Through Their Eyes

by Capt.Hikimari

In the mountains of Kalos, a Meditite embarks on a journey that will take her far from her home. Joined by a slowly growing group of fellow Pokemon, she must navigate through a world full of possibility, but also one of cruelty and danger. Mostly game canon, though Anime themes come in from time to time. (Seasons 1 and 2 complete, Season 3 ongoing)

98. Temptation

I'm back! (As if you couldn't tell by the posting of this chapter.)

There is an asterisk to that statement, though. My main computer is kaput for the forseeable future. And the replacement I've gotten is so bad that the sheer size of this chapter was enough that Google Drive kept crashing while I was writing it.

Oh, and speaking of said sheer size, the chapter turned out to be the single longest chapter in this entire fic. Yes, including all the chapters in the Battle of Geosenge. And to be quite honest, considering what I have planned for the next few chapters, I don't see them getting too much shorter.

All this is a roundabout way of saying that I'm not sure I'm going to be able to keep up with my four-day schedule if I want to keep writing big chapters like this while simultaneously keeping up with schoolwork, life, health, and other assorted minor odds and ends.

So I'm going to try an experiment with the next chapter. I'm going to tentatively set the release date for next Thursday, a little over a week from now. And then I'm going to start writing. When the chapter's done, I will release it, and hopefully that will give me a clearer look at my release schedule for the forseeable future (read: until this arc is done). For all I know, I will wind up releasing the next chapter in four days like usual, but it will definitely be out on, if not by, next Thursday.

Thank you all for your patience, and with any luck, Through Their Eyes will now go back to normal!

Nothing excited Zacian more than the thrill of battle.

As the Dogs of War, the chief enforcers of Arceus's will, she and Zamazenta had been given power beyond even other Legendaries, power enough that combined, they could conceivably take on the Creators themselves. As such, strong opponents were hard to come by. Both Zacian and Zamazenta knew that anything that presented a truly dangerous battle for the Dogs of War represented a great threat to all mortals, and naturally they did not desire such dangers. But Zacian would not deny that she enjoyed tangling with one who could match her in power, and she knew Zamazenta did too.

The Bittercold was strong. Wind constantly surged around its body, but it was no ordinary wind; rather, it was more akin to a constant wave of Pressure, bearing upon it an endless stream of negativity. Misery, hatred, fearfulness, despair, all lapped at Zacian like pounding waves every second she spent in proximity to the Bittercold, always threatening to push her out of her own mind and force her body to turn on Zamazenta or simply shut down. Energy that was akin to both Aurora and Distortion and yet felt like neither surged forth from the Bittercold's body in bursts that seemed wild but were just controlled and directed enough to imply intelligence. An omnipresent chill clawed at Zacian's body, reducing her speed and sapping her strength. And the Bittercold was surprisingly maneuverable; Zacian surmised it had some form of the Levitate Ability, and was terrifyingly practiced in its usage, jinking its body in unexpected directions and spinning itself wildly like a buzzsaw to clash against its opponents.

Zacian knew that the Bittercold had arisen in this world five hundred years ago. Its mere presence had corrupted the minds of most of Unova, including its Legendaries, and its power had been sufficient to nearly overcome all four of the Swords of Justice. It had been slain by Virizion; this incarnation was clearly an alternate version, brought from some distant reality to serve as one of Necrozma's soldiers. This alternate version was just as strong as the Bittercold that had fought the Swords of Justice, perhaps even stronger.

But against the combined forces of the Dogs of War, it was little more than a light workout.

"Intrepid Sword!" Zacian bellowed, drawing upon the energy of the Rusted Sword held within her body. Steel and Life blazed forth from her jaws, materializing into a blade as long as a skyscraper was tall. Unlike most Abilities, the Dogs of War derived their Abilities entirely from the Rusted Sword and Shield. These items were effectively extensions of themselves, but could be, and at times had been, given to or stolen by mortals to use, effectively binding Zacian and Zamazenta to those mortal wielders. But there was no danger of that here. Though the Bittercold had an intelligence, it did not seem to know of the Rusted Sword or Shield, and its attacks were near-universally spread out instead of targeted.

Intrepid Sword and Dauntless Shield were limited compared to other Legendary-level Abilities. Simply manifesting blades or barriers paled in comparison to waves of power strong enough to knock most mortals unconscious, control over aspects of reality, or at-will type-changing and control. But that was only on paper. One could not summon up a wave of power when one had Zacian's blade through their throat, and even the strongest attacks could not break Zamazenta's impenetrable barrier.

"Behemoth Blade!" Zacian cried, lashing out in a sweeping attack at the Bittercold's form. The Bittercold spun, twisting so that the edge of its Cryogonal-like body met Zacian's blade. The two collided with a loud clang that made Zacian's blade vibrate from the sheer force of the impact.

