Pokextinction

by THE CREATOR and Hydra

The world is on the verge of collapse when a man who despises Pokemon with a burning passion and the ruthless rampaging Necrozma threaten world destruction. With tensions rising between every single Legendary Pokemon, even Arceus and Mew won't be able to stop the coming fire... And when all hope is lost, the world will turn to Ash.

42. Chapter 42: Exploding Star

Star Tower, Secret Basement, One Hour And Thirty Minutes After Hall Of Origins Meeting.

Tobias marveled at the hundreds of mechanical structures surrounding him. There were armored land vehicles, helicopters armed to the teeth with weaponry he'd never seen before, and what looked like miniature planes of all different shapes and sizes. Mr. Star's men ran about, gearing up and entering the planes and helicopters. The rest were being left behind since they were going to an island.

"Are you ready?" Asked Mr. Star from behind, making Tobias jump a bit. He had been so focused on the agents and machinery that he'd zoned off a bit.

"Y-yeah," He replied with a small chuckle. "I'm going to be heading off first, right?"

Mr. Star nodded, looking at Tobias's new Secretary Bot on his wrist. "We'll be following you with that, but we'll need you to lead us. There's a few things we need to take care of around here first, but my men will catch up by the time you're there."

Tobias whistled, impressed. "How fast are these things?"

The old man scratched the underside of his nose, hiding a proud grin. "Much faster than almost any Pokemon, that's for sure. They'd be able to reach Hoenn from here in less than twenty minutes, give or take."

Raising a questioning brow, Tobias asked, "Twenty minutes? You're not pulling my leg, are you?"

A chortle from Mr. Star was his answer, walking past Tobias to observe the weaponry with pride. Though there would be nothing to be proud of with how he was about to use them, the technology was undeniably a feat of engineering of which the world had never seen before.

"You should get going," He said, ignoring Tobias's question. "The faster you make it to the island, the faster we can join in and put a stop to the Nova Branch once and for all. And that's one step closer to doing the same to Team Rocket."

Tobias nodded, releasing Salamence from its ball. He earned a chorus of surprised cries from the agents due to Salamence's size. Leaping atop the dragon, he said, "Then I'll be off. Good luck on your end."

Mr. Star waved as Tobias flew away, out toward the end of the runway where the planes would soon be following. The doors lowered, allowing Tobias to emerge from a hillside not too far away from New Goldenrod City's edge.

"You'll certainly need it," Said the old man with a tired sigh before returning to guiding his men.

---

"You take care of Ash," Said Giratina to Lugia. "I know you two are close, so I know you can be counted on to keep him safe."

Lugia was surprised that he knew that, but said nothing. Now that he thought about it, Giratina likely had much time during his banishment to look in on any important moment of his choosing. "...Agreed," He answered with a nod. He turned to Ryder with boiling blood. As Giratina descended into the rifts once more, he looked down to Serena. "You should leave," He told her. "You've done enough."

"Not yet I haven't," Serena retorted. "My Pokemon and Ash's are still around here somewhere! I'm not leaving until I know they're safe!"

The Beast of the Seas did not argue. He found himself a bit amused by her bravado. It reminded him of Ash in a way, which he should have expected. "Very well," he replied, facing Ryder once more. "But be careful. I won't have a friend of Ash die while under my care."

Serena quickly found three of her four Pokemon and sighed in relief. They didn't appear harmed. But a new sense of trepidation washed over her for the other. "Pangoro!" She called, running through the void underfoot. "Where are you?!"

Ryder studied Serena running across the rift intently. "Why is she unaffected?" He asked. "I believed it only did not affect Pokemon. That monstrous beast...can it selectively choose what its attacks strike?" He pressed a button on his helmet, quickly saying, "This is Ryder. Do whatever is necessary to fell Giratina no matter the cost. If it is allowed to rampage, the island will fall in minutes."

He entertained the idea of taking the girl hostage once more, but the gravitational anomalies quickly made him reconsider. When he stood within it, the crystal was practically screaming. Even being as near as he was made it rattle. While she treaded it, capture was not an option. Yet neither was allowing Lugia and the birds to roam freely, for they would certainly wreak havoc.

And so he turned to Ash. By now, he had ceased his attempts to help Noivern, only after falling unconscious first. No rift touched him. This was his chance. He dug his heels into the ground and bolted, soaring just over the rift before touching the ground by the boy. Lugia's eyes went wide, not expecting the sheer level of speed from him, and was helpless to prevent him from drawing near.

Ryder put a blade to Ash's throat. "Surrender yourselves immediately," He ordered, "Or else the boy dies." It was a bluff of course. He was banking on them not knowing that.

Lugia's face wrinkled in rage seeing Ash in the state he was in. He would not waste time with talk. His eyes glowed cyan as he attempted to bind the armored man and crush him flat, but he was surprised by him twice now when it had no effect.

This was not entirely true. The strain on Ryder's crystal under its effect made it tremble. He could hear it cracking now. It wouldn't be long before it was gone entirely. "Cease that immediately!" He yelled, putting the blade right to Ash's neck.

Lugia obeyed, but silently cursed the man. He looked down to Ash in regret. In his mind, he cursed himself for not being able to reach the island's ground sooner. "Ash...what have they done to you?"

"Do not concern yourself with him," Said Ryder, "Save for preserving his life. Your Psychic powers have no effect on me, nor do any others for that matter. Surrender immediately. I will not ask again."

Lugia did not believe him for a second. The Nova Branch had tarnished any and all previous ideas of what he thought humans were capable of, but complete invulnerability could not be possible. Not even Necrozma had that. But he would not dare test that theory with this man's blade at Ash's neck. He thought to whisk Ash out from underneath him with Psychic until he remembered the sheer speed at which this human was able to travel.

An idea struck Lugia. Perhaps what he needed was not an attack. Yet, that thing had not been working properly ever since his battle with Necrozma. At any rate, it was better than surrendering and ending up like Mewtwo.

And among other reasons...he needed to know if he could at least do this. So, he craned his head up to look at the sky, and sang his song. The song that linked him and Ash. The song of prophecy.

This provided Ryder with an ample opportunity to strike at his neck, though the birds were quick to act defensive to Lugia to prevent this. Ryder knew that one good slash to a vital area might be able to do away with one of them, but he noticed their eyes flickering back and forth between him and Ash. If he attacked one, the other would bolt for the boy and take to the skies. He could not let that happen. He kept his blade firmly to Ash's neck so that the birds would not make a move.

"I believe I was clear when I told you to surrender," Hissed Ryder. Even without any outward influence, his crystal was shaking. "Cease that immediately! Or do you not care for the boy's life after all?"

Lugia did not stop his song. He could not hear Ryder's voice over the sonorous hymn of his own. All over the battlefield, soldiers heard the song and wondered about it, but were not given the time between Reshiram and Giratina's relentless onslaught to think much of it. Ryder had half a mind to cleave off one of Ash's limbs as a warning. It wasn't as if his master could not replace it. He would certainly not approve, but given the circumstances, it was better than losing the boy altogether.

"Are you incapable of hearing or are you simply not intelligent enough to comprehend orders?!" Ryder demanded impatiently. Yet his words continued to fall on deaf ears. The birds continued to defend his neck, shifting around as they scanned Ryder for any blind spots. Ryder moved his blade away from Ash's neck, hovering it over his hand instead. "Cease whatever you are doing or-"

A dim, white light from behind caught his attention. He dared a swift look back and saw that the wound he inflicted on Noivern's back had sealed itself, coated in a white flame. "What the-?!" He felt something grab hold of his blade. A human hand, attached to a smirking Ash.

Ash lurched forward, blasting Ryder in the face with an Aura Sphere. His barrier sparked frantically. From within the smoke, Ryder staggered backwards. He threw Ash over his shoulder with his blade, slamming his back hard into the ground. Yet, Ash quickly returned to his feet without issue and returned Noivern to its Pokeball, pocketing it.

"You did good, Noivern," Commended Ash. He smiled as Pikachu approached. The yellow mouse cried out ecstatically, jumping up onto his partner's shoulder. "Nice to see you too, buddy. You did great holding him off on your own. I'm really proud."

His smile faded, seeing the wound Pikachu incurred on his tail. Pikachu himself did not appear bothered by it, neither visibly or in his Aura. Ash sighed, gently petting his partner's head. If Pikachu wasn't worried about it, then he could worry about it later once they were off this island.

Looking up to Lugia, he said, "Thanks for the save! I didn't know the song worked both ways!"

The Beast of the Seas finished the final note and lowered his head. He wore a proud smile upon his face as he replied, "Neither did I. I suppose this means we are intrinsically linked through prophecy. I...am glad I was able to sing it properly. Not since before Necrozma's arrival was I able to do this."

Their attention was caught by a loud gust of wind as Ryder dispelled the smoke cloud. His barrier was sparking spastically. "In one piece or not, you are coming with me!"

Ryder lunged forward, swinging up at Ash. Ash's own barrier deflected the blow, though it shattered on impact. Pikachu momentarily stopped his follow-up with an Iron Tail, though before Ryder overpowered him, Ash regained his composure and knocked him back. Grabbing hold of Pikachu, Ash distanced himself from Ryder, allowing the Legends their turn.

A bright orange beam from Lugia stopped Ryder from following. He swiftly dodged backwards, but Lugia's attack was hot on his trail. He weaved around the beam skillfully, not even allowing it to touch his shield. The occasional Ice Beam and Flamethrower were shot his way, but they were largely inconsequential. Still, their onslaught was fast enough to force him to stay on the defensive. While they pelted him with attacks, Ash took the liberty of healing their wounds from behind.

They sought to deprive him of an opening—to force him into a position where he could not attack and thus would be forced to dodge until they landed a blow. Perhaps they noticed that his barrier was on the verge of failure, so the Legends wished to hasten its destruction. They thought he had no opening to attack. But they were wrong. For Ryder, no matter the foe, there was always an opening that could be exploited.

Bringing his sword overhead, Ryder turned to face the oncoming beam and jumped up. He spun forward, his sword catching the Hyper Beam's essence upon its black blade. The eyes of Ash, Pikachu and the Legends widened seeing this, but they could not react to stop him. Lugia was hardly able to lean his head sideways to avoid his eye being sliced into, though the edge of Ryder's sword cut open the edge of his cheek.

