Betrayer-Of-Kin knew that the downsides of leaving Mable's team outweighed the upsides. She'd scanned those probabilities, after all. And yet she could not deny it irritated her to have to stay behind rather than leave with Mable to go raid the Pokeball Factory.
She might have even been able to use it as an opportunity for escape. Not to mention that Marcus (who had, of course, survived her attack, seeing as he was still present in the timeline) had a 56.9% chance of becoming involved. She could have fairly easily leveraged her escape into another shot at killing Marcus.
Of course, as she confirmed with a quick Future Sight, the probability of that escape going well was 44.74%, and the probability of the escape going well and successfully killing Marcus was a mere 16.38%. Those were not probabilities Betrayer-Of-Kin would prefer to gamble upon, especially since most of the 55.26% of escape attempts that did not go well ended with being painfully drained into a husk by the Harbinger of Death.
She would have other opportunities later, both to escape and to kill Marcus. She hadn't killed so many Trainers by being impatient, after all.
"Now what is someone like you doing just standing and looking at nothing?"
Betrayer-Of-Kin turned her head to fix her right eye on the form of Celosia's Manectric. Ripper, she recalled the name was.
"I am pondering possible outcomes of this endeavor," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. A half-truth, meant to dissuade Ripper.
It did not work. "So Celosia wasn't lying," said Ripper. "You can see the future."
Betrayer-Of-Kin sighed. "Move along. I have nothing to speak with you about."
Instead of following her very simple instructions, Ripper stepped closer. He lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Tell me something, Absol. Say…as a hypothetical scenario…there was this Trainer, whose Pokemon gave me a rather humiliating defeat. And I don't take such a thing lying down. Do you know-"
"You should move on," Betrayer-Of-Kin interrupted.
Ripper moved even closer. His fur brushed against Betrayer-Of-Kin's. "I know you know what I'm talking about," he growled. "I want to make that Trainer's team suffer. I want to drag out the last days of their miserable existence for as long as possible. And after that, maybe I'll be satisfied enough to kill them. So, can you be a dear and tell me where they are, and possibly give me a probability on how best to hunt and capture them?"
Betrayer-Of-Kin emitted a low warning growl of her own. "I am not an oracle. Move. On. I will not ask again."
"A shame," said Ripper. "Static: Full-Body Lock."
Betrayer-Of-Kin froze, every part of her body completely still. Everything except her head, that is. She turned that towards Ripper, eyes narrowed.
"I tried doing this nicely," said Ripper. "But I will know my information. So unless you want-"
Betrayer-Of-Kin had stopped listening. She could think of at least five ways to kill or knock out Ripper with just her head, but she pushed all of those aside in favor of concentration. She could feel the Manectric's Electric energy stiffening her muscles. But Ripper was at his best when he was paralyzing singular body parts; the Full-Body Lock required him to spread that paralyzing Electric energy fairly thinly.
A weak Pokemon would be completely paralyzed by the technique. Betrayer-Of-Kin was not a weak Pokemon.
Ripper was still talking. Slowly, Betrayer-of-Kin concentrated on her paralyzed legs. Exerting her will on her left leg, she forced it to move, upwards and forwards and then downwards again. Her left leg was now closer to Ripper.
Now Betrayer-Of-Kin concentrated on the front of her body. Equally slowly, she raised and moved and lowered it. Ripper finally noticed. His eyes widened.
"H-how?!" Fear shot into Ripper's eyes. "You're supposed to be completely paralyzed!"
"Do you think I didn't know your capabilities?" Betrayer-Of-Kin snarled, taking another slow step forwards. "Do you think I didn't realize what you were doing the instant you brushed against me?" Another step. "You must think yourself so powerful. But you're nothing compared to me." A third step. Now Betrayer-Of-Kin was looming over Ripper. "I can think of a hundred and one ways I could crush you like the ant you are. But it is sadly likely that your demise would result in mine as well, if not from your vengeful Trainer then from the Harbinger of Death. So I will make you an offer. Release your Full-Body Lock and get out, and I will allow you to leave in peace. Otherwise…you will soon find out that even my pragmatism has limits."
"Static: Release," Ripper growled sullenly.
"Good boy," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "Now run."
Ripper tried to hide the fact that he was sprinting as fast as he possibly could as he turned and departed the room. It didn't work.
Betrayer-Of-Kin heaved an irritated sigh. She could not wait to be rid of this army of idiots. They were no longer useful to her, but with the Harbinger of Death watching her every move, she could not simply leave until this was done.
Once it was done, though…Betrayer-Of-Kin flexed her claws. The Heralds may have won the first round of this fight, but she would see Marcus dead.
No matter how long it took.
Route 15 was similar in landscape to Route 14, a single road surrounded by thick forest and bubbling swamps, but the road was a little more open and the forest was slightly less dense. The route was also divided here by a series of rivers, providing a perfect spot for an ambush. Valerie's Ace Trainer contacts had reported the Team Flare group as fleeing in this direction. The plan was to block them at the road while Ace Trainers barricaded the bridges to either side, trapping the Team Flare group on the roadway. But the plan would necessitate stalling the Team Flare group for a few minutes. And a few minutes represented an eternity in a fast-paced battle, which this fight would undoubtedly be.
