For whatever reason, this chapter simply didn't want to be written. I had all the fights in place and knew how each one was going to end and the story beats I wanted to include in each, but the action in between just didn't feel right.
I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter more than I enjoyed writing it. It's strange - usually I love writing the action-heavy chapters. Maybe it's partially because we're approaching some really major reveals in the next few chapters that I'm very excited to write, and all the stuff before that feels more like a necessity than anything.
"What in Distortion are you doing here?" Kriesh snarled.
Ripper ran his tongue across his lips. "You," he growled, "have eluded me for far too long. I've spent weeks seeing your face wherever I go. Weeks watching you mock me in my dreams." His voice rose to a frenzied shriek. "You cost me everything! My life, my reputation, everything I'd spent years building up, you tore it down!"
"You're out of your mind," Kriesh retorted.
"This ends today." Ripper continued as if he hadn't even heard Kriesh speak. "With your death I will finally be free from your torturous specter!" Spit flew from his jaws. "And when I'm done with you…I'm gonna find that precious little flock of yours and I'm gonna tear them to pieces! Thunder Release!"
"Beam Impact!" Kriesh's Hyper Beam slammed into Ripper's Thunderbolt, the two distinctive energies straining against each other, each beam yearning to overcome the other but neither mustering enough strength to prevail.
"And if you think I'm gonna give you a quick death, you're wrong!" Ripper snarled, audible even over the crackling energy. "Thunder Blast!"
A wave of Electric energy burst from Ripper's fur, expanding towards Kriesh at a terrifying rate. Kriesh clenched her talons, broke off the Beam Impact, and lunged for Ripper. "Earth Impact!"
The Ground energy surrounding her took the Thunder Blast and the remains of the Thunder Release and dissipated it without effect. Undaunted, Ripper flung himself forwards, surrounding himself with the Normal energy of a Quick Attack. The two slammed into one another, but Ripper clearly got off worse, staggering backwards with an unsightly bruise on his left cheek.
And furthermore, Kriesh had protected herself from Static. As long as Ripper couldn't land a clean melee strike on her, she had a chance. Once he got her with Static, it was over; without aid, he'd just be able to keep her paralyzed, unable to resist whatever the clearly half-insane Manectric was planning to do to her.
Kriesh shoved that particular thought away and fired another Beam Impact at Ripper, this one enhanced with Sniper. But despite his madness, Ripper was no fool; he simply deflected it with another Thunder Release, then fired another Thunder Blast, again forcing Kriesh to break off the attack and lunge with an Earth Impact.
This time Ripper lunged to the side and sent another Thunder Blast flying at Kriesh. Kriesh managed to twist in time to deflect it with the Ground energy surrounding her. Snarling irritably, Ripper lunged straight for Kriesh. "Thunder Charge!"
"Flurry Impact!" Kriesh cried, aiming the Pursuit straight at the oncoming Ripper. But Ripper continued on, ignorant of the barrage of hits that slammed into his face and body. Kriesh was forced into another Earth Impact, and this time Ripper took full advantage of that. He leaped off the ground, soaring over Kriesh, and twisted as he landed. "Thunder Release!"
"Earth Impact!" But Kriesh couldn't turn quickly enough. The Thunderbolt slammed into her rear, sending her skidding across the stone floor. At least it wasn't a melee attack, but Kriesh knew she couldn't take more than a few more blasts like that. She heard Ripper's paws pounding across the floor and twisted, spying him rushing her with another Thunder Charge. "Sniper: Beam Impact!" she cried, and smirked as she saw Ripper's eyes go wide; he'd gotten overconfident.
Ripper tried to dodge to the side with a Quick Attack, but the Beam Impact drove into his hindquarters and knocked him headlong, his chin hitting the floor with a nasty crack. Kriesh rose to her feet, wings flaring. "Enough of this!"
"I agree," Ripper snarled. "Thunder Blast!"
"Earth Impact!" Even though Kriesh knew Ripper was expecting it, Earth Impact was her only defense against Ripper's Thunder Blast. But she comforted herself with the understanding that she'd been able to avoid being paralyzed so far. She could adapt to whatever Ripper threw at her.
"Thunder Charge!" Ripper rushed her again. Kriesh spotted his hindquarters tightening - of course he'd repeat the move that had given him a ranged hit last time. Quickly, she angled herself upwards, aiming to intercept.
The realization that that had been exactly Ripper's plan came to Kriesh just a second too late.
He hurled himself forwards across the ground, slamming into Kriesh's stomach. As she folded, he withdrew swiftly, allowing her to fall to the ground. "Static: Full-Body Lock," he said, not even trying to keep the gloating out of his voice. Before Kriesh could even stand, she felt her entire body freeze in place.
"Now," said Ripper delicately, "what should I do to you first?" He padded closer, slowly, swaying slightly as he neared the completely paralyzed Kriesh. "Maybe I'll take one of your eyes. Or your talons. Or maybe one of your precious wings." His teeth flared with Electric energy. Kriesh glared at him; it was all she could really do at present.
"Yes, that sounds nice." Ripper looked at Kriesh's right wing, outstretched in mid-beat. "You might want to brace yourself. This might be a little bit painful."
"Get off her! Storm Blade!"
A powerful blast of Rock energy slammed into Ripper's side, hurling him away from Kriesh with a startled yelp. At once Kriesh felt the paralysis around her fade; she quickly looked around and saw Connie's Tyranitar, looking more injured than she'd ever seen him. His entire body was pockmarked with bites and blast marks, but fury glinted in his eyes and his body was tensed, ready to continue the fight.
Of course. He's got Rest. He's not even feeling the pain - he can keep going until his body simply gives out.
"Anything I should know?" Tyranitar growled.
