This is the second of four chapters today.
"So, where are we going?" Gary asked, now properly dressed and ready for the day.
"We don't actually know," Cobalion admitted. "We are aware Mewtwo lives in Johto, but not more than that."
Gary frowned. "Hmmm... Ash will know. Dee?"
Yes?
"Can you call Ash for us?"
Dialing.
Dee emitted a cheerful ringing noise.
"That's new," Gary mused. "Where'd that come from?"
The internet.
The ringing was replaced by a click. Hello? Dee?
Dexter? Dee asked. Good. Can you get Ash?
He's... kind of busy right now.
"That's a pity," Keldeo said.
Wait, is that Keldeo? Dexter's digital voice held some surprise. What's he doing in Kanto?
"They want to speak to Mewtwo," Gary supplied. "We hoped Ash knew where he was."
...well, I didn't expect that, Mewtwo said, looking down at the Pokédex. Really?
That's what they said, Dexter confirmed. Do you mind if I-
Go ahead.
He's actually standing about four feet from me right now, Dexter explained. It should be fine for you to come over – it's Mount Quena.
"Mount Quena?" Gary frowned. "Alakazam, you remember the nearest place to that?"
Alakazam shrugged.
"It's about twenty miles from Ecruteak," Gary clarified. "Take us there, and I'll supply corrections."
He looked around, and returned Umbreon. "Who else wants to come?"
Furfrou shrugged. "I may as well see what this region has to offer. I hope it's sufficiently glamorous."
"You're in a room with four Legendary Pokémon and about to go visit another one," Professor Oak pointed out.
"Well, Legendary is as Legendary does." Furfrou tossed her hair. "As I say, I'll come along."
Anyone else? Alakazam asked. Right, here goes.
He raised his spoons, and an outline of light enveloped Gary, Furfrou, Cobalion, Virizion, Terrakion and Keldeo.
Teleport!
Ash swung his staff, knocking an Absol skeleton into the distance. It fell apart on the journey, but immediately began to reform.
"At least they're fragile," he said, winding up for another swing at what looked like an Empoleon.
"Yes, but there's a dashed lot of them." Noctowl replied. "They're sneaking up on your left, Pidgeot. Be a dear."
Pidgeot flared her wing, sending two Houndour and a Mightyena flying. "This is taking too long."
"Agreed," Kingler said. "Surf!"
Water gushed from both his pincers, knocking a few skeletal Fire-types backwards. The rate of flow was astonishing, and before long it had started to pool in the lower areas of the inner world.
Bayleef's vines whipped out and pulled a neck-bone out of a Tyranitar skeleton. It fell to pieces, and she used the bone to hit a Crobat out of the sky. "How many of them are there?"
"Lots," Noctowl said tersely. "I'm projecting an illusion, but none of them are responding. Deuced unfair."
He frowned. "Totodile! Over here, there's a good lad."
Totodile jumped up, used Bayleef's back as a stepping stone, and Noctowl caught him mid-air. "Let's take to the sky, shall we?"
"Sure!" Totodile agreed.
"Whoa!" Ash ducked, and a bone nearly took his head off.
Heracross leaped forwards, and smashed the next one to pieces with his horn. "Are these coming from the same place as the Rock Throw which nearly knocked you out of the sky, Pidgeot?"
"Yes," she confirmed. "It looks like there's only one more valley to cross... oh."
They reached the top of a small rise, revealing a sea of skeletons covering the whole valley.
Atop the hill in the distance, a shape could be seen – cloaked in darkness.
"I'll venture a guess that that's it," Noctowl said. Then Totodile unleashed a Hydro Pump from overhead, and all Noctowl's attention went into preventing the recoil.
"I think I can clear it," Pidgeot said, and began to inhale.
Several skeletal Pokémon rushed at her from both sides. Ash hit one of them with his staff, sweeping it into the others with the aid of Aura-enhanced grip from his boots, and Heracross and Bayleef covered her other side.
Inrushing air focused in a tiny point, just in front of her beak. The temperature and pressure went higher and higher, and then flashed over to plasma.
Then Pidgeot used Aeroblast.
She raked along the skeleton-filled valley, producing a trail of explosions as her potent attack smashed bone constructs aside by the dozens, and bones fountained out in all directions.
When the smoke cleared, their path was clear.
