb to try and take him down. She even aimed for his face to hopefully cover him with the toxic sludge and blind him for a moment so he couldn't see and fight back. But Zeraora seemed to catch onto Roserade's plan for he turned his head away from the Sludge Bomb, the purple goo splattering across the back of his head and knocking him off his feet as it exploded. He hit the floor and he cringed even more as the poison from the Toxic Spikes kicked in again and sapped away some of his health. He was fine for now but he knew that the longer this carried on, the more chance he had of losing to this puny human girl and he was not going to let her defeat him before he had a chance of getting revenge on Mustard! Roserade tried to take advantage of Zeraora being down for the moment by running up and using Dazzling Gleam on him. Pink Fairy energy leapt out from her roses and straight towards Zeraora. But it never hit as the electric feline rolled to one side and dodged the attack. He picked himself up and charged towards Roserade with a savage roar as he came in with another Blaze Kick attack. Roserade yelped and tried to use its Counter Shield to stop him but she reacted too slowly as a result of Zeraora startling it. The Grass/Poison Pokémon as kicked down and knocked away by the powerful Pokémon. The kick not only did a lot of damage but it burnt Roserade badly as well. Unlike Drapion who was taken down in two hits, Roserade had been taken down in a single blow. Klara looked on in dismay, sad that her darling Pokémon couldn't have lasted much longer before going down. She returned Roserade and looked at her Pokéball sympathetically.
"You rest up now, sweetie. We'll make sure your defeat wasn't in vain." she declared.
Klara turned to Scolipede and ordered the centipede Pokémon to attack next. While it also was weak to Fire like Roserade, it was much sturdier and would take the hit better and would be able to carry on fighting a bit longer. Scolipede started off by scuttling towards Zeraora at top speed and aiming a powerful Megahorn attack at him. It came in quick and was able to spear Zeraora with its attack before he could dodge, something that surprised even Klara as she'd expected him to miss. At the time, Zeraora had been suffering from poison again so he hadn't had time to react as Scolipede attacked. He spun away as Scolipede's horns struck him and he fell to one knee, grasping his side and hissing in pain. Scolipede felt very pleased with itself for landing such a decisive hit and it came charging in again with another Megahorn. It was the perfect time to attack! Zeraora was surely in too much pain to dodge this one! Its horns were aimed directly at the same place it had hit Zeraora the first time, across the side. Hitting the same spot it had already injured him in would make the injury worse and further slow him down.
But Zeraora was ready for Scolipede. Instead of trying to dodge, he instead drew his arm back and socked Scolipede between the eyes with Plasma Fists. The centipede like Pokémon cried out from the attack and reeled back, the electricity in Zeraora's punch making the spot between its eyes sting like crazy. It reared up like a frightened horse for the moment, which gave Zeraora time to stand back up again. The pain in his side was mostly gone so he was fine again and ready for another attack. His foot bathed itself in flames as he lashed out with another Blaze Kick. Luckily at the last second, Klara ordered Scolipede to use Protect. The Bug/Poison Pokémon shielded itself with a barrier to stop Zeraora's Blaze Kick from landing but it didn't do much protecting in the end. Zeraora was too strong to shield a blow from with Protect and so Zeraora's Blaze Kick simply hit the barrier and the force of the kick made it dissipate and punch Scolipede away from him. Scolipede rolled over backwards and landed flat on its stomach. It shook its head and got back up just as Zeraora scampered towards him on all fours, leapt into the air, somersaulted and aimed another Blaze Kick at him. Scolipede pointed its horns and bounded up towards the incoming Zeraora, this time deciding to use Poison Jab. Klara watched with baited breath as both attacks collided with Zeraora's fiery foot slamming down onto Scolipede and Scolipede's poison-tipped horns scratching into Zeraora's legs. Both Pokémon landed down on the ground at the same time but only one remained standing. Scolipede burst into flames for a split second as Zeraora's Blaze Kick had inflicted a burn on it. It let out an anguished screech of pain as the flames sapped away what was left of its health and it collapsed onto the floor, completely wiped out from the battle. Klara gasped. Another Pokémon had gone down quickly! She only had three Pokémon left and despite her Toxic Spikes trap, Zeraora still seemed in no hurry to give up. He seemed like he could keep on going no matter what Klara's Pokémon tried!