"He's reliant on Electric energy," Kriesh replied. "Don't let him touch you."
"Static, then? Good to know. Storm Quake!"
Ripper rolled to his feet, eyes wide. "No!" he roared furiously, punctuating the cry with a Thunder Release aimed at Kriesh. Tyranitar swiftly summoned another Storm Blade and flung it forwards, intercepting the Electric-type attack. The Storm Quake slammed straight into Ripper; the Manectric hadn't even tried to dodge. He was thrown backwards yet again.
Again Ripper rolled to his feet, looking haggard. He screamed again, this time wordlessly, a strangled noise of unmitigated rage. A Thunder Blast emanated from his body.
"Sniper: Beam Impact!"
"Storm Beam!"
Tyranitar and Kriesh both fired Hyper Beams into the center of the Thunder Blast, dispersing it in an electric explosion. Once again Ripper barely seemed to register the attacks were coming, for he didn't even try to dodge; the two Hyper Beams struck him, one in the face and the other in the side. The Manectric flew like a ragdoll, impacting against the opposite wall and tumbling to the ground.
Somehow he scrambled to his feet yet again, though his entire body was trembling with the effort of standing. "How dare you?" Ripper roared. "How dare you take this from me?"
"How dare I?" Tyranitar snarled. He hurled himself at Ripper, a Storm Quake rippling out from his foot as he lunged. In that moment, some clarity seemed to come back to Ripper; he attempted to leap out of the way, but the Storm Quake caught him midleap and sent him tumbling across the ground. With shocking speed for such a ponderous Pokemon, Tyranitar leaped forwards, grasping Ripper around the neck and lifting him up.
"I don't know who you are," Tyranitar growled. "And to be honest, I don't care. All I know is you're trying to hurt an ally of mine. And that's not something I tolerate."
Ripper gasped, eyes bugging out, desperately trying to breathe as Tyranitar's claws clamped tighter around his throat.
Tyranitar turned back towards Kriesh. "What do you want me to do with him?"
But before Kriesh could even open her beak to answer, Ripper's head snapped downwards. His mouth opened, and a powerful blast of Electric energy shot from his jaws right into Tyranitar's face. Tyranitar let out an agonized roar, stumbling backwards and dropping Ripper roughly onto the ground. Ripper lay where he was for a moment, glaring hatefully at Kriesh, but this time survival instincts seemed to trump his anger, and he turned and ran, stumbling slightly as he hurtled out of the room.
Tyranitar fell to hands and knees, snarling in rage and pain. Kriesh swiftly moved to his side. "You all right?"
"Yeah," Tyranitar grunted, but Kriesh wasn't fooled. His body was shaking, electricity was still crackling all across the right side of his face, and there was a noticeable strain in his voice as he struggled to stand.
"Thanks for the save," said Kriesh. "But do yourself a favor and stay down. Any more fighting and no amount of Resting is gonna keep you up."
Tyranitar nodded reluctantly. "You good to keep fighting?"
"I've got some gas left in the tank," said Kriesh.
Tyranitar smirked. "Go get them," he growled, and then allowed himself to collapse, breathing heavily as he lay on the stone floor.
With one last look at the behemoth, Kriesh took to the air, scanning the sky for Serena's Altaria and Faba's Crobat. She spotted them quickly, Altaria clearly flagging under Crobat's swift bombardment.
Kriesh let out a piercing shriek and dove straight for Crobat, all worries about Ripper departing her mind as she lunged back into the fray.
Trevenant racked their brain for some kind of miracle way of beating Jellicent. They could throw Shadow Balls, sure, but they weren't experienced enough with the technique to do multiple in quick succession, and Jellicent would simply be able to deflect them with his Water Barriers. And it was Trevenant's only real ranged technique that wasn't shut down by Taunt. Leech Seed, Curse, Will-O-Wisp, even summoning vine defenses with Ingrain, all were useless; it wasn't that Trevenant couldn't think about using them, but every time they began to access the techniques, their mind simply refused to obey as thoughts of just attacking Jellicent swamped their brain, preventing them from accessing the energy required to perform the techniques.
It didn't help that Trevenant couldn't tear their eyes away from Shiftry and Scrafty. The two Dark-types were clearly beginning to lose consciousness as the lack of air overtook them. Jellicent was simply watching, one eye locked on the drowning Dark-types while the other remained on Trevenant, flaring with Dark energy as Jellicent kept Trevenant under the effect of Taunt.
Wait. I can't summon vine defenses…but can I use those vines offensively? Would that work?
Trevenant narrowed their eyes and attempted to concentrate, trying to will their vines to snake under the stone floor and erupt from the ground underneath Jellicent. Grass Knot. Trevenant's mind flashed back to the technique; how long had it been since Marcus taught it to them? It had been just after Ramos's Gym…just before the attack of the vicious Absol. Betrayer-Of-Kin, Trevenant recalled Serena's Absol had called it.
It had always been a little confusing. Trevenant had liked Grass Knot at first, but in practice, once Ingrain was set up, Growth was always more versatile. Now, though, all that mattered was that Growth was blocked by Taunt, and Grass Knot wasn't.
Unfortunately, Jellicent saw the attack coming just in time. "Water Barrier!" Jellicent gurgled, deflecting the surge of vines that attempted to come at him from under. Slowly, Jellicent began to rise into the air, higher and higher. Trevenant summoned another Grass Knot, but the vines simply could not reach far enough, barely skimming the tips of Jellicent's tentacles as the Water/Ghost-type floated upwards.
"Nice try," Jellicent mocked. "You know what? You've actually proven to be a bit of an annoyance. So I'm just going to have to finish you off now."
