To Medicham, one thing was clear in an instant; from Houndoom's example, they knew a ranged duel with Hellhound was out of the question. Houndoom was able to easily dismantle Drapion and Medicham's ranged attacks; there was no question that the vastly more powerful Hellhound would be able to do the same.
"Fighting Strike!"
"Rend!"
Medicham lunged to the left, Drapion to the right, and both leaped for Hellhound. The Houndoom grinned. "Nightmare Breath!" Two balls of flickering Ghost and Dark energy leaped from his jaws, one at each of them. Medicham managed to leap out of the way with a Psychic Avoidance and continue on, but Drapion had to abandon his attack and manifest a Block, one that he actually had to struggle to hold against the blast.
Which gave Hellhound the perfect opportunity to leap strongly towards the oncoming Medicham.
"Demon Breath!" A blast of Fire and Dark energy leaped from his gaping maw. Medicham gritted her teeth and lunged, driving her outstretched fist into the oncoming torrent of blackened flames. Her arm exploded with pain; thankfully, it wasn't her already wounded arm, or else she might not have been able to avoid screaming.
She felt the edge of her fist lightly brush Hellhound's fur as the Houndoom appeared right to her side, wheeling on her. "Demon Jaws," he snarled, filling his bared teeth with more dark flames.
"Psychic Dodge!" Medicham cried, forcing her body to the side. Hellhound's teeth snapped down on empty air as Medicham dove to the ground. She twisted in time to see Hellhound's still-going Demon Breath, temporarily pushed back by her Fighting Strike, slam right into Hellhound's own side.
It did not affect Hellhound in the slightest. Rather, the flames struck his side and instantly spread out, washing over his entire body. Hellhound stood strongly as the dark flames gathered again, twisting across his fur until it reached his face.
"Flash Fire," Hellhound growled. "Demon Burst."
The Dark and Fire energy exploded outwards in a wave towards Medicham. "Aura Blast!" Medicham cried, bringing her Aura to the front with speed that brought a sharp but thankfully temporary pain to her head. The sudden surge was enough, though; spread out as it was, the Demon Burst exploded against the Aura Blast, and the parts that were not affected flew to either side of Medicham, slamming harmlessly into the steel walls.
"Aura command," Hellhound commented. "Impressive."
"Pierce!"
Hellhound's right eye swiveled slowly to spy Drapion. "Demon Storm," he growled. A single ball of dark fire shot from his mouth, twisting in midair and streaking towards the oncoming spikes of Bug energy. As it moved, it exploded into two dozen miniature fireballs, ripping through the oncoming Pierce and continuing towards Drapion.
As Drapion raised both his arms to allow them to take the attack, a defensive move which nevertheless sent him skidding back with a pained growl, Medicham lunged again. "Fighting Sweep!"
"Demon Jaws!" Hellhound snarled. Medicham spun, kicking out with her right leg, but Hellhound's head twisted and he rammed his jaws straight into the oncoming kick. To Medicham's shock, it held, though a low, quiet growl from Hellhound indicated that the attack had at least done something.
"Poison Breath."
Quick as a Weavile, Hellhound recoiled, firing off a burst of Poison energy from his mouth at Medicham. "Psychic Dodge!" Medicham cried, again avoiding Hellhound's attack. "Fighting Strike!"
"Slam!" Drapion lunged again, shaking off the pain brought from the Demon Storm. This time, one arm was drawn back, glowing with Dark energy as he hurled himself at Hellhound.
"Flash Fire: Hellfire Barrier."
At that, more dark flames surged from Hellhound's jaws. This time, though, they shifted, twisting around him in a circle before flaring up in a roaring cylindrical barrier. Medicham's fist and Drapion's claws slammed into it and instantly felt as if they were on fire. Both recoiled with grunts of agony, taking a moment to attend to the pain coursing through their respective appendages.
"Hellfire Inferno."
And in that moment, the flaming barrier exploded outwards. Medicham felt her feet leave the ground as her body took flight. It took a few seconds before her back slammed straight into a wall; she bounced off and landed on the ground on all fours, gasping in pain. Drapion had stopped before hitting the wall; the Hellfire Inferno had caught him mid-stagger and sent him onto his back. He was struggling to his feet, snarling in rage.
"My Flash Fire Ability grants me total control of Fire energy," Hellhound growled. "And my capabilities to infuse Dark energy into my flames allows me strength above other users of Flash Fire. I am an Elite Four's Ace for a reason. Demon Burst."
This time, the wave of Dark and Fire energy blasted out in all directions. "Block!" Drapion snarled, while Medicham, still on hands and knees, was thrown onto her back as her mind exploded with pain under the brutal surge of Dark energy.
"Burrow!" There was a clang as the hard steel floor disappointed Drapion's attempt at underground travel.
"Ah, I hate it when that happens," Hellhound admitted. "Demon Blast."
Medicham rose to her feet, bringing her Aura to the forefront and forcing the Dark energy in her mind back. She could still feel it clinging there like a Spinarak to its web in a rainstorm, but it wasn't too debilitating. Her eyes beheld Drapion, arms crossed before him, thrown back anyway by an explosive blast of Dark and Fire energy.
She would not be disappointed by a barrier again. "Fighting Strike!" she cried, charging forwards, weaving Fighting energy into her fist once again while at the same time concentrating the precise amount of energy needed for a Piercing Strike.
"Flash Fire: Hellfire Barrier."
Hellhound didn't even glance at Medicham as the flames snaked from his mouth and rose up between him and Medicham. Medicham grinned. "Piercing Strike!" she cried. The shattering sound as the flames broke beneath her punch was worth the renewed flash of pain across her arm. A brutal crack sounded as Medicham drove her fist straight into Hellhound's side.
Hellhound skidded several feet under the hit, claws shrieking as they dug into the floor, leaving marks behind. Medicham was disappointed but somewhat unsurprised that he did not fall. He did, however, fully turn towards Medicham with a savage smirk on his face. "Feint? You're full of surprises, aren't you?"
"No Escape!"
"Fighting Sweep!"
Even as Drapion launched four rays of Dark energy at Hellhound, Medicham leaped for the Houndoom again, this time with another kick.
"Demon Storm!"
Hellhound's retaliation was another flurry of explosive dark fireballs. Several arced towards the oncoming rays, detonating and dissipating them in midair, but the majority were aimed at Medicham. There would be no dodging them.
But Medicham did not need to, for they were staggered, coming at her one after the other, obviously to prevent her from dodging them easily. She winced in anticipation, knowing the pain would be less than if she took them head on.
"Fighting Strike Pummel!"
Medicham's Fighting Sweep slammed into one, and then she twisted in time to draw up her fists and drive them forwards into one fireball after another, forcing them forwards and back and forwards again even as explosions racked her knuckles. The last fireball arced towards her face. "Psychic Dodge!" she cried. "Fighting Finisher!"
There could be no holding back. Medicham hurled herself into the air, springing over the last fireball, and lunged, foot outstretched, towards Hellhound's face.
"Flash Fire: Hellfire Whip!"
Flames leaped from Hellhound's jaws yet again. This time, they coiled, lancing out at the oncoming Medicham. The Fire energy twined around her leg and tightened. Medicham felt her leg blaze with agony even as Hellhound yanked his head to the side, bringing the newly created whip, and with it Medicham, to the side with it. Drapion was charging straight for Hellhound, trying to take advantage of Medicham's attack, and was completely blindsided as Hellhound slammed Medicham into him, releasing the whip at the exact same time. Medicham and Drapion tumbled across the room, coming to rest practically in the room's center.
Hellhound stepped lightly forwards, once again imposing himself between them and the door out. "You're going to need a little more than that," he growled.
As Medicham rose to face Hellhound once again, the inklings of despair were beginning to creep into her mind. How can we fight someone this strong? If he can manipulate Fire energy well enough to create shields and whips, what more can he create? Are we truly so weak compared to the Elite Four?
"I'll absorb," Drapion growled, rising once again. "You strike."
Medicham drove that despair, along with the last vestiges of creeping Dark energy, out of her mind. She couldn't just give up. After all, she'd gotten them into this mess in the first place.
Her guilt at that was forced back by determination. If she'd gotten them into it, then she would get them out.