"Intrepid Sword!" Zacian near-instantaneously dematerialized her blade and summoned another, twisting her head to the side. The blade extended right into the center of the Bittercold's form, running it through. The Bittercold let out a sharp screech that bore upon it a wave of negative energy, but Zacian gritted her teeth and ripped the blade free, sending an eruption of bright blue liquid through the air, liquid that almost instantly froze in midair, crystallizing into a stationary spray.

"Dauntless Shield: Behemoth Bash!" Zamazenta's charge ripped through the crystallized remnants of the Bittercold's blood as he manifested a barrier atop his head. The Bittercold had no time to react, and no amount of force could block an impenetrable barrier; the Bittercold was sent tumbling through the air, gyrating oddly as Zamazenta stood where he was, preparing for another charge.

Zacian adjusted her stance, feeling the miniature barriers underneath her paws adjust to match. Zamazenta's versatility with his barriers was beyond what any mortal could muster; creating barriers underpaw to allow both him and Zacian to walk upon air was the bare minimum of what he could do with his Ability.

Not that Zacian was any slouch with hers. "Intrepid Sword: Bladestorm!" she cried; this time, what emanated from her jaws was not one giant blade but a hundred small ones, a barrage of Steel and Life arcing through the air towards the tumbling form of the Bittercold.

Sadly, the Bittercold was quick to recover; spinning, the abomination unleashed a new barrage of freezing, ghostly winds. The Bladestorm was frozen in midair, unable to progress against the torrent of Not-Aurora, while Zacian and Zamazenta's minds were once more assailed by a barrage of Not-Distortion.

"All this negativity is starting to grow tiring," Zamazenta growled.

"Then why don't you do something about it, dear brother?" Zacian queried.

"Thank you, dear sister, I will," Zamazenta retorted. "Dauntless Shield: Mental Screen!"

Aura flared across Zamazenta's body, radiating off him in a wave; all at once, Zacian felt a barrier of Aura form in her mind, deflecting the negative energies from her brain. She felt much freer, no longer burdened by constantly having to ward off the Bittercold's negativity.

"Well, that would have been very useful at the beginning of this fight," Zacian pointed out. "You really need to break the habit of waiting until halfway through fights to use your stronger techniques."

"It makes it more enjoyable," Zamazenta growled. "Maybe that's why you can never get a good battle - you always just open up by running a sword through their neck, and that's that. I can't see how you find that fun."

"Notice, I haven't run a sword through this thing's neck," Zacian retorted.

"Only because it doesn't have a neck to run a sword through," Zamazenta countered.

Clearly furious at being ignored, the Bittercold launched another wave of negativity at Zacian and Zamazenta. This time, though, Zamazenta's mental shields were enough to completely deflect the negative emotions from both their minds, leaving the Dogs of War mostly untouched.

Zacian turned back towards the Bittercold. "Let us speak of swords and necks later," she said. "We've got an oversized snowflake to kill."

"Agreed," growled Zamazenta. As the Bittercold came at them, an unearthly bellow emanating from its form, the Dogs of War leaped side by side, and the battle was joined once more.

---

"Technician! Soul-Rending Black Hole Strike!"

Marshadow threw a swift punch at the bright red form of Dark Rust, the green smoky flames of his Zenith Form coursing around him. He saw no reason to hold back. If he failed because he had not used his full power, Marshadow knew he would only have himself to blame.

With the exception of his Z-Move. Unlike last time, Marshadow knew he could not use that so early.

But despite the power of Marshadow's punch, it was unable to penetrate the spherical barrier that flashed up around Dark Rust. The creature chuckled from behind it; a wave of rippling energy emanated from Dark Rust's body in all directions. As it neared, Marshadow could feel corruption rippling off of the wave, grasping at him like a Tangrowth's countless tendrils.

"Spectral Shift!" Marshadow cried, teleporting upwards to avoid the wave. As he rematerialized, particles of purple-black energy of the same sort as the wave flew from Dark Rust's body, manifesting as several more blobs vaguely shaped like Sigilyph and Unown.

"Technician: Bone-Shattering Strike Flurry!" Marshadow dove down at the horde. He could feel the corruptive energies that made up their bodies clawing at him, but his flurry of Aura and Distortion-enhanced punches dissipated their forms before too much harm could be done. Dark Rust unleashed a flurry of corruption-laden projectiles in response. "Spectral Shift!" Marshadow cried, teleporting away from the projectiles and reappearing next to his opponent. "Technician: Soul-Sundering Supernova Strike!" But yet again he was met with a barrier that resisted even the explosive attack, forcing Marshadow to backpedal once more to avoid Dark Rust's retaliation.

Necrozma certainly brought some strong allies to the table, Marshadow thought grimly. It's like this Dark Rust creature has a permanent Protect up.