"Nice work, Pidgeot!" Ash said. "Okay, guys, let's hurry before more of them show up!"
bink
"Ecruteak," Gary confirmed, looking around. "Man, this place... remember, Umbreon?"
No reply.
"Oops." He released her, and she gave him a look.
Gary shook his head. "Don't give me that. You have to be in the 'ball, or Alakazam can't take you."
Umbreon glanced at Furfrou, and shrugged. "See what I have to deal with?"
Furfrou giggled, hiding her mouth behind one elegant paw.
"What did you do?" Keldeo asked.
Umbreon flicked her tail at the gym. "I swept Morty, that's what. Four for nothing."
"That's impressive," Virizion complimented her. "Gym leaders are often strong."
"Her having a type advantage doesn't hurt, though," Gary added. "Anyway, Alakazam?"
Yes?
"That's Mount Quena, there. Can you take us up to the rim?"
Alakazam stared in that direction for a little longer. Not in one jump – my coordinates aren't precise enough. I'll close in slowly.
"Sounds good." Gary returned Umbreon again.
bink
A shady hillock, a few miles outside Ecruteak proper.
bink
A crumbling cliffside, though thankfully some metres back from the edge.
bink
Halfway up a mountainside.
bink
Ash ran up the hillside, legs pumping.
Behind him, there was a loud splash as Kingler landed in the flooding valley. That was followed by a hollow boom as he fired an underwater Crabhammer, producing a supercavitating explosion and sending bones everywhere.
"Everything seems to be going just tickety-boo at the moment," Noctowl commented, swooping down with his reptilian passenger to fly alongside Ash, Pidgeot, Heracross and Bayleef. "Which probably means we're in for some chop."
He dodged around a thrown bone, and again as it boomeranged smoothly around and nearly hit him on the return.
"So, tell me. How does this usually work?"
Ash frowned. "In all honesty, all three times so far we've had to hit something very hard indeed."
"Good, I worried it might be something difficult."
With that, they finally reached the top of the hill. A line of Fossil Pokémon barred their way, standing shoulder to shoulder (or other body part).
"Right." Ash skidded to a halt, catching his breath for a moment. The fossils didn't seem to be moving, so he had time to strategize. "Bayleef, Totodile, this is mostly going to be you. Ready for this?"
Nods.
"Okay..." Ash thought for a moment. The explosions of water from behind him were a comforting reminder that Kingler was covering their back... and a reminder he might not be able to for long. "Bayleef... you're our best choice against the Omastar, Kabutops and Carracosta."
"Got it." She nodded, and took a deep breath. "I've got just the thing for them."
"Right. Noctowl? Keep Totodile safe. Totodile, you get the Aerodactyl, Armaldo and Archeops. Think you can manage it?"
"Yep yep yeah!" Totodile nodded enthusiastically, making Noctowl bob up and down in the air.
"I'm quite sure we'll handle it – so long as the young imp here doesn't make me drop him, of course..." Noctowl mused. "What about the Cradily, Rampardos and Bastiodon?"
"Heracross – and me," Ash said firmly. "Pidgeot, can you manage another Aeroblast?"
"At least one more, yes," she confirmed. "I might be able to stretch it past that."
"That should do." Ash took another deep breath, and Aura began to build in his palms. "Now!"
Bayleef moved first. She shook her head around in a complete circle, making her head-leaf spin, and a shower of petals began to drift out from it – circling faster and faster, until they formed a high-speed curtain of pink and white petals.
Then they stormed forwards.
"Petal dance!" she announced, and the Omastar went flying in a tornado of sweet-smelling petals.
The Carracosta and Kabutops promptly charged at her, and she switched the Petal Dance to a kind of defensive ring around herself.
Carracosta charged through it, heavily battered by the petals as it did so, and raised a flipper to strike-
And Bayleef body-checked it back into the torrent of petals. It struggled for a moment, then fell over.
Bayleef shook her head, already starting to feel the strain from sustaining her Petal Dance, and watched the Kabutops as it circled – occasionally swiping at her protective wall of petals.
A grinding sound alerted her to the Carracosta slowly starting to stand up again.
This could get tricky.
"Whoops!" Noctowl slipped sideways in the air, away from the reaching claws of the Archeops, and flipped Totodile around in his grip so the Water-type was facing backwards. "Open fire!"
Totodile obliged, firing out a powerful Hydro Pump. The Archeops was hit full in the face, and checked slightly in the air.