Regardless of what it took.
"You all right?" Ripper growled as Crusher groaned, pressing one beefy hand to his head.
"Head hurts…" Crusher moaned. "Body hurts…"
Ripper sighed. Celosia had wasted no time in applying the Full Restores and Revives she'd been carrying to her team. Sadly, they were far from painless; though Full Restores could dampen pain while Revives could outright bring a Pokemon back from unconsciousness, they did not close wounds or reduce exhaustion. For that reason, restorative items such as those were banned in sanctioned battling, and Pokemon Centers used them only in emergencies.
This, however, was not sanctioned battling. And Celosia's use of them would give her at least a better chance in the next battle than she'd had previously.
It was a shame that they'd been consigned to guard duty. Then again, Malva hadn't known about the Revives and Full Restores and had probably assumed that Celosia was permanently reduced to three Pokemon. And, Ripper had to admit, there was a distinct thrill about standing over the unconscious bodies of a member of the Kalos Elite Four and his team.
One question reigned in his mind, though. How was Team Flare having trouble with teenagers? Sure, the Grunts and Executives were somewhat useless, but they should have at least been able to handle a trio of teenagers.
As if on cue, the Grunt that had initially brought the news of the teenagers rushed into the room again. "Admin Celosia! Elite Four Malva has engaged the teenagers!"
"Good," said Celosia. "Any word on how they managed to get this far?"
"From what I saw, they had some powerful-looking Pokemon," said the Grunt. "I think I saw a Medicham, a Drapion, a Fearow, and a few others before Malva blasted them with her Torkoal's Eruption. I think she blasted a hole clean through several walls and the floor!"
Celosia sighed. "We spent so much money on those…"
Ripper did not listen, even though Celosia and the Grunt continued to prattle on. For he had recognized those Pokemon. A Meditite and a Skorupi, evolved, plus a Fearow…
They were here.
Ripper looked back at his Trainer, who had turned away to apply a revive to Slasher, the Toxicroak that served as another of his teammates. He looked at the Grunt who was scurrying out another door. He looked at the doorway that Malva had gone through.
And Ripper lunged, darting out of the room before his Trainer could see.
He had craved vengeance for that embarrassment for weeks. To be defeated by a couple of unevolved Pokemon and a Fearow of all things had rankled on his mind for far too long. Loyalty to his Trainer and obedience to Malva's command tried to force him back.
But he would not return until that team had paid for their insolence in full.
He only hoped that Malva and her Pokemon hadn't already finished all of them off. Now that would be a real shame.
Cloyster did not know what was happening. He only knew that even through his Impenetrable Shell, he could feel heat, and that the screaming of his teammates around him were quite loud. Then, all of a sudden, the heat receded and the screaming stopped.
He looked around to see that he was in his Pokeball.
Marcus sent him out again only a second later. Cloyster turned to look at his Trainer. Marcus's face was ashen white and he was breathing heavily. Calem, Serena, and their Lucario and Absol were standing behind him.
"Go," Marcus whispered.
"Are you-" Serena asked.
"Go!" Marcus cried.
With one last glance at Marcus, Serena and Calem turned and bolted through the door leading to the staircase.
Marcus looked back down at Cloyster. "I couldn't recall the rest of the team," he said. "They're too far away. We've got to go find them."
"I'm impressed."
Cloyster and Marcus's eyes snapped to the Trainer who had just stepped carefully around the corner, taking care not to fall into the newly created hole in the center of the intersection. The Trainer was female, with glasses carrying bright red lenses, a black tank top, bright pink hair, and a pair of red pants with a diamond pattern that seemed to glow in the light of the continued flames behind her.
"Sacrificing yourself for your friends?" the Trainer said. "How noble."
"Elite Four Malva?" Marcus's voice was filled with disbelief. "What…did you do that?"
"I did," said Malva. Cloyster stiffened at the casual demeanor of her voice. He knew of the Elite Four, of course; Marcus had mentioned them a few times, always in an awed tone that told Cloyster that the Elite Four were powerful and respected.
"Why?" Marcus asked.
"Some people actually agree with Team Flare," said Malva. "Me being one of them. Surprisingly few people understand the sacrifice they're making. That they're willing to make to bring about a better world."
"A better world for them," Marcus growled.
"No," said Malva. "A better world for Pokemon. But enough. Your team is scattered. And all you have is a single Cloyster. I'd spare it the pain if I were you. Understand that I have no interest in you. If you retreat into that elevator behind you and leave all of this behind, I will make no move to pursue. You can still make it out of here unharmed and with enough time to depart."
"And leave my team behind?" Marcus's voice was quivering but determined. "I can't do that."
Malva smiled. "A good answer. But one that will be your downfall. If you wish to stay…if you truly think you can challenge a member of the Elite Four…I will humor you." With a flick of her wrist, Malva sent out a Torkoal. "Your Pokemon are alive, but I have sent out the rest of my team to hunt them down. Let us have a match, your Cloyster against Phlegethon here. If you win, I will call off my team and allow you to rescue your Pokemon. If I win…then I'm afraid your Pokemon will be gone forever."
Marcus was shaking with anger. Slowly, he looked down at Cloyster, defeat in his eyes. He knew he could not refuse, but his eyes carried the realization that he could not win. Not against this.
"All right." Marcus's voice had lost some of its determination, but there was still a spark. A gasp of hope.
Malva watched and waited.
"Cloyster, Supersonic," Marcus ordered grimly.
Cloyster sprang into action. "Sonic Blast!" he cried, and with that cry came a shriek that propelled energy straight at Phlegethon. The Torkoal responded with a swift "Obsidian Barrier" that sprang up in front of him, deflecting the Sonic Blast easily.
"Water Blast!" Cloyster cried.
"Sunny Day," Malva ordered.
Phlegethon stood stockily as the Water Blast closed in on him. Its shell glowed orange as a burst of Fire energy emerged from the Torkoal's body, rising into the air above him. The Water Blast hit, but annoyingly, it did not seem to do that much damage.
"Solar Beam," Malva told her Torkoal.
"Protect!" Marcus cried.
"Impenetrable Shell!" Shellder yelped as Torkoal, with a murmur of "Volcanic Beam", sent a surge of Grass energy streaming from the sun towards Cloyster. Thankfully, though it strained at the barrier, the Impenetrable Shell held, and Cloyster remained undamaged.
"Volcanic Eruption," Phlegethon stated.
"Withdraw!" Marcus cried as Phlegethon exploded in a massive blast of Fire energy. Cloyster understood as he retreated into his shell that this was the same attack that had torn the intersection apart. Its power seemed to be intentionally lowered, but Cloyster still could feel the heat from the blast even through his Defensive Shell.
"Body Slam," Malva ordered.
Cloyster released his Withdraw to see Phlegethon charging right at him, stubby legs trampling along the ground as it pounded closer. "Defensive Shell Impact!" Cloyster cried, flinging himself forward to meet the Torkoal.
Phlegethon twisted. Shell met shell with a disturbingly loud crack. Cloyster was thrown backwards as a sudden rush of air filled his shell. Phlegethon groaned.
Cloyster looked down and noticed with mounting horror that his shell was cracked, a hole punched in it from the sheer force of the impact. Phlegethon did not seem hurt at all; in fact, the Torkoal looked even more energized than it usually was under the direct sunlight.
"The deal's still on," said Malva. "You recall your Cloyster and go into that elevator and you can still walk away from this."
Marcus bit his lip hard enough that a small trickle of blood became visible. But he shook his head. "I can't…" he whispered.
Malva dipped her head slightly. "You are quite a good Trainer. Truly devoted to your Pokemon. It is a shame that I will have to take them."
Cloyster readied himself for the desperate battle once more, knowing it would not lead to victory yet hoping that somehow it would.
Seeker-Of-Endings knew one thing. Betrayer-Of-Kin may have disappeared, but she would return, and quickly. She would not allow Marcus to escape her that easily.
It was regrettable, but easy, to backpedal and dart away as Calem and Serena rushed downstairs. Waiting was no longer an option, and a quick glance had told all of them that the upstairs door was damaged and most likely unable to be opened. So downstairs it was, Calem to find more Grunts and Executives to fight, Serena to look for yet another way out.
