Pokémon World Adventures

by TheDragonSaver

Follow the journey of Pokémon Trainers Dylan, Ashton, and Kris as they travel around the world battling trainers, earning gym badges, and encountering the not-so-serious Team RedHot. A brand new Pokémon adventure set in a world alternate to our own, with surprises waiting around every corner. The journey to becoming a Pokémon Master begins! (Cover by Azakael)

36. Team Cipher's Last Stand!

Episode 36: Cipher Attacks! The Final Battle of Wills!

The finals. If their training had come down to anything, it was this- the day a new World Champion would be chosen. The stadium was packed, the crowd was abuzz, fans roared with excitement, and Ashton and Dylan had certainly been shooting each other some amiable but very pointed looks practically warning the other that there would be no holding back. Some fans had garbed themselves in ninja-like clothes or dolled up sets of headphones to mimic the competitors' Sygna Suits (to varying degrees of success), while some still donned outfits resembling their favorite ousted competitors to show that, though they'd lost, they still had their fans' support. Social media was going wild, television coverage seeped in everywhere, and fake headlines of a sudden meteor crash or outbreak of a flesh-eating virus cancelling the finals were already floating around to trap the gullible.

The announcer was certainly doing his best to hype everyone up too as the festivities started. "Alright, everyone! We've gathered the best of the best, whittled it down to two, and now we're ready to go! Who's ready to find out this year's winner?!"

A shout went up from the crowd. Kris too called out, "Make it a good one, you two!" from her place, trying to stick close to the action.

"In the west end, we have a liability waiting to happen- I mean, we have our hot-headed dragon puncher with raging determination! It's Ashton!"

Ashton couldn't help but to cackle loudly to herself as she entered the field, her eyes wild and her grin just as crazy under the shroud of her Sygna Suit. "No need to correct yourself, ref! That first part is true, hehehe~!"

She couldn't help bouncing in place and putting her fists up playfully, while some of her fans responded by putting their own fists in the air.

"And in the east end, we have the keeper of the Ancient Stone and surprise strategist! It's Dylan!" the announcer called.

Dylan gave a humble nod as the crowd chanted his name. "To have come so far… We're gonna make this battle to remember, right!?" He pulled a ball from his belt and started tossing it in the air, the crowd speculating which of his teammates he was going to call out first.

"Alright, folks! This is it, what you've all been waiting for!" the announcer's voice boomed out. "Ashton and Dylan, whenever you're ready, go ahead and-!"

… However, the audio suddenly went completely silent, and the screens showing the action went blank too. The crowd was uncertain, and the competitors were too- they glanced at each other with funny looks, then looked backwards to the arena's entrances for some cue from the tournament officials, but they too didn't appear to know what was going on. Some of them glanced backwards to some behind the scenes but were met with shrugs, and some on the field's perimeter appeared to be trying to radio some others with no luck. Technical difficulties might have been able to strike at any inconvenient time, but surely, the biggest tournament in the world should have had checks run beforehand and officials making sure that all systems were running smoothly…

But things certainly didn't appear to be running smoothly when a strange logo appeared on the screens- a primarily black "C" with red curved markings making it resemble part of a spinning vortex, the ends of which had draconic 'fins' and what resembled a pair of fangs attached to a sleek maw. It certainly wasn't anything affiliated with the tournament (or its sponsors, for that matter), and try as everyone might to figure it out, its origin just wasn't registering. The crowd got rather silent as it appeared, everyone befuddled all the same, but that didn't last for long as the already-packed stadium had more figures appear in it by teleporting in with all manner of Psychic-types at their sides. They were all clad in the same uniform- a black bodysuit with white cybernetic armor obscuring most of their figures save for the lower halves of their faces. Suddenly, the stadium was surrounded by an all-encompassing dome of Lights Screens, Barriers, and Reflects, and the ones in the crowd seemed to know something was very, very off.

"What the heck is going on?!" Ashton cried, looking around and reaching for a ball. "What's the holdup?!"

"Who are they?!" Dylan exclaimed, looking at the strange figures.

However, the big screen started working again, and on it was the center of the field, where three more less-than-innocuous figured likewise were teleported in. Dylan and Ashton certainly recognized two of them, for Tabitha and Aliana were hard to mistake for anyone else after all their escapades and interference, but the third was someone new- a man with long blue hair slicked back off of his face, wearing a set of robes with a wide-sleeved blue one underneath and a sleeveless one in both dark and lighter shades of grey over it tied with a blue sash. His eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses, but he smirked, making it easy to tell that he was up to no good even without seeing his entire expression. Ashton and Dylan both were taken aback, for even despite the admins next to him that they'd taken down plenty of times, something about this man just didn't sit well.

The Champions, in their box over the crowd, knew something was up too, but the walls of screens kept them from rushing out too.

"This is not part of normal proceedings!" Blue cried, uncertainly studying the events below. "What're those people up to?! Someone's gotta stomp 'em!"

"We have to go help!" Iris too cried, jumping up.

"We're gonna have to get out of here first," Wallace noted, reaching for a ball. "We're no good stuck here."

"Whoever these people are, they need to be put in their place," Cynthia declared, doing the same.

The audio resumed as the odd man in the robes opened his mouth. "In all the world, I've never seen Pokémon trainers of this caliber," he said, his voice rather business-like but nonchalant all the same as he looked out over the crowd, then shot glances to the ones on the field. "Years ago, I thought I'd found a trainer most worthy of our unending scrutiny, but I see now that there are other, much more worthy, subjects out there. Mega Evolution, Z-moves, Sygna Suits, Dynamaxing… such things are foreign to the barren land I call home. Our abilities were truly limited."

"Who are you?!" Ashton hollered, shaking her fist. "You don't have to tell us how great we are- believe me, we know! I know!"

Dylan eyed him. "Barren land…? Does he mean…?"

The mysterious man chuckled, shooting them both a glance once more. "Me? You can call me Grandmaster Ardos. Years ago, my father, Master Greevil, tried and failed to use Shadow Pokémon to take over the world. Our team was called Cipher, and not even the authorities could hope to stand up to us as we gained power. It was a seemingly perfect plan- create the incurable Shadow Lugia, the ultimate Shadow Pokémon, as the first of an army of incurable Shadow Pokémon to be our ruthless fighting machines- but it all came crumbling down thanks to one single trainer. I vowed to never give up on my dreams, and today is the day I make it a reality! Cipher must survive- Cipher will survive, and I, Grandmaster Ardos, revive it here today! I've finally, truly, perfected a Shadow Pokémon to bring the world to its knees, and you will all see it in its glory soon enough!"

That… certainly answered some questions, but not answers anyone particularly wanted to hear.

Ashton's expression twisted into a mixture of disbelief, anger, and amusement. "Are you serious right now?" she practically hissed. "You've gotta be-"

Ardos didn't regard her and instead turned his attention to Dylan. "And you!" the Cipher boss called. "The holder of the Ancient Mega Stone! Somehow, you've obtained a power that has only be recorded in ancient texts. It's the final piece of my master plan… So, I'll cut you a deal, kid. Either hand over the stone, or I'll take from you by force."

"Fat chance of that happening," Dylan scoffed, crossing his arms. "I know what you evil team types are like. You always try to take over the world in some form or fashion, but me, Ashton, Kris, and everyone else here are going to stand up against you! So how about you give up instead!?"

"…Hm, so be it," Ardos shook his head. "I guess the world will just have to see you meet your bitter end at my hands. Tabitha, Aliana? Take care of the other riffraff."

Ashton snarled, grabbing a Poké Ball and holding it up with one hand, while her other hand made a fist that she held up too. "Now, you listen here, you-!"

"Not so fast!" Tabitha cut her off, busting out his teleportation device. "It's payback time!"

Aliana did the same, busting out one of her own. "It's long overdue."

At that moment, Ashton couldn't do much as she was whisked away in some bending of time and space, though she certainly fussed as it happened with some… colorful words escaping her mouth. She dropped down in a different vicinity, still an arena but smaller than the one she was just on- likely one of the fields where one of the batches of preliminaries had taken place before the tournament began in earnest. She could still see the dome around the main arena off in the distance, but with how things seemed to be going, getting over there in time was likely a moot point, especially not when Tabitha likewise dropped down not too far across from her. Moments after, someone else dropped down beside her whom she drew a fist back at initially, but paused upon seeing who it was- Kris, who looked just as flustered. Aliana too followed, taking up next to Tabitha.

"What's the big idea?!" Kris hollered. "You guys can't just-!"

"We can and we did," Aliana cut her off, her affect flat. "You youngsters have gotten in our way too many times to let it go."

"The Volcanion engine, sending us flying in Hawaii, the Piplup flock, the Shadow Pokémon…!" Tabitha said frustratedly. "You bunch of scoundrels have gotten in the way of everything!"

"We got in the way?!" Kris exclaimed in disbelief. "You're the ones that kept showing up to ruin the day!"

"I don't appreciate being called a scoundrel, you scoundrels!" Ashton hollered back, waving one fist in the air. "If you bunch of oafs hadn't gone and acted like the fools you are, we wouldn't have had to put you in your place so many times!"

"Oh, save it!" Aliana hissed, grabbing a ball. "It's reckoning day!"

"Let's settle this!" Tabitha concurred, doing the same.

Ashton cackled, pulling her shroud down so everyone could plainly see her wild grin as she too took hold of a ball. "Let's!" she hollered back, letting her posture slouch slightly forward while still looking their foes in the eyes. "If you want someone to hand your butt to you all over again, I am happy to oblige!"

Kris grabbed one of hers too. "Well, I guess we're doing this," she muttered. "Let's go, Maui!"

"Get 'em, Azrael!"

Aliana carelessly tossed her ball onto the field, saying, "Go, Mawile!"

"Make them pay, Rotom!" Tabitha cried, chucking his.

A Skarmory emerged from Ashton's ball with his eyes narrowed on their foes, a Kommo-o dropped from Kris' with his fists clenched and scaly arms held in front of him defensively, a nonchalant-looking Mawile emerged from Aliana's, and a smirking Rotom- specifically a Heat Rotom- from Tabitha's. Maui gave a low growl and Azrael tilted his head to the side while studying them, and Mawile seemed to shrug with her maw not even snapping while Rotom made a giggling sound and held their hands over their mouth like a mischievous child. Ashton's expression was wild, and Kris couldn't help but to be a bit concerned, especially after her specifically mentioning no league officials were present to referee the match, but perhaps, knowing that they were facing bosses of a crime syndicate made it sit better, even if not entirely sitting well. Their foes certainly weren't strangers to pulling dirty tricks, after all- and surely, there were more waiting.

"Take that Dragon out with Play Rough, Mawile!" Aliana cried, pointing at Maui.