A Shadow Ball flew from Jellicent's body, much bigger and stronger than anything Trevenant could utilize. And with Taunt still up, there was no way to defend, not even with Growth. Trevenant flinched as the Shadow Ball slammed into his stomach, pain erupting all along his midsection.
Jellicent chuckled. "I wonder how many it will take. Two? Three? If you survive more than three, I'll be quite impressed." Another Shadow Ball was formed and fired, and once again Trevenant had no defense. Agony threatened to overwhelm Trevenant; they couldn't even do anything to shield themselves, suspended in their watery prison as they were.
But through it all, Trevenant only had eyes for Scrafty and Shiftry, their bodies slowly slackening. Trevenant forced all their willpower into the Grass Knot. The grasping vines were the only shot they had left. The vines began to shudder as Trevenant concentrated on them, rising upwards first a quarter-inch, then a half-inch, then an inch, then two.
What happened next was hard to describe, really. It was as if one moment Trevenant was straining, desperately yearning to push the vines of Grass Knot just a tiny bit farther, the faint flicker of hope dwindling fast. The next, it was as if a sudden realization had come to Trevenant. A memory, one of a power that Trevenant instinctively knew how to use, but one that Trevenant knew had not existed up until this point.
It was as if that power had always been there. Waiting for him to finally access it.
Harvest.
The vines surged upwards. Jellicent, in the midst of forming a third Shadow Ball, had taken his victory for granted; what few wisps of a Water Barrier he could form were ripped away in an instant, the water scattered into a thousand individual droplets as a towering cluster of vines nearly three feet thick slammed into Jellicent, sending the Water/Ghost-type flying into the air. The watery prison receded from around Trevenant, crumbling into a puddle of water around their ingrained vines. Scrafty and Shiftry burst out of their prisons, choking and spewing water from their lungs, crumpling to the floor, unable to do much of anything but take in deep breaths.
Jellicent managed to right himself before he hit the ground. "Are you serious?" the Water/Ghost-type growled, showing genuine anger for the first time. "I create a perfect trap, account for all the possibilities…and you unlock your damn Ability? How in Distortion am I supposed to deal with this?"
Trevenant shrugged. "I dunno. Doesn't seem like my problem. Shadow Ball."
Unfortunately, Jellicent was quick enough on the uptake to deflect the Shadow Ball with a Water Barrier. The Water/Ghost-type hurled himself forwards, lunging around the side of the massive vine with a Shadow Ball of his own primed. "Just die!" Jellicent gurgled furiously, flinging the Shadow Ball at Trevenant.
"Harvest!" Another massive vine burst through the floor, intercepting and dispersing the Shadow Ball. At Trevenant's command, the vine twisted, its Grass energy-wreathed form grasping at Jellicent.
But Jellicent was far from out of the fight. "Water Absorb: Energy Manipulation." A similarly massive tentacle of Water energy flew from Jellicent's body, slamming into the vine and ripping it to shreds. Trevenant quickly summoned two more, but Jellicent responded with ease, a massive shield of Water energy forming around Jellicent's body that deflected the two vines away from the Water/Ghost-type.
"Fool!" Jellicent cried. "I have complete control over Water energy! All you can do is grow plants! My greater experience makes my Ability stronger than yours! I still win! So just. Give. Up! Water Tsunami!" An utterly massive wave of Water energy flew from Jellicent, rising ten feet into the air, curling over as it came down towards Trevenant.
"Leaf Blade!"
Jellicent let out a scream of pain as Shiftry darted in from out of nowhere and slashed a deep cut into his side. Bereft of his manipulation, the Water Tsunami collapsed short of Trevenant. "Harvest!" Trevenant cried, raising a wall of vines between them and the oncoming flood; the vines bent but held, and the Water energy dissipated against the improvised barrier.
Jellicent managed to deflect another slash from Shiftry with a Water Barrier, but the enraged Shiftry wasn't about to let Jellicent escape her reach. She slashed again and again, Grass and Dark energy playing up and down her arms as Jellicent staggered under the barrage of blows.
"Stop it!" Jellicent screamed. "Water Absorb: Energy Manipulation!"
A blast of Water energy flew from Jellicent's side, snaked around, and wrapped around Shiftry's legs. The Grass/Dark-type toppled to the ground, snarling obscenities. Jellicent began to form a blast of Ice energy in his tentacles. "Now-"
And that was when Scrafty leaped in from Jellicent's other side and drove a Dark energy-enhanced fist into Jellicent. The Water/Ghost-type-staggered under the strike, the coil around Shiftry's ankles disappearing; quickly, Shiftry rolled to her feet and lunged at Jellicent once more, carving into his body as Scrafty delivered punishing blows from the other side.
Jellicent was strong. He was bulky. He was smart. And Trevenant had to admit that his sheer level of control over Water energy was amazing. But none of that mattered when a pair of melee-focused, decently powerful, and very irritated Dark-types were pounding him with strikes from every conceivable angle. It still took several seconds before Jellicent finally collapsed, a dual strike from Shiftry and Scrafty toppling the Water/Ghost-type to the floor, where he lay motionless.
"Oh, thank Arceus that's over." Shiftry staggered, throwing out a hand to stop herself from falling altogether.
Trevenant grinned despite the pain they could still feel in their chest from the two powerful Shadow Balls Jellicent had hit them with. So. I've got my Ability now. Growing plants. That's cool. Not sure about the full extent of it yet, though…
I guess I'll have to test it out more later. After this is over.
"Flame Storm!"
"Sketch! Own Tempo!"
"Farceur: Imitateur!"
Three separate volleys of Fire energy-formed pellets flew through the air. "Sketch! Own Tempo! Dark Surge!" Smeargle cried, swishing his tail through the air. Liepard and Houndoom's dual Flame Storms overpowered Smeargle's, only to be blown away by the blast of Dark energy Smeargle unleashed.
