In my original plans, much of the main fight in this chapter was meant to be offscreen, and this chapter as a whole was meant to be part of what will now be the first chapter of the next arc. I'm still not entirely sure whether changing it to be onscreen was the best idea, but the new onscreen-ness of this fight was one of the main reasons I decided to split the Aether Assault Arc in two.
Unlike last chapter, though (which ironically was in my plans from the very beginning), this chapter didn't feel like a slog to write at all.
"I still don't like it," said Dulse.
"Consider this a bit of a field test," said Lusamine.
Lillie shook her head, her gaze horrified as she stared at the security camera feed. "This isn't a test. You could kill those Pokemon!"
"Unlikely," Lusamine retorted without looking back. "Type: Full has been programmed to stop short of killing adversaries. It will cause pain. Perhaps even a few lasting injuries. But none of them will die."
Snowy gazed with equally horrified fascination. Those Pokemon on those screens…she knew those Pokemon, had spoken with them, eaten with them, trained with them. They were her friends.
And here they were, going up against a Legendary-level enemy.
Snowy felt sick as she watched the battle begin. Twenty Pokemon against one. And yet she knew the twenty didn't have a chance.
Tsareena had known Type: Full was powerful. Hau was no liar, and he was also not a weak Trainer; if Type: Full had been able to wipe the floor with his team like that, it had to be strong. And yet it was twenty Pokemon against one. No matter how strong, there was no way Type: Full could win against those odds.
At least that had been what Tsareena had thought. Then Type: Full had launched its first attack, and everything went to Distortion.
Screams erupted from the gathered Pokemon as the colossal wave of Ground energy slammed into them; the lucky few who had Protect instantly summoned the barriers forth, others scrambling to get behind those barriers. Toucannon, Gladion's Crobat and Charizard, and Hau's Noivern lunged forwards, knowing that their Flying typing would protect them from the Ground-type attack. But many of the Pokemon were not as lucky; they braced themselves, some firing attacks into the wave in failed attempts to blunt it, others calling upon defensive techniques to help them brace. Tsareena flared Grass energy across her arms as she crossed them in front of her, hoping her natural resistance would be enough to blunt the impact.
The wave slammed into her, and she felt a moment of weightlessness as it propelled her into the air. The pain hit a second later, searing her arms and chest, and then a few moments afterward her back as she plunged back down to the ground. The wave dissipated, leaving the gathered teams strewn in its wake. Tsareena rolled over slowly, gazing upon the battlefield.
Several Pokemon were already down and unmoving; Incineroar and Lycanroc, two of Elio's strongest team members, were among those several. Hau's Komala, Alolan Raichu, and Crabrawler were also down, as were Gladion's Weavile and Zoroark. So many knocked out already! And only from one attack?
The Trainers quickly called out orders to their Flying-types. "Toucannon, Beak Blast!" Elio called.
"Noivern, Dragon Pulse!" Hau yelled.
"Crobat, distract it! Charizard, burn it!" Gladion ordered.
The four Flying-types lunged at Type: Full, fury in their eyes. Crobat instantly darted straight for Type: Full's face, wings flaring. "Sludge Spit!" A glob of Poison energy flew from Crobat's fangs.
"Skill Link: Beak Barrage!" "Draco Destruction!" "Blaze: Infernal Flames!" Toucannon, Noivern, and Charizard fired their attacks at the same time as Crobat, yearning to overwhelm Type: Full with the multitude of blasts.
"RKS System: Rock Memory. Multi-Attack."
An avalanche of Rock energy-formed projectiles flew from Type: Full, filling the air between it and the four fliers. Tsareena's eyes widened as she saw the oncoming storm of rocks. There must be hundreds in there.
The attacks were intercepted, blunted and dissipated by Type: Full's barrage, and the four fliers had to hurl themselves out of the way of the stream. Crobat managed to launch himself upwards, Toucannon and Noivern to either side, but Charizard was still launching himself to the right when a stray projectile cracked against his wing. Charizard howled as his wing broke under the hit, tumbling ungainly to the ground.
"Porygon-Z, Hyper Beam! Protect him!" Gladion ordered.