As Ryder sailed past Lugia's head, he stopped spinning and swung his gleaming weapon down, bringing down a pillar of orange light upon Lugia with it that knocked him back to the ground. He heard something approaching from behind and sliced it on instinct. He regretted that decision when he found that it was an Aura Sphere from Ash.

The attack exploded, momentarily blinding Ryder. Pikachu used the opportunity to hit him through the smoke with a Volt Tackle, knocking him through the air until he impacted the surrounding trees. A few of them were knocked over before he came to a stop. He stabbed into one to push himself back onto his feet, preparing to lunge back out at them, but he swiftly stopped when he received a sudden call.

"Ryder," Addressed The Man.

Ryder was quick to prioritize his master over his enemies. The trees gave him some temporary cover. "Sir," He responded in acknowledgement.

"As of now, victory is impossible. It may have been, but Giratina's sudden appearance has changed that. Remember that our objective here is not necessarily victory. The Legends will guard their vital areas above all else. Instead of taking them down, prioritize injuring areas they won't defend as heavily for later. But leave the boy and his pets alone from this point forward. I still have plans for him, and I will need him in high spirits to see them through. This message has been relayed to all of importance. Concern yourself only with your orders."

With that, he ended the call. Ryder glanced up at the Legends, who looked back at him into the trees anxiously. Though his master could no longer hear him, he replied, "Yes, sir," and went to carry out his orders.

The Legends tensed up when Ryder's blurred form emerged from the trees. He went for Moltres, pointing his blade at the bird's neck. Just as The Man had said, Moltres responded by shrouding himself in his fiery wings. At the last second, Ryder averted his aim and slid beneath Moltres's legs. None of them anticipated the sudden change, and so they were all helpless to stop Ryder from cutting halfway into Moltres's legs.

Moltres screeched out in pain and collapsed, its legs no longer able to support its weight with its tendons cut. Ryder leapt onto Moltres's back and raised his sword sideways, appearing like he meant to cut into the back of its neck. Lugia naturally intercepted with a small, quick Hyper Beam, but Ryder was prepared for this. He kicked off Moltres's back with enough force to plant it on its stomach and leapt toward Lugia, seemingly with the intent to repeat his last attack on him.

But instead of riding the beam, he dove through it and ran with his sword held high so that it caught the laser's essence. Lugia stopped his attack once he saw what Ryder was doing.

"Ash, Articuno, protect Moltres!" He ordered quickly.

Ash nodded. "I gotcha!" He surrounded Moltres in a barrier, which was frozen over in a thick layer of ice by Articuno. Ryder grinded to a halt, sheathing his blade. The Hyper Beam energy caused the sheath to spark and shake violently.

With that done, Lugia flapped his powerful wings, making an Aeroblast attack ravage the landscape as it approached Ryder. Lugia expected him to try to slice through the wind or run to the side to attack Ash so he could no longer heal them, but Ryder continued to surprise him by doing neither.

Instead, he ran back toward the icy dome covering Moltres. He leapt over it and turned to face it, grinding to a halt. Just as the Aeroblast struck one side, he unsheathed his blade and drew it with all his might on the other. The two forces shattered the ice and the barrier.

Ash fell back, wincing when he felt his shield break. Pikachu cried out in worry for him, but Ash was far more concerned about Moltres. Lugia and Articuno closed in on Ryder to attempt to halt his attack, with the former using Psychic to raise a wall of stone in a desperate attempt.

It didn't matter. Moltres raised its wings to its sides, preparing to use Heat Wave. Ryder beat it to the punch. A sideways slash cleaved into its wings and chest, stretching horizontally across its entire body and leaving a large, gaping wound. The stones may as well have been paper to Ryder.

Moltres bellowed to the skies in agony before collapsing onto its back. Ryder considered killing it now, but the other two were fast approaching. His next target was Articuno.

Upon hearing Ash cry out Moltres's name as he approached, he kicked the bird toward the trees and slashed the ground, kicking up a wall of stone to stop him from healing the wound.

He pointed to Lugia. "You're next," He said harrowingly.

Lugia snarled at the man. As he approached, he spread his wings to shield Articuno. This caused Ryder to scowl. Lugia was catching on. So, Ryder decided to go with a double lie. If Lugia thought he would go for Articuno, then he'd just have to make good on what he said already.

The Beast of the Sea landed suddenly, flapping his mighty wings to spur up another Aeroblast. "You're through!" He roared. "That shield of yours is done for!"

"Not quite!" Retorted Ryder as he leapt forward, cleaning through as many of the wind blades as he could on his way to Lugia. He could not stop them all, leading to his barrier taking a few lashings. Just barely, by a thread, it managed to hold itself together long enough for Ryder to get past the attack.

Ryder zipped past Lugia and jumped onto his back, latching onto one of his blue scales. This immediately sent Lugia into a frenzy. He practically launched himself into the air at the speed he was going, frantically flipping and twirling in a desperate attempt to throw Ryder off of him.

He tried to shoot at Ryder with a Hyper Beam, but he always seemed out of his grasp no matter how or where he turned his neck. The same could not be said for the island and the surrounding ocean, which took the full brunt of the wild laser.

Ash grabbed Pikachu and dove to the ground, just barely dodging the beam as it swept past his feet and burned a line through any tree it touched. He was about to yell something up to Lugia to try to calm him, but stopped when he noticed something through the new path in the trees.

It was far away, but unmistakable. There was a small hill with a hole in it, covered in a black door.

While Lugia aimlessly tried throwing him off, Ryder noticed that he had only seven blue scales rather than his normal eight. "You seem to be missing something," He taunted, aiming to rile Lugia up. If he could accomplish that, maybe he could lure Lugia into attacking the other Legends.

He brought back his blade, aiming it where the blue scale met with Lugia's back and said, "I'll do you a favor and even you out."

Lugia roared so loud that the trees below were folded even further into the ground. Ash, Pikachu and Articuno felt it shaking their bodies from the inside. Lugia made a mad dash for the ground, turning his back to it at the last second in an effort to crush Ryder.

Abandoning the scale, Ryder kicked off of Lugia's back at the last second. He tried to distance himself by leaping backward, but was knocked forward again by a Solarbeam and a Flamethrower.

"What?!"

He, Ash and Pikachu all turned toward the source of the attack, finding a pale-faced Serena commanding Charizard and Sceptile along with three of her other Pokemon. Serena herself wore a glare Ash had never seen from her before. Though she trembled facing down the armored man, she motioned behind him.

Ryder turned back and was met with the fury-filled gaze of Lugia staring right into his eyes, close enough that he could feel the beast's heavy breaths vibrating the ground beneath his feet.

He jumped up and sheathed his blade, but was prevented from doing anything by chunks of the earth that followed him, shrouded in cyan. Before he could evade, they converged upon him all at once. Lugia raised the stones above his head and unleashed a Hyper Beam so powerful that its own force split it in five before converging upon the stones.

The orange beam ripped through them with ease, splitting the clouds when it reached them. Yet Ryder, covered in smoke and sparks, fell out from the debris in one piece. His barrier was nowhere to be seen.

"So what if you live?!" Bellowed Lugia as he prepared another Hyper Beam. "Surely you cannot survive two-"

Ryder sprinted toward Lugia, somehow even faster than anything he'd displayed before. Lugia unleashed his attack, but the armored man easily dodged. Yet he did not try to counter or use the attack to his advantage. Rather, he ran right past Lugia, ignoring him outright.

"Is he...running away?" Ash mused hopefully.

The armored man continued running until he neared the island's edge, at which point he dug his hand into the chest plate of his armor and ripped out a black, shaking crystal. He threw it out to the sea with all his might and then turned tail just as quickly, running directly away from where he threw it.

When Ryder passed Lugia again, Lugia feared the man would go to attack Ash or Serena. Yet...he did neither, instead running straight past them as if they weren't there until he disappeared through the trees.

Giratina and Reshiram watched with suspicion as their enemies began to retreat, all in the same direction.

"Are they attempting to lure us?" Mused Reshiram. "This feels like a trap."

As the lord of shadow watched them run, he began to doubt that theory. He created another void in their path. Many were dragged in, but Giratina was surprised to see they were still running away in spite of the screams of their comrades. They ran around it to the best of their ability, but…

"They're...pushing each other in?!"

Whatever they were running from scared them more than the infinite abyss of the Reverse World, to the point they were shoving each other into the gravitational field just to get as far away from it as possible.

Giratina turned away, looking out to the other side of the island where they ran from. Something, far out at sea, was glowing brightly.

"What," He said, "In the world is that-"

Then he was blinded by an explosion that tore through the world. Everyone on the island collectively felt a sense of dread in the very core of their bodies. For those who were lucky enough to still have their lives, that dread shook them more than even the tremors that ravaged their bodies.

On instinct, Giratina summoned another void within the explosion, aiming to pull it into an empty area of the Reverse World like where he dropped the Nova Branch soldiers. The essence of the explosion was of an even greater nothingness than that, and the rift itself was eaten away.

The explosion died down as soon as it had come, exhausting itself quickly. When it was gone, and when the Legends opened their eyes once more, they could not believe what they saw.

Lugia's eyes slowly opened to find half of the island gone. He gasped, flying back when he saw the dropoff was right in front of his feet. The ground where he once stood crumbled, falling into the ocean where raging waves convened to fill the space that was erased. Entire slabs of the island followed, sinking into the sea with the trees on top of them. Even the strange black metal Lugia found supporting the island fell. Evidently, the dirt and sand where the trees had grown from had laid atop it.

For a moment, the war stopped. Ally and enemy alike looked upon the destruction with shock and awe. Even the Black Suits were stunned silent. It was not merely the destruction that concerned them, but the sheer volume and consistency of it. Barring the pieces of the island that were now falling into the sea, it was as if the explosion erased everything that it had touched. The trees, the land, the water and those unfortunate enough to have been caught within the blast were all gone without a trace. It was especially concerning to Giratina, who felt the void he made within it disappear.

"Th-that power…" Said a wide-eyed Reshiram, "It's like…"

Giratina nodded, narrowing his gaze at where he last saw the glowing object that caused it. "That was Necrozma's power. There's no mistaking it."

While the others stayed still with slack-jawed expressions, three shadows raced past them and approached the two Legends. From the trees, a streak of orange raced toward Reshiram with a loud bang. Reshiram, among others, flinched at the noise and turned to it. That proved to be a major mistake. The bullet embedded itself in the wound Ryder made in her neck, then exploded violently.