"Farceur: Imitateur!" Liepard responded with her own Dark Surge, once again stalemating Smeargle's. "Sketch! Own Tempo! Close Combat!" Smeargle unexpectedly lunged, plowing straight through the colliding, dissipating Dark Surges, his body glowing with Fighting energy as he leaped straight for Liepard.
"Tranche Ventouse!" Liepard lunged forwards, driving a swift Dark energy-enhanced paw straight into Smeargle's midsection. Smeargle gasped at the hit, but even as Liepard's blow hit home Smeargle's Fighting energy-enhanced body slammed into her, sending her flying from the supereffective attack.
"Flame Surge!"
"Sketch! Teleport!"
Smeargle blinked out of the way of Houndoom's torrent of flames, reappearing behind Houndoom. "Sketch! Own Tempo! Mach Punch!" Houndoom staggered under the supereffective hit. "Dark Jaws!" he snarled, but Smeargle simply teleported out of the way again.
As he reappeared, Liepard lunged straight for him. "Farceur! Aider: Houndoom!"
"Sketch! Own Tempo! Assist - wait, what?"
Smeargle's confusion lasted for about half a second before Liepard's Assisted Poison Tongue slammed into him, hurling the Normal-type backwards. "Sketch! Recover!" Smeargle growled as he skidded to a halt; Liepard sighed in irritation as she saw his wounds closing, the healing technique revitalizing him.
"How many techniques does this guy know?" Houndoom growled.
"From the looks of it, we'll have to be prepared for anything," Liepard responded. "Luckily for us, I can copy anything he throws at me." Suddenly, a thought came to her. "Sketch is a move, right?"
"From the looks of it, yeah," said Houndoom.
"Then let's try this," Liepard said. "Farceur: Raillerie."
Dark energy flared around Liepard, and Smeagle's healing abruptly stopped. The Normal-type twisted to glare at Liepard. "You…gaaaahhhh! Own Tempo! Flame Tongue!"
"Farceur: Imitateur!" Scowling, Liepard deflected the Flame Tongue with her own. "Guess that didn't work."
"He'd already Sketched several moves," Houndoom growled. "From what I can tell, you've stopped him from accessing any more from his arsenal."
"So he's limited to the ones he's already used in this battle," said Liepard.
"Yeah, and Taunt also locks him out of Teleport and Recover," Houndoom pointed out.
Liepard sighed. "Je peux travailler avec ça. Poursuite."
"Poison Tongue!" Houndoom joined her, both firing off attacks that Smeargle hadn't yet copied. Unfortunately, Smeargle retaliated with an Own Tempo-boosted Dark Surge, batting the attacks away, and then launched a similarly-strengthened Flame Storm at Liepard, who barely dodged in time.
"Solar Surge!" Houndoom bellowed, his Power Herb flashing.
"Own Tempo! Flame Surge!"
"Farceur: Imitateur!"
Facing a copy of itself plus Houndoom's Solar Surge, Smeargle's copied attack couldn't withstand the barrage. Smeargle was caught by the dissipating energies and thrown backwards; again he managed to roll to his feet, but this time no Recover was forthcoming, his healing shut off by Taunt.
Liepard expected Houndoom to lunge with another attack. But instead his eyes were towards his left. Liepard followed his gaze and saw something she recalled noticing earlier; Faba's Kecleon, Shadow Sneaking between various duplicates and firing attacks into a sphere of darkness.
"That's Drapion in there," Houndoom whispered.
A chill ran through Liepard's blood. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I can see everyone else," Houndoom growled. "Go help him. I'll hold Smeargle off."
"Without my Taunt, he'll destroy you," Liepard warned.
"I know," Houndoom retorted. "But you stay here, Drapion goes down. And Arceus willing, I can hold Smeargle off long enough for you to finish up over there. Okay?"
Liepard nodded swiftly. "Bonne chance," she said, and then twisted and lunged straight for Kecleon.
"Pierce!" Drapion snarled, but once again the attack didn't seem to hit anything, and a blast of Electric energy to his other side knocked him down. Quickly, Drapion attempted to scramble to his feet, but was thrown to the ground yet again by a burst of Rock energy to his hindquarters.
"Block!" he snarled, hoping the next attack would come from his left so he could get a bit of breathing room. Unfortunately the attack drove into his face, drawing blood, and the left-facing Protect dissipated uselessly.
He could feel his entire body aching now, his stamina draining as attack after attack licked at his chitinous defenses. His mind flew to the rest of the team. What would they do? Medicham had her instinctive Aura Avoidance to dodge attacks even when blinded; Cloyster could just shower spikes everywhere with Skill Link; Houndoom had his Dark Surge to hit everything around him. So many members of the team had ways out of this.
But not him. Not in this situation.
"You're pathetic, you know that?"
"You will always be a failure!"
"Insignificant weakling!"
"Damn…it…" Drapion forced himself to stand again. There was no way he was just going to lie down and let Kecleon finish him. He'd keep fighting for as long as he could stand.
"No Escape! Pierce!" Drapion fired the Pursuit in one direction and the Pin Missile in the other, hoping to somehow hit Kecleon.
But something else hit Kecleon before either attack could.
"Eloignez-vous de lui! Tranche Vicieuse!"
Kecleon grunted in pain. The darkness faded away in an instant as Kecleon lost concentration; through narrowed eyes Drapion saw Liepard lashing out with swift blows, dueling Kecleon with shocking speed. Kecleon's illusions were gone, his concentration on them shattered as well, but even by himself, Kecleon seemed to be matching Liepard's speed as they traded blows at a pace Drapion could never hope to match.
Suddenly, the block letters appeared in the air over Kecleon's head.