"Download: Special. Reduction Beam." Gladion's Porygon-Z lit up with Normal energy and fired a powerful-looking Hyper Beam at Type: Full. "RKS System: Ghost Memory." Type: Full shifted to a dark gray color, and the Hyper Beam passed harmlessly through it as it lunged for the downed Charizard. "Shadow Ball." The roiling mass of Ghost energy was enough to finish off Charizard; the Fire/Flying-type was sent flying, his unconscious body bouncing several times before finally coming to a rest against a nearby ornamental tree.
All that before Tsareena had even managed to get to her feet. How in Distortion is this thing so powerful? Could it be that it's some sort of Legendary?
She had seen it fight Nihilego. But that had been alongside two other fighters, and it had been forced into Explosion by Nihilego's sheer power. So she'd been unprepared, and yet it made sense. To muster this kind of strength, Type: Full would have to be at least Champion-level.
Tsareena's eyes locked on Plumeria and the Team Skull Grunts, who were watching the carnage with open fascination. How could Team Skull have had this in their back pocket all along? Or was this an Aether creation that Team Skull was utilizing?
"Everyone, engage!" Elio commanded. "Use status moves! Shut it down!" Clearly he'd realized that going up against Type: Full in a straight fight was useless. Tsareena rose to her feet, glaring at Type: Full. "Queenly Majesty!" she cried. Other cries joined her as a multitude of Toxics, Thunder Waves, and other status moves soared towards Type: Full.
"Magic Coat."
A shimmering field of Psychic energy formed around Type: Full; all the status moves bounced off, reflected back at their users. Vaporeon staggered under her own Toxic; Porygon stiffened at the touch of its own Thunder Wave; Crobat's wings flailed as his own Confuse Ray blasted him in the face, and he slammed right into the ground with a snarl of pain. Others stumbled all across the battlefield. As for Tsareena's Queenly Majesty, it didn't even seem to affect Type: Full in any way. All it did was attract Type: Full's attention.
"Ice Beam." Almost casually, Type: Full let fly with a jagged blast of Ice energy aimed right at Tsareena. She twisted, intending to leap out of the way, but even as her feet left the ground she realized she wouldn't make it-
"Snow Warning! Aurora Veil!"
-and then Alolan Ninetails was there, a localized snowstorm whirling around her as she summoned a bright blue glowing shield of energy. "Thanks," Tsareena murmured as she twisted back towards the battle just in time to see Type: Full stomp down on the fallen Crobat, knocking him unconscious. The remaining allied Pokemon lunged for Type: Full, and the battle was joined anew.
"I see Type: Full has some upgrades," Zossie noted.
"Yes," said Lusamine. "After we disabled the Type: Full at Geosenge with status moves, I reasoned that such a vulnerability would be too easily exploited."
"True, Necrozma would most likely take full advantage of that vulnerability," said Zossie. "But I worry that the upgrade will make a rogue Type: Full harder to control."
"There will be no such thing," said Lusamine. "Everything related to Type: Full is confined to Aether Paradise. And once this is done, I will ensure that all of it is destroyed."
"Really?" Dulse asked. "I figured you would try and keep them for yourself."
"Like you said," said Lusamine, "a rogue Type: Full would be hard to control. I am not Giovanni. I am not Ghetsis. A human-created Legendary represents too much of a danger to the world. Once this is done, all of the Type: Fulls will be terminated. I will make sure of that myself."
"RKS System: Fighting Memory. Multi-Attack."
Gladion's Lucario and Hau's Tauros were coming at Type: Full from either side; in the next second Tauros was flying backwards and Lucario was forced into a swift block with both his blue-furred arms; even so he went skidding backwards from the impact of Type: Full's Fighting energy-enhanced head. "RKS System: Fairy Memory," Type: Full droned, the color of its highlights changing to pink just as Noivern fired a flurry of Dragon Pulses at him. "Multi-Attack." Noivern couldn't dodge in time, and neither could Lucario. Both went flying, unconscious before they hit the ground.
"Porygon, Tri-Attack!" Gladion cried to his last remaining team member. Well, second-to-last; throughout the entire storming of Aether Paradise, not once had he released the mysterious masked Pokemon he'd used in every battle against Elio so far. Silvally, as far as Tsareena could tell, had never left its Pokeball.