Reshiram reared her head back and roared in agony as searing red spilled from her throat. Her blood was boiling hot, setting the grass around them aflame where it touched. She spewed more flames around wildly, torching any unfortunate enough to be near. And like that, the war was on again.

"Reshiram!" Cried Giratina frantically.

Another round was fired her way from the trees, which Giratina intercepted with a portal. From within the trees, Sniper of Ryder's squadron traded the exploding round for an armor-piercing one. When he heard the sound of Giratina's void opening near him, on instinct, he turned and shot into it. Within the Reverse World, the armor-piercing round split through the exploding one. Sniper dove from his hiding spot just as the flames flew from the portal and burned the tree he hid in.

On the way down, he fired at Giratina's eye, but another portal appeared in front of him to take the shot. Yet another one briefly manifested to take flames from Reshiram's rampage, fading to reappear right above Sniper as he fell. A larger man in similar armor, Heavy, sent Sniper flying with a shoulder barge and took the flames himself. It seemed to do little to him, though he was quick to roll out of the fire.

Giratina turned away from the larger man to try to find where Sniper had been knocked to, but to his frustration, the smaller man was gone in a flash. He reeled back his tendrils to attack the larger one when his attention was caught by another pained roar from Reshiram. She flailed wildly, each of her potent attacks taking the lives of dozens of their enemies, but she was crazed. Though she was thinning enemy numbers, Giratina saw the wound in her neck widening. Her attacks left her open to counter attacks from all angles. Soon, the wound would be irreparable.

Two more men in similar ebony armor continued to bombard Reshiram from all angles. One dashed from place to place, setting up weapons and tools that targeted her under the cover of the soldiers. The other seemed to carry so many weapons on him that Giratina barely saw the armored body underneath. This one, Launcher, carried all manner of explosives with him and pelted Reshiram with them to no end.

He threw something onto her tail that she didn't notice. It stuck to her like glue before detonating, scattering hundreds more small explosives all over her body. They ravaged her, not doing much visible damage but certainly hurting her. She reared her head back and flailed her wings wildly in an attempt to get them off, leaving herself wide open to further attacks from the automated weapons of Auto.

By this point, Reshiram was merely attacking anything she saw. She was too damaged and in pain to think properly, only able to process the idea of destroying any enemy around her to stop their attacks once and for all. One of her wild swipes resulted in her grabbing a shielded Black Suit and plunging him into the melting ground. She opened her maw, unleashing a Dragon Breath attack onto the shield relentlessly until it popped. He hardly had the time to scream.

"Enough, Reshiram!" He bellowed. She turned to him with wild, blazing eyes. Surrounded by blood and fire, she looked like a mad demon. Giratina couldn't bear to watch anymore. He stretched out his six tendrils, sending them into different rifts. Reshiram's eyes widened when she found herself sinking into one of them. She tried to protest, but it only came out as indiscriminate gargling.

When she fully sank into the Reverse World, another tendril appeared behind her and created another portal, a white one that led to the Hall of Origin. Reshiram did not have the time to react before she was pulled into it. The gateway closed firmly before she could emerge from it.

Solemnly, Giratina said, "I apologize, Reshiram, but I cannot allow you to die here. None of us will lose their life today." His raging red eyes opened, freezing everyone under the pressure of their gaze. "Arceus, you had better summon Xerneas for her. And as for you all…"

His body became wreathed in black shadow as he retreated into the Reverse World. His tendrils surfaced and retreated, taking many soldiers into the dark world with each appearance. They fired at them wildly, but their gravitational effect pulled the bullets down into the Reverse World before shooting them back through other rifts. The remaining Black Suits, who numbered less than twenty now, threw in their freezing mines and retreated using their hook shots. The result was more portals spitting icy matter all over the foot soldiers, turning them into statues in seconds.

Giratina took no risks. Though mad with rage, he vowed not to let himself become like Reshiram. He attacked from a place they could not touch. Screaming soldiers appeared all around him, falling into the endless abyss he spent hours finding. There was no hope for them. Giratina made sure of that. If they could find land within the Reverse World, they could escape and regroup. So, Giratina simply made sure there was no land where he dropped them. They would fall for the rest of their lives.

---

Down beneath the island, a man in a dark room watched the battle above with baited breath. Sixty percent of the cameras had gone down after the explosion and more were dropping every minute. It wouldn't be long before he was left blind. He sighed, tapping the keys to turn off the surface ones completely and leaving them in the dark. Soon after, a dim, red light filled the room.

"Emergency power has been activated, sir," Said one of the two Black-Suited Men that acted as his guards with a salute. "What do you want us to do?"

Christopher Lee rose from his chair. "We're leaving," He said simply. "The island is going down at this rate."

The other one stepped forward and asked, "But what about the submarines, sir? The warships? Air support? Why have we not used them?"

Merely shaking his head, Lee stepped toward the exit and began unlocking the door. "It won't matter," He said. "For now, Giratina is beyond us. The fight is not worth continuing, and Kyogre is still nearby. Our ships would be decimated. As long as there is a leader for us, our organization will live on. As it stands, we've lost the battle, but the war is still in our favor."

There was a dull sound above, catching the attention of the three. One of the Black Suits immediately went for the cameras, turning them back on. By now, there were only a handful of working ones on the surface, and the underground ones were diminishing as well now that a portion of it was exposed. In the few cameras they had, three figures ran through the dark halls. Suicune, Raikou and Entei.

"Oh, hell!" Cursed the Black Suit. "We've got three Legends approaching our position!"

Lee asked, "Are the defense systems still online?"

He nodded, but said, "It won't help much with everyone else on the surface. We're the only guys down here except…"

Lee looked to one of the cameras. On the second basement floor, approaching the first, was the Burned Man. "Dammit, Harper!" He cursed. "You let them through?!" He grabbed the Black Suit by the shoulder. "Get him on the line!"

---

Ash tried to approach Moltres to heal its wounds, but was shooed away. It was too prideful, and angry for that matter, to allow it. In spite of its wounds, it and Articuno took to the skies, circling Lugia overhead. So, Ash turned his attention to the Beasts of Johto instead. Yet they were nowhere to be seen. He placed his hand to the ground and extended his Aura through it to sense them. He found them far below, descending into the island.

When Ash told Lugia of this, he said, "They must have used the explosion, whatever that was, to get down there." He looked off to the side where, in the jagged cliffs of the island's new opening, there were numerous exposed hallways. "I doubt the birds and I could fit down there, but if Lee is anywhere near here, he has to be down there somewhere."

With a sigh, Ash said, "I never actually met the guy before, so I don't know what his Aura feels like."

"At the very least, could you sense how many humans are down there?" Suggested Lugia. "We could narrow our options from there."

Ash nodded, once again placing his hand to the ground. He took his senses deeper, scanning the island's interior as much as possible. Nearest to the surface, there was one human. Their auric signature was extremely weak, so Ash figured it was an injured soldier that had retreated to hide. But the fact that the person was approaching the surface confused him.

Below that person were the Beasts of Johto, quickly descending even further. Far, far beyond that, there were three more people...and only that many. Nowhere else did he sense even a single person. "...That's weird," He said aloud. "There are only four people down there."

"Could it be that they're blocking your Aura sensing again?" Asked Lugia.

Ash shook his head, continuing to sense farther in case he missed something. "If that was the case, I shouldn't be able to sense anything at all down there, right?"

Lugia let out a low grumble. "I suppose that is true. Did they really send every single person they had to the surface besides those four?"

Shrugging, Ash replied, "I guess we won't know until we-" He gasped suddenly, falling onto his hands and knees as a sudden pain struck him.

"Ash!" Cried an alarmed Lugia. "What happened?! Are you alright?!"

Seeing Ash's sudden collapse, Serena hastened her walk toward him into a run. "Hey, you alright?!" She asked as well, pulling him up to lean on her. Pikachu vocalized a similar worry.

When she neared, Ash felt another pain. He looked down, seeing that she carried his bag with her. His Pokemon were returned to their Pokeballs within it. Save for Noivern, who he had already healed, they were all in pain. Especially Hydreigon. Ash could hardly bear feeling it. On top of that, he sensed Pangoro within his own Pokeball, with the same pain as Hydreigon.

"What...happened to them...?"

Serena traced his view to his bag and frowned, pulling him into a tight hug. "They're all alive," She said, "And I'm grateful for that. But...those wounds…" Ash felt her shuddering. He stood up, mentally cursing at himself for his moment of weakness, and held her close. With a trembling voice, she said, "Th-that man...with the sword. He did this. Clefable closed their wounds, but...Pangoro and Hydreigon's arms…"

She balled her hands into fists, taking in a sharp inhale. "I've never felt so angry in my life when I saw him again, and I attacked without thinking."

"Your attack," Said Lugia, shifting the attention of the two up to him, "Is what allowed me to land the final blow against him. For that, you have my thanks." With cold eyes, he turned to where he last saw the man. "Though he got away, that shield of his is certainly done for if that explosion is any indication. The birds and I will try to find him and finish him off for good. After that, we'll join with Giratina and Reshiram."

Ash blinked, suddenly remembering the other pain he felt. "Wait, that's right!" He exclaimed. "There was someone else down there too! It's Keldeo! He's in pain for some reason!"

Lugia's eyes went wide. "Wait, what?! When did Keldeo go down there?!"

Ash retrieved his bag from Serena and extended his arm down to allow Pikachu to return to his shoulder. "There's no time to explain!" He said urgently. "All I know is that he's in danger!"

"...All right." Lugia flapped his mighty wings, taking to the air with the Elemental Birds. "Then I'll leave him to you. Make sure to stay safe, and if you find Lee...make him pay for all of this."

Ash and Serena nodded up to him, eager to do exactly that. They turned to one another, seeing the same anger in each other's eyes. Ash turned and pointed Serena to the hill through the trees. With their goal in sight, they ran toward it, eager to put an end to the Nova Branch.

"We're coming Keldeo," Ash said under his breath. "Just hang in there."

---

When Ash and Serena approached the hill, their conscious Pokemon re-emerged from their Pokeballs on their own. These only consisted of Charizard, Sceptile, Braixen, Clefable and Sylveon. Of course, there was also Pikachu. They had refused to return in spite of the danger, though Ash expected that of them by now.