But Seeker-Of-Endings did not follow them. Rather, she took a third option, for the wall behind her had partially collapsed, probably from the massive Eruption that had just taken place.
He caught a glimpse of a Trainer who looked like Elite Four Malva out of the corner of his eye as he leaped through the gap. There was no time to dwell on that, though. Betrayer-Of-Kin could be anywhere.
There was rubble to his left and a gap in the floor to his right. Seeker-Of-Endings looked around wildly. Where was she? This was the only way in or out of Marcus's location, save for the elevator that Betrayer-Of-Kin had no way of accessing. So where-
Clank.
Seeker-Of-Endings froze. Then, slowly, he looked up at the thick air vent above him.
"No."
Half a dozen Pursuit rays streamed from his horn and slammed into the air vent, driving into the metal with six resounding clangs.
There was a pause. Then a shriek of distressed metal as Betrayer-Of-Kin's horn sliced through the air vent. She leaped out gracefully, landing on her feet only a couple yards away from Seeker-Of-Endings.
She turned to face him. "Ah, yes. Seeker-Of-Endings. You've been a fantastic help, truly. Without you, I could never have found Marcus."
Seeker-Of-Endings curled his lip. "Save it. I will not allow you to hurt him."
"You?" Betrayer-Of-Kin asked. "Please. A dozen other Heralds tried to stop me. I'm still here, and they are not. All of them were far more experienced than you are. I'd get out of my way if I were you."
In answer, Seeker-Of-Endings opened his mouth and began to sing the harsh notes of Perish Song.
Eighteen seconds.
Betrayer-Of-Kin sighed. "Fine."
Then she lunged, horn blazing with Dark energy. Seeker-Of-Endings twisted his own head, catching her horn with his. Betrayer-Of-Kin shifted and swung again, lower, aiming to slash out Seeker-Of-Endings's eye. But Seeker-Of-Endings ducked, augmenting his movement with Detect, and caught that slash too.
Abruptly, Betrayer-Of-Kin lashed out with one of her paws, catching Seeker-Of-Endings across the cheek and snapping his head to the side. Only Detect spared Seeker-Of-Endings from having his throat run through by Betrayer-Of-Kin's follow-up stab, and even then he felt a searing pain on the side of his neck.
Thinking quickly, Seeker-Of-Endings fired a trio of swift Pursuit rays, only for Betrayer-Of-Kin to easily dodge with her own Detect. Betrayer-Of-Kin rounded on him…or at least one of her did. The other one lunged down the corridor, heading towards the hole, towards Marcus.
Seeker-Of-Endings hurled himself forwards, ignoring Betrayer-Of-Kin's solid Double Team copy raking its horn down his side. He slashed desperately with his horn and barely managed to nick the back of Betrayer-Of-Kin's right hind leg. Betrayer-Of-Kin staggered, losing her footing, and barely managed to skid to a halt in time to avoid falling into the hole in the corridor. Seeker-Of-Endings hurled himself forwards, interspersing himself between Betrayer-Of-Kin and the corridor he knew led to Marcus.
Twelve seconds.
Betrayer-Of-Kin lashed out with her horn once more, and again Seeker-Of-Endings, augmenting himself with Detect, deflected each strike. Betrayer-Of-Kin attempted to swipe with her paw again, but this time Seeker-Of-Endings was ready, raising his own paw to bat it away.
Then Betrayer-Of-Kin disappeared in a burst of Ghost energy. She reappeared further away from Marcus, oddly, standing several yards down the corridor from Seeker-Of-Endings. Her mouth opened and fired a dozen Pursuit rays, each one arcing straight towards Seeker-Of-Endings. Seeker-Of-Endings activated Detect yet again, already feeling the strain on his body from using Detect so many times in quick succession, and leaped, diving through the swarm of Pursuit rays.
Even as he leaped, though, Betrayer-Of-Kin slashed her horn through the air, creating a curved blade of Dark energy, and then sent that blade flying at Seeker-Of-Endings. There was no way to dodge it. Seeker-Of-Endings felt his face split open from the brutal attack and blood begin streaming from it, but through the blood he saw Seeker-Of-Endings leap again, attempting to take advantage of the opportunity granted by the attack to get past Seeker-Of-Endings.
Six seconds.
"Absol!" Serena's voice shouted. "Absol!"
No! Seeker-Of-Endings lunged straight for Betrayer-Of-Kin horn-first. Betrayer-Of-Kin leaped, twisting in midair as she dove over Seeker-Of-Endings's flying body. A searing pain ripped through Seeker-Of-Endings as Betrayer-Of-Kin's horn drove into his body, ripping into his flesh and drawing yet more blood. Seeker-Of-Endings felt energy leave him as Betrayer-Of-Kin pressed, savage in her rage.
"Absol!"
Seeker-Of-Endings twisted his head to see Serena standing at the top of the stairs, her face white. Her fingers shifted to her Pokeballs.
No.
"Do not recall me," Seeker-Of-Endings snarled as he felt Betrayer-Of-Kin's horn leave his side. Betrayer-Of-Kin retreated, pelting down the corridor, aiming towards Marcus once again. "Run!"
Serena stared at Seeker-Of-Endings in shock. "You…you can speak…?"
"RUN!" Seeker-Of-Endings cried, punctuating it with five Pursuit rays. Betrayer-Of-Kin staggered yet again as they hit her, one after the other. She stumbled but continued, losing only half a second in her rush towards Marcus. Serena turned and ran, confused and horrified but obeying nonetheless, as Betrayer-Of-Kin streaked as fast as she could towards Marcus.
But that half a second was all Seeker-Of-Endings needed.
Just as Betrayer-Of-Kin rounded the corner to catch sight of Marcus, she disappeared from existence as Perish Song finally took effect.
Seeker-Of-Endings instantly closed his wounds. He knew they were not actually closed; once he returned to the real world, they would still be there, but in here he could ignore the pain and the blood. He glared at Betrayer-Of-Kin as she rounded on him, her eyes narrowed.
"It's over," he growled, growing to fifty feet in height as he did so and readying a massive blast of Dark energy.
Betrayer-Of-Kin let out a slight chuckle. "Do you really think…that after all of my time fighting the Heralds, you could defeat me with Perish Song?" she asked, her voice half mocking and half furious. "Oh, please. You've heard the legend of the Haunter and the Altaria, right?"
"Not one that I've heard," Seeker-Of-Endings growled.
"I'm not surprised, it's only really known in Hoenn," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "But the point is…Perish Song only really works if your opponent doesn't know it as well. Perish Song works in part because most Pokemon don't understand it. But when two Pokemon with Perish Song match up in this dimension…"
Betrayer-Of-Kin smirked as she blinked out of existence.
"…the stronger one always wins."
Seeker-Of-Endings felt his entire body suddenly regress to normal size. Swiftly, he sent out a dozen tendrils of Dark energy, aiming everywhere he could, hoping to at least catch Betrayer-Of-Kin. But those tendrils disintegrated as fast as he could create them. In the next second, dark chains ripped from the ground around Seeker-Of-Endings, wrapping around his legs and body and binding him tightly. A tendril wrapped around his face, covering his mouth, as Betrayer-Of-Kin reappeared, standing directly in front of him. His terrified eyes met her mocking ones.
"Now," said Betrayer-Of-Kin, "release the Song. Or I'll show you just how inventive this place can actually make me."
Pain.
Kriesh's world was pain.
She was dimly aware of something nudging at her side. But that nudging was nearly lost amidst the pain.
The last thing she remembered was an explosion. She remembered the screams, the fire, the crash as she slammed into something that gave under her weight, the impact of her back on the warm ground. And she remembered the pain that had engulfed her like a wave, drowning her in its crushing grasp.
"Kriesh?"
Kriesh groaned. Her head tilted to the side to see Houndoom nudging at her with his nose. His eyes widened with relief as he saw Kriesh twitch to look at him. "Oh, thank Arceus, I thought you were dead!"
Kriesh groaned again. She drew on her energy and used Roost; at once she could feel the pain wracking her body recede and feeling besides agony flood back to her. "Are…" she asked, slowly and haltingly. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," said Houndoom. "You've been out for a bit. As far as I can tell, we've been blasted through a couple walls, and there's a pile of rubble between us and Marcus."
