While Gothitelle was now struggling against Mawile, the others were getting close to where Giratina and the last two of his allies were. Currently, they had two hours to go before the dragon's power would return to him so they would certainly need to hurry. After all, Giratina was infamous for how devastating his power was.

Missingno and Absol continued to stand there, Missingno taking a deep breath and saying, "I'm getting bored," the wolf turning to him as he added, "A part of me is hoping those heroes actually make it here. At least then I'll have someone to fight."

"It's still for the best that they don't show up," Absol remarked as Missingno rolled his eyes, groaning, "I know that, Captain Obvious, but at least it would be exciting if they did!"

Giratina was still sound asleep as the two villains looked at him, Missingno thinking, 'Even so, I have to admit that Absol has a point. I'm strong, sure, but even I'm not good enough to enslave humanity. Only Giratina can help me do that. I wish his recovery would go faster.'

All the while, Gothitelle really needed to come up with a new strategy. It seemed that if she went on the offensive, she would end up getting hit no matter what angle she attacked from. But at the same time, Mawile was now using rocks as a weapon, so if the goth tried to defend herself, she would only end up taking in worse pain. And to make matters worse, her powers of darkness were not strong enough to destroy the rocks, so it was not as if she could block them.

However, she then remembered something Gothorita had told her, and that was to always look for another option. If plan A failed, find a plan B. If the first two plans were hopeless, a third one was in store. Where there was a will, there would always be a way no matter how hopeless things looked.

With that in mind, Gothitelle looked around and got an idea before going on the defensive again, Mawile laughing and saying, "Well, you've realized attacking me is pointless. While I certainly commend you for that, that still won't save you, or have you already forgotten?"

Gothitelle said nothing as the girl leapt over to a rock before picking it up with her hair mouth and flinging it toward the goth. Just as it was about to hit, Gothitelle leapt to the side as the rock ended up flying off the side of the land form, shifting sideways and landing against a sideways one. However, since it had gone so fast from such a long distance, it ended up breaking upon impact.

However, while Gothitelle was fully aware of this, Mawile did not seem to notice as she smirked, saying, "Nice going, but don't expect to dodge that again," the girl picking up another rock and hurling it toward the goth only for her to lean backward, allowing it to pass over her and meet the same fate as the last rock.

'Excellent,' Gothitelle thought with a blank expression so Mawile would not catch on, 'She'll keep throwing those little rocks at me until there are none left. Then she won't be able to attack me from far away again.'

After throwing a third one and missing again, Mawile laughed and exclaimed, "Come on! You're only wasting your energy! I can keep this up all day but you'll only get tired soon enough!" Gothitelle not changing her expression for a second as the girl sighed, "At least try to look scared."

But just as she was about to pick up another rock, the hair kept its mouth shut as she whispered, "What are you doing?" the hair letting out a low growling noise as her eyes widened, the girl growling, "That little witch! I can't believe I almost fell for that!" before asking, "So, if I can't throw rocks, how am I supposed to hit her?"

The hair replied with some grunts as Mawile nodded and said, "You're right. If I make her waste her energy, she won't be able to dodge another rock," the girl then sprinting toward Gothitelle while the hero held up her arms defensively, thinking, 'She's walking into my trap sooner than expected.'

As Mawile goth close enough, Gothitelle sent a palm punch toward her only for the girl to stop her movement thus the goth was unable to reach her with her attack. Gothitelle's eyes widened as the hair opened its mouth, biting into her wrist again as she winced from the pain.

'God bless you,' Mawile thought, 'I never would have thought that up on my own,' the hair then lifting Gothitelle up as Mawile spat, "ALLIGATOR JAW SUPLEX!" slamming the goth's back hard against the ground.

Gothitelle grunted, trying to ignore the pain as she rolled away, breathing heavily. Seeing this, Mawile smirked and sprinted over to the nearest rock. With that, she lifted it up and hurled the projectile toward the Gothitelle, the goth narrowly dodging it as she was looking incredibly weak now, sweat pouring down her face.