Looking at his Pokemon was hard, but he imagined it was worse for Serena when she found them. She's been through much, but those wounds probably left a lot of blood when they were fresh. Charizard was especially worrying with the hole in his wing. Sceptile was covered in scrapes, especially on his arms. Prideful as the two were, they tried to assure Ash that they were fine, but he knew better. Still, they would not return, so he did not protest. He was glad to have such loyal friends.

They soon entered the hole, finding a hall of black metal stretching past the sandy entrance. When they traveled far enough that natural light was no longer visible, Ash flared his Aura in its stead. He stopped in his tracks suddenly after activating it.

"Ash?" Inquired Serena. "What's wrong?"

Now that his Aura was active again, he could sense the fourth person from before. Their Aura appeared weak, far weaker than any human should be, but their Aura was definitely human. For a human to be that weak, they had to be on death's doorstep. Even a newborn at least had some vibrance to them. This person had none of that. It felt like they were a living corpse.

From the darkness ahead, they heard repeated sounds of metal banging on metal. It was rhythmic, happening one after another with increasing volume. Ash propped up a barrier in front of them to block any potential ambush that might await them, as well as to illuminate the hall further. Serena went pale when she saw another person, clad in similar armor to Ryder. Somehow, this one was more intimidating. He was tall enough to nearly touch the hall's ceiling and was almost thrice the width of Ryder.

He continued walking forward. Their Pokemon growled at him, but Ash stopped them from attacking. They looked to him questioningly, but Ash did not take his eyes off of him. Ash did not want to do anything hasty. "His Aura carries immense anger," Ash said to them, "But it's not aimed at us. Yet."

"What did that other guy feel like?" Asked Serena. "Did he feel like this too?"

Ash shook his head. "I never got the chance to sense him. His barrier was always in the way and he ran away before I even thought to do that."

Letting out a sharp exhale, Serena slowly stepped back with her Pokemon, fearing she might be held hostage again if this person did attack. "So we're in the dark until we see what this guy does? Can...can we even win again?"

"I can sense his Aura," Said Ash, "So maybe that means this guy doesn't have a barrier like the last one. Maybe Pikachu can shut off that suit of his with electricity?"

Though appreciative of his attempt to reassure her, and though she wished she could trust what he said, after the last time, Serena just couldn't believe that they stood a chance. She was tired, and both of their Pokemon were heavily injured. Two of them already had wounds that would never recover. She didn't know if she could take seeing anyone else like that again. It had taken all of her will and her sense to keep herself focused after that.

"...I really hope so."

When the armored man approached the barrier, he stopped suddenly, planting his foot into the ground with a loud thud that made all but Charizard and Sceptile wince. With a low voice that sounded even more mechanical than Ryder's, he asked, "Is Moltres above?"

"And if it is?" Asked Ash.

He sounded like he chuckled a bit. It was hard for Ash to tell with his voice, especially since he didn't move at all while doing it. "Hmph. That other Legend, Keldeo, asked the same thing before I defeated it."

Everyone immediately went into a battle stance hearing that. "You did what?!" Yelled Ash.

"You can see for yourself," Replied the hunk of metal, pointing to the dark hall behind him. "Keldeo should be on basement level thirty-two. Though, you might not like the state you'll find it in. My grudge is with Moltres, not you. If you can find Keldeo quickly, you might be able to save it. Lee's down on the twenty-fifth floor as well. It's in both of our interests not to fight."

Serena asked, "Why would you tell us this? Aren't you on Lee's side?"

He tilted his helmet sideways, lightly tapping on the side of the black screen on it. "He has been yelling at me to save him for a while now. Unfortunately, he never installed any way to turn off radio communications in this damn suit. You'd be doing me a favor if you got rid of him. Like I said, my only objective is Moltres. You would do well not to make the same mistake as Keldeo."

Ash did not sense any deceit from him. After a moment's hesitation, Ash begrudgingly shrunk the barrier to let him pass, pulling the others to the side of the wall. "...Fine," He said. "You can go."

Jets of fire whirred to life on the back of his ankles, wrists and shoulders. "A smart choice, Chosen One. I suppose there's some merit to that title after all." He began walking and lowered his body before taking off into a sprint, propulsed forward when the flames broke out into full burst. Ash winced, feeling the impact of simply being near it rattling his shield.

When the Burned Man was gone, Ash pushed the barrier out and toward the exit so they wouldn't have to deal with the smoke. He noticed Serena giving him a look of concern, so he said, "Moltres is near Lugia and Articuno. They'll be fine together, and besides, Lugia said he's going to where Giratina is."

Serena looked out to where the Burned Man had gone, squinting to see the dim light. Sighing, she turned back. "You're right," She said. "I'm just worried about that big gash it has."

"Keldeo needs us," Ash told her, turning to the darker end of the hall. "Right now, I can feel him in agony. Whatever that big guy did to him...well, right now, we can't afford for it to happen to us. We need to find him, and then, find Lee. If we can do that, all of this comes to an end."

When Serena looked to her Pokemon, visions of Pangoro flashed in her eyes once again. She couldn't help but to imagine the same thing happening to the rest of her Pokemon. Ash put a hand to her shoulder, using his Aura to alleviate her of those unpleasant visions.

Softly, he said, "It will be okay. I won't let that happen again, no matter what."

Of that, Serena had no doubt of. It was herself that she was worried about. Though his Aura helped to soothe her frustrations, seeing the ivory energy on his hand created a cycle by making her even more frustrated. She was too weak for this. All her life, she wanted to star in pageants. It was only five months ago that she actually started taking her training seriously, but that wasn't enough. Ash had been doing it for years, and the Legends, for aeons.

She did not take her gaze away from her Pokemon. They looked back at her with worry, and with sorrow. Having been around Ash for so long, she was sometimes able to pick up on what they were feeling. Right now, she knew they felt the same as her, and it just sickened her more to have let them down like that. But she knew the time for feeling sorry for herself would come later.

Shaking her head, she asked Ash, "What about Entei, Raikou and Suicune?"

Taking his hand off of her, he knelt down and touched the floor to figure that out.

---

Lee slammed his radio into the wall after continuing to be ignored by Harper, sending it clattering to the floor. He frowned at it when he saw it was unscratched. Having the best technology had its downsides. "Harper's a no-go," He told his men, urgency hastening his speech. "Where are the Beasts of Johto?"

"Raikou's the closest one on floor seventeen," He replied, watching them rampage through the halls. "The other two aren't far behind, and now, we've got Ash coming in since that damned Harper abandoned us."

"And the automated defenses?"

The Black Suit shook his head. "They're not slowing 'em down one bit. The Beasts are launching attacks at random, hitting most weapons before they can even draw. The doors might as well be damn paper to them!"

Lee grumbled, walking over to the keyboard to lock the immediate door to their right. "Let's get out of here. Set the automated defenses to impede their progress to this room to make them think we're still here. We'll take the back exit. There are plenty of ways to get to the surface."

With that, they made way for the left door, running into the darkness of the halls.

Above, Raikou let loose an ear-piercing roar as it stumbled upon more turrets lining the walls. They were not as potent as the ones on the surface, allowing its Discharge attack to wreak havoc upon them without much issue. Lightning coursed through the hallway as it sped through. Thick doors descended to stop it, but Raikou tackled through them without much of an issue.

For Suicune, its ice froze the hallway walls before the defenses could even activate. When toxic smoke rained down from the roof, the icy winds she produced purified them before they could so much as touch her.

Entei lagged behind the others, but not by much. His flames caused the halls to melt, as well as the turrets. They became so misshapen, the bullets they tried to fire ended up tearing the turrets apart from the inside. His speed allowed him to easily pass the smoke, and like the others, the doors meant little. It was only a matter of time before they reached their destination. The only reason they've yet to do so was because they didn't know where Lee was. But if these defenses were springing up, that had to mean they were going in the right way...right?

---

On the surface, the Nova Branchers were fighting a losing battle. They had no way of knowing if their attacks were even hitting their mark. Every bullet that flew into the countless voids either disappeared or were shot back at them from another. The Black Suits found themselves almost as helpless as the foot soldiers, able to avoid drawing too near to the rifts thanks to their gear, but with no means to retaliate. Their technology was not designed for this.

Even the four of Ryder's men were at a loss. They were able to defend without any issue, but like the others, their attacks did not seem to slow Giratina down in the slightest. The occasional tendril that came to sweep soldiers into the void and tear apart the land seemed immune to his attacks as well. Giratina tore through their defenses as if they weren't there at all. What was even worse for them was that each appearance of the shadow dragon's voids tore apart the island little by little. At this rate, they'd be fighting him in the ocean.

Sniper took aim at the claw of one of the tendrils, hoping that he might at least be able to hit that since it seemed like the most tangible part of it. His aim was averted when a sudden, forceful breeze blew past him.

"What the-?!" He exclaimed, fumbling for his radio. "Ryder, stay back! Those portals are-"

Cutting him off, Ryder asked, "What of them? If we cannot combat them, we are doomed anyways. Sooner or later, Giratina must be dealt with."

The jaws of his subordinates collectively dropped when Ryder, unsheathing his blade, raced toward the nearest tendril and dove headfirst into the rift at its base.

Dirt, metal and the occasional soldier fell around Giratina like rainfall. The last thing he expected was for one of them to roll down one of his tendrils and leap at him. Ryder brought his blade down, aiming for Giratina's eye, but the shadow dragon managed to avert the blow to instead hit the gold casing over his mouth.

"Are you insane?!" Roared Giratina. "Have you any idea where you are?!"

Ryder grabbed onto the casing, hoisting himself onto it. He stood, pointing his blade down at Giratina's eye. "I could ask you the same thing when you dared to show your face on our island. You will not leave here unscathed."

A portal opened near him, letting loose another shadowy tendril. "Fool!" Roared the renegade. "You will not leave here with your life!"

Ryder nimbly evaded the claw at its end and grabbed onto the area behind it. He aimed his sword down and stabbed it, though this only resulted in the appendage fading into black smog and dropping him into the endless abyss below.

Giratina scoffed down at him. "Just as I said, you're nothing more than a fool. What kind of imbecile would willingly leap into an endless abyss?"

Ryder grabbed onto a large piece of falling land and crouched onto it. "There is no greater fool," He said, looking up at the lord of shadow, "Than anyone who would dare make an enemy of us." He leapt up with all the speed of a bullet, priming his blade to slash at Giratina.