Marcus. Kriesh's eyes went wide. "Where is he?"
"No idea," said Houndoom. "I think I heard him shout "Go", though. Perhaps he ran away?"
"He wouldn't do that," Kriesh growled, finally mustering enough strength to rise. "We've got to find him."
"Well, there's no going back through that rubble," Houndoom said. Now Kriesh turned to see said rubble; a massive pile of stone and metal completely filling the area of destroyed wall that had obviously once filled that space. "But there's a couple doors we can try."
Kriesh took a look around the room. She had apparently knocked over a desk that had once been covered in computers during her propelled flight, for it was lying on its side behind her, the computers smashed and broken. Two doors seemed to lead out of the room, one on the wall to the right of the rubble and one on the wall to the right of the first door.
"Let's try that door." Kriesh pointed with her beak to the door to the right of the rubble. "It's closer to Marcus."
"Fair enough," said Houndoom. "Looks like it opens outward, thank goodness."
With a swift ram of his shoulder, he slammed into the door, knocking it outwards enough that Kriesh could squeeze through with her wings furled. Kriesh began to walk towards the door, and then all of a sudden Houndoom gasped. "Back!"
A blast of Electric energy shot through the gap in the door, a blast that Houndoom barely avoided via a swift leap to the side. Through the door strode a Manectric. The Manectric's eyes roved around the room, remaining on Houndoom for a second before shifting to Kriesh.
The Manectric chuckled. "Looks like I've gotten two birds with one stone. Or a bird and a dog, as it were. One traitor." His eyes swiveled to Houndoom, who shivered under their gaze, before they turned back to Kriesh. "And the very Pokemon I've been waiting to meet again."
"Ripper," Kriesh snarled in recognition. Houndoom's eyes widened at the proclamation.
"The one and only," Ripper retorted. "You got lucky last time we met. But this time you don't have a Meditite with Bide to bail you out. All you've got," his eyes swiveled to Houndoom once again, "is a coward so afraid to face his own failure that he backstabbed the Trainers who'd taken him in and taught him how to fight. What would anyone see in you?"
"I…I'm not afraid," Houndoom protested. "I left…because I realized what kind of monsters-"
"Oh, don't you dare," Ripper growled. "You realized that long before you left. Admit it. You left because you were scared." He snorted. "The thing is, failure can be tolerated. But betrayal…that gets you a few hours alone with me."
"Leave him alone," Kriesh challenged.
"And you," Ripper growled. "I see you actually ditched that flock of yours. And, of course, you promptly began trying to play mama to another group of Pokemon that you can't protect. You're pathetic. You're both pathetic." Electricity crackled across Ripper's body. "I'm going to hurt you until there's barely life in your bodies, and then I'm going to give you to Celosia. I'm sure she'll know what to do with you. Thunder Release."
"Earth Impact!" Kriesh dove forwards, gathering Ground energy around her beak as she lunged straight for Ripper. The blast of Electric energy that emanated from Ripper slammed uselessly into Kriesh's beak. "Flame Tongue!" Houndoom growled, answering the blast with his own burst of Fire energy.
"Thunder Blast!" Ripper growled, leaping into the air as he did so. A burst of Electric energy blasted out from all around him,colliding with Houndoom's Flame Tongue and pushing it back. With Earth Impact only affecting her beak, Kriesh felt her entire body seize up around her as she skidded to a halt. Houndoom, too, was hit, staggering back under the barrage of Electric energy.
Kriesh felt one of Ripper's paws step lightly on her back and force her into the ground. "Static: Full-Body Lock," the Manectrc growled. Kriesh instantly was completely paralyzed, her joints and muscles locked by Static. She couldn't see Houndoom or Ripper. But he heard the Manectric's voice.
"You've probably trained for a while since our last fight," said Ripper. "Thing is, so have I. Thunder Blast is quite a useful new trick."
"Dark Surge!"
"Ah, right. You're here. Thunder Blast."
Kriesh felt more electricity surge into her from behind. But she also felt the paralysis on her fading. Ripper was clearly paying more attention to Houndoom than he should have.
A yelp from Houndoom brought Kriesh's head around in time to see him staggering back under yet another brutal blast of Electricity. "You think you have a chance?" Ripper growled. "You're an Executive-level Pokemon. I'm Admin-level! I'm inherently stronger than you!"
"Beam Impact."
Ripper's eyes widened as Kriesh opened her beak wide and expelled a massive beam of white energy straight at him. "Oh."
The Beam Impact slammed right into him, sending him flying into the overturned desk with a crunch that Kriesh didn't even wince at.
A snarl from the dust thrown up indicated that it had not been enough to finish him. "Flurry Impact!"
"Static: Beak."
Kriesh's beak was frozen shut, unable to get the Flurry Impact out. Ripper strode from the dust, looking fairly irritated. "You are beginning to annoy me."
Kriesh flared her wings, aware that the Static was still present in her body. Houndoom had not yet been touched by Static despite the pounding from Ripper's Thunder Blasts; he crouched, readying as much power as he could muster.
Ripper's claws curled. "Let's finish this, shall we?"
And with that, the three lunged for one another once again.
The deafening noise of the explosion had not fazed Heliolisk. If anything, that probably meant he was closer to his goal. Explosions meant battling, and if Marcus was down here, he was likely engaged in a battle.
The last battle Heliolisk had stumbled on had been somewhat misleading. The first was a battle between two Team Flare Grunts and a rather tall, poorly dressed man with ripped clothing who was wielding, of all things, a Golurk. Heliolisk hadn't even paid attention to the Sigilyph that the man had also been using; he'd simply run, not wanting to deal with that thing.
But if this battle did not involve Marcus, he would run as well. And he would keep running until he found Marcus and that Medicham of his.
Exasperation filled him as he rounded a corner to spy a rather massive hole in…everything. The walls and the floor had been rent asunder, probably by the explosion.
He heard the sounds of fighting coming from around a nearby corner. Heliolisk took a step forwards, and then something popped into existence right next to him.
"Reaper's Shadow."
The blast of Ghost energy did absolutely nothing. Heliolisk rounded on the Chandelure that had materialized right next to him, contempt in his expression. "I don't have time for you. Lord's Command: Electrify."
"Infiltrator." The Chandelure popped out of existence again. Heliolisk's Electrify broke against a nearby wall. The Chandelure reappeared again, behind Heliolisk. "Reaper's Flame."
The blast of white-hot fire sent Heliolisk staggering against that same wall. He turned to glare at the Chandelure, furious that this thing had dared to wound him.
"I am Thanatos," the Chandelure growled. "You are not of Team Flare. You will be eliminated."
"I don't care," Heliolisk retorted. "Lord's Command: Electrocute."
"Infiltrator." Again Thanatos teleported out of the way of the blast of Electric energy. Fury rose up Heliolisk's throat like bile. He would not lose to this random Chandelure, not when the object of his vengeance was so close.
Thanatos reappeared next to Heliolisk. "Reaper's Flame."
"Gah!" Heliolisk cried, staggering under another barrage of flames.
"My Ability, Infiltrator, enables short-range teleportation," Thanatos pointed out. "You'll have to do better than those Electric blasts."
"I have had enough of you!" Heliolisk snarled, drawing on the heat from Thanatos's own attacks. "Solar Power! Emperor's Command: Discharge!"
"Infiltrator." The staggeringly powerful omnidirectional blast struck empty air yet again. But Heliolisk knew that the Chandelure would have to teleport inside the expanding dome of Electric energy. And sure enough, it did. "Flame-"
"Solar Power. Emperor's Command: Electrocute."
Thanatos had just reappeared when a massive bolt of lightning slammed right into its center. The Chandelure flew, slamming into the ground and tumbling away with a surprised screech.
"Hmph." Heliolisk turned and continued stalking down the corridor, towards the dust cloud that marked where Thanatos had fallen. "Such an annoyance."
And then two orange flaming eyes appeared in the dust cloud. "That…actually hurt," Thanatos stated. "It seems I will have to try to finish you off. Reaper's Conflagration."
"Ugh…" Heliolisk groaned. "Solar Power! Emperor's Command: Electrocute!"