Hau and Elio called out to their remaining teammates for ranged attacks. Tsareena crouched next to Alolan Ninetails. "Vine Shot!" Tsareena cried, at the same time as Alolan Ninetails called out "Snow Warning: Snow Flurry!" The snowstorm around Alolan Ninetails shot out towards Type: Full, joining Tsareena's Vine Shot and the various other attacks the seven remaining Pokemon fired at Type: Full.
Type: Full's eyes flashed between the seven incoming attacks in half a second. "RKS System: Ghost Memory," it droned, and Tsareena's eyes widened at the realization that none of the launched attacks were super effective against Ghost-types. "Multi-Attack."
"Spirit Shackle!"
In a flash, Decidueye had used Shadow Sneak, apparating directly beside Type: Full, and tossed a Ghost energy-enhanced quill straight into Type: Full's side. Tsareena smirked at the groan of pain that Type: Full emanated; the smirk grew even wider as the Spirit Shackle burst into a torrent of ghostly chains, wrapping tightly around Type: Full and pinning it to the ground.
Decidueye paid for the successful strike in full, though, as the Multi-Attack slammed into him and knocked him headlong into another ornamental tree. But Vaporeon and Porygon raised Protects, deflecting the rest of the Multi-Attack from the now six-Pokemon group. Tsareena's eyes narrowed at how haggard Vaporeon was looking; her own Toxic was slowly sapping her stamina.
"Don't let it get up! Keep it down!" Elio commanded, a cry echoed by the other two Trainers.
"Lusamine," Zossie growled, "this has gone far enough. Recall Type: Full at once. Team Skull can deal with the remainder of their Pokemon."
"Dulse," said Lusamine, "how long until enough of Cosmog's energy has been siphoned?"
"Still half an hour," Dulse reported grimly.
Lusamine turned to Zossie. "It won't matter how healthy our Type: Fulls are if those meddlesome teenagers ruin everything. Besides, they got one hit off on it. They won't get any more, I promise you that."
"Deactivating RKS System." Type: Full's body shifted back to normal, and the Ghost energy-formed chains dissipated, unable to find any purchase on the body of a Normal-type.
"Protect." Another barrier, this time gray, manifested around Type: Full, deflecting the flurry of ranged attacks that the rest of the team had fired at it. And then it opened its beak and let out a terrifyingly loud screech. All of the surrounding humans and Pokemon staggered, covering their ears, and in that moment Type: Full lunged.
It had crossed the area between the six-Pokemon group in half a second. "Take Down." Alolan Ninetails hadn't even had time to react; she was down and out before Tsareena could even turn to face Type: Full.
"Shadow Ball. Thunderbolt. Ice Beam." Rotom, readying a Thunderbolt, was blasted backwards by the roiling sphere of Ghost energy, while Toucannon couldn't dodge the Thunderbolt in time; both fell. Vaporeon lunged between Tsareena and the Ice Beam; without any time to raise a Protect, she took the Ice Beam head-on, and at her current stamina level even the resisted attack was too much for her.
Just like that, it was down to Tsareena and Porygon.
"Thunder Wave!" Gladion ordered, but the paralysis from the earlier reflected Thunder Wave finally manifested itself; Porygon locked up, plummeting out of the sky. "Iron Head." A nasty crack sounded as Type: Full greeted it with a Steel energy-enhanced headbutt, tossing it away like a discarded toy.
"Strong Vine!" Tsareena lashed out at Type: Full's hind legs with one of her arms. "Protect." The strike bounced off the suddenly-forming gray barrier, and Type: Full turned, beak flaring with Fire energy.
"Damn it!"
The sound of a Pokeball opened, and Silvally collided with Type: Full, the strange Pokemon's mask cracking straight into Type: Full's face. Type: Full staggered, though it quickly recovered, turning to face the new adversary with a drone that sounded suspiciously like a snarl.
"So he finally reveals it," Lusamine murmured. "The last remaining Type: Null."
"If that thing proves a match for Type: Full-"
"Relax, Zossie," said Lusamine. "That thing is a failed experiment. It was stolen before we gained Xerosic's research. The mask cuts off the RKS System in its body. Without the RKS System, it will be no match for Type: Full."
"Tsareena, get back," Elio muttered, already recalling the rest of his team. Tsareena obeyed; she knew that she wouldn't be able to do anything against Type: Full.