Almost as important, however, was that the recoil sent the two relatively light Pokémon forwards at quite a spectacular speed.
Noctowl strained with his wings to steer their jet-propelled flight, making sure to give Totodile as many opportunities to blast the two Flying fossils as possible, and spared enough time to be grateful that they'd managed to knock the Armaldo out right at the start.
Totodile coughed, and stopped using Hydro Pump.
"You still top hole, Totodile?" Noctowl asked, concerned, as their speed dropped.
"I'm not used to using that much Hydro Pump," Totodile admitted. "Sorry!"
"No, perfectly understandable," Noctowl told him promptly. "No blame on your front whatsoever. By the way, use Aqua Jet in three, two..."
Noctowl turned up into a wingover, and slung Totodile directly at Archeops.
There was a loud splash-thud.
Diving, the owl Pokémon managed to catch Totodile short of his hitting the ground.
About four seconds later, there was a very loud crash as Archeops landed. On top of the reviving Armaldo.
"Ah, my cunning plan worked!" Noctowl said, quite self-satisfied.
"What cunning plan was that?" Totodile asked, shaking his head. "And why is there two of everything?"
A caw came from behind them.
"Well, two down, one to go." Noctowl turned again, flying towards the Aerodactyl. "Tally-ho!"
Ash focussed Aura into his right hand, producing a blue-glowing sphere of Aura. He then closed his hand in a quick motion, crushing the single sphere into a shower of smaller ones which went everywhere before homing in again on the Rampardos.
It charged through them, small blue explosions pocking its hide, and came stampeding forward to smash him with its head.
Ash pulsed Aura through his boots, and jumped – astonishingly high, as his weight briefly went down to about five pounds.
The Rampardos went straight past him, skidding to a halt as it did so, and turned to watch as he landed.
Then a Bastiodon skidded into its side, and knocked it over.
Ash took the chance with both hands. He ran forwards, charging his staff as he did so, and brought it down with a two-handed blow on the Head Butt Pokémon.
At about the same time, Heracross delivered a Focus Punch.
"That should do it," Ash said. "What about the Cradily?"
"Already dealt with it," Heracross replied. "Megahorn."
"Nice." Ash looked back and forth – Bayleef was still Petal Dancing and occupying the Fossils to his left, and to his right Noctowl and Totodil between them were flying rings around the Aerodactyl. "Let's hurry!"
Pidgeot took off, flying low, and skimmed alongside.
Ash squinted through the darkness – it was darker than he was expecting, with the overcast clouds overhead seeming to be almost black around the centre of the inner world.
"There!" he said, pointing. It was almost blending in with the dark grass, but he could see a stationary form – standing among a dense field of bones.
Pidgeot began charging an Aeroblast.
"What is it?" Heracross asked, looking forwards as they ran. It seems almost like-"
A bone hit him at eye-blurring speeds, sending him tumbling backwards.
"Heracross!" Ash called, then interposed his staff between the dark shape and Pidgeot. Something pinged off, knocking Ash backwards with the force of the impact despite Aura steadying him.
The second one bounced off a green Protect shield, and then Ash dropped the shield just as Pidgeot fired.
Mewtwo looked up. Ah, Gary Oak.
"Hey, he remembers me." Gary nodded. "That's me, alright. And here's the Swords of Justice."
Dexter told me you were coming, Mewtwo said, nodding. Welcome.
"What's going on there?" Cobalion asked, nodding to the motionless half-dozen Pokémon and the human lying on the floor amongst them.
That is Ash Ketchum, an Aura adept. He is helping Jessie's Cubone through the use of Aura Purge.
"That's a difficult technique," Virizion observed.
"Hey, I couldn't begin to tell you how to do it." Terrakion shrugged his big shoulders. "I'm more of a wham-bam-slam guy."
Cobalion smiled slightly. "In any case. We heard of your recent creation, and how you managed to overcome the circumstances of your creation – you and your fellow clones – and... we wished to learn from you how you did so."
Mewtwo blinked. That brought you across oceans and continents?
"I will be honest," Terrakion said, "It seemed like a better idea at the time."
Well, now you are here – and the answer is in two parts. Mewtwo shrugged. As for the first, the answer itself, it is that life is precious and that living is sufficient. If we are clones – so what? It does not make us who we are. Any more than being born as one Pokémon instead of another limits us.
