"Move, Miss Kenway!" Prof. Dumbledore called out to the young woman, waving at her with one arm while the other gripped the doorway.
"Get Harry and go!" Jasmine called out, her Aegislash lashing out at a Scyther that had gotten too close for comfort. That sent the bug tumbling back, its own blades as sharp as Xena's but the power behind the blow was able to drive it back. "I'll cover you-KING'S SHIELD!"
Xena switched to her defense stance and activated the energy barrier that reinforced her shield form just as the Electrorb that had been rolled their way came to a halt, the tale-tell beams of energy bursting out of its glowing form growing all more intense before with a mighty blast the Pokémon Exploded, causing Jasmine to shield her eyes and the King's Shield to rattle but hold. When she looked back up though she saw the Electrorb's trainer recalling it… and sending out another one and giving it the command to attack. The only plus side in all of it was that the blast had taken out the Scyther as well, causing the Nocturne Grunt to snap at his partner as he recalled his Pokemon. Unfortunately he was smart enough to wait to send out a new Pokemon, having no need to send out another one that would only end up being caught in the Explosion as well.
"Shit shit shit!" Jasmine shouted as the King's Shield shattered, Xena lacking the energy to activate another one so soon. She turned on her heels, not even looking back as the new Ball Pokemon began to roll after her with beams of pent up energy bursting through it. Jasmine was running hard towards the doorway Dumbledore was standing in, waving for her to hurry. Xena rushed forward and slammed into Jasmine, giving her the final push as she dove into the new room and Dumbledore slammed his hand on the operational panel. The door slide down hard, the Headmaster nearly losing a hand from how fast it came down, but the door sealed itself before the ball-pokemon could roll in. After a moment it shook violently from the blast but held.
"That bought us a few minutes," Dumbledore said taking a step back. "But they will be in eventually, I fear."
The three of them had been on the run since they'd left Croaker's Elite 4 chamber. They might have been alright, able to stay hidden in the shadows and find a way to get to the others and regroup, if the head of the Unspeakables, Avalon's Research and Development personnel, hadn't decided to include hidden teleporters all around the chamber. Apparently that was part of his test, to suddenly have Pokemon disappear and reappear, forcing a trainer to be ready during 2 on 2 battles for it to become a lopsided affair. Harry was sure that might have been rather fun and entertaining to try out… had he not been in the middle of running for his life.
They'd quickly found themselves in a maze of rooms and when they did find a way to escape they ended up right back in the main chamber. Dumbledore, far more familiar with how the Ministry worked compared to Harry and Jasmine, had finally pointed out an exit hidden in the wall, designed to ensure that trainers didn't get trapped in the maze should the teleporters go out. Emerging they had found themselves in the Department of Mysteries, Croaker's wing of the Elite 4 building. It was where the researchers in Avalon studied everything and anything. From the mundane, like how to make a more healthy version of salt, to the insane, such as how to turn gold into salt. Once more that may have been interesting… save for the fact that when they emerged from the exit they'd found themselves staring at a squad of Nocturne Agents that had clearly decided to use the chaos and confusion as an excuse to try and break into the Department of Mysteries and snag all sorts of restricted and experimental items.
Each side had looked at the other blankly, startled by the other being there, before the fighting had started. And with six Nocturne Agents (and more on the way) it hadn't been a fair fight even with Leon and Hedwig doing their best to assist.
As a result the group had been forced to go on the run, fighting as they fled and it was only now, in the dark room Dumbledore had led them into, that they had a chance to take a breath.
"You do no good becoming a martyr for us, Miss Kenway," Dumbledore stated with the same stern tone that all teachers had perfected.
"Does none of us good if we are all captured. Better one than all." She shook her head and pulled off her backpack, rummaging through and finding a Max Potion. "Come here, Xena. Want you up to full fighting strength when they get through that door." Outside the room they could hear the muted booms of the Nocturne Agents trying to bust down the door. "I don't suppose there is another way out of here, is there?"
"I don't believe so," Dumbledore admitted. "But I haven't ever been in this part of the Department of Mysteries. It is entirely possible there is an exit." He looked to Harry. "Are you able to contact Mr. Longbottom? Young Neville did spend time here, did he not?"
"At the DoM? Yeah. Yeah!" He pulled out his dex only to curse.
"That doesn't sound good," Leon said, limping over to his trainer. He'd taken a bad hit shielding Hedwig from a Mach Punch that had left his right foreleg throbbing.
"Jamming us," Harry growled in frustration.
"Even with everything Ginny installed?" Jasmine asked as she set about healing Leon.
Harry nodded and shoved his dex into his pocket. "Yeah."