And anyway, she was more concerned with something else. Tsareena couldn't believe she hadn't realized it before, but Silvally looked exactly like Type: Full, just with that bronze mask obscuring his face.
So Gladion had a Type: Full of his own all along? But in our most recent battle, didn't Incineroar defeat it? Admittedly, after Rotom had softened it up, but still!
Has he been holding back all this time? Or does that mask restrict Silvally's power level?
"Return!" Gladion cried. Silvally obeyed, rushing Type: Full with the Normal-type attack covering his claws.
"RKS System: Ghost Memory." Type: Full's highlights turned back to dark gray, and Silvally's attack phased right through it. "Take Down."
Its head slammed right into Silvally's side, sending the masked Pokemon flying. But Silvally managed to roll to his feet, planting his claws in the ground to slow his slide. "Pursuit!" Gladion ordered. Silvally echoed the cry, a flurry of Dark-type seeking rays blasting out of his mouth towards Type: Full.
"RKS System: Fairy Memory. Multi-Attack." The wave of Fairy energy that erupted out of Type: Full dispersed the Dark-type rays in an instant. Silvally managed to deflect the wave with a swift Protect, but as the wave dissipated Type: Full lunged at Silvally. "RKS System: Steel Memory. Iron Head."
Silvally attempted to dodge to the side, but Type: Full came on too fast. The Iron Head slammed into Silvally's left flank and spun him in a circle, knocking him to the ground. Silvally managed to get back to his feet once more, though he was slower this time.
"Silvally, Flame Charge!" Gladion cried.
"Flame Charge!" Silvally bellowed, lunging at Type: Full with flames flickering around its body. "Protect," Type: Full droned; Silvally's charge bounced off the barrier, the Fire energy dissipating. "Deactivating RKS System. Giga Impact."
A mighty thwoom sounded as Type: Full slammed bodily into Silvally, sending the masked Pokemon flailing through the air until he landed a little ways away from Gladion. There he lay, unmoving, the bronze mask over his head cracked from the impact.
Gladion rushed to Silvally's side as Type: Full stood where it was, turning its head towards Tsareena. "Type: Full, stop," Plumeria ordered; Type: Full continued to stare at Tsareena, but made no overt move to attack.
"C'mon, Silvally, get up," Gladion whispered. "We've got to do this, you hear me?"
"Gladion, it's over," Plumeria stated. "Your Pokemon are beaten. Recall your team and get out of here."
At that moment, a door slammed open behind Tsareena and she turned to see Marcus and his trio of prospective Gym Trainers rushing outside. Her heart soared for a moment as she realized they'd beaten Faba, then fell again. What were they going to do? Send another group of Pokemon to be stomped into the ground by Type: Full?
"Elio, Hau, Gladion," Marcus said breathlessly, looking straight at Type: Full with wariness in his eyes. "We have to go."
"I'm not leaving my sister," Gladion growled. "Come on, Silvally, get up…"
"We'll gather reinforcements, and then we'll rescue Lillie, I promise," Marcus growled. "But we can't do this alone."
Tsareena looked to Hau and Elio, who were nodding reluctantly in agreement.
"I'm not leaving her!" Gladion punched the ground furiously. Then he collapsed onto hands and knees. "Silvally…please…"
Tsareena looked forlornly at Silvally, who had still not moved, and Gladion, nearly in tears above his body. Even in defeat Gladion had always been so composed; it was like watching a completely different person.
"Gladion," Elio began, and then Silvally's right eye slowly opened.
"Silvally?" Gladion whispered.
Silvally looked up at Gladion, a single tear welling in his eye. "I'm sorry," Silvally whispered, and then the loudest crack Tsareena had ever heard smote the air.
Gladion scrambled backwards as another crack sounded, and then another, and then Silvally's mask exploded outwards into a dozen shards, revealing the same face as Type: Full underneath. Silvally's eyes flashed open, and energy erupted out from Silvally's body, energy of all different types that blasted flagstones and ripped through ornamental trees. "Scatter!" Plumeria cried; Trainers on both sides dove to the ground as beams whistled over their heads. Type: Full crouched, manifesting a Protect to deflect the beams that came at it.
As the storm of light cleared, Tsareena could see Silvally back on his feet, eyes flaring with uncontrolled rage. Despite the brutal beating he'd suffered, he didn't seem to be drained of stamina at all. Silvally let out a terrifying roar and lunged for Type: Full, flashing between types as he ran, multicolored energy still streaming out from his body in all directions.