At the simple mention, Mawile's expression turned wild, and she charged like a rabid beast, the maw on her back snapping while she took on a pink glow.

"Not so fast!" Ashton hollered. "Knock 'er off course, Azrael!"

The Skarmory zoomed into action and darted for Mawile, effectively taking the hit (little though it seemed to affect him) and bashing her with a Steel Wing (which likewise seemed to only serve as an annoyance). At the same time, some metallic shards escaped his wings with their flaps and started making the field look sparkly, but not in a pleasant way as the tips of the Spikes glinted in the sun.

"Oh, of course she'd set entry hazards!" Tabitha fussed. "Rotom, take out that Skarmory! Discharge!"

"Ro-to-toooooo~!" Rotom happily sang, their body starting to spark wildly.

"Maui! Back up Azrael with Clanging Scales!" Kris called.

Ashton, however, looked over to Kris with a borderline incredulous look. "Seriously, Kris? Don't you freaking hold back! There are no League officials here to tell us what to do!"

Kris blinked for a second, then looked back to Maui and called, "Scratch that! Maui, Clangorous Soulblaze!"

A move like that certainly grabbed attention, and Aliana changed her ideas. "Mawile! Protect Rotom!"

The dragon let out an eager grunt, and the Z-Crystal held tightly in his fists started to glow as Kris made some movements behind him. A golden aura cloaked him as he easily followed through, holding up his scaly arms in front of himself. As Rotom started to spark, he dashed towards Azrael with movements that made his scales jingle and clang with powerfully loud sounds, working up some harsh soundwaves that made everyone present flinch, save for Mawile, who dove to grab Rotom in something of a hug. Of course, a Dragon-type move wouldn't have any effect against a steely fairy, but it certainly made Rotom flinch and fuss as they fired a barrage of bolts.

Such a spread was highly unlikely to be avoided in any case, and both the Skarmory and Kommo-o lacked either the tiny size to fit between a branching web of lightning or the blinding speed to outrun it, but the dragon putting his clanging scaly arms in front of Azrael while the metal bird nestled down closer to the ground in his grasp certainly helped to lessen the still squawked and eyed the mischievous ghost with narrowed eyes, but Maui brushed it off without much trouble on account of his armored body and draconic attributes naturally resisting it. Kris and Ashton exchanged a glance, and wordlessly, the wild blonde woman held up her hand for a high-five, which Kris gave her in turn.

Mawile, however, turned loose of the flustered-looking Rotom and went straight for another Play Rough regardless with Maui's arms a bit occupied, but right as she leaped at the dragon, Maui raised one arm up out of the way, and Azrael hit her with another Steel Wing while scattering Spikes. The steely fairy let out a screech more befitting a banshee in frustration, and immediately the metallic raptor and the dragon were scattering as she opened her huge jaws and spat out at least a dozen large rocks in a Rock Slide that no one had quite been suspecting. The fact that she had enough room in her maw to fit them was a bit startling, but if she could, it certainly meant she could take huge chunks out of whoever was unlucky enough to touch or be touched by them, and they weren't going to bother finding out for sure.

"That's it, Mawile! Cause a fuss!" Aliana called. "Show 'em what you're made of!"

Thankfully Maui's heavy scales and Azrael's metal feathers guarded well enough against a Rock Slide, but they nonetheless took a few hits from it. A slight screech came from Azrael, for though he hadn't been hit by anything he couldn't handle, there were only so many hits even an armored metal beast could take. Even so, Mawile was already having to dance carefully around the field, the Spikes on the ground sticking up and glinting in the sun. Rotom, however, was sparking as they geared up for another Discharge, and in the scramble to get out of the way of Mawile's attack, there wasn't much use for Maui and Azrael shielding each other.

Ashton certainly realized her bird couldn't outrun lightning and called, "Azrael! Give that ghost a Night Slash!"

"Maui, go for Brick Break!" Kris too called.

"Take that dragon out already, Mawile!" Aliana fussed.

"Don't let up!" Tabitha cried.

The Skarmory let out a determined screech with narrowed eyes and darted for the sparking spirit menace, his wings becoming surrounded by a dark aura that seemed to suck the light out of the air. Mawile went for another Play Rough at the same time, and Maui balled up on draconic fist as she did. Another sing-song cry escaped Rotom as they let the bolts fly, and no one was safe from it- not Maui, not Azrael, not even their comrade Mawile. Bolts filled the air as Azrael dove down, Maui's fist collided with Mawile's head, and the Skarmory certainly let out a loud squawk as it landed. The armored bird held out for just long enough to get the Night Slash off (along with flinging more Spikes), and Rotom only let out a haphazard laugh as they fell, but Maui and Mawile made sounds of fuss for similar but not for the same reasons. Maui's fist certainly took a lot of momentum out of Mawile's attack, but she nonetheless hit too right as the bolts hit them both, and the two of them went stumbling away from each other as haphazard, sparking messes before collapsing. Any other type of hit and Maui likely would have been fine, but a Fairy-type move against a fighting dragon was bound to end in disaster for the draconic one.

"Ooookay, that was a wreck," Aliana remarked, withdrawing her fainted fairy.

"That did not go as expected," Tabitha too mused, withdrawing Rotom.

"Speak for yourself!" Ashton shot back, withdrawing the Skarmory. "You did great, Azrael!"

"Great job out there, Maui," Kris said as she too called back the Kommo-o.

One of Ashton's Poké Balls wiggled a bit, and she heard a familiar telepathic voice in her head as she glanced down. Be careful with these ones, Regulus noted. They have some creatures on their side with some very abnormal attributes.

Ashton nodded, non-verbally saying, I'll take your word, as she grabbed another ball. "Give 'em a bad time, Phantasm!"

The ball burst open, and immediately Ashton's Key Stone was reacting. The moment Phantasm hit the ground, he was in his Mega form, and looking absolutely thrilled about such.

"Y'know what, let's do the same!" Kris cried. "Let's go, Shedu!"

Likewise, she tossed her Absol's ball onto the field, and within moments, there was a Mega Absol standing there with furry 'wings' fluttering but sharp claws raking the ground. The aura he gave off was enough to make both Tabitha and Aliana flinch and twitch a bit in discomfort as they too reached for their Poké Balls, but they nonetheless managed.

"Tear 'em to shreds, Druddigon!" Aliana called as she tossed hers.

"Centiskorch! Light 'em up!" Tabitha hollered, following suit.

Fairly quickly, another dragon's roar was filling the air and making everyone flinch a bit, and embers filled the air from a gargantuan creepy-crawly's flames. The dragon seemed perfectly content from his comrade's heat, and Centiskorch was already thrashing in place with a low hissing sound, scattering her embers… even if the Spikes Azrael had laid down were poking and prodding at her body. Evidently, she had too vicious of a disposition to care, but Druddigon, however, winced a bit as a few poked at his feet.

Ashton already had an idea of who would be the more troublesome and called, "Phantasm! Lock that bug down!"

"Druddigon, Crunch that Gengar!" Aliana too called.

The dragon gave an aggressive roar and darted at the ghost with a flap of his wings to avoid the Spike-laden ground, but only got a mouthful of air as Phantasm giggled mischievously while phasing into the ground.

Apparently, Tabitha caught on to what Ashton was getting at. "Fire Lash in place, Centiskorch!" he cried.

The flaming bug did just that as Phantasm emerged from the ground next to her, the ghost getting haplessly whipped over the head by her ember-shrouded tail and a bit disgruntled at the embers fluttering in the air or smoldering on the ground. Nonetheless, his Shadow Tag kicked in easy enough, and for all her violent thrashing, Centiskorch was stuck in place, her erratic movements scattering embers like leaves falling on a windy fall day. Phantasm haplessly batted at a few to keep from being burned, and the ones on the ground likewise bothered him a bit as he shifted around.

"Keep Shedu away from that bug," Ashton mused to her friend before looking back at the field. "Shouldn't be hard now anyway. Phantasm, Shadow Ball!"

"No worries," Kris replied. "Shedu! Future Sight!"

The Mega Absol set such in motion, his eyes glazing over for just a moment as he peered into the future, then coming right back to life with a short moment of his fur seeming to stand on end with psychic energy. Phantasm, on the other hand, may have hit extremely hard in his Mega form, but Centiskorch had the perfect body for dodging even at close range. He fired a Shadow Ball, but she simply twisted herself out of its way, giving him another fiery lash. Ashton certainly wasn't happy with such, starting to frown a bit- she was trying to trap Centiskorch from being able to get a super effective hit on Shedu, but it appeared Centiskorch was likewise trapping Phantasm.

"Back up Centiskorch!" Aliana cried. "Crunch that Gengar!"

Ashton frowned even more. "Sludge Bomb that dragon, Phantasm!"

"Shedu, Thunderbolt on Centiskorch!" Kris called, trying to keep a distance while still helping out.

Phantasm turned to Druddigon, who likewise rushed with a few flaps of his wings, and a sphere of poison began to well up in front of the ghost's third eye at a very quick speed. However, Centiskorch held still when he turned his gaze off of her, simply poised over him for a moment, and the reason for such became clear momentarily as Ashton was definitely frowning quite a lot more.

"You too, Centiskorch! Crunch!" Tabitha called.

Ashton's eyes went wide. "No-!"

Centiskorch's head shot straight down, and her mandibles viciously dug into Phantasm's back. The ghost hollered as he launched a Sludge Bomb, his own eyes shooting wide like his trainer's and then drifting closed. Druddigon didn't get the chance to land his attack, not that he needed to after Centiskorch's damage inflicted, for the ball of sludge fully enveloped him and made him drop as a screeching, purple-drenched mess right as Shedu's Thunderbolt landed on Centiskorch. The creep-crawly hissed and wavered but didn't fall just yet.

"That's it!" Tabitha cried triumphantly, smirking at Ashton. "I was expecting more from a lunatic like you!"

[***]

Dylan looked in shock as Ashton was teleported away. "What the-!? What did you do to my friends!?"

"I simply took them out of the equation," Ardos replied, teleporting down to the field opposite of Dylan. "I've seen from RedHot's data how strong all three of you are as a group, especially whenever you and Ashton team up. So, I decided to divide and conquer, leaving you as the sole opponent for me to crush underneath my Shadow Pokémon's power."

Dylan looked around the stadium, seeing the members of Team Cipher were keeping the people up in the stands busy. 'This isn't good… The Champions are all trapped, Ashton and Kris aren't here to back me up, and every other person that could battle is facing those grunts…' He gritted his teeth and scowled. "Okay then… Ardos, was it? I'm not going to let you, or your evil team take over the world. I'm about to rain on your comeback parade!"

"So be it," Ardos shook his head. He held out his hand, a Master Ball teleporting into his grip. "Just so you know, my team is made up of the best of the best, hand-picked by my Cipher Admins to crush all opposition."