In turn, Giratina sent his six tendrils into different portals, which all appeared in front of Ryder's path to block him. "Now," Said Ryder, sheathing his blade in response to their appearance, "I will show you exactly why that is."

Their claws descended upon him and he drew his sword to meet them. Their clash split the rain of rubble around them, halting their falling for a brief moment. The tendrils' movements ceased, allowing Ryder to grab onto one of them and dash through a portal. He arrived out the other end and slashed at Giratina again, though this time, his blade phased straight through him.

Giratina's body became dark, save for his crimson eyes which continued to glow brightly, and he seemed to phase into the surrounding darkness of the void itself. Ryder landed on a falling hunk of black metal. He looked up at Giratina, but the only indication that he was there at all were the glowing red orbs that soared through the endless darkness.

"Tell me," Whispered a voice from all angles, "Behind that armor, do you know any fear at all?"

They descended too low for Ryder to see, going right beneath his platform. Below, the shadow dragon's vague form was illuminated by the Hyper Beam he charged. This was his true form: a black mass of rage, darker than night. The lord of shadow took his place directly beneath the falling metal, aiming the attack at Ryder.

The platform was suddenly sliced in two, and from it, descended Ryder. "Fear," He said, "Is only something to be conquered."

Giratina unleashed the attack, lighting the Reverse World with it. It was like a burning star, giving light to the darkness of space for the first time. Like a star, it came with immense destruction. The shrapnel that fell from the portals was obliterated, but Ryder raced down its edge, narrowly avoiding its wrath even as its heat tried to ravage his suit. He kept his blade within the beam as he descended, and when he approached Giratina, he whipped out his blade and sprayed his own Hyper Beam into his eyes.

Given that the move was Normal-Type, it had no effect on Giratina. It did, however, obscure his vision long enough for Ryder to deliver a downward thrust into what he thought would be the dragon's eye. Yet, when the light faded, Ryder was taken aback when he saw his sword trapped in Giratina's maw, clasped between the golden casings.

"What a sorry conquest that was," Mocked Giratina.

Ryder tried to pry his sword out, but Giratina's grip was far too strong for him. An orange light began to arise from within the dragon's maw. In response to this, Ryder tried to pull his blade sideways in an attempt to forcefully open the two casings, but to no avail.

Remembering his portals above them, Giratina briefly phased into shadow once more to allow Ryder to fall through him, then turned down and fired. Even if it missed, there was nowhere for Ryder to go. He would die to his hand, or to the cold grasp of the black void below.

But the armored man was crafty. Besides, his mission was not yet over, and his master would have more for him yet. He flicked up a notch on his belt, dropping a grenade into his hand which he crushed. It blew him to the side, allowing him to avoid the beam. He repeated this holding the explosive beneath him, sending him flying up past Giratina.

Out from the flames, Ryder descended upon Giratina once more. Scowling, Giratina sent up his tendrils, clashing with his sword.

Giratina was shocked, almost beyond words, at this man. A human, plunging headfirst into an abyss with no means of flight to take on that abyss's master. "Tell me," He said. "Under that armor, what are you, truly?"

Ryder chuckled. "Is it really so hard to believe?" He leapt above one of the tendrils as it attempted to pierce him from the side, then struck at another to push him out of the way of one that approached from below. "Is it too much for the mind of a Pokemon to comprehend? That, finally, humans now have the power to rival the likes of you?"

"That is not what I meant," Retorted Giratina, intriguing Ryder. He sent up a tendril like a whip, stopping it just before it hit Ryder so its shockwave sent him flying up. Giving chase, he asked, "Underneath that armor, behind that mask of yours, what are you after? Why fight a battle you cannot win when there is no point?"

Noticing debris getting near, Ryder flipped around to stand upon it. He pointed his blade down at the rising Giratina and replied, "The extinction of all Pokemon. My master will cleanse the world of your kind, making way for a world where humans will thrive! I am his sword, one that wields itself, and I would face oblivion and rise out of it if he ordered."

Giratina merely scoffed.

Ryder kicked down on the side of the platform, spinning it so that he faced toward the portals. He leapt up from it onto another piece of falling debris repeatedly, ascending toward them. Before he entered them once more, he looked down at Giratina and asked, "Is that hard for you to believe to be possible as well? Then I urge you, when you stop hiding here like a rat, to look upon our island. I'll fill you in on something you may not know. That explosion which tore our island apart is easily replicable elsewhere, and our ammunition is far from few."

Giratina reached out to him with his tendrils, but Ryder leapt through the portal before they could touch him. He scowled, realizing that he would need to give chase. He was too adept of an opponent for him to attack with anything less than his all, which he could not do while hiding. Even if he tore the island apart and sent it into an infinite void, something told him that this man would not be a part of it. So, he entered through the portal himself and surfaced.

---

The status of the beast trio seemed fine to Ash. Though, he also sensed the other three people beginning to move. Unfortunately, they did not have the luxury of worrying about that. Prioritizing Keldeo, the group descended as quickly as possible. It was only around the time they found the fifteenth floor, nearly half an hour later, that they started seeing signs of battle.

Burns littered the dark hall, along with what looked like deep cut marks and impacts of some kind that pressed into the walls. A lot of it looked like it was melted into different, warped shapes. Pikachu leapt off his shoulder to do a bit of investigating himself.

"Was Entei here?" Asked Serena tentatively.

Ash, inspecting the cut marks, replied, "I'm not sure. The only one of them that has claws is Raikou, but these burn marks don't look electric." He pressed his hand to the ground and sensed for surrounding life. The trio of beasts were rising from the lower floors, now wandering in search of Lee. He couldn't sense the three humans anymore either.

He heard a call from Pikachu not too far ahead.

"Did you find something, Pikachu?" Called Ash, earning a noise Ash figured was one of affirmation. "Alright! Let's move, guys."

When the rest of the group caught up to Pikachu, they were shocked to see a large hole with melted edges in the middle of the hallway. Pikachu leaned over it, pointing down enthusiastically. Ash could sense Keldeo's diminishing life force right below their feet. When he peered over, he felt a sudden sense of vertigo. Layers upon layers of holes had been driven through the floors of the halls below. If this was what that other armored man was capable of, then avoiding a feud with him was the smart move after all.

"Charizard, can you carry everyone down to the twenty-fifth floor from here?" Asked Ash, earning a swift nod from him. "We don't know what'll be down there. I'll be with you guys just as soon as I've got Keldeo."

The others gave him a nod of approval. "Just be careful," Said Serena.

Returning the nod, Ash took the first plunge. When he neared the bottom, his eyes went wide when he saw a powerful electric current rushing over the floor. He swiftly grabbed the edge of one of the holes to stop his fall, dangling over it. By now, he could hear Keldeo's screams.

"Hang on, Keldeo!" He cried, hoping his words would reach him. "I'll be right there!"

He created a barrier around himself, then dropped into the room. The first thing he noticed was that the floor was extremely wet. He turned to Keldeo quickly, summoning another barrier around him as well. For the first time in an hour, Keldeo felt relief from the electric onslaught. He dropped to his knees, gasping for air and coughing with a hoarse voice.

Ash went to him, kneeling down to heal his wounds. "Hang in there, Keldeo," He said. "You're alright now! We're gonna get you out of here!"

As Ash continued to heal him, Keldeo's senses slowly returned to him. "...Ash…?" He asked weakly, seeing the vague, hazy shape looking down at him.

Nodding, Ash said, "Yeah, it's me. Don't worry, I've got you. I'll have you back on your feet in just a few minutes."

Slowly, Keldeo's eyes rose open. Sudden life was imbued into them, and he gasped, quickly distancing himself to the edge of the barrier. "Wh-where is he?!" He cried, looking around him. "That man in armor! Where did he go?!"

Ash brought his hand up. "Hey, hey, he's nowhere near us. I need you to take it easy."

Keldeo turned to him with wild eyes. "Take it easy?! That guy's going after Moltres and- wait, you know him?!"

"I saw him briefly," Explained Ash, looking up through the layered holes. "My friends and I were lucky he wanted nothing to do with us, so we got by without issue."

Shocked, Keldeo cried, "Wait, you let him pass?! He's gonna go after Moltres!"

Ash frowned. "We...didn't exactly have much of a choice. Before meeting him, we were fighting another guy in armor that looked like his, along with a few of those guys in black suits Lugia warned us about. Our Pokemon got hurt badly in that fight. I couldn't risk it happening again."

He looked back down to Keldeo, adding, "That, and I had to hurry to get to you. Now, can I finish healing you?"

Keldeo turned his head down, glaring into the water at his feet. Ash could sense immense anger in him. "...Forget that," He snapped. "I'll live. But that guy won't! If there are more of those guys in armor, they need to be dealt with! We need to get back to the surface! If that guy meets Moltres, then-"

"Then Moltres will be fine," Interrupted Ash. He knelt down to look Keldeo in the eyes, his silver orbs not letting Keldeo look away. "Lugia and Articuno are up there with it. There's no way that guy can take on all three of them. Plus, Giratina's here! There's no need to worry."

He stood back to his full height, offering a glowing hand to Keldeo. "Take it easy, Keldeo. Thoughts like that aren't healthy. People and Pokemon dying are why we're in this mess to begin with. Our enemies need to pay, but not with their lives."

Keldeo looked away for a moment, mulling over Ash's words with a furrowed brow. Eventually, his expression softened, and he looked up. "...I guess you're right," He admitted, reaching up to take the hand with his hoof. "My old family, Cobalion, Terrakion and Verizion...they always told me old stories about war. They sounded terrible. I never knew how right they were until Necrozma showed up… Guess I'm not living up to their names if I'm saying stuff like that even after that war."

Ash grabbed his hoof, earning a gasp from the young Legend as ivory Aura flowed throughout his body, easing the pains of his body and mind. He was enthralled by it, watching the white wisps soar around him like miniature stars with gleaming eyes.

"Come on," Ash said, smiling down at him. "We've got our own job. Lee isn't here anymore, but that big guy told us where his office is. If we can find that, maybe we can find him and put an end to all this."

Keldeo continued to stare up at him in a trance for a brief moment. Then, he nodded, flashing a confident smirk up at him. "You're right, Ash. Let's finish this!"

---

Near the clouds, Lugia surveyed the situation below. Giratina and Reshiram had disappeared somewhere, but Giratina's rifts were still appearing to drag in parts of the island. Naturally, this made it quite difficult to team up with them. He avoided attacking for now, since the soldiers were too busy evading the rifts to dare focus their attention elsewhere. The last thing Moltres needed right now was to be fired upon.

