A/N: Hello hello again everyone, DrPhill26 is back with another chapter of-

Wendy: Shhhhhhhh!

DrPhill26: -Evolution for you to-

Tyler: Shhhhhhhhhh!

DrPhill26: enjoy... The hell am I getting shushed for?

Wendy: Yuki's sleeping.

Yuki: Zzzzzzzz

Tyler: And we've been through a lot lately, this night has been hell. So can you just do the intro yourself?

DrPhill26: Oh... yeah sure. Uh, here's the next chapter for you guys. Team summaries and (not completely accurate) translations for Kalos and Alolan phrases are all at the bottom. Enjoy.

Even though their danger had passed, Tyler still felt anxious in the back of the Ranger's jeep as it traveled back to the daycare center. His heart still beat with a nervous energy, and his stomach churned like a group of Butterfree were fluttering about inside him. He shook his head, trying to purge the anxiety from his mind by looking out the window, though the wandering blackness trailing behind the jeep's headlights only put him more on edge.

"Hey, you okay Cutie-Ty?" Tyler felt Wendy's hand on his shoulder and he turned to her, seeing a look of concern on her face. Though he sighed, a smile curled his lips as he looked back at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine… just a little on edge is all." Tyler admitted.

"Was it the Gengar thing? Because I'll admit, that spooked me pretty good too." Wendy offered a sympathetic giggle.

"Yeah, sorry again bro," Jason added his sympathy from the driver's seat. "It's just that Gengar was best suited for that kind of scenario."

"Yeah no, I understand." Tyler glanced over at the Ranger. "That's… not really why I'm on edge though."

"Then what's wrong? We won didn't we?" Jason asked again.

"I dunno… I guess I can't stop thinking about the what-if's, you know?" Tyler frowned, looking down at the floor sullenly. "What if we didn't find those two, or the egg? What if you three didn't show up when you did?"

"You just gotta let that shit go man." Jason looked at Tyler through the rearview mirror. "I'll admit, I had a hard time doing that when I first started wearing Ranger red. But if you get hung up on what you couldn't do, you'll lose focus on what you did do."

"Jay's right Tyler." Wendy lightly rubbed his back, making Tyler look at her again. "We did find our egg and we saved him. And look…" Tyler followed Wendy's gaze to her lap where Yuki was curled up around her egg with her head down and resting. "We're a family again. That's all that really matters."

"Yeah…" Tyler forced a weak smile as he sat up and just stared at Wendy, Yuki and their egg. They were absolutely right. This was what they were fighting for, this tender purity and wholesomeness. Wendy has her egg, Yuki has her baby, and Tyler has the three of them. The more his eyes stayed with them, the more at ease he felt. This gentle moment with Wendy lightly petting Yuki's head as she slept next to her egg, this was his light. He too reached out, feeling some of the anxiety shake off his arm as he pulled himself closer to them. Wendy smiled again, resting her head on Tyler's shoulder.

"I'll go nice and slow for you guys." Jason said from the front seat.

"Thanks dude."

"In exchange, you gotta agree to a double date once I finally find myself a girl and slow down." Tyler rolled his eyes as Jason laughed.

"Sure man, whatever." The jeep stayed quiet for the remainder of the drive through the forest path. Tyler placed his hand on the egg's side, feeling it shiver against his touch until he rubbed his hand against it. He wondered if its coldness was partly because it was Yuki's egg. She was an Ice type. It only made sense that the egg might be colder to the touch. He lifted off Wendy's shoulder intending to ask her that question but stopped as the scent of smoldering smoke filled his nose.

The moon was out in full above the sky for the first time tonight, shining its pale silver light down on what was left of Wendy's barn. It may have no longer been on fire, but you could plainly see the damage it had taken. The barn was a blackened husk of its former self with plumes of smoke rising from where it stood. Wendy audibly sighed as the jeep drove up towards it, so Tyler kissed her cheek to try and cheer her up. She smiled back at him again, returning his peck with one of her own as Jason slowed the jeep to a halt and stopped.

"Mission accomplished." The Ranger boasted as he stepped out of the jeep. Tyler climbed out one side of the jeep while Wendy opened the door to hers.

"Oh my God, Wendy!"

"Thank Arceus you're safe!"

"I can't believe you went after them!" An entire chorus of voices rushed the jeep, almost ripping Wendy out from it and into a massive group hug. Tyler looked over the top of the jeep and saw Wendy sandwiched between her parents and her friend Keanu with all three of them giving her a hug that looked equal parts suffocating as it was affectionate.

"And Tyler's safe too, hooray… Really? Nobody?" Tyler rolled his eyes with a bit of a jealous pout. He hopped down from the jeep and walked over towards the crowd surrounding his girlfriend. "Come on guys, give her some space."

"Please do." Wendy croaked out as the crowd around her finally parted to let her catch her breath.

"Sorry." All three of them apologized together.

"You just had us so worried sweet pea." Mr. Riding added on as he smiled at her.

"What if you two got hurt chasing after them like that?" Her mother gave her another worried hug.

"Oh, now you care about me." Tyler rolled his eyes but kept his thought to himself.

"Well, we didn't." Wendy smiled at all of her concerned friends and family. "We're safe now, we got our egg back and we can just put this shitty night behind us."

"Wendy, language!" Her mom looked at her in shock.