Hedwig swooped down and shook her head. "So I've been flying around and I'm not seeing a way out. Not even an airvent any of us to fit in." She paused. "I don't suppose I could turn you guys in to Nocturne to spare my own-kidding, kidding!" she exclaimed when the others glared at her. "Geez. Trying to lighten the mood…"
"Professor," Harry said, drawing their attention onto him, "what exactly is this room?"
Jasmine finally looked up and actually took in the room they were in. It was far larger than she had expected, nearly the size of her gym's main arena. Strange neon blue platforms seemed to hang in the air against the laws of physics, semi-translucent and in five great planes about their heads. On the ground and on these floating platforms were clear cubes that ranged in size from that of a small bathroom to a modest office. There were opaque white tables within each one and basic white chairs that looked to have been made purely for function rather than elegance. Interspaced among the cubes was an occasional pillar that reminded Jasmine of a crosswalk stop. Otherwise the room had a sterile feel to it, with plain gray walls and hard flat floor.
"We seem to have stumbled onto the research offices of the Unspeakables," Dumbledore stated.
Harry began to move through the rows of cubicles, noticing that there were small screens built into the walls of the cubes that identified just what was being examined in each one. "Dark Ball," he read, glancing at the cube. On the desk were a few scattered tools and a few grayish purple pokeballs with black ridges on them. Each was a touch larger than a standard Pokeball. "Obtained from the Ilex Forest, Johto Region. Effect: Capture of Pokemon already owned by trainers. Other effects: brainwashing, personality dampener, loyalty programming, power enhancement. See Celebi Incident" He made a face at that. "Personality Dampers? Brainwashing? That is some... very nasty stuff."
Dumbledore sadly nodded his head. "The world, I am afraid, is a dark and cruel place at times. You will find that the Unspeakables delve into many things that the normal society consider to be unnatural. But they do so in order to understand and fight against them."
Harry nodded idly at that and continued on. "Capture Ball. Obtained from the Iron Masked Marauder's workshop, Johto Region. Prototype of Dark Ball. Overrides trainer's pokeball only." That Pokeball was also a grayish purple but lacked the ridges of the Dark Ball, instead having the pattern merely printed on the ball. "No wonder Nocturne was trying to get in here."
Jasmine peered into another cube, this one holding vials of purplish-red gas. "R Gas. Obtained from Ryme City… okay, not even sure how to pronounce that region's name. Causes beserker rage in an affected Pokemon. See Mewtwo Incident 7." She leaned back. "I heard about that... some billionaire went nuts and unleashed the gas on everyone because he wanted to merge Pokemon with humans. Apparently got the idea after learning he couldn't be a Magnus."
"That is just insane," Hedwig said with a scoff. "Mewtwo?"
"I can't tell if you are joking," Leon stated.
"Isn't he a myth?"
"Not from what da gathered," Jasmine stated with a sigh, looking over one of the pedestals that were spaced throughout the room. "When the Sons were heading to the Red Fort they found a Team Rocket lair near Viridian that had notes on their attempts to clone Mew. Ordered the lab burned to the ground and has made it clear that there will be no genetic tampering in Johto so long as he lives. Da is convinced Mewtwo is real. "
Harry didn't quite knew if he believed that but considering all he had gone through and seen he knew how hypocritical it was of him to doubt the existence of Mewtwo. After all, he had encountered MissingNo, the failed clone of Celebi, so Mewtwo was entirely possible. So instead of answering he moved on to the next cube. "So far nothing really that can help us," he muttered. "DNA Fuser. Unova region..."
"Whoah!" Jasmine cried out as the pedestal she was near suddenly rose up to the next level. "Okay, that is pretty cool!" she began to look through the cubicles that were hovering over Harry and Dumbledore's head. "Black Flute… abandoned Rotom Dex-"
"That's a rip off of Remus' Marauder App!" Harry called out. "He's going to sue that professor in Alola who claims it is their's."
"Why are we wasting time looking at junk when we need to find a way out of here?" Hedwig demanded.
Leon shrugged. "Mobile teleporter?"
"…okay, good point," the Hoothoot admitted, flying up to the third level to begin searching.
"Wishing Stars," Prof. Dumbledore stated as he continued on. "And... hmmm."
"What is it?" Harry asked, moving to join him.
"Perhaps there is another way to deal with Nocturne," Dumbledore said, pulling out a keycard and swiping it against the door, the clear wall suddenly developing a long crack that spread apart to create an opening inside. He walked to the desk and lifted up carefully a box of glittering gems that had been cut and polished into orbs the size of large marbles. "Mega Stones." He looked to his right and took hold of two bracelets that were lying there. "With the corresponding Mega stone bracelets."