Then, there was a guttural, savage roar. Lugia's eyes widened when he saw the armored man he'd been combatting earlier jettison himself from one of the portals. He mulled over the idea of going on the attack until the massive, shadowed form of Giratina raced up after him. His tendrils flew off into different portals that appeared near them. They manifested around Ryder, intending to tear through his armor. The armored man brought up his blade in time to block one, though it sent him flying off into the ground.

Ryder was thrown across the ground until he regained his footing, still continuing to slide back until he hit something. There was a loud ring of banging metal, confusing him. Had he been knocked into an anti-air turret? But hadn't they all been destroyed already?

He turned back, finding the Burned Man looming over him. "Harper," He acknowledged. "I was not made aware that your augmentations were completed. Regardless, your appearance is appreciated. We were in need of a replacement for Pyro."

"I am only here for Moltres," Droned Harper. "Until I slay it, I take orders from nobody."

Ryder scoffed. "Repeat that to our master and I will take your head. Know that your suit was the most expensive to produce. Auto spared no expense, including time, when creating it for your charred corpse to remain in." Standing back to his full height, he pointed his blade up at Giratina. "Regardless, you will have to deal with that long before Moltres, unless you believe that fighting a flaming bird at the bottom of the ocean is possible."

Lugia's eyes widened, seeing another man in armor like Ryder's. "There's more?! This cannot stand. More of those monsters cannot be allowed to live!" He opened his maw, charging a Hyper Beam. He only stopped when he heard a voice from behind."

When he and the birds turned to it, they found none other than a Salamence far greater than its normal size, and atop it, the trainer who once fought with Legends. Though he knew this person was a friend to Ash, Lugia could not suppress the rising anger he felt merely looking upon this person.

"Hey!" Called Tobias, waving up to the three. "You guys are going to want to clear out pretty quickly. Mr. Star's guys will be getting here soon."

Lugia looked up from Tobias, narrowing his eyes out to the horizon behind him. "Is that right?" He asked.

Surely enough, Lugia saw something shimmering in the distance. And then, the air seemed to explode with noise. Not too far below them, the fleet of Mr. Star's jets raced by. Tobias felt his body tremble from the noise and wind they gave off, and he was forced to his knees, covering his ears.

Lugia and the birds were startled by them, not expecting them to be this fast or loud. "Wh-what the-?!" Cried the Beast of the Sea, his voice nearly drowned out by their roars. "What in the world are those?!"

They were gone not long after their arrival. Lugia whipped around to see them sailing off into the distance. In perfect sync, they turned back around, slowing their speed as they gradually lowered their altitude. They began encircling the island overhead.

"Those things are meant to take on something like Necrozma, according to Mr. Star," Explained Tobias, still holding his ringing ears. "They won't attack if our guys are still down there."

Lugia replied, "Tell Mr. Star to commence the attack. Only Giratina is on the surface, and I have my doubts that man made weaponry could hurt him." He looked to the birds and said, "Articuno, protect Moltres. Both of you stay here. There's still something I need to make sure of."

Tobias protested. "You're going down there? I'm not trying to question your power or anything, but-"

"Then don't," Retorted Lugia. "Lee is still down there. I have no doubt that he could find a way to use the chaos to escape if Ash doesn't have him."

As the jets descended into view, the soldiers on the ground became wary. "Those...those are ours, right?" Asked one. The Black Suits uncharacteristically took their attention completely off of Giratina, instead looking up at the encircling aircrafts. Seeing this, Giratina did the same, looking at the human machinations curiously.

From within one of them, a pilot eyed Giratina with trepidation. "I'm looking at something here, sir. Some kind of...giant, pitch-black entity. It's got these red eyes that are looking up at us. You think that's one of the Branch's?"

"That may be Giratina," Replied the voice of Mr. Star over the communication systems. "It has the power to traverse worlds, become intangible and many other things, leading to a nickname in Sinnoh mythos that herald him as the 'Lord of Shadow.' Do not attack it. He'll get the message."

The pilot nodded. "Roger, sir. Over and out."

"Good luck."

A bright series of flares were unleashed from the jet that led the others, falling toward the island. This signal caused the rest to descend upon the island.

When Ryder noticed the falling flares, he said to Harper, "Change of plans. Make for the underground immediately." He picked up his radio, turned the notch on its side twice, and repeated those orders into it. With that, he began to walk away until he noticed Harper was not following him. "What are you doing? If you do not follow orders, you will be terminated by them."

Harper did not reply. He stared into the sky, transfixed by something. When Ryder followed where he was looking, he saw Moltres and Articuno just underneath the clouds, only illuminated under the storm due to the former's fire. Growling in annoyance, Ryder marched up to him impatiently and bashed the side of his fist into the 'face' of Harper's suit, causing him to cry out and stagger backwards. He tried to reach out, aiming the palm of his hand to Ryder, but Ryder knocked it up with the flat of his blade.

"Don't be a fool," Hissed Ryder. "We do not have time for this. If you stay here, you will be annihilated. That is a complete waste of master's resources, and you will not get your vengeance upon Moltres. Is that what you want?"

He sheathed his blade, turning away to kneel and place a hand to the ground, preparing to sprint. "Follow. Now."

Seconds later, Mr. Star's weapons were unleashed upon the island, setting it alight. Soldiers and Grunts cried out as their ranks disappeared into a blaze of fire. They looked to their Black Suit superiors for answers or, at the very least, orders, but the Black Suits were nowhere to be seen. Some tried to open fire on the jets. These miserable attacks were swiftly met with counterattacks from on high. They did not even know they were being targeted before it was too late to do anything about them. Anyone who could hear their fire was lucky. If the jets were targeting them, they would not have the time to hear it.

Some of the aircrafts flew across the entire island's length in only seconds, spraying the unfortunate souls below and leaving a straight line of fire and death in their wake. Others, smaller ones, seemed to have the enigmatic ability to stay in the air without moving, so that they could target individuals or groups that stuck closely together before scouring them from the face of the world.

Giratina watched on, feeling slightly disturbed as he watched the Nova Branch be torn apart like this. He knew it wasn't like he hadn't been doing the same thing not too long ago, but there was something about it that bothered him. These machines were efficient and so utterly complete in how they destroyed. They were made to kill. To obliterate life. These people deserved every bit of it, because he knew they would do the same to Pokemon with smiles upon their faces...but they stood no chance. They were being slaughtered—cut down and erased like they were nothing more than a blade of grass.

Now he knew why that old human did not want to use them. His job here was done, in any case. He was merely in the way now. Silently, he turned his head up and retreated into shadow, taking with him his voids. The soldiers would be meeting a different oblivion soon enough.

---

A blazing orange sword pierced through the bottom of a large, black door. It cut upwards until it touched the ceiling before retracting. A loud series of bangs rang through the halls, and the door's halves were pressed inward more with each one. Eventually, they fell back, falling onto the ground with a final thud. Ash and Charizard bumped each other's fists at their handiwork before flashing a thumbs up to Keldeo and the others.

"Looks like that did the trick," Ash said to the young Legend.

Keldeo nodded, walking past him with his horn pointed outward in case there was any resistance to meet them. He scanned the seemingly-empty room, finding nothing out of turn, and asked, "Ash, you said Lee already left, right?"

"Yeah," Responded Ash, walking into the room, "But he's still here on the island. I figured something in his office might help us find him."

Serena added, "Unless he's found by someone else first. How are Entei, Raikou and Suicune?"

Ash knelt down, sending a pulse of Aura throughout the building. "...They're still wandering around," He said, "Though they seem to be rising. Maybe they caught on that he left? Either way, they're not close to him, which is lucky for us."

"How is that lucky?" Asked a confused Keldeo, giving Ash an odd look. "The faster they get to him, the faster this ends!"

Shaking his head, Ash replied, "They'll kill him if they find him. We need him for information. He can lead us to Giovanni! If he dies here, the last thing we'll get is a fast end to all this."

Frowning, Serena looked about the room, looking for something that might be able to help him. Her attention was brought to one of the few light sources in the room. There were a great number of screens above a large keyboard, but only one of them was lit. She walked up to it, narrowing her eyes to see what was on it, and when she did, she felt her heart skip a beat.

"Ash!" She cried, pointing up to it. "Look, there are three guys on that screen!"

Ash and the others immediately whipped around hearing that. With great haste, they ran to the screens, looking up to where Serena pointed. "Two of them are guys in those weird black suits, like the ones from earlier," She explained, "And there's another guy with them." She turned to Ash. "That's him, isn't it?! Mr. Star showed us!"

For once, Ash's memory was reliable. The face of that man, he did not forget. Over five months ago, he saw it on the news, reporting the demise of the Orange Islands. Later, he saw it again in Mr. Star's office. "That's him alright. No mistaking it. But where is this?!" He fumbled around with the keyboard, trying to enlarge the image to get a better look at it, but only succeeded in activating the other screens. Nearly all of them only showed static.

Silently cursing, Ash knelt down again and tried to sense further up. He suddenly cried out and fell back, letting out a choked scream.

Serena and Ash's Pokemon practically dove to his side. "Ash!" She cried with worry. "Are you alright?!"

Being one of the gifted few with the potential to wield the very world's life force seemed like the greatest boon a person could have, only to those who did not have it. To those who did, they knew it was not a gift, but a responsibility. They became vessels for life itself, and thus, its absence. The greatest curse of Aura was something only its wielders could understand. Their goal was to cultivate life, and to prevent pain and loss of life. For all the pain they could sense, it was made their own.

"S-something terrible...is happening above…!" Ash said between labored breaths. He forced his Aura to retreat, then pulled himself back up. "The battle...is ending…!" Ash looked back up to the screen and added, "But Lee is getting away! We need to-"

Then, he gasped, seeing what happened on the screen next.

Lee's escape helicopter was in sight. It would be only a matter of time before his escape. Or so he believed. The two Black Suits were suddenly coated in a cyan glow and whisked away high into the air. They screamed out in terror, but their shields could not resist Psychic power. Lee whipped around when he heard their screams, but was given no time to react further when a Hyper Beam swept across the helicopter and destroyed it.