"With all due respect ma'am, I think she's earned at least one swear given how… well for lack of a better word, shitty this night has been." Jason stated bluntly.

"Well, if a Ranger says it's okay, I suppose I can let this one slide." Mrs. Riding relented.

"I know mom, I'm sorry." Wendy apologized.

"No dear, it's okay. Mothers just don't like it when their daughters swear in front of them."

"I'll be a good girl now, okay?" Wendy's mom smiled at her, pulling her back into a hug and kissing her cheek.

"So… there any chance we can salvage the barn?" Tyler asked as everyone turned their attention to the husk.

"It doesn't look like it." Will's voice spoke up as he now joined the group with a frown of his own.

"Really?"

"Fraid so sweet pea." Mr. Riding told his daughter. "We're lucky to even have what little is still left standing."

"I hate to ask but…" Jason paused as he thought about his question. "You guys didn't keep all the Pokémon you looked after in the barn, did you?"

"No, but we did keep most of them in there…" Mr. Riding sighed solemnly as he and the group looked at what little was left of the barn. The roof had collapsed and caved in on the second story below it, and both the front and left side walls had been completely destroyed. The only area still standing defiantly was the concrete-encased staircase that Tyler had climbed to try and rescue Yuki's egg earlier that night. Everything else was either rubble or an ash colored pick-up stick at this point.

"We kept the Water Pokémon in the pond habitats to free up space. But everyone else was in here."

"So… how many are gone?" The Ranger asked again.

"We had fifty in our computer records this morning." Mr. Riding sighed again, clearly showing restraint against breaking down over what happened. "Subtract the dozen eggs in our incubator and the fourteen water Pokémon in our habitats and we had twenty-four Pokémon in there tonight, max capacity…" Mr. Riding choked out another pained sob, clenching his fists together.

"Daddy…" Wendy looked sadly at her father, seeing the tears streak down his cheeks.

"I don't know what could be worse than this." Mr. Riding wiped his tears away with the back of his fist, only for them to be replaced almost immediately. "All those Pokémon had trainers who trusted us with looking after their Pokémon. If they'd just run off on their own, that'd be one thing, but this?! This is a literal nightmare!"

"Not every one of zem is gone, Mr. Riding." Madison approached the group, holding a bandaged Wooper in her arms. A Quagsire trailed her with two more Wooper sitting atop its' head. Taking up the rear was Mr. Riding's own Feraligatr and Keanu's Dewott, the former also covered in bandages like the Wooper was. "Most of ze Water Pokémon are safe."

"Woopah!" The Pokémon in Madison's arms happily cried out its name, apparently oblivious to everything that had happened around it tonight. He jumped out of Madison's arms and waddled over to Mr. Riding, cocking his head sideways with a quizzical look. "Woo-pah pah?"

"Heh… Thanks, little buddy." Mr. Riding sighed as he crouched down and picked up the little Water Fish Pokémon, cradling it in his hands. "I'm glad that at least you're safe."

"You know Luna, Miss Madison here showed she was quite skilled at taking care of Pokémon tonight." Keanu smiled at her. "I may be a specialist with Water Pokémon, but she looked like a true wai-hanai treating all of their injuries.

"I erm… I am a what?" Madison blushed slightly at the unfamiliar praise.

"Wai-Hanai." Keanu smiled again as Lana climbed up onto his shoulder. "Translated literally, it means water-nurse. But in Alola, we use the phrase to describe nurses with exceptional ability. They can treat multiple injuries on multiple Pokémon at the same time, flowing around the Pokémon Center like the ocean water."

"Oh… Erm… you are too kind mister… erm."

"Tis Keanu my Leilani." Madison's face lit up with embarrassment as Keanu cupped her hand in his own.

"I… erm… I mean… zat is charming, yes. But – I…" The Kalosian froze, stammering repeatedly as she looked back and forth from Keanu to her hand, which was now gently folded between his own.

"You needn't say another word. I am simply showing my gratitude." The group watched to an assortment of mixed reactions as Keanu brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. Naturally, the embarrassed Madison's reaction was quite animated with her eyes widening in a mixture of surprise and distress as color filled her face. Wendy had an impish look herself, taking pleasure in her partner's discomfort while Tyler simply looked confused as to what was happening.

"Dew-wott!"

"KWAH-HAA-HOWW!" But the most animated reaction of all was Keanu's Dewott Lana, who had raised one of her scalchops and slapped the back of Keanu's head with enough force to make him fall over and slid a short distance on his face. She seethed with anger as she glared at the back of her trainer's head.

"Dew dew-wott." The Pokémon mumbled as she seethed with anger. She turned away with a huff and walked away from her trainer.

"It wasn't what it looked like Lana, my ku'uipo."

"Wott." She huffed again, mumbling a string of what had to be Poké-curses beneath her breath. Nobody really knew how to respond to what they'd just seen until a single sniggering laugh slipped through Wendy's lips. As everyone's eyes turned to her, Wendy's face started to light up, her lips pursing tighter together as a second and a third laugh forced their way out. The longer they all stared at her, the funnier it felt for her until Wendy could no longer contain herself, laughing gleefully at her friend's misfortune. Then Will started sniggering, then Jason and Tyler started laughing as well. Before long everyone was laughing together, even Keanu as he sat up and dusted himself off. Somehow, that simple moment of slapstick pierced the veil of sadness hanging over everyone and reminded them that they were all okay. They could rebuild, they could recover, they could return to what they once had. They just had to remember how to smile.