Jasmine abandoned the Shiny Charm she had been looking at and leaned over the platform she was on. "Seriously?" She looked peered down at the box Dumbledore was looking over. "I've only ever seen one... da has one that he was given, and a Megastone Bracelet, by the Kalos Government. Doesn't look like any of those though… he was told that it was a super rare one. He got it after donating some fossils he discovered to them. They called the Megastone Tyranitite B."
"Are they labeled?" Harry asked.
"They are," Dumbledore said. The door behind them rumbled and he quickly set about handing them out. "Aggronite, Alakazite, Tyraninitite and Steelixite. And a Sablenite for myself, " He passed the Alakazire to Harry and while Xena swooped down to grab the Aggronite, Tyranitite, and Steelixite for Jasmine. "But we only have two bracelets…"
"You take one, Headmaster, and give the other to Jasmine," Harry stated firmly. "Your Sableye is more experienced than Dobby and with three Megastones Jasmine should get the other one for flexibility-sake."
"Oh yeah," Jasmine grinned, slipping on the bracelet. "Keep looking. There must be more goodies we can use!"
Sure enough there were. Dumbledore passed his card about to all of them as the group began to raid the cubicles for everything they could find that might give them an edge. If Harry felt any guilt over stealing rare items from the Unspeakables that feeling died with the constant pounding against the doorway. Dumbledore quietly made sure that every cubicle after they went through them was locked back up tight, not wanting to risk the Nocturne Agents realizing what they were doing and getting any ideas.
"Of course," he said as he slipped a Z Crystal Bracelet onto his wrist and passed Harry another one, "we must be ready for them to have their own tricks up their sleeves. This will be a hard fight… we must be ready."
"So much for Mr. Pacifist," Hedwig muttered just low enough for Harry to only hear thanks to his enhanced senses.
It was another 3 minutes and they had just been getting ready to stop due to the pounding on the door becoming all the louder when Harry found, in the back of the room on the fifth level, something that quickly caught his eye. "Prof. Dumbledore! Have you ever heard of a Magnus Focus?"
"I have, but only in passing mention in some history books," he said, tossing Jasmine a set of strange blue gloves as he rode up towards Harry, the others he himself quickly donning. "Miss Kenway, please hold onto those… they might come in handy for Harry." She shrugged; she honestly didn't have time to worry what they might be as she was too busy working to insert some modified evolution stones into her bracers, having a crazy idea that might just work. She also, when Dumbledore wasn't looking, quietly placed a collection chokers with an etching of Lugia on them into her bag next to a bunch of other goodies she'd grabbed; some rare looking Pokeballs, a few outlawed TMs, some Wishing Stars, etc. But the chokers were very attention grabbing for her, for the cubicle had said that they were "Speaker Amplifiers" that had been found by a deep sea salvage crew and just in case Dumbledore wanted them to put everything back she planned on not mentioning grabbing those… or a few ancient tomes either. Jasmine had felt something from them, a call that she couldn't resist, and she knew that she had to take them. And so she did, giving a nod to Xena who quietly destroyed the display screen, hiding what had once been in the cubicle.
"Come on up here and take a look!"
Dumbledore reached where Harry was, snapping his fingers for Hedwig to retrieve the keycard from Jasmine. "I will not patronize you by asking if you have found one." He opened the door and Harry stepped inside, the headmaster a step behind them as they looked at the assorted rings that were resting in what appeared to be a cardboard box with a bit of foam to keep them from bouncing about. It was the same set up one might find at a jewelry store but no one would confuse those rings for something that one might propose with. The bands were done in different bestial motifs; wings, claws, tentacles. And it wasn't gems that they held but pitch black stones, so deep and dark that light didn't shine upon it but rather was sucked away, making the rocks look like holes in the world. "My word."
Harry could only nod. There was power there, radiating from them. He could feel it in each one of the rings as he hovered his hand over them. A strange pulsing sensation, testing him like a skittish Rockruff leaning in to sniff his fingers to determine if it wanted to lick them or bite them off.
He heard the headmaster give a yelp and turned to see him shaking his hand. "Be careful Harry… one of them just gave me a rather nasty shock." He winced, sucking on the tip of his right index finger.
"I don't feel anything," Harry said softly, looking back to the rings. "No… I do… I mean I don't feel anything bad…" He trailed off as he began to allowing his fingers to lightly caress each of the rings. He'd been right before, they were like Pokemon, testing him to see if he was worthy of them. And he got the sense that he had been judged fairly and positively… but that many of the rings, when he got a bit too close, seemed to want to wiggle away from him. 'Not me' they were whispering. They wanted him to take them away from here but not wear them and use them. They were for other people; who they didn't know but not-
Harry stopped, his fingers hovering over one particular ring. The band was shaped like two serpents and the black gem was flawlessly cut and seemed to almost hover between the two opened moths of the snakes rather than be held by them. He was suddenly struck with a vision of the ring, the Magnus Focus, being crafted by a jeweler in ages past, pounding away at gold and using forgotten methods to craft the stone. And once he was done, after every scale had been molded and the ring cooled, its crafter had held it and known that the one meant to wear it would not live for hundreds of years. But just as Harry could see that man the figure could see him too and smiled as he knew that despite the chaos that was the passage of time, ring and bearer would find one another.
