Heavy footsteps shook the Ancient Poni Path as Mudsdale was racing as fast as his one-ton hooves could carry him and his passengers. Hapu was steadfast on him picking up the pace, even though it was something that she was naturally trying to prevent, for obvious reasons. With how heavy the stallion was, a trail of hoof-shaped ditches were left marking their way that extended from Seafolk Village all across the wilderness. She would have to hope that Tapu Fini would be forgiving this time around, given her position and the dire situation they were in.
After what felt like a literally long, bumpy ride, Mudsdale galloped to a slow halt once more and neighed. Hapu and Looker looked at their surroundings that was supposedly the Ancient Poni Path. As far as what Hapu has been used to, nothing seemed to be out of place.
"Looks like something be here." She said, before jumping off her Mudsdale's side. She dropped to the ground, with Looker right behind her. The Island Kahuna walked a few paces around to scope out the vicinity. All the ruins and wreckage seemed to be in one piece still. She internally sighed in relief.
'Thank de ever-loving Tapu that dis place ain't wrecked.' She had a momentary relapse. She wanted to go back to her house and check in on her crops and other parts of her home, but as much as she wanted to, something else caught her attention. 'What was dat explosion we saw earlier. It clearly came from over here, didn't it?'
Looker paced around the pathway, taking quick glances at the inhabitance that were the wild Pokémon. Many of them didn't seem harmed, and even more looked lively like nothing affected them. "Doesn't look like anything was destroyed around here." He put a hand to his chin, deeply pondering. "But that explosion was definitely around here somewhere. What we saw couldn't have been an illusion."
"Yeah, you'd be right about dat." Hapu looked up towards the sun. While the Alolan sun was most certainly bright all day around, it wasn't as blinding as it was a little while ago. At least when she looked straight up her eyes weren't straining from blaring rays of the sun.
"That explosion was over by the coastline. Perhaps we should look further down there." Looker advised.
"Dat be reasonable."
They were careful to watch where they treaded. Hapu guided Mudsdale a little ways south, where the southern sea breeze was brushing against her hair. It was a lot closer than what she usually remembered. She could actually hear the ocean waves against the seashore despite the distance from the coastline.
As they were reaching the end trail of the Ancient Poni Path bordering the Poni Breaker Coast, Mudsdale neighed loudly at what he saw. "(Good heavens!)"
Hapu came to a stop, her heart thumping out of her chest when she saw what became of the coast. "Great Tapu of Poni Island...what is this?!"
Looker looked out as well, only managing a small gasp of surprise.
She and Looker looked around, witnessing what had to be the breakneck discovery of Poni Island. The Poni Breaker Coast was known for being the bridge that connected the Ancient Poni Path to the Ruins of Hope. It was how Hapu was able to get to the ruins and pray on behalf of Tapu Fini's divine blessing. But looking at it now, the coastline was all but non-existent. A massive drop-off point, with smoothed out rock that looked freshly melted was flowing ever so smoothly into the cool oceanic currents crashing against the shoreline. They gawked for what had to be a full minute before the realization sunk in.
Managing to come to her senses first, Hapu shook her head and rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't imagining it. But when she opened her eyes again, her shoulders slumped in disbelief. "De Poni Breaker Coast...what happened to it?!" she shouted.
"The land mass has been completely altered...no, something else. It looks...like it was melted by something." Looker explained, gazing at the smoothed, hot incline down into the sea.
Hapu dropped to her knees from the overload of shock. "But...de coast was just fine when I first left dis mornin'."
"It must have been that explosion we saw earlier. That was by no means normal. Something...or perhaps someone did this."
"You really think so?" It took a moment for Hapu to get a sense of what he was talking about. "Wait, you'd be talkin' about dose people you be trackin', right? You really think dey be duh ones causing all dis?" She shot another glance down at the molten destruction.
"I'm positive about this." He furrowed his brow further at his own proclamation. He was almost certain this had to be the case. The evidence pointed in this direction, and that he followed. He wasn't there in person to witness it unfortunately, but the tracker that he was given definitely pointed him in this direction. And given the most recent misfortunes at Tapu Bulu's ruins, it was no coincidence that this battle happened to be at the front doorstep to Tapu Fini's ruins. That was as minimal as what his detective and International Police instincts told him at least. He turned back towards Hapu. "Young Miss Kahuna, can I ask you for your assistance once more?"
"Whatever it is, be naming it." She declared. She sounded more concerned than she ever did before. Looker was almost worried if he should calm her down first.
"You know the island better than I do. I need to make an important call to headquarters about this and see where my squad is. If I hand you my tracker, will you be able to locate them and stall them long enough for us to reconvene?"
Hapu nodded diligently. "I reckon dat I can! I know every inch of dis here island! Dere ain't nothing that can get away from me when I'm on its tail end!"
"Understood. Take this." He reached for his ear and pulled out a hooked earpiece. He handed it to her, before reaching into his pocket. He lobbed to her what looked like a compass that had a digital grid on it. On the tracker looked to be a red glowing dot giving out a faint red radar rippling over the screen. "It's not as strong or accurate as the real thing, but this should help you locate a spatial signature that one of them gives off."
Hapu took the earpiece and held it up to her ear. "You mean like dis?" She moved it beneath her hood to make sure it was fastened to where it wouldn't fall out. "So, how exactly do I, like, talk into dis here thang?"
"If you press along the side, there should be a small button that acts as a microphone. Luckily for me, I have a spare set right here." He reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a duplicate set. "This is automatically linked to each other and the Dimensional Research Lab. If you come across anything, I'll be in the loop."
"I think I get it. But first I gotta be checking on something, too." Hapu would have wanted to listen more and get a better understanding of what to do, but she had to put that in the back of her mind. Now was not the time to ask such stupid questions when answers were needed.
Taking action into her own hands, she pulled out an Ultra Ball and turned towards Mudsdale. "Partner, return for now." The Mudsdale was hit by the laser the Ultra Ball gave off, reverting him to energy that returned inside the capsule. She put away the capsule and brought up another Ultra Ball. "Alrighty, yer up!"
She lobbed the capsule high overhead and watched it open. Summoned out of pure energy was a large, reptilian Pokémon with insectoid and dragon features. He had diamond-shaped green wings with red edging. There were no claws on his green feet, but there were three claws on his hands. He had two, long, green antennae-like horns that went behind his head that matched the rings that went down his tail, all the way to the three-diamond protrusions. His eyes were encased in what looked like overly sized red lenses to help him see out of.
Hapu whistled up to the dragon. "Down here, Flygon!" The dragon let out a loud hum as he lowered himself to the ground. He hunched over to allow Hapu onto his back and readied herself. "Alright, let's get going!"
"Shouldn't you call for a Pager Charizard instead?" Looker advised worriedly.
"Pffft! We ain't got time to wait! Dis is an emergency!" She kicked Flygon's side gently. "Alrighty Flygon, to the Ruins of Hope! Yeehaw!"
Flygon called out once more before flapping his wings, picking up dust that got into Looker's face. He stepped back and coughed into his forearm as Flygon flapped again, ascending higher until he flew off to the ruins.
As the dust wave diminished, Looker turned his attention back over to the scene before him. The rock was starting to cool a little, enough to be treaded upon in fact. He kneeled down, putting his hand over the rock. Immediately he retracted it with a small sizzle. "Ow! Still hot!" He flicked his hand to shake the heat off. 'It's still hot. That means it's still fresh. They were just here.' He turned back and watched Hapu vanish along with Flygon over the rim of the ruins. An uneasy tension crawled up his spine as dots were connecting inside of his head. 'There was an engagement directly at the Ruins of Abundance yesterday. Now it's the Ruins of Hope. If this happened just recently...' His eyes widened upon a dreadful realization. 'Was the island guardian also defeated?'
"It's just part of life. Sometimes we're given choices, and sometimes some of us just aren't lucky enough to get those choices. I wasn't asked to be Kahuna, yet the guardian decided to pass the torch to me."
'Passing the torch, huh?' The thought about what Nanu said to him rung through his head like a bell. 'Even the Island Kahunas are looking after the ones who gave them this responsibility of theirs...' His thoughts were making him think back to a certain someone. Someone who he was with before he came here to investigate. He thought about a young woman with lavender hair and eyes in a fancy suit.
'I wonder how she's doing in Hoenn right now?'
At Lusamine's Aether Paradise, the businesswoman was standing in front of her desk instead of sitting down like she normally would. She crossed one leg over the other and had a hand resting against her lower cheek as she looked at a large holographic monitor that showed Poni Island, along with video footage taken by locals of the destruction of the Poni Breaker Coast. This didn't sit well for her stomach.
Walking down the corridor, Wicke caught up. "Miss Lusamine, did you hear the news?!"
"Yes, Wicke. I'm seeing it for myself." She answered, still looking at the screen with a discerning brow raised. "How can something like that be able to destroy a fraction of Poni Island?"
"We're, um, not entirely certain." Wicke stammered. "But we have some information regarding Nic's direction at least."
For once, Lusamine gave her a look. "What kind?"
"The energy trail that Miss Burnet is detecting on Nic Pularis has shown him traversing in that direction. We're almost certain that incident on the news was a direct result of him being part of it."
"I see, so it really was by them." Lusamine turned back towards the livestream paneling of the footages taken. Though this news was supposed to be alleviating in some way, it did the exact opposite. It wasn't often she saw power like that, but when she did, it sent a chill down her spine. Though, would she say that it was a bad chill? That would be on the fence in this case. It wasn't that she didn't like that kind of power...more like the correct term being interested.
She's only heard about power like that, power that was used to dispel the wrath of gods that did battle in many of two worlds. Even now, just thinking about being there, seeing that disheveling image of a mutated Lysandre with such a foul aura was enough to numb her. Of course that wasn't to say that kind of power piqued her either. With such power, it could benefit the majority of the people and Pokémon of Alola for eons to come. Of course she wasn't a callous woman either, she knew where her morals laid to rest. If power like that was tampered with by her hands, she knew there would be no turning back.
"Miss Lusamine...?"
"Hm?" Snapping out of her thoughts, she gave her assistant a look. "Yes, Wicke, what is it?"
"Nothing. You looked like you were lost in thought again." Her frown got heavier with increasing worry. "Were you think about...that incident?"
Lusamine shook her head. "No, Wicke. Not this time. Sorry for worrying you like that." She looked back at the screen with a serious face. "But if that kind of power was really caused by a human with Pokémon powers, we must put a stop to it. Otherwise, who knows how much more of Alola would have to be thrown into chaos."
"We'll do everything we can to ensure we don't have to answer that question."
A loud vibration was heard from Lusamine's desk.
"Hm? Who could that be?" She reached for her smartphone, in which she looked at the caller ID. "It's Nanu."
"What does he want?" Wicke wondered. "It's not like him to call first."
"You're right. It must be urgent." She pressed the accept button and put the phone up to her ear. "Hello?"
Miss Wicke watched her as she started pacing back and forth while the CEO was giving verbal replies. "I see...so they're all there...and you'll rendezvous at that point...I see. Thank you for the update."
The connection ended, allowing Wicke a chance to step forward. "Miss Lusamine...?"
Lusamine looked down at her face reflecting on the blank screen that was her phone. "That was Nanu alright. He told me that he's gathered all the other Kahunas and are meeting at Poni Island with Looker's squad. They'll be following the coordinates in conjunction with the detector that Nanu has on hand."
"You think that will be enough?"
Lusamine looked up at the sunlit ceiling, the sun shining down ever so brightly to radiate her crestfallen face. "Who knows, really. If they aren't enough, then hopefully the island guardians will strike."
Sailing across the ocean were three Pager Charizard, all speeding in the same direction to the same destination in mind. They moved with a sense of urgency, as per the demands made by their riders on deck. The three were none other than Hala, Olivia, and Nanu. The Island Kahunas all flying in unison. They were already filled in on what Nanu saw and took action.
"And you're absolutely certain about this?" Olivia asked, glancing over at Nanu as their Pager Charizard flew alongside one another.
"Care to point fingers at a Dark-type specialist much?" Nanu teased. "Anyways, yeah. That's what's been going down, at least with the evidence that we've been digging up."
Olivia bit her bottom lip. She should have known something was wrong when Tapu Lele was fiddling around the other day in Konikoni City when Nic and Erza were around. Though her memory was very hazy after what happened after, she thought that Tapu Lele would have been playing some kind of joke for the two tourists. Only the ones really fooled were the Kahunas and everybody else. 'I'll make sure that if they lay harm to Alola, they'll pay more than what I charged them for that jewelry!'
Hala was taking the lead as he was gripping the handles to his Pager Charizard as tightly as he could. Though his eyes were closed, there was most definitely a bewildering aura surrounding him. 'So...this is now the threat that Alola faces.' He thought back to when he met Nic and Erza a few days ago, and how Tapu Koko was watching them. 'The great Tapu Koko is fickle, but he knows the best judgment. I will not allow this to be overlooked by myself again!' He fastened his grip as he lowered his chin. "Pager Charizard, faster please!"
The Pager Charizard let out a roar as he flapped once again, speeding him and his passenger further towards Poni Island.
Vast Poni Canyon, the most challenging obstacle to any and all trainers that dare to venture across Poni Island. Some would be so kind as to compare this to many of Victory Road in past other regions; with such a maze available, followed by steep cliffs, large-scale walls that were perilous to climb, and gorges that were supported by long-winded bridges. With such a symphony of death-defying landscapes to venture through, it could be said that any who are able to come back out in one piece could have been blessed by Victini's luck itself. Trainers and tourists were already made sure in advance to bring any gear they might deem of value, or else be warned. Some did not take such a warning under heavy consideration, and they learned the hard way to take nature seriously. If there was ever a place in Alola – ne, perhaps the world – to challenge a person's self-awareness...this was it.
Within this canyon's treacherous crossroads, a silhouette was peering from the shadows of a cave, looking far out to the gorges on the other side. Its red eyes looked out to see if anything was moving within its sight. When it realized that nothing was there, it vanished into the darkness.
It turned around, revealing itself to be Greninja. The ninja frog's red eyes looked to where Nic was sitting on a large rock, with Erza against the wall with arms crossed. "How's it look?" Nic asked.
"(I'm not seeing any people.)" he croaked.
"(He's right.)" Coming around the corner of a nearby rock, everyone turned and saw another figment appearing. Erza's Slurpuff trotted softly before coming to a stop before them. She sniffed the air again, only to shake her head. "(I don't smell anything that isn't yummy around us. We should be safe.)"
Erza lowered her guard some with the hints given. "Sounds like we're all clear for now." She glanced over at Nic. "Nic, how're you doing?"
She turned towards Nic, who was in another cross of his Meadow and Earth Forms. Using his Ground-type characteristics, he was sensing not only every life energy resent across the vicinity touching the earth, but with the immeasurable area depth that it could reach out to, he was seeing through every tunnel, mapping every corridor, and scanning every possible angle of the canyons. From what he was seeing, the rumors weren't far off. This place was most certainly one hell of a maze full of cliffs and stone bridges connecting a lot of pathways that took them to dead ends.
After a minute of zoning out, Nic's eyes opened back up as he calmly turned towards Erza. "Those tourists weren't exaggerating. This place really lives up to its namesake."
"I see. I suppose that's good then. That means that we'll have the advantage if anyone follows us on foot." Erza replied. At least in theory or on paper that sounded fairly accurate, but they knew that they might have Pager Charizard, too. "We should probably keep our distance from the wild Pokémon as well, just to be safe. Any battling might bring up any oncoming alarms like the last one might have."
Nic nodded. "Yeah, probably for the best. We need the fastest route on foot..." He jumped off the rock he was perched on, landing before taking a few steps towards the cavern's open lighting. "And I'm sure I have a route figured out for us."
Erza softly smiled. She couldn't help but see Nic is the natural lighting. Even if it was only for a moment, the sunlight on his face was showing his blue eyes gazing with a clear visage. Sure, there were a lot of hiccups in the way Nic has been trying to take his actions, especially when on the road, but seeing him so clear like this brought a smile on her face. She had to admit, the last few days have indeed been stressful, but Nic was taking the sheer brunt of it while multitasking. To anyone, that was saying enough. It was appreciative seeing him going back to basics. So she might as well, too. "Hey, Nic." She chimed.
Nic turned to her. "Yeah?"
"I think I know just the tools for this job now." She requipped in front of him, holding onto the special suitcase that was packaged and labeled by Joey himself.
He raised a brow. "Joey's luggage? Not that I'm saying his stuff hasn't been useful to us, but what else in there aside from the health bars and thermos..." He trailed off, starting to make sense of what was inside that he almost overlooked. "You mean..."