COLOR CHANGE: COLOR SPRAY.
Liepard flinched, staggering backwards, and Kecleon took full advantage of the opening, slamming her in the face with a textbook left hook. Clearly Liepard had been blinded in the same way Drapion had earlier, and this time Drapion could see what it was; a layer of black across both her eyes, enshrouding her vision like an energy-formed blindfold.
Drapion pushed aside any dislike he had for Liepard. At this point, he'd take any sort of help if it meant beating this stupid Kecleon. "Blast!" he snarled. Kecleon whirled, deflecting the X-shaped blast with a Protect; with Liepard blinded, Kecleon lunged for Drapion, fist drawn back.
"Liepard!" Drapion snarled. "Use Pursuit!"
"Poursuite!" Liepard was quick on the uptake, firing off a flurry of seeking rays that Kecleon was unprepared for. Drapion lunged forwards at the same time, massive arms reaching. Kecleon's response was a Shadow Sneak, attempting to evade both attacks, but he miscalculated the trajectory of Liepard's attack; one of the Pursuit rays slammed into him as he rematerialized, knocking him right into one of Drapion's arms.
Drapion gleefully obliged. "Battle Armor! Slam!" A club-like arm, reinforced by chitin, slammed into the side of Kecleon's face. Blood sprayed from Kecleon's mouth as he was sent flying by the powerful strike. Liepard's vision cleared; hissing in rage, she lunged for Kecleon as he rolled across the ground. "Tranche Ventouse!"
COLOR CHANGE: COLOR DRAIN.
As Kecleon rolled to his feet, all of the color began to drain from his body, fading into nothingness as it spread through the air. The color drained from his face, then his body, then his legs, until there was nothing but a faint black outline of Kecleon in midair; then the black was gone as well, and Kecleon was completely invisible.
Drapion was unsurprised to see Liepard's strike whiff, hitting only empty air. "No Escape!" Drapion snarled, but a burst of Distortion indicated that Kecleon had used Shadow Sneak to evade the seeking rays. Another burst of Distortion arose right next to Drapion, and a swift fist drove into his side. At the beginning of this fight, Drapion would have laughed off an attack like that; now it struck a point where a few of Kecleon's ranged attacks had landed earlier, and his entire side screamed in pain as Drapion staggered under the hit.
"Tail!" But the attack whiffed once again. This is absurd! How many different ways does this Kecleon have to avoid attacks?
"Drapion!" Liepard cried. "I have an idea! Cover me!"
"What do ya mean-"
"Farceur: Raillerie!"
Abruptly Drapion heard the pattering of feet on the stone floor as Kecleon changed course, hurling himself at Liepard. He was still invisible, but he was clearly aiming straight for Liepard, driven by what was definitely a Taunt.
Which meant he was facing away from Drapion.
"No Escape!"
With Taunt preventing any defense, Kecleon had no way to react. And his current invisibility didn't fool the seeking rays of Pursuit. As they impacted, Kecleon rematerialized, his color control once more undone by the damage dealt.
"Tranche Vicieuse!"
And in that moment when Kecleon was staggering from the Pursuit barrage, Liepard lunged. One strike drove into Kecleon's face, another into his stomach, and Kecleon doubled over, barely able to keep his footing. Drapion hurled himself forwards just as Liepard went in for a third strike. Kecleon managed to muster a Protect, deflecting the strike, but Drapion came on faster than Kecleon had expected.
"Rend!"
Kecleon gasped as Drapion's claws drove into his midsection, grasping him around the waist. "This ends now!" Drapion snarled, rearing up and slamming Kecleon down onto the stone floor. COLOR CHANGE: COLOR SPRAY. In a flash Drapion was blinded again; in that same instant he felt Kecleon's body depart his claws, propelled by a Shadow Sneak.
"Farceur: Imitateur. Tranche Vicieuse."
Drapion heard a wet thud and an agonized grunt from Kecleon. His vision cleared, and now he saw Liepard standing over Kecleon's fallen form, one paw on the back of his head.
Liepard turned to face Drapion, smirking. "Well, that was fun. Don't you agree, mon ami?"
"Save it," Drapion growled. "We've got more fighting to do."
"Drapion, you can barely stand," Liepard pointed out. "I have more fighting to do. You stay here. Keep yourself safe."
Drapion glared at Liepard, but the aching of his body brought him back to reality. He sighed furiously. "Fine."
"Merci," said Liepard. She flashed a small smile at Drapion, and then she was off, lunging out of view. Sighing again, Drapion sat down heavily, allowing his body to finally rest a bit.
Smeargle chuckled as Liepard rushed towards Kecleon, the Taunt disappearing from around him. "Well, then. Looks like your friend's abandoned you."
Houndoom didn't dignify Smeargle's words with a response. Rather, he crouched, readying himself for further combat. He held no illusions about his chances. His toolkit consisted exclusively of attacking moves, moves that Smeargle could simply copy and enhance at will.
But at the very least he could stall Smeargle for a little bit. Hopefully, long enough for Liepard and Drapion to finish off Kecleon.
"Sketch! Own Tempo! Earthquake!" Smeargle slammed his tail into the stone floor, sending a wave of Ground energy rippling towards Houndoom. Scowling, Houndoom returned fire with a Dark Surge; the Dark-type attack proved sufficient to blunt the Earthquake, even if it didn't disperse it outright.
"Sketch! Teleport!" Smeargle blinked right next to Houndoom. "Sketch! Own Tempo! Close Combat!"
As soon as he saw Smeargle teleport, though, Houndoom made a mighty leap forwards. Smeargle's Fighting-type attack barely grazed the fur of his hindquarters as he leaped, landing smoothly on the floor where Smeargle had just been.