Harry took the ring and slipped it onto his finger, all at once feeling his senses flare to life.
"Harry?" Hedwig whispered, having entered the cubicle at some point. "What… what was that?" She stared at the ring he wore. "I feel… something. I can't describe it."
"I know," Harry whispered. "I do too-"
The door boomed.
"You are feeling our doom pounding its way in! Now get ready for a fight!" Jasmine shouted, taking one of the floating pedestals and zipping to the fourth level.
Harry shook off the affects of the ring and nodded, his right hand flexing as he prepared to send out his first Pokemon.
The doors rattled once… twice… and then smashed in completely, revealing two seriously annoyed Machamps.
"Oh that is just not fair!" Jasmine complained.
"I echo that!" Hedwig complained.
Harry though grinned. "I have no problem with that." He fired off two Pokeballs. "Bulma, Vegeta, show'em what you two can do!"
The dragon formed up in mid-assault, delivering a Sky Uppercut right to the first Machamp's jaw and sending it into the air where Bulma was waiting. The Togekiss let out a trill and flapped her wings, hitting it with a fairy wind that had it crying out in pain. Dumbledore nodded and reached into his lab coat, pulling out a Dusk Ball and sending out a Grimmsnarl who flexed his hairy fingers before creating an artificial moon that he rocketed into the sky, the beams of light striking the Machamps and sending them stumbling back in pain.
"Well, this is interesting!" Jasmine called out. "Maybe we won't need-OH CRAP!" She leapt from the platform she had been on as a seriously pissed off Pidgeot rocketed at her, smashing through the hard light platform and sending the contents it held, some sort of metal art piece, none of them were sure, crashing to the ground. She barely managed to land on another platform and looked to see four more Nocturne Agents hurrying into the room and sending out all manner of Pokemon. "Okay, went from interesting to annoying!" She selected a new Pokemon and sneered. "Time to up the ante early, boys! Maleficent, come help out mama!"
More platforms broke and shattered, raining down their contents as Jasmine's Steelix appeared, bellowing her rage at the Nocturne Agents. The Machamps tried to land punches on the part-steel type but Steelix didn't even need Jasmine to call out to dodge, the great iron snake easily slivering away and allowing Vegeta to race up his body before launching himself off and deliver a Fire Punch to one's face. As this was going on Bulma and Grimmsnarl were tag teaming a Magmorter, the flying type using wing blasts to redirect the flames while Grimmsnarl shot out long tangles of hair to ensnarl the fire type and whip it across the room.
That's wasn't to say that Maleficent was merely allowing the Grimmsnarl to do all the work. The Steel-Type went in with an Iron Tail that slammed into the doorway, a Nocturne Grunt just barely managing to leap out of the way before he was rendered into a paste by the heavy Pokemon.
"Could you try to not destroy the priceless artifacts?" Hedwig called out to her as the Steelix hit one of the larger cubicles and caused a strange piece of smooth metal that was the size of a car to slam down, crushing a Nocturne Agent who had been unlucky enough to be under it.
Another Nocturne Grunt shouted at his Parsect to attack the Grimmsnarl so that Magmortar could then focus on Jasmine's pokemon only for Vegeta to remind him why it was VERY unwise to ignore the Prince of All Dragons. The Draining Punch Harry had his Pokemon deliver sent the parasite Pokemon tumbling back, woozy from the hit. Vegeta, for his part, smirked as the Kommo-O's wounds from the Machamps began to heal, turning and launching into Round Two.
"We need to ensure they do not overwhelm us!" Dumbledore said as more Nocturne Grunts began to flood into the research room, sending out all manner of Pokemon from a Heatmor to pair of pissed off Golbats that began to engage Bulma in an aerial battle, forcing her to flee from the poison-types. The Machamps were trying to get to Jasmine's Steelix who continued to create chaos for those on the ground floor with her thrashing, her massive body slamming into cubicles and shattering them and sending odds and ends flying about. The Magmortar that Dumbledore's Grimmsnarl had been dealing with got hit with a vial of the R Gas and suddenly was firing off blasts of lava at friend and foe, only adding to the insanity. Harry had to at one point even leap to another platform when a volley got a bit too close for comfort.