Dylan pulled out his first Poké Ball and stared down the Grandmaster of Team Cipher. "Enough of your talk. Let's battle!"

Ardos pushed up his sunglasses, giving an evil smirk before tossing out his Master Ball. "Go, Hariyama!" The bulky sumo Pokémon burst out of the ball, its aura flaring up with darkness.

"Inari, bring on the vengeance!" Dylan shouted, the Zoroark giving a scream as it appeared.

"You reek of darkness… Time to show you who the true master of the shadows is!" Inari declared. He slammed his claws into the ground, creating a Dark Pulse that spun towards Hariyama.

The Arm Thrust Pokémon roared as its fist became covered in electricity, Thunder Punching the Dark Pulse away before rushing forward with a Dynamic Punch. Inari was surprised when the attack actually hit him, followed by Hariyama delivering an Iron Head-butt that knocked the Zoroark silly.
"What- How did you do that!?" Dylan gasped.

Ardos smirked. "As I said, I picked my Pokémon from the best of the best, and that includes my own custom items to turn the battle in my favor." He pointed to Hariyama, the Pokémon holding up its arm to reveal a wristband with a spell tag attached to it. "This is a Spirit Ward, which allows any Pokémon wearing it to hit Ghost-types with any move, regardless of immunities."
"Master… That hurt…" Inari winced, pushing himself back to his feet.

'Grr… It's just like a villain to cheat with illegal items,' Dylan thought. "Inari, that Hariyama probably has Sheer Force, meaning it's going to hurt a lot with its attacks. We need to get rid of that Spirit Ward, and fast."

"I'd like to see you try," Ardos said. "Hariyama, finish them off!"

The Arm Thrust Pokémon rushed to attack again, but Inari thought quickly and used Bitter Malice to cause a distraction and put some distance between himself and his opponent. The Zoroark then started spamming Swift attacks, getting in some light damage as Hariyama used Shadow Rush to try and chase down Inari.

"Hari-yama!" the Shadow Pokémon shouted, appearing behind Inari and charging a Dynamic Punch.

"Inari, get back here!" Dylan called, quickly recalling his Pokémon. Mercury popped out of his ball in the Zoroark's place, delivering a pair of Plasma fists into the Hariyama's gut.

"This should stop you for now," Mercury said. "That was my turn, now go, goddess of the snow!"

"What are you planning…?" Ardos frowned.

Mercury switched out into Poli'ahu, the Ninetails calling down the snow as it set up an Aurora Veil, before switching out into Delphi, who held up her wand to combat against a Thunder Punch from Hariyama.

"Heh, you're not really my type, sweetie," she smirked as she used a Mystical Fire to push Hariyama back. "And I don't appreciate a man that's always throwing his wait around at girls like me!" Her eyes flared as she cast Future Sight, before blowing a kiss and switching out for Inari.

"So, you know how to use switching Pokémon to your advantage," Ardos noted. "I don't need such a juvenile technique to win this battle. Hariyama, Dynamic Punch!" The Arm Thrust Pokémon slammed a fist down on Inari but was shocked when the attack went right through the Zoroark. "What!? Impossible! The Spirit Ward?"

"You mean this?" Dylan smirked, holding up the item in question. "Delphi has the ability Magician, which means any item you hold is forfeit to me! Inari, time for some punishment!"

"Take this!" Inari screamed, unleashing all of his power in a blitz of pain. The Zoroark unleashed Bitter Malice, Sludge Bomb, Dark Pulse, and Swift all in quick succession, not letting Hariyama get in another hit. With a shout of power and one last Bitter Malice, Inari called on a shadowy reflection of himself, bearing down on Hariyama and slashing it with ethereal claws.

Hariyama stumbled backwards, its dark aura dissipating as it fell to its hands and knees. "Hari…yama…" it said before fainting.

Ardos frowned, recalling his Pokémon and teleporting the ball away. "How disappointing… I thought I would be able to easily sweep your team, but it seems that I underestimated your strategic abilities. No matter, this next Pokémon will surely end you." Calling another Master Ball to his hand, Ardos sent out and Amoonguss, the Mushroom Pokémon giving a cry before Ingraining itself into the floor.

"An Amoonguss... This is going to be annoying to deal with," Dylan said. "Inari, switch out for-"

"Shadow Hold!" Ardos called, Amoonguss sending out shadowy vines that quickly wrapped around Inari.

Dylan held out Inari's ball to recall him but gave a concerned noise when nothing happened.

Ardos smirked. "Shadow Hold prevents the opponent from escaping. Prepare to have your team fall to my flawless wall!"

Amoonguss spat out a Toxic gunk and Inari, badly poisoning the Zoroark. Inari went to attack the Mushroom Pokémon with Bitter Malice, but the Amoonguss hit him with a Giga Drain, taking even more of the Zoroark's life force with each attack.

"Ugh, and let me guess, this Pokémon has a Big Root item," Dylan groaned, wincing as Inari tried in vain to take down his opponent.

It was hard for the crowd to watch the battle as Inari has his life drained by both Amoonguss' attacks and the Toxic poison flowing through his veins. "I know it's a viable strategy, but it doesn't feel right to see a Pokémon suffer like that," Alder said.

"Agreed. That's why we need to find a way to break out of here and help Dylan and the others trapped here," Cynthia nodded.

Soon the poison was too much for Inari, the Zoroark gagging as it staggered, spitting up purple gunk from its throat before collapsing in heap on the floor. "M-M-Master… I'm sorry…" inari whispered before going unconscious.

"Inari!" Dylan cried, recalling his Pokémon. He looked at the Zoroark's ball with concern. "Don't worry, buddy, you're going to be just fine once we can heal you up."

Ardos gave an evil laugh. "I'd like to see you try to break through this impenetrable wall!" he taunted.

"You know, it's the bulk of Amoonguss that makes it dangerous, not so much its typing or defenses," Dylan said. "I think the best course of action here is to bust on through your wall straight to victory! Poli'ahu, it's time for our secret technique!"

The Artic Ninetails came out, setting up snow once more as it reapplied an Aurora Veil to its side of the field. "Interesting… No matter, I will still stall you out with Toxic!" Ardos shouted.

Amoonguss spat out more Toxic sludge, but Poli'ahu dodged the attack and used a Freeze-Dry to hit for some super effective damage. She kept herself light on her feet, dodging more Toxic attacks and using Aurora Veil to lessen the damage of Giga Drain.

"What is he doing?" Mia wondered from the crowd. "I know you have some sort of plan here, Dylan…"

As she said that, a Psychic force suddenly came more Amoonguss, blasting it with a powerful attack that lowered its health by half. "What the-!?" Ardos gasped.

"You forgot that Delphi used a Future Sight earlier, didn't you?" Dylan smirked. "Now then, it's time for you to finally use your Z-Power, Poli'ahu!"

The Ninetails gave a cheerful cry as Dylan clutched to his necklace, the Icium-Z tucked behind her ear shining bright as he crossed his arms in an "X" over his chest. "With the power of the shimmering snows at the top of the highest peak in Hawaii…" Dylan stated, circling his arms and crossing his wrists out in front of himself, Poli'ahu copying the moves. "And with the blessing of the Goddess of Snow herself…" He brought his arms together in another "X" before thrusting them upwards three times, throwing his arms out to his sides and ending it by thrusting them forwards. "Subezero Slammer!"

Yellow energy came off of Dylan and surrounded Poli'ahu, giving her massive Z-Power that formed into her ultimate attack. The Artic Ninetails gave a shout as ice formed at her feet, creating a massive pillar of frozen power that took her up into the air. Gathering up all of her ice energy, Poli'ahu unleashed a massive beam of ice that scurried across the ground and froze Amoonguss in a block of ice, before exploding it into an impressive ice sculpture and exploding it again.

"Wow!" the audience said in awe.

"So pretty!"

"That must be the power of Z-Moves!"

Ardos gave an annoyed tsk as the Ice type move as too much for Amoonguss to wall through, the Mushroom Pokémon fainting as Poli'ahu came down from her high of using all of that Z-Power. "I had seen your battle with my admins in Hawaii, but they failed to mention you having access to a Z-Move," Ardos said.

"I was saving it for the finals, but now seemed like a good time to shut you up," Dylan replied. "Poli'ahu has been my secret support, and now is her time to shine!"

"Yes, but can she stand up to my next Pokémon?" Ardos wondered, summoning another Master Ball to his hand.

"This guy really was catching normal Pokémon in Master Balls, wasn't he?" Iris sighed. "Such a childish move…"

"Says the youngest Champion here," Blue scoffed. "Still, I bet he just did that to flex his evil might. Now come on, we gotta work on busting out of this box!"

Ardos tossed his ball out onto the field, revealing his next Shadow Pokémon to be a Hitmontop. The Handstand Pokémon started moving from side to side, before rushing at Poli'ahu with dark intent. The Ninetails tried to counter with Dazzling Gleam, but Hitmontop pushed through the pain and delivered a powerful Shadow Blitz to her side, making Poli'ahu cry out in pain as she was knocked away.

"Let me guess, a Technician Hitmontop?" Dylan asked.

"The best way to use it," Ardos nodded, his Hitmontop starting to Rapid Spin as it went to attack Poli'ahu again. "This time I'll surely overwhelm your pitiful defenses!"

"Sorry, but I'm not going to let that happen," Dylan shook his head as he recalled Poli'ahu. "It's time that you meet your match! Mercury, let's give them a battle, fist to feet!"

"Face a scion of thunder!" Mercury shouted as he came out onto the field, blocking Hitmontop's Rapid Spin. The Zeraora waited for the right moment before lashing out and grabbing the Handstand Pokémon's foot, stopping its spin and delivering a fearsome Blaze Kick.

Mercury then followed up with a Drain Punch to revitalize himself before dodging backwards as Hitmontop started spinning again, this time coating its feet in ice as it performed a Triple Axel attack.

"You have skills, but you have let your mind be blinded by darkness," Mercury said. He countered with a powerful Plasma Fists attack, but the Hitmontop stayed strong, its body emitting steam as it attacked with a powerful Revenge move, kicking the Zeraora straight in the gut with enough force to be launched right into the stadium wall.

"Oh no!" Diantha gasped.

"Yikes, a Revenge move boosted by Technician is a nasty combination," Leon said.

Ardos laughed as Hitmontop gave a cry of triumph. "Hah, even a Mythical Pokémon such as Zeraora is nothing against my team!"

Dylan's visor covered his eyes, but he looked to the hole that Mercury had made. "Come on, Mercury…" he whispered.