However, those smiles gradually faded from joyous and lighthearted, to more guarded expressions as one more laugh joined the group's coming from behind all of them. One by one, the group turned towards this other source of laughter, and nervous tension choked out all of their previous excitement as two black-clad figures stood a short distance away from them. Tyler's heart nearly stopped as he recognized the same molded armor patterns of the two grunts he'd fought earlier tonight, only this time they were a much stealthier and glossier black color compared to the previous grunt's white. Also unlike the previous pair, these two had colored markings on their armor. The laughing one on the right having a set of blaze orange markings across his chest and the edges of his armor, and the one on the left having an icier blue color in the same patterns as his blaze orange counterpart.

"You know," the blaze orange figure spoke with a lingering chuckle in his tone of voice. "I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I miss slapstick comedy. You ever notice that TV shows nowadays hardly have any sort of slapstick in them? Like what's wrong with a good ol' fashioned nut shot every now and then? Tyler tried to make out any sort of features on this guy, but couldn't. He too was wearing a visored helmet that covered most of his face, and the darkness of his armor made it hard to make out much beyond that he was about Tyler's size as well, maybe a tad shorter but he couldn't be certain.

"Oh wait, I know why. It's because if little Billy is watching at home, then he's gonna kick his pops in the goodies, and them mom will blame the TV people, and suddenly we have a lawsuit on our hands. Fucking plebs right Aster?"

"I could care less." The ice blue figure replied rather coldly. He too was hard to make out in the darkness, but he was at least taller than his partner.

"Oh right, I forgot you're captain buzzkill." Blaze orange punched his apparent partner in the shoulder. "I'm Aster, I'm too cool for things like fun in my life." He added in a mocking tone of voice.

"Who the hell are you two?" Mr. Riding asked as he stepped in front of everyone protectively, anger rising in his voice. "Are you with those other thugs in white that did this?"

"Oh please, I'd never be caught dead with those lowlifes." Blaze orange scoffed a reply. "Besides, look how sloppy their work is if you can even call it that. I mean, look what they did to your barn. That one guy was talking about how he made art so I was excited to see what he'd done with the place. But look at this thing, it's hideous. He just burned everything without an ounce of creativity behind it."

"Nova. You're talking too much." The ice blue figure, Aster cut him off. "Focus on our mission."

"Alright alright, take a chill pill," Nova replied. "Actually, don't. You take too many chill pills as it is. Take a… what is the opposite of a chill pill anyway?"

"So, you are with them…" Mr. Riding glared fiercely at them. "That's all I needed to hear. RIPTIDE!"

"Gatr!" The Big Jaw Pokémon lumbered forward with a wild look in his eyes.

"Giga Impact!"

"Fer-ALIGATR!" The Pokémon charged ahead as a cone of white, yellow and purple energy surrounded his body, leaving only a black outline of his figure inside the vibrant display. His speed increased with each step, rearing back his claws as they too began glowing with a white energy inside the cone.

"Darmanitan, silence him." Bursting out from inside a blackened mist of energy materialized a hulking ape-like Pokémon that leaned on its massive fists. Without hesitation, he charged at the oncoming Water type and pulled back a fist. A flame-like aura of black and blue energy molded around his arm as he thrust it forward. In an instant, the charging gator was brought to an abrupt halt as the Darmanitan's fist plunged into his stomach. The vibrant aura surrounding him was blown completely off his body, and the former look of wildness in the Water type's eyes hazed over into a severely pained expression as the air was driven from his lungs.

"W-what the?!" Mr. Riding yelled as everyone looked on in shock.

"Again." Once more the Darmanitan reared back his fist with the same burning aura molding around it and threw a strong punch into the Big Jaw Pokémon's face. This time the Feraligatr was sent flying, sailing straight over everyone's heads into the remnants of the destroyed barn. He crashed through the burnt pillars of wood and the concrete casing of the staircase, causing the remaining structure to fall on top of him and bury him beneath the rubble.

"NO! RIPTIDE!" Mr. Riding sprinted back towards the rubble where his Pokémon lay prone, climbing atop the wreckage and trying to pull pieces of it off him. His wife, Keanu, and Will all did the same with Mrs. Riding calling upon her Venusaur Sakura to start lifting the heavier pieces off the gator's body.

"He… with just one punch he… that was daddy's strongest Pokémon." Wendy blinked in disbelief at what she'd seen. "Even if he was hurt already that… that couldn't have happened."

"Would anyone else like to be a hero?" The one called Nova asked and everyone stayed silent. "Smart choice kiddies. So, here's the plan. The two of us here are going to kindly ask you to hand over all of your Pokémon. And if you resist? Well, you just saw what happens when you try to play hero."

"Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be," Aster added on as he raised a ball and enlarged it. "This is your only chance to surrender them peacefully. Otherwise, we'll take what we want by force."

"Weavile!" Aster threw his ball and also bursting out of a blackened mist was a weasel-like Pokémon with pale gray fur and razor-sharp white claws on its hands and feet. It appeared to be wearing a crown of red feathers atop its head with a collar of similar feathers around its neck and near its tail. Adding to its regal appearance was a large amber mark on its forehead that looked like a gemstone.