One figure who appeared to be better dressed than the others stepped in and looked about; even with the Yamask he was wearing to conceal his identity Harry knew he was looking at them all and finding them wanting.
"That is an Admin, Harry!" Dumbledore called out in warning even as he threw out another Pokeball and sent out his Slowking. "He will-Barrier and Light Screen!-be stronger than the Grunts! We must take him out."
The Admit looked up at Dumbledore, tilting his head before he threw out a Luxury Ball, sending out a Pokemon Harry had never seen before. It was a purple lizard-like creature with yellow highlights and a crackling yellow Mohawk. It looked about the room before turning back to his trainer, who jabbed a finger at Maleficent. The strange new Pokemon rolled his eyes in annoyance but still formed an Electro Ball in his hand, letting out an impatient grunt before throwing it out and striking the iron snake head on, causing her to bellow in pain.
"What the hell is that?" Harry demanded, focusing the data-reader he was wearing on the new Pokemon and scanning it. "Okay… Toxtricity. A Poison/Electric Pokemon from Galar. Rebellious and moody but powerful fighters- CRAP!" Harry ducked as another Electro Ball zapped at him, Jasmine's Aegislash diving in and performing a King Shield to protect him. "Thanks," he muttered. "Leon! Try and box that thing in with Vine Whips!"
"The same, Grimmsnarl!" Dumbledore said, the Leafeon and the Dark/Fairy Pokemon lashing out with their own long-range attacks to try and drive the Toxtricity back. "Miss Kenway, perhaps now would be the time to fight as, well, the Johtoians are want to do?"
The Princess of Johto flashed a feral grin at that. "If you say so, teach." She tensed and let the mask of humanity shatter to bits as she revealed her Speaker-enhanced form. Baring her newly sharpened fangs, Jasmine grabbed her pedestal and divebombed towards one Grunt who finally decided to try and get closer to them, leaping at the last minute and extending her Bracer Blades. Harry dimly saw them crackle with bluish white energy right before Jasmine drove one into the Agent's shoulder… and then the man was screaming and thrashing in agony, Jasmine ripping her blade out before slamming her palm into his shoulder blade. Harry's eyes went wide as the flesh and bone shattered, leaving the man's dead arm hanging by a few bits of muscle and skin. Jasmine didn't let him suffer for long as she slashed with her other blade and slit his throat. "That one is for my da, ya bastard!" she snarled before looking at the others, the Nocturne Agents now looking a bit more nervous at the idea of climbing up to face her.
"What the hell?!" Harry called out, recalling Bulma when it was clear thanks to the Toxtricity that she was a liability.
"Ice Stones embedded in my blades," Jasmine called out. "An arctic blast with every stab!" She turned, her coat flaring out around her. "Who wants some-oh shit."
Harry looked down to see the Admin had gone over to the smooth piece of metal that had crushed a Grunt earlier and touched something on it's side… causing the front of it to swing open to reveal a cockpit. The Nocturne Admin leapt inside, the hatch closing and the battle, at least to Harry, growing quiet for a moment. Then the sides of the metal structure spit once… then twice, forming legs and arms as the metal shifted into a 10 foot tall robotic Registeel, an R logo flashing on its face.
"Why do the Unspeakables have a Team Rocket mech?!" Jasmine screamed before going on a mad run as the Admin began to fire actual missiles at her. "Shitshitshitshit!"
"We need to take out that Admin now!" Dumbledore said right before the Admin's Toxtricity unleashed a Boomburst that slammed into his Grimmsnarl and Harry's Kommo-O, knocking the two out with a single hit. "Harry!"
"Alright then, let's try this! Leon, lock him down so he can't dodge this!" The Leafeon nodded and began to fire out Grass Knots and Vine Whips to try and hold the Registeel Mech down. Harry recalled Vegeta and used his mobile Pokemon PC Storage to swap to a new Pokemon. "Alright Firebolt, let's do this!" he lifted up the Z Crystal Bracelet he'd donned and slammed in a Fire Z Crystal. "Blast him!"
Firebolt… shot out a normal Flamethrower that only destroyed the grassy restraints Leon had created.
"…for fuck's sake," Jasmine groused even as she worked to dodge a new set of attacks.
"Come on… work!" Harry exclaimed, shaking his arm.
"Oh, did I forget to mention that with Z Crystals you must perform the proper poses to activate each one?" Dumbledore asked.
"…YES!" Harry screamed in frustration even as Hedwig let out a cry, nearly getting struck by a hit from, of all things, a Machamp throwing a hunk of space rock that had fallen from another cubicle at her.
"My apologizes," Dumbledore said before pointing a figure at the Machamps. "Slowking, if you would ever be so kind?"