"Wise words," Cobalion agreed. "But what is the other part?"
The aura adept, there, Mewtwo explained. He opened my eyes, by sacrificing his life to knock some sense into me.
"Wait, what?" Terrakion blurted. His two teammates also seemed a little startled. "How'd he manage that?"
I don't entirely understand myself, Mewtwo admitted. But he did, and yet here he is.
They looked over to Ash as they spoke – and then blinked.
"It sucks, being out here waiting," Pikachu said. "It happened last time as well, for me."
"I don't think I've ever gone in," Lucario admitted. "I stood watch the first time, and since then either it's been a bad idea or I've been too unconscious."
"Yeah," Pikachu agreed. "I know he's safe, it's just..."
The sound of hooves made him look up. "Hi, Stantl-wait, what!?"
Pikachu gaped. "Keldeo? What the heck are you doing in Johto?"
"Do I know you?" Keldeo asked. "I've only ever met a few Pikachu before..."
"No – I'm... oh, this is just great."
Keldeo frowned at him, confused, and then looked over at Ash. "Is he alright?"
"It is Aura Purge," Lucario commented. "It's fine."
Keldeo looked closer. "It's strange... like he's asleep, but-"
The Colt Pokémon abruptly fell over.
Pikachu jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding being landed on, and then noticed Keldeo's hoof had come into contact with one of Pidgeot's feathers.
"What happened to Keldeo?" Cobalion said, cantering over.
"Stop!" Lucario said, raising a palm. "Or this is going to get very complicated very quickly. He touched one of the Pokémon in Aura Purge, and got pulled in."
"Is that... bad?" Jessie asked. "Will it be a problem? Is Cubone okay?"
"I believe it will be fine," Lucario said. "There have been late additions to Aura Purge before."
-Aeroblast lashed out, a blaze of red surrounded by a curtain of intense wind... and did absolutely nothing at all.
The attack, delivered with all the fury and power one might expect from a Pokémon personally tutored by a legendary Pokémon, hit and passed through the black shadow that was her target.
It barely even rippled.
Pidgeot ended the Aeroblast, and gaped. "What? How did that-"
"Look out!"
A blue bone cracked out, leaving a sonic boom behind it, and struck Pidgeot on the breast. She staggered back a step, wincing, and the follow-up blow was a rock the size of her head which knocked her head-over-tail to land on her back.
"Pidgeot!" Ash cried. He stepped forwards, to protect her as best he could.
Heracross joined him, hands working to form an Aura Sphere.
The black shadow seemed to distort, blowing around like smoke, and then whatever it was hiding advanced – slowly and implacably.
When it was about ten feet away, it stopped – then blurred forwards, a bone club emerging from the shadowy darkness.
One blow smashed Ash aside, his staff dropping from nerveless fingers. The second hit Heracross, making him tumble over onto his back several feet away.
And a gigantic, earth-shaking blow went straight into the back of Pidgeot's neck.
Ash pushed himself up, and watched with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as his beautiful, graceful Flying-type tumbled through the air... and out of sight.
Everyone blinked as Ash's staff started to glow.
"That's unusual," Brock said. "I thought he was only in an inner world. Shouldn't he not be affecting the outside?"
"That's how it's supposed to work," Misty agreed.
"Is the staff some kind of aura conduit?" Cobalion asked, and got nods in return. "Strange it would glow without prompting."
Gary looked closer. "That's not the only thing that's glowing. Look at his bag!"
Light was streaming out of the opening, a curious mix of iridescent gold and clear silver. The silvery light component alternately vanished and outshone the other, flickering back and forth between the two.
As they watched, the light sources merged into one strong opalescent fire. They pulsed in rhythm with the glowing staff, like a heartbeat.
A flash of blue caught Ash's eye.
He turned to see his staff pulsing on the floor, just as it had in Greenfield, and then there was an answering orange flash that lit up the base of the overcast clouds.
Pidgeot came back over the lip of the hill.
She was... very different.
Her red-yellow crest had gained a long and vibrant streamer, which lashed in the wind, and a small feathered plume which stuck out over one eye. Her wings were clearly larger, with blue accents on the outermost primary flight feathers, and a similar blue band striped her tail feathers' tips.
She was also much bigger.
"Another mega evolution? How-" Ash asked, then shook his head grinned. "All right, Pidgeot!"