Medicham could not help but attend to the apprehension churning in her gut.
They'd fought Team Flare three times before. They'd beaten Admin Pokemon. And yet every time they fought, there was the unshakeable realization that this was a very different fight than the usual sanctioned battling. Team Flare Pokemon fought to injure, not merely to defeat. And while a loss to a Gym or another Trainer merely resulted in humiliation and the loss of money, a loss to Team Flare would likely mean being taken captive and never seeing her Trainer again.
Medicham had always forced that thought out of her mind before. But as she attempted to do so again, a voice broke into her thoughts, shaking her from her mental conflict.
"Why are we doing this?"
Medicham turned to look at Houndoom. The fierce Dark/Fire-type looked uncharacteristically nervous in the face of the upcoming battle.
"Because Valerie asked us to," said Medicham. "We made a promise to fight back against Trainers that tried to oppress Pokemon. This is our job. We have to do something about this. It's not like we could have said no."
"We could have!" growled Houndoom. "And then we wouldn't be about to fight an Admin! This is Valerie's job! Not ours!"
"We've fought Team Flare before," said Kriesh. "We can handle this. As you should know very well."
Houndoom closed his eyes and shook his head, breathing heavily. Anguish was evident in every move he made.
"They're going to see me," he growled. "And they're going to know me. If we lose this, I'm-"
"We are not going to lose this," Medicham encouraged. "Valerie's got our backs, and we've got Ace Trainers as well. Houndoom, I know this is difficult. I know you've got apprehensions. We all do. But…we made a promise. And we're not going to break that. If we're going to win this, though, we all need to work together. Even…" Medicham's eyes slid to the one unopened Pokeball on Marcus's belt. "Even Heliolisk. So are you with me?"
Houndoom hesitated for a few moments, but at last: "I'm with you."
Medicham let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"Marcus?"
The team turned to look at Valerie, whose face was split in an odd frown. Her Pokemon were arrayed alongside her, fully healed.
"Why do you have an unopened Pokeball?" Valerie asked. "We will need all the help we can get."
"Valerie," said Marcus, "my Heliolisk…he's newly caught, and he hasn't exactly warmed to the idea yet. I was hoping to ask you about him."
"Heliolisks are a difficult line," said Valerie. "Clemont knows more about them than I, but I do know that you have to earn their respect."
"And how am I supposed to do that?" Marcus asked.
"Like I said, Clemont knows more than I do," said Valerie. "But it'll take a while. It took nearly a month before Clemont's Heliolisk accepted him as his Trainer." She smiled. "But keeping your Heliolisk inside his Pokeball is not the best way of earning his respect."
Medicham stifled a sigh as Marcus's hand went to Heliolisk's Pokeball and touched the release mechanism, hoping that this would at least go better than their last meeting.
Heliolisk was surprisingly quiet as he looked around. He raised his eyes towards the sun, high in the sky, then back down to the surrounding trees.
"Familiar, but not my forest," he said at last. "So. I assume your Trainer wants me to fight for him?"
"Yes," said Medicham, "but-"
"Then forget it," Heliolisk said dismissively. "I will not go into battle at the behest of a coward."
"This isn't an ordinary battle, Heliolisk," said Medicham. "We're going up against a group known as Team Flare-"
"Oh, them." Again Heliolisk interrupted. "I know of them. A group of their…grunts…attempted to assault my forest. My former subjects were enough to handle them. You should have little trouble."
"We're not just going up against Grunts," said Medicham. "We're facing an Admin."
Heliolisk looked puzzled.
"Basically, Team Flare's version of you," said Phantump.
"Phantump!" Medicham whispered furiously.
"Me?" Heliolisk chuckled. "Pray tell, what do you mean by that statement?"
"Basically, Admins are Trainers who hide behind the Grunts and tell them what to do," said Phantump.
Heliolisk's eyes narrowed. Medicham gulped. Here we go…
"Do you mean to imply," said Heliolisk, "that I hide behind my subjects?"
"No," said Phantump. Medicham had just enough time for another stifled sigh of relief before Phantump continued. "I'm saying that you hide behind your subjects." Phantump cackled at that, as if the Stump Pokemon were making a brilliant joke.
Heliolisk glared at Phantump. Then his mouth curved upwards. Then he began chuckling himself, a chuckle that erupted into a full-blown cackle of his own.
"You are quite humorous!" Heliolisk stated through his own laughter. "You remind me of the Phantumps of my forest. They were always good for entertainment."
Heliolisk turned back towards Medicham. "Does this 'Admin' intend to fight us?"
"She does," said Medicham.
"Then you may need my assistance after all," said Heliolisk grandly. "Very well, my subjects! I shall assist you in this fight."
Medicham managed to stop her jaw from dropping, but it was a near thing.
"Now, Phantump," said Heliolisk, "I must know: are your so-called 'friends' as delightful company as you are, or are they always so…"
His voice trailed off as he stepped away with Phantump floating beside him. Medicham turned slowly to Kriesh. "Well, if it works it works, I guess."
"Apparently," said Kriesh. "I'll take the help."