The Pokemon in charge of sorting all the children of Hogwarts nodded, placing his hands on his Shellder crown and closing his eyes… before leaping at one of the Machamp's and delivering a Zen Headbutt that had it out cold. Leon, meanwhile, was trying to help Hedwig deal with the Golbats without much luck while Malificent was taking on a mishmash of Pokemon Nocturne was sending their way. The Toxtricity was making this absolutely chaotic with his random blasts of venom and sound-based attacks while the Magmortar was sending out blasts trying to burn Grimmsnarl, forcing Harry to send Firebolt down to help out so that the Dark/Fairy Type didn't end up burned to a crisp.
Somewhere something exploded and Harry couldn't find it in himself to care anymore to wonder what had gone up in smoke.
Jasmine swung her bracer blades out, hacking off the hand of another Nocturne agent and quickly grabbing the Heavy Ball he was about to toss out, activating the lock on it and tossing it quickly into her coat pocket to deal with later. She had just been preparing to look for her next target when the Pidgeot slammed into her, nearly piercing her with its beak but instead merely knocking the wind out of her as it drove her off the platform, Jasmine caught against its wing. Harry, without thinking, leapt at them, landing on the Pidgeot's back. Harry began to pound his robotic fist into the flyer's head, trying to bring it down, but the Pidgeot was going far too fast and instead all it did was wobble before causing all three of them to soar into the cloud of purplish pink smoke that was billowing out of the explosion that had just occurred. Dumbledore turned in time to see a flash of energy and a rumble… and then slowly craned his neck up as a 40 foot Pidgeot emerged from the cloud.
"Wishing Star," Dumbledore said rather numbly. "And I'd say one that was filled with Dynamax energy."
"Y-yup," Hedwig stammered as the enlarged bird let out a screech and prepared to blast them all with a Hurricane. "This can't get any weird-"
A giant hand reached out of the cloud and grabbed the bird, swinging it hard into a wall and making the building shake.
Out of the pink fog Jasmine and Harry stepped out, both 40 feet tall as well. Their clothing had grown with them, thankfully (or unthankfully depending on one's view), but were straining against their forms, barely able to contain them. The two looked down at themselves in surprise, realizing they weren't just huge but their bodies were ripped with muscle, making them look like the absolute peak of human power and conditioning. Every muscle was bulked up while any blemishes and faults had been wiped away. Harry for one blinked before removing his glasses, realizing he didn't need them; his eye sight perfect. Jasmine, meanwhile, flexed an arm… she had been in amazing shape but now looked like she could benchpress a truck. The two glanced at each other before sharing a grin as they realized just want had happened to them. All fighting instantly stopped as everyone looked at the giant pair.
"I've had very nice dreams that started like this!" Jasmine boomed before raising her boot and slamming it down hard on a group of Nocturne Grunts, reducing them to a paste and leaving a crater in the floor. Harry in turn lashed out with his fist, thundering it down in front of another group that had decided to flee the wrathful god he'd become. "But there were less of you lot and whole less of Harry's clothing!"
"Fight now, flirt later!" Harry demanded before he looked down and sneered. Perhaps it was because of the growth he'd undergone was playing with his hormones. Or maybe it was because all he could think about was the pain Nocturne had brought him, all they had taken from him. Or it might have merely been that Clair's lesson to him had finally stuck: 'Never leave someone behind that could drive a dagger into your back'. Whatever the case Harry knew in that moment… he was willing to kill. "Going somewhere?" he taunted before raising his hand to swat them… only for the Pidgeot to attack him. Harry began to wrestle with the bird, crashing through the room as their massive forms slammed into platforms and sent more priceless relics smashing to the ground. "You. Are. Taking. The. Fun. Out. Of. This!" Harry roared as he struggled with the Pidgeot.
The room that had been so large before now felt like a small living room to him as the two of them battled, Harry several times slamming into his giant girlfriend who was teaming up with her 'little' Steelix to wipe out Pokemon right and left. Her Pokemon slithered up her body and then around her arm as they combined forces to create a Steelix Punch that rattled the entire Ministry.
Jasmine reached out and caught Dumbledore when he nearly went toppling, gently placing him on a flying pedestal base so he could zip out of their way. "Sorry about that!" she said before lashing out with her foot, kicking the Admin that had been coming at her and sending his mech skidding across the ground and colliding with a wall. Harry followed that up by throwing the Pidgeot over his shoulder just in time for Maleficent to use an Iron Head against it to knock it out.
The couple paused, looking at each other, panting hard and hearts racing, before Harry grabbed Jasmine's face and gave her a powerful kiss. Jasmine latched onto him right back, molding herself to him as the two towered over everyone, letting the world slip away for a brief moment. Harry spun her and slammed Jasmine into a wall, making the entire building shake, and Jasmine raised up one leg, Harry grabbing onto it and pressing their hips together as they hungrily kissed. The two were so consumed that they didn't notice the Dynamax energy wear off, causing them to shrink back to their normal sizes and bodies.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and Harry and Jasmine pulled away, panting.