'Yes!' Mawile thought with a smirk, 'I got you now!' the girl then lifting up another rock and hurling it toward her. Gothitelle attempted to the dodge only to end up stumbling due to exhaustion, the rock coming for the side of her head as she held out her hand in a desperate attempt to stop it. But just like before, it proved ineffective as the rock forced the back of her hand into her face.

The goth coughed up blood as she fell hard on her back, breathing heavily while Mawile had a wicked smirk on her face, saying, "I'll admit, trying to get rid of all the rocks was definitely a good idea. Unfortunately, you're not the only one who can come up with backup plans."

"Yes," Gothitelle uttered weakly, "That hair of yours is rather smart, isn't it?" Mawile's eyes going wide as the goth nodded, adding, "Yes, I know your hair has a conscience of its own. At first I thought it was just a part of your body, but that hair is its own entity, isn't it?"

Mawile took a deep breath as the hair made low growling noises, the girl nodding and saying, "You're right. There's no sense hiding it when she's so weak," before facing Gothitelle and adding, "Also, my hair is a she, not an it."

Gothitelle blinked as the girl folded her arms, saying, "Anyway, we're both going to kill you now," the goth replying, "I have one last request before you do so, or rather, a question."

Mawile blinked as she turned to face her hair, asking, "Is it okay for villains to grant last requests?" the hair nodding as she shrugged and turned back to Gothitelle, saying, "Alright, ask away, but it better not be complicated."

"I want to know what your connection with that hair is," Gothitelle uttered, "I have a feeling you weren't born with her, were you?" Mawile's eyes widening as it seemed the goth was starting to read the hair's aura and could tell it had not always been there.

Mawile took a deep breath and had a rather nervous look in her eyes as she stated, "You know, I've never actually told anyone about this," before letting out a sigh and adding, "But to be honest, I've wanted a reason to tell someone for a long time, and, well, you're going to die anyway, so I guess there's no harm in it."

Gothitelle continued to lie there as Mawile took a seat and explained, "You're right. I didn't always have this mouth on my hair nor did I have a ponytail, for that matter. My hair used to be incredibly short, the shortest any girl in my family ever had."

Gothitelle's interest was growing more and more as the girl started to talk about her mother. She remembered how as an even smaller child, she and her mother had as great of a relationship as any mother and daughter could possibly have. They had their arguments, they had fun days together, but they were happy, and this was quite an accomplishment considering her mother and father had been divorced when Mawile was only four.

Mawile needed her mother a lot for conversation as she had no friends, but this was mostly her fault for not trying. She had been told time-and-time again to go out and make friends but she was afraid of what the people might think of her what with her being non-human. Sure, everyone seemed okay with her mother living there, but that was simply not enough to convince a paranoid child to throw away her fears just like that.

Of course, because of this, Mawile was never sent to public school. Her mother chose to home-school her until she felt she was ready to finally face the world. But this did not last as long as it should have as one day when walking home from a trip to the grocery store, Mawile's mother noticed a child run across a street and trip on his own shoelace, falling forward and skinning his knee.

As if that was not bad enough, a big truck was speeding toward the boy with the driver unaware of his presence, the other people in the area staring in absolute horror. Naturally, Mawile's mother was the first to take action and dropped her bags, racing over to the kid and picking him up. Unfortunately, she was not fast enough as she ended up being hit by the truck, the kid flying out of her hands.

The kid wound up okay as one of the bystanders caught him before he fell and injured himself more, but the woman who had just saved his life was not so lucky as she lay on the pavement, her body twitching. Many people ran over, including the truck driver who exited his vehicle, guilt all over his face. However, Mawile's mother did not look scared in the slightest. Instead, she had a light smile on her face when she saw that the child was okay.

Unfortunately, that was the only highlight of that day. She was rushed to the hospital immediately with Mawile none-the-wiser. But luckily, the woman did have a lot of friends and all of them knew she had a daughter, a daughter who would certainly want to be by her side.

As such, a couple of them volunteered to drive to her house and pick her up. Of course, due to her fear of strangers, Mawile was not willing to listen to them until they mentioned her mother being in the hospital. The girl did not care if she was going to be taken by a couple of people she did not know. She had to see make sure her mother would be okay.