"Marcus," said Valerie. "Prepare. The Ace Trainers have reported that Team Flare is almost here."
"Everyone, get back!" Marcus cried.
Valerie repeated the order, less sharply, to her team.
Sylveon turned towards Marcus's team. "When they arrive, we will release an aura that will encompass this entire roadway," she said. "It will strengthen Fairy-type attacks, but it will also prevent status conditions from activating."
"Phantump and Cloyster both utilize confusion-based attacks," said Medicham.
"They will have to make do without," said Sylveon. She turned back to her own team. "I will provide fire support. Mawile, Azumarill, stay mobile. Hit them hard and fast. Admin Pokemon are heavy hitters, so don't let them get hits in. And Mr. Mime…"
Mr. Mime looked up at Sylveon.
"…barriers."
Mr. Mime grinned.
Medicham heard a cough from over her shoulder.
Heliolisk was looking expectantly at her; upon her head turning, he immediately began to speak in a imperious tone. "The battle is nearly upon us, my subjects! On my signal, you will charge, forming into a group and impacting their front line. From there, do as you please. I will remain back here providing ranged support…"
Medicham cleared her throat. "Heliolisk. I will give the instructions here."
"I think not," Heliolisk retorted. "I am your leader, remember?"
"Actually," Drapion growled from behind Heliolisk, "she is."
Heliolisk rounded on Drapion, then realized that it wasn't just Drapion. The entire team was glaring at him. Heliolisk swallowed. "Well, then," he said, turning back to Medicham, "enlighten us as to the nature of your so-called instructions."
Medicham nodded and stepped forwards. "Drapion, Kriesh and I are the front line. We'll take them on in melee. Phantump, you will join Houndoom and Heliolisk in the rear and support us. Cloyster, you have an affinity for both, so you will be in the middle, providing ranged support but being ready to engage in melee combat at the same time."
Heliolisk sighed theatrically. "Very well, leader."
He turned and flounced to the back of the group, muttering irritably to himself. Medicham looked back to see Valerie's entire team stifling chuckles. She glared at them.
Then her attention was abruptly torn away by the sound of crashing undergrowth from in front of them.
Marcus and Valerie stepped behind their teams, eliciting a derisive snort from Heliolisk that Medicham ignored. The crashing grew louder and louder. Both teams tensed, readying for the upcoming battle.
The Team Flare group burst onto the roadway, panting wildly.
There was the briefest of pauses as the two sides surveyed one another. The Admin was in the center; her hair and visor was colored teal, indicating that this Admin was not one Medicham had seen before. Flanking her were a pair of white-coated Team Flare members - Executives, Medicham remembered they were called.
"Admin Mable." Valerie's voice was much colder than the team had ever heard from her. "Stand down."
Mable glared at Valerie and Marcus. "If you think I'm going to surrender without a fight, you're dearly mistaken!"
With that, Mable and the Executives each flung four Pokeballs, releasing twelve Team Flare Pokemon onto the field. Medicham gulped; every single one was evolved, and despite facing down a Gym Leader along with Marcus's team looked irritatingly confident. Medicham did notice, though, that most of them had some form of injury. She recalled that they'd probably been engaged in a fighting retreat from the Pokeball factory, which was also surely the reason why each of them only had four Pokemon. The remainder must already be unconscious.
Medicham crouched, surveying the twelve enemy Pokemon. The Executives had a Swalot, a Lampent, a Magcargo, a Liepard, a Toxicroak, a Manectric, and two Golbats, all of them eyeing their opponents with resolve and fury in their eyes, a gaze evocative of a cornered predator. Which these Pokemon were.
What caught Medicham's eye was Mable's Pokemon. A Weavile, grinning with upraised claws glinting with Ice and Dark energy; a Scrafty, fists clenched and crouching as Dark and Fighting energy played around its hands; an Umbreon, sleek and looking surprisingly inoffensive but for the glare in its eyes which promised pain; and-
Medicham heard gasps from all around, including from Marcus. She could understand why as her gaze fixed upon the very same Absol that had assaulted them back in Coumarine.
"No…" Cloyster's voice was small and scared. Marcus's reaction was even worse; Medicham looked back to see him stepping backwards, one hand clamped over his stomach, breathing heavily with utter terror in his face.
Kriesh's reaction, by contrast, was pure hatred.
"BEAM IMPACT!" she roared, and at that the battle exploded into life.
The Swalot, the Toxicroak, and both Golbats streaked for Valerie's team, clearly intending to leverage their type advantage. The remaining four Executive Pokemon lunged for Marcus's team. Mable let out swift commands of her own: "Agility, Digit, go left! Dance, Moon, go right!"
The Umbreon and the Scrafty lunged towards Valerie's forces, while the Weavile and the Absol charged Marcus's team. The Absol raised a Protect barrier in front of it as it ran, deflecting Kriesh's Beam Impact into the treeline, then split into five copies, each of them snarling as they rushed forwards.
Medicham clenched her fists tightly and lunged forwards, Drapion and Kriesh flanking her, Cloyster just behind her. Her eyes were locked on the five Absols even as she spotted out of the corner of her eye the Lampent streaking for her. "Psychic Dodge!" she cried, ducking under the Lampent as it fired a ball of Ghost energy at her head. Kriesh swooped in, taking the Ghost energy without a scratch and retaliating with a Flurry Impact entirely aimed at the Lampent. Medicham didn't see the outcome of that.