While Klara returned Scolipede to its ball, Salazzle decided to go next, wanting to pay Zeraora back for swinging her onto the floor and throwing her towards her trainer earlier. She smiled slyly as Zeraora once again was momentarily stopped from attacking by the poison flaring through his veins again. Seizing her moment, she opened her jaws and blasted Zeraora with Flamethrower. She was hoping to inflict a burn on him for even more damage and to cut the damage from all his Physical moves in half. At least they'd have more of a chance to stop Zeraora if he was burned. The cat-like Pokémon saw the flames coming towards him and he held up his paws. He knew it was too late to dodge so he could only try and defend himself. The flames swept over him and pushed him back but otherwise didn't do much else. He shook his paws off to get rid of the stinging burns and he charged towards Salazzle again. Unfortunately, the poisonous salamander had failed to burn him so he was still going to operate at full strength with his next attack. He used another Plasma Fists attack, socking Salazzle in the face with an electrified punch. He punched her so hard that Salazzle's head snapped backwards and she feel straight onto her back. Klara grimaced from watching the attack. She was amazed Zeraora didn't punch Salazzle's head off with how heavily he threw that fist of his! While Salazzle was down, Zeraora picked her up and socked her against with Plasma Fists. He sent her hurling backwards and crashing straight into one of the cave walls. Klara looked over at her Pokémon, praying that she was OK and could carry on fighting. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't. Salazzle peeled away from the wall and landed with a heavy thump on the floor. She didn't move again. Salazzle was out of the battle too! Klara returned the unconscious Pokémon and bit her nails in worry. It was all down to Dragalge and Slowbro now and they better win this or she was toast!
Dragalge made the next move by setting up Rain Dance to boost the power of its Hydro Pump attack. Despite being in a cave, it was still able to make it rain somehow. Zeraora growled as rain fell down and soaked him in seconds. All the rain did now was remind him of the last time he saw Mustard before he was lost, trapped in his Pokéball for months. If Dragalge thought it would stop him now, it was sorely mistaken. Zeraora got down on all fours and charged towards Dragalge with Outrage. Klara gasped in shock. Trust Zeraora to conveniently know THAT move and she'd already had enough grief from having to deal with Sapphire's Druddigon that knew that move too! Dragalge tried to dodge out the way like it had done during Klara's battle with Sapphire yesterday but unlike Kagami, Zeraora was much faster so Dragalge didn't have anywhere near the time to dodge his attack. He barged straight into the weedy seadragon and threw it aside effortlessly. Dragalge hurled away and crashed into a nearby wall. Zeraora skidded to a halt and spin around on the balls of his feet so he could come in a second time with Outrage. Dragalge recovered just in time to blast Zeraora with Hydro Pump. Thanks to Rain Dance, the attack was much more powerful than before and it managed to stop Zeraora's attack and knock him off his feet. He crashed through a nearby pillar of stone and skidded to a painful halt that left him with nasty grazes and scratches all across his back. Klara punched the air excitedly. What a hit that was! Her Dragalge really packed a wallop! Dragalge shot Zeraora with another burst of water from Hydro Pump again, determined to keep him down and prevent him from getting back up again. Zeraora gurgled as he was drenched by the geyser of water coming from Dragalge. For a moment, he was pinned and Dragalge was refusing to stop the water from coming. If he couldn't stop Dragalge's Hydro Pump now, he'd be a sitting duck as the poison slowly ate away the rest of his health. But he suddenly had an idea that turned the tide of the battle for him.
He held up his paws and used Plasma Fists again. While he was obviously unable to actually punch Dragalge, his electrified paws were all he needed. The electricity leapt through the shooting water and struck Dragalge, shocking it and stopping its attack as it reeled back in pain. Although electric attacks weren't very effective against Dragon-types, Zeraora was no ordinary Electric-type Pokémon. His power as a Legendary far exceeded normal Pokémon so even his ineffective moves could still hurt. Dragalge shook its head to try and get rid of the pain in its snout. This left it wide open for Zeraora to come in and use another Outrage attack. Klara warned Dragalge to look out but it was too late. Zeraora slammed into Dragalge and the resulting onslaught was enough to take it down. Dragalge passed out from the damage taken by the hit and collapsed onto the floor. Klara gulped. It was all up to Slowbro now. If she couldn't win then it was all over for her! She returned Dragalge to its ball and turned to her ace Pokémon.