Tyler looked nervously at everyone still standing and they all shared the same tense look on their faces. They may have outnumbered them four to two, but something still felt off in the pit of Tyler's stomach. How could just two punches from a Darmanitan do that much damage to a Pokémon as powerful as a Feraligatr? Furthermore, what attack did he use? That blaze orange guy didn't even issue a command, his Pokémon just acted by itself. And what about his ice blue partner? Was his Weavile as strong as the Darmanitan? Did that mean then that these two were the leaders of the men in white? He'd already fought one battle tonight and at times it pushed him to his limit. Could the rest of his team keep up against these two?

"I'm not giving up." Wendy's defiant voice cut through Tyler's inward thoughts, drawing his attention to her. "I don't care how strong you think you are. You can't just come up to my family's daycare and think that I won't defend it with every ounce of strength that I have."

"So, you're the one who wants to play hero next?" Nova leered at her. "It only makes sense. This daycare belongs to your family. You should be the one defending it."

"Come on Pulse, I need you!" Wendy threw her partner's ball and the Lucario burst forth, already manifesting his purplish aura around his body. Although he still cut an imposing figure, Tyler could see the scars from his battle earlier in the night with the white thugs and that his breathing was already heavier than normal.

"Hmmm, interesting choice," Nova commented as he sized up his next opponent. "But are you sure you want to use an injured Pokémon against me and my Darmanitan?"

"My perceived weakness is irrelevant." Pulse's voice cut through the field with a growl as he molded one of his trademark aura staffs. "You have defiled the dreams of my master's family. I will make you suffer for that."

"I respect your confidence. Even if it is misguided." Nova gave a half-smirk as he readied himself for battle. "Ready Darmanitan?" His hulking ape Pokémon responded by beating its chest with its two fists.

"Here we go Pulse, use-"

"WAIT!" Madison yelled and everyone turned their attention to her, though her eyes were solely on Wendy. "Wendy, I cannot allow you to fight in zis battle."

"What? Why?! You're not seriously suggesting we surrender, are you?" Her partner calmly smiled back at Wendy as she stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"You and your Pokémon 'ave done enough tonight, no? Look at your Pulse." She and Wendy both looked at the injured Lucario, slouched over with a slight grimace. "I 'ave my doubts zat 'e can fight for much longer tonight."

"Maddie, we have to fight. This is our battle." Wendy pleaded with Madison anyway.

"Yes, our battle." Wendy's partner grabbed her hand, placing her second gently on Wendy's cheek. "I am your partner, your friend no?"

"W-well, I mean… yeah but."

"No no. No buts mademoiselle." Madison insisted. "If it is your fight, zen it is my fight too." Wendy looked into her friend's eyes, seeing a fiery look of determination staring back at her inside a pair of sky blue orbs. A smile forced its way to Wendy's lips as she took her other hand and placed it against the hand on her cheek.

"Give 'em hell for me Maddie." Wendy nodded and her partner did the same.

"Funny, I was sinking about doing exactly zat." Madison now stepped in front of her partner, unclipping a ball from her belt and enlargening it. "'Roar like ze wild wind 'Oundie!"

"Houndoom!" The black and red Dark Pokémon barked its arrival with a fierce glare that matched the fire in his trainer's eyes. He huffed an impatient flame from his maw, briefly illuminating the air around him and making a peculiar gemstone-laced collar glint around his neck.

"Awww, how cute. Standing in for your injured friend; that's totally a TV-worthy moment." Nova grinned excitedly. "I mean, the whole 'This isn't your fight, it's our fight' thing has been done a million times before so it's lost some of its luster, but dammit if I'm not a sucker for clichés. You almost got me a bit teary-eyed."

"I 'ave 'eard enough out of you to last a lifetime." Madison put her hands on her hips, standing confrontationally before the two men. "But if you insist on running your mouth, 'Oundie and I will shut it for you."

"Well spoken, just like a Ranger would," Jason added on as he stepped forward next to her, a Poké ball raised in his hand as well. "That being said, two on one isn't exactly a fair fight."

"I appreciate your concern Jason," Madison held out her hand, pushing Jason back a step. As she did, Tyler noticed that the bracelet on her wrist also glinted in the low light like her Houndoom's collar did a moment earlier. "But I sink 'Oundie and I can take care of ourselves for ze time being."

"Is that so… then by all means, let's see if you can back up your talk as well." Nova's smile grew even larger as Madison held her hand over her heart and touched the bracelet. To Tyler's surprise, it began to glow with an intense yellowish energy surrounding her hand.

"Amener les flames de mon amour dans-un-enfer!" She raised her hand above her head and light-like energy surrounding her wrist sparked off into four bands that shot forward in front of her. At the same time, her Houndoom stood tall on his four legs and looked at the moon with a magenta colored energy glowing around its collar. It too sparked off into four lightning-like bands that shot backward towards Madison's light. The bands connected together, doubling in size and intensity as they shook the air around them.

"Méga-Évolution!" Both Madison and her Houndoom howled together as the Pokémon's body was overcome with a prismatic red hue and then began to grow. Its horns grew upright and became forked, pointing inward above its head. The bone-like markings around its body also expanded, especially the one around its neck which now curved forward with sharp protruding spikes resembling a demon's skull with two tusks on either side of it. The Pokémon howled again and the prismatic effect on its body dissipated, being cast off and reforming above its head to create a symbol that looked like a rainbow-colored DNA molecule.