The Manectric leaped for her as well, seeing that she was the frontmost of the group. This time Drapion was the one to intercept. "Grasp!" he snarled, blasting the Manectric in the face with a burst of Bug energy. The Manectric staggered as the Grasp ate into his fur; Drapion pounced, knocking the Manectric to the ground. Medicham didn't see the outcome of that, either.
"Icicle Stab!"
The Weavile was next, Ice energy-covered claws glistening as it pounced for Medicham's face. It was moving insanely fast, so fast that Medicham didn't even have time for a Fighting Strike. Instead, she swept her foot out, only for Weavile to rapidly backpedal, barely sliding out of the way.
"Water Blast!" Then Cloyster was there, forcing Weavile to throw itself to the side to avoid the burst of Water energy. Medicham twisted towards the five Absols. She knew four were illusions, but she had no idea which one.
"Hungering Darkness!"
Medicham hadn't recalled Absol speaking for any of her attacks, but that thought only stuck in her mind for the briefest of moments before she realized that a wave of Dark energy similar to what Houndoom enjoyed using was coming straight for her from the centermost Absol.
Way to telegraph your presence.
"Psychic Dodge!" Medicham leaped over the Hungering Darkness. Twisting in midair, she threw her right foot out, forcing Fighting energy into it. "Fighting Finisher!" she screamed, aiming at the center Absol with a jumping kick.
The Absol threw up a Protect. Medicham didn't care.
"Piercing Strike!" she cried. Absol's eyes widened as the barrier shattered under Medicham's kick. She didn't even have time to get away.
Medicham's foot met her face - and there was nothing there but emptiness.
Oh, crap, she thought as Absol's form flickered out of existence, as did the four other illusions. The real Absol, as it happened, was still standing right by Mable's side.
That was the only realization Medicham's mind could muster before her foot slammed into the ground and sent shockwaves up her right leg.
Medicham bit back a cry of pain as her right leg nearly broke. She glared up at Absol, eyes brimming with pain and humiliation and fury. Absol grinned mockingly.
"Seeking Darkness." Half a dozen rays of Dark energy flew from Absol's horn, arcing towards Medicham with a terrifying whine. Medicham charged Absol again; she spotted Mable taking a step back, while Absol remained where she was.
"Psychic Dodge!" Medicham cried, leaping through the storm of rays. Even as she did, the rational part of her mind told her that they were already curving back upon her.
"Aura Blast!" Medicham cried, digging up the Aura inside her and sending it flying towards Absol. Absol's eyes widened again and she threw up another Protect, deflecting the blast.
Medicham took full advantage of that opportunity. Even as the Protect sprang up, she rushed Absol. This time, she remembered that it could very well be another illusion, so she held back the Fighting Finisher for the moment. Instead, she went for a more standard Fighting Strike that would not break her bones if it failed to connect.
Irritatingly, she'd been right to be cautious. Absol's image flickered and vanished as Medicham's fist passed through.
"Psychic Dodge!" Medicham quickly threw herself to the side as the Seeking Darkness whizzed through the spot where she'd been a second ago. Six crunches split the air as the beams rammed into a nearby tree.
Medicham cast her gaze around. Mable was standing near her along with the two Executives, watching the battle with keen eyes. The Admin's gaze was locked firmly on Medicham, but Medicham did not reciprocate. She turned to see the rest of the battle still ongoing.
Valerie's team were handling their assailants well. Despite the assault from four well-trained Poison-types and two Admin Pokemon, Mr. Mime's barriers were doing wonders, deflecting attack after attack. He even was springing them up in the path of charging Pokemon; as Medicham watched, one of the Golbats flew headlong into a Protect and fell to the ground, obviously stunned.
Sylveon had kept to her promise. The entire battlefield was alight with Fairy energy, little tongues of pink thrown up with every step. And Valerie's Pokemon were harnessing the energy quite well, especially Sylveon herself; she was singlehandedly facing off against both of the Admin Pokemon assaulting her. It was clear she was having difficulty despite the type advantage, since there were two of them and one of her, but she was keeping them at bay, throwing barrages of Fairy energy at them and taking full advantage of Pixilate to bombard them every chance she got. Unfortunately, Mable's Pokemon were working together quite well; Umbreon was playing a defensive role, blocking many of Sylveon's Fairy-type attacks with quick Protects, while Scrafty darted in and out of Umbreon's cover, striking with Poison energy-covered fists that Sylveon barely dodged.
"Moon, Toxic!" Mable called. Just as Sylveon swayed away from another of Scrafty's hits, Umbreon fired a burst of Poison energy at her with a cry of "Toxic Blast!" Sylveon cried out as the Toxic Blast slammed into her side and began eating at her skin.
So the Umbreon was Moon. The Scrafty, then, had to be Dance.