Erza unzipped the suitcase and started going through the assortments on the spot. She shifted the beach towels around with the clothing articles and pulled out one of the dozen cans of Super Repel that was stashed with the two emergency Escape Rope.
Erza started shaking the can, smirking down at the Super Repels labeling. "Super Repel – Anti-Pokémon repellant." She smiled. "This should do us just fine, wouldn't you agree?"
Nic sighed in defeat, smirking. "Guess we should owe Joey for having our backs for us this whole trip. That guy actually knows how to stay convenient even when he's not around."
"Achoo!" Joey sneezed so hard that the echoed loudly through the East Forest.
"Oh, bless you." Quilladin replied.
"Bleck, thank you, Quilladin." Joey sniffled, rubbing his nose with his index finger. "Phew, that was a big one. Somebody must be talkin' about me~." He chimed, rolling his shoulders and blinking...and then a second later deflated. "Or it could be allergies. You know, either works."
"No you don't, Captain. The only thing you're really allergic to is Gogoat Milk." Dereece stated matter-of-factly. "And last I checked, that's a whole universe away from your gullet."
Joey raised a brow, realizing the truth in Dereece's awareness. "Oh yeah, forgot about that." If it wasn't allergies, then what was it? He chose to shrug it off. "Meh." He turned towards his Pokémon, clapping his hands. "From the top! Get in sync with the group this time, Gyarados. Just because you ain't go no feet doesn't give you an excuse to not shake your tailfin!"
Duncan grunted from the side as he returned to swinging his metal pole drenched in his Magic Power into a rock, smashing it to bits. The rupture was at the exact point the heavy bass kicked in, making the entire forest thump.
Nic and Erza sprayed all over their clothes the repellent. Their arms were coated, as were their legs, back, and around their necks. They made sure to get every part that was possible within their reaches until two of the dozen cans were empty.
Almost immediately, Slurpuff's nose cringed at how sharp the chemicals were on her sensitive sense of smell. "(Bleck! Oh! It smells like an old wet rag sprayed by a Skuntank!)" She lurched, paving a stubby limb at them.
"Well, at least we know they work." Erza said, noting the way her Slurpuff rebuffed at the repellent. She looked down at herself while raising a brow "Is it really that strong?"
Nic turned to Greninja, who shrugged without much of a complaint. Compared to Slurpuff, Greninja wasn't backlashing nearly as much. Whether it was because he had a much less sensitive nose than Slurpuff, or he was taking it better due to his more serious personality. Either way, the ninja frog didn't seem bothered by the wild repellent.
"At least we'll have some space to work with, I'm grateful for that." Nic said. "We should get going, we still..." He trailed off as he was sensing something new. His head perked up when he sensed something in the distance. "Greninja."
Greninja looked out the cave, seeing very faint figures at the bottom of the canyon's ground entering. Not just from there, either. His red eyes beamed towards the sky, seeing what looked like several helicopters coming in, no doubt with many International Police onboard.
"(We need to get moving.)" he advised.
"(Guess I'll keep us in the loop if any get too close.)" Slurpuff said, holding her nose to avoid smelling anymore of the repulsive Super Repel. "(Ugh! Can we please hurry this up?!)"
Erza turned towards Nic. "We'll need to slow them down as well. Any ideas?"
Nic looked around for anything that might be of some use. He shouldn't have to think harder for an idea to grow out of nowhere. As he gazed at the cave leading to outside, he thought about the layout of the canyon one more time. An idea was sprung into his head.
"Stand back, I have an idea." He warned.
Erza did just that and watched him transform again. This time when the light faded, it revealed Nic in a cross between his Fist Form and Stone Form. The Stone Form's accents outlined the brim of his Fist Form's primary attire. Greninja and Slurpuff stood off to the side as they watched Nic jumped with a glowing, red-orange fist.
"Rock Smash!"
The fist connected with the ceiling to the roof of the cave they were looking out at. An eruption of rock came down onto the floor, piling up into destroyed rubble that quickly buried the entrance. As the dust settled, Nic landed on a knee and stood up.
"You're blocking off the entrance?" Erza chimed in.
"These caverns are also part of Vast Poni Canyon's mapping right?" Nic responded. His notion was followed up with him pressing his palm into the rock mound in his path. Using his Stone Form's prowess of molding and bending stone at his leisure, he compressed the rocks and eroded them so they integrated into the wall. Erza looked mildly surprised at how even and natural it looked. Like it was supposed to be part of the smooth cavern walls. Nic stepped back, taking another overview of the deception. "This will make it harder for them to get to us on foot. The less entrances there are, the more closed in they'll get. So..." He looked over his shoulder, smirking at his wife. "What do you say to a little rerouting around here?"
A small but admirable smirk appeared on Erza's lips. She nodded with a solid vindication to the idea. "Let's go."
Hapu was flying around the southeastern area of the island, looking down at the Ruins of Hope in her line of sight. "Down there, Flygon!" She pointed downward, directing the dragon to glide down at where she was pointing towards. He flapped heavily to slow himself down to a halt and hovered just low enough to allow Hapu to jump off. "Oof!"
She took a moment and looked around for any signs that Tapu Fini was around the area. From what she saw, the ruins themselves didn't seem to be in any danger. The exterior seemed like it did before. In fact, the Ruins of Hope looked just as well as it usually would be, aside from a few uneven rocks that broke from the higher leveled formations. But that aside, they looked just fine.
'Dat's strange. These ruins are untouched. Does dis mean that Tapu Fini wasn't de target?' She breathed out a sigh of relief. She was glad that the ruins at least were around, and yet she wasn't here. Something was off. 'Hold on, where be Tapu Fini? Be normally in her ruins right? Surely dat skirmish caught outside wasn't just from dat Nic feller...'
Flygon's red eyes glanced down at the tidal pool that sat beneath them. He was peering into the clear water, noticing something that caught his eye. "(Hapu!)" he chirped.
"Huh? What'd you see dere, fella?" She peered down into the tidal pool, seeing something very vague at the bottom. With the ocean being blue, she couldn't tell what was beneath them. But if Flygon was acting up, it had to be important.
"Guess it's a good thing dat I have a Water-type on ma hands." She reached back into her sachet, pulling out another Ultra Ball. She turned towards the side and expelled energy that morphed into another Pokémon, a Gastrodon.
"(Yeeeeeees?)" The sea slug slurred, her speech sounding much more bloated and sluggish compared to Duncan's Gastrodon.
Hapu pointed towards the water. "Alrighty Gastrodon, head on down and see what's underneath!" She ordered.
The sea slug waved her head slowly. "(Ooookaaaaay!)" With a small lurch, she jumped off the ledge, falling into the ocean water with a small splash. She gradually descended, leaving Hapu to watch as the slug took to her duties.
"She'd be a little slow...but noth'n like a little precaution just in case, right?" She turned to Flygon, seeing the male dragon nod in agreement. She looked back towards the water with a frown plastered on her face. Whether it was because she had that wretched gut feeling or it was her Island Kahuna obligations, she honestly couldn't distinguish between either at the moment. As reserved as she felt, she was always someone who took up arms when anyone messed with her or called out anything bad to her home. A Ground-type knows how to stand their ground when it counted after all. This was just reaffirming where she stood in her duties.
'I'd be having dat bad feelin' since de coast. It couldn't be what I think, right...?'
"(Hapu!)" Flygon quipped.
"Hm? You see something?" She peered deeper into the water, seeing a silhouette of her Pokémon gradually rising. She also saw something on her back as she ascended. "What's dat...?"
The water was breached, revealing Gastrodon completely unharmed. However, on her slightly hardened back, there was an upside-down shell open, and the black mollusk inside had a feminine shape that made Hapu's skin pale in shock. There was no doubt about it in her mind now. She knew what she saw.
"Tapu Fini?!" She yelped.
"(I fooooound heeeeeeer aaaaat theeeee booooottoooom.)" Gastrodon sluggishly slurred.
Hapu was at a loss for words, but she was quick to snap out of her initial shock and turned to Flygon. "Get her out of dere, stat!" Flygon was quick to respond as he flapped off the ground and into the air. Hapu watched as he gradually descended, being mindful with his claws to grab onto Tapu Fini's shell and ascended back into the air. He plucked her off of Gastrodon and was very gentle when putting her on her side next to Hapu.
"What happened here? Hey, you be okay dere?!" Hapu rushed for an answer, but didn't get much of one. She saw just how dazed and burned Tapu Fini was up close. She had burn marks all over her shell and body, and there were a number of gashes to signal cuts made by either claws or swords; the biggest gash was right across her chest area, where there was some searing that was still fresh. "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, whatever could have done dis?!" Her eyes widened in realization. "Wait...it couldn't have been...could it...?"
Tapu Fini's eyes gradually opened, exposing her to peering sunlight that she turned away from. "(Gnnngh...where...where am I...?)"
"Tapu Fini? Yer awake!" Hapu gasped.
As dazed and disoriented as she was, Tapu Fini's blurred vision could make out the figment that was Hapu. "(You...I made you Kahuna not too long ago...)" She weakly moved her head towards the sea, seeing Gastrodon before the pieces put themselves together. "(I see...so I was saved by you. Thank you...human.)"
Hapu frowned heavily. She couldn't understand what she was saying, but she knew she was trying to tell her something. "Don't move around too much. It'll only get worse dat way." She kneeled over and started rummaging through her materials. "Where is dat Full Restore. I know I'd be having dat in here somewhere..." She eventually found what she was looking for and pulled it out. "Alright, dat'll do it!"
As she was twisting the knob to point at Tapu Fini, a black, stubby hand pushed against her gloves, lowering the medicine. "What?" She looked up, seeing Tapu Fini glancing at her with a serious stare. "Tapu Fini, what be de problem?"
"(Human Kahuna, please...do not waste your strength and time on me. You must...stop who did this.)" she rasped, her voice clearly croaked from that harsh slash to her chest area. It burned her throat just to talk. When she went to say something again, she nearly choked.
"You saying...you don't want ma help?" Hapu quipped. She was even more worried than before. "But are ya sure? Look at you, you can't even swim with injuries like dose! Did dat Nic Pularis guy do dis to you?"
Tapu Fini wasn't very familiar with names, unless they were a big deal and it was a need-to-know basis. But if she and Hapu were thinking along the same wavelength, she would know that it had to be the same one Tapu Koko and the others were bartered up against. And recently of course, herself. She gave a very slow, affirmative nod.
Hapu looked away, guilty of everything. "I knew it. I knew something was up when we saw dat explosion." Her gloved fists balled tightly. "Dat Looker was right. Dat fella has to go down now!" She turned towards Tapu Fini. "In dat case, you'd best be staying low and recuperate. We'll take care of dese guys for ya. Dat's why I'm here now!"
Tapu Fini weakly glanced at Hapu. "(Be careful, young one...)"
Hapu stood back up and nodded. She reached for the special tracker that Looker gave her to get a reading on where Nic's spatial signature was. She was almost livid knowing he was hiding out in the Vast Poni Canyon. She knew that place like she knew the back of her hand.
"Kahuna Hapu, are you there?"
Hapu heard her name and a voice in the side of her ear, almost initially spooking her. She put a finger to the side of the earpiece and spoke into it. "Yes, I'm here Detective Looker. What be de problem?"
"The International Police had just arrived. They're all fanning out through the Vast Poni Canyon as we speak. Did you finish checking out what you went to look for?"
"Yes, it's alright right now." She had to hold herself back from cringing at that half-lie. "We'll be heading dat way now!"
"Understood. Pleasure hurry, from the looks of things, the trail is moving fast! We mustn't lose them!"
The call ended, leaving a small static in her ear before she took her index finger off the intercom. She looked back down at Tapu Fini, giving her a serious glare. "I promise I'll get back at dem for you." She turned to her Gastrodon. "Alright Gastrodon, return!"
"(Oooookaaaaay!)" The sea slug complied. She withdrew Gastrodon from the water back into her Ultra Ball, before stashing her away and turning towards Flygon.
"One more time, Flygon! To de Vast Poni Canyon!"
Flygon dutifully nodded and allowed Hapu onto his back once more. He flapped his wings once and jetted back into the air, while Tapu Fini watched from below and unable to do anything else. The two eventually faded into the distance over the crags to her ruins.
Tapu Fini laid there, completely flattened by everything around her that's been happening. If there was a word that could describe her, to say dejected would be putting it lightly. Apologetic? Sad? Confused? Honestly, she was feeling so many things in comparison to not feeling anything. It was confusing to say the least. Her mind was all over the place, yet her body felt like it was still leagues under the ocean floor. Maybe it was just the change in water pressure she was getting used to because Gastrodon brought her up surprisingly quick. Then again, she was unconscious at the time. It was all very confusing, plain and simple.
For a Pokémon who had such a leveled head, she was at a loss at what to do next. She had to bequeath the problem at hand to a human. A human. And of all the island guardians and human nature, she was the one who loathed them the most. She always hated humans for their greed, and never undertaking any of their mistakes. She vowed that she would never turn out to be anything like them. And yet when she fought them, it was like her whole world was flipped as hard as herself. She learned from the mistakes of others...so what did she possibly do wrong to deserve this torture?
"(Where did I go wrong...?)" It could have been her concussion, but her body was starting to feel warm all of a sudden. Feeling was gradually returning to her limbs as she could actually move her right hand again. "(Huh...? What's going on?)"
Her eyes squinted when something peppered her from above. She looked up as pink scales descended onto her body. Each flake phased into her body, making tiny ripples that expanded into her skin. The injuries and fatigue she had been feeling was washed away, and before she realized it, she had the strength to float again.
"(My strength, how did it...)"
"(Yo, yo, yo! You'd best be singin' those praises to above, sis!)"
Tapu Fini's confusion immediately turned to fear. She recognized that exasperating tune from anywhere. She slowly looked skywards, seeing her fellow Tapu Lele floating above, flashing a hardy wink. "(Tapu Lele...what are you doing here?)"
Tapu Lel crossed her arms and huffed. "(Hmph! I believe that I just saved you a day's worth of healing. Seriously, does no one know how to show appreciation to someone for saving your life?)"
Tapu Fini flinched back into her shell. "(Er...my apologies. Thank you, for assisting me when you did, Tapu Lele. I am in your care.)"
Immediately, her grumpy stature turned to a bright smile. "(There we go! Now was that so hard?)"
Tapu Fini sighed. "(I believe that I also asked a rather vital question, did I not?)"
"(Oh chill, girl. If you really wanna know, ole' Koko, Bulu, and I were having an important meeting. When you didn't attend, I thought that I'd go ahead of them and check in on my favorite gal pal, my bestie for life!)" she playfully winked.
"(Um, right...my bestie.)" She levitated to Tapu Lele's elevation. It was like all her strength had returned to her in just a few seconds. She had no idea Tapu Lele's scales were that powerful. It made her feel guilty for overlooking such an amiable trait.
As her expression grew more forlorn by the second, Tapu Lele leaned in, tilting her head. "(Hm? You good, girl?)"
"(Tapu Lele, I'm sorry for failing to avenge you. You and the others fought as hard as you could, in doing so proving just how fearsome our enemies really are...)" She thought about the teamwork that Nic and Erza had with their Pokémon. "(But...now that I have witnessed that first-hand, I realize just how unfair and callous I was to oversee your mistakes. Even when I kept my distance and maintained such a leveled head, I was still outmatched. They had such strength...I was a callous fool for ever thinking that even one of us would be able to pacify them on the spot. They clearly weren't to be taken lightly. I'm truly sorry.)"
Tapu Lele shifted a little closer. "(Hey now, you shouldn't have to feel so down on yourself like that...)"
"(Yes I do!)" Her raised voice made Tapu Lele flinch. "(If I hadn't just been observing, then we could have prepared and acted differently. I...I have a confession. I've never appreciated anything that humans had done, nor anyone for that matter. I can never be as easy-going as you, not as lazy as Tapu Bulu, and I most certainly can't find myself to be impulsive like Tapu Koko. We all have our quirks, yes, but I didn't want to have any that wouldn't make anyone take me seriously. I was so focused on not overlooking anything, that I ended up overlooking my own strength in the process. I was such a fool to think that these beings could be handled.)" She turned away in heavy guilt. "(...I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that even I was in over my head on this one.)"
Tapu Fini looked on, slightly puzzled in her expression. To some extent she understood what Tapu Fini meant, and she sympathized with her. But even so, she didn't think that she had to put herself down like this. It was starting to make her feel upset.
"(Girl, you be tripping. You keep up that gloomy attitude, the ocean will be sinking lower than your head right now!)"
Tapu Fini glanced back at her. "(Beg your pardon?)