"Wha – what is that?" Tyler couldn't take his eyes off Madison's Houndoom, or was it still a Houndoom anymore? He couldn't be sure, he'd never seen something like this before. All he knew now was this Pokémon's roar was enough to pierce his skin and make his heart tremble inside him. He could literally feel the air around him becoming hotter, feeling like he was back home in the deserts of Orre. "What just happened?"

"Maddie's using her secret weapon," Wendy stated as she too stared at the Houndoom's new violent appearance. "And these assholes are about to get scorched by it."

"Okay, but that doesn't really answer my question. What am I looking at?" Tyler asked again.

"Méga Évolution," Madison answered. "It is a phenomenon traced back to ancient Kalos over 3000 years ago. When a trainer and Pokémon trust each other completely, zey are able to surpass ze normal limits of evolution and obtain a stage beyond. 'Oundie and I are capable of realizing our maximum potential. Zis, is ze strength of our bond. Mega Houndoom."

"A mega evolved Pokémon…" Aster commented as he assessed his new opponent. "We may have miscalculated coming here to investigate."

"I don't care. This is exactly what I want to see!" Nova clapped his hands together, his body shivering with apparent excitement. "So dramatic, so intense, such power! I have been waiting for someone like you to give me this kind of rush ever since I joined Team-

"NOVA!" His partner barked, shutting him down in an instant. "They've chosen to fight, we should as well."

"Yeah, you're right. It's been a while since I actually had a worthy opponent." Nova sneered towards his opponents. His Pokémon appeared to agree, beating its chest with a sneering smile of its own.

*Ahem!* Jason announced his presence with a cough again. "With all due respect to you and your Houndoom Madison and its strength. As a Ranger of Sinnoh, I will not stand by and let a civilian fight a ranger's battle… not by herself at least."

"Manectric Mane!" The Ranger tossed a Poké ball skyward and his loyal electric canine burst forth from his ball, landing with a snarl as bands of electricity ran along his fur.

"Hmph, an impressive Pokémon, but a bit of a letdown compared to a Mega Houndoom, wouldn't you say?" Nova taunted, but Jason seemed unfazed as he knelt beside his Pokémon and reached into his vest, pulling out a pair of dog tags.

"I'll admit, Madison here may have stolen some of our thunder just now," Jason said while putting the dog tags around his Manectric's neck. "But there's something that people tend to forget about thunder."

"And what might that be?" Nova's taunting continued.

"No matter how loud, how frightening, or how impressive a blast of thunder it is…" Jason stood up and reached under the neckline of his shirt, pulling up a second pair of dog tags that sparkled just like Madison's bracelet had earlier. "It's the lightning bolt that does all the work."

"Wait, you don't also have a-" Jason cut Nova off by grasping the dog tags in his hand and much like Madison's bracelet, they too began to glow with an energized yellow light.

"Protect the Motherland of Sinnoh with your righteous thunder!" Again, four forked bands of yellow lightning shot forward towards Jason's Manectric, who fired back a quartet of blue lightning bands that connected together in an instant.

"Manectric! Mega Evolution!" Now Jason's partner was overcome with the same prismatic hues of red pink and yellow as his body began to grow in size. His body became wilder in appearance, with the mane of fur on its head extending down its spine like a large lightning bolt. His normally attentive and upright stance shifted to a more feral and aggressive one that lowered to the ground. With one last howl, the aura scattered off the Discharge Pokémon's body with the same rainbow helix forming above his head as howled at the sky. An intimidating wail that sent an electrifying shiver down Tyler's spine and made everyone flinch at the beast's wild power.

"I must admit Jason, I am impressed," Madison commented as she took in her mega evolved ally. "I 'ave yet to see a trainer capable of mega evolution outside of Kalos."

"Then allow me to impress you further. Manectric, Thunderbolt!" A terrifying cloud of electricity formed around the Manectric's body as it fired off an intense attack that roared towards his foe.

"Weavile dodge!" With an agile backflip, the Weavile jumped backward to dodge the attack.

"Too slow, Fire Fang!" But in a blink of yellow light, the Manectric appeared beside the Weavile, his mouth aflame and sunk his teeth into the creature's spine.

"So fast!" Tyler exclaimed in disbelief as thunder growled in the distance. "I didn't even see him move!"

"That's the power of Mega Evolution Tyler." Jason grinned as his Manectric began shaking the Weavile like a chew toy in his mouth. "The effects are unique to each species of Pokémon, but in our case, we get a massive boost to our speed and raw power!"

"Get away from him Weavile! Slash at his eyes!" In spite of its pained expression, Weavile tried to roll over and rake its claws at the Manectric's snout and face. A dark hue overcame his claws as he tried to hack at the Ranger's Pokémon. One fervent slash finally connected, stopping the Manectric's shaking, but only so he could glare ominously down at the Weavile in his mouth.

"Big mistake. Thunder!" A large lightning bolt descended from the sky and struck the Manectric with a booming thunderclap that surrounded his body with a fierce cloud of lightning. The Electric-type Pokémon was naturally unfazed, but the Weavile in his mouth cried out in severe pain, his eyes hazing over from the powerful attack.

"Don't just stand and watch Nova! Do something!" Aster snarled at his partner.