He was rapidly draining his heat, but he didn't care. The Electric energy lanced out, augmented by everything he had. Heliolisk poured all of the energy he could muster into the blast, genuinely tired of this stupid Chandelure who had somehow taken one of his very strongest attacks and remained standing.
The bolt of lightning collided with the flames that Thanatos exuded. And to Heliolisk's utter shock, it stopped dead.
So did the flames, but Heliolisk didn't even see that. He was more concerned with how that same strongest attack was now being completely stalemated by this stupid Chandelure.
How was it so strong?
"Inflitrator." Heliolisk realized he had miscalculated a second before Thanatos's voice emanated from behind him. "Reaper's Inferno."
A loud explosion accompanied the searing blast of heat that slammed into Heliolisk's back, knocking him flat on his face. Pain exploded up Heliolisk's back. At least, he thought grimly, he didn't need to worry about heat anymore. Between the Fire-based attacks that this Chandelure kept throwing at him and the general aura of heat that surrounded this place, Heliolisk could keep Solar Power going for a while.
The trouble was hitting this Chandelure.
"Confuse Ray!"
That was not Thanatos.
Heliolisk rolled over in time to see Phantump striking Thanatos with a blast of Ghost energy. Thanatos groaned, shaking itself; it seemed the Confuse Ray was not particularly effective on it. But it gave Phantump an opening. "Shadow Ball!" Phantump cried, summoning a sphere of Ghost energy and hurling it straight into Thanatos's core.
Thanatos flew backwards with a pained groan, slamming into the wall and falling to the ground.
"Hi, Heliolisk!" Phantump cried, twisting to face Heliolisk. "Are you all right? Where have you been? Didn't Marcus send you to a rehabilitation center? Oh, never mind, we've got a Chandelure to fight. We'll talk later."
Heliolisk smiled thinly despite himself. Of all the members of Marcus's team to run into, Phantump was easily his favorite. He'd made Heliolisk laugh, reminded him of the Ghosts - his former subjects - back home, and actually tolerated him as opposed to the rest of the team, who always seemed to be at Heliolisk's throat at the slightest provocation.
Here was a Pokemon who actually understood what Heliolisk's rightful place was.
That thought was driven away by another groan from Thanatos. Somehow, the Chandelure was rising into the air once again despite the punishment it had taken. It didn't even seem too injured.
"Indeed, Phantump," Heliolisk growled, tapping into Solar Power. He had a feeling he'd need every ounce of heat he had to finish this fight. "Let us deal with this annoyance."
"Trace: Attack Scan!" Gardevoir cried. The Executive-level Manectric sending a bolt of lightning at her looked shocked as Gardevoir summoned and fired her own, perfectly identical, blast of lightning. "Psychic Enhancement," she murmured, pushing more Psychic energy into the lightning bolt. The Manectric's eyes widened comically as the lightning bolt slammed into it and threw it back into one of the few tables still standing.
"Two-Wing Style: Hundred Feather Punch!" Hawlucha finally decked Bryony's Talonflame in the face with a brutal punch, knocking it into the ground as it let out a pained shriek.
Gourgeist shrieked and cackled as she disappeared and reappeared, blinking around the room and felling any Pokemon she touched with surges of Ghost energy. Furfrou's dome was holding as she pummeled anyone close with torrents of fur. Aurorus was still back-to-back with Gardevoir, tossing Blizzard Blasts at anyone close by.
And Goodra…
The Dragon-type was standing, but it was clear that she was still hurting from when an Executive-level Weavile had jumped her from behind, which had given several other Grunt and Executive-level Pokemon an opportunity to join in on the assault. Thankfully, Hawlucha had intervened, taking an attack from Bryony's Talonflame that had left him looking scorched even as he unleashed a brutal onslaught of limbs against the array of Pokemon on top of Goodra. It was a testament to Goodra's strength that she'd managed to survive the brutal onslaught without being knocked out, but after this battle, Gardevoir had no doubt that her day was done. She was too badly beaten to stand strong in another fight such as this.
Despite Goodra's injuries, the battle was practically in the mopping-up phase. With the fall of Talonflame, all that remained of Bryony's team was her irritatingly fast and evasive Liepard, supported by a dozen and falling Executive and Grunt-level Pokemon.
But Gardevoir, for all her awareness, had not noticed one thing.
Blade, the Bisharp, lying on the ground near Aurorus, was stirring.
His wounds ached badly, trying to force him to just lie down, to just give up. But he reached inside, and he forced that aching to obey him. "Defiant," he whispered. "Final Reckoning. Ultimate Retaliation."
All the agony that rushed through his body now poured into a single one of Blade's arms. Blade rose, unseen by the Gardevoir that was focusing on nailing Spot with blasts of Fairy energy or the Aurorus that had her back turned to send three Team Flare Pokemon flying with a single Blizzard Blast. Bisharp knew from experience that if he attacked Gardevoir, it would go poorly. Her senses would likely detect him and this would all be for nothing. So he lunged straight for the Aurorus.
"Aurorus, behind you!" Diantha cried.
But it was too late for Aurorus to react.
Gardevoir spun at Diantha's call in time to see Bryony's Bisharp lash out with a single, energy-swathed bladed arm, catching Aurorus right in the side even as she whirled.
A nasty crash sounded from the point of impact. Aurorus shrieked as the slash seemed to send waves through her entire body. It was as if her body was vibrating under the impact; a spiderweb of cracks rippled outwards from the Bisharp's blade as Aurorus slowly, majestically toppled. She hit the ground unconscious, her mouth open even as her last cry faded into nothingness.
It had to be Guillotine. There was no other way Bisharp could have struck Aurorus so hard. Gardevoir bit her lip. Moves like Guillotine, Sheer Cold, and Fissure were highly difficult to use and extremely dangerous, both for the user, who had to put an absolutely absurd amount of energy into the strike for it to work, and the receiver, who had to take all that energy. A strong Pokemon could overcome a weak Guillotine, but if the user of Guillotine or something similar was strong enough, no one, not even a Champion's Pokemon like Aurorus, could stand against it.
The drawback, of course, was that all that concentration of energy meant the user would not come off unscathed either. Indeed, even as Bisharp stared triumphantly at the fallen body of Aurorus, he, too, slowly toppled backwards, an expression of relief frozen on his face. Bryony and Diantha recalled their respective fallen Pokemon in the next instant.
A bitter feeling filled Gardevoir as she turned back to the rest of the battle. Hawlucha and Gourgeist handled the last few Executive and Grunt-level Pokemon, while Goodra managed a Fighting Blast that drove Bryony's Liepard straight into a Life Blast from Gardevoir. Bryony clearly gulped as she recalled her last Pokemon.
"Furfrou, release." At that, the dome of fur retracted into Furfrou's body, revealing a fairly furious Diantha glaring at Bryony and her Grunts and Executives. "Gardevoir, secure them."
Bryony had clearly resigned herself to her fate after the defeat, as she made no move to resist when Gardevoir froze her body using Psychic. The Grunts and Executives did try and resist, but they were not strong of mind and so Gardevoir overcame it.
Diantha watched them carefully, making sure they weren't playing, and then finally relaxed. "Good job, everybody. You all did wonderfully. Goodra…it would probably be best if you sit the rest of this out. It would not be fair to push you any further."
Goodra nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Mistress," she said tiredly as Diantha withdrew her into her Pokeball.
With that, Diantha pulled out her Pokegear and pressed the speaking button. "All right. I have defeated one of Team Flare's Admins. Is anybody else in need of support?"
Keeper-Of-Memories did not hear the message. He was a little busy fighting for his life.
"RKS System: Water Memory. Multi-Attack."
Type: Full opened fire with a full-scale barrage of Water energy. Krookodile managed to dive into the ground, barely avoiding three shots that came at him. "Hydro Meteor!" Drasna's Kingdra cried, spewing a torrent of comets consisting of combined Dragon and Water energy at the oncoming shots, catching many in explosions of energy. The remainder were dealt with via swift Protects. A single shot streaked towards Keeper-Of-Memories, but he swiftly used Detect, easily swaying out of the way of the attack. It blasted a crater in the ground behind him.
"Ampharos, Thunder!" Drasna cried.