But despite all of this, it was too late. Mawile's mother was just taking her last breaths with only two minutes to live as she placed her fingers gently against her daughter's face, saying, "Promise me you'll stop isolating yourself and make friends," Mawile sniffing and letting out tears, soon breaking out into heavy waterworks.

"I didn't stop crying for five hours," the girl sniffed, the hair smiling sweetly and letting out a low, soothing growl as Mawile nodded, saying, "Thanks," wiping her tears as Gothitelle said, "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Actually, there is a bright side to it," Mawile said with a big smile before adding, "No one really knows how it happened, but that night when I had finally managed to cry myself to sleep-" Gothitelle asking, "Where did you sleep?"

The girl blinked as the hair nodded, Mawile saying, "I'll admit, that is actually a good question. See, after Mom told me to trust people, I allowed her friends who took me to the hospital to take me in. They figured without any parents in my life, they would raise me. Though the only reason I agreed was because apparently, Mom requested it before she died."

Gothitelle nodded as Mawile sighed, "Anyway, when I finally managed to sleep, it seemed like a big ponytail grew that night because I woke up with it," a light smile on her face as the mouth grinned wide, the goth staring in shock, asking, "Are you telling me that-?"

"Yes," Mawile replied, "This ponytail is my mom," Gothitelle truly stunned before asking, "Hold on, if you're Mawile's mother, then why do you approve of what she is doing? Doesn't this go against what you were telling her to do?"

The hair seemed taken aback by these words as her mouth opened briefly before she pursed her lips. However, Mawile broke the awkward silence by saying, "I guess I should explain that too seeing as I'm the only one who can understand her, but this is a different matter all in itself."

Gothitelle's interest once again perked as she continued to lie there, Mawile saying, "The day Mom came back into my life was the day I decided to start making friends. Luckily, it was a weekend, so none of the kids were in school."

While talking about this very subject, Mawile could remember every detail of this when the first place she went to was a playground. Her mother gave her all sorts of advice beforehand and, much like now, only Mawile was able to understand her growls and grunts.

With all that in mind, the girl approached the kids and gave them a friendly 'hello'. But when they turned to see her, they immediately freaked out when they saw a big mouth on her ponytail. And as if that was not bad enough, even their parents did not want her coming anywhere near their kids as if they failed to realize Mawile was a child herself.

This did not discourage her too much as her mother assured her she would likely find someone in the city who could be her friend. But unfortunately, this never came to pass as no matter where she went, no matter who she spoke to, nobody wanted to be friends with a freak whose hair looked like an alligator's head.

The only people who were not scared of her were, of course, her mother's friends, and yet they were the ones who ultimately made even Mawile's mother forget how she ever got along with humans in the first place. When they found out about how everyone in the city was terrified of Mawile, they could tell right away that her ponytail was the reason and suggested cutting it off, knowing a samurai who could easily do it without possibly being bitten by the hair.

"No!" Mawile retorted as one of the humans replied, "Mawile, I know it's hard giving up a part of you so easily, but this is for the best," the girl retorting, "NO, I WON'T LET YOU KILL MOMMY!"

The two humans stared at her as the other said, "Mawile, that hair is not your mother," the hair's mouth hanging open as the person added, "We know it's hard to accept. Believe me, we still have trouble getting over it, but your mom is never coming back. That ponytail of yours is an abomination, a mutation of some kind. It's best we get rid of it now."

It was not Mawile but her mother's spirit who lashed out at them after this, growling angrily and nipping at them. With that, both humans were too scared to move as she let out a loud roar, Mawile nodding and saying, "Okay," before exiting the house while the hair growled at the humans, threatening them to stay where they were.

And of course, things did not get any better. Mawile tried desperately to find a new home only for no one to accept her, everyone scared of her ponytail. Though while Mawile needed reassurance to avoid feeling sad, her mother's spirit started to develop a deep hatred toward mankind. She simply could not believe that those she used to consider friends could be so judgemental.

Mawile soon shared her mother's hatred and decided to take up villainy, and with her mother no longer feeling a shred of kindness for the humans she used to trust, she had no problem with her daughter making such a horrible decision. And that brought them to where they were today.