"Um…" said Marcus, "…since when did Gladion have a Type: Full of his own?"
"What in Distortion?" Dulse was staring at the screen with wide eyes. "You said it was a failed prototype! That the mask would stop it from accessing the RKS System!"
"It is a failed prototype." Despite her rebuttal, Lusamine had lost her veneer of calm. "This is why it failed. The RKS System made it uncontrollable. The only way we could restore its sanity upon activation was through the power-limiting mask, at least until Xerosic's research proved otherwise."
"But apparently it's capable of breaking that mask," Zossie said bitingly.
"Of course, there's no material that can withstand the power of a Legendary-level Pokemon," said Lusamine. "But the uncontrolled RKS System caused them extreme pain. That was why they lost control. And we made sure that all of the Type: Nulls knew that breaking the mask would cause that pain. We made sure that they were afraid to break their masks."
"And yet Silvally did."
Lusamine turned to glare at Lillie. "Type: Null's conduct is none of your concern."
"Silvally broke his mask because he and Gladion were friends," said Lillie. "Because he's willing to suffer all that pain for Gladion's sake. That's the variable you could never recognize." To Snowy's surprise, Lillie matched Lusamine's glare. "Cosmog, Silvally and his friends, your own children…you could never understand the effect friendship and love can have. They're not…we're not even living creatures to you. We're just your experiments, aren't we?"
Lusamine took a deep breath, then turned to Dulse. "Can't you make that thing go any faster?"
"Unless you prefer a high risk of Cosmog dying, no," said Dulse.
"Do it," Lusamine ordered; Lillie gasped, stepping forward to protest.
But Dulse spoke first. "No. I'm not prepared to risk that."
"You will do as I say-"
"Lusamine, if Cosmog dies we will not be able to leave Ultra Space," said Dulse. "Is that what you want? To never come home again?"
Lusamine glared daggers at Dulse, but ultimately relaxed. "Fine. I've had enough of this." She turned to one of the nearby guards. "Release another of the Type: Fulls. End this before-"
"Belay that order," Zossie interrupted.
Lusamine twisted towards the second member of the Ultra Recon Squad. "Excuse me? My forces are mine to deploy as I see fit."
"Lusamine, any more deployments and we will not have enough forces to face Necrozma," said Zossie. "As it is, we're stretching it."
"What if that uncontrolled Type: Full wins?" Lusamine asked. "It will-"
"His name is Silvally," Lillie interrupted.
"I," Lusamine snarled, "have had enough of your ridiculousness! Type: Fulls are artificial! They can't develop emotion! They can't develop love! They are unliving beings!"
"You're wrong," Lille retorted. "Look at your cameras. You're just lying to yourself again. Anyone can develop emotions. Porygons are artificial, and yet they can develop emotions. They can develop bonds with their Trainers. Can't they? So what's so strange about Silvally doing the same?"
Again Lusamine barely managed to rein in her fury. Without a word she turned back towards her guards. "Bring Guzma in here, and the other two Type: Fulls as well," she said. "If those teenagers get in here, I don't want them getting anywhere near Cosmog."
"Silvally, Return and Payback!" Gladion called.
But Silvally didn't pay him any heed, lunging in an uncontrolled rage. Type: Full swiftly leaped to the side, dodging Silvally's charge, and twisted to blast at Silvally with a Hyper Beam. But energy blazed forth from Silvally, several streams gathering to deflect the Hyper Beam, any attack name lost in the constant snarling and roaring emanating from Silvally's mouth.
Silvally lunged again, blasts of every type Tsareena could think of lancing out from his body as he rushed Type: Full once more. "Silvally, back!" Gladion cried even as he ducked an errant Ice Beam, but again Silvally ignored him, hurling himself forwards only to bounce off a Protect. "Iron Head." Type: Full slammed its Steel energy-wreathed head into Silvally's face, throwing him backwards. "Pursuit." Silvally changed into a Fairy-type and, with a loud snarl, unleashed a Fairy-type Multiattack, the blast ripping through the oncoming Pursuit rays and forcing Type: Full into another Protect.