"It's now or never, Slowbro! You've got to win this one or we're goners!" Klara yelped.
"Don't worry Klara. I'll beat that Zeraora." Slowbro declared.
She stepped forward as Zeraora picked himself up and shook himself dry. The rain from Rain Dance had stopped so now the cave returned to normal. Zeraora growled viciously at Slowbro. Slowbro refused to be intimidated, standing her ground and taking aim with her shell cannon. She made it very clear that she wasn't going down easily against Zeraora and that he better not underestimate her. Zeraora just raised one of his arms, dark energy surrounding it as he prepared to attack. He knew Slowbro was weak to Dark-types so he was going to use Throat Chop to take her down. He ran towards Slowbro but the pink-and-purple Pokémon took aim and fired at him with Focus Blast. Quick Draw had taken effect so she was able to move quicker than Zeraora and hit first. The Focus Blast slammed into Zeraora and whisked him clean off his feet. Klara and Slowbro watched with glee as he was carried across the cavern and slammed straight into a wall by the huge energy ball. It didn't stop there, ploughing straight through the wall and carrying Zeraora further through the cave. A giant hole marked where the Focus Blast had hit, chunks of rubble cascading down to the ground as a result of the blast. For a moment, nothing else happened and silence fell over the cave. Klara sighed, putting a hand over her chest in relief. They'd done it! They'd actually defeated Zeraora and saved the island. She threw her arms around Slowbro and hugged her with glee.
"What a shot!" she squealed, "Well done Slowbro! I think you just defeated that monster!"
"We saved the island. We're heroes!" Slowbro cheered dimly, "Mustard will be so pleased with us."
"I think he'll give me a proper bollocking first for disobeying orders and THEN he'll congratulate us." Klara chuckled, "Ah well, let's blast our way out of the cave so we can tell everyone the good news."
But Klara's joy was not to last. As she and Slowbro turned to go, the two heard a noise coming from where Zeraora had been blasted through the wall. They both turned and stared at the hole curiously. What was it? They couldn't see anything at first…and then suddenly, a flash of white shot out from the hole and lunged towards Slowbro. It was Zeraora! The blast hadn't finished him off like Klara had assumed! Klara screamed as Zeraora shot towards Slowbro, moving far too fast for her to dodge, and he karate-chopped her in the throat with the Throat Chop attack he'd been aiming to use earlier. Slowbro choked as she was hit and she was knocked backwards into a wall. She slumped onto the floor and passed out from the hit. Klara put her hands to her face in horror. Despite her best efforts, Zeraora had triumphed and now she was about to be his first victim! She pressed her back against the wall and stared at Zeraora in terror. Her knees wobbled and her heart thumped wildly. She'd never been so scared in her life.
"You've taught your Pokémon well." Zeraora crooned. Despite it being a compliment, his voice was sneering as if he said it sarcastically.
Klara whimpered and closed her eyes, unwilling to witness her final demise.
"But you didn't teach them well enough!" Zeraora gloated.
He then lashed out with his Plasma Fists, roaring fiercely as he struck…
Meanwhile, Mustard and Sapphire were just making their way back to shore. After Sapphire had conquered the Tower of Darkness and evolved Iron Fist into an Urshifu, Mustard had decided to take her to one of the nearby islands for a little extra to add to Iron Fist's evolution. He'd explained that Urshifus were capable of Gigantamaxing but they didn't like Max Soup on its own so they wouldn't drink it. Not unless they added an extra special ingredient to the soup. Urshifus were very fond of honey, not surprising given their bear-like appearances, and the best way to unlock an Urshifu's Gigantamax form was to combine Max Honey with Honey's Max Soup to make the taste more to an Urshifu's liking. Max Honey could be found on the, appropriately named, Honeycomb Island that was just out to sea. It wasn't far from the Isle of Armour and Sapphire was able to cycle there with Ruby's Rotom bike thanks to its water-feature that allowed it go across water. The island itself was shaped like a honeycomb, hence the name, and had a few Dynamax spots and a giant tree standing in the middle as if it was determined to proof there was some kind of life on this tiny island. Upon arrival, Sapphire had gone down into a Dynamax den on the island and confronted a Dynamaxed Vespiquen that often guarded the Max Honey. With Iron Fist at her side, the battle had been no contest at all. Iron Fist was able to Dynamax in the den too and Sapphire had simply ordered him to continuously spam Max Airstream until the Vespiquen was defeated. After that, she collected some Max Honey and had cycled back to the beach to meet up with Mustard. The Max Honey was pink and red just like Max Mushrooms were and it looked like a giant honeycomb. She presented her prize to the old Dojo Master and Mustard nodded.