"(You being such a stick in the mud is just you! There ain't nothing wrong with you. Don't forget, we're in this together. It's alright if you screw up. I mean, look at me!)" She posed with a flashy wink, pink scales fluttering off the side of her head. "(Teehee, I mean not everyone is as cute as me. Now I know I may all be about that hip stuff and be loving all this sweet jazz that these humans be doing, but you shouldn't keep your shell closed all the time because of that.)" She moved closer to her face, forcing her to look her in the eye. "(We may be neighbors to one another, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't help the other out, right? This threat is a danger to all the islands, don't think that you had to take this responsibility from the beginning. That's so not cool!)"
Tapu Fini was at a loss for words. She didn't know what to say after that. She looked puzzled at Tapu Lele as she laid out facts right before her. She thought about the many of conversations they've had in the mental realm, how she heard every one of them fail, but tried nonetheless. And she condemned them for that. To hear her say such a thing was as shocking as it was humbling, sort of speak.
As the water shifted beneath them, a small splash from the wake splattered seawater high enough to send droplets across Tapu Fini's face. After a long period of silence, she hummed. "(Hmph...typical Tapu Lele, always the cheerful one.)"
"(Teehee. Well hey, someone's gotta be, right stiff?)" She chimed, twirling higher into the air and giggling.
"(That's true. I suppose that I have no intention on mingling with those humans. But if it's with my fellow guardians...)" She lifted herself to her elevation. "(Then I guess I have no choice if you insist that doing it alone won't solve this problem.)"
"(Then I guess it's a good thing your bestie was able to coax ole' Koko and Bulu to join up here then, huh?)"
Tapu Fini gasped in surprise. "(Wait, you did what? When did you...?)"
"(Weren't you listening? I told ya that I went ahead of those two. Man, you have had your bell rung harder than I did if you were fogging out at that point.)"
Tapu Fini lowered her head and hummed again. "(Well, you're not totally wrong. I was gashed with a flaming blade at Mach 2.)" She gave Tapu Lele a sincere look. "(Thank you, for always looking out for us...bestie.)"
"(Awww! I knew it! I knew that you cared!)" Tapu Lele squealed, before reaching over and hugging Tapu Fini. The mature of the two had a more flustered look as her cheek was being nuzzled.
"(Hey, what are you-?!)"
"(Now that you've admitted that I'm your bestie, all we have to do is get matching bracelets! Oh, I have an idea! I can make mine out of flowers, and you can make yours out of seashells! We can compliment each other! How's that sound, bestie?)"
Tapu Fini immediately regretted saying what she spoke a few seconds ago, as well as leaving her ruins earlier. "(Maybe I should have just stayed down longer...)" she muttered.
Deep in the Vast Poni Canyon, foot soldiers of the International Police were making way throughout the ravines and available pathways. Others were more spread out, going off into smaller squads that were hurrying onto their route as fast as possible. Even more were swooping in from above off ropes from helicopters. Once as many soldiers had set foot on the ground, the many helicopters had taken to the air for aerial surveillance. Much of the canyon was overrun by guys wearing body armor and holding shields. Along the way, each soldier was made sure to remember the layout of Vast Poni Canyon from the geographical satellite pictures taken by Lusamine from the Aether Paradise.
As the main unit was gathering, standing in front of them was Detective Looker. He stood at the base of the canyons, knowing that somewhere within those walls, their target had to be in there. 'He can't get away this time.' He thought about the last time he was surprised by Nic, how he used Switcheroo and Feint Attack to catch him off guard. It was discomforting as it was humiliating to know such a thing happened to an elite like that. He took a deep breath and turned towards his squad.
"Everyone, listen up! Our targets are two very powerful Pokémon Trainers, both containing supernatural abilities. Be warned, don't take them lightly." He announced.
"Yes, sir!" all the soldiers declared.
"Very good! We have the Island Kahuna doing an aerial surveillance as we speak. Every one of you will fan out into smaller units to cover more ground. Remember, if you see them, do not engage immediately. And no matter what, make sure that they stay in your line of sight until all officers are present and ready for action, understood?"
"Yes, sir!" they all saluted to him.
Looker saw each and every one of them were dutifully ready. With such affirmation, he turned towards the entrance to the cavern. There was no turning back now, and even if there was, there was too much at stake with such an ambiguous threat going about. He raised his hand high. "Reconnaissance squad..." he brought it down. "Move out!"
At his command, the search squad comprised of over twenty people with trackers started for the entrance. By their sides were a number of Pokémon such as Arcanine, as well as some flyers such as Noctowl and Ledian. They darted inside, where they forged ahead for any signs of their target.
The remaining units behind Looker were on standby, but some couldn't help but feel awfully nervous, if not confused about their objective. One of them looked towards an associate beside him. "So, how dangerous do you think this guy is?" he whispered.
"Not sure, but I've heard that he has powers like a Pokémon." He answered quietly. "I think he has the power to call upon Legendary Pokémon, too. We've seen it before, didn't you?" He thought about the battle from so long ago, in Crocus on Earthland if he recalled. He could never forget that dreadful experience. Even now, his skin still got goosebumps.
"If that's true, then why do we need all this stuff if he can just do that?" Another officer questioned, gesturing to his standard uniform and shield.
"We have to protect ourselves somehow. These guys also attack in person. You tell me, which would you prefer to take on, Pokémon, or a crazy lunatic?" The first officer murmured. The third officer went silent with the realization. "Yeah, see what I mean? Better safe than sorry, especially out here in the open."
"Can't argue with you there. Who knows what kinds of things are around us." The second soldier murmured.
Meanwhile, inside the lower levels of caverns to the canyon, the air was surprisingly cool as the group of men had their Pokémon surrounding them to wear off any wild Pokémon. It helped having an Arcanine whose Intimidate Ability kept even Alolan Dugtrio and Golbat from venturing too close. They were scouting around, looking at their trackers and back.
"Hm? Did my phone freeze up now?" One of the officers shook his phone to get the app that would track the spatial energy to work. When he tapped the app, it seemed to be fine, but the screen's pinpoint still hasn't changed.
"If the pinpoint hasn't moved, that must mean they're nearby." An officer declared. Out of precaution instinct, he got down to a knee and his team followed his lead. He gestured two fingers forward and Arcanine listened. "Go."
Arcanine sniffed the air and looked around for any signs of the culprits. He saw a number of Alolan Dugtrio in the distance, and a few other Boldore sauntering and digging up ore to mind their own food supply. He got a big whiff of the air, smelling an unfamiliar scent that made his nose twitch.
Seeing his Arcanine's movements, the leader stepped forward. "Aerial recon, you're up."
The Arcanine went through the area, with the Noctowl and Ledian following at a higher vantage point. They flew close to the cavern's spiked ceiling, but also just high enough to held guide Arcanine and the officers who resumed their pursuit.
They found their way up a slope, where the tracker was still frozen with the singular point of interest. There were two large rocks where the team divided up around and hid behind for cover. Many of them readied their nightsticks and shields as they heard Arcanine snarl.
"Now!"
With a swing of a nightstick, the leading officer's Arcanine followed and pounced into the front, his mouth broiled in flames. He immediately eased up when he realized that nothing was there. Nothing but a closed-off rock wall with stones around them. The Noctowl and Ledian lowered with confusion of their own.
As the men routed around the boulders, they saw there was nothing there, much to all their shock.
"What happened? Where did they go?" an officer questioned, looking around. "Could it be that we took a wrong turn back somewhere?"
One of the officers looked at his smartphone app again to make sure the app was working, but the pinpoint wasn't moving. In fact, it was hardly responsive to him. "Hey...is anybody else's tracker working? Because I'm not getting anything on mine."
The other officers were pulling out their trackers and smartphones to see the app, but many of them looked at the top corners of their screens to show no bars.
"Hey, I'm not getting any service around here to check the map." Another officer said, worry shown in his voice.
"Yeah, mine, too. I'm pretty sure there was supposed to be a cave leading to a higher point above, right?" An officer looked towards the cave's wall, seeing no signs of the aforementioned layout exit. In fact, he didn't see anything familiar about the layout, aside from a few rocks misshaped here and there.
The leader of the party turned away and put his finger to his earpiece. "This is Alpha to Looker, Alpha to Looker. Over." He awaited for a response, but all he got was an unclear static running through his ear. "Alpha to Looker, this Alpha to Looker. Over!" He shouted more forcefully, grabbing the attention of dormant Carbink between some rocks. "Communications are being jammed. I'm not getting any signal around here."
As the unit shifted their feet, some of the stones around them started reacting. They were all spooked when the larger stones removed themselves from the ground and defied gravity, leaving them speechless.
"What the-?!"
Without warning, the large stones glowed and pressed themselves against the people and Pokémon, even Ledian and Noctowl. Arcanine whimpered when the stones exploded against his thick fur, causing him to stammer off to the side while the men were floored hard.
Looker's ear went silent as the static suddenly flatlined on the other end. "Looker to Alpha, is everything okay?" No response. "The communications are shot. What on Earth is doing this?"
The first officer stepped forward. "Sir, we're not getting any service around here. Our devices are backfiring on us."
Looker turned to him with deep shock. "What? Is this true?" He reached out his tracker, seeing nothing but a stale frame of a trail that made a dead-end into the lower caverns of the cave. 'Now that I think about it, it's been like this for a few hours. Are all our devices being affected like this?' He furrowed his brow. 'This is bad. We can't stumble around in the dark like this. We need to find a way, and fast.'
He reached up to his earpiece again, putting his finger up to a smaller button. "This is Looker here. Professor Burnet, can you give us a reading to Nic Pularis' destination?"
"I'm...ry, the...is..." A stutter was barely through the other line. It didn't make Looker feel any less disturbed.
"Professor Burnet! This is Detective Looker! Can you hear me?!"
"I...can..." A long wave of distorted static went through his ear. "There's...electromagnetic field...in the Vast..."
"Electromagnetic field? What are you saying?! Professor Burnet?!" He pressed harder on the intercom, but the more he tried making out her voice, the louder the static was getting too intolerable for his ear. "Snap!" He turned away from his men, glaring at the rocky walls of the canyon. "This isn't good. That means that our devices are fraudulent out here...an electromagnetic field..." He shook his head. Now was not the time to show any signs of relent. He returned his attention towards his remaining squad. "Listen up, squad Beta, go recover squad Alpha! Squad Gama will spread out into smaller units to traverse the rest of the canyon. Do not engage, and watch your steps! If you see anything suspicious, communicate using your signal flares."
"Yes, sir!" The second squad of twenty men went in, with their lead being a Houndoom that sniffed out the trail. The squad was quick to enter the area, whereas the remaining unit fanned out, along with Looker to find another point of entry.
Two members of the Gama squad had found themselves along the lower banks of the canyon, where there was a small bridge of land beside the cliff that would have made them fall into the ravines if they took one wrong step. On the left-hand side was a field of tall grass, where possible wild Pokémon would be lurking.
"Watch your step. The wild Pokémon here are supposed to be territorial. Be sure to not engage." One of the officers up front warned.
The small pack led by him took the hint and carefully followed his lead around the tall grass. They did not want to encounter any wild Pokémon that would otherwise slow them down. On their left they could already see Midday Lycanroc glaring them down, and a few Machoke standing around idly waiting for something to test their strength against. Yet if they were too close to the edge, they had to risk falling over. Neither sounded appetizing.
"Watch out!"
As the first officer took the next step, stones lodged within the trail arose from their slumber. They levitated around the three men before they came down, causing them to buffer and floor along the open trail. As the dust settled, they all laid there while the stones remained floating.
"Gnnngh...what...was that?" An officer murmured. He looked at the several large stones lodging themselves back into the ground. "What? Is that...Stealth Rock?"
Footsteps closed in from behind, followed by the sight of another three-man unit in hot pursuit. "We heard screaming from over here! What happened?!" one of the officers shouted. He looked ahead at the floored unit. "Is everyone over there okay?!"
"Yeah...I think so." One fallen officer grunted as he attempted to stand, but that Stealth Rock column slammed into his back so hard before he strained to move around. "Ah! I think my back's shot!"
"Stay there! We'll come to you!" He turned to his men. "Ready the first-aid, stat!"
"Right away!" One of the officers held up his small sachet that was on his uniform belt. He hurried with his unit as fast as possible without having to risk getting into the tall grass.
One of the officers reached out while still on the ground. "No! Stop right there, don't get too close!"
"What?!" Just barely out of earshot, they moved a little closer. Too little, too late. The fallen cadets watched in shock as the stones around them dislodged from the ground and floated around the standing squad. They didn't have the chance to react before they were floored by heavy precipices that spilled dirt and rock everywhere. The stones retreated into the ground, while the six men were laying on the trail in a stoned daze.
"What...what the heck just happened?" Another fallen officer murmured.
"It's a Stealth Rock trap. Someone must have put it here to keep us off their trail." One of the older officers said, gradually standing back up. He was so thankful to be wearing his helmet, otherwise he would have had a concussion by now. "Gngh, how did we not see this coming?!"
"We tried to warn you, idiot!" The head officer scowled a few meters ahead, gradually rising to his feet. "What did this?"
"Was it the wild Pokémon?" An officer looked over towards the tall grass. A Midday Lycanroc's blue eyes were glaring directly at him. "Last I checked, Lycanroc can learn Stealth Rock, right?"
"This is bad." The lead officer swiped his arm back towards everyone behind him. "All units, tread carefully! Regroup and block off this trail! We'll have no choice but to go through the tall grass! Prepare your Pokémon!"
"Yes, sir!" The units staggered upright once again and backpedaled from the boulders afoot. With no choice, they braced themselves s they went into the tall grass. Immediately one of them watched as the grass shifted right beside him and a wild Machoke jumped in front of him with a large thud.
"(HRAAAH!)"
The officer pulled out an Ultra Ball from the side pocket on his belt. He threw it forward, bringing out a Pokémon that was dark brown, with segmented, cream-colored legs with hard feet with three toe claws. He had no neck, and had slant eyes with black outlines around them.
"Hitmonlee, go!" He ordered.
The Hitmonlee picked up a leg and kicked the air, before whirling around and springing after the wild Machoke.
Another squad had just came to a stop when they looked at the wall to the outside of a cavern. "Hold on! Don't tell me that we just took a wrong turn!" An officer whined.
"No, that's impossible. The map we looked at earlier clearly marked there being an entrance to the caverns around here..." He looked at the map guide in his hand, squinting slightly and turning it sideways. "...I think?"
A third officer in the party walked closer to the rock wall, hands to his hips. "The map must be outdated, or something. There's no entrance marked. What do we do?"
The officer holding the map upside-down put it down and looked back up. "Regroup and reroute. We can't risk venturing too far off the landmarks, or else backup won't be able to find us. Fall back!"
Nic led the way as he leaped down from a higher vantage point. In his Stone and Meadow Form combo, the landing was as smooth as sand itself. He darted ahead, with Erza hot on his tail and quick to catch up. "A little further ahead. There's a lower slope that will dip to flatland that will be a straight path from there." He said.
"Understood." Erza nodded. "That was pretty smart of you to have molded away most of the entrances and exits to the caverns." Her voice sounded more matter-of-factly than praiseworthy for Nic's idea. He didn't seem fazed as she watched him stamp a heel into the ground, making a rock column lift a few meters into the eye for a catapult leap to the next ledge.
"Don't worry, I didn't seal off the cave completely." He assured, reaching his arm back as he extended a Vine Whip that reached Erza. Once she had a firm grasp, it reeled her up towards Nic, flying over the column and right in front of his face. They were so close that their lips were so close to connecting. A moment's hesitation to say anything caused enough tension for Nic to turn away, a faint red in his face.
"Uh, anyway, I didn't seal the caves off entirely. Just enough to reroute them into taking the longer ways through the canyons. I camouflaged some of the possible places where they would try to avoid the most trouble with some Stealth Rock so they'll have less stamina. And if they go through the tall grass and don't have any Repels, that'll force them to exhaust their Pokémon's strength. Speaking of Repels..." He looked at the nearest tall grass batch near them. He noticed some of the wild Murkrow were eying him with suspicion. One fluttered dangerously close to the edge of the tall grass without jumping out of it. "Erza, we still good on those Super Repels?"
"Let me see." She held up her right hand, requipping another set of two Super Repels. "This makes our fifth set we've gone through. We better hurry before we have to exhaust our last set." She handed Nic his Super Repel. He accepted it and both began spraying themselves right away with the unpleasant repellant.
Immediately, the wild Murkrow's feathers ruffled at the pungent smell intoxicating their beaks. They flew off, and the nearby Machoke snorted before backpedaling out of their line of sight.