"Silvally, listen to me!" Gladion pleaded, but Silvally was too blinded, whether by pain, by rage, or both, to hear him. Still as a Fairy-type, with a shriek Silvally leaped at Type: Full again, firing off energy every which way.
"RKS System: Poison Memory. Multi-Attack." A gigantic wave of Poison energy burst out of Type: Full, arcing towards Silvally. Again energy gathered and shot from Silvally's body to blast the Multi-Attack away. "Silvally, wait!" Gladion cried, but Silvally continued onwards, and yet again Type: Full deflected the charge with a Protect.
"Hyper Beam." Silvally couldn't muster any defense in time; the Hyper Beam slammed into him and sent him flying once again.
Silvally landed hard near Gladion; he rolled to his feet swiftly and let out another ear-piercing roar. "How's he still up?" Elio asked incredulously. "He was nearly unconscious before, and he just took a Hyper Beam to the face while barely flinching!"
"He's…without that mask, he's accessing the full range of his RKS System," said Gladion. "But I rescued him from Aether before they figured out how to remove the masks without causing immense pain. He's not feeling any of the hits because he's already in so much pain that he'll just keep fighting until…" He stopped speaking, but Tsareena gathered the gist of his words; so did Elio, for his eyes widened.
"We have to stop this!" Marcus cried.
"I'm trying!" Gladion retorted.
"Recall him or something!" Marcus advised.
Gladion didn't even respond. "Silvally!" he cried, rushing towards the insane Pokemon.
"Gladion, what are you doing?" Hau cried.
Silvally let loose with another torrent of random attacks, ripping through what little surrounding terrain remained. His eyes narrowed as he crouched, gathering for another charge at Type: Full. And then Gladion leaped in front of Silvally just as he surged forwards.
"Silvally!" Gladion cried, and Silvally skidded to a halt.
Tsareena's eyes widened as she watched the two face off. Silvally glared down at Gladion, energy sparking off him in little bursts. Gladion stared up into Silvally's eyes. "I know you're in there," he whispered. "Behind all that pain. And…I need you to tough it out. One last time, you hear me?"
Tsareena saw Plumeria gazing at the scene, mouth open; the other Team Skull members were watching along with her, crouched behind any obstacle they could find no matter how torn up it was. Type: Full was glaring at Silvally; his mouth opened, beginning to gather energy for an attack.
Silvally let out a wordless snarl.
"It's me," Gladion whispered, reaching a hand up to Silvally's face. "Please, Silvally. Listen to me. We can do this."
Silvally breathed in and out as he stared down at Gladion.
Gladion ran his hand across Silvally's cheek. "We can do this," he said again, and Silvally blinked.
"Hyper Beam."
"No!" Plumeria cried, joined by other exclamations of shock as Type: Full sent the massive beam of Normal energy streaming straight at Gladion and Silvally behind him. "I don't think so," Silvally snarled, his voice finally clear; in a flash he leaped around Gladion and mustered a Protect, deflecting the beam.
"No. Way." Plumeria's shocked exclamation sounded as Silvally looked towards Gladion and gave a short nod. Gladion grinned. "All right, Silvally! Let's do this!"
Type: Full and Silvally launched themselves at one another, energy playing around both their bodies.
"That…" Lusamine, for the first time Snowy had ever seen her, was completely lost for words. "That…that shouldn't be…that can't be happening."
"Hey, Lusamine!" Guzma barreled through the doors to the room with a wide grin on his face, clutching a Beast Ball in each hand. "Heard the party's about to start, so let's get this show on the-"
He stopped short, gazing at the security camera feed. "Wait a sec…since when did little Gladion have a Type: Full?"
"Multi-Attack."
"RKS System: Steel Memory! Multi-Attack!"
Silvally shifted to a Steel-type, taking the Poison-type attack without flinching. "Iron Head!" Silvally cried, lunging at Type: Full.
"Protect."
"To the side!" Gladion ordered. "Hyper Beam at his rear!"
"Got it!" Silvally hurled himself to the side, aborting his Iron Head, and spun to fire a Hyper Beam straight at Type: Full's flank. "RKS System: Ghost Memory," Type: Full droned.
"Now, Shadow Ball!" Gladion ordered.
"Shadow Ball," Type: Full and Silvally chorused; even as the Hyper Beam passed straight through Type: Full, disintegrating one of the few trees still around, the two combatants fired Shadow Balls at one another. The two identical attacks met in midair and exploded in a burst of Ghost energy.