Pidgeot's wings hammered, and she gathered speed before flying off into the distance. A bonemerang curved after her, and she rolled flawlessly away from it – Ash caught the little flash of green which meant she'd just used Detect.
From her distant form, a blade of wind curved in from an Air Slash. It spun unerringly through the air and made contact with the dark, shadowy form of their foe.
And there was a plume of shadow, as though whatever the darkness was formed of was being blown in a high wind. For a moment, Ash saw through it – seeing a Marowak, with brown and black tarnish on her bone armour and eyes which were pits of blackness – and then the attack ended, and the darkness returned.
"Pidgeot!" Ash called, up into the sky. "I think you're able to hurt it! Stay safe up there, okay?"
Pidgeot dipped her wings in answer, and accelerated. There was a boom as she hit the sound barrier, and kept accelerating – until she was circling the whole battle at a truly astonishing speed.
Keldeo looked around.
"What-" he said, blinking. "I... what just happened?"
He saw a dark, windswept landscape, with a field of grass under a stormy sky.
The occasional explosion could be heard in the distance.
"Hello?" he called. "Is anyone there?"
A whimpering answered him.
"Who's that?" He turned his head, listening carefully. "Aha!"
Another whimper, which turned into a squeak as he trotted over to a patch of grass.
"Hey, come on now," he said. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm training to be a Sword of Justice!"
"...what's a Sword of Justice?" asked the voice.
"Swords of Justice are heroes," Keldeo said firmly. "They travel around, saving Pokémon wherever they go! They're amazing!"
As he explained, the owner of the voice emerged from her tuft of grass. It was a young Cubone, looking worriedly up at him.
"I'm scared," she said.
"Who are you scared of?" Keldeo asked.
"Me," Cubone told him. She pointed into the distance – and Cubone noticed that there was clearly some kind of battle going on over there.
Keldeo blinked. "You're scared... of yourself?"
"The other me," Cubone clarified. "She's scary, and I don't know what to do..."
"What's this other me you mean?" Keldeo asked.
"She's kind of... the scary bit," Cubone tried to explain. "She's powerful, and... and she frightens me."
"That's okay," Keldeo said. "The Swords of Justice are supposed to help people!"
As he said that, he thought about it. Really thought about it, in full detail.
Was that what he wanted to do? Well... yes.
But he didn't always think that way. He wanted to be a Sword of Justice... because Cobalion, Virizion and Terrakion were. Because they were strong, and powerful, and amazing.
But... they didn't think of themselves as powerful, or amazing. They tirelessly helped Pokémon – and humans – wherever they went.
When they trained, it wasn't to show off – it was to get better at helping people. At saving people.
At helping the helpless.
Keldeo came to a decision, and knelt down. "Climb on," he said. "Can you show me where this other self is?"
Cubone looked torn.
"Don't worry – I'll protect you. I promise," Keldeo said firmly, and after a moments' thought Cubone climbed up onto his back.
As soon as she was on firmly, Keldeo came back to his feet and began trotting forwards.
Suddenly, there was a flash of... images, with sound but without any kind of additional context.
Keldeo saw himself, badly injured and with a broken horn, and hands reaching past his viewpoint to help steady... him?
It was only for a moment, but he wondered what it meant.
A bone whirled out at Pidgeot.
At her speed – faster than she'd ever gone before, faster than she thought just about any Pokémon had ever gone before – she was faced with the unpleasant reality that she almost couldn't dodge.
Simply to remain within a mile or so of Ash and the others, she was turning in hard continually – orbiting at mach three – and had relatively little manoeuvre leeway.
She rolled as the bone came in, batting it away with her wings, and her path kinked out a little – increasing her distance from Ash, and putting her dangerously close to the limit of the mindscape.
This was going to be tricky.
Pidgeot curved back in slightly, returning to her supersonic circling, and with care spun off a layer of air.
It dropped behind her, and she continued to build it up gradually – making it encircle the whole of the rolling, bone-encrusted hills. Then, when the loop closed, she started to make it contract and intensify.
Another bone came in, and Pidgeot accepted the hit – she couldn't afford to dodge.
Ash ducked as a bone cracked by overhead, and fired an Aura Sphere back.
It passed through the dark, ghostly Marowak with barely a ripple, and he winced. "Noctowl!"
"Tally-ho!" Noctowl said. "Foresight!"