"Yep, that's it my girl. You've got a fine piece of Max Honey there!" he said jovially.
"It's a bit sticky." Sapphire said grimly, "I hope it washes off easily." she muttered, noticing that she'd gotten a lot of it on her uniform.
"Don't worry, it'll wash off just fine." Mustard reassured her, "How did you two get on against the giant Vespiquen? Did you use Iron Fist?"
"Of course! I wanted to give him a trial run now he's an Urshifu and he really showed just how powerful he is in his new body." Sapphire said brightly, "It only took a couple of Max Airstreams and the Vespiquen folded like cardboard to us! Granted it's only a Vespiquen so it's not that much of a test but still. I hope Iron Fist will like the Max Soup once we put this in it." she added, looking down at the Max Honey in her hands.
"Mark my words Sapphire, Iron Fist will gulp it down before you can tell him to enjoy it." Mustard chuckled, "Urshifus just can't get enough of honey no matter if it's on its own or in something. Give them something with even the smallest bit of honey and they'll gobble it down."
"Ha, ha! They're like a real-life Winnie the Pooh!" Sapphire giggled, "Albeit a Winnie the Pooh that can kick ass and beat up Pokémon…"
The two walked back to the dojo together to give Honey the Max Honey so she could make some Max Soup with it added in for Iron Fist. Upon re-entering the dojo, the two immediately noticed that something was wrong. The dojo seemed to be deserted. No students were left and none of their Pokémon were around either. Where had they all gone? They soon got their answer as Honey came out of the living room to see who had come in. She ran over to her husband and hugged him with relief.
"Oh thank Arceus! I thought Zeraora had come in!" she gasped.
"Easy my darling, it's only us." Mustard said softly, "We've just come back from Honeycomb Island with some Max Honey. You see, Sapphire cleared the Tower of Darkness and has evolved Iron Fist into Urshifu. If you can make us some Max Soup with this honey, we can unlock his Gigantamax form."
"That's wonderful to hear!" Honey said, allowing herself to appreciate this one bit of good news before she had to get serious, "But I'm afraid there's not much time to celebrate. Emolga's just warned me that Zeraora caught on to the other Wailord's deception and forced it to turn round. He'll be here sooner than we hoped! I wouldn't be surprised if he's here now…"
Sapphire and Mustard gasped in shock. It was lucky they'd finished in the tower and got the Max Honey in time! If Zeraora had got here sooner, they would've been in big trouble!
"Then we mustn't waste any more time! We must get set up right away!" Sapphire declared.
"Quite right." Mustard agreed, "Iron Fist will have to wait to get his Gigantamax form. Me and Honey will wait for him to come while you hide as we planned, Sapphire. We'll weaken him with our Pokémon's attacks and then you come in and finish him off!"
"I remember the plan." Sapphire insisted, "How about Hyde? Is the Prison Ball finished yet?"
"Sadly, no, and the chances of me being finished are approximately 0.00000000000000003% that I'll be ready in time for Zeraora's arrival." Hyde called from in the living room.
"So we'll have to bank on being able to subdue and detain Zeraora long enough for my son to finish the ball." Mustard said grimly, "Oh dear, this won't be as easy as I expected. If only we could've delayed him a bit longer…"
"I've at least gotten all the students evacuated in short time so he won't have anyone but us in his sights." Honey informed, "The last Flying Taxi left just minutes after you arrived."
"Excellent work, Honey!" Mustard said with relief, "Our students will be safe and far away from Zeraora. Though my elite students from in the towers will have to stay inside until it's safe to come out again. At least Zeraora won't bother with them as he'll come here for me."
"He probably wouldn't give them the time of day anyway as the towers would be no interest to him." Sapphire agreed, "So where shall I hide until it's time for me to come in for the finisher?"
"Go to the Tower of Darkness." Mustard answered, "He won't notice you all the way up there. It'll be easy to hide up at the top of Challenge Road and behind the tower. I'll let Emolga know where you're hiding so she can signal you."