"Azumarill, help Sylveon!" Valerie countered. Azumarill was quick on the uptake, rushing the duo of Admin Pokemon with an Offensive Ball. This left Mr. Mime and Mawile up against the four Poison-type Pokemon, but the two of them were clearly well-suited to the task. The Swalot was already down, unconscious in a heap, while Medicham saw Mawile slam her head into one of the Golbats. A nasty crack emanated from the Golbat as its wing broke under the heavy hit and it fell to the ground.
Medicham twisted to see how her own team was doing. Kriesh and Drapion were engaging the Lampent and Manectric that they had chosen as their opponents, and doing a decent job at it. Medicham watched Drapion slam one of his arms into the Manectric, forcing it backwards, then turn and shoot a No Escape at the Lampent that Kriesh was engaging. It shrieked as the Dark-type attack ripped into it, and Kriesh took advantage of that to slam into it with an Earth Impact and send it flying.
Houndoom was dueling the Liepard. Medicham recalled now that Houndoom had been a standard Grunt Pokemon, if a fully evolved one, which appeared to be rare for the Grunts. But that had been two Gyms ago. Now he was trading blows quite well with the Liepard; though it was ducking around many of his attacks and scoring quite a few hits, they didn't seem to injure Houndoom all that much, and the hits that Houndoom did land with his Flame Storm and Flame Tongue attacks seemed to be irritating the Liepard quite a bit, judging by how its gleeful taunts towards Houndoom were slowly decreasing in glee and increasing in fury.
And Heliolisk…
"This is what you fools needed my assistance against?" he griped. "Lord's Command: Electrify."
The Magcargo he was facing was thrown onto its side, gurgling in pain. From the scorched grass in a roughly sideways-Magcargo shape beneath the Magcargo, Medicham could infer he'd been doing that for a decent amount of time.
That left Cloyster and Phantump, who were engaged with Weavile - that was probably Agility. Agility was proving quite worthy of the name; he was dodging around, avoiding attacks with ease and retaliating with insanely fast swipes of his claws that thankfully were mostly bouncing off Cloyster's Defensive and Impenetrable Shells. Phantump was helping to the best of its ability, sending Leech Seeds flying at Agility and pulling up Grass Knots to try and trip the Weavile. But Agility evaded them all, much to Phantump's growing frustration.
Though all of that was quite fascinating, Medicham could not see that stupid Absol - Digit, she recalled Mable had referred to her as. She finally had a name for the monster who'd nearly killed Marcus. Her fists clenched again as she turned her head from left to right and left again, searching madly for Digit.
"Hungering Jaws."
Something that was definitely not an Absol lunged out of nowhere for Medicham's side.
"Psychic Dodge!" Medicham cried, barely managing to twist out of the way in time.
Across the field, Medicham saw Marcus, who had until now looked as if he was going to pass out, sigh with relief and untense a little.
It was a confusing reaction, but the confusion ended as Medicham twisted to face the new arrival. She recognized this Pokemon, or at least its species; it was the same species as one of Looker's Pokemon, one that had appeared as an Arcanine but turned out to be something else entirely.
Zoroark.
"An illusionist," Medicham growled. "Do you even know who that Absol is? What she's done?"
"Course I know her," Digit drawled. "Was a decent friend of mine for a little bit. As for what she's done, she's done a lot of stuff. You'll have to be more specific. Course, you won't have too much time for that, seeing as we've got to get past you and all."
Medicham felt her blind fury abate and rationality take its place. She curled her fists into balls and crouched. "That's not going to happen."
"You aren't gonna have much of a choice in the matter, I reckon," said Digit. "Making myself appear as someone else is just one of the quirks of my Ability, Illusion. Now here's another."
To the casual eye, Digit blinked out of existence and reappeared right behind Medicham, claws lashing out. Medicham knew that he'd probably spent most of his monologue sneaking around behind her, covered by an illusion in a similar way to how he'd tricked her with the Double Team, but regardless, a Psychic Dodge was barely enough to shift her out of the way of Digit's brutal strike.
"Fighting Strike!" Medicham cried, bringing her fist around.
Instead of going for a Protect, Digit lashed out with his other claws. "Hungering Claws!" Claws struck Medicham's fist, catching it and driving it back, though Digit winced in pain as he pressed.
Medicham felt pain drive into her hand as Digit's claws sunk deeper. "Fighting Trip!" she cried, sweeping out one leg to trip Digit up.
This time, however, Digit threw up a Protect in the path of Medicham's leg. "Piercing Strike!" Medicham cried, shattering the Protect and striking at Digit's leg - which dissipated, along with the Zoroark's body. The real Digit materialized about two feet to the left, holding Medicham's fist with his left claws instead of his right.
"Hungering Darkness!"
"Aura Blast!"
Medicham summoned up another Aura Blast and flung it straight into Digit's stomach. Digit gagged even as he released another Hungering Darkness. "Psychic Dodge!" Medicham cried, twisting in Digit's grasp and leaping upwards, spinning as she did so in order to prevent her arm from wrenching out of its socket.
She maneuvered that into a spinning kick that Digit raised up another hand to block. It still sent him stumbling, though, and he released Medicham as he did so. Medicham landed on her feet, readying herself for the next clash.