Drasna's Ampharos had triggered its Mega Evolution. Now, with its white mane tossing around in the wind, it reared back. "Thunderstorm!" it bellowed, firing a massive crackling bolt of Electric energy straight at Type: Full. At the same time, Krookodile lunged from the ground right behind Type: Full with a roar of "Burrowing Strike!", while Keeper-Of-Memories returned fire with a barrage of Pursuit rays.
"RKS System: Ground Memory. Multi-Attack."
The ground was ripped asunder, shards of dirt and rock flying as cracks shattered the earth. Krookodile was caught mid-lunge by the explosion and was tossed backwards, hitting the ground with a pained grunt. Keeper-Of-Memories's barrage of Pursuit rays was intercepted by a storm of dust and flying rocks and rendered completely ineffective. And Mega Ampharos's Thunderstorm was, of course, ignored entirely by the now Ground-type Type: Full.
Keeper-Of-Memories gulped, for this kind of power was exceptional. To be able to change types practically on a whim, utilizing Energy of each type in equal measure…
He only knew of two other beings who could utilize that sort of power. One was currently deep underground in an Unovan laboratory under heavy guard specifically because of its strength.
The other was Arceus.
"RKS System: Ice Memory," Type: Full droned. "Ice Beam."
Even as the dust cleared, Keeper-Of-Memories spotted Drasna's Salamence lunging in from the side. "Moxie!" it snarled. "Tornado Slam - oh, sh-"
Without even looking, Type: Full's Ice Beam lanced out from its side, slamming right into Salamence's face. Salamence crashed to the ground, tumbling end over end, snarling in pain and rage.
"Everyone, Dark-type attacks, now!" Grimsley ordered.
Krookodile was conscious but winded and so was occupied struggling to his feet, but the rest of the team was quick to respond. Liepard, Bisharp, Scrafty, and Sharpedo all lunged, streaking across the field towards Type: Full. Keeper-Of-Memories followed suit, his claws pounding across the half-destroyed earth as he rushed to his team's support.
"Provide support!" Drasna cried.
Flygon, Altaria, and Kingdra all rose into the air. Three cries of "Draco Meteor!" filled the air as all three of them shot great arcing comets up into the sky. "Cover me!" Haxorus snarled to Mega Ampharos before lunging forwards, arcing around to the side. Mega Ampharos nodded before launching another massive Thunderstorm straight at Type: Full.
"RKS System: Fairy Memory. Multi-Attack."
"Protect, now!" Grimsley cried.
Every one of the charging Dark-types halted to raise Protect barriers to deflect the attack. But even as the massive wave of Fairy energy slammed into the barriers and was deflected, it also blasted into the air, catching the swarm of Draco Meteors and disintegrating them effortlessly, and even caught the Thunderstorm and dissipated it as well.
And out of the cloud of Fairy energy leaped Type: Full. "RKS System: Fighting Memory," it droned. "Multi-Attack."
In the very next moment, Liepard was slammed by a brutal claw to the side and thrown away like a cheap toy, while Scrafty was staggering with its side ripped open, and Type: Full was rushing directly towards Keeper-Of-Memories. The Absol shifted, horn blazing with Dark energy, and caught a wickedly fast claw ripping towards his face. Detect augmented his movement as he shifted, blocking two more brutal claw swipes.
"Iron Head."
Type: Full lashed out, slamming its axe-like metal beak into Keeper-Of-Memories's face. Keeper-Of-Memories tasted blood as he fell backwards. "Dark Slash!" Bisharp cried, lunging for Type: Full's side, but Type: Full kicked out and drove its foot into Bisharp's chest.
"Speed Boost: Tidal Fangs!"
Sharpedo, though, took full advantage of the opening while Type: Full was distracted. With Speed Boost, he could simply draw on energy to increase his speed to blistering levels as the battle went on. Even now, he was so blindingly fast that his teeth were buried in Type: Full's side before it could react.
Type: Full swatted Sharpedo away with another smack from its claws, but blood dripped from where Sharpedo had clamped his teeth down on him. Haxorus now lunged in from behind, but Type: Full droned "Ice Beam" and lashed its tail. A blast of Ice energy caught Haxorus mid-lunge and dropped it like a stone.
"Tidal Wave!"
Drasna's Kingdra fired off a massive surge of Water energy that looked as if it could engulf an army. "RKS System: Electric Memory," Type: Full retorted. "Multi-Attack." A massive blast of Electric energy streamed from Type: Full's beak, ripping into the oncoming Tidal Wave.
"Altaria, Sing," Drasna ordered.
Drasna's Altaria began to sing, filling the air with a relaxing melody. Type: Full instantly twisted to face her. A horrific screech emanated from Type: Full, disturbing the melody and causing both Drasna and Grimsley to cover their ears.
It was then that Flygon struck. "Tectonic Rupture!"
The ground underneath Type: Full exploded, hurling it forwards. Type: Full landed hard on its side, though it rolled to its feet immediately. "RKS System: Ice Memory," Type: Full droned. "Ice Beam."
Keeper-Of-Memories gathered his strength and leaped forwards again. He saw Krookodile do the same even as Flygon was hit and thrown to the ground by the massively super-effective move. Type: Full twisted, firing off another Ice Beam that forced Krookodile into a Protect, and lunged for Keeper-Of-Memories.
"Pursuit."
Keeper-Of-Memories instantly was forced into Detect as nearly two dozen Pursuit rays sprayed out at him. Several pained grunts, followed by a meaty thump, told him that poor Liepard, still barely standing, had taken the dodged Pursuit rays and fallen under their power. Keeper-Of-Memories slashed down at it, aiming for its face.
"Giga Impact."
And that was when Type: Full abandoned all pretense of strategy in favor of simply summoning up an absurd amount of energy and ramming headfirst into Keeper-Of-Memories.
Keeper-Of-Memories flew backwards, slamming into the ground five seconds later with the wind knocked out of him. Gasping for breath, Keeper-Of-Memories tilted his head in time to see Scrafty and Kingdra come in on either side of Type: Full.
"Tsunami Blast!"
"Moxie: Shattering Strike!"
"RKS System-
It was too late. Giga Impact had left Type: Full, as strong as it was, slightly winded from the sheer amount of energy it had poured into the attack. Shattering Strike slammed hard into Type: Full's side, knocking it sideways straight into the oncoming Tsunami.
Keeper-Of-Memories, feeling breath returning to him, scanned the battlefield. Flygon was down. Salamence was down. Krookodile, Sharpedo, Bisharp, and Liepard were all down. Altaria and Mega Ampharos were waiting, watching to see if Type: Full was down for good. He couldn't see Haxorus. Grimsley and Drasna were watching as well. Kingdra and Scrafty stood as the massive wave of water Kingdra had summoned continued to conceal the form of Type: Full.
Drasna's eyes widened. "Altaria, Ampharos, Protect!"
Indeed, at that very moment, a roar came from the midst of the Tsunami. "RKS System: Fairy Memory. Multi-Attack."
Scrafty and Kingdra had no time to get away. Both of them were struck head-on by the brutal blast of Fairy energy and sent flying, completely unconscious. Altaria and Mega Ampharos raised swift Protects as the blast slammed straight into them. Fortunately, the blast did not go near Keeper-Of-Memories.
Unfortunately, Type: Full was now lunging directly towards him.
Time seemed to slow down. Breath was still returning to Keeper-Of-Memories's lungs. Scrafty and Kingdra had joined the ranks of the fallen. Altaria and Mega Ampharos were still engrossed in their Protects. And Keeper-Of-Memories still could not see Haxorus. There was no one to save him.
Keeper-Of-Memories had thought, a long time ago, that when he faced down death it would be with dignity. But there was a difference between speaking of facing down death and actually facing down death. So it was that, rather than staring down Type: Full with no fear in his eyes, Keeper-Of-Memories flinched in terrified anticipation as Type: Full hurled itself at his throat.
The floor of the intersection was littered with the fallen. Grunt and Executive-level Pokemon covered the ground so thickly that Raichu had to struggle to avoid tripping over them as he dodged the flurry of attacks Aliana's Vileplume continued to fire at him.