There was a shower of sparks that came from the hole before Mercury stumbled out of it, scuff marks all over his body as he clutched a Focus Band in his claws. He let the piece of cloth crumble away before giving a labored sigh. "Good thinking with that item, keeper of the Ancient Stone," he said.

"You used an item ruled by chance to stay in this game?" Ardos questioned. "Why rely on luck when you can just overpower your enemies?"

"Because fighting harder doesn't always mean smarter," Dylan retorted. "Critical hits, the additional effects of moves, the accuracy of some moves… it's all up to chance, but that's what makes battles thrilling!" He pointed forward. "Now, Mercury, finish this Hitmontop off!"

Mercury shook off his weariness and rushed forward in a bolt of lightning, ducking under a Shadow Blitz from the Handstand Pokémon and coming out behind it with a Blaze Kick. Not letting up, the Zeraora knocked his opponent into the sky with an Aerial Ace before slamming it back into the ground with a Plasma Fists overhead slam. The Shadow Pokémon was seeing stars after that, with Mercury wiping spit off his muzzle before giving a thumbs up to Dylan and returning to his ball.

At this point, the announcer had found his voice again and turned on the PA. "I-I don't believe it… one of our Champion-hopefuls, Dylan, is fighting back against the leader of the newly revived Team Cipher! It's a close match so far, but he's already defeated three of Ardos' Pokémon!"

"That's Grandmaster Ardos, you peasant!" Ardos shouted, before regaining his composure and adjusting his sunglasses. "Very well then. I'm done holding back. Salamence, ravage them!"

[***]

"That's it!" Tabitha cried triumphantly, smirking at Ashton. "I was expecting more from a lunatic like you!"

"Oh, shut up!" Ashton shot back, recalling Phantasm and reaching for another ball. "This is fine! C'mon, Vulcan- you aren't afraid of a flaming bug!"

Aliana growled under her breath as she recalled Druddigon, reaching for another ball herself. "Porygon Z! Take them out!"

Vulcan was certainly ready to go the moment he hit the ground, his flames blazing and his expression happily devilish, while Aliana's pick simply floated there for a moment before springing to life and twitching wildly as if their very existence was unstable. Centiskorch, however, started to carefully creep towards Shedu with haphazard steps (both due to her weakened state and the glittering metal shards still littering the ground), her eyes nonetheless narrowed and her own flames spurting even so. Without Phantasm to hold her back, she was definitely going to go for a super effective move, the question was only which one she had in her arsenal.

Ashton, however, wasn't going to let the opportunity strike. "Vulcan, Earthquake!"

"Shedu, stay close to Vulcan!" Kris called.

Porygon Z was, of course, fine seeing as they floated over the ground, but Centiskorch quickly had a harder time getting close to Shedu as the ground cracked and split apart, the creepy-crawly finding herself having to stand up rather tall on a single piece of intact ground. Shedu dashed to Vulcan's side, not bothered at all seeing as the fissures originated outwards from the Typhlosion and not at him in close proximity. Tabitha and Aliana, though not hit by the attack, nonetheless stumbled a bit, and Porygon Z had not a care in the world.

"Look, we can take the bug," Kris quickly said to Ashton. "That other one is what concerns me."

"You got it," Ashton quickly agreed. "Vulcan, Swift at Porygon Z!"

"Porygon Z, Tri Attack at that Typhlosion!" Aliana called.

Porygon Z flailed wildly for a moment, but before long, some white starry projectiles flew while a fireball, lightning bolt, and shot of ice flew likewise, Vulcan's stars colliding with them to cancel Porygon Z's attack out. A few more stars filled the air, but with some erratic movements, it was almost as if the virtual creature glitched themself out of the way.

"Thunderbolt on Centiskorch, Shedu!" Kris called.

"Centiskorch, Lunge!" Tabitha cried in turn.

A bolt of lightning dropped out of the sky, but Centiskorch had been faster to move than Shedu, so the bolt only fried the ground instead of the bug, who lurched at the Mega Absol with a hiss. The creepy-crawly collided with him and singed his fur with her flames, her body tightly wrapping around her target and squeezing. Her (quite literally) burning hot temperature certainly didn't help the fact that she'd landed a super effective move, and Shedu's mouth opened to let out a pained howl. Kris herself flinched for a second, but nonetheless remained calm before giving her next call.

"Thunder Fang, Centiskorch!" Tabitha called.

Kris wasn't too fazed. "Shedu, Counter!"

"What?!" Tabitha exclaimed not long after. "Are you-!"

The Absol flailed much like Centiskorch had, flinging her off and getting another hiss as her sparking mandibles grabbed hold of him. She didn't have a hold for long, though, as Shedu hit back with twice as much force as she'd given, flinging the bug off and leaving her to fall in a motionless slump. His fur, however, had heavy singe marks and his expression was pained, his own posture faltering for a moment before he too stumbled and fell in a heap.

"Fine!" Tabitha exclaimed, grabbing another ball as he recalled Centiskorch. "Magmortar, get 'em!"

"You did great," Kris said as she recalled Shedu and chose her next Pokémon. "I know you're eager- let's go, Alpha! Show 'em what you're made of!"

Alpha was certainly ready to go as she hit the field, and both she and Vulcan couldn't help but to shoot each other some knowing, yet still mischievous, side-eyes. Wordlessly, Ashton held one hand out to the side, and likewise, without saying a word, Kris gave it a high-five. Magmortar, though, practically looked ready to blow them all away as he plopped down on the field, his cannons already glowing.

"Solar Beam, Magmortar!" Tabitha called. "Get rid of that Feraligatr!"

"Ha!" Ashton laughed, smirking as Magmortar raised his cannons overhead to start changing. "Vulcan, Earthquake!"

"Alpha, you use Waterfall!" Kris called.

"Porygon-Z, Protect!" Aliana too called to her glitchy mess of a teammate.

It seemed like a fruitless endeavor to have the virtual creature Protecting themself when they weren't being attacked, but the reason for using it became clear enough when Porygon-Z twitched and jittered next to Magmortar, putting up an energy field that stopped Vulcan's fissures and Alpha's raging water-shrouded rush with no trouble. Alpha collided headfirst with the field, stumbling backwards a bit from the force she delivered, and Vulcan let out a frustrated cry at being stopped so easily. Porygon-Z twitched and shook, an odd sound like a muffled giggle leaving them while Magmortar gathered light from the sun without a care in the world.

"Thaaaaat's not good," Ashton mused under her breath. "Vulcan, Eruption!"

"Oh, sheesh," Kris too lamented. "Alpha, Agility!"

As the energy field faded, the ground beneath Magmortar and Porygon-Z rumbled and gave way in a burst of fire and magma, the likes of which Magmortar certainly didn't mind, but Porygon-Z thrashed wildly and made a bizarre screeching sound halfway between TV static and nails on a chalkboard. Their limbs whirled and thrashed, but Magmortar, however, let a Solar Beam fly even as he was knocked off balance and took a bit of damage- he aimed the blinding beam as he stumbled backwards, firing off an intense cannon of concentrated sunlight that hurt just to look at. Alpha, though, was darting around with quickening steps, dashing out of the way and leaving the ground she used to stand on scorched black in her place.

"Thank Arceus," Kris breathed a sigh of relief. "Waterfall, Alpha!"

"Swift, Vulcan!" Ashton called. "Finish off Porygon-Z!"

Aliana, however, had other ideas. "Porygon-Z, Recover!"

The stars flew, and Porygon-Z hardly bothered avoiding them as they still twitched and shivered, albeit in more slow, peaceful movements. Clearly, the virtual creature wasn't too bothered.

Ashton's face fell. "For the love of-…!" she muttered to herself, watching as Vulcan's starry barrage hit but didn't do nearly enough to take the glitchy mess off the field as she'd hoped.

Alpha, however, was shrouding herself in water again and rushing at the cannon-armed foe, her movements noticeably faster than they had been previously.

Even so, Tabitha had other things in mind. "Magmortar, Focus Blast!" he called.

Magmortar didn't bother to dodge, only pointing his cannons at Alpha as she charged. He focused for a moment, then let a bluish energy sphere fly at the Feraligatr, who practically ignored it and slammed herself right into him with a loud thud. Magmortar went toppling over, falling into more of Azrael's Spikes, and Alpha toppled along with him, getting a few prodding into her hide as well. The Focus Blast had definitely had an effect on her and a deep groan mixed with a slight growl left her throat, but she picked herself up while Magmortar tried haplessly to do the same but struggled more on account of being weak to the attack he'd taken.

"Mega Kick, Alpha!" Kris called. "Let's finish it!"

"Hyper Beam, Magmortar!" Tabitha hollered.

Alpha certainly had no qualms with doing as Kris said, but when Magmortar, even in his significantly weakened state, pointed a cannon at her with a tired smirk and the inside of it started to light up, she hesitated a bit. Nonetheless, the Feraligatr revved up and pounded one foot into Magmortar's belly, her Water Shift ability making it hit twice as hard as it became a Water-type move. Magmortar certainly wasn't getting up after that, but Alpha was overtaken in a gargantuan burst of light, her shadow within it seeming intent on roaring for a moment before she too crumpled over, not moving.

Tabitha laughed. "This is fine, scoundrels! I had been betting on this last one anyway!" he cried as he withdrew Magmortar.

"You didn't go down easy, Alpha," Kris said softly as she recalled the Feraligatr. However, one of the blue-haired woman's Poke Balls started to twitch and shake- the one belonging to Sera. She gripped it slightly, saying, "You want your turn? Go ahead, Sera. You got this!"

The Eevee looked tiny and out of place as she landed on the field, but even so, her tail wagged as her little feet padded the ground. Vulcan gave her a side-eye as if unsure such a small creature belonged on the same field he was, but he seemed to shrug nonetheless and not think too much of it.

Tabitha, though, threw out another ball and cried, "Show them the power of science, Camerupt! Blast them into orbit!"

Be careful, you two, Regulus' voice came to both Kris and Ashton. Something is very, very off about this one.

"Thanks, Regulus," Ashton said softly, patting his ball.

Kris wordlessly looked over and nodded.

True to what he said, Tabitha sent out a Camerupt, and straight away, they could tell what Regulus was getting at. His eyes were far more disgruntled than they would expect, his size seemed noticeably bigger than the average Camerupt, and the humps on his back were cracked and slowly dripping magma- of course, Camerupts were prone to erupting when angered, but somehow, they looked borderline damaged, as if perhaps he'd had one too many. Either way, he clearly wasn't a foe to be trifled with, and if Regulus, a mutated alien space virus, was getting strange vibes, that certainly didn't bode well.

Ashton certainly wasn't going to waste time targeting their new foe. "Vulcan, Earthquake!"

"Camerupt, Earth Power!" Tabitha called.

"Porygon-Z, Protect!" Aliana hollered.