"RKS System: Fire Memory," Type: Full droned. "Multi-Attack."
A roaring blaze of Fire energy swept outwards from Type: Full's body. "Water!" Gadion called. "RKS System: Water Memory!" Silvally cried. "Multi-Attack!"
"RKS System: Electric Memory. Multi-Attack."
A small tsunami of Water energy ripped apart the flames, only for a localized blistering thunderstorm to tear the wave to pieces. "Ground!" Gladion cried; Silvally shifted to a Ground-type and allowed the thunderstorm to dissipate against his body. "Multi-Attack."
"Ice Beam, now!" Gladion ordered as Type: Full shifted to a Flying-type to avoid the Ground-type blast. Type: Full swiftly used Protect, deflecting the beam, but Silvally was already charging straight at Type: Full.
"RKS System: Steel Memory. Iron Head."
A loud crunch sounded as Silvally's head slammed into Type: Full's beak. For the first time, blood sprayed from Type: Full as the two connected; Type: Full staggered, only managing to get off a Hyper Beam in retaliation that Silvally swiftly avoided via transforming into a Ghost-type.
Tsareena glanced around at the rest of the group, who were all staring at the battle. She knew that this wasn't over, not by a long shot. But even as Silvally and Type: Full gathered to charge at each other once more, Plumeria frowned and pulled out what looked like a communicator.
"You sure?" she said into it. A few more seconds passed, and she sighed, raising the Beast Ball she was carrying. "Type: Full, return," she ordered, recalling the enemy artificial Pokemon.
Silvally at once stumbled, nearly falling; Gladion swiftly recalled him as well, murmuring gratitude and praise into the Pokeball. Plumeria scowled. "Boss lady wants us to get back to the mansion at once," she said to her Grunts, before turning to the group opposite her. "You've won this round. But we've got far more forces, and I know at least some of you are completely out. I suggest you leave."
With that, Plumeria turned and raced towards the mansion, her Grunts following in her wake.
"Not without my sister, I'm not." Gladion hurled himself after them.
"Gladion, wait!" But Elio and Hau's cries fell on deaf ears. Tsareena watched helplessly as Gladion rushed towards the mansion, oblivious to his friends' pleas.
"So now what?" Theo asked.
Marcus sighed, shaking his head. "We can't just leave him behind."
"So we're continuing?" Serena asked.
"No, you all are getting back to the ferry and giving your teams some rest," said Marcus. "I've got the most Pokemon still able to fight among all of us. I'll find Gladion and bring him back."
"No, you're not," said Elio. "Gladion's our friend. It's our responsibility to go after him."
"Without a working team?" Marcus glanced at Tsareena. "No offense to your Tsareena, but if she's the only Pokemon either of you have left, which I think is fairly likely considering the state of this place, then neither of you are in any position to go in there."
"Marcus," said Connie.
"Don't try and stop me," said Marcus. "You know as well as I do that I can't just leave him behind."
Connie smiled. "I was just gonna say…do come back."
"Don't worry, I will." Marcus turned to the mansion. "Go," he said, and then raced after Gladion; in the few moments before she was recalled, Tsareena stared after him, murmuring a prayer to the Tapus that he and Gladion would both make it out.
If Plumeria's words were true in any way, they'd need that kind of luck for that to happen.
Lusamine sighed. "Happy?"
"Not really," said Zossie. "001 received significant damage. That damage might prove telling. And that…Silvally…is likely to significantly impact our plans."
"What does Gladion want, anyway?" Dulse asked.
"Lillie," said Lusamine frostily. "His sister."
Zossie and Dulse turned to glare at Lusamine. "You mean all of this was for the girl?" Zossie asked. "We don't even need her! All we needed was Cosmog! Just let Lillie go and end this before he ruins our plans any further!"
"I'm not leaving without Nebby," said Lillie.
Lusamine spread her hands. "There you go. But let me put it this way…even if she was willing to leave without Cosmog, I'm not letting Gladion take her. She is my daughter. And this is where she is meant to be. Right by my side."
Dulse shook his head. "Lusamine," he said, "you really should learn that sometimes you just have to cut your losses and run."