He turned back, only briefly seeing the smoking wreck that was his escape from the island before something large crashed down right in front of him. Lugia glared down at him hatefully, his eyes wild with rage, but focused entirely upon Lee. The explosions surrounding them suddenly seemed so quiet to the two. The silence of death hung in the air.

Lee raised his hands in surrender and lowered himself to his knees. "All right," He said. "I surrender. You win. I figured I was starting to get too old for this anyways." Lugia's only response was to open his maw, letting out a low growl that shook the grass.

An orange ball manifested in front of Lugia's mouth, causing Lee's eyes to widen in alarm. "H-hey, what are you doing?!" He cried. Lugia made no effort to respond verbally, but the orb was still growing steadily.

Ash felt his heart sunk. "No… He's gonna kill him!"

He scrambled for the keyboard, running his fingers across it to try to find some way to communicate, not believing his Aura would reach him in time. The others followed suit until Pikachu soon found what looked like a flat, circular microphone under a box of glass. Flipping it up with his tail, he alerted Ash to his finding.

"Great job, Pikachu!" Congratulated Ash, rushing over to it. He pressed the button underneath it, hoping his words would reach Lugia. "Stop, Lugia!" He yelled into the microphone. "We need him alive!"

Serena kept an eye on the screen while Ash tried to communicate with him. "...Lugia isn't stopping!" She said with worry.

Ash gritted his teeth, but tried again. "Lugia! Don't kill him! He's our best chance at finding Giovanni! If you kill him, none of this will end!"

Whether Lugia could hear Ash or not, he made no move to cease his intended attack. With Psychic power, he boxed Lee in by raising the ground around him.

"H-HEY!" Yelled Lee, who had become slightly pale by now. "Why are you trying to kill me?! The only thing I've ever done to you is talk! Is that really worth death?!"

Lugia reared his head back slowly as the orb nearly reached the upper end of his mouth.

Lee fell to his hands and knees, prostrating himself before Lugia. "W-wait!" He protested, no longer able to hide the desperation in his voice. "I-I'm not the man you want! E-everything I've ever done was under order from Giovanni! He's the one you want, and I can bring you right to him!"

Still, there was no response.

By now, Lee was heaving for air fearfully. He was trembling from head to toe like a cornered Pokemon at the mercy of his men. "Giovanni ordered me to do all of this! Every word I said, everything I did, it was all him! Look, I'll even destroy the footage I took on the Elemental Islands! I'll destroy all of it if you let me live!"

The orb had gotten too large to be contained in Lugia's maw, growing out in front of him to the point it was larger than his head. Its energy became wild. Loose sparks from it were unleashed, tearing apart anything they touched. But Lugia made sure not to let any touch Lee. He would not be let off so easily.

On trembling legs, Lee rose to his feet and tried to look for a way out. But there were none. Lugia had cut off every possible angle. There was nothing to climb onto, nothing to hide behind. He turned back to face Lugia, covering his face with his arms.

"It's Giovanni you want! Not me! I've only ever followed his orders! None of this will end unless he's-"

Lugia craned his head down and unleashed the most powerful Hyper Beam in his life. Lee screamed in terror as the orange beam consumed him, but his screams were drowned out by its roar. Pillars of orange light rose from the ground all around him, scouring the nearest land. When it was over, there was nothing more than a massive, black crater where Lee had once stood.

Ash banged his fist against the keyboard. His friends could only stare at him, unsure of what to say. But everyone in that room knew now that the war would not be over for a long time.

"...There's nothing we can do here anymore," He said. "Keldeo, can you open a portal to the Hall of Origin? We...need to report back to Arceus."

Lugia stared down at the burned crater, his shoulders heaving up and down as he breathed heavily. A sense of elation welled up within him. Throwing his head back and looking to the sky, he laughed loudly. "At last!" He cried. "At long last, Christopher Lee is no more!" He continued to indulge himself in his jubilation for a time. But soon, it became hollow.

His laughter soon pittered out, and he returned to staring down at his mess. The joy he felt was fleeting. His smile shrank, eventually returning to a frown. Then, he realized something. He was still angry. "...Why?" He asked aloud. "Why is my rage...not sated…?"

Then, he recalled Christopher Lee's final words. "It...it must be Giovanni, then. Yes, that must be it! There can be no other explanation. I still feel the rage of the Pokemon slain by his hand! Until he is dealt with, I cannot rest!"

He looked out to the rest of the island, again hearing the roars of Mr. Star's aircrafts, the explosions they created, and the screams of their victims all across the battlefield. He looked around, suddenly feeling...small. His mind became a bit hazy. Unfocused. With no target, he did not know what to do.

"...Right…?"

---

Far under the nearby sea, Mewtwo and Kyogre continued their battle. Rows upon rows of Kyogre's Origin Pulse shot Mewtwo's way from every conceivable angle, only to be curved back toward their maker by Mewtwo's immense Psychic power. This had been going on ever since Mewtwo and Kyogre disappeared under the ocean's surface. Mewtwo was smirking the entire time, toying with the ocean deity.

And Kyogre had enough of it.

Noticing Kyogre had stopped his onslaught, Mewtwo shot a grin his way. "What's the matter?" He taunted, flexing a finger toward himself. "Are you giving up, oh 'Lord of the Sea'?"

"I was holding back," He growled, "For the sake of the others. I didn't want them getting swallowed by the ocean. But I am finished with this. I will not stand for being made a fool in my own domain!"

His form became encased in a dark blue crystal. A cyan symbol appeared on it, intriguing Mewtwo. "I am the Lord of the Sea!" Came a voice from within the crystal, echoing throughout the ocean's depths. "I am Kyogre, master of water, and you will regret facing me within my domain! It is as unforgiving as I!"

The crystal burst, unveiling Primal Kyogre. He was easily double his original size and portions of his body seemed to glow gold, illuminating the dark waters. The red patterns decorating his body burned brightly. Around him, the water looked like blood.

Mewtwo whistled at Kyogre's new form. "My, my, so you were holding out on me after all. Well, that's fine." He crossed his arms tightly, opening the palms of his hands out to the opposite side. "It's only fair, considering I was doing the same!"

A white glow enveloped Mewtwo. "Behold," He said, "The power of Mega Evolution!"

However, that glow soon faded. Mewtwo looked himself over, utterly baffled by this. "What in the…? Why won't it work?! None of this vessel's abilities should be beyond me anymore!"

His head snapped up when he saw a vortex of water approaching. He tried to stop it with Psychic, but for some reason, his power had no effect on it. The vortex swallowed him, barrier and all, and threatened to tear him apart. More orbs of Origin Pulse, far greater in size than they were initially and even dwarfing Mewtwo himself, began to pelt away at his barrier. No matter what Mewtwo attempted to control, they shrugged off his Psychic powers as if they were nothing.

"I am the maker of the oceans!" Roared Kyogre. "And I am their sole master! None can control it but I!"

Growing tired of being thrown about, Mewtwo let out a roar of his own, expanding his barrier until it burst through the vortex. He glared down at Kyogre and hissed, "Count yourself lucky that your vessel has less value to me than this one. I have no intention to lose it until I find a superior one! Farewell, Kyogre, Lord of the Sea."

With that, he teleported away.

Kyogre scoffed at him. "Coward," He spat.

He rose to the surface, causing the waves to begin to swell. Eyeing the island, he let out a primal bellow to the sky and sea. The waves swirled around the island in a massive whirlpool, soon growing to encompass the entire archipelago. The other islands crumbled under the pressure of the waves, but the main one remained protected by its height. That would not last. Kyogre called for waves that nearly touched the clouds with his roars, and they were all closing in on the island.

Seeing the waves, Mr. Star's pilots quickly became uneased. "Your job is done," said Mr. Star, putting them at ease. "Ascend and return to base."

With that, the jets began to retreat, soaring and disappearing into the clouds. Tobias received the message as well, and though he was safe from the titanic waves at his altitude, he was still concerned for Ash and the others.

"Don't be concerned," Came the voice of Mr. Star from his Secretary Bot. "Ash is considered a Legend, as I've found out. He can escape to the place where the Legends meet."

Still not at ease, Tobias asked him, "But what if he's injured, or worse? If he can't get out by the time those waves hit…"

"We must have faith. In times like these, faith is sometimes the only thing a person has. Ash has been through far worse than this. I have no doubt he will live through this, but I also know he would never forgive me for allowing a friend of his to march to their death trying to save him. Return to base, Tobias. Remember that I'm employing you now, so you have to follow my orders."

Tobias looked down to the Secretary Bot on his wrist with a strained expression. "...Fine," He said. "You have a point. Salamence, let's head back to New Goldenrod." Salamence gave a growl of acknowledgement before turning back, speeding toward their destination. Tobias gave one last look back at the island before the waves obscured his vision of it. "You better get back here alive. This world needs you."

On the island, the few soldiers that managed to survive until the end dropped their weapons as they looked up to the incoming waves. Most of their comrades were gone. Their leaders had abandoned them. What was left for them to fight for. Many panicked, desperately looking for some nonexistant solution to their problem. Others accepted their fate, either falling into despair or silently awaiting the end.

At the edge of a hole that led into the underground, where Ryder had retreated to, Harper took one last glance up to the sky. He was briefly able to see Moltres before the waves got in the way. Now, it was out of his reach, and there was no telling when he would get his next chance. He clenched his metal fist in rage, then descended into the dark.

The Beasts realized something was wrong instinctually. They summoned their portals with a series of howls, then jumped through. Following them, Ash's group piled into their own portal one by one. Ash himself made sure the others went first. Before entering it himself, he took one last glance at the camera. Lugia still sat in the same place. He saw Lugia stare up at the waves for a brief moment before summoning a portal of his own and going through it.

Ash sighed, dreading having to confront Lugia about his actions. He also dreaded the future. There was no telling where Giovanni was now that their only lead was dead. The war would go on. He entered the portal and it closed behind him, leaving the island to its fate. The colossal waves beared down upon Nova Branch HQ relentlessly, swallowing it entirely.

---

"...Well. This is most disappointing."

Giovanni clicked the off button on his remote, ending his observation of the battle against Nova Branch HQ and casting the room in darkness. He stroked the back of his Persian, earning a satisfied purr from it.

"The Nova Branch will be difficult to replace, though not impossible. I suppose we will have to reabsorb their assets into Team Rocket itself." He turned to another channel, showing the face of his secretary. "Matori," He acknowledged, earning a bow from her.