The Typhlosion set off another set of fissures at his fellow Fire-type, but right as he did, the ground under him rumbled and gave way with an eruption of magma, rocks, and dusty earth. A loud cry escaped him as he was knocked off his feet, but Camerupt, on the other hand, was totally fine again as Porygon-Z haphazardly spazzed in front of him, putting up an energy shield that yet again blocked Vulcan's attack. A yell of frustration escaped the blonde woman, and Vulcan tried to pick himself back up with movements almost as haphazard as Porygon-Z but just couldn't do it. His eyes twitched for a moment then drifted shut, the Typhlosion falling unconscious.

Ashton let out a heavy sigh as she recalled him, patting his ball as she stowed it back on her belt. "I can always count on you," she said under her breath, grabbing another. "And if they're gonna be annoying, we're gonna shut 'em up… right, Orochi?"

A deafening roar accompanied the Hydreigon as he entered the field, all three of his heads chomping at the air in vicious eagerness.

Kris, though, was still concerned with the glitchy virtual creature and their propensity to completely nullify her and her friend's attacks. "Sera, Double Kick!" she called as the Protect started to fade.

The Eevee's form started to change and shifted to that of a Flareon as she darted, leaping into the air as the shield came down and flipping to strike Porygon-Z with her hind legs. Some more odd sounds came from the virtual creature as Sera skittered backwards, trying to avoid the Spikes on that side of the field, and they twitched wildly for a second before holding perfectly still.

"Oh, good grief, they have a special one too!" Tabitha exclaimed. "Since when could a normal Eevee do that?!"

"Sera's no ordinary Eevee," Kris remarked in return.

"Porygon-Z, Recover- agh!" Aliana called but was taken by surprise.

Porygon-Z made another unsettling screech as they were hit by a Future Sight. Ashton and Kris were surprised for a moment too, but then the realization hit- before Shedu went down, his Future Sight had never actually landed. When casting it, he must've seen a more worthy foe in Porygon-Z than Druddigon or Centiskorch, and Ashton and Kris were both fine with such- the virtual creature was being a real pain, after all. With a wild twitch, their body seemed to borderline split apart, each individual piece dropping like a rock before Aliana recalled them.

"Fine!" Aliana called. "If you wanna see my secret weapon, I am glad to show you! Finish 'em, Pyroar!"

Much like Orochi had, another figure roared as she entered the field, a lovely mane streaming behind her feline body.

And just the same as for Camerupt, Regulus' voice popped into Kris and Ashton's heads again. Something is wrong with this one too, he said. I can't quite place it, but the bond between her and Aliana is… bizarre.

Both Ashton and Kris nodded, not saying a word so as to not tip their foes off.

Even so, Ashton wasn't going to waste time. "Orochi, Crunch that Pyroar, Strong Style!"

Orochi let out another roar as his jaws opened wide and he darted for the flaming-hot feline, who likewise bared her fangs and growled.

"Hyper Voice, Pyroar!" Aliana called.

It wasn't just a growl for very long, as Pyroar's voice picked up considerable sound and force, the mere volume making everyone else present reach for their ears and brace themselves as the reverberations could be easily (and strongly) felt. Maybe Orochi's smaller heads winced a bit, but Orochi himself certainly wasn't put off by the attack, nonetheless sinking his fangs into Pyroar's back as he dove down at her with snapping jaws. She growled some more, her mane starting to glow and burn, but Orochi wasn't turning loose so easily.

Kris, though, had her eyes on Camerupt. "Sera, Body Slam on Camerupt!" she called. "Be careful!"

"Camerupt, Earth Power!" Tabitha called to counter.

Sera's form shifted again, however, into a Jolteon, and the speed such a form gave was enough to outrun the rumbling ground before she was caught in the attack. She darted at her foe, her form shifting again back to a Flareon before she Body Slammed her target. Camerupt grunted a smoke-laden grunt of discomfort, lava splashing down from his back, but Sera didn't mind so much in her Fire-type form as it dripped onto her.

"You think you're so strong, huh?!" Aliana fussed, reaching into one of her boots and pulling out a small object that glittered for a moment. "Pyroar, let's do this! Time for the move only we can pull off!"

The move 'only' they could pull off certainly piqued Ashton and Kris' interests, Ashton's much moreso given that her Pokémon was the one chomping down on Pyroar's back. Pyroar growled, her expression becoming more devilish than anything, while Aliana outright chucked the sparkling object she held onto the field and started making some motions that Ashton would've thought befitted the disco-dancing Miror B much better. The sight of the small sparkling object and the way Pyroar became cloaked in a golden light when it got close made it clear what Aliana was doing- it was a Z-crystal, and she was activating a Z-move. The RedHot admin had likely kept it stashed away so as to not tip her opponents off, and of course, a mischief-making admin didn't care about League rules stating objects needed to be held by the Pokémon for use- not that any League officials were around to see regardless.

"Orochi, let go!" Ashton called hurriedly.

Orochi did so, but the energy he'd spent on a Strong Style move left him feeling a bit sluggish. He couldn't flee quite as fast as he would've liked, and that small window of time was enough for Aliana and Pyroar to sync up and let their power grow.

"Solar Flare Noble Roar!" Aliana hollered, finishing up her outlandish dance and striking a pose.

The moment the words left her mouth, Pyroar's mane lit up like fire- no, like a comet entering the atmosphere and combusting, its brightness visible even from the stratosphere in the darkness. Her maw opened wide, and she let out a deafening roar while her mane's wicked hotness nonetheless swallowed Orochi in a flame blast, the ground around her becoming scorched and the Spikes remaining from Azrael's earlier attacks melting in a red-hot pool. Orochi roared too, partially from discomfort and partially as a taunting battle cry, still flying there with snapping heads but looking much more singed and shakier than before. Pyroar's fur had a slight fiery glow to it as well, ensuring that anyone who dared to attack her was certainly not going to do so without taking damage themselves.

The humans were certainly shielding their eyes as it happened.

"Of course, the fashion police would do that!" Ashton fussed, peeking out once the light level was back to normal.

"Oh, wow, that is bright!" Kris cried, seeing stars.

"As bright as our calculations predicted!" Tabitha hollered, albeit still shielding his face for a moment. "And if you're going to go for your big finisher, so am I! Let's go, Camerupt!"

Oddly enough, Tabitha held up Camerupt's ball and recalled him… but only for a moment as that same ball seemed to grow much, much larger. Ashton and Kris were puzzled for a moment, then it sunk in- he was Dynamaxing his Pokémon. The band around his wrist hadn't been all that noticeable on account of how thick his gloves were already, and neither Ashton nor Kris thought they'd seen him wear a Dynamax band before, but apparently, he had one- or more likely, had crafted one up with all sorts of illegal features and had waited for just this moment to bust it out.

What busted out of the ball, though, wasn't what they were expecting- no, Camerupt hadn't just gotten huge, Camerupt had changed. The gargantuan volcano-humped ungulate's fur had grown longer and shaggier akin to his species' Mega forms and the two humps on his back had combined into a single volcanic entity in the same manner, but clearly, it had already undergone an eruption of gigantic proportions, for the volcano's top was majority blown off akin to Mount Saint Helens' summit crater, albeit even less unified. Molten red-hot magma dripped down its sides, onto Camerupt's fur, and onto the ground, leaving smoldering pools of lava all around and smoke billowing into the air.

Ashton and Kris shared a glance.

"… Okay, Kris, in all your studying, have you ever seen a Gigantamax Camerupt?" Ashton inquired flatly.

"… No," Kris replied, likewise flat.

"Have you ever heard of 'Solar Flare Noble Roar?'"

"No."

Tabitha cackled. "You see?!" he taunted. "That's the power of science! We don't have to play by the rules- we can make our own!"

"So let me get this straight," Ashton hollered across the field. "You seriously invested all your science into making artificial Z-moves and artificial Gigantamax forms."

"Well, not all of it," Aliana said with a shrug. "Just… a lot of it."

Ashton blinked, then chuckled, then full-on laughed. "Seriously?! You bunch of neeeeeeerds! I'm gonna hand your butts to you anyway, science or no science!"

"You seriously never stop being a snarky jerk, do you?!" Kris said in exasperation, shaking her head at the blonde woman's antics. She sighed heavily, then recalled Sera, holding onto her ball for a moment. "In that case, I'm going all in, too! Let's go, Sera! Let's get you huge!"

That caught Ashton's attention likewise. "Hold on!" she cried. "Since when do you have a Gigantamax Eevee!"

"Since we fought that Malamar, remember!" Kris shot back without a care, chucking Sera's ball behind her.

Shortly, there wasn't just a huge Camerupt on the field, but a huge Eevee as well. The fur around her neck grew much fluffier too, pointing upwards towards her head instead of down her body, and as she perched there without much of a care, her gargantuan size made her more intimidating than anyone would expect an Eevee to be.

"Ooookay, I guess this how things are going right now," Ashton said, shaking her head. "Orochi! Tri-Attack on Pyroar!"

The Hydreigon roared, all three of his maws opening up and unleashing their own part of the attack, but the first thing Ashton noticed was how… lackluster they all were. His center head breathed a stream of fire that was more befitting a schoolkid holding a lighter to a bottle of hairspray's nozzle than a dragon making an attack, the lightning bolt leaving his right side head's maw looked more like a microwave malfunction, and the icy stream from his left side's head may as well have been for making snow cones. An Agile Style move could've been expected to not hit as hard, but this hadn't been an Agile Style move, and Ashton couldn't help but to be taken aback by her fearsome beast not packing a punch. Orochi himself made a reluctant cry, clearly not too happy either.

"That Pyroar's attack subconsciously shook him up and knocked him off his game," Ashton sighed under her breath, shaking her head. "Arceus in heaven, I hate these people. I really hate these people."

"You can give in, you know," Aliana remarked.

"Not a chance, fashion police!" Ashton shot back. "Orochi, go piss that Camerupt off with Flash Cannon! Shake those frazzled nerves off! You're an alpha, for heaven's sake!"

"Camerupt, G-Max Magma!" Tabitha called.

"Sera, Max Knuckle!" Kris hollered.

Orochi did as Ashton said and flew over to one of Camerupt's eyes, his maws welling up with sparkly steely particles. It wasn't all that intimidating of an attack, but it got the job done- Camerupt snarled in frustration as his right eye was blinded and irritated by the steely particles hitting it, and it clamped shut. Even so, more smoke left the smoldering volcanic crater on his back, followed by a full-on eruption. Magma shot out of his crater like a red-hot waterfall in reverse, making the air uncomfortably hot and everyone brace themselves for a moment from the shockwaves. Gigantic droplets of magma filled the air as Sera leapt at her other gigantic foe. Thankfully for Ashton, Kris, and even Tabitha and Aliana, the Eevee's huge form jumping over them shielded them from the magma droplets too, though Regulus' ball shook on for a moment as if he were about to jump out to shield them just in case they needed it.