"Right, Darmanitan get in there! Use-"

"Sucker Punch 'Oundie!" As the Darmanitan reared back its fist and aimed for the Manectric, a cloud of black fog with an ominous pair of red eyes snarled at it before the Houndoom lunged through the cloud and crashed into the Pokémon's chest, knocking it backward. "Now Dark Pulse!"

"Houndoom!" A ball of blueish-purple rings formed in the Pokémon's mouth before spitting them out in a chain-like beam that once again slammed into the Darmanitan's chest, pushing him even further away.

"Throw him by his friend!" With another snarl, the Manectric whipped himself around and threw the Weavile towards the Darmanitan. He landed on his side and rolled over a few times, managing to stand upright out of the third roll in a slouched over stance.

"Let's finish this quick Madison." Jason pointed emphatically at the two Pokémon. "Manectric, Thunderbolt!"

"'Oundie use Dark Pulse!" Both Mega evolved Pokémon charged their respective attacks and fired them off together, with the Manectric's lightning spiraling around the Houndoom's pitch black attack.

"Skarmory!"

"Talonflame!"

"TAKE THE ATTACK!" Both Aster and Nova threw another ball each in the direction of their other two Pokémon, and two Flying-type Pokémon burst out of their balls. Despite the horrifying command they'd received, neither Pokémon flinched as they both charged into the oncoming black and yellow helix. The combined attack consumed them in a flash, both Pokémon crying out in pain underneath a colossal explosion that sent both birds skyward as lightning continued to arc around their injured frames. Neither of them could recover in time to prevent the crash landing right back in front of their trainers, both of whom appeared uncaring that they'd just sacrificed their Pokémon so callously.

"Just like we drew it up, huh Aster." Nova grinned, looking at his partner as he retreated his defeated Talonflame.

"A necessary sacrifice." Aster nodded in agreement as he did the same with the Skarmory. Meanwhile, the two Pokémon that should have taken the combined attack began to walk back towards their trainers. Their opponents, however, stared at them with furious outrage.

"You… cruel, heartless monsters!" Madison seethed with a venomous hatred. "How could you do something like zat to your own Pokémon?!"

"It's really quite simple actually." Nova quickly replied. "There was no way Darmanitan or Weavile could take that combined attack of yours. So why would we make them? If someone else can take the blow for them, wouldn't that be preferable?"

"They would have been a liability anyways would our battle continue long enough to warrant their use." Aster added on. "The success of our mission hinges on whether or not we can defeat you. However, using them in this way, we were able to turn their negative elements into positive gain. Their efforts will now ultimately be for the greater good in the long run."

"You two sicken me."

"Ah, your words, they wound me so." Nova shrugged off the Ranger's snarl. "I've been called sick, and monster plenty of times before. But heartless?" Nova cackled darkly as he slapped his chest-plate above where his heart would be. "You have no idea how accurate of a word that really is; especially for this ice-cold bastard beside me."

"Enough banter." Jason and his Manectric snarled together this time. "You may have been able to dodge that last attack, but that was just a warmup. We're getting serious this time."

"Manectric!" The Discharge Pokémon barked in agreement as a flash of lightning lit up the sky above him.

"You two should stand back." Madison turned to Tyler and Wendy. "I 'ave a bad feeling zis is about to get ugly."

"Your friend is right." The quieter Aster agreed with his opponent. "They've chosen to fight. If you aren't with them then stand down."

"I don't know where you're getting this high and mighty attitude from," Wendy folded her arms confrontationally. "But if you haven't noticed, you two were getting stomped to the dirt by these two since they started fighting you."

"But that's the thing my little Mareep," Nova snapped his fingers twice and his Darmanitan lunged forward with the same sinister hues from before engulfing his fist. He threw it towards the Houndoom, but was unable to connect, slamming his fist into the ground. However, the ground beneath Tyler, Wendy, and around everyone started to tremble and shake as the Pokémon beat his chest triumphantly.

"They may have started fighting, but we haven't."

"This is your final warning." Now Aster snapped his fingers twice and a violent aura surrounded the Weavile's arm much like the Darmanitan's. The Weasel-like Pokémon dragged his claw through the ground as a black and purple slash cut through the ground and shot towards the Manectric. Like his partner, the Manectric was able to dodge the attack, but seeing the sizable cut in the ground from the attack's trajectory, and how it appeared to cut deeper as it moved away from the Weavile was unnerving to look at.

"Stand down or face the consequences of this fight."

"Dar-manitan!"

"Weavile!" Both the Darmanitan and Weavile took an aggressive combat stance in front of their foes and a shiver pierced Tyler's spine as he looked at them. He'd stared down plenty of Pokémon in his young career as a trainer, but this was the first time he'd recalled feeling fearful for his safety as he looked at the two Pokémon. Something didn't feel right with him, but what was it? Their body language felt wild, unhinged. The look in their eyes appeared intense, but at the same time had an almost dark and vacant look as well. It seemed like the kind of look of someone who wanted to kill. And the longer Tyler looked at them, the more intense the look became, and the more fearful he felt.

"A Ranger never backs down in the face of danger."

"And I don't run away from my friends when zey need my 'elp." Jason and Madison boasted together.

"Alright, your funeral. Darmanitan, Shadow Breaker!"