Gothitelle's eyes were wide as she took a deep breath, asking, "I understand your anger, but how were they supposed to recognize you?" the hair turning to face her as she added, "Think about it. You look nothing like the person you used to be and you also can't speak human. How was anyone supposed to know who you were?"

Mawile blinked and said, "She has a point," the hair simply growling and letting out a grunting sound, her daughter gasping, "She was trying to turn me against you!?" Gothitelle rolling her eyes as the girl fumed, shouting, "ALRIGHT, I WAS GOING TO SHOW MERCY ON YOU, BUT YOU ASKED FOR IT!"

With that, the girl leapt high into the air before flipping herself one-hundred-and-eighty degrees, aiming her head toward the goth while her mother opened her jaws wide, Mawile shouting, "ALLIGATOR BITE!"

But just as she was about to make contact, Gothitelle rolled to the side just in time to avoid the attack, the hair running snout-first into the ground, her lower lip hitting the surface as her mouth bent upward. This seemed to get a reaction as Gothitelle took a deep breath, thinking, 'I was right. The hair can feel pain.'

Mawile rubbed her mother's chin and asked, "Are you okay?" the hair letting out soothing grunts as Gothitelle took full advantage of this, sending a palm into Mawile's face and another into the ponytail, causing both intense pain as they coughed up blood. The goth did not feel perfectly good about doing this as she could tell neither were really bad, but they were not listening to reason, so this was necessary.

Mawile's mother gritted her teeth and growled, Mawile barking, "You're supposed to be done for! How are you moving right now!?" Gothitelle sighing, "I managed to recover enough strength to move during your story," the hair even more furious now as Mawile grunted, "So you were taking advantage of us!"

"I assure you, I was genuinely curious," Gothitelle replied, Mawile remarking, "Well, now that you've heard the story, you can die happy then," the girl rushing toward the goth as she took a deep breath, forming a pair of blue blobs of energy around her hands. This was the set-up for her strongest move, a move that took a great deal of energy out of her.

It only made sense to use this now. Sure, she may have been given time to recover, but with her body being so weak, she only had enough energy to deliver a few more hits. If this failed, Mawile would kill her for sure and she not wish to let someone like her continue a life of evil.

Just as Mawile's mother opened up her jaws wide, the daughter turning her body around so she could face their opponent, Gothitelle took a deep breath, waiting for them to get close enough as she spat, "PSYSHOCK!" sending her arms forward and slamming them hard into the ponytail, putting two big indents in her as she coughed up a great deal of blood.

Mawile's eyes widened as her mother went limp, clearly unconscious now. Unfortunately, Gothitelle had put everything she had into that attack, so while the hair was beaten, Mawile was still standing as the goth took many deep breaths, falling to her knees, unable to lift her arms.

Mawile fumed, gritting her teeth as she spat, "HOW DARE YOU!? YOU'RE A MONSTER!" Gothitelle staring blankly at the girl as she added, "You have no idea what it's like to be judged by the world for your appearance! Mom and I suffered abuse and torment just because the world couldn't accept us for who we are! You think you're defending justice, but you're not!" tears welling up in her eyes.

Gothitelle took a deep breath and replied, "Actually, I can," Mawile retorting, "LIAR!"

The goth let out a sigh and explained, "I may have allies now, but for a long time, I didn't have anyone except my mother to talk to. I tried making friends on the days when there was no sun in the sky, but everyone thought I was too weird."

Mawile sniffed and stared, uttering, "Is that true?" the goth nodding and replying, "But even with all of that in mind, I never turned my back on them. I eventually chose to become a hero and made my first friend at Hero School. Since then, my social life has improved to a certain degree. People are no longer afraid of me."

Mawile's eyes widened as the goth added, "It took time, though, so I certainly needed patience. It took the world a while to trust me, but they do now, and I'm sure the same can happen to you. You just need to give people a reason to trust you and give them time. Beings like us can't just expect results right away. Sometimes it can take a few days, maybe even years."

A light smile formed on Gothitelle's face as Mawile fell to her knees, saying, "You've given me a lot to think about," before letting down light tears and adding, "Mom will recover soon, so I'll spare your life. You've beaten me," Gothitelle breathing a sigh of relief and using this time to rest. Now the fate of the world was in Machoke, Talonflame and Lucario's hands.