Sapphire nodded understandingly. But before anything else could happen, the very Pokémon Mustard had just mentioned glided in through the open doors and landed on Mustard's arm as he held it out for her.
"Master! I think Zeraora's officially here!" Emolga yelled, "There's a Talonflame carrying Klara back to the dojo and she looks badly paralyzed!"
Everyone gasped in horror at the news. Honey was incredulous to hear that Klara was still on the island.
"No…that can't be! Klara was the first student to leave!" Honey exclaimed, "She can't still be here!"
"See for yourself, miss." Emolga said grimly, pointing outside.
The couple and Sapphire ran outside to see that indeed a Talonflame was coming towards them and was carrying Klara in its talons. It gently placed her down on the ground and flew away to leave Mustard and Honey to look over her. The two looked at Klara, their hearts turning to ice upon seeing what had happened to her. Klara's body had gone completely rigid and still, her eyes and fingers twitching occasionally and her mouth hanging open, struggling to get any sound out. As Emolga had said, she'd been paralyzed, obviously by Zeraora's electrical attacks.
"By Arceus! How could he do this to her?!" Sapphire shrieked.
"He wants us to know he's here…" Mustard said gravely, "Does anyone have any Paralyze Heal?" he asked.
"I've got a spare Full Restore." Sapphire offered, pulling one out of her backpack, "I usually keep these for my Pokémon but Klara needs this more than they do right now."
She sprayed Klara with the Full Restore a few times until suddenly, Klara gasped a big breath of air and unfroze from her rigid state. She was able to move again and she inhaled furiously to get some air back into her lungs. She broke into a spasm of coughing and rubbed her arms, relived to be able to feel anything with her hands again.
"I c-couldn't s-stop him…he w-was too powerful…" Klara croaked. Her voice was hoarse.
"You're VERY lucky to be alive, young lady!" Honey said severely, "Why did you disobey me? Do you have any idea how horrible it would've been if you were killed by Zeraora?! The safety of our students takes top priority on this island and me and my husband would've been devastated if you were killed out there! Why didn't you evacuate like I told you to?!"
Sapphire could see that Honey had truly earned her place as the Dojo Matron. She was acting like a frightened mother to Klara, even though the two had no relation. She guessed as far as Honey was concerned, every student on the island was her child and she was responsible for them all.
"I'm s-sorry Honey…I o-only wanted to help. Do the right…thing for once." Klara said, coughing again as she finished speaking.
"You could've done the right thing by doing as you were told!" Mustard snapped, "What did you think you were doing being so reckless as to try taking on Zeraora by yourself?"
"I heard the news from Emolga too." Klara protested, "And I thought…I could help…by delaying his return. And thankfully…I have."
"You have? How so?" Sapphire asked curiously.
Then something clicked in her head and she suddenly realized she knew the answer already.
"You poisoned him with a Toxic Spikes trap, didn't you?" she asked.
"Not surprised YOU guessed that considering I tried it on you yesterday." Klara chuckled, "Yes, I set up Toxic Spikes in Brawler's Cave. That evil Pokémon never saw it coming. Although he defeated all my Pokémon and paralyzed me, I still succeeded in stopping him from coming right now. Thanks to me, he's had to flee to find a cure for the poison. He'll be looking for it right now and then he'll have to hide until he gets better. That should give Hyde more time to finish the Prison Ball."
Everyone nodded understandingly. As stupid as it was for Klara to challenge Zeraora, it was at the same time the smartest move she made. Now they had some more time to be ready for him! Zeraora would be foolish to try challenging Mustard if he was poisoned so he wouldn't be coming until he found a cure. That also gave Mustard an idea to further take advantage of the situation.
"I'll ask Emolga to glide around the island and get as many wild Pokémon as possible to search for him." he decided, "If they can force Zeraora to keep fleeing before he finds a cure, the poison may eventually knock him out and then we can just find his body once the Prison Ball's complete and use it on him. Even if he finds a cure, we can still get any wild Pokémon to attack him and force him to keep on running away to find a safe place to recover. That'll at least delay him further."
"Good idea, darling." Honey agreed, "Well Klara, as reckless as that was…thank you for your help. I think you've just given us what we needed to be ready for Zeraora."