Nic took one more look around. Seeing if there were any plausible spots where the officers or anybody would try to get around the field they were taking. With the coast clear of dry ground, he and Erza started for the slope that went downwards to a lower area of the canyons. They traversed with impressive speed, as well as timing. They knew the Super Repel didn't last too long, so they had to make every step count. They could have used Slurpuff to sniff out a clear trail, but by this point, her sensitive nose was running dry. Plus she doesn't move as fast as Nic or Erza. So Nic compensated that by using his Meadow Form's natural energy detection, a rather intuitive feat that's been beneficial to them as of late. If they were going to be laying low, they needed to make sure who was friend or foe before finding some place to cool down. And considering their five days' worth of experience, that would have to be where nothing was on Nic's radar.
Nic used his Stone Form's powers as he passed through the tall grass. He pivoted and threw projectiles from his hand that soared into large boulders that stuck into the ground for one more Stealth Rock. "Just in in case they get too close." He turned back towards the path and continued forward.
"Wait!" Erza stopped in her tracks. "Nic...are you hearing something?"
Nic stopped at her notion. He glanced left and right, but didn't make out anything out of the ordinary. That's when he figured he should try and hear out anything suspicious. Gradually, a familiar sound was echoing through the air, and it was slowly getting louder by the second.
"A helicopter." Nic realized. "They have aerial surveillance as well. Figures."
Erza looked over at a nearby rock. She ducked right behind as a helicopter got right into view. Nic, however, had his own idea. He glowed, reverting to his standard self and vanished on the spot, via Camouflage. He stood completely still while the chopper's course was moving it right over their heads. Nic made sure that even as camouflaged as he was, it was best to not make any sudden movements to refract light around his skin.
The helicopter was moving slowly as the two-man pilots were looking around carefully. The one was piloting so as to allow the other to look around using binoculars across the terrain for any sign of the culprits. His eyes darted left and right, but still nothing was shown.
"Anything?" the pilot asked, his voice loud through the short-range microphone in his helmet.
The passenger pilot took his eyes off the ground and looked back at his associate with a shook of his head. "Negative. Nothing here either." He said, louder than intended. "These trackers are pretty useless out here. We're getting too many frequency disturbances out here to get a solid reading."
"Yeah, these things aren't doing us any good out here." The pilot scoffed, tapping his index finger against a glass monitor showing a stale bright green trail going through the canyon. "Trail's getting cold. Let's keep looking at a higher range than this."
"Copy that."
The helicopter's blades chopped through the air as it continued its course. Little did they know, they passed right over a camouflaged Nic, who gradually became his Earth Form due to the Camouflage's effects. As he watched the helicopter fly off, Erza strode out of her hiding spot, the two standing before the open crevices to the canyon's deeper parts.
"That was the International Police, wasn't it?" Erza questioned. "And they were on...what were those called again...hell-choppers?"
"Helicopters." Nic answered. He was aware that such things as laptops and helicopters, even the likes on a gas-fueled sports car were of the norm to Earthlanders. Though he forgot whether or not that they had such things as motorcycles available. Before he digressed, he remembered where his priorities lied. "Let's hurry. We should head to the narrow stretch ahead. They'll probably circle around again at some point."
Erza nodded. "Agreed. Let's just hope there isn't any long stretches of grass or caverns. We're on our last set of Super Repels." She brought up her arm to sniff it, noticing how weak the latest coating was compared to a short while ago.
They hurried as fast as their legs could carry them across the canyon. With each step taken, Nic was sending out strong waves that acted as echolocation that returned back to him. He could sense every person across the entire canyon, either engaged in a wild Pokémon battle, or getting some first-aid from the Stealth Rock traps he set up to slow them down. As far as he could sense, they had plenty of space to work with for the time being.
As they got closer to the narrow entrance that was the gorge, they came up to two estrange totem poles that sat outside of them like an entrance. "What are these supposed to be?" Erza questioned, looking at the two totems with triangular edging on both of them. One of them had a purple triangular point, as to where another had a smaller red edge towards it facing the opposite direction.
Nic gave the totem in front a furrowed brow as he looked at it top to bottom, and then back up. "What are these here for you think?"
"I'm not sure." Her eyes narrowed as she put a hand to her chin. "The last time we saw anything remotely familiar to this...was when we came across Ula'ula's island guardian at the ruins. You wouldn't think...?"
Nic kept a furrowed brow as he glowed again, adding his Meadow Form on top of his Earth Form again. He sensed the natural energy around him. "I'm not sensing Tapu Fini anywhere near here. If this really is her ruins, it gives us all the more reason to watch where we step..."
They gave each other looks before taking short breaths. In the distance, they could hear the sound of a helicopter circle around into their direction. If they needed a time to act fast, it had to be now.
"Let's go." Erza insisted.
"Right." Nic turned with her to pass through the totem poles, just before the shadow of a helicopter passed over the area once again.
"Nothing still." The pilot said, looking down at the ground once more. The helicopter was directed away from the narrow passage, making another long arc towards the Vast Poni Canyon's wild yonder.
The moment Nic and Erza passed through the gorge's opening, the air had turned stale faster than lightning.
A very hollow wind passed through the narrow stretch of the canyon. It sounded like a looming ghost that could send shivers down a normal person's spine. The walls were extremely high, so much so in fact that when they looked up they couldn't tell where the top was supposed to be. It was nothing but a straight shot through the dirt trail ahead of them. Aside from it curving to make some open spaces, there weren't any other paths as far as the eye could see.
Their eyes shifted about wearily. It was quiet...too quiet. Nic's Earth Form was sending out constant waves and bringing back some only a couple signatures in the area. They were very close. And judging by the Meadow Form's nature sensory, they were anything but friendly. Mild would be wording it extremely lightly.
"What part of Vast Poni Canyon is this?" Erza said aloud, observing the smoothed stone along the canyon.
Nic's blue eyes darted towards something along their left-hand side. He saw what looked like a large mural-like stone that had faded writing engraved onto it. He walked over and looked down at the ancient text inscribed onto it.
"Ahead lies a sacred ground of trials.
None who do not take part in its trials will be allowed to walk upon this earth.
Those lacking the courage to defeat the totem guarding this land will be denied entry.
But those who believe in their Pokémon and walk beside them shall gain greater power!"
It was a simple message written on the stone, but it felt like a warning the way it was spoken. Even if they were certain of themselves, Nic and Erza knew better than to let their guard down. Something in their guts told them this had nothing to do with Tapu Fini.
"It didn't say anything like this for the other ruins..." Erza remarked, trailing towards the pathway leading towards an opening not too far away. "Look. Do you see that?"
Nic looked at the stand that was a quarter mile up from their point of view. "Yeah, I see it. I can't tell what it is...but to leave it up and out at the open like that..." he frowned. "Yeah, no doubt about it. This isn't any normal part of the canyon that I can tell. I have a feeling we're being watched."
"Yes...I feel it, too. Something is definitely out here." Erza remarked, her tone hinting caution. She reached for a Poke Ball and pulled it out. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the capsule up into the air, where it popped out energy that transformed into her Slurpuff. The Meringue Pokémon fell through the air and landed on her doughy feet.
"(Huh? Is that smelly stuff gone now?)" She sniffed the air for any lingering smell that was their Super Repel. To her relief there wasn't any, allowing her to take a deep, sweet breath. "(Hah! Phew, thank Arceus! That stuff was a killer on my nose!)"
"Slurpuff, be our eyes and nose. We have a feeling we're not alone." Erza ordered.
Slurpuff waved a stubby limb back. "(Aye-aye!)" She turned back upfront and waddled her way, sniffing the air as she took steps forward. Nic and Erza carefully treaded behind her as they kept their eyes and ears open for anything out of the ordinary.
As they walked along carefully, they couldn't shake the feeling that a leering glare was fixed on them. It was...discomforting to say the least. At least in Nic's Meadow Form, he was only sensing a mild wavelength, so nothing to worry about for the moment.
Slurpuff was trail boss, but her nose crinkled with an unfamiliar smell from the left wall. "(Eh?)" She looked over. "(There!)"
"(HRAH!)" Something swift leaped out from between a small space within the crevice.
Nic and Erza braced themselves at Slurpuff's warning. Leaping clean out of the blue, a wild Jangmo-o got in between them, landing on his four tiny legs and pivoting with a snarl.
"A Pokémon?" Erza observed, adjusting her position. She noticed the territorial look in his eyes. "It looks just like that one that Vanessa fought back in Seven." She remembered their battle in Seven against the Celestial Spirit-obsessed majesty and his servants-in-arm.
The little Jangmo-o stamped a forepaw into the ground. "(You have some nerve coming here, No-Dragon! Do you have any idea of where you are?! This is the dragon's part of the canyons! No-Dragon are stupid for stepping foot into our home!)" He reared back like a cat ready to pounce. "(Don't think that you'll get out of here in one piece once us dragons maul ya!)"
Erza had no inclination to what she said, but she knew when she was being offended. And she for one doesn't take to such a thing kindly. "Slurpuff."
"(Righty-o!)" Slurpuff jumped in front of her to face Jangmo-o.
"(Hmph! No-Dragon like yourself think you have a chance against our kind. All you No-Dragons are the same.)"
Slurpuff tilted her head, visibly confused. "('No-Dragon'?)"
"(That's right!)" He raised his head, beaming with pride. "(Us dragons are superior to any kind of other Pokémon, why else would much of our kind be legends amongst you No-Dragons? You could have at least brought an offering to us so we didn't have to punish you.)"
"Slurpuff, on your mark!" Erza declared, requipping a sword.
"(But too little, too late!)" Jangmo-o wagged his tail and rushed for Slurpuff. "(You No-Dragons will pay for trespassing! Headbutt!)" He lowered his head and went to strike Slurpuff.
"Play Rough!"
Slurpuff's eyes narrowed as she readied herself against the oncoming dragon. Jangmo-o screamed with all his might as his head was tucked in, but ended up ramming his head into a pawed foot, sending a shock through his body. "(G-uh?!)"
In his shock, Slurpuff retracted her heel and dogpiled onto Jangmo-o in midair, A smoke cloud with comedic hearts and stars popped constantly as she slapped him silly, followed by kicking, slapping, and even more kicking. Until finally, one powerful kick right into his side sent him to the ground.
Slurpuff landed in front of Erza, eyeing Jangmo-o's defeated frame. Swirls were in his eyes as he laid unconscious on the ground a few feet away. She slicked her tongue from one corner of her mouth to the other. "(That wasn't so bad.)" She chimed merrily. "(But...pretty bland in taste if you ask me.)"
Nic raised a brow at Erza. "Was that a little overkill, you think?"
"Possibly. But Fairy-type attacks are very beneficial against Dragon-types. Besides that, Energy Ball and Flamethrower are strong, but not very effective." She crossed her arms, looking away as she was muttering to herself. "Should we teach her something that's neutral later on...?"
"(Hm? Someone say something of new flavorings?)" Slurpuff asked, before her nose crinkled. "(Hm?)"
Erza looked at her. "What's wrong?"
"(Hm...I smell...something strong...and close...really close.)"
Her warning hadn't gone on deaf ears. Nic furrowed his brow and looked up at the canyon walls. The same sensation like someone was glaring them down wrung through his mind like a bell. His Meadow Form was sensing a very nasty and territorial aura increase that he was picking up above. Clearly someone didn't like what they saw.
"We better keep moving." He said.
Erza nodded. "Agreed."
They resumed their trek, leaving the Jangmo-o to rest. Nic reached into his coat to pull out an Oran Berry and placed it in front of the Jangmo-o for a small snack. "It's not much, but I hope you can understand." He said, before turning back to the trail.
As they kept walking, Slurpuff's nose was twitching with a strong smell of dragons. She was used to such a royal smell, especially with being around Nic's Garchomp to distinguish part of it at least. But her nose were her eyes, and when she smells a dragon, there was nothing they could do.
As if on cue, she stopped and smelled the air again. This time, her nose was on fire with a slightly stronger smell. "(Guys, another dragon! From the left!)"
Nic and Erza glanced over as they saw a shadow sweep in from the right, rushing for them with a scowl. "(GRAH!)" They both sidestepped again as the Hakamo-o's Headbutt continued, smashing his large, scaled crown into the cavernous wall, creating an indent.
"Another Dragon-type?" Erza inquired.
"Looks like its evolved form." Nic figured.
The wild Hakamo-o gradually removed his head from the rock and shook it. "(Phew! What a rush! Heh, I must be close to evolving by now...)" His musings were interrupted when he looked back at the intruders. "(You! No-Dragons!)" he snapped, stomping forward with heavy thuds. "(First you go and trespass when there was a warning, then you go and mess up my little bro? Seriously, I thought No-Dragons knew how to read. Guess your kind really doesn't deserve to be amongst us.)"
Slurpuff instinctively moved in front of Erza. She took a position to strike.
"(Heh? Are you just going to ignore me?! You don't do that!)" Hakamo-o backlashed, stomping even harder. He raised his arm up as it glowed with energy. "(Looks like you No-Dragons need to learn some manners before we put and end to your lives!)"
Slurpuff blinked. "(Huh?! Wait...you mean you want to...bleck! That's not sweet at all!)" She tarnished at the thought. "(Man, you dragons have really bad taste in character.)"
"(Don't mock me!)" He lunged at them with a highly arrogant tone.
"That's Sky Uppercut." Nic observed.
"So a Fighting-type move, is it?" Erza swiped an arm out. "Slurpuff, Cotton Guard!"
Slurpuff licked her lips before her body shined white. Hakamo-o closed in with a swift fist reeled back and slinging in an uppercut. Before impact, Slurpuff's entire body bloomed a cushiony pillow of cotton that bunkered her from the uppercut. It was so soft that it tingled Hakamo-o's scales.
"(Wha-?!)"
As he reeled back, the cotton dissipated into thin air, replaced by a deep red aura that drastically amplified Slurpuff's Defense. She stood there like nothing ever happened. "(That kinda tickled.)" she chimed.
"Now use Play Rough!" Erza commanded.
"(Sweet dreams!)" With a happy skip in her hop, she piled onto the stunned Hakamo-o and floored him. A smoke cloud with hearts and stars popped continuously. Hakamo-o gasped for air that was knocked out of him with every smack and stamp of a pawprint. Slurpuff's effectiveness was severe, enough to leave him screaming in agony until it would soon end.
With one final kick, Slurpuff stamped Hakamo-o out of the cloud and into the wall. His back thudded against it and fell onto his stomach. Slurpuff landed once again safe and sound, while the others saw that Hakamo-o was unmoving with swirls in his eyes.
"At least that went as well as expected." Erza said, her tone uncaring for the simple strategy. "Good work, Slurpuff."
"(Thanks, Erza!)" She chimed, turning to her trainer. "(So, when do I get some strawberry cheesecake? I'm starving after all this sniffing around...)" Her joys for a potential reward went silent as her nose crinkled with another pungent smell. "(Huh...that smell again...)"
"You smell something else now, Slurpuff?" Erza questioned. She turned towards Nic. "Nic."
Nic furrowed his brow further as he gazed at the canyon upscale. That same foul energy had intensified so much that it felt like somebody wanted them dead. After hearing what Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o said previously, he had a pretty reasonable guess as to what could be around here.
Rather than indulge on what possibilities there were, he moved to place an Oran Berry in front of Hakamo-o's head. "We better get moving." He said, turning away. "I have a feeling about this."
They resumed their path once more, with Slurpuff leading them with her keen sense of smell as their warning caller. They moved themselves from the narrow walls limiting their space to finding the clearing that was at the end of the gorge.
"I think I see something." Erza noted.
Upon getting to the opening, they've found themselves with more room than applicable. There was nothing around them, not even air flowing through the narrow valleys. The only thing that was noteworthy around the area was the large, golden pedestal that sat dead center of it all. In that golden pedestal, they could all see there was a teal crystal inside, with a draconic emblem engraved into it.
The three looked ahead from the short distance, very wary of the position they were in. A pedestal out in the middle of nowhere? Clearly this was some kind of test.
"(Yup, definitely smelling something here.)" Slurpuff said, her nose shifting.
"Nic, do you recognize that?" Erza pondered aloud. Immediately, she started thinking about the other familiar crystals the Island Kahunas used. She glanced down at her Z-Ring and the Rockium-Z Olivia granted them. "A Z-Crystal all the way out here..." She thought back to the warning further back to the entrance. 'A trial, with a Z-Crystal out here...did somebody plan this?'
"We can do Z-Moves now...it feels like a waste to leave it out here in the open, wouldn't you say?" Erza figured.
"Yeah, guess you're right." He took one more glance around himself. He decided on an alternative than just go up and get it to risk getting attacked. He looked at a nearby stone and picked it up. He shifted his Earth Form into his Mind Form and held the stone high.
"Trick!"
His eyes glowed blue as he deployed telekinetic powers on the two items. The stone and the Z-Crystal were outlined in blue telekinetic energy before they vanished. Moments later, they've swapped places, with Nic holding the Dragonium-Z.