Betrayer-Of-Kin watched as a heavily wounded Ripper blundered through the laboratory doors, shortly followed by Faba and his Alakazam. "So, how did it go?" she asked.
Ripper glared at her. "Don't. You. Start."
"How is my team?" Xerosic asked worriedly.
"Unconscious," said Faba. "I assumed that our natural power would be able to overcome four-on-one odds. I was wrong, but only just. Their teams are crippled."
Nidoking glanced at Betrayer-Of-Kin. "So now you wanna go after Marcus?"
"No, we have bigger things to attend to," said Betrayer-Of-Kin. "As in…were you not saving something for Faba?"
Nidoking sighed. "Right. Alakazam." The Psychic-type twisted. "Let your Trainer know that I am here, if you please?"
Alakazam swiftly telepathically warned Faba; the Aether Branch Chief turned to face Nidoking. "Ah." His face dropped. "This…might not be the best time-"
"I don't see why that would be the case," said Nidoking, Alakazam translating. "It's not like you have anything else to do."
"Oh, fine, fine." Faba held out his hand. "Whatever it is you brought, give it to me."
Nidoking reached behind his back, into a gap between two of his armor plates, and pulled out a tiny communication device, which he handed to Faba. Faba took it, turned it over, and pressed his finger down on the top of it. The click resounded throughout the entire room as everyone in it fell silent.
"Hello?" Faba said irritatedly.
"Ah, Faba." The voice that came through the communicator was male, smooth, with a vaguely Kantonian accent. "It is good to hear your voice. I must say, your battle conduct today was exemplary. Four-on-one odds against a group of Dark-type Trainers, and you still pushed them to the limit. It pleases me that my investment is not being wasted on a weak Trainer. That said…I did not recognize some of the Pokemon you used. Have you been expanding your team?"
"No, they're mine," said Xerosic.
Even without seeing the human on the other end of the communicator, Betrayer-Of-Kin could tell he was smiling. "Xerosic. I heard news about your…escape. An unexpected bonus, to be sure…we will have to speak in the near future."
"Who are you?" Xerosic asked. "Faba, who is this, and what does he want?"
A chuckle came from the communicator. "A fair question. Very well; if you are here, than you deserve to know as well. My name is Giovanni. Former leader of Team Rocket." Betrayer-Of-Kin's eyes narrowed at the name. "And as for what I want, I merely desire a trade. You see, Faba here is about to inherit the single most expansive Pokemon rescue and research-oriented company in the entire world. Aether's technology and array of Pokemon will be highly useful to me. In exchange, I will utilize my expansive monetary reserves to fund Aether's efforts. And as for you, Xerosic…I have a feeling your expertise will be useful in further expanding my technological advances."
"You're planning a comeback?" Xerosic asked, more rhetorically than anything.
"Yes, Xerosic, I am," said Giovanni. "In fact, I have been for a fairly long time. About a decade ago, a group of leftover Team Rocket members attempted to contact me via hijacking a radio tower in Johto. Since then, I have been planning how to restore Team Rocket to its former glory. And I resolved that the only way to do that was to gain resources that the rest of the Pokemon world would not have access to." Giovanni sighed. "In a way that doesn't result in angry manmade Legendaries rampaging through my laboratories, of course."
"So how do I know you've got the money?" Faba asked. "I mean…you were exposed more than a decade ago. Shouldn't your bank accounts have been shut down?"
"My legitimate ones, yes," said Giovanni. "I have about a dozen others under fake names. Faba, I did not arrange this meeting to offer you falsehoods. Check your Pokedex. Your bank account should currently be about ten thousand Pokedollars larger than it was this morning."
Faba did so, then smiled. "So what do you feel that gives you?"
"Nothing," said Giovanni. "Consider it a sign of my cooperation. And a herald of much greater things to come. Do we have a deal, Faba?"
Faba's smile grew until it seemed to stretch across his entire face. "Of course we have a deal."
And with that new, completely benign addition to the cast, the Aether Assault Arc is at its end. Hopefully you all enjoyed it. I'm worried it was a bit too heavy on the action, but as always, please drop a review if you've got the time and let me know how you thought it turned out.
I'll be taking a short break before the start of the next arc, so expect the next chapter in eight days instead of four. At that time, I'll see you for the start of the next arc, otherwise known as the Revelations Arc!