"So… theory on that?" Jasmine asked when she caught her breath. "Because I've never heard of a human Dynamaxing."
"Long Talk gave us Pokemon DNA. We're affected like them," Harry reasoned. "And I think we technically Gigantimaxed."
Jasmine waggled her eyebrows. "You know… I have a bag full of Wishing Stars and my family owns a ton of land that is deserted…" Harry ran his tongue over the back of his teeth as his response.
There was a boom as the mech pulled itself free, reminding the two that they still had a battle to deal with.
Jasmine sighed. "Fight now, sexy time later." The two turned and began to bark out orders, their Pokemon going right back into battle. "You know," Jasmine called out as she and Harry rushed at several Nocturne Grunts, Leon firing off a Solar Beam to knock back the mech before it could fire a cannon at them, "I think you are a bit taller."
"Really?" Harry asked as he swung his right hand into one Grunt's head and felt some bones crack. "I'll take that over growth spurts. Ugh." He swung a Nocturne agent towards Leon who used a Leaf Blade to slash at his robes, rewarded with the man crying in pain.
"Think I grew as well… might finally be da's height!" Jasmine dropped and sliced at one's agent's ankle, severing the tendons and sending him crashing to the floor, allowing her to stab him in the throat.
Harry opened his mouth only to rush forward and tackle Jasmine seconds before the remaining Machamp swung his fist down where her skull had been. "You okay?" he asked, laying on top of her.
She rolled and put him on the bottom. "Yes, but pissed off! They are running all my fun flirting time!" Jasmine spun and held out her Mega Bracelet. "Fuck this noise! Maleficent!" She pulled out the Steelixite and threw it to her Pokemon, who caught it in her teeth. "Your turn to grow!" She pressed her own stone in the bracelet and then let out a gasp as she felt some of her life energy pour out of her before blasting into the Steelix. It wasn't enough to hurt but it did leave her swaying slightly… but the affect was worth it as Maleficent transformed.
Perfectly polished Stealth Rocks floated around the enlarged Steelix, her head having shifted to form a more shovel-like appearance. The steel was denser and was broken up by great diamond spikes that had burst from her form as well as one that had replaced much of the tip of her tail, giving her a scorpion-like appearance. Maleficent let out a bellow and began to attack with enhanced Diamond Tails and Diamond Heads, knocking back Nocturne and their Pokemon while Harry and Jasmine ran for a pedestal, Leon using his Vines to pull himself up level by level.
The Nocturne agents had the same idea and were trying to climb up as well but that's when Dumbledore decided to remind them that he was still in the battle.
Crossing his arms near his face his Z Crystal Bracelet glowed before he brought his arms first down to his sides and then in front of him before raising his hands back up, index fingers extended as he pointed at his own head. Energy swirled around him as he then thrust out his left hand towards his Slowking, who glowed the same intensity as the Headmaster before unleashing a blast of Psychic Energy more powerful than Harry had ever seen. Suddenly every Nocturne Pokemon was struck by invisible blasts that bashed them about the room, knocking the Machamps and the Magmortar completely out.
And then the Admin's Toxtricity grit its teeth, placed its fingers on the rubbery protrusions on its stomach, and strummed them.
The air crackled and Harry had just enough time to close his eyes before the entire area exploded with an electrical blast.
The platforms shuddered and several of them began to fail, hurtling down to the floor below. Harry and Jasmine had to leap from the pedestal to separate cubicles when it began to fly erratically; their jump came just in time as seconds later the entire thing slammed into a wall and exploded.
"This battle just never ends!" Leon complained, watching as the Nocturne Admin struggled to get his Mech Suit running again after it had been shorted out by the blast. The Toxtricitry smirked at them and unleashed another blast, this time causing to Harry to cry out as his false hand began to spasm and the connections to his nerves lit up like a Solstice Tree. "I am beginning to hate him!"
"We have to eliminate him from the battle, Harry!" Dumbledore called down to him. "Catch!"
Harry reached out and caught the object the Headmaster had tossed him. Much to his surprise it wasn't a Z Crystal or the man's Mega Bracelet.
It was a Capture Ball.
"Professor-" Harry said with concern.
"Do it!" Dumbledore called out. Harry swallowed, gripping the ball till the knuckles on his hand were white, staring down at the Punk pokemon as he began to prepare another blast. "If you do not he will destroy everything here! We will fall… Miss Kewnay will die. Your Pokemon will die! You must stop this NOW!" Harry grit his teeth, shutting his eyes as, despite what the Professor said, the sheer wrongness of what he was about to do flooded him. "You have already been willing to kill, Harry… you must be willing to do anything to see your goals achieved. Now save those you love!"