"There, that simple enough?" he asked, his tone heavily rhetorical as he held the crystal up to Erza.
"Hmph, showoff." She eyerolled.
Slurpuff's nose wrinkled again. She picked her head up and looked towards the sky. "(Uh, guys...)"
"Krrrrroooaaaah!"
As if on cue, they heard a very loud roar that echoed throughout the valley. It was heavily deep, and very aggravating. Nic's sensory picked up a very intense territorial instinct heading their way from above. Following Slurpuff's lead, he looked towards the sky as something similar to a gray star twinkled before coming down.
All their eyes followed the figment, with Nic and Erza taking refuge behind two large rocks, with Slurpuff jumping behind Erza. The next instance, something large and heavy crashed down in front of the pedestal, sending a shockwave across the trembling earth. A dust wave gradually dispersed throughout the clearing.
As the dust settled down, Nic and Erza glanced past the rocks covering them to see a very large and rather scaly creature raised his head, his eyes gleaming daggers.
'That must be the Totem.' Nic figured.
'It's huge!' Erza realized.
The dust diminished, revealing a very large draconic Pokémon that stood on his hind legs. All over his body were thick yellow and red scales that covered him like bodily armor. His skin tone was primarily gray with dark eyes that pierced into your soul when you gazed directly into them. Thick plating covered the arms, especially behind the hands like guards. His tail was long and ended in scales instead of spikes like common dragons would. On his head was a massive heart-shaped scale designed similar to a headdress that branched into dreads of scales behind him.
"KOOOOOOMMOOO-OOOOOOO!" The beast unleashed a massive shout as his scales rattled around his entire body. The air visibly shuddered from the sheer volume of his shout. As his shout diminished, the echo traversed through the valley.
Nic and Erza got down and stayed low behind the rocks as they pieced together what that strange feeling was before. "Is that the Totem Pokémon?" Erza questioned quietly. "It's a lot bigger in person. Is that its general size?"
"I don't know." Nic answered, watching the dragon raise his head to scout his surroundings. "If I had to guess, I'd say that has to be that other one's evolved form."
A low growl went through the area as the Totem turned towards the pedestal, seeing there being a stone inside. However, as he leaned in and leered at it up close, his eyes narrowed as he saw that it wasn't the same one from before.
"(Who absconded with my clan's Dragonium-Z?! Nobody dares to take this under my watch!)" he outraged, his tail clanging into the ground loudly. "(Where did it, go?!)"
As he was riling in anger, Erza pulled out her PokeDex and scanned the large dragon from behind. A visual of the beast was shown on her PokeDex.
"Kommo-o, the Scaly Pokémon. It battles valiantly with its fists, which are armored in steel scales. Kommo-o specializes in uppercuts."
'Steel scales?' Erza picked up on an idea as she looked back at the Totem Kommo-o and his thick, steel scales layered all around his body. 'I could make some good armor with those scales...'
Totem Kommo-o lifted his head and glanced over his shoulder, a hazardous leer fixed where the two rocks were. "(I know someone is there! Come out at once! As the Totem, I order to do so! Do it, and I will make your judgment quick and painless!)"
Nic narrowed his eyes. He looked over towards Erza with a serious look. "You got my back, right?"
"Only if you're sure." She insisted.
"Trust me, hopefully this won't take very long." Taking up the call to arms. Nic leaped onto the rock and pressed his hand into the top. He implemented a Psychic wave from the inside of the rock to caused it to explode, sending dust and large rocks everywhere. Rocks sped into Totem Kommo-o's way, causing him to cover up using his thick, armored arms as rocks pelted him furiously.
With a hardy grunt, Totem Kommo-o swatted the air with his arm, sending a shockwave that dispelled the dust and oncoming rocks. Before him, he saw a lone human male, his form having reverted to a normal one. He was standing tall and unfazed in the face of his dominant stature.
"(Hmph! A no-good No-Dragon. I would have guessed as much. You have such an audacity to come in here into our territory without regarding our warnings, then you go and mess with my sons so flimsily! And now, you've taken the most scared treasure of all dragons?!)" Totem Kommo-o outraged. "(All you No-Dragons have no values to the likes that compare to us! Especially I, the Totem of this here lands!)"
Nic looked at him coldly, like he didn't give a care in the world. "So you're the head honcho around here, huh?"
Totem Kommo-o swiped his arm. "(Silence! You don't speak unless I say you can, you insolent No-Dragon!)"
Again, Nic didn't seem to show any care. He just glared back at him neutrally. "That so? And what if I say otherwise?"
"(Don't you dare test my patience, are you trying to make your deaths come that much quicker?!)" Totem Kommo-o raised his mighty fist. "(All No-Dragons who dare cross us talk so highly of themselves in the face of superiority. And do you know what happens to all those whom enter my domain?)" He swung his scaled tail into the ground again, making a groundbreaking thud erupt. "(They all bow before falling to my might! Just like you, and that She No-Dragon of a companion!)"
Nic sighed out his nose. He knew there was no point in talking, not that he was going to try anyway. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Poke Ball. "Sorry for this." His gleam intensified. "But honestly...I just couldn't give any damn to what stupid judgment you carry."
Totem Kommo-o looked genuinely stunned. "(Wha-?! You dare to...?!)"
Rather than speak, Nic threw the Poke Ball skywards. "Garchomp!" The Poke Ball popped open sending energy through the air arching into the ground. The impact was so powerful that the earth dented inwards. Totem Kommo-o backpedaled as a shockwave burst.
When the energy dissipated, a pair of fins attached to arms swatted apart as Garchomp's razor-sharp teeth bared to Totem Kommo-o with a monstrous roar that shook the air with ripples fading around them.
Totem Kommo-o looked displeased, snorting at the air blowing his way. "(Hmph! So you dare to use a tainted dragon as leverage. How despicable.)"
Garchomp stepped forward. "(Ha! Who is this stale fool to think he's in any position to say such things. Let's punish this guy for his arrogance, Nic!)"
"You read my mind, Garchomp."
This act only served to antagonize the Totem more than ever. His scales ruffled with anger. "(Even my fellow dragons has been impurified by this No-Dragon's disrespectful tongue. I will make this as clear as I can for your impure ears!)" He jutted a claw out. "(No-Dragons are not welcome here! They shall be brought to me and sacrificed for the good of our kind! That Dragonium-Z you carry, you are unworthy, and therefore I shall take it back by force...even if it means tearing through the scales of another dragon!)"
Garchomp scoffed. "(Does this fool ever stop running his mouth?)"
Totem Kommo-o let out another roar, this one with a flex in his body. Nic and Garchomp watched as a very unfamiliar, white-orange aura enflamed his entire body. His muscles tensed as a strong surge of energy flowed through the Totem's body.
'What's he doing? All his stats just increased at once.' Nic realized, furrowing his brow. 'Is this some kind of outside power?' He spread his heels. "Garchomp, let's do this right."
Garchomp snarled as he readied himself.
"(Hmph! This is the power of which a prestigious Totem such as I am granted! Now, you will be judged guilty for tainting my lands with your No-Dragon impurity!)" He brought his claws around, creating a Dragon Claw that was larger than normal. With impressive speed, he sped after Garchomp.
Keeping calm and unmoved, Nic glowed and shifted into his Dread Form. Even with how impressive Totem Kommo-o was, he could still read his movements plain as day.
"Topsy-Turvy!"
Nic reached his hand out at Totem Kommo-o, causing his body to be caught in a kinetic bubble for a split-second. A red and blue outline appeared on the bubble and the lighting suddenly flipped itself. The bubble suddenly vanished, leaving Totem Kommo-o to continue through. However, this time he found his momentum a lot slower than before, and his Dragon Claw energy was a lot smaller and thinner than he had remembered.
"(Huh?!)"
With a scoff, Garchomp's highly experienced reflexes caused him to sidestep from the sweep. As Totem Kommo-o fell forward, Garchomp kneed him straight into the chest, causing air to escape his lungs before staggering backwards.
"(Gngh!)" He closed his eyes and shook his head. "(What in blazes? My powers, what did you No-Dragon do to...!)" When he looked back, he realized that nothing separated him and Nic. "(What? Where did that tainted dragon...!)"
'His raised stats are reversed. Now...' Nic reached his arm out. "Dragon Rush!" he commanded.
Totem Kommo-o gasped. He was much too slow to react when a multicolored, draconic energy was coming down from above. He barely got a glance before he saw the monstrous visage of a downwards speeding meteor of draconic energy with wings bolting after him head-on. At its center was Garchomp, who roared vehemently at him.
The impact was straight into the headdress, causing several metallic clangs with a series of lights flickering in a split-second. The air exploded into disastrous shockwaves as Garchomp's gruesome force pulverized Totem Kommo-o into the ground, creating a dense ditch that burrowed into the golden pedestal, smashing it to a dozen pieces through the explosion of dirt. Erza and Slurpuff stayed a safe distance back from the shockwaves that ran through the area. Nic stood completely unmoved with a serious look on his face through it all.
As the dust dissipated and destroyed parts of the land diminished, a swift silhouette erupted from the dust cloud, revealing Garchomp as he landed with a heavy thud. He glared ahead as the dust diminished, revealing the state that the Totem was left in.
Much to anyone's shock, Totem Kommo-o was lying on his back, his body half-buried in the dirt with much of his scales dented inwards. The aura around his body had gradually dispersed. His mouth was gaped wide-open as a low groan came from him in his unconscious state.
"(Pathetic.)" Garchomp scoffed. "(All that tough talk and what? Just like the rest.)"
Nic stepped closer to Totem Kommo-o's unconscious frame, reverting to his standard Normal form. He pulled out a Sitrus Berry. "Sorry...but we didn't start this fight. We just finished it." He put the berry in front of Totem Kommo-o, knowing he'll be out and probably dazed for some time. "Hope you understand."
"Hmph, who said that what I did was overkill again?"
Hearing a voice coming in from behind, Nic relaxed himself. "I'd rather not risk knowing what that Totem could do with those stat raises of his." He craned his head as he rubbed his neck. "Besides...these dragons out here have a pretty big ego stemming from this guy. Figured if we're in no position for words, guess this would work just as well."
"That's true. Actions speak louder than words." Erza would have wanted room to jest Nic a little further, but she understood their position. "Let's keep moving. We need to head to that altar, and I'm pretty sure that battle might have attracted others that have already gotten through your traps."
"You're right. Let's get going." Nic glanced back. "Garchomp!"
"Slurpuff!"
The two Pokémon started with them, before they suddenly stopped. The air around them suddenly shifted again, something that made Garchomp's appendages on his head vibrate as much as Slurpuff's nose was.
"What's wrong?" Erza asked.
Nic froze in place, sensing something as well. His skin cells were vibrating at an alarming rate as energy was swelling out of nowhere. He could feel some measure of space gradually disrupting. If his powers weren't such an indication, he didn't know what would. "...something's coming."
The air shifted around them into an unsteady breeze. The stale atmosphere that Totem Kommo-o created before died instantly when a distorted spatial crack appeared high over their heads. The cracks expanded, with some shattering like glass to reveal a rainbow tunnel on the other side. Finally, the cracks all shattered at the same time, causing Nic and Erza to cover up to avoid any distorted shrapnel from harming them. When they uncovered, they saw a very familiar wormhole open up above them.
They both watched as something was starting to come through the wormhole. Taking caution, they backpedaled and steadied themselves as two white figments drifted out of the wormhole. Their bell-shaped tops and white tendrils were nothing short of a familiar sight for everyone present.
"(Is that who I think it is?)" Garchomp questioned.
"It's those Ultra Beasts! But why here?!" Erza exasperated.
Nic leered at them. He remembered the last few encounters with these creatures, and how they went about causing a serious amount of trouble. 'This isn't good. What are they doing here of all places?' he pondered, giving them all a serious leer. 'Did they come back for more?'
Beast 1 took a quick glance around to see where it ended up. Much to its indifference, it was in yet another desolate wasteland. It saw the unconscious mess that was the Totem Kommo-o, and finally saw a familiar Garchomp and two human beings. Immediately its senses told it that it had found its target.
"Hisssssss!" It recoiled slightly, giving a firm hiss for everyone to hear. It turned towards Beast 2, hissing for some kind of clarification. It also hissed, but instead of tensing, its body squirmed.
"Looks like they recognize us after all." Nic figured.
"(Did they seriously come for a rematch?)" Garchomp grunted.
The Ultra Beasts turned back towards them, giving a hiss of resentment before drifting back up to the wormhole present. They looked up into its frame, letting out loud shrieks that echoed through its walls.
"Kreeeaaaaah!"
Both parasites' shrieks traveled through the wormhole, similar to a signal of some sort. Everyone present remained on guard as the call echoed into the valleys beyond them.
"KROOOAAAAGGGHH!"
A very loud, aggressive bellow echoed through the other side of the wormhole. It was loud enough to shrill air even on their side of the domain.
Nic looked straight at the wormhole, his sixth sense telling him something very big was coming. He took a stance as a rumbling was heard. "Something else is coming!"
On cue, the parasites drifted apart from each other to allow ample room for the wormhole to suddenly expand three times its original size. Something extremely large and robust in stature dropped down from high above and slammed into the ground, creating a shockwave that dented in the canyon grounds. A large wake of dust headed their way, causing all of them to cover up.
As the dust wave settled, the entire area was scattered with dust, making it impossible to see what lied ahead of them. They uncovered, only to see a massive silhouette tower above them. All their heads gradually raised upwards as they saw a pincer-like limb raise. Upon instinct, everyone backpedaled yet again to avoid the crushing blow, denting in the earth with a loud tremor.
Nic slid back, giving a sharp glare at the silhouette ahead of them. "What the hell is that thing...?"
As the dust settled, eyes gleamed brightly...and the looks on everyone's faces was genuine surprise.
The two parasites hissed snickers as between them was a third, extremely monstrous creature that was primarily black in color. It had a gargantuan, round body that towered well over all of them combined, with stubby legs and fair, lengthy hands with yellow claws at the ends. It had a massive mace tail with black spikes at the end of it. It appeared to have a very small head with slanted eyes, but that was very much overshadowed by the larger set of eyes over the open stomach, which had jagged, yellow incisors and gaping, bright blue, seemingly mechanized insides. Two massive pincers expelled from either side. Black spikes were all over the body to make it seem more intimidating to anyone who dared to get too close.
Slurpuff's nose wrinkled more. "(Ugh! Smells like smoking garbage!)"
"(What the hell is this thing?)" Garchomp sneered.
Neither Nic nor Erza had the words at the moment. They couldn't make heads or tails of what they were supposed to be looking at right now. Though his body was relaxed enough, Nic's eyes showed genuine surprise. "Is that...another type of Ultra Beast?"
The Ultra Beast closed its gaping mouth for a moment, shuddering as to get a breath of air. When it opened its monstrous mouth once more, it unleashed a very loud, monstrous roar that shook the entire canyon. "KRRAAAAAAAAAGH!" Its bellow was so extreme that dust blew past everyone present, overturning debris from Garchomp's earlier attack.
The entire canyon echoed with that same monstrous tone for miles on end.
Sirens were going off in the Dimensional Research Lab. The large-scale digital map of Poni Island on the board showed a long green energy trail that scaled further up the charts until a deep read energy dot appeared. "Professor Burnet, we have something!" A scientist exclaimed.
Professor Burnet turned to the screen. "What did you find?"
"We have a very large spike in spatial energy that appeared just now in the Vast Poni Canyon! We were getting..." He looked down at the holographic panel, reading the zoomed-in details of the anomaly. "Three signatures that appeared."
"Three, you say?" She gasped. To say she was surprised would be putting it lightly. She never expected a reading like this before. "How soon until the International Police can get there to investigate?"
"Ma'am, the Vast Poni Canyon is a strong magnetic field. Signals are barely getting through. I'm afraid the closest unit is still well over an hour away on foot." Another scientist informed.
Burnet bit the skin of her thumb. This was not looking good. Great for the data, but something as abstract as this usually meant something bad was happening. She turned to another scientist. "Get me in touch with Miss Lusamine at the Aether Paradise. Tell her everything that's happening!"
"Gosh darn contraption!" Hapu was shaking the tracker Looker gave her earlier. "How does dis thang here even work? Did it come with one of dose manuals er something?" She was so frustrated that she was tempted to throw it, but she'd rather spare herself the wrath of Tapu Fini for littering onto her backyard. She had to set an example, no matter how annoying it was to her.
"Dis is getting' ridiculous. Where in de name of Poni is that-!"
"Kraaaaagh!"
A low, bloodcurdling echo traveled through the canyon. Flygon's long horns vibrated at the strong sound, causing him to turn in the direction it came from.