"I'm just so glad the trap worked!" Klara said brightly, "If I didn't poison him, then we'd have been in trouble. I'm still puzzled why he didn't kill me. Even if it was to send a message, he could've used my dead body for that."
"It's me he wants." Mustard explained, "Zeraora isn't interested in killing you. You were just in the way as far as he was concerned."
"I think it may be down to a personal code of honour." Honey suggested, "Emolga said he didn't kill any of the guards when he escaped, he only knocked them out."
"Same with my Pokémon." Klara added, "He didn't kill any of them either."
"So maybe Zeraora's not the killer we feared he was." Sapphire thought, "While he may want Mustard dead, it's clear he doesn't want to just kill anyone. Maybe…just maybe that's a sign he might have some good left in him." she suggested.
Mustard thought for a moment. He saw Sapphire's point. If Zeraora was as bloodthirsty as he thought he'd become, then he'd be much more willing to kill and wouldn't be sparing people or Pokémon like he was doing. Even though Klara had interfered with his revenge plot, he'd still left her alive. So if Zeraora wasn't just some monster who'd murder anyone in his path, then maybe it was possible to reach out to him. Maybe he wasn't a lost cause…
"It's risky, but I suppose there may be a way to reach out to him with that in mind." Mustard murmured, "If he's not willing to kill anyone else, then it's possible I can reach out to him and tempt him to abandon his desire for revenge."
"I'd like it if we could." Honey said solemnly, "It'd be better than having to do what we have to."
"Regardless, we must carry on as planned just to be safe." the old master decided, "Honey, you and Sapphire put Klara to bed so she can rest up for now. Once she's better, get her evacuated too. I'll get Emolga to send the message out to the wild Pokémon to try and stall Zeraora further."
Honey and Sapphire obeyed, picking Klara up between them while Mustard turned to Emolga to tell her what message to send. As soon as the Dojo matron and student had put Klara back in her room to rest up on her bed, they left her alone and headed back out into the main hall.
"Do you think we'll be able to stall Zeraora for long?" Sapphire asked nervously.
"There's no telling how long we'll be able to, Sapphire." Honey said grimly, "It depends how quickly he finds a cure for Klara's poison. At least now we'll have the wildlife of the island on the lookout for him to try and keep him from recovering too quickly. In the meantime, how would you like it if I gave you some last minute training?" the Dojo Matron suggested.
"Really? What do you have in mind?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"Well…how's about me and you have a battle together?" Honey offered, "It may seem weird to have a battle while we're preparing for Zeraora's arrival, I know. But I like to think that I could give you some helpful tips that you could learn and put to use against Zeraora." she said with a wink, "Klara's not the only one who can teach you some interesting strategies."
"Well it's never the wrong time to learn anything new." Sapphire said with interest, "If it'll help in defeating Zeraora, I'm up for it! If anything, you'll get to see how I've been raising Bloom since you gave him to me."
"That's excellent." Honey said brightly, "We can go straight into the Battle Court if you want."
Sapphire nodded. She was more than ready to start. The two headed on out into the Battle Court together. Sapphire had wondered if Honey was a trainer also and now she was going to see what her skills were like. She was curious to see what tips she'd learn from the matron and how she'd use them to battle Zeraora when the time came…
Klara may have lost the battle, but her interference has forced Zeraora to go into hiding to recover from being poisoned. That at least will buy our heroes some time. While Hyde finishes off the Prison Ball, Sapphire will be in for a big challenge to keep herself and her Pokemon in good shape as now it's Honey's turn to battle her next time in "Sapphire vs. Honey..."
Trivia: The whole stuff with finding the Max Honey to unlock Urshifu's Gigantamax form is a fetch-quest in and of itself in the actual game but I made it a brief scene here because no way am I devoting a whole chapter to something like that. I mean finding honey to unlock Urshifu's Gigantamax form is hardly enough material for a whole chapter, guys!
Also, as you may remember, we meet Hop again after evolving Kubfu into Urshifu and we go with him to find the honey. I was going to have Hop show up here and help out in facing Zeraora but ultimately, his presence would make the whole battle too easy given he has a freaking Zamazenta on his side so he had to go in order to stop Sapphire and her team becoming irrelevant. It would also raise too many questions if I had Hop here but without Zamazenta so again, it was best I don't bring him in at all.