He knows about Piercing Strike, she thought to herself. So when he uses Protect, he only does that to guard an illusion. The attacks that are actually aimed at the real Digit are the ones he's parrying with his limbs. So if he uses Protect, I know it's an illusion.
Medicham risked a quick glance around the battlefield once more. Mr. Mime and Mawile had finished off the second Golbat and were now double-teaming the Toxicroak, whose wild strikes were bouncing off Mr. Mime's barriers as he scrambled to get away from Mawile's jaws. Sylveon and Azumarill were fighting evenly against Moon and Dance, but Sylveon was clearly weakening as Moon's Toxic Blast ate away at her. By now it was certainly in her bloodstream; she would probably be down within another minute considering how pale she looked even as she hammered the duo of Admin Pokemon with another barrage of Fairy energy.
Marcus's team were also handling themselves fairly well. Drapion and Kriesh were sending their opponents staggering with their attacks. Houndoom was sending the Liepard flying with a well-placed Solar Surge. Heliolisk was happily continuing to electrocute the stubbornly-resisting but unable-to-do-anything Magcargo. And…
Medicham's heart caught in her throat as Cloyster was sent staggering from a punch from Agility that finally broke through his guard. That left only Phantump, and it was Phantump that Agility turned on. A devilish grin broke across the Weavile's face as it lunged for Phantump.
"Stop toying around and end this!" Mable cried, taking nervous glances over her shoulder.
"Got it." Digit lunged again. "Seeking Darkness!"
"Psychic Dodge!" Medicham cried. "Fighting Strike!"
The half-dozen beams again curved around and came at her back, but Medicham did not have eyes for them. She had eyes for the Protect that Digit had thrown up to block her punch.
But if he'd fired that Seeking Darkness, that meant he'd have to be behind the illusion again.
"Fighting Finisher!" Medicham cried, lunging past the Protect and aiming for the empty space behind the charging Zoroark. The trajectory would take her through the illusion, but that didn't matter. She only hoped that Digit would actually be right behind the illusion. If he was to the sides, this plan would-
She was only halfway through that thought when her foot slammed into the illusion's face, and it occurred to Medicham that it wasn't an illusion at all.
He'd tried to fake her out.
Digit flew backwards, clutching his nose with both hands. But the sudden stop had left Medicham vulnerable. Her back exploded with pain as half a dozen Dark-type rays slammed into it one after the other, throwing her onto her front.
"You…" Digit snarled. "That hurt!"
He was on Medicham before she could react, snarling like a mindless brute as he jabbed badly-aimed but myriad claw strikes into her flesh. Medicham cried out, trying to throw him off, but he was latched onto her back and scrabbling at her with all of his might.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Phantump barely dodging Agility's attacks, spotted Drapion and Kriesh finishing off their foes, spotted Houndoom lunging to the side of the just-getting-up Cloyster, spotted Azumarill, Mawile, and Mr. Mime pressing Moon and Dance back from the unconscious body of Sylveon. Medicham whirled, striking the furious Digit across the face with one arm, but he retaliated with a brutal slam of his own, pressing her face into the ground.
A heavy Pokemon on top of her, pressing her face into the earth, filling her mouth with dirt so she couldn't scream, couldn't even make a noise through the soil-
Where had that memory even come from?
"Leech Seed!" Phantump cried. The Stump Pokemon had chosen their target well. Agility was off-balance from an overshot blow, and the Leech Seed grasped onto the Weavile's leg, pinning it to the ground.
"Why you little-" Agility ripped himself free of the Leech Seed with a wrench of his leg. "Night Claw!" Phantump, unprepared for Agility to break free of the Leech Seed so quickly, was struck right across the body.
Phantump cried out as they fell, clearly knocked out.
Agility didn't stop.
"NO!" The anguished cry came from Cloyster's mouth as the furious Weavile pounced on the downed Phantump, striking them with two more brutal Night Claws. Wood - no, that was parts of Phantump's body - sprayed everywhere as Agility ripped into Phantump's form.
"Agility, that's enough!" Mable cried.
The rest of the team lunged, each straining to get to Agility, to knock the Weavile off Phantump, but Medicham knew just from watching that they would not reach them in time. Agility howled, raising both his claws high, flaring with Ice and Dark energy as he prepared to sink them into the motionless Phantump below him. Medicham watched in horror, unaware that Digit had stopped clawing at her; he was watching the scene with similar shock in his eyes.
"Lord's Command: Electrify."
Medicham's eyes widened as Heliolisk's voice boomed across the battlefield. Agility was thrown bodily off Phantump's form by the bolt of Electric energy as Heliolisk rose from the fallen Magcargo that he'd spent the entire battle toying with. His face was filled with indignation as he glared at Agility.
"I will not see my subjects slaughtered like Mareep before a Hydreigon," Heliolisk growled. "Especially not those that provide me with entertainment."
Agility rose to his feet, spitting and snarling. By now, the Weavile was clearly virtually mindless. "Weavile, enough!" Mable cried, though she did not recall the crazed Pokemon. Her gaze was barely even on it.
The rest of the group watched, some in fascination and others in shock, as Heliolisk advanced on Agility. His head tilted upwards to look at the sky.