His eyes flashed red, beams emanating from them and playing over the enemy Pokémon.
There was a long pause.
"What's-" Ash blocked another incoming bonemerang. "Whoa!"
"I... dashed if I can do it," Noctowl said, sounding puzzled. "I'm certainly using Foresight, but the bally thing doesn't want to be identified!"
The Marowak turned to him. "Smack down," it said, in a voice like crunching gravel.
A rock hit Noctowl square in the face, and he slumped to the floor.
"Noctowl?" Ash asked. "Are you okay?"
Noctowl muttered something about Queensbury rules, and stopped moving.
"Is he..." Heracross asked, worried.
"No, you can't be permanently hurt in Aura Purge," Ash said. "Worst that can happen is being knocked out – and I think that means you end up back in your own mind until the purge ends."
Noctowl blinked, stirring. "Well, that bally well hit me for six, didn't it..."
He stood up, and looked around.
It was some kind of forest, by night, with the quiet buzzing of insects. Strange...
He turned, and stopped.
"What the deuce is Big Ben doing here?"
Kingler swung his claw at yet another skeleton, smashing it to pieces, and fired a Crabhammer underwater to blow several more apart.
He was starting to tire, and he knew it.
But – he was keeping Ash and his friends safe. So he kept fighting.
Then a light impact on his shell drew his attention.
It was... a raindrop.
Where was that coming from?
"So... where are we?" Keldeo asked, as he trotted towards the sound of the battle.
"I... I think it's my mind," Cubone said, holding on tightly to the back of his mane. "I don't really understand it..."
"Oh, right!" Keldeo nodded, now understanding what he must have done when he approached the group of Pokémon. "Must be some kind of aura technique. I-"
Another flash of images. Again, it was him – this time, eating from some kind of Darmuakka lunchbox.
The image disappeared in a moment.
"Are you okay?" Cubone asked.
"I'm fine," Keldeo informed her, shaking his head to try and clear it a bit. "I just saw -never mind."
He looked up. "Hey, it's raining. I – whoa!"
Cubone looked up, and they both gaped as a huge tornado formed out of nowhere. It drew in the blackening clouds overhead, shaking rain from them in showers which became a rainstorm, and the funnel cloud snaked down to hit something a half-mile or so ahead.
"Come on!" Keldeo said, breaking into a canter. "We should get up there!"
"Okay," Cubone replied, a little nervously. "If you think that's best..."
"Yeah!" Keldeo looked back at her, smiling, and trying to sound reassuring. "But if you want to get off, just say."
Cubone thought for a bit, then clung on tighter. "I trust you," she said.
Ash covered his face against the howling tornado winds tearing into the ground in front of him. "Wow, Pidgeot!" he called into the storm. "This is amazing!"
Chunks of ground were being torn up by the wind, drawn inwards, and kept smashing against the shadowy Marowak – and clearly hitting, doing damage as nothing else had.
Ash decided to try an experiment, and formed an Aura Sphere. He spun it up as fast as possible, until he could barely hold it, and fired.
This time, squinting through the funnel cloud, he saw it hit. It didn't do much damage, but it clearly made contact.
"Yes!" he said, then barely ducked a high-speed rock thrown directly at his face.
Heracross charged forwards into the wind, keeping his footing with difficulty, and got smashed away by a bone-blow from the Marowak. Another bone then came out, curving and looping towards Bayleef (standing panting in a sea of petals) – and was intercepted, with a blurring crack.
Marowak turned, eyes flashing in the gloom and visible even through the tornado wall. "You dare?"
"I do," replied a voice.
Ash glanced back to look – and saw Cubone.
She stood with a bone in each hand, and carried herself with an easy confidence.
"They're here to help," Cubone went on. "So let them."
"No!" Marowak insisted. "They are responsible!"
"And they got permission to help," Cubone replied. She stepped forwards, past Ash and into the cloud. "If you want to fight them, fight me first."
Marowak accepted, driving a blurringly fast two-handed strike with her club, and Cubone scissored her two lighter implements to block.
AN:
This is why I had the Swords of Justice turning up in all those little bits.
Recommended music is, of course, some version or other of Emiya. Or possibly This Illusion.
Incidentally, No Guard (attacks hit, no questions asked) kind of makes sense with most Pokémon who have it. But Mega Pidgeot? They're capable of about mach three... this is as close as I can get, really.