"Weavile, Shadow Saber!" A powerful pulse of fear shot crashed over Tyler as the two Pokémon sprang towards their opponents. The Darmanitan once again cloaked its arm in the same blue-shadowy aura while the Weavile leaped into the sky and began focusing the same energy around its claws before throwing an x-marked slash towards the two Pokémon.

"Dodge and use Crunch 'Oundie!"

"You use Wild Charge Manectric!" Both Mega Evolved Pokémon responded in kind as they resumed the battle. Madison's Houndoom jumped over the Blazing Pokémon's raised fist, landing behind it as another earth-shattering blow shook the land around him. He quickly lunged towards the beast's arm. A burning orange energy ignited in his mouth as he sank his teeth into the creature's arm. Streaks of white and yellow lightning meanwhile began swirling around the Manectric's body as he swiftly weaved around the oncoming slash-marks. The second the Weavile landed on the ground, Manectric was there and slamming fiercely into the Pokémon's chest, pushing him backward in an effort to run right through his body.

"You'll have to do better than that. Show her Darmanitan!" Despite the Houndoom still sinking its teeth into its arm, the Darmanitan raised its arm above its head and whipped it and the Dark Pokémon back into the ground. Madison's Pokémon didn't let go, so Darmanitan slammed it into the ground a second time. This time he let go with a pained haze in his eyes, bouncing back up into the air in front of the beast.

"Shadow Breaker!" As the dark aura overcame his fist again, the Blazing Pokémon thrust it forward and square against the Houndoom's chest. He was blasted through the air towards his trainer, who only just managed to dive away from her airborne ally. The Houndoom crashed into the ground beside her, violently flipping and rolling up and over the remains of the barn before landing in a heap behind it.

"'OUNDIE!"

"Your turn Weavile. Shadow Saber!" The Weavile cocked a half-grin as both its claws glowed with malevolent energy. He threw one claw into the Manectric's side, then alternated with the second one to knock the Manectric off him to his left. He then pivoted around and dragged the third claw through the ground before throwing an uppercut-like slash towards him. Now the Manectric was knocked skyward, but the Weavile wasn't finished as he leaped towards him and threw a fourth claw into the Discharge Pokémon and knocked him down at the feet of his trainer with a crushing impact.

"MANECTRIC!"

"So… what was that about being stomped in the dirt?" Nova taunted as Wendy and Tyler each raised a ball to their hands. "Oh? What's this? You two want to play hero now too? You did see what we just did to a pair of mega-evolved Pokémon right?"

"Master, Sir Tyler, do not fight them." Pulse's voice interrupted their thoughts, as both humans turned to the Aura Pokémon. "We are not strong enough to fight them. We need to leave this in the hands of Miss Madison and Sir Jason."

"Pulse we can't do that! You saw what happened to them, we need to help!" Tyler protested but the Lucario held its staff in front of him, pushing him back with it.

"I will help them as I can. But Sir Tyler, you must listen to me." Pulse looked at Tyler with a serious expression, with Tyler seeing a shadow of doubt dot the bottom of his eyes as he looked at the two standing Pokémon. "There is something wrong with those two Pokémon. I cannot tell what it is, but that is the reason I do not want you or my master fighting them."

"Wh – what do you mean by that?" Tyler asked with confusion, but Pulse did not answer. He instead ran past the Ranger and knelt beside his Pokémon. He then looked back at Wendy and nodded at his master.

"If you're sure Pulse… Use Heal Pulse!" On Wendy's command, Pulse placed both his paws on the Manectric's body as a rainbow-colored energy sparkled around his paws. The Manectric's body glowed with a soft light as Pulse moved his paws across the entirety of the Pokémon. A short moment later, the Manectric appeared to shake the cobwebs from its eyes and stand back up, shaking the rest of its body back to alertness.

"We should stand back now." Pulse sounded tired as he made his way back towards where Madison's Houndoom lay. He did the same thing again, his rainbow-hued paws appearing to soothe the aches of the Dark Pokémon's body. Although he took longer to regain alertness, the Houndoom too did stand and ran back over towards the battlefield.

"Keep away from them and fight from a distance." Pulse announced and Tyler saw Madison and Jason look at him. "I will not be able to heal you again if you don't."

"Loud and clear sir!" Jason flashed a thumbs-up to the Aura Pokémon, then turned to the battlefield again. "Manectric, Thunderbolt!"

"'Oundie use Flamethrower!" Both Pokémon charged up their respective attacks and fired them towards their opponents.

"Come on, let's see if we can help daddy!" Wendy yelled as an explosion of the attacks colliding with their opponent's attacks knocked up a dust cloud and blocked Tyler's view of the action. Tyler nodded as they both made their way over to the rubble pile where Mr. Riding's Feraligatr still lay half buried in the rubble. His upper half was free from debris to help with breathing. But some of the larger pieces still covered his bottom half. Sakura the Venusaur wrapped her vines around a larger piece and lifted it away, while Will, Keanu and Mr. Riding together all moved other smaller pieces with their own strength.

"Do you require assistance as well?" Pulse asked, sounding even more exhausted than before.

"Save your strength Pulse." Mr. Riding grunted as he threw a larger block of broken wood away from the pile. "Riptide might be hurting, but we can't afford to spend extra energy against those two."