Orochi, however, despite not being shielded, at least had the maneuvering advantage with his (relatively) smaller size and wasn't hit despite a few close calls. Sera, though, made a distressed cry, and they could all hear a sizzling sound and smell burning fur- it wasn't pleasant. When her front paws clashed into Camerupt's back and she tackled him, the sight wasn't pleasant either- she didn't just have a simple burn, it was a bad one with her magma-struck fur black and patches of dry reddening skin under it in places where it had been completely burnt away.

"Oh, Sera…" Kris lamented.

"Yikes, that looks bad," Ashton remarked. "Orochi, Dragon Rush his other eye! You've got this! Don't let that Pyroar's roar keep you frazzled!"

A more enthusiastic roar came from Orochi's mouth, and the dragon darted around to the other side of Camerupt's head, darting between Sera's gigantic ears as she picked herself back up from the slam. Camerupt snarled some more, shaking himself off and closing his eye before Orochi could strike, but Orochi made his move anyway, ramming into the huge ungulate's eyelid to nonetheless fluster and disrupt him. Camerupt blinked hurriedly, stumbling a bit in place, but nonetheless stayed standing.

"Pyroar, don't let that Hydreigon run wild! Hyper Voice!" Aliana called.

"Orochi, show 'er who's boss!" Ashton hollered, balling up her fists and bouncing in place. "Tri-Attack!"

Pyroar looked up at Orochi and bared her fangs while making another mighty growl, and Orochi glared back at her, all three of his heads snapping before fire, lightning, and ice welled up in his maws. It still wasn't as powerful of an attack as it had been, but it looked better, more forceful- he was getting over the primal fright instilled by Pyroar's roar. Even so, the sound waves from Pyroar's Hyper Voice disrupted his attack and made a good chunk of it fizzle out, but Orochi accomplished the same with scattering the intense sound waves, neither move hitting as hard as it should have.

"Max Strike, Sera!" Kris called.

"You too, Camerupt! Max Strike!" Tabitha likewise exclaimed.

It may as well have been setting off an earthquake for the way the ground rumbled and shook as Sera and Camerupt lit into each other. Both of them backed up a bit, then ran and slammed their heads into each other, the loud thud practically palpable to everyone else near them. Camerupt snarled, Sera made some determined cries as they stalled against each other with shaking bodies, but Camerupt came out on top when he threw Sera over. The Eevee yelped, but that didn't seem to be so much due to the opposing Max Strike as it was the burns.

She's not in good shape, Regulus' voice came again. Those burns are sapping her strength.

"You mean like if she was badly poisoned, but… she's badly burned?" Kris inquired, glancing at the Deoxys' ball.

That's right, Regulus replied. When they gave that creature an artificial form with abnormal abilities, they really went off the deep end, it would seem.

"All the more reason to send them packing," Ashton remarked, glancing at the Eevee as she picked herself up. "Let's do this together, shall we, Kris?"

Kris eyed her for a moment. "You know, Ashton, I'm a little wary of what you have in mind, but yes, let's."

Ashton chuckled. "Orochi, you back to your senses yet~?! Strong style Tri-Attack! Back up Sera!"

"Sera, Max Strike!"

"Incinerate, Pyroar!"

"G-Max Magma, Camerupt!"

Camerupt crouched down slightly on his front hooves so as to aim his eruption straight at his targets as magma burst forth from his crater, Pyroar opened her mouth and spit a stream of flames to back it up, Sera created a bright ball of white energy between her eyes that she fired, and Orochi… Orochi let out quite possibly the fiercest roar Ashton had heard since getting throttled by the Hydreigon atop Mt. Silver as if to tell his foes that he was the alpha, the boss, the big one… not them. Maybe Sera was using a Max move, but his started to look quite similar as the lightning bolt, fiery stream, and icy beam coalesced together into something truly terrifying.

"O-Orochi?!" Ashton exclaimed, taken aback but enamored nonetheless.

The Hydreigon simply roared some more. It wasn't just a Tri-Attack… it was more akin to a Tri-Cannon.

Camerupt's G-Max Magma put up a fight, Pyroar's attack only backed it up, but Sera and Orochi weren't holding off. Sera's Max Strike and Orochi's Tri-Cannon pushed the magma spurts back, then the magma spurts started to overwhelm them, then back it went again. Pyroar growled, Camerupt fussed, Sera made little cries of exertion, and Orochi roared.

"Don't let them win!" Tabitha hollered. "You have the power of science! You are perfection!"

"Show those inferior worms where they belong!" Aliana too cried.

"Don't give up!" Kris exclaimed; her fists started to clench too in determination. "You can do it, Sera!"

"You are the alpha!" Ashton yelled. "Screw science! Don't you let anyone walk over you, for any reason!"

Sera cried out some more, Orochi roared some more, Camerupt snarled, and Pyroar growled… but the volcanic barrage was pushed back by their opponents. Sera's Max Strike and Orochi's Tri-Cannon had just enough oomph behind them to overcome G-Max Magma and Incinerate, and shortly, Camerupt and Pyroar were being overtaken by them too with snarls and growls. Camerupt and Sera's forms both came undone in a burst of energy and were replaced by their ordinary sizes, the former falling in a smoldering heap with reeling eyes and the latter still standing but with a pained expression. Pyroar gave one last, much less enthusiastic roar before falling in a heap too.

The RedHot admins, of course, were less than thrilled, staring wide-eyed at their defeated teammates before recalling them.

"H-how?!" Aliana exclaimed, ripping her glasses off to reveal her widened eyes. "We strategized this! We pieced together what we needed and-…!"

Tabitha's mouth contorted for a moment, as did his expression, but only little grunting sounds came out before he collapsed onto his knees and slapped the ground in frustration. "To think you'd be so strong…!" he protested haplessly. "Why… Why do trainers like you exist?!"

Ashton and Kris, however, shared an understanding glance, then gave each other a wordless high-five. Kris was quick to recall the busted-up Sera, but Ashton, on the other hand, started striding towards Orochi with a swagger to her step, one of the dragon's smaller heads glancing at her as she did so.

"So, are you gonna accept defeat or what?" Ashton asked pointedly, reaching out and patting the head glancing at her while still staring down their foes. "Because if you're not…" She started to smirk wildly, her eyes almost flashing the same way Orochi's did. "I'd be glad to fight you myself, and I think Orochi wouldn't mind getting a taste of your blood. Heck, I might not mind either!"

That certainly got the attention of the RedHot admins, and they both looked at her like she'd grown three heads like her Hydreigon. Tabitha picked himself up off the ground and Aliana practically froze while studying her, both of them wearing uncomfortably uncertain looks. Kris too studied her friend, not entirely sure whether she was serious or not.

"You know what?! Screw it!" Ashton cackled. "Let's go, Orochi!"

The Hydreigon only roared a mighty roar in agreement, his two side heads snapping as Ashton took off running towards the admins, and he followed close behind. Tabitha and Aliana both got even wider eyes, tending up for a second before shrieking at the top of their lungs and hugging each other for dear life.

"I didn't sign up for this!" Aliana screamed.

"Not like this!" Tabitha hollered, quickly reaching for his teleportation device. "This woman is crazy! Let's get out of here!"

Before Ashton could throw hands or Orochi could snap his jaws, the two RedHot admins were being whisked away (thankfully for their sake), and Ashton skidded to a halt while laughing wildly.

"Now that is how you scare someone off!" Ashton cackled, reaching up and giving one of Orochi's heads a fist-bump. "Did you see their faces?! Oh, that was awesome!"

Kris breathed a huge sigh of relief, running over and slapping her upside the head. "What is wrong with you?!" she hollered. "Okay, I know no one is happy to see them, but seriously?! Were you actually going to bite a chunk out of whoever you could reach?! Pokémon have durable bodies; humans don't!"

Ashton chuckled, calming down and sticking one hand on Kris' shoulder. "Oh, Kris, you should know me better than that by now," she said nonchalantly.

The blue-haired woman breathed a sigh of relief, shaking her head haplessly. "You're right, I should. You're not actually that crazy."

Some more chuckling followed, Ashton looking Kris straight in the eyes. "Oh, no, I'm not crazy enough to try biting chunks out of anyone- way too inefficient. I'd go for a niiiiiice eye gouge.~"

Kris blinked, and Ashton started laughing again, turning away and reaching up to pat Orochi's main head, which the Hydreigon easily obliged. He too seemed to be giggling, some gravelly but upbeat sounds coming from his maws.

"Awwww, who's a bad boy~? Who's a bad boy~?!" Ashton cooed in a babyish voice, smirking as she nuzzled her dragon.

The Hydreigon gave a roar of approval, and Kris stared, shaking her head.

After a moment or two, however, one of the balls Ashton carried popped open, revealing the form of Regulus. If I may, with those two taken care of, there are much bigger things to attend to, he said, glancing between the two of them.

"Oh!" Ashton cried, pausing. "You're right! That weirdo swooped in and singled out Dylan! I got way too caught up in the fight!"

"Oh, I'm with you, Regulus," Kris easily replied. "Let's go check on that situation."

Ashton jumped on Orochi's back, Regulus swooped up Kris and held her firmly to his chest, and off they were flying towards the field full of screens.

[***]

"Very well then. I'm done holding back. Salamence, ravage them!" Ardos called, sending out the Dragon Pokémon.

"Vex, now's your time to go!" Dylan shouted, the Noibat coming out and immediately Synergy Evolving into Noivern.

"This is a battle of the dragons! Who will come out on top this time?"

Salamence and Vex took to the skies for their fight, the Noivern sending out a Dragon Pulse that the Shadow Pokémon countered with Shadow Fire. Just as the fiery darkness was about to reach Vex, he dropped his attack and swooped low, flipping his body around to fire off a Boomburst, disrupting Salamence's flight pattern and bringing it to the ground.

"Don't even try to take us out of the sky. We'll find a way to run circles around you!" Dlyan shouted.

"And you like to focus on special attackers, making my Intimidate useless," Ardos sighed. "No matter. Use Shadow Fire until it suffers, Salamence!"

The Salamence roared as it spammed its fire breath, making Vex dodge around and try to get in a Dragon Pulse whenever he could. The Noivern could only be lucky for so long, however, as one Shadow Fire got past his speed, sending Vex to the ground as dark flames started licking at his fur.

"A burn… That's not good," Dylan winced. "Vex, switch out for a moment while we re-strategize!"