"Sketch! Own Tempo! Extreme Speed!"
In the next second Smeargle slammed bodily into Houndoom's flank, knocking him down with the sheer force of the blow. "Flame Tongue!" Houndoom spat, twisting on the ground to face Smeargle.
"Sketch! Own Tempo! Flame Tongue!"
Smeargle's copied flames overpowered Houndoom's, and the stronger Flame Tongue licked uncomfortably at Houndoom's fur as he rose. "Come on, you have nothing that can hit me," Smeargle growled. "Just give up. Why are you even keeping this fight going?"
Houndoom crouched again, readying himself for another attack.
Smeargle suddenly smirked. "Ah. I get it…you're stalling me. Waiting until your friends are freed up to come help you. Well, then, let's make this quick. Sketch! Teleport!"
Before Houndoom could react, Smeargle was right in front of him. "Sketch! Own Tempo! Extreme Speed!" Another powerful blow knocked Houndoom backwards.
"Sketch! Own Tempo! Close Combat!" Smeargle covered the distance between them in a flash. Houndoom had scarcely begun to rise when the powerful Fighting-type attack slammed into his face. This time Houndoom flew a good five feet backwards; he hit the ground with a huff of pain. His entire body and his face was afire with it; he wasn't sure if he could take another hit like that.
"Flame Surge!" Houndoom roared, hoping somehow that Smeargle might have been caught off balance by the quick flurry of attacks. But it was not to be. "Sketch! Own Tempo! Flame Surge!"
A wall of roaring flame erupted from Smeargle, dwarfing Houndoom's own Flame Surge, swallowing it in an instant as it roared towards Houndoom. "Flame Surge!" Houndoom roared again, the strain of using the powerful attack twice in a row setting his body to aching even more. But it was enough to blunt Smeargle's more powerful Flame Surge.
"Sketch! Own Tempo! Flame Surge!"
This time the wall was even larger, nearly ten feet high as it ripped through Houndoom's Flame Surge and arced down onto Houndoom. Houndoom swiftly glanced around, searching for Liepard, only to see her and Drapion still fighting Kecleon, neither side felled yet.
He'd stalled Smeargle for as long as he could. It hadn't been enough.
The flames slammed into Houndoom, but the pain never came.
Instead, something in his mind snapped, like the lock of a gate breaking, revealing knowledge Houndoom instinctively understood. Fire energy flared around his body as he tapped into this new power - this Ability - seizing Smeargle's titanic Flame Surge and bending it to his will.
"Flash Fire," Houndoom snarled, and with a simple push he sent the Flame Surge careening back at Smeargle.
"Sketch! Own Tempo! Flame Surge!" Smeargle clearly had no idea what was going on; he'd likely just assumed that Houndoom had managed to muster a third Flame Surge. This new copied Flame Surge was so high that it nearly licked the ceiling, a tower of roaring flames that began to collapse onto Houndoom as soon as they were formed.
"Flash Fire!" Houndoom roared. His mind screamed under the stress of manipulating this amount of Fire energy, but he forced the command through regardless. The tower of flames changed course, melding with the Fire energy already rushing towards Smeargle. From the widening of his eyes, Smeargle had finally figured it out. But shock paralyzed him for a crucial second. When he finally began calling out a Teleport, it was too late.
"Sketch! Teleaaaaaaaaaaaggggggghhhhhh!"
Smeargle's scream disappeared in the roar of the flames as a sound like an explosion ripped through the room. Houndoom was aware of several eyes on him, entire battles momentarily paused just to watch the tower of flames fall upon Smeargle. The flash of a Pokeball - one of Faba's - was the only thing that disrupted the flames; the remainder crashed uselessly to the floor, dispersing as they touched the stone until the rumbling faded and the last of the flames dissipated, leaving empty space in their wake.
Houndoom got off a last satisfied grin before the physical and mental pain overcame him and he collapsed to the ground, plunging headlong into unconsciousness with a smile on his face.
In the midst of the pain that wracked Medicham's mind, the fear of Bringer-Of-Visions seizing her body, and the desperation that fueled her struggles, one thought burst forth over all, one desperate move that Medicham knew a powerful Psychic like Hypno would see coming. And yet she had no other choice.
Psychic Retribution.
Incredibly, Hypno didn't seem to notice. The Psychic power continued to rip at Medicham's mind, a chuckle coming from the facsimile of Bringer-Of-Visions. The realization hit Medicham that Hypno had gotten overconfident. He believed the battle was already won.
It was only when Medicham began to glow white that he realized something was wrong. And to his credit, it seemed that he immediately recognized the move, for Bringer-Of-Visions abruptly disappeared, reappearing some distance away from Medicham as a Protect formed in front of her body.
Psychic Retribution lanced out from Medicham and slammed into the Protect with a colossal explosion of noise. Medicham leaped to her feet, recognizing she'd only get one shot at this. Fear still clutched at her but she forced it back; she knew that wasn't Bringer-Of-Visions. After all, Bringer-Of-Visions had told her on the ferry that she wouldn't be at Aether Paradise.
It was just an illusion. An illusion capable of replicating Bringer-Of-Visions' techniques, but an illusion nonetheless.
But that didn't changed the fact that if she didn't do something, Hypno would just knock her down again and get back to draining her mind and stamina. Even as Medicham charged, her mind was aching and her body wasn't doing much better. "Pure Power: Aura Finisher!" Medicham cried, hurling herself forwards in a flying kick.
But even as she lunged towards the facsimile of Bringer-Of-Visions, it began to fade away in a Teleport. Time seemed to slow as hope drained from Medicham's heart. There was no way she could hit Hypno before the facsimile went on the attack again. An attack Medicham couldn't hope to match.
Or could she?