"It is a sunny day today," Heliolisk stated. "Perfect conditions. I don't usually use this. But for you, for hurting my subjects, I'll grant you the pain of my true might, unleashed upon your pathetic form! Solar Power!"
And with those two words, Heliolisk exploded with light. Medicham had to avert her eyes as Heliolisk summoned his full strength, for he stood blazing with light like a miniature sun. Power rippled across the battlefield. Medicham could feel it radiating from Heliolisk's body, similar to the absurd amount of light pouring out of his body.
Where did this come from?
She took a risk and glanced back towards Heliolisk. The light had ebbed a little; now Medicham could see Heliolisk's silhouette against a blazing backdrop. Agility snarled in rage and lunged for Heliolisk, claws ready to sink into his flesh.
"Emperor's Command: One Thousand Volts," Heliolisk growled. "Maximum Discharge."
The field between Agility and Heliolisk erupted in an explosion of raw Electric energy mixed with torn-up patches of dirt and rocks. The Weavile was blasted backwards, screaming in pain all the way to the ground.
"Emperor's Command: Two Thousand Volts. Electrocute."
Agility howled as a massive bolt of lightning slammed right into his sternum. The Weavile flew, propelled by the Electric energy, and did not stop until he slammed into a thick tree trunk. There he hovered, pinned by the lightning bolt as Heliolisk pumped more and more Electric energy into Agility's body.
It took five more seconds before Heliolisk finally released the energy. As he did, the light faded to a point where Medicham could actually see Heliolisk. She was at once struck by how exhausted he looked. Clearly, utilizing his full power took some energy out of him.
He looked around the battlefield, panting slightly. His gaze fixed on Digit. "Release my subject at once. Or do you wish to end up like your friend?"
Digit stepped back, and in that very moment, more crashing came from behind the Team Flare members. Mable and the Executives spun as four Ace Trainers sprang out from the foliage, accompanied by two more Trainers that Medicham recognized immediately.
As Digit released her, Medicham wondered for a fleeting moment why they always had to bump into Serena and Calem.
Then that thought was overtaken by worry as she remembered Phantump.
"Phantump!" Medicham cried, rushing to the fallen Stump Pokemon's side. Phantump was still lying motionless. Half his wooden front was torn open, revealing the Ghostly essence inside, and even that was flickering.
"Phantump…" Medicham knelt over the Stump Pokemon's body, hoping desperately that they were still alive. The world shrank to a dot, as though the only thing remaining in it was Phantump's body. Medicham did not see the Ace Trainers and Valerie cuffing Mable and her attendant Executives, did not see Valerie's team and her own staring with horror at the body, did not even see Digit's face twisted in regret as he was forcibly recalled.
She only saw Phantump. That was all she would ever see.
Deep underground, a consciousness stirred.
A beautiful clearing, a bright day…
The constricting walls of his prison rose up around him. Being caged was not a familiar feeling.
An orange-haired man walking into view…
"Had a nice rest?"
Xerneas raised his head to stare down his opposite number.
A Presence, a being of darkness rising up behind him, its tendrils latching on his body, draining his Life…
"You did not bring me here just to taunt and belittle me," said Xerneas. "What is your game, Yveltal?"
He thought about fighting. He could have. Life was all around him. He could have flung it into the face of his opponent, transformed into pure Life and faded into the earth or the sky, called on all manner and number of allies…
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Yveltal asked. "Is that why you let me capture you?"
"Not since the War of Legends have you been so active," said Xerneas. "Why is that?"
"Very well," said Yveltal. "Since you so kindly allowed me to take you captive, I will tell you this; I do not work alone. You are not in a mere prison, Xerneas. Welcome to the Ultimate Weapon."
"You reconstructed it?" Xerneas asked.
"Technically, Team Flare reconstructed it," Yveltal corrected. "They're using it to wipe out all of Kalos so that they can…create some kind of Pokemon utopia? I don't care about the second part, whatever it is."
"And that will bring much death," said Xerneas. "Fitting. Yveltal, I will tell you this once. These actions…they are crossing a line. Retribution will be swift."
"Retribution from who?" Yveltal asked. "All the other Legendaries see is humans doing human things. I am working from the shadows, undetectable. The only one who knows of me outside of Team Flare is you, and…well, Legendaries can't kill each other, of course. But mortals can, and since the Ultimate Weapon is a mortal-created weapon, I daresay you won't be around to tell anyone the truth about my involvement."
"You don't care about the line," Xerneas observed. "You have already crossed it."
Yveltal chuckled. "I guess I have. Oh, Lysandre! I didn't see you come in!"
Xerneas turned his head to see the orange-haired human standing in the entrance to the room.
"We're going to have to move up the timetable," said Lysandre. "I've received word from our agent in the league that they've initiated Galactic Protocol. We must act before reinforcements arrive to Kalos."
"Why are you so worried?" Yveltal asked. "We are safe here. No one knows we exist down here. Once the Ultimate Weapon rises in Geosenge, it will be too late for anyone to react."
"Mable has been captured," said Lysandre.
Yveltal sighed in irritation. "I warned you. You do not need any more Pokemon. You have enough already."
"We will never have enough!" Lysandre protested. "We must save as many as we possibly can!"