Harry let out a wordless cry and threw the Capture Ball.
The Toxtricitry only had a moment to blink as his own Pokeball was ensnared by the Capture Ball and he was recalled. After a second the ball's recall feature activated and Harry caught it, feeling dirty holding the thing as the Admin roared his outrage.
"Harry… it was…" Leon began.
The Admin's mech fired on the platforms, hitting Jasmine's and causing it to shatter, sending her flailing downward.
"JASMINE!" Harry screamed, leaping from his platform just as Hedwig dove down. Harry felt the tale-tell feeling of his Magnus powers activating, merging him with his Hoothoot. A tugging sensational, a burst of energy, the feeling of two minds suddenly joining together and sharing thoughts and working in harmony till they blended into one being, the flare of raw power from the Magnus Focus Ring on his finger as it was absorbed into his body-
Harry and Hedwig's eyes went wide just as they were consumed in the brilliant white light of evolution itself.
Jasmine saw the burst of energy but she was a touch busy screaming and trying to find a way to stop her fall that didn't involve her splattering on the floor. So it was a surprise for her when she was jerked up by strong talons and lifted up suddenly, the world rushing by her until she was set on her Mega Steelix's head. She gasped, looking down at her Pokemon's head and patting it as she willed her heart to stop thundering, then finally looked out and let her shock return to her.
"That isn't possible," Dumbledore said, his Slowking having helped him down to where Jasmine was.
The Pokemon that had been Hedwig and Harry was NOT a Noctowl. Oh, there were traits that could be seen in it having once been one… but no more. For one the Pokemon held an aura of age, with a black 'goatee' of feathers just under the beak (itself much longer and sharp and curing like a hook) and the black feathers that formed its two horns having expanded into a full ebony crown that both rose high from its head and down low to make the Pokemon look like it was deep in thought. The body was thicker and heavier and the wings far wider, wrapping around the body so that their fused form looked like a monk. Where their Noctowl form had been a little bit over 5 feet tall this new form was 8 feet tall and nearly as wide with its wings folded. But that didn't mean it was fat… no, everyone staring at it knew at once this was a powerful Pokemon. It let out a deep rumbling call that started from the depths of its chest and seemed to only grow and grow.
Then Harry/Hedwig spread their wings and launched into the air, leaving a stream of darkness in their wake thanks to the longer ebony tailfeathers they sported. Going into a tight spin as the Admin's Registeel Mech firing a Gatling gun at them the two easily avoided the shots before gathering a swell of Dark Energy before performing a divebomb at the mech. Jasmine and Dumbledore watched as it seemed for a moment that Harry/Hedwig blurred out of focus right as they hit the mech… and the next instant the machine fell down listlessly and the fused Pokemon had hauled the Admin out of the machine without any physical damage to the Registeel device. They stopped short and released their prey, letting him hit the wall hard before their eyes glowed and they fired off a Dark Pulse that struck the man and knocked him out cold.
Seeing that the Admin had been the last of the Nocturnes that had been assaulting them that had been conscious the Princess of Johto and the Headmaster hurried down to the ground floor with all of their and Harry's Pokemon, looking at the strange new fusion before there was a burst of energy and Harry was standing there… with an evolved Noctowl Hedwig.
"What… what was that?" Leon asked.
"I don't-" Hedwig began before clicking her beak shut. Her voice was deeper, more mature, and it was clear that she was startled by it. "Hmmm… this will take some getting used to," she said. Her voice was beautiful but also held the weight of power and age that she hadn't had before in her Basic form.
Harry, bent over, rubbed his shoulder and then his arm, managing a nod as Jasmine walked up to him and smiled as she shook her head. He rose up and was startled to be able to look her eye-to-eye; only an hour ago she'd had several inches on him. Even with the Gigantimaxing he hadn't been her height. "You can't keep growing on me, Harry," she teased, the relief that the battle was over making her a bit loopy.
"I'll try not to," Harry said, looking at his now ill-fitting clothing. "This will be a fun one to explain to Remus."
"Which you can do once we find the others," Dumbledore said firmly. "Nocturne is still around and we must find Severus, the Minister, and your classmates before we take our leave. Come now, children!"
Jasmine snarked something about being an adult but Harry wasn't paying attention. Instead he quietly recalled his Pokemon, Hedwig lifting off to test her new wings, but his focus was on the Pokeball he hadn't been carrying when he'd come into the Research Area.
His fingers gripped the Capture Ball before he shunted his conflicting thoughts away and hurried after the others.