Even as she landed on the ground, hearing the sound of rematerialization behind her, her mind flew back to a conversation from what felt like a lifetime ago.
You've always been quite adaptive. Making use of your impressive repertoire of attacks, forming plans on the fly to overcome seemingly impossible odds. What happened to that improvisation?
Hatred pulsed through Medicham at the thought of Darkrai, but she knew the advice was accurate. She'd been relying on her Aura again. If she'd been able to improvise with Psychic Retribution to break free of Hypno's trap, then what was stopping her from improvising a solution to this?
The thought of using Psychic Retribution again came to her. But then Hypno could just repeat the same chain of moves, doing a little damage each time until Medicham fell. No, there had to be something else.
Something faster.
Bullet Punch. A priority move. Made to lessen the speed gap between slower and faster Pokemon.
It's worth a shot.
"Bullet Strike!" Medicham spun, her Steel energy-wreathed fist lashing out with impossible speed. The facsimile couldn't react in time; Bringer-Of-Visions' body had scarcely begun to flare with a Detect when Medicham's Bullet Strike drove right through its face and into Hypno's with a satisfying crunch. Hypno staggered as the facsimile of Bringer-Of-Visions faded from view. "You…" Hypno snarled, clutching his pendant in one hand and his bleeding nose with the other. "I'll kill you for that! Dream Dust!"
"Aura Avoidance!" Medicham lunged straight for Hypno. "Bullet Strike!"
Once more Hypno teleported, phasing out of Medicham's attack and rematerializing behind her. As Medicham spun to face Hypno, she spotted Seeker-Of-Endings leaping in from the side; so did Hypno, who twisted to swing his pendant, enhanced with Fighting energy, at the oncoming Absol. But the Herald swiftly ducked with a Detect and rammed a Dark energy-infused horn straight into Hypno's stomach. Hypno howled in pain, teleporting reflexively; he reappeared right in front of Medicham, eyes wild and furious.
"Aura Strike!" Medicham cried, but Hypno's pendant, infused with Psychic energy, arced into Medicham's fist, knocking it away. Hypno twisted, swinging his pendant like a flail towards Medicham's left side. But Medicham was swift enough to block the pendant, knocking it away; Hypno twisted again, lashing out in a wide arc that Medicham dodged with a swift Detect. Hypno descended into a flurry of furious swipes with his pendant, wielding it with shocking power; Medicham hadn't expected him to be so proficient in physical fighting, but she managed to deftly deflect or dodge each strike, the Aura around her fists protecting them from any harm caused by punching the fast-moving metal pendant.
Seeker-Of-Endings leaped in from behind, but Hypno teleported away once again in response, appearing behind Seeker-Of-Endings. Anger filled Hypno's expression as a blast of Fighting energy formed in his hand and was flung at Seeker-Of-Endings. The Herald dodged it fairly easily with Detect, but even as he did so Medicham charged straight for Hypno once more. "Bullet Strike!"
"Zen Slam!"
Hypno lunged forwards, lowering the crown of his head; it flared with Psychic energy as he slammed headfirst into Medicham's oncoming fist. His pendant swung around and cracked into Medicham's side, sending her staggering. "Dream Dust!" Hypno cried, and Medicham couldn't muster a Detect in time; she was thrown backwards, landing on the ground some five feet away; she managed to force away the unconsciousness that threatened to overcome her. No. It's not time yet.
Any attempt by Hypno to follow up was forestalled by a Pursuit fired by Seeker-Of-Endings that necessitated another Teleport. This time Hypno appeared right in front of Seeker-Of-Endings. "Insomnia!" he cried, and Seeker-Of-Endings staggered, whimpering, at whatever illusion Hypno summoned. "No…no…get away from me…"
Medicham steeled her nerves. Whatever Seeker-Of-Endings was so scared of, it wasn't affecting Medicham in any way. She rose, firing a swift Aura Blast at Hypno; evidently Hypno had assumed Medicham was finished, for he was completely unprepared for the strike. He staggered, and Seeker-Of-Endings shook his head, a snarl escaping his throat.
"Hypno!"
It only now occurred to Medicham that she hadn't heard Faba give a single order in this fight. A second later she remembered that most of Faba's Pokemon were Psychics; of course he'd be giving his orders Psychically. But this order he'd chosen to deliver out loud; Medicham's eyes flicked over to the Aether Branch Chief in time to see him raise a purple-glowing crystal into the air. "Finish that Medicham off!"
Hypno teleported right next to Medicham; Medicham didn't even have time to throw a Bullet Strike before a massive wave of Psychic power froze her in place. Hypno began to rise into the air, Psychic energy - no, this was Mind, a shocking amount of it - gathering around him.
The realization hit Medicham that this was a Z-Move, of the same kind she'd seen Nanu's Alolan Persian use. Hypno glared at the frozen Medicham, raising his pendant high. "Shattered Psyche!" he bellowed, and Medicham closed her eyes, bracing herself for the onslaught of Mind.
"NO!"
It didn't come; Medicham flashed one eye open just in time to see Seeker-Of-Endings hurling himself between her and Hypno. A massive blast of Mind, titanic enough to obscure Hypno from view, lanced out from the Psychic-type's body, but it didn't matter how much energy was involved or how powerful the energy was: without Miracle Eye, no amount of Psychic power could break through a Dark-type's natural immunity.
Hypno let out a scream of rage as he saw his Shattered Psyche dissipate uselessly against Seeker-Of-Endings. The Herald twisted to face Hypno and lunged, horn ablaze with Dark energy; winded from the effort it had taken to unleash the Z-Move, Hypno couldn't muster a Teleport in time.