Vex went back to his ball as Poli'ahu came out again, setting up more snow and Aurora Veils as Salamence went after the artic fox. The Dragon Pokémon was vicious, hitting Poli'ahu with Shadow Fire and Zen Headbutt to chip away at her already weakened form. The Artic Ninetails was exhausted, but she toughed it out for her Trainer, using Freeze-Dry and Dazzling Gleam to get in some hits before it all became too much for her.

"Salamence… Shadow Fire," Ardos ordered, watching with evil satisfaction as Poli'ahu screamed at the dark fire burning at her fur. She fainted on the spot, sizzling a bit from the flames as Dylan sent out Vex again. "The dragon once more? I'll admit that your Synergy Evolution is a neat trick, but ultimately impractical for Team Cipher to use. How do you expect to win with what little of your team you have remaining?"

"I just have to do something you don't expect," Dylan replied. "I noticed that your Shadow Pokémon are strong, but they're different from the reports of their use in the past. They don't change the types of Pokémon anymore, just make them overwhelmingly strong. Well then, it's time for Vex to show his own power here as well!"

Vex gave a cry as he started to flap his wings at the charging Salamence. The Shadow Pokémon was trying to get close enough for a Dragon Claw, but the Noivern's Air Slash was stirring up the air currents, keeping Vex at a safe distance. The air soon started to heat up, with the flames burning across Vex's skin getting hotter as the Noivern turned the fire into his own move, a Heat Wave attack!

"What is this…?" Ardos questioned. "Salamence, get out of there!"

But it was too late, as Vex turned his burn against his opponent, extinguishing his own flames while giving Salamence a burn of his own to deal with. The Dragon Pokémon weakened; Dylan's Synergy Stone sparkled as he felt his connection to Vex reach a fever pitch.

"It's time for us to end this!" Dylan shouted, Vex giving a nod and cry. "Max Volume Boomburst: Dragon Configuration!"

"What!?" Ardos shouted, watching as Vex flew up high surrounded by draconic energy.

The Noivern unleashed wave after wave of Boomburst down on Salamence, before adding in a Dragon Pulse to break through the soundwaves and bear down on the dragon. Salamence was slammed into the floor as the sound of a sonic boom went off in the stadium, the crowd watching as Vex landed over his opponent, the Salamence barely moving a claw before the Noivern put him down for the count with a swift strike to the head.

"That's another victory for Dylan! What an amazing move redirecting that burn onto his opponent!"

"Impossible…" Ardos growled, recalling his Salamence and summoning his fifth Pokémon. "How did you do that!?"

"My bond with Vex allows me to see possibilities where there are none," Dylan replied. "We just have to believe in ourselves to win!"

"Foolishness. Gastrodon, rain on his parade!" Ardos ordered, sending out his Sea Slug Pokémon. The east coast variant of Gastrodon raised his head to the sky and gave out a cry, causing the sky within the dome to darken as a shadowy rain started to fall over the field.

"This is… Shadow Sky, a move I read about in the Shadow Pokémon report," Steven Stone said. "It damages all non-Shadow Pokémon on the field and boosts their attack power as well."

"It's a shame that the young man's weather setter has already been defeated," Wallace lamented. "If only I was out there: I could bring a cleansing rain to this battle!"

"Then start helping us break out of here!" Lance shouted as he called on his Dragonite to start punching at the door.

"Face the string of my Shadow Pokémon!" Ardos exclaimed as his Gastrodon attacked Vex with Muddy Water.

The attack didn't hurt the Noivern very much, but the dark rain over the field was certainly going to be a problem. 'Gastrodon is only weak to Grass moves… and Poli'ahu is already out of the question,' Dylan thought. 'I need to just hit it hard and get rid of this bad weather condition…'

As Vex used Boomburst and Air Slash against Gastrodon, it responded with more Muddy Water and using Recover to keep itself healthy. Dylan wasn't seeing a good way to get out of this, until one of his Poké Balls burst open to reveal Delphi, the Delphox holding up her wand to cast a psychic umbrella for herself.

"Hm, this is a bit of a pickle, isn't it?" Delphi mused. "At least it's just rain and not a flood, though I guess it's more of an acid rain, isn't it?"

"Vex isn't going to last much longer against Gastrodon. We need a plan here," Dylan said.

"Well then, why don't you let me take over?" Delphi offered.

"I can't. You'll get shredded by its Water and presumably Ground attacks," Dylan pointed out.

"Aren't you the big ideas guy?" Delphi questioned. "I'm sure you can come up with some dynamic new way to change the tide of this battle."

Dylan blinked, realizing what Delphi was trying to get at as she slipped a wristband over his arm. "Okay… I trust you, Delphi," he said. "Vex, come back! Delphi wants to try something?"

"What is he doing?" the crowd wondered.

"A Fire type against a Water/Ground type? That's asking to get beat."

"Dylan has to have some sort of plan here…" Mia muttered to herself.

Ardos laughed. "Of all of your Pokémon to send out, you chose the one worst to fight against my Gastrodon?"

"Delphi doesn't have to win here; she just needs to make sure you lose," Dylan said. "It's time to Dynamax!" He recalled Delphi, his newly acquired Dynamax Band (he wasn't going to ask where the magical fox had gotten it) glowing as the ball grew huge in his hands. Tossing it out onto the field. Delphi popped out of it, growing bigger and bigger until her hat touched the top of the dome.

"Oh yes, I'm the biggest, hottest Pokémon around now!" Delphi chuckled.

Ardos shook his head. "How absurd. Gastrodon, use Earth Power!"

Before that could happen, however, Delphi held up her wand and launched a Max Flutterby, summoning a swarm of butterflies to attack Gastrodon and lower his special attack stat. Not letting up yet, Delphi next used a Max Mindstorm, setting up Psychic Terrain and again interrupting Gastrodon's attack with waves of Psychic energy.

"And for my final trick: Max Flare!" Delphi shouted, dropping a massive fireball onto her opponent. As the fireball exploded, the shadow clouds melted away into a bright shining sun, much to the crowd's delight.

"Incredible! The Max Flare got rid of Shadow Sky! Delphi certain made her mark on this battle!"

Ardos growled as Delphi's Dynamax wore off, the Delphox smirking as she basked in the sunlight. "Now's the time for your punishment, Mr. Evil Grandmaster. I'm all fired up and ready to show my passion on the battlefield."

"…Muddy Water," Ardos said, his Gastrodon flooding the field with brown water.

Delphi gave a huff and threw down her wand, expanding it into a broom and flying over the Muddy Water. She jumped down over Gastrodon, wincing at the rushing water as she hit it point-blank with a Mystical Fire, lowering its special attack further. As the Sea Slug Pokémon went for an Earth Power, Delphi used Future Sight once more before taking the hit.

The Delphox turned to Dylan and gave a wink. "Now it's up to Aurora and Vex… Just as I predicted," she said before dramatically fainting.

"You did great, Delphi," Dylan smiled. "Vex, finish them off!"

"Gastrodon, Recover your health!" Ardos commanded.

Gastrodon started healing, but Vex used Air Slash, making the Sea Slug Pokémon flinch and miss its chance at recovering health! The Noivern then took to the air, out of reach of Gastrodon's attacks as he launched Boomburst and Dragon Pulse at his opponent, occasionally throwing in an Air Slash to keep the Sea Slug Pokémon from using Recover. The relentless onslaught combined with being weakened by the sunlight meant it was lights out for Gastrodon, Ardos calling his Pokémon back.

"You… You're ruining my plans!" he shouted, pulling off his sunglasses and crushing them in his hands, revealing wild yellow eyes that betrayed his previous calm demeanor. "How did you beat my team!? I picked them from the strongest, best of the best teams to be seen in the Pokémon World Tournament!"
Dylan shook his head, recalling Vex and sending out Aurora. The Lucario bursting into her Ancient Mega Form. "Pokémon isn't about strength, Ardos. It's not about stats, or type matchups, or even the moves you use. It's the bond between Trainer and Pokémon, and that's a bond that Shadow Pokémon goes directly against! You shut off the hearts of Pokémon, but it's the heart that makes us strong!"

"That, and you clearly just picked strong Pokémon without thinking of how well they'd actually fair on a team together," Aurora added cheekily.

Ardos shook his head. "Fine, I thought I wouldn't have to use this… But I really, really wanted to show the world Team Cipher's unstoppable strength. So be it." He snapped his fingers, calling on one last Master Ball, this one shaking and hissing, as if whatever Pokémon was held instead was begging to come out. "To all the people watching this, this next Shadow Pokémon you're about to witness is the ultimate creation of Team Cipher. Once I have my hand on that Lucario's Ancient Mega Stone, I will be able to finally perfect this Pokémon into a truly unstoppable, world conquering being. The hearts of all Pokémon will be closed off by shadows, and only I and Team Cipher will be able to use Pokémon!"

Ardos tossed out his Master Ball, revealing from it a Shiny Rayquaza, its black scales giving off a sickly dark aura as its yellow rings glowed ominously. Its eyes were a pure red, with nothing but malice behind them.

"A Shadow Rayquaza…" the announcer said nervously, though Dylan and Aurora stood strong.

"We've seen everything that Dylan and throw at me: Z-Moves, Synergy, Dynamax, and now Mega Evolution," Ardos continued his speech. "But with the power of science, Team Cipher as found a way to bypass all limits of what a Pokémon can do."

"Dylan, that Rayquaza… I can feel it's aura. Whatever Ardos did to it, it's in a constant state of pain and suffering," Aurora warned.

"Stay strong, sister. This is our fight that we have to win," Dylan said. "Wherever Ashton and Kris are, I know they'll be cheering us on as well."

"So then, let's finish my world tournament domination! Activate the Shadow Sky Protocol!" Ardos screamed, his grin wicked and feral.

Rayquaza was suddenly surrounded in a red Mega Evolution crystal, the Pokémon screaming out in pain as dark lightning rushed over its body. The crystal shone with the Team Cipher logo as it started growing bigger, as if undergoing Dynamax. Once the crystal shattered, the Rayquaza had both Mega Evolved and Dynamaxed at the same time!

"Okay, that has to be a super illegal… and unethical…" Dylan muttered to himself.

"Behold, Shadow Rayquaza's ultimate form!" Ardos cackled. "And just so you know, I've made it so all of its moves hit like Z-Moves, and it cannot lose its Dynamax state unless it's knocked out. In other words, it's completely invincible!"

Dylan and Aurora looked at each other, before putting on determined faces. "Okay, Aurora, it's you and me against this final threat."

"And it's me and you to the bitter end," Aurora nodded, her aura flaring to the max. "Let's do this, brother!"

The two's aura fell into sync, their bond as both Trainer, Pokémon, and siblings coming together as they put all of their focus onto overcoming the Ultimate Shadow Rayquaza.

On the day we met I gave you my vow…

A promise that I never intend to break!