The battle was dying down. Raichu and Vileplume were still up, as was Alaina's Hydreigon, still battling out with the still-standing Magnezone of Jasmine's team. Surge's Magnezone had fallen to a point-blank Fire Blast, and it was only the paralysis that continually froze and slowed Hydreigon that was allowing Jasmine's Magnezone to continue fighting.
"Raichu, Electroweb!" Surge ordered.
Raichu twisted out of the way of another Poison Blast from the Vileplume and retaliated with a spreading blast of Electric energy. "Lightning Rod: Thunder Net!" With a swift activation of his Lightning Rod Ability, he twisted the Electric energy into a net-like shape as it arced towards the Vileplume.
"Poison Wave!" the Vileplume growled, sending a blast of Poison energy at the oncoming net. The two collided and dissipated, but the instant Raichu had seen Vileplume fire the attack, he had begun to charge, lunging at the Vileplume even as the attacks faded.
"Thunder Howitzer!"
Vileplume howled in pain as a massive torrent of Electric energy slammed into him, knocking him backwards. Freed for the moment, Raichu twisted in time to see Magnezone rise up into the air. "Magnet Bomb," Jasmine advised. Magnezone whirred - "Explosive Shot" - and sent a cluster of small spheres flying at Hydreigon.
"Cerberus, Tri-Blast, now!" Aliana snapped.
Cerberus roared, firing a massive Focus Blast from each of his three heads. Or at least trying to; a surge of Electric energy rushed up his body and the Hydreigon froze, unable to move or even defend himself.
"No!" Aliana cried helplessly as Cerberus was engulfed in an explosion of Steel energy.
"Raichu, contact front! Blast it!"
Raichu swiveled in time to see Vileplume rising, eyes glittering with fury. He grinned. "Thunder Howitzer!"
"Poison Barrier!" Irritatingly, the Thunder Howitzer slammed into a Protect. "Poison Wave!"
"Get in close and end it!" Surge ordered.
Raichu hurled himself forwards, up and over the wave of Poison energy, one fist drawn back. "Time to finish this old-school! Mega Punch!"
Vileplume was wholly unprepared for the Raichu it had been engaging in a predominantly ranged duel to charge it. As such, Raichu decked it across the face with a brutal fist before it could respond. "Mega Kick!" Raichu cried, slamming one massive foot into the Vileplume's chin. Vileplume staggered, gasping under the blow.
Raichu reached out, grasping Vileplume's flower in both hands. "Seismic Toss!"
Vileplume cried out in shock as Raichu, exerting all of his strength, pulled him off the ground and hurled him right into the nearest wall. The Grass/Poison Pokemon fell to the ground, unconscious from the brutal impact.
Aliana's eyes narrowed as the last of her Pokemon was felled. For a moment she shook with anger, and then calmness rushed across her face and she sighed in defeat.
"It appears you've won," Aliana said, reluctance in her voice, but she raised her hands over her head nonetheless as Jasmine and Surge shared an exhausted but triumphant grin.
From the reports coming in, things were…not going according to plan. Surge and Jasmine had beaten Aliana, but Drasna and Grimsley were outside fighting Xerosic, who had released something that was apparently capable of taking on two Elite Four members and their teams by itself; most likely that was the Legendary Mable had warned them of. Malva was missing, and now Siebold had just radioed in, saying that he'd found Wikstrom and his team unconscious in a cafeteria, guarded by a few Grunts that he'd beaten with ease.
But that was not the worst news Siebold had delivered.
"Run that by me again," Diantha asked. Gardevoir watched her Trainer with concern, seeing the sudden fear in her eyes as she waited for Siebold's response.
"The Grunts said that Malva is on their side," said Siebold. "I don't want to believe it either…but there's not too much that could bring Wikstrom down this quickly. We've got to assume that they're telling the truth."
"That also means we've still got one Team Flare Admin unaccounted for," said Diantha. "Have you got eyes on Celosia?"
"The Grunts said she'd ordered them to guard Wikstrom," said Siebold.
"Then she's probably out hunting," said Diantha. "Maybe along with Malva. All right, Siebold, we need to regroup. Surge and Jasmine's teams are ravaged, and with Drasna and Grimsley stuck upstairs, it's just the two of us remaining. We need to meet up, find Celosia and Malva, and then get to Lysandre, and…"
Her voice trailed off. Slowly, she looked over her shoulder. "Scratch that. I seem to have located Admin Celosia."
Gardevoir twisted to see the Admin in question, five strong-looking Pokemon standing in front of her and half a dozen Grunts and Executives behind her. Gardevoir could not help but realize that one Pokemon, the Manectric she'd been reported to have, was missing, and the rest looked quite wounded. Clearly, even with Malva supporting her, the fight with Wikstrom had taken its toll on her team.
Diantha released Gourgeist, Hawlucha, and Furfrou to join Gardevoir. Celosia grinned. "What's the matter? Bryony did a number on you, didn't she?"
"And Wikstrom, it seems, did the same to you," Diantha retorted.
Celosia's face flushed. "I've got five Pokemon plus my support. All you have is four. I don't care if you're the Champion: you're going down."
Diantha raised her Pokegear. "Siebold. Do not worry about me. Find Malva and stop her. I will deal with Celosia."
With that, she stuffed her Pokegear in her pocket and turned to look at Gardevoir. "You know what to do."
Gardevoir tensed to fight the second Admin today. "Life Blast," she proclaimed, and with that the Pokemon on both sides surged forth.
Yveltal watched as Lysandre frowned, listening to the latest reports streaming in. Bryony was down. Aliana was down. Xerosic was being stalled outside. Celosia was stuck fighting Diantha. And Malva had become sidetracked by one of the teenagers that still were running roughshod through the base. The other two were, apparently, beating their way through the basement, moving closer and closer to the Ultimate Weapon. Not to mention Siebold was still running free and almost completely fresh.
And, of course, there was one more threat that even now was approaching the room.
Yveltal's eyes watched closely as the door to the room flew off its hinges, propelled by a wave of Psychic energy from the Sigilyph that flew slowly into the room. Behind it stalked a massive Golurk that was even larger than the tall man that moved into the room after the two Pokemon.
Lysandre's eyes narrowed. "AZ. You escaped. And I see you found two of your Pokemon."
"This ends now, Lysandre," AZ growled. His eyes flared with fury as they fell on Xerneas. "I can not and will not allow you to do this."
Lysandre sighed. "You don't get it, AZ. No one does. For the good of all Pokemon, this must be done."
"I once believed that too," said AZ. "I was too blind to see the truth. Please, do not succumb to that same blindness."
"You think I am blind?" Lysandre asked. "I know what this will do. I know what choice I have made. But that choice has already been made. I can't turn back, and I won't turn back. If you want to stop me…"
Lysandre released his entire team onto the ground between him and AZ. Gyarados, Pyroar, Trevenant, Noivern, Honchkrow, and Mienshao tensed, readying themselves as they saw their opponents.
"…then you will have to defeat me in battle," said Lysandre. "Something I doubt you can do with just two Pokemon."
"Don't be so sure," AZ growled. "Golurk, Earthquake. Sigilyph, Psychic."
"Quake Devastation." "Mind Burst." AZ's two Pokemon sprang into action, Golurk stomping down to create a ripple of Ground energy that erupted outwards, Sigilyph joining it with a massive blast of Psychic energy. Lysandre's team lunged forwards to meet them, firing off their own barrage of attacks at Lysandre's orders, and the previously-calm room descended into utter chaos.
"Hellfire Blast!"
"Block!"
Drapion's Block deflected Hellhound's blast of Fire energy even as Medicham hurled herself at the Houndoom's side. "Demon Pulse!" Hellhound snarled, unleashing a wave of Dark and Fire energy at the oncoming Medicham and the still-standing Drapion, but the last vestiges of Drapion's Block deflected the blast aimed at him while a swift Psychic Dodge enabled Medicham to avoid the blast aimed at her. Drapion lunged, pouring Dark energy into his right arm as he scrambled towards Hellhound.
"Fighting Strike!" Medicham cried.
"Demon Jaws!"
Medicham's fist met Hellhound's teeth. Again both staggered back, but Hellhound was quick to recover. "Nightmare Breath!"