"What is it, Flygon?" Hapu asked, before looking in said direction. She noticed how spooked Flygon was. She made it apparent that even her own skin was getting goosebumps from this awful sensation. Something was definitely wrong here. 'What'd be going on over there...?" In her case, there was only one way to find out. "Flygon, giddy up, dat way!" She pointed in the direction of the roar, in which Flygon jettisoned across the canyon gorges to the farther reaches of the domain.
The Ultra Beast raised its abdomen higher towards the air, expelling an even longer shout to deter Nic and Erza. The four combatants stood their ground as they glared at the beast and parasites opposing him.
"They brought reinforcements this time." Nic glared daggers as the two parasites beside the Ultra Beast shifted in front, hissing sneers directed at them. 'These Ultra Beasts are learning from their mistakes alright. They knew if they fought us again, it'd turn out the same as before. So they brought reinforcements to deter us.'
"Requip!" Erza immediately requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor. Her multiple blades floated around her as she levitated overhead. "We can't let these Ultra Beasts go freely! Who knows what else this one can cause. The two alone are nothing but trouble."
"Yeah, you're right about that." Nic stepped forward, standing beside Garchomp. "Guess we don't have a choice. In that case..." He glowed again, this time transforming into his Stone Form once more. He raised his heel high into the air before stomping down into the ground. He grunted as his pressed heel swept behind him, making an arch into the dirt. The land ruptured behind them before rock and sediment shot up into a giant terra wall behind that followed his heel's path. Said path spread into a hundred-foot-tall wall that blocked off the pathway and the defeated Totem Kommo-o. When the wall finally settled, the dust parted, allowing Nic to ready himself against the three beasts. "Those parasites can use Safeguard. We'll need to keep them away from the big guy so we can wear him down."
"Right, then leave that to us. Slurpuff!" Erza shouted.
"(Sweet!)" Slurpuff jumped in front of Erza, while she pulled out a Dive Ball.
"Cloyster! I need your assistance!" Erza tossed the Dive Ball into the air, where the energy manifested her Cloyster on the ground. The Bivalve Pokémon opened his shell, giving the parasites a meek expression. "Slurpuff, Cloyster, bear with me on this! We must draw them towards us at all costs!"
"(Okay.)" Cloyster quietly nodded.
"(Sounds sweet to me! I'm ready to go!)"
The twin parasites hissed aggressively at Erza. Beast 1 remembered Erza very well when she fought using her Aegislash before. It hissed aggressively as a glimmer appeared around it and its ally. Both Ultra Beasts suddenly flared a red aura with a familiar white flaming aura around their bodies.
'Another aura flare?' Erza glared with shock. Immediately she thought about the intense aura that Totem Kommo-o had. 'Just like with the Totem. An aura enveloped these Pokémon, too. Are these somehow connected?'
The two parasites hissed aggressively before they drifted after Cloyster and Slurpuff. The two braced themselves with Erza as their targets grew closer.
The Ultra Beast before Nic and Garchomp stood over them, glaring daggers at them. Its gaping maw stirred the tongue that had spikes inside of them. A low, aggressive gurgle was heard before its body flared up with a powerful aura, enhancing its Attack sharply.
Garchomp sneered beside Nic as he realized the aura signature. "It's got an aura, too?"
"KRRAAAAGH!" The monstrous creature raised its gargantuan vice, which shined brightly for a Hammer Arm. It came down onto Nic and Garchomp, but Nic stepped up as part of his Stone Form transformed into his Toxic Form, with the outlining being for said form.
"Baneful Bunker!"
A protective, purple forcefield with purple spikes on it appeared before Nic. With his hand reached out to keep it targeted on the oncoming claw, the Ultra Beast's glowing hand made impact at full force, causing an explosion of purple smoke that centered around its claw. It retracted the claw, with poisonous bubbles surfacing on its body. It let out another harsh grunt of pain at the status affliction.
It angrily glared down at Nic, but Garchomp moved in its way. He stood firmly without so much as a wince at how intimidating it was. "(Let's go, Nic!)"
"Garchomp, Dig!" Nic commanded.
The Ultra Beast let out a shrilled cry as its poisoned frame bubbled. Its entire body had a bright yellow aura, and its footsteps got heavier for an oncoming Heavy Slam. Garchomp arched his entire body into the ground and stabbed his claw through the rock, causing a hole to break open for him to burrow through. The Ultra Beast's foot stomped down far too late and ended up stamping where the hole was, lodging its foot into the ground.
Nic crossed his arms and positioned himself. With one arm swipe, he sent out a massive dust wave that expanded as it raced through the air, turning into a blinding Sandstorm. The cyclone of sand and dirt raged madly through the area, buffering the Ultra Beast even more. It let out a loud grunt as it used its arms to cover up from the raging sands.
Yet again, poisonous bubbles expelled from its body, making it wince in pain.
'That'll wear him down. It'll also activate Garchomp's Sand Veil if it lasts too long. Now for that increased power of his...I can use that to my advantage.' Nic raced across the ground, getting closer as his Toxic Form's half transformed into his Fist Form. The Rock/Fighting combo drew closer at the buffered beast.
As he drew closer, the Ultra Beast recovered fast enough to realize its target was heading its way. Out of instinct, it raised one of its black pincer arms and made it glow for another Hammer Arm.
Nic's eyes narrowed. 'Now!'
"KRAAAAAGH!" The Ultra Beast brought down its glowing arm with extreme force, splitting the sandstorm for a moment before slamming into Nic firmly. The impact was so strong that a shockwave went straight into the earth beneath, making the ground expel fissure outlines before depressing by a few feet. The eruption shot dust skywards that was instantly swept through the winds.
The Ultra Beast kept its pincer lodged into the crater, knowing it hit something. A blue aura indicated a Speed decrease to ensure that happened. It snarled at what could have been its soon-to-be prey crumbled to a pulp.
"Counter!"
Suddenly, a force pushed the glowing Hammer Arm off the ground and into the Ultra Beast. The arm's lash was so forceful, that it dented into the body, making airwaves expel everywhere. The Ultra Beast let out a cry of searing pain as its weight became too much and it fell over with powerful SNAP! to its leg that was still wedged in the hole. It was shot intensely, but not as much as it was by the backlash of that explosive force.
In the crater, Nic was on a knee, his entire body glowing multiple colors with a red-orange outline around his frame. The super-effective Hammer Arm was so powerful that it actually bruised his arms, but to him, it was worth it if he was able to use that strength and turn it around. The glow soon subsided as he arose back to his feet, watching the Ultra Beast lurch from the poison and Sandstorm damage.
"KRRAAAAAGH!" It gradually arose again, but when it tried moving, it realized its snapped leg was still stuck in the hole. When it attempted yanking, it yelled out in pain.
Focusing on the problem at hand, Nic leaped out of the crater and towards the right leg, sweeping his leg around.
"Low Kick!"
His heel swept cleanly through the Ultra Beast's only other operable leg, causing it to gradually fall forward. With such a massively heavy bulk, it was bound to weigh heavy. Just like Nic wanted!
Time slowed down as Nic looked back to see the monstrous beast fall forward. 'The bigger they are...the harder they fall. Right onto-!'
With time still slow, a depression erupted beneath the falling beast, which exploded dirt and rock right into its face. In the midst of such a rocky explosion, Garchomp lunged out with a monstrous whirl kick and smashed his clawed heel into the Ultra Beast's head-like protrusion. The impact was like a meteor strike straight from below. The Ultra Beast screamed in agony as Dig's strength was so intense that it dislodged the leg and made it go airborne. The beast cried out in utter anguish as it twisted overhead and fell into the ground a short distance from Garchomp, creating another disastrous explosion of rock and dirt.
The earth shook beneath Nic and Garchomp as they regrouped with each other and watched the sandstorm drag off the heavy dust and dirt. They were half-expecting such a powerful combination to finish it off. But they knew better than to get ahead of themselves.
Furrowing their brows, they both remained relaxed at the sight of some rubble shifting. The rubble surrounding the Ultra Beast didn't have half a second before it erupted, sending rock everywhere. It blew past the duo as they saw the Ultra Beast rise up in a heated frenzy, its eyes a heated red.
"KRREEEAAAAAGH!" It seethed with a violent cry that sent shockwaves through the sandstorm. Even as toxic bubbles spewed yet again, it stood tall with the tendril claws wailing with its tail swinging madly.
"(Hngh! Look like we've got it mad.)" Garchomp scoffed.
"It's a glutton alright." Nic stated. "Definitely not like those other parasites."
The Ultra Beast expelled a violent roar that shook the ground once more, echoing through the vicinity.
As that same roar echoed through the raging sandstorm bordered beyond Erza's domain, Beast 1 hissed before creating a hemisphere of dark purple, bright purple, and white that meshed together. It threw it skywards, where it trailed spiraling purple smoke until it reached a high enough point. Once it did, it exploded into several purple comets with dark purple smoke trailing behind them. Erza prepared all her swords that were made of steel and directed them at the dozens of small toxic meteors.
"Blumenblatt!"
The multitude of swords followed her telepathic command and shot into the meteors' centers, piercing them clean through. Purple explosions went off through the air as the swords danced around and carved a path for Erza to glided through. "You may have fooled me once with that trick, but it won't work a second time!" She directed a sword at them. "Cloyster, Icicle Crash!"
Cloyster's mouth glowed bright blue and generated frost. He blew it skywards, creating a frosted wind that solidified rapidly into several large icicle spears that arched down onto the parasites. Both parasites hissed in unison, before firing crystalized gemstones at the downwards icicles and met in midair, creating a powerful explosion of crystalized mist to scattered around them.
Slurpuff stepped forward, her tongue swaying to one side of her mouth. "(Sweet.)"
"Slurpuff, Energy Ball!" Erza ordered.
Slurpuff opened her maw wide and conjured a natural green sphere of energy. Once charged, she projected it outwards into the Ultra Beasts. Beast 1 was able to react in time, but Beast 2 wasn't so fortunate. A bright green explosion erupted in front of it, shooting it backwards into the canyon walls.
Beast 1 looked back at its comrade and back at Erza, hissing aggressively. It spat out a poisonous liquid in her direction, but her swords in hand crossed, cutting the attack around her until it dispersed completely.
"You're the same one that came from Earthland, aren't you?" she accused. "We've heard of your species' name, Ultra Beast, wasn't it? You've done quite a number on a lot of people that we know. You've hospitalized one of my closest friend's colleagues. You've assaulted a lot of unarmed people. And you've made a mess to Alola overall, enough so that the people have turned on us for your negligence. Do you not intend to take such responsibility?"
Beast 1 tilted its head with a small hum, seemingly curious as to what Erza meant. Either it didn't understand what she meant, or knew, but didn't care. But a lack of response was enough to make Erza's glare harden.
"If you don't intend on a proper answer..." She swiped forward, before flying herself back into the air. "Then so be it! Trinity Sword!" She crossed both her blades, sending a strong magical X that expanded towards the parasite.
With a hiss, it expanded its bell-like head, before expelling air to make it jet up just enough to dodge the cross that carved into the ground, dicing it to pieces. Erza glared in determination as her attack only cut into the bare tips of the beast's tendrils.
'It's a lot faster without a host body.'
Beast 2 gradually drifted back up in front, meeting Beast 1 again. The two hissed in unison before conjuring more purple gemstones and projecting them at Erza.
"Cloyster, Protect!" Cloyster jetted in front of Erza, his shell closing and creating a strong, translucent, turquoise forcefield that blocked off the gemstones. They exploded nonstop, but the smoke only went around.
"Slurpuff, Flamethrower!"
Jumping over the barrier, the two parasites noticed a shadow above them. They were too late when they saw a heated jet of flames shoot down from the silhouette and expanded. This time, Beast 2 was able to shift away as Beast 1 took the majority of the attack, hissing as its entire body exploded into flames upon impact.
Even as the flames and smoke diminished, Beast 1 scooted back, cringing. Suddenly, flames erupted around its body, causing it to hiss in anguish from the burn. Beast 2 looked back, allowing Erza to blindside it with a slash of her blade, sending it careening back with it.
As the two beasts recoiled, the feminine knight struck another pose with her Cloyster and Slurpuff. "Come at me, if you dare."
Outside the massive wall Nic created to replicate the canyon, the echoes and hisses of the battle raged on next door, while Totem Kommo-o laid sprawled in the rubble. The echoes of the roar were so intense that Jangmo-o shuddered. "(Eep!)"
"(C'mon, little bro. Man up!)" Hakamo-o scolded, lightly brushing him from the side.
"(S-sorry...that last one really just spooked me. That doesn't sound anything like our Dad's scream.)" Jangmo-o winced. He barely had the strength to move, even after eating that Oran Berry. How did that even get there? Whatever the case, it was just the tip of the cap needed to help him get up on his feet.
"(So, uh...you think Dad is probably angry with us for letting some No-Dragons get past us? I don't think he'll let us sleep through the night. He'll probably have us up till dawn hustling for me to finally learn a Dragon-type move that can live up to our dragon lineage.)"
"(Yeah, the old man has it out for us. I don't even want to remember what he had me go through until I finally evolved.)" Hakamo-o shuddered. The thought of having his terrifying father's Dragon Claw was enough to ruffle some of his scales. "(Still, keep your tail high, bud. Show him anything else than pride, and can't say I got your back.)"
Jangmo-o looked up to him. "(You really think he's okay?)"
Hakamo-o scoffed. "(Did that No-Dragon really dilute you with a kick to the head that badly? He's the Totem, and a Dragon-type! If anything, we should be worried about those cheap-shot No-Dragons being left in one piece when we see them at Dad's feet.)"
They both stepped out into the opening where their tribe's precious Dragonium-Z was supposed to be. However, what they were expecting was not there. Instead, it was sight that left them both slackjawed in speechless shock. The pedestal was nothing but debris, and at the end of an incredibly long, dirty ditch were broken scales and a very large Totem Kommo-o that was half-buried into the earth.
"(What in the name of Lord Rayquaza?!)" Hakamo-o shook his head to make sure this wasn't some kind of illusion. When he opened his eyes, his scales grew stiff. "(Dad...?)" He didn't get a response. He exchanged worried looks with his younger brother and back towards the Totem.
"(I-Is Dad okay...?)" Jangmo-o quipped.
"(I don't know. It looks pretty bad.)" Hakamo-o walked over slowly, minding the constant thuds and mild tremors happening beneath him. One thump from the other side of the wall made him go wide-eyed, and a very angry echo went skywards. He went over and saw a Sitrus Berry hanging around. "(Hey, look at this!)" He reached down and picked up the berry in his claw. "(A berry?)"
"(Was it those No-Dragons?)" Jangmo-o worried.
Hakamo-o narrowed his eyes, grunting. "(Tch, doesn't matter anymore. Let's just wake Dad up.)" He gave Jangmo-o a glare. "(Might wanna step back, little man.)"
Jangmo-o nervously nodded as Hakamo-o stepped forward to the groaning mess that was their father. He dropped the berry beside him and immediately stepped back. The next instance, Totem Kommo-o's eyes weakly opened as the fresh smell of a berry. Slowly, the rubble shifted off of him as he came around. He sat up, giving everything a quizzical glance.
"(Where am I...?)" He glanced down at his bruised body, noticing how badly damaged it was. "(What just-gngh!)" His headdress rung like a bell, sending flares of pain running across his whole body. He fell back down and started convulsing from the shock, grunting and roaring in pain.
"(Dad?!)" Jangmo-o worried.
Hakamo-o went over and picked up the Sitrus Berry. "(Have this. I think it makes you feel better.)" He dropped the berry into his father's mouth, in which it closed shut. Instantly, green waves ran up Totem Kommo-o's body before dissipating. Hakamo-o stepped back as he watched his father's convulsions settle down.
"(Guh...thank you for that.)" Totem Kommo-o sighed, gradually standing back up. "(Now then, what happened...?)" Even though his headache was settled, his mind was still foggy from anything that happened before. "(I believe...that there was a fellow dragon, but it-!)" His eyes widened. His headache spiked again when a flash of memories of Nic and Garchomp sprung out of nowhere.
"But honestly...I just couldn't give any damn to what stupid judgment you carry."
"(That No-Dragon!)" Totem Kommo-o spatted. "(Now I remember! He had the gull to challenge me with what tainted dragon of his! I was going to punish them...and yet they...)" He trailed off as he turned towards the pedestal, where their former Dragonium-Z was supposed to be. His snout stiffened with rage. "(This cannot be...)" He eyed his surroundings once more, looking up at the canyon tops before tracing towards Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o. "(My sons, tell me, where did the No-Dragons go?!)"
Jangmo-o flinched back a step at his father's uproar. He scrambled for words, but he couldn't find any. "(I, uh, I-I think...)"