"Yes, sir?" She asked politely. "What can I do for you?"

Giovanni sat back in his chair, reaching for a glass of wine. "We have much to discuss regarding the future. The Nova Branch has fallen, and in their absence, we must prevent the same from happening to us. Get the remaining Nova Branch bases on the line."

She nodded. "It will be done, sir."

---

Author's Note

Pokextinction Fact of the Day: Giratina could not have single handedly defeated the Nova Branch HQ simply because of the Necrozma Crystal Shard that Ryder had. Giratina would have been forced to break Ryder's barrier at some point, which would cause Ryder to use its explosion against him. As we saw with the void he tried to use to suck it up, it would not go well for him if he was hit by it. On top of that, Mewtwo (Marshadow) would not need to fight with Kyogre.

Giratina would have also won without injury against Ryder if the fight continued until its conclusion.

The Creator- Apologies for the late update. School has begun once more. We were trying to get this out before February, but it ended up being longer than anticipated. It was well worth it in the end.

Hydra- And thus concludes the ending of the island raid! Oh boy we're the last three chapters crazy, but it seems like Lee has finally met his end. The question is was the sacrifice worth it in the grander scheme of things?

British-Vulture- Oh ho ho! Giratina is here, IT'S SHOWTIME!

This chapter. Holy fuck, this chapter has exploited sometching I only just realised when reading it, and dear god is this masterful. Giratina wasn't involved that much against Necrozma. Therefore, he never got the shit beaten out of him. He's not recovering from injuries or anything. He's still at full strength. No wonder he was so effective against the Nova Branch! As for the rest of it, fucking amazing!

Prediction Time: Eternatus and the Wishing Stars cause the Dynamax phenomenon through Galar Particles. Galar does exist here. Galar particles were used by Swordward and Shieldbert to try and make Zacian/Zamazenta go mad. The Galarian Birds (Smug boi, Moltres if it was a Marnie fan, L E G S) are stated to not be the classic bird trio, meaning they technically are exempt from your rule of no more than one of each Legend, except Genesect, and we saw how that went. The Galarian Birds are, at least with Smug Articuno and Yell Moltres, actively hostile. Nova Branch wants to try and make Pokémon seem hostile to humanity. And they also have Yveltal.

And we still haven't seen sibling dogs (Zacian and Zamazenta). Unless I'm wrong and we have.

Oh boy. This is still yet to go even further. Beyond fucking twenty!

You two are madlads extraordinaire right now. Keep up the good work.

The Creator- Beyond fucking twenty indeed. Did this chapter hit thirty for you? Or just twenty five? Actually, Galar does exist here. You can thank Hydra for that because he liked Chairman Rose. We saw Oleana before the raid. Galarian Moltres does look like part of Team Yell now that you mention it. And that is an interesting theory. Can't wait to see your reaction to this chapter. Thanks again for the review.

Hydra- Hopefully this chapter was able to really blow you away! One of my favorite parts was seeing Ryder literally launch himself into the distortion world to take on the Lord of Shadows. And you were quite correct in remembering that Giratina wasn't involved much in the battle against Necrozma, that's why he had so much power in this chapter.

DarkPugLord23- Ooooooh, Giratina is pissed! Oh man, this chapter and the previous one have been a massive joy to read. Everyone's angry, injured, missing, or somewhere in between, and there's tons of angst everywhere! I, for one, enjoyed Giratina's deux ex machina moment, and I eagerly await to see his well-justified rampage against Nova Branch. I don't think even Mewtwo can stop the angry Void Dragon Centipede.

The Creator- It's great they were a joy to read because they were a joy to write as well. Though less angsty than the last chapter, I hope this one follows the trend of the last two for you. Bet you weren't expecting Ryder to hold up so well against Giratina alone, huh?

Hydra- I'd definitely say this was the most enjoyable chapter to write out of the three since we finally got to see the end of Lee and we got to see what Giratina is capable of when he's at full power.

Amourshipper35- Wow I hope ash can this battle and I am glad Serena is safe

The Creator- Serena may be safe, but how will she cope with her Pokemon's injuries?

Hydra- They certainly won the battle, but now that Lee is dead can they win the war?

Guest 1- Good chapter, so continues the battles between Ash and the Legendaries vs Lee and the Nova Branch, well it is awesome to see how much capable are the Nova Branch men, in terms of combat, as they are basically fighting the legendaries pokemon in equal terms, than be behind of the pokemon and making that they fights against the legendary pokemon. To be honest, only this fact proves how much superior are the Nova Branch in comparison with the Team rocket, as most of the rocket grunts are useless that depends only of Pokemon to fights, while the Nova Branch henchmen can fights their own battles. Well, i guess that they trained to specifically fight against Pokemon, without pokemon, to uphold their mindset about that the pokemon are unworthy beings that don't deserve existence, unlike the Team rocket that is interested in the potential of the pokemon.

As other aspect, to be seeing the armors of the Nova Branch henchmen, specifically of the Black men's, for some reason, this power armors makes me think in the Mjolnir armors of the Spartan soldiers of Halo franchise, as both are power armors that amplifies the physical capabilities of the user, both are made from a very resistant materials capable to withstand a lot punishment, both power armors are equipped with energy shields capable to deflects a lot attacks, adding some other possibles functions to makes the soldiers more versatile and deadly in the battle. Though that as a difference, the Black men power armor can be worn for normal humans, unlike the Mjolnir armor that only can be used by Spartans soldiers for their enhancements. Though in the case of the armor of the Burned man, to consider all the posibles integrated weapons and its life support functions, his armor is more like a combination of the Darth Vader's armor with the Praetor suit of Doom slayer.

Also, the metal used to the creation of this power armors is the unique iron of the now destroyed Iron island. Well, to consider that this material comes from a natural iron ore rather than a metallic alloy created in a laboratory, perhaps this iron is more similar to the Beskar, also known as Mandalorian Iron of Star wars, than the Adamantium of Marvel. Regarding to the Mandalorian iron, this is one of the most resistant and rare materials of Star wars, as this is one of the known materials capables to withstand the blows of the lightsabers, showing a great resistance against very high temperatures, and even the Mandalorians crafted some swords made from Beskar called Beskads, that allows them fights in equal terms with Jedi armed with Lightsabers during the Mandalorian wars, much like the Black men can fights in equal terms with Legendary pokemon with their power armors during the new Pokemon-human war.

To finishes, to considers the possibility that the Burned Man neutralizes the fire type of Moltres permanently and that the poor former fire bird would be in medical intensive care for a long time, i was noting that the Legendary trio birds would loses two members, Zapdos the lightning bird and Moltres the firebird, while that the Tao trio, lost the ice dragon Kyurem. I said this because it is said that the Legendary birds trio is analogue and similar to the Tao trio, in the sense of that their three members are conformed by a fire elemental (Moltres and Reshiram), a lightning elemental (Zapdos and Zekrom), and an ice elemental (Articuno and Kyurem). But to considers the possible outcome of the battle against the Burned man, only would left Articuno, Reshiram and Zekrom from their respectives trio, and to considers that the Legendary birds controlled an elemental balance in the world, now disrupted thanks to Necrozma and the Burned man, what if Arceus considers unified this two trios and now would be the elemental trio; Reshiram as the fire elemental, Zekrom as the Lightning elemental and Articuno as the ice elemental, to could reestablishes some of the balance of the world, especially when they needs to rebuild this world after dealing with Nova branch.

Keep the good job.

As other point regarding to the possible outcome for Moltres, to considers the possibility that it loses its fire type as result of the attack of the Burned man and that Moltres ended in Medical intensive care, what if as a way to could nurses back Moltres, Mr Star and his medics could applies an experimental method to gives a pokemon type to some pokemon, through the infusion of concentrated energy of the respective element.

And after some extensive analyze of the condition of Moltres and considers this experimental method, perhaps they could considers that Moltres could recovers its strength with the Dark type, and then they could gives Moltres a infusion of Dark energy, to could gives Moltres an alternative to the fire and magma to be still alive, the dark energy and the capability to draws energy from this element, turning Moltres in its Galardian form, Dark/flying type. Nevertheless, even with if this method allows Moltres to could functions without any life support, perhaps the effects of the weapon of the burned man would be still active, making that Moltres would be still incapable to could uses fire type attacks, but perhaps it wouldn't be weak against the Fire type anymore, after get the Dark type by this method, making that Moltres simply has to adapts itself to fights with Dark type attacks and learn to draws dark energy than enter into magma as it used to do when was a firebird. While Reshiram could take its place as the fire elemental of the pokemon world.

And perhaps Galarian Moltres could has a rematch against the Burned man, and perhaps both could finally has their final battle, to see whom would wins once and for all, as Moltres won the first round to leaves Harper severely burned and forced to escape, the Burned man possibly would wins the second round to neutralizes the fire type of Moltres and forces the heroes to escape, and we would see who wins the final round.

The Creator- Mjolnir Armor is a great comparison to the suits of Ryder's squadron. Both of them heavily augment their wielder's original bodies too. That's especially the case with the Burned Man. And speaking of the Burned Man, I can tell you're a big fan of the character. Sorry that he was not yet able to get his vengeance, but rest assured, we do have big plans for him later. The Black Suits, not to be confused with Ryder's Squadron, are actually mostly unarmored. They fight with flexibility and gadgets while still being entirely human. The same cannot be said for Ryder and his direct subordinates.

Hydra- That was something that never occurred to me before, but you're right the black suited men with all their armor and shields do sorta remind me of spartan armor, but if there was one character that looked the most similar to Master Chief it would be the Burned Man.

Guest 2- (After that Ryder slashed the neck of Reshiram and only managed to makes her bleeds a little blood)

Reshiram: "You should gone for the head"

(And Reshiram continues fighting than be already dead)

The Creator- I really hope you enjoyed what happened to the unfortunate Black Suit that met her wrath. It reminded me a lot of this.

Hydra- That scene was one of my personal favorites, just seeing a calm and composed legend like Reshiram lose it like that.

The Creator- Next time, we get a bit of a break from action. The Legends scramble for an answer of what to do next and how to do it while Ash and Serena come to terms with what happened to their Pokemon. They will need to redouble their training if they want to stop such a thing from ever happening again.

Hydra- Well guys that wraps it up for this one. We finally now know who the real person is behind the conflict with the legends, but now that Lee is gone will they be able to get enough information to stop Giovanni? Find out on the next one!