Medicham could not react in time to avoid the blob of Ghost energy that slammed into her stomach. She flew backwards, skidding across the ground as Ghost energy played up and down her body. A cry of pain came from her mouth. "Slam!" Drapion roared, lunging for Hellhound with one arm drawn back. But with a quick utterance of "Flash Fire: Hellfire Barrier," Hellhound raised a Protect of his own, deflecting Drapion's attack.
"Demon Blast." The attack came too fast for Drapion to properly react. He took the attack straight to the face and was hurled to the ground once again.
Drapion lay there for a few moments as pain rippled through his body. He knew this fight was life-or-death. He knew it was all but impossible to win. He knew that the damage Hellhound was doing to him was rapidly adding up. He could feel heat searing his body more and more the longer this fight went on.
But…he could not deny that some small part of him was enjoying the challenge.
Slowly, he rose, pushing himself upwards. Medicham, too, was rising to her feet, glaring at Hellhound.
"I won't deny this was enjoyable," Hellhound growled. "But it's time I ended this." Drapion's eyes widened as Hellhound reared back, pouring Fire energy from his entire body and filling it with Dark energy as he gathered it in front of his jaws, gathering more and more in preparation for what had to be the biggest attack Drapion had ever seen him use.
"No!"
Drapion hurled himself forwards, lunging to a point between Hellhound and Medicham, his clawed feet pounding on the heated metal floor as he pushed himself to greater and greater speed.
"Demon Inferno." Hellhound released the attack, sending the massive burst of dark flames streaming towards Medicham in a cresting wave of fire.
"Block!" Drapion roared as he made one final desperate leap. Medicham, arms up to try vainly to shield herself from the blast, flinched as Drapion landed in front of her, raising the Block right in front of him. The blast slammed into the barrier and parted, two streams of dark fire blazing past on either side, trapping Drapion and Medicham in a cone of Dark and Fire energy.
"Drapion!" Medicham cried, voice filled with worry.
Drapion strained as Hellhound continued his barrage, emitting a ceaseless stream of flames from his maw. He could feel his hold on Block decreasing, feel the barrier slowly giving way against the unending blast of flames. Drapion gritted his teeth and forced more energy into it, but even he knew he could not last forever.
Neither could Hellhound's breath, though. Such a technique required the user to constantly release air from their lungs, and no matter how strong he was, Hellhound had to have a limit.
But which one would give out first?
Medicham looked nervously from side to side, searching for a way out. Drapion could see cracks ripping across his Block now as the flames battered at it.
No…I won't let it end like this…
Drapion heard a loud shattering noise. Medicham gasped as Drapion's Block broke into a hundred useless shards, shards that were consumed by the hungry blaze.
I. Won't. Let. It. End.
Something snapped. That was the only way Drapion could describe it. It was as if something had flooded into his mind…no, that something had always been in his mind, just…ever so slightly out of reach. That something had power, a power that Drapion instinctively knew exactly how to use. A feral grin came to his face even as Hellhound's flames slammed into him, burning him, searing his body wherever they hit.
"Battle Armor!" Drapion roared, and his armor surged to life.
Drapion felt a shield of chitin, at least five inches thick, slide upwards, shifting across his face and shoulders where the fire was burning and instantly warding it off. Drapion forced his arms forwards, crossing them in front of his face, and felt chitin sliding over them as well, his armor around his forearms thickening against the flames. The heat faded, the sizzling noises stopped, and all Drapion could feel was a faint heat on his arms and face, like a hundred-degree summer's day.
No, a hundred and ten degrees.
A hundred and twenty.
Not even this absurd amount of armor could last against this attack. Hellhound had to be nearly out of air by now, but that was hardly comforting. Even with Battle Armor, Drapion felt himself being pushed back, felt the heat beginning to sear again.
Even with Battle Armor, he still could not win this fight.
"Battle Armor!" Drapion snarled. Medicham stared in shock as his purple skin began to ripple and extend, armor shifting to cover his face and forearms. What was this? How had he done this?
Was it…could it be an Ability?
But the flames continued to surge forth, and Medicham's eyes caught Drapion's claws skidding backwards; even now he was still being overwhelmed. No amount of armor could withstand such a torrent of Fire and Dark energy forever.
Medicham's fists clenched as she drew upon all the Aura she could muster in her body. Before she even realized fully what she was doing, she was in the air, leaping over the crouched Drapion with both her hands outstretched.
"Aura Blast!"
The flames were blasted back as Medicham landed in front of Drapion. Blue light, Aura, lanced out from Medicham's hands and, for a moment, drove the dark flames backwards from the sheer force of the attack. But only for a moment. Then the flames came on again, hungering and unstoppable. Medicham's fists clenched and she poured more Aura out of them, yearning to challenge the flames, to push them back. But it was no use. She was just…not strong enough.
She saw Drapion crouching behind her, eyes filled with futile rage as he saw the flames overwhelming her Aura. She knew she should have concentrated more on strengthening her Aura. After she'd unlocked it…it felt as if she'd taken it for granted. As if she'd assumed that now she didn't need anything more.
Just another failure in a long string of them.
I've failed again, she thought. How many times have I failed them? I can't…
She saw her teammates, scattered around, lying wounded and unconscious under a Weavile, a Beedrill, an Ursaring. She saw more Pokemon that she didn't even recognize; a Camerupt and a Lotad, lying on the ground, bloody and beaten, as an Absol stood over them, horn tinged red.
I can't fail them again. I won't fail them again.
Medicham let out a primal yell as power surged within her and burst outwards, enfilading her in a bright blue aura of energy. Aura erupted, a tide of it, barely able to be suppressed, simply yearning to be used. It was as if it had always been inside her, just waiting for this moment, waiting for her to finally call upon it.
"Pure Power!" Medicham cried, hurling both fists forwards, and at her command a torrent of Aura flew from her fists and slammed headlong into Hellhound's dark flames.
Five seconds. Five seconds that seemed to stretch out into infinity, five seconds during which Medicham's Aura collided with Hellhound's Demon Inferno, neither giving way, neither flagging against each other. Then, at long last, it stopped as Hellhound finally had to abandon the attack to gasp for air. Drapion retracted his chitin shields and rose to his full height, while Medicham drew back her Aura, gasping as she released a breath she didn't know she had started holding. Medicham could not help but relish the utter shock in Hellhound's expression as he beheld both Medicham and Drapion glaring at him with a promise of vengeance in their eyes.
"How in Distortion are you still up?" Hellhound snarled.
Medicham clenched her fists again, manifesting Aura across them, feeling it boosting her strength as it surrounded her in its blue aura. "Pure Power."
Drapion grinned savagely as his new chitinous armor slid across his arms, fully engulfing them so that they looked like massive purple clubs that Medicham knew at a glance would hurt with just a single swing. "Battle Armor."
Hellhound stared openmouthed for a few seconds. Then he threw back his head and laughed, a full-throated barking laugh that filled the room, a laugh that carried amusement and excitement at the same time.
"Now that's impressive," said Hellhound. "I never dreamed even one of you would unlock your Ability, let alone both of you!" A grin of his own crossed the Houndoom's face. "Very well, then. Come on! Show me how powerful you've become!"
Medicham looked back at Drapion. Last time, the look had been one of despair. She'd known they could not win. But she'd known that they had to try. To hold out, in the faint hope that they might get lucky or be rescued.
Now?
That look held hope. Hope that maybe, just maybe, they could win this after all.
Medicham and Drapion lunged, energy pouring into their fists and claws and augmented by Pure Power and Battle Armor, and Hellhound charged to meet them, flames flaring around him as he answered the new challenge with an echoing, excited roar.
I have now accepted the fact that these chapters are starting to become a lot longer than I initially planned them out to be. I tried to maintain an average of 6,000 words per chapter, but the last chapter was 9,500 words, and now this one got past 12,000...point is, not only are my chapter lengths becoming ridiculously inconsistent, but I'm really going to have to consider the fact that writing chapters like this behemoth is simply impossible to do in two days.
Then again, I did write this behemoth in two days.
So I'm not slowing down just yet. I've got enough free time that I'm pretty sure I can finish this arc on my current update schedule. But I might have to decrease my update schedule again afterwards, depending on whether my chapters continue to be this long. So be prepared for that.