Hakamo-o was able to keep his composure as he leered back. "(No idea, Dad. We just saw these weird berries when we woke up. I hate to say it, I really do...but it's gotta be those No-Dragons.)"
A heel stamped so hard the ground shuddered. Jangmo-o flinched and scurried behind his elder brother. "(Malarky! I will not allow this to pass by us, do you hear me?! I half-expected this from you, Jangmo-o! But you!)" He glared at Hakamo-o. "(You can imagine how disappointed I was seeing that pitiful display of a dragon. Those No-Dragons made a complete fool of you! What do you have to say for yourself?!)"
Hakamo-o gnashed his jawlines together, fists balled. He knew from past experience that saying sorry won't help his case. He chose to stand up straight while his younger brother swallowed a lump and crawled to his side.
"(You think you can look at me with those eyes of yours so full of pride after I saw that display? Bah! One day, this body of mine will join the greater lands where my father rests, as does his father...and on as it goes. When I depart, I want to make sure that this land if left in capable hands worthy of the title of Totem.)" He leaned in closer, looking Hamako-o dead in the eye. "(If I am entrusting these lands to you, you need to put more spine into your strikes. I will personally make sure of that once this ordeal is over.)"
Hakamo-o nodded firmly, though it was clear even he was a little uneasy in the stomach. "(Yes, sir.)"
"(Um, D-Dad...?)" Jangmo-o quipped.
Totem Kommo-o gave him a gruesome glare. "(Speak quickly! My patience is thin, and we need to find those No-Scales!)"
Jangmo-o flinched. "(O-okay! Um, s-shouldn't we...you know...rest a little first?)"
"(Out of the question! We are dragons, not those sniffling excuses of No-Dragons that have fake scales! We do not crawl away from danger when we're the danger to them! We thrive here for a reason. To be born into these canyons, and to grow stronger, and stronger, until the burning flames of the almighty dragons burns at its peak! Then, we pass that strength on to the next in line waiting! That has been what the mighty Tapu of this land decreed ages ago, and I dare to stand by that declaration with a dragon's soul still intact.)"
Hakamo-o and Jangmo-o looked at each other, unsure of what to say or do in this situation. "(Now, where is Noivern? Surely my most trusted flyer will come to me with fortune?)"
"KRRAAAAGH!"
Another thunderous roar shook the canyons, getting all their attention.
"(W-what was that?)" Jangmo-o worried.
"(I don't know...)" Hakamo-o's eyes scaled the sediment wall. "(But something is on the other side. You feel that, Dad?)"
Totem Kommo-o scoffed as he glared holes through the rock. It wasn't a thick layer, but even that couldn't stop his scales from rustling with the essence of dragons on the other side. His posture straightened as he reaffirmed himself. "(Yes, my son. I sense it...two dragons...and they're doing battle.)" He started towards the wall, leaving his sons behind. "(You both wait here.)"
"(But Dad, what if it's trouble?)" Jangmo-o squealed, earning another look from his father.
"(Maybe it's best that you quip your beak for now, lil' bro. What the old man says goes.)" Hakamo-o grimaced.
Totem Kommo-o scoffed as he looked back forward. "(At least one of you knows your place and discipline.)" He started for the wall, balling a fist. "(I am the Totem of these lands. What I say goes. And I dare say, if these No-Dragons believe they truly are superior than us, then they must do so a hundred times before I'm ready to admit such leniency!)"
He pulled back his fist, which crackled in lightning. "(Thunder Punch!)"
The Ultra Beast violently jabbed forward through the sandstorm into Garchomp via Thrash, only to hit an afterimage, much to its displeasure. When it turned around, it saw Garchomp in midair, sneering. It swatted its wrecking ball tail at him, but he diffused through the sand, evading like a ghost. The momentum of the tail swing threw it off and caused it to almost fumble over, letting out another cry over its legs unable to hold it up.
Observing the Ultra Beast's failed attempts at attacking his Garchomp, Nic glared as he waited for the golden opportunity. 'Garchomp's Sand Veil Ability is throwing him off. Alright then...' He spread his legs, channeling energy into his fist. 'This is it!'
CRASH!
An explosion of rock and sediment behind him immediately fell to the ground. The rupture was loud enough to get Nic, Garchomp, and the Ultra Beast's attention.
"(What now?!)" Garchomp snarled.
Nic saw the dust dispersed before him and proactively shuffled his feet. His eyes narrowed when he sensed an oncoming fist coated in lightning and dodged it, while it continued and dented in the ground. Nic regained his balance and looked back up, visually displeased with what he saw.
"He's back up already...?"
Retracting his fist, Totem Kommo-o craned his neck up and expelled a volatile roar that distorted through the sandstorm. He raised his fists high at his declaration.
"(Are you serious?)" Garchomp grunted, but caught the Ultra Beast's tail swinging in his direction. His Sand Veil Ability activated, making him evade and fade back into the sandstorm. The Ultra Beast in turn made more poisonous bubbles and sandstorm buffer it to where it almost fell over. It caught itself just at the last second.
"It's the Totem." Nic glared.
Totem Kommo-o took a quick glance around, holding his ground in spite of the sandstorm's intense strength. He turned towards Nic, instantly recognizing him. "(You. I knew I smelled No-Dragon close by.)" Nic didn't respond, making him snarl. "(You had the upmost gull to humiliate me and the traditional ways of the dragon! And then you left me an offering for me in your stead?)" His fists balled tighter. "(I don't take being looked down on so kindly, especially by No-Dragons that pull cheap shots like you.)"
Nic sneered from the corner of his mouth. "Looks like we've got two problems to deal with now."
"KRAAAAAAGH!" The Ultra Beast let out another roar as its Thrash continued, unable to get a good swing in on Garchomp's superior reflexes and evasion eluding its momentum.
Totem Kommo-o turned towards the intruding Ultra Beast, visually disturbed by the sight of the monstrosity. "(And who might this be? I certainly do not recognize this fellow dragon from around here. If he has come to stake challenge, at least he is welcome...unlike you.)" He shot a spiteful look at Nic, before starting for the beast.
"What the hell are you doing?" Nic questioned.
"(Be quiet! I will rectify that tongue of yours and making a mockery of me! But first, I must quell my fellow dragon kin.)" He walked closer towards the Ultra Beast as its rampage was still going.
Garchomp let up and landed in front of Nic. "(Is that old fool crazy?!)"
Nic didn't even know how to respond to that. He grunted as he balled his fists. 'That stubborn bastard.'
Totem Kommo-o stopped before the Ultra Beast's monstrous frame. It turned to look down on him, groaning tiredly and angrily. "KREAAAAAGH!"
"(I am the Totem of these lands here, his divine one dubbed after my father, whose lineage was preceded by the likes of Tapu Fini, the guardian deity of these lands!)" he boldly declared. "(State your business for violating upon these lands, dragon.)"
The Ultra Beast opened its mouth wider than before, expelling a roar so massive that the airwaves caused Totem Kommo-o the cover up with his forearms. He slid backwards in the sandstorm, which buffered him, much to his anger.
"(Gngh! It seems that even the likes of you must be taught a lesson in manners. Fellow dragon, I shall tame your kin!)" He readied a Dragon Claw in his right hand. "(Know your place here, or else!)"
The Ultra Beast's red eyes shined brightly and acted upon instinct. It swung its tail around, the wrecking ball end violently crashing into Totem Kommo-o's side with an explosive rupture. The impact sent debris everywhere throughout the sandstorm. Nic and Garchomp covered up as some of the debris went over their heads. They looked ahead to find the dust clearing quickly, showing a wrecking ball tail lifting over a crater where the Totem was laying on his backside, completely flattened with scales shattered around his headdress.
"KRAAAAAAAGH!" The Ultra Beast raised its pincers high into the air, towering mightily over its defeated opponent. A red aura engrossed its already flaring body, seemingly boosting its Attack even more.
Nic's glare fastened at the red aura. 'Was that a Moxie like Vanessa's Krookodile?'
Despite its injuries and the gruesome poison around its body, it stomped a few paces over towards the crater, where the Totem was weakly opening an eye to see the monstrous dragon draw closer. He really wanted to move, but his body wasn't listening to him. He could barely raise an arm to do another attack.
The Ultra Beast snagged him in one of its pincers. Even though it was slow to grab, it made up for in strength by raising him high and slamming him into the ground again. It raised that same arm up a second time and bashed the Totem into the dirt again, and again, and again. The process was never-ending, all while the Totem kept a very painful and angry face with each time his headdress got dented into.
Nic and Garchomp looked on, both giving very heavy glares at the scene. They didn't want to say that the Totem didn't ask for it, but it was clear that he had no idea what he was doing against this monster. On the other hand, seeing this beast kick a man when he was already down just made their blood boil; Nic more so than Garchomp. It was grueling, but it was even worse just sitting by and watching a pointless battle like this.
Normally, it would work to their advantage to get out of here, but Nic saw what these Ultra Beasts can do on a small-scale basis. He'd rather not let this go for his personal gain.
"Garchomp."
The dragon nodded. "(Right.)"
The Ultra Beast bashed Totem Kommo-o into the ground again, and dragged him back up. His entire body was nothing short of a wreck. Scales were chipped and scattered everywhere, and bruises were all over his strong body. His half-dead gaze was fixed on the Ultra Beast that was putting him through the wringer. It raised its prize overhead, dangling right over its sharp incisors.
"We've been going overboard with the overkill as of late...but screw it." Nic reached for the Key Stone embedded into his coat's left sleeve, gripping it tightly. "We're settling this now, whether anyone likes it or not."
The Ultra Beast opened its maw wide, showing its spiked tongue rolling with the gaping insides ready to hunker down with a crunchy meal that was the Totem. It slowly lowered the dragon closer to its maw, while the Key Stone in Nic's tightening grip started outlining and beaming energy that radiated multiple lights.
Nic's entire left side started flaring as his cool and passionate glare was fixed forward. The light emanating from the Key Stone became so intense that it shifted the sand around him. His blue eyes were illuminated with the light to make him look even more gruesome.
"Garchomp...Mega Evolve!"
A similar shine of indigo light resonated with Garchomp and the Garchompite. It shined similar rays of energy that exploded across the area. A pulse wave shook the earth as rocks began defying gravity. The tendrils of lights connected Garchomp with the Key Stone that Nic clutched. The energy erupted around Garchomp as the dragon raised his head and let out a devastating roar.
Moments before the Ultra Beast would drop the Totem into its mouth, the permeating light stunned it for a moment, long enough to grab its attention and pay attention to the enigmatic, yet very trancing glow the Pokémon was giving off.
Erza was slashing her swords at the two beasts, forcing them to move away. They moved in at the same time, hissing while spewing more poisonous liquid volumes at Erza.
"Protect!"
At her command, Cloyster appeared in front and clamped his shell shut. Another barrier took the poisonous volumes and made a small purple explosion that quickly diffused. The barrier lifted, showing Cloyster unscathed.
The parasites hissed in anger, but a sudden rainbow glow from inside the sandstorm a few feet away grabbed their attention. Slurpuff and Cloyster looked over as well, their skins tingling with this powerful force.
Erza looked away for a moment, seeing the light resonating from inside the sandstorm. 'That light...is that Nic using Mega Evolution...?'
The Totem was half-conscious when he felt a light burning into his retina. He winced, but was able to open up wide enough to see a blurry visual of a glowing, shaping dragon with a human glaring at them.
Nobody moved as the light tranced everything and everyone. They watched the glow illuminate the sandstorm, and Garchomp's body getting edgier, as well as his spikes growing in numbers, and the blades on his arms merging with his claws. The light exploded, sending a powerful shockwave that buffered the Ultra Beast yet again. With the light gone, standing before it was Mega Garchomp, whose sharp teeth and yellow eyes were beaming daggers into its head. He opened his mouth, unleashing a loud, deep, monstrous roar that sent ripples through the terrain, shifting the sandstorm's direction entirely. The winds whirled around them into a frenzy from the shifting energy, making it almost impossible to tell where even the sky was.
Mega Garchomp's roar ended as he leered with Nic, who had a serious look on his face. "Last chance to let him go." He said sternly, but coldly.
The Ultra Beast didn't take too kindly to whatever it was that Nic said. It lurched forward, expelling another roar. "KRAAAAAAAGH!" It stumbled forward with everything it had left, its wrecking ball tail and spare pincer ready to resume its Thrash.
Mega Garchomp held firm to the ground and waited for the perfect chance to attack. Once his prey got close enough, his eyes narrowed.
"Don't say we didn't warn you...Mega Garchomp, STONE EDGE!" Nic roared.
Mega Garchomp's eyes glazed with a bright fury. Air shredded as he whipped his blades around in a frenzy before raising one of them high. With a bloodcurdling roar and a demonic glare, he sliced into the ground. Nothing happened at first...until a massive tremor vibrated the earth and a fissure burst open. Extremely large, jagged stones shining bright blue pierced every direction as it traveled at disastrous speeds through the sandstorm.
And it didn't help that Mega Garchomp's Ability was Sand Force, increasing Stone Edge's power drastically.
The Ultra Beast's momentum was cut off completely when it realized it couldn't get out of this one. It swatted down into the oncoming stones, but they pierced into it and jutted it off the earth. It was airborne, and then beneath it, a very large precipice shot into its underside, creating a massive explosion that sent shockwaves throughout the sandstorm and ground.
"KRRAAAAAAAAGGHHH!" The Ultra Beast let out the loudest, most painful cry it has ever roared as the waves of sharp stones and shrapnel sent it through a daze. It flew straight out the sandstorm, making a hole clean through it and went over Erza and the parasites' heads. They momentarily lost their traction as they watched the gargantuan creature fly head-first into the canyon walls. The impact shook the entire area, immediately smashing off a massive amount of the earth and causing it to cave in on the Ultra Beast.
The two parasites looked absolutely stunned by this sight. They saw their most reliable backup get taken out! They saw the sandstorm on the opposite side subside, seeing Mega Garchomp fly up and catch the unconscious Totem on his back and planted his feet on the ground, making a tremendous thud. The way that he looked at them...it was enough to leave them visibly paralyzed with shock.
"Kreeeeee!" Beast 1 yelped.
Realizing this was her chance, Erza shot them a glare. 'Now's my chance!' She pointed her sword forward. "Cloyster, Razor Shell!"
"(Understood.)" The Bivalve quietly glared ahead as his inner shell was glowing bright blue. Its ridges suddenly lengthened into long, twin blades of aquatic energy. He turned around and jetted water to push himself towards the parasites.
By the time they registered what was happening, it was too late. A bright blue line cut past them, leaving time to slow down around them as everything around them grew stale and dark. Cloyster's blue energy blade past them and dissipated, leaving him in midair. Behind him, two bright explosions engulfed the parasites, making them cry out in agony as well.
They both were sent skyrocketing along with the debris, also piling into the rubble that was befalling them. The beasts were helpless as the rocks caved in and buried them with crushing force. The stones kept piling on, until a massive wall of crushed stone completely blocked off a large mass of the canyon.
The dust gradually settled, leaving Erza to requip back to her Heart Kreuz Armor. Mega Garchomp body diffused energy and reverted to himself. The two groups reconvened, with both managing to catch their breaths.
"Well...that was a surprise to say the least." Erza said.
"Yeah, you can say that again." Nic remarked. He felt a stiff pain in his arms that made him wince. He looked down at his arms, which were heavily bruised from that crushing Hammer Arm. 'That's right, I forgot how much of a punch that thing packed. But it looked to have taken a lot of damage from that Counter...still, I have a ways to go.' His body glowed bright yellow, using Recover to reenergize himself. In no time, his arms were back to the way they were originally.
Slurpuff let out a long sigh. "(Phew! I could really go for a strawberry cheesecake right about now...or maybe one of those Malasadas? Mm?)" She eyed her trainer, giving her blinking eyes to indicate what she wanted.
"Sorry Slurpuff, I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer." Erza chastised.
"(Awww! But I'm so~ tired!)" She groaned.
"When we stop for a break, I'll give you plenty of cheesecake." That compromise was enough to elate the living meringue.
"(Yay! I love you, Erza!)"
"At least that was taken cared of." Nic noted. "But..." He turned towards the massive rubble wall blocking off the way they came in. "It looks like we did another number on this place. The only upside to this is that now the foot soldiers won't have any way of reaching us."
Erza put her hands to her hips. "That's true, I suppose."
From the opposite side of the rock wall, Hakamo-o and Jangmo-o were peering through the opening their father had made. They looked all around, seeing the sheer destruction the No-Dragons had caused. Their scales were so stiff they were paralyzed with fear.
"(D-did you see all that, big bro?)" Jangmo-o squealed.