"I understand." Pulse nodded, though he now joined the effort of removing rubble from the area. Tyler too reached into the pile and pulled a piece of concrete away. Though as he did, he couldn't ignore another explosion behind him, seeing the Manectric zapping the Weavile's slashes out of the sky before they could reach him.

"They'll be fine Tyler." Will said as he picked up a pair of large wooden chunks and threw them over his shoulder. "I've known Jay for years. He's an exceptional Ranger and Pokémon trainer. And Maddie seems like she can hold her own alongside him. They might have gotten a lucky punch in earlier, but I'm sure they'll be able to beat them."

But Tyler wasn't so certain. Even as he continued to pull wreckage away from the destroyed barn, his eyes kept darting back over towards the fight behind him. The Manectric and the Weavile continued to dart across the field, each one throwing attacks at the other and occasionally connecting a glancing blow with each other. Houndoom appeared to be on the defensive, however, having just disappeared beneath a cloud of smoke that the Darmanitan charged wildly into.

"There is something wrong with those two Pokémon." Pulse's voice played on a loop in Tyler's head. He could feel it too; there was something off about these two Pokémon. They were considerably more feral, fiercer and more dangerous than any two Pokémon Tyler had ever met. He remembered the unhinged look in their eyes before they attacked earlier and how it sent fear through his body. It couldn't just be their trainers and the fierceness of the training they'd received, could it? No, there had to be another explanation, but what?

"Pulse, what did you mean when you said what you did earlier?" Tyler finally asked the Lucario. "What do you mean something is wrong with those Pokémon?"

"It is difficult to say, Sir Tyler." Pulse answered with a troubled look. He looked at the fighters and Tyler did as well, seeing the Manectric and Weavile slash at each other, only for the Manectric to drop to a bent knee afterward while his foe stood upright with a cocked grin. "All I can say for certain is that their auras are different from any Pokémon I have ever read."

"How so?" Tyler questioned again and the Lucario held out his paw towards the Houndoom, who'd just fired off a helix-shaped blast of dark energy into the Darmanitan's leg and causing him to fall over.

"When I read the auras of Miss Madison's and Sir Jason's Pokémon, I can sense all of their emotions, their focus, I can even sense that their heartbeats have synchronized with their master's hearts." Pulse now aimed his paw towards the Darmanitan and his brow furrowed. "But when I try to read the auras of their opponents… I cannot seem to pick up anything at all."

"How is that possible?" Wendy joined the conversation with her own puzzled expression. "You've been able to read the auras of any Pokémon you met for years now. How could these two be any different?"

"You don't think they might be on some sort of stimulant, do you?" Tyler offered a suggestion. "Like some sort of steroid that increases the wild nature of the Pokémon?"

"It is possible, but I do not believe that to be true." Pulse pondered some more, now aiming his paw at the Weavile. "If they were under the effects of a drug to make them more aggressive, I would still be able to sense their emotions. But with these two, it is almost as if their auras are being hidden behind something that's blocking me from reading them."

"Hidden? You mean you can't see their auras?" Pulse shook his head at his master's question.

"It is almost like those Pokémon have some sort of veil of shadows surrounding them. And because of that energy, I am unable to see their hearts."

Tyler froze completely in an instant, his eyes briefly flashing vacant as the gravity of what Pulse had said sank in. "Veil of shadows" the words echoed around in his mind endlessly as Tyler looked once again at the Pokémon. "Unable to see their hearts." Both the Weavile and the Darmanitan looked back at him and Tyler saw that aggressive and wild expression in their eyes again. No normal Pokémon had eyes that looked like this.

"Shadow Breaker!"

"Shadow Saber!" No Pokémon knew attacks like those either. When he went to trainer's school, Tyler became intimately familiar with a special set of Ghost type moves that all had the word Shadow in them. Shadow Ball, Claw, Punch, Bone, Sneak, and Force. Any other move that had Shadow in its name could only be used by...

"No…" Tyler didn't want to believe what his head was telling him, but it answered everything so perfectly. The wild look in their eyes, the new attacks, the fact that Pulse couldn't read their auras or see into their hearts. "No-no-no-no-no-no… No!"

"Tyler?" Wendy looked concerned.

"This isn't happening. Not here, not now." Tyler voiced his deepest fears.

"Sir Tyler? Is something the matter?"

"They were defeated." Tyler tightly clenched his hair inside his fists. "Michael beat them, he captured all of them."

"Hey, Ty you okay?" Will asked as everyone gradually turned their attention to the nervous redhead.

"Why are they in Sinnoh?! This can't be possible, it just can't be true!"

"Tyler, what are you talking about?" But Tyler ignored Wendy's question and turned towards Madison and Jason, panic plainly plastered on his face. Even if he was wrong, and he hoped against hope that he was wrong, they needed to know what he was thinking. Because if he didn't tell them, their Pokémon could be severely injured… or worse.

"You guys! They're using Shadow Pokémon!"

Tyler's team: Magnus (Quilava, Male), Caelum (Staraptor, Male), Felix (Gligar, Male), Yuki (Glaceon, Female)
Wendy's team: Pulse (Lucario, Male), Tess (Ampharos, Female), Yuri (Lilligant, Female), Flynt (Aron, Male)

Alolan Translations

Leilani - Heavenly Flower

Ku'uipo - Sweetheart

Kalosian Translations

"Amener les flames de mon amour dans-un-enfer!" Fan the flames of my love into an inferno!