Seeker-Of-Endings slashed his horn across Hypno's stomach, from his right shoulder to his left hip. Blood sprayed and Hypno howled, toppling to the ground and cradling his stomach. Seeker-Of-Endings landed on the ground, keeping his body between Medicham and Hypno, but before Hypno could get up, Faba's Pokeball flashed and he disappeared.
Bereft of his opponent, Seeker-Of-Endings turned to face Medicham. "Need some help?" he asked, offering a paw.
"I'm good, thanks." The words automatically left Medicham's mouth; she was halfway through standing before it dawned on her that she'd just thanked a Herald.
She sighed irritatedly. "Let's go see how the others are doing," she suggested. "Help anyone who needs help."
"Sure." Seeker-Of-Endings turned and dashed off towards the bulk of the fighting. Pushing back the physical and mental pain - that could wait until later, her team needed her now - Medicham lunged after him, Aura flaring around her body as she ran.
Around him, Cloyster could see that the fight was swinging in their favor. One by one, Faba's Pokemon were falling and being recalled by the Aether Branch Chief, who was clearly growing more and more nervous with each defeat. Most of the time they were taking at least one Pokemon with them, but against four-on-one odds, one-for-one trades weren't going to cut it for Faba's team.
Sadly, the vast majority of Theo and Serena's teams were still locked in their battles, and fully half of Connie's team was out of the fight, the other half caught in a duel against Faba's extremely fast and evasive Gengar. Cloyster could see Kriesh and Serena's Altaria working together against Faba's Crobat, unleashing flurry after flurry of ranged attacks that were forcing the Poison/Flying-type onto the defensive. He could see Medicham and Seeker-Of-Endings rushing towards the fighting, their opponent defeated. He could see Faba's few remaining Pokemon struggling as even more opponents joined the fray against them.
Malamar looked around warily. "Siht tn'seod kool doog," he muttered. Cloyster watched the Dark/Psychic-type warily. Cacturne had finally fallen, Malamar's Fighting-type attacks too much for him. And Cloyster knew that there was no way he could take Malamar alone.
But at this rate, it didn't look like he was going to have to.
Malamar was barely paying attention to Cloyster; he remained silent, and Cloyster assumed he was having some sort of Psychic conversation with somebody. Across the way, he could see Faba nodding reluctantly.
The Aether Branch Chief swiftly raised his remaining empty Pokeballs and recalled the few of his Pokemon still fighting. Cloyster's eyes flicked towards the docks in time to see Alakazam release his Psychic hold on the Trainers before he, too, was recalled.
Faba shot a glare at the four Dark-type Trainers. "All right, you've beaten me," he said. "But I'm far from the last line of defense. Your teams are shattered and broken. And even now your Alolan friends are losing to Type: Full. I suggest you run while you still can."
With those parting words, Faba turned and bolted from the room.
A ragged cheer arose from the conscious Pokemon, but as Cloyster looked around, quickly scanning the area, his heart dropped at the sight of so many fallen friends. Drapion, Pangoro, Houndoom, Tyranitar, Scrafty, Shiftry, Cacturne, Weavile, Meowstic, and Delphox were all in various states ranging from unconscious to barely conscious, and most of the rest looked only a little ways off from that. None of the Pokemon who had taken part in the fight were anything near fresh.
Faba was right. They might have won the battle, but the victory had been pyrrhic in every sense of the word.
The Trainers swiftly rushed into the midst of the room, recalling their fallen Pokemon. Theo raced back into the still-docked ferry and came out with an armful of Potions, which the Trainers at once began spraying onto their Pokemon. Cloyster accepted a Potion from Marcus, but he wasn't really paying attention to it; instead, his focus was on the conversation the four Trainers were having as they moved through the room.
"Faba's right," Connie admitted. "We ain't got the power to get through another battle like that."
"But we can't just leave!" Serena protested. "Not without Lillie!"
"Serena," said Theo, "even if Elio, Hau, and Gladion somehow do beat Type: Full, their teams will be about as ravaged as ours are now. And we'll still have all of Team Skull, including Plumeria and Guzma, to deal with, and on top of all that, I highly doubt Lusamine's a slouch in battle herself."
"No, she isn't, I saw her during the fight with Nihilego." Serena's shoulders slumped. "But there has to be something we can do…"
Marcus sighed frustratedly. "Connie and Theo are right," he said reluctantly. "It was one thing to be fighting just Team Skull. But facing Team Skull and Aether…I think we have to accept that we're outmatched here. We need to find the Alolans and get them out of here."
"But what about Lillie?" Serena asked.
"We'll call Grimsley, the Kahunas, the International Police, anyone and everyone we can," said Marcus as he sprayed Medicham with a Super Potion. "They'll be able to do a lot more than we can. Serena, I'm sorry, but we have to go before our teams get in any more danger."
Serena shook her head, but her expression told Cloyster that she knew Marcus was right. "Okay," she said, nodding slowly. "Let's find the Alolans."
On the plush couch, the figure smiled. "Well done, Faba…well done indeed. You've acquitted yourself nicely. Now all that remains is to see if your trustworthiness is as good as your battling skills."
The figure chuckled softly. "And as for the adversaries…well. For a group of teenagers they conducted themselves admirably. But that one…"
The figure's eyes focused on the tallest figure, moving with something approaching authority as he sprayed his Medicham with a Super Potion.
"…I don't know why. But that one reminds me a little of him."
Next chapter is the end of the Aether Assault arc. Seems a little sudden, I know, but that's because I made my usual error of assuming the fight scenes were going to be a lot shorter than they actually turned out to be. As a result, (and because the second half of the original Aether Assault arc didn't actually have much Aether assaulting in it), I've made the decision to split the original Aether Assault arc into two separate arcs; the actual Aether Assault arc, and another arc whose title will be revealed at the end of the next chapter.