The darkness around Yveltal's body swelled, not too much but enough so that Lysandre saw it. "Remember our deal, Lysandre. Your fixation on rescuing more Pokemon is getting in our way. With Mable captured, they will find our location soon. There is no time remaining."
"All right," said Lysandre after a few moments of hesitation. "Once the other Admins get back, I will start. One piece of good news, though: Xerosic has just told me that his experiment is ready."
"Good," said Yveltal. "That is good news. After all…"
Yveltal's face widened into a grin of pure darkness.
"…two Legendaries are always better than one."
They had left a while ago. Xerneas was alone, at least physically.
Mentally, though, he was reaching out.
He knew there was one other in this underground complex, similarly imprisoned. Not a Legendary, but strong regardless. A being Xerneas knew quite well.
His mind searched. His connection to Life was fainter than usual down here, but he could still feel it. And so it wasn't too long before he found the mind he was looking for.
"Lifebringer?"
"Hello, AZ," Xerneas said in AZ's mind. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
AZ sighed. "I'm-"
"This is not the time or place for apologies," said Xerneas. "What you did 3,000 years ago does not matter now. I forgave you a long time ago."
AZ chuckled ruefully. "Good for you. I'll buy you some flowers once all this is over."
"AZ," said Xerneas, "I want you to know that Team Flare will not win. I promise you that."
"Doesn't mean much." A sigh. "Lysandre's insane, Lifebringer. He's convinced that it'll bring a utopia if he uses that thing."
"I know," said Xerneas. "Yveltal has influenced him."
"Great," AZ grunted. "Always lovely when Legendaries start trying to kill each other."
"I will not allow him to start another War of Legends," Xerneas protested.
"You keep saying you will not allow a lot of things," said AZ. "But…can you guarantee it?"
Xerneas closed his eyes and did not answer.
"I'll see you on the other side, Lifebringer," said AZ. "Whether in this world or in the next."
Xerneas felt AZ's mind leave his, and he sighed.
AZ was right. Xerneas could make no guarantees. He had negated that ability when he'd allowed himself to be imprisoned, and for what?
Understanding? A plea for Yveltal to reconsider?
He would fix this.
For he was lying when he said he had no more guarantees.
He had one. But that one was...dangerous, to say the least. And calling upon that one would potentially cause even worse problems than the Ultimate Weapon.
But he had to at least put it in place. Just in case.
So it was that Xerneas reached out across Life once more. This time, he reached beyond the complex, beyond even Kalos.
Thankfully, the target of his search found him even more quickly than AZ had.
"Hello, Xerneas!" The voice that spoke inside Xerneas's head was female and had almost a singsong tone to it, a trill that Xerneas instantly recognized. "Got your ping on my radar! How's it going?"
"I've been worse," Xerneas responded.
The female voice dropped a few octaves; now it was tinged with worry. "Xerneas, I know what's going on. Life everywhere is fluctuating, and Yveltal's actions aren't as secret as he'd probably like them to be."
"So why wait for me to contact you?" Xerneas asked.
The voice sighed. "Xerneas, I know you…value your privacy. I was waiting because I want you to let us know that it's all right for us to intervene."
Xerneas hesitated for a few long moments. "I want you to be ready. But do not act now."
"Why not just let us at them right now?" the voice asked.
"I believe that the Kalos League is capable of stopping this," said Xerneas. "I have to have faith in them. For if we do not have faith in humans, what are we but monsters fighting other monsters?"
The voice remained silent; it took several seconds before she finally spoke again. "That's not the true reason," she said. "You were always terrible at lying, Xerneas. But very well. We will await your signal."
"If things do get out of hand," said Xerneas, "if Yveltal grows too strong and I cannot break free, I will contact you. But please do not take it badly when I say that I will only contact you once all my other options have been exhausted."
"I understand, Xerneas," said the voice. "I know what'll happen if we show up just as much as you do. I'll keep in touch. Over and out."
Once more, the mental link was broken, and Xerneas was alone once again.
For several moments, he pondered opening it up again. But no. He had to have faith.
They'd tried doing it all by themselves. They'd tried intervening in human affairs, even giving themselves to humans to help solve their human problems.
That had led to the one-two punch of the Darkest Day and the War of Legends. And a repeat of that would make the Ultimate Weapon look like a Bunnelby using Tackle.
No, Xerneas would put his faith in the humans once more, as he had done so many times in the past thousand years.
But Xerneas knew that he had to have a benchmark. Had to have a point where things got out of hand.
And so he made his decision. Once the Ultimate Weapon was raised and in firing position, he would contact them again, and tell them to bring all of the destruction that they could down on Yveltal and Team Flare.
And probably all of Geosenge in the process. But at that point, it would be either Geosenge or the entirety of Kalos, and he'd take Geosenge any day.
Xerneas hoped it wouldn't come to that. But some inner fear inside of him knew, somehow, that it very well might.
Well, that turned out much longer than I expected. Easily the longest chapter in the story so far.
Team Flare fights always seem to wind up longer than I expect them to be. And yet whenever I write Gym Battles, they somehow wind up being shorter than I expect them to be. I don't get it, but whatever.
Anyway, please drop a review and let me know how this chapter went!