"(Yeah, I sure did...can't believe that a bunch of those No-Scales have that much power...)" For a moment, he was actually doubting his own abilities. But that was washed away when he saw the disheveled mess that was the Totem. "(Dad!)" They both hurried over towards the fallen dragon, getting to his side to see what kinds of serious damage had been done.
Jangmo-o shivered at the sight of his father, especially with a number of his scales dented and cracked. "(D-dad? Is he gonna get up...?)"
"(I don't know...but stay strong.)" Hakamo-o insisted, keeping a straight, serious face. Though looking at his father, a look of doubt was starting to show.
Turning towards the scene, Nic and Erza gave each other a look before mutually agreeing on a similar thing. "You still have some Max Revives on you, don't you?" Erza asked.
Nic furrowed his brow as he dug through his inventory. He moved things around until he found a small Revive. "This should be enough, you think?" He looked at Erza, who gave him an affirmative nod. He clutched the Revive tightly and started over towards the Totem.
Hearing footsteps heading their way, the brothers lifted their heads and immediately drew up their guards. They stood in front of their father with forepaws and arms spread wide.
"Stay calm. I'm not going to hurt you." Nic walked closer, but the two dragons only snarled. He sighed. "If you value the Totem that badly, then you have to trust a No-Dragon's judgment this one time." He held the Revive up to them to emphasize his point. "It's either your pride, or it's your father. Take it from someone who actually knows that he couldn't live without someone."
"Nic..." Erza said softly.
Jangmo-o's guard lightened up, but only a little. "(W-why would we trust a No-Dragon like you...?)" he quipped weakly.
Garchomp stepped up beside Nic, giving them a death glare. "(You wanna say that in that state, you little punk?)" He snarled, making Jangmo-o flinch. "(Hmph, some dragons are a little too hard-scaled to get through.)"
"Guess it can't be helped." Nic pressed on his own accord, proceeding past Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o. They could only watch as their draconic pride shattered when they weren't strong enough or willful enough to do anything. Nic kneeled down and pressed the Revive against Totem Kommo-o's headdress, sending green energy waves across his body as it dissolved into his scales. The scales rippled with the healing energy that echoed throughout his frame until they faded away.
When the light faded, the Totem's body was looking a lot better to say the least. Though his scales were still disheveled, a lot of the ones that were dented in and broken were fixed up. The bruises minimized around his frame as well, allowing him to breathe better. Nic backpedaled to give the Totem his space as he coughed up some saliva. He lurched as more saliva and air expelled from his body. With each exhale, he was beginning to feel his senses come around again.
"(Dad!)" Jangmo-o quipped, tiny tears in the corners of his eyes. "(Are you okay?!)"
Totem Kommo-o caught his breath, letting out one final cough before finding a knee to support himself on. "(Gngh...everything went dark again for a while...)" His vision returned with his sense of direction. The first thing he noticed was a teary-eyed Jangmo-o right beside a Hakamo-o. "(My son, why are you weeping?)"
Jangmo-o sniffled, rubbing a forepaw on his nose. "(Sorry, Dad. I-it was just a heat of the moment thing. It won't happen again!)"
The Totem gave his eldest son a look, in which he directed the reason behind his fast healing towards the No-Dragons. He turned and gave Nic and Garchomp a judgmental look, but no growl came from his throat.
Nic could see the hesitation in his eyes still. Garchomp stood by his side, his claws bared. "Tell me, you still really want more?" Nic asked sincerely.
Totem Kommo-o paused, never losing eye contact with Nic. He thought about what he saw when he was beaten to a near-death pulp. He saw the bright glow of Garchomp's Mega Evolution that even now continued to send shivers down his scaly spine. He's never seen anything like it before. It was something he had to assume was a No-Dragon and dragon interaction. But as invested as he was about that, he thought about what Nic said and closed his eyes.
"(There is no need for that. I have seen enough.)" He said, lifting himself up humbly. "(It seems that the dragons of the heavens have sent a blessing in disguise for me this day. Not once, but twice. Though you may lack of scales, you have the tenaciousness and spirit of a dragon whose heart is as wild as nature.)"
"(Dad?)" Hakamo-o inquired, earning a look from his father.
"(It is alright...I have learned from this lesson. I...)" He lowered his head. "(...suppose I must thank you No-Dragons in your actions...for saving my life.)"
Nic sighed, turning a way slightly. "Don't mention it, alright?" He gave the humbled dragon a look. "I get it, you have a lot of pride amongst your kind, but is it really worth lying down your own life? Something tells me that it isn't."
Totem Kommo-o continued looking at Nic and Garchomp before turning back to his sons. It's true that if he was gone, he could have a potential replacement in them. Though after being saved by a No-Dragon and a dragon partnership, he couldn't find the resolve to steel himself with much gusto. He was still too tired.
A low growl came from him as he turned away. "(My sons, follow me. Allow these No-Dragons the right to venture through. They have earned the Dragonium-Z fair and square.)"
Jangmo-o looked shocked. "(R-really, Dad?)"
"(Yes...it seems that I have much to work on as well, as long as this body holds that is. In the meantime...)" He glanced back over his shoulder. "(The two of you. Work hard with me, understand? We may have lost something today, but backed into a corner, us dragons will never fall prey to the jaws of death, not as long as we have a fighting spirit...a spirit as those of No-Dragons have.)"
'(Something tells me that we're still getting the Dragon Claw treatment.)' Hakamo-o mused despondently.
Totem Kommo-o looked back at Nic. "(And to you, No-Dragon. Use that Dragonium-Z with the passion of a dragon. Dig deep, and no matter what...never lose sight on victory, even when the odds are against you. That is the way of the dragon-kin.)"
Everyone watched as Totem Kommo-o and his family moved further away into the deepest parts of the gorges that they were able to fit through. Once they were out of sight, Nic reached and pulled out the Dragonium-Z that Totem Kommo-o allowed him to keep. He could feel a pulsing roar coming from its core. The tighter he held it, the more intense its core felt. It was like feeling a compressed dynamite bomb ready to burst.
Erza stepped to his side. "Nic?"
Glancing away from the Z-Crystal, he gave her a mused grin. "I just hope this crystal doesn't have such a ridiculous pose." He scoffed.
Erza smirked at the usual Nic tune he played out. "We'll find that out later. We still have an altar to check out, don't we?"
"Yeah, you're right." He turned and grinned at Garchomp, petting his head. "Nice work, Garchomp. You did really well. Get some rest." He held out his Poke Ball and reverted the dragon into energy that was drawn inside.
Erza turned with a Dive Ball and Poke Ball aimed at Cloyster and Slurpuff. "Cloyster, Slurpuff. Your assistance has been most valued. Return!" The capsules shot two red lasers that beamed into Cloyster and Slurpuff, withdrawing them for Erza to carry with her.
Nic turned towards the rock wall that looked very unstable. "Now...to take care of something else." He transformed into a cross between his Meadow Form and the Spooky Form, where he became intangible. His bottom-half became a shadowy wisp that followed him as he dove into the rock wall.
Erza waited patiently as she was getting an idea of what Nic might be doing, but she had to remain careful as he was. She saw him dive back out, surprisingly empty-handed and frowning. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"They're not there." He answered.
"What?"
He turned back towards the wall. "I should have been able to sense them with my Meadow Form and their life forces, but when I went to look, I didn't see them. It's like they up and vanished..." he frowned heavily. 'Were they pulled out that quickly by that same wormhole? When did that...?' A realization made his eyes widen. 'It must have been when the rocks were falling. Something must fall pulled them at the last second before they were completely crushed.' He lowered his head. 'Guess using that one parasite we've been tracking is out of the question.'
Erza stepped up to him. "We'll worry about that later. We should hurry and..." Before she could finish, a shadow moved over their heads, momentarily blocking out the sun. They both looked up to find something come down in front of them.
"What now? Another foe?" Erza frowned, her voice hinting impatience.
They watched as a Flygon flap its wings and descend towards the ground, where an unfamiliar human stood and planted her feet firmly against Nic and Erza. Her grayish, purple eyes glared at them with a firm gleam.
"Both y'all! Stop a step further!" she bellowed, beaming with pride.
"Who're you? Tell us." Erza demanded.
Hapu gave her a look. "If you must know, I'm de Island Kahuna of Poni Island! My name is Hapu, and I take it dat you all be de varmints dat Looker be out for?"
Hearing his name said aloud made Erza's glare intensify. 'So she knows as well.'
Nic gave a cold, unamused glare.
"I'm telling ye both now, don't move! As Kahuna, I'll be having to reel you in myself!" She brought up an Ultra Ball. "And I heard of what y'all did! You've gone and harmed our beloved Tapu Fini, dis island's deity! You'll be paying!"
She tossed the Ultra Ball into the air, bringing out her trusted Mudsdale. The large trojan horse let out a neigh as he snorted at his opponents.
"Erza...mind if I have this one?" Nic stated, bringing up a Poke Ball. "I'll be quick about it."
Erza nodded confidently. "Please do."
Nic didn't bother with any kind of formalities with the Kahuna. He brought up his Poke Ball and tossed it into the air, bringing out Greninja. The ninja frog landed in front of him with the standard Greninja pose. "Ready, Greninja?"
"(Yeah, I hear you alright.)" Greninja nodded, his red eyes gleaming at Mudsdale.
"Y'all really don't know what being a Kahuna is about, huh? I'll show ya what happens to a lot of dem Island Challengers when dey have to deal with me! Mudsdale, Heavy Slam!" She shouted. Mudsdale neighed loudly as his body outlined in a bright aura, giving him greater charging speed. Each step taken towards Greninja made the earth tremble.
Nic remained completely calm and relaxed as he glared forward. "Scald!"
The Mystic Water around Greninja's neck glistened for a moment. His red eyes glinted before visible air surged into his mouth. He reared back, and then lurched forward with a strong cry. A steam ripple expelled from around his mouth as a monstrous volume of scalding, hot water blasted across the ground, tearing it to pieces in the process. The scalding jet moved so fast and so quick that Mudsdale didn't even get a chance to blink before everything burned around his body. A massive explosion of steam and boiling water spewed everywhere, making a geyser that shot well above their heads to the ledges above. The droplets cooled down as they descended from the high altitude to make a humid rainfall around Greninja.
Before him was a dense trail that directed into a short distance from Hapu. She was on her back in a daze, while her Mudsdale was embedded into the canyon wall, with massive cracks around the crater he was incapacitated in. His eyes were swirls as his mouth was gaping.
Barely gathering her bearing, Hapu blinked several times before she started to make sense of what happened. "Wha...wha in tarnation...?"
She was so distracted with processing what was going on that she didn't see Nic shift into his Icicle Form. He reached up, shooting spheres of Ice Shard at Flygon, who was also recoiling from the humid explosion. The shards exploded upon impact, causing him to fall backwards with frost spilled over his stomach. He fell in front of Hapu, who was left at a loss for words.
"F-Flygon?!" She looked over, seeing Mudsdale – her strongest partner – defeated so disastrously. She got a shaking heel beneath her and stood back up. She looked between Mudsdale and Flygon, then back at Nic and Greninja. "You...what did you do?!"
"Sorry, but..." Nic's hand frosted over and slammed it into the ground. Solid ice spikes shot up around Hapu in crossed formations. They lodged underneath her arms, between her legs, and around her neck, leaving her completely immobilized. "We're not in the mood for explaining to you." He finished.
"What-?!"
Nic then transformed right before her eyes. He morphed into his Toxic Form, with a dark purple hemisphere in hand. He lobbed it skywards, trailing purple spiraling smoke that reached a peak before exploding. Several comets of toxic spheres with purple, smoky tails sailed around Hapu, fading into the ground.
"I wouldn't try to move if I were you. Unless you want to end up poisoned."
Hapu gritted her teeth. "You...just what are you people?!"
Nic frowned. He couldn't feel anymore pity for the fool even if he tried. But he knew explaining things to someone who wouldn't want to listen would be a waste of breath he could use to actually solve the actual problems. He didn't bother talking back to Hapu as he started for around his Toxic Spikes trail. "Let's go."
"Right." Erza followed his lead solemnly. Greninja followed up, too.
"Hey, wait! You can't just leave me here like dis!" Hapu cried out, but got no answer. She meekly turned her head to look over her shoulder to see them forge ahead around her. "Shoot!"
She only watched as Nic, Erza, and Greninja made their getaway seem that much simpler. She stood there, completely flabbergasted at how she was made a complete fool in under a minute. She bit her bottom lip and clutched her fists at her own frustration. How could she let this happen? She was this island's Kahuna, wasn't she? She was supposed to be strong, so what the hell was that supposed to be? If it weren't for the ice spikes threatening to impale her body, she would have gone after them. But it would take a while for the ice to melt, and even after that she would have to deal with the invisible toxic trap Nic left for her.
'Dis is bad. I need to get a move on somehow...'
In her agony, pink scales were fluttering about from above. They rained around the humid air, sprinkling over Hapu's nose. "Huh? What'd be...?" She looked up, seeing not rain, but glistening pink scales falling around her. "What be going on now?"
As the scales were drifting, they fell onto Flygon and Mudsdale, fading into rippling pink waves across their bodies. Hapu gasped as she saw them stir and slowly regain their consciousness. They both looked around confusedly at what happened.
"Flygon! Mudsdale!" Hapu worried.
"(Teehee! You're welcome~!)"
Hapu heard a whimsical chime from above. She looked up, seeing a bewildering sight of Tapu Lele and Tapu Fini accompanying each other. "T-Tapu Fini?" She spatted, words barely getting out. "(And...Akala's very own Tapu Lele?)"
Tapu Lele turned towards Tapu Fini, pointing down at Hapu. "(So she's the Kahuna you chose, ole' Fini?)"
"(Yes, I'm afraid so. Thank you for this favor.)" Tapu Fini nodded.
Tapu Lele flashed a wink. "(Hey, that's what besties are for!)"
Hapu blinked. She couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on. "Two of Alola's great guardians are here...dis must be a sign of somedin' big." She looked up at them sincerely. "Thank you both fer coming! I mean it! I am very grateful!" She did a small bow of her head while her body was still immobilized by the ice.
Tapu Fini nodded. "(It's fine. I trust that you are capable enough to get out of this one?)"
Hapu had a serious look as she turned towards Flygon. "Flygon!"
The dragon whipped around, giving his trainer a small yelp. He seemingly understood as he raised his tail, swinging it like a bat into the ice spikes surrounding her. They all shattered like glass and spilled across the ground.
"Perfect!" She grabbed her Flygon's horns and hoisted herself away from the Toxic Spikes. The dragon ascended, meeting with the Tapus' elevation. Hapu gave them a serious glare that matched Tapu Fini. "Alright...let's get some justice on dese creeps!"
"(Girl, you be a mind reader, for sure!)" Tapu Lele chimed.
It was still dark as ever in the precipice palace where everything went hollow. Not even the sound of dewdrops from the ceiling were enough to hollow out the lifeless breeze going through its vast domain. Yet out of this pitch-black darkness, a wormhole faded in from above. Spewed from it was a large amount of rubble and shattered stone. And with it was a very large mass that was the huge Ultra Beast. Debris continued piling onto it, where the parasites were the last to plop out.
They fell to the ground, their bodies deflated and black ink spewing from their undersides. Once again, they felt anything but a good feeling inside their gelatinous bodies.
A pair of piercing red eyes gleamed down at them, causing Beast 1 to stiffen. When it slowly lifted its bell, it shriveled up at the sight of the pitch-black silhouette towering above it. "Where was...my light...where was it?"
His low, begrudging snarl was met with a meek hiss. Beast 1 quipped as much as it was able as the red-eyed, grizzly beast was glaring daggers right into its soul.
"A powerful light...by same creatures?" He looked up to the massive Ultra Beast buried beneath the rubble. As far as he was concerned, to have something arrive back to him in such a sorry state was disheartening to say the least. These must be some very powerful creatures where this light came from. "I see...you have found my light, huh?" His red eyes glowed a bright rainbow. "Then next time, that light shall belong to me! And me alone!"
Beast 1 hissed weakly. It was tired as hell, but at least it did its job. For the moment, it didn't have to worry about any immediate danger on its life. But looking at Beast 2 barely coming around made its tendrils tingle with an unnerving wake.
The monster drifted skywards, his rainbow eyes flashing brightly. "My light...will ease this pain! ALL OF IT!"
Sorry it took two weeks, but I think the length that I put into this chapter was a good reason why it took this long. To be frank, I wasn't expecting to be putting this much through a single chapter, especially since it's been a little while since I breached 27K for a chapter. Still, I hope that this was a tasty treat for all you guys. I felt a little better with having Nic in tune with his growing matter of 'fight smarter, not harder', while still keeping him above bars. Hopefully this was a good indication of that.
I'm going to try and finish up the arc in another two chapters, so be ready for a lot of action!