As Rayquaza attacked with Hyper Beam, Aurora dodged out of the way, moving so fast that she left afterimages behind. Her bond with Dylan was pushing her aura to its highest potential, the Lucario not feeling the need to hold back against their foe. She charged up a Water Pulse and used it to launch herself into the air before tossing down a volley of Aura Sphere to damage Rayquaza.

Even if I have to give up everything

I will, do what I have to do to make this right…

As the battle was going on, Kris and Ashton finally made it to the main stadium, having fought their way in past some Team Cipher peons. "What did we…?" Kris was about to ask, before looking on stunned at the Ultimate Mega Rayquaza.

"Okay, Ardos has to be cheating using that," Ashton scoffed. "Kick his butt, Dylan!"

You know that I'd be happy just to give my all for you

It's the feeling that's always burned in my heart

To save your life

Hearing his friends' cheers, Dylan looked over to where they were and smiled. "I knew they'd make it through," he said, before turning back to the battle. "Okay Aurora, let's show the world our bond!"

I won't let my scars define who I can be

Even if this world falls to despair

I'll use it as my tool to fight for life!

"Draco Meteor, Rayquaza!" Ardos ordered, his Shadow Pokémon roaring as it called down dragon-powered rocks to crush the Lucario.

Aurora smirked, her locks flowing behind her as she held an Aura Sphere in hand and powered up a Meteor Mash, crushing the sphere in her hand as she delivered a punch to the first meteor that came her way.

Say goodbye!

To your darkest days only filled with tears

I will give you my everything; don't disappear!

Aurora continued to punch through the Draco Meteor as she fell back down to earth, getting close to Rayquaza before delivering a flurry of Shadow Claws. Rayquaza roared and used Dragon Ascent to rush the Lucario, Aurora flipping in midair to avoid the attack and start running on the Shadow Pokémon's back.

Take my hand

Can't you see that we're so close to the end?

"Aura… Pulse!" she shouted, combining Water Pulse and Aura Sphere together to deliver a solid hit into Rayquaza's back.

On the day we met I gave you my vow…

A promise that I never intend to break…

As Aurora landed back on the ground, Ardos scoffed at their attempt to fight. "Those attacks have done nothing to Rayquaza! I will win this battle, so you might as well give up the Ancient Stone now!"

Dylan looked to Aurora as a crazy thought came to mind. "Aurora, how about we give him what he wants?" Dylan suggested.

"But… This power…" she said.

"Did we need its power before when we were partners?" Dylan questioned. "The power has always been inside of you, Aurora, and now megalomanic is ever going to take that away from you!"

Power isn't just for those standing there at the top

No, it's one for all

As Rayquaza came down from Dragon Ascent, Ardos snapped his fingers. "Rayquaza, Max Shadow!"

As the Shadow Pokémon opened its mouth and gathered up all of its shadow energy, Aurora stood strong, clutching to her Ancient Mega Stone. As she did so, a voice came to her mind.

So I'll hold onto all of my truths and ideals

When I, stand up tall!

Now is the moment! Unleash the fullest potential of your bond, Aurora! The voice said.

"…Keldeo…?" Aurora gasped. Shaking her head, she stared down Ardos. "If want this stone so bad, then I'll make sure you can't use it!" With a swift movement she slammed the Ancient Stone against her chest spike, breaking it apart in an explosion of power.

"No!" Ardos screamed, but it was too late as Rayquaza unleashed Max Shadow, drowning Aurora in a beam of pure shadow energy.

Even if I have to give up everything

I never forget about my bond that we share…

"Aurora!" Everyone shouted, with even Dylan staggering as blood started to come out of his nose from the strain of their bond. The music faded away as the dust of the Max Shadow attack faded away…

…And Aurora was still standing there, looking worse for wear but alive as she held a glowing blade of pure aura in her hands. While her Mega Evolution had disappeared after the stone shattered, it was clear that breaking it in such a fashion had changed Aurora. Her locks were still long and wavy, with her hands and feet having the same markings and enhancements as her Mega form. Her spikes had also changed, now being purple stones that shone with aura within.

"…What…?" Ardos gasped.

"Phew…. That actually worked…" Aurora panted, letting the aura sword dissipate.

"Uh, Kris? What in Arceus' name just happened?" Ashton questioned.

"It seems that due to her strong bond with Dylan and breaking the Ancient Mega Stone, Aurora has become permanently fused with the stone, changing her base form into that of a Fighting/Ghost type…" Kris speculated. "In other words…"

"Impossible… You broke the stone and got more power from it!?" Ardos exclaimed.

"That's the thing about the word "impossible": it only applies until proven otherwise!" Dylan shouted. Aurora admired her new form before reforming her aura sword. "Say hello to Aurora, the one and only Ancient Guardian Lucario! And it looks like she picked up the move Secret Sword as well."

"Thank Keldeo for that," Aurora said. "Now then, where were we?"

Ardos screamed. "Rayquaza, destroy them! Destroy them all!"

The Shadow Pokémon roared and used Dragon Ascent again, but Aurora swatted him away with her Secret Sword technique.

Say goodbye!

To your darkest days only filled with tears

I will give you my everything; don't disappear!

The battle had clearly turned in their favor now, with Aurora using all of her moves to fight back against Rayquaza's overpowered Max-Z Moves.

"Incredible… Just incredible!" Kris exclaimed. "I just did a scan of Aurora's new form, and it puts her almost on the same level as her previous Mega Evolution. And look at her new ability!"

"How… Is that Lucario… Doing super effective damage!?" Ardos screamed.

Take my hand

Can't you see that we're so close to the end?

"That would be her new ability: Ancient Guardian!" Dylan explained. "It not only prevents stats from being lowered from other moves, but also let's Aurora hit all Pokémon for neutral damage, letting her be the ultimate defender of truth and ideals!"

"So anime…" Ashton shook her head.

On the day we met I gave you my vow…

A promise that I never intend to break…

As Rayquaza felt the pain from all of Aurora's moves, it looked up to see her using Water Pulse to fly up into the air, before smashing down onto his head with a Meteor Mash and slashing with Shadow Claw.

"This… Is the end!" she shouted, calling on Secret Sword and plunging it into Rayquaza's skull.

Even if the darkness falls, I see a ray of hope

Let's go!

The Ultimate Shadow Pokémon screeched in pain, it's body spasming as it started leaking shadow energy from its head. The Rayquaza's screams were so powerful that it shattered the barriers around the arena, with it eventually shrinking back down into a normal, non-Mega, non-Dynamaxed state. Aurora stepped off of the beast's head, dissipating her sword and giving a bow.

"You're free of your darkness. One last thing my ability does: purify any Shadow Pokémon I defeat," she said.

The Shiny Rayquaza grumbled as it got up, swirling around to look at Ardos. It glared before firing off a small Hyper Beam, just enough to break its Master Ball before flying off into the sky.

"No… No… Nononononononnonononononononononononononno. Nooooooooooooo!" Ardos screamed to the sky, clutching at his head as his plans had all been ruined by a boy and his Lucario.

"That was the end, Ardos. Time for you to turn yourself in," Dylan stated, standing proud with Aurora at his side.

"No… This isn't over…" Ardos muttered. "Team Cipher will live on… We'll rebuild, find another Ancient Stone, and rule the world!" He pulled out a remote to try and teleport away, only for it to be blasted to bits by Orochi.

"Yeah, I don't think so," Ashton smirked, coming to stand next to Dylan alongside Kris.

"Boss!" Tabitha called, teleporting in with Aliana. "Let's get you out of here!" The two summoned Camerupt and Pyroar (having been revived earlier) to distract the kids.

"Oh no you don't!" Leon shouted, he and the other Champions all busting out of their box and landing on the field with their Pokémon ready. "You ruined the World Tournament, so Cipher is going down, here and now!"
It really wasn't much of a fight, as two Cipher admins were no match for nine Champion trainers. Lance, Iris, and Leon used Dragonite, Haxorus, and Charizard to decimate Pyroar in one move; Wallace, Diantha, and Alder used Milotic, Gardevoir, and Volcarona to take out Camerupt; and finally, Blue called on Blastoise to blast back Aliana, with Steven's Metagross slamming Tabitha into the ground, and Cynthia finishing the job by using Garchomp to trip up Ardos, the Champion smirking as she put her heel on his back.

"I think we can leave it to the International Police from here," Cynthia smirked as as a familiar head officer entered the building.

"What the- Cynthia, what exactly happened here!?" Looker exclaimed.

"It's a long story, my guy…" Ashton chuckled, soon followed by Kris, Dylan, and even the Champions all laughing. It had been a series of hard-fought battles, but in the end they all had made it out of Team Cipher's wrath and won.

---

Author's Note

Azakael: Well, folks, it took me way longer than the last two fights I wrote because I kept getting ideas, scrapping the last ones, and rewriting pieces over and over again before I finally landed on something I liked. Team Cipher has a special place in my black, rotting heart for multiple reasons- I played Colosseum when I was a young lass, got destroyed by every single admin multiple times, never beat Realgam Tower, gave it another playthrough as an adult many moons later whilst crashing at a friend's house, thoroughly enjoyed the strategies of each admin, and bought a secondhand GameCube simply so I could fire up my old discs and finally give XD some attention. I absolutely would not mind at all if Ardos really did revive Team Cipher and we got another Orre installment, but alas, that's purely wishful thinking on my end, I'm sure. Me and TheDragonSaver have had a lot of dialogue leading up to this, it's finally out, and hoooo boy has it been fun.

(... But can I just say? Cipher Admin Ein can go jump off a bridge. I have a background in biochemistry like he presumably does, and if I showed up to the lab with a lock of hair flopping around, no shirt on under my lab coat, and my chest uncovered, I'd get unceremoniously asked to leave and never return. Dude's a fraud, is what I'm trying to say. Don't even get me started on the liability that is Lovrina's lab attire either.)

TheDragonSaver: Ardos' team was made out of Pokémon from actually real-life winning World Champion teams, though with different move sets and such. It was really fun getting to have Dylan use ever major gimmick up to Gen 8 in this fight, and I wanted to make sure everyone got their chance to shine in this battle!

Also, Ardos' Ultimate Shadow Rayquaza is just a fun dumb idea I came up with one day back in like 2020 of combining Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, and Dynamax into one Pokémon. I imagine it basically works like Eternamax Eternatus where it's just a big boss form.

It also led to Aurora sacrificing her Ancient Stone to obtain her final from, Ancient Guardian Aurora! This is another idea I had to solidify her as a one-of-a-kind Lucario, and was also partially inspired by the recently revealed Blood Moon Ursaluna, complete with a unique and broken ability!

The song that played during Aurora's final battle is "Polaris" from the fourth season of My Hero Academia. It's one of my favorite series so I had to use one of its themes at least once for one of Dylan's fights.