Marshadow had ways of getting around a Protect, of course. He wouldn't be a Legendary if a simple Protect was enough to stall him. Most of those ways involved the element of surprise, using his teleportation and rapid attacks, but Dark Rust's permanent barrier resisted all of those.

And it wasn't like Dark Rust was passively sitting behind said barrier. Every attack of his bore the stench of the strange corruptive energy that continuously yearned to sap Marshadow's will, and Dark Rust was throwing out a lot of attacks. Marshadow knew he couldn't dodge forever, and he'd felt the corruptive influence of Dark Rust's attacks even from far away.

He didn't want to imagine what actually being hit by one would be like.

Let's start thinking outside the box.

"Technician!" Marshadow cried. "Spectral Thief: Shadow Absorption!"

Drawing upon his signature move, Marshadow cast his consciousness out. Normally, Spectral Thief allowed him to access an opponents' shadow and grasp onto it, using it to draw an opponent's power into himself and take it as his own, even from afar.

This time, Marshadow sought a more aggressive approach.

He blinked, and it was as if he was staring out of two separate bodies. One of them was his own, but the second was staring out of Dark Rust's shadow, looking up at the creature's body. Dark Rust was not standing idly; he was already unleashing yet another barrage of projectiles at Marshadow's stationary form.

Try blocking this with your stupid barrier.

"Technician: Soul-Rending Black Hole Strike!"

Dark Rust roared as his own shadow arose and struck him with a thunderous Distortion-fueled blow. The fist slammed point-blank into his body, bypassing the barrier entirely and sending Dark Rust flying straight towards Marshadow's actual body. Marshadow could hear a sound like shattering glass, and out of the corner of his eye could see a near-transparent red outline shattering into shards.

So his barrier does have to be consciously maintained. Marshadow grinned, lunging forward at Dark Rust's flailing body. No way he can keep that up while he's in this amount of pain.

"Technician!" Marshadow cried, drawing back a fist. "Soul-Sundering Supernova Strike!"

A loud sonic boom erupted as his punch struck Dark Rust so hard that his body seemed to crater, folding in on itself around Marshadow's fist. Dark Rust spat a dark red substance that didn't look like blood. Marshadow raised another fist, aiming for Dark Rust's face. "Technician: Soul-Sundering-"

Dark Rust reached out and grasped Marshadow around the neck with one red arm.

Marshadow gasped as corruptive energy exploded out from where Dark Rust was holding him, rippling across his body and leeching away at his will. He could hear a voice in the back of his mind, Dark Rust's voice, pounding in his ears as if he was shouting into them. Give in, the voice said. Surrender to my will.

I have to get out!

Marshadow forced his consciousness through the oncoming wave of corruption, latching onto one of the many, many techniques honed to perfection over countless thousands of years. The act itself was agonizing; all the while, Marshadow felt Dark Rust's corruption spreading, shutting down his body, overtaking his mind.

He drew upon Technician first. Normally, to use Shadow Sneak one had to be seeing where they would end up. Technician bypassed that, automatically pinpointing a location for Marshadow to teleport to. One of the Ability's many obscure uses.

"Spectral…" The words had to be forced up a throat clogged with corruption, but the sound of his own voice brought Marshadow back to a measure of reality. He could see Dark Rust, feel the smug malevolence emanating from the creature's form.

He thinks he has me.

He's never been more wrong.

"SHIFT!" Marshadow bellowed, phasing into Distortion. All at once, the corruption faded away as Dark Rust lost contact with him; Marshadow rematerialized several yards away, breathing heavily. That was nearly it, he realized. Another second and I would have been nothing but a tool.

I would never have thought it from looking at him…but between Dark Rust and the Bittercold, I'm pretty sure Dark Rust is the most dangerous.

Dark Rust reformed the barrier around himself, the translucent red energy barely visible but clearly there. "My Rust will consume you," he growled. "One way or another."

"As if," Marshadow retorted. "I know your tricks now. And I can tell you're wounded. A couple more hits like the ones I just gave you and you're finished."

Dark Rust chuckled. "Then you don't know all my tricks."

Marshadow's eyes widened as Dark Rust's cratered, broken body began to bend back into place, a loud cracking noise piercing the air as the wounds Marshadow had dealt were erased in an instant. "I do more than just spread Rust," Dark Rust snarled. "I am Rust. I expelled a large amount of Rust attempting to bring you to heel. All I needed to do was reabsorb that Rust into my body, and the pitiful damage you dealt was completely erased. Just as I will soon erase that will of yours."

Oh, brilliant, he has a Dialga-tier healing factor. Marshadow clenched his fists. Now that he knew what to look for, he cast his gaze out, trying to figure out where the barrier was. As he'd feared, the barrier was now wrapped so tightly around Dark Rust's body that it was separating the creature from his own shadow.

Yeah, that trick's not going to work again.

Dark Rust once more summoned several Sigilyph and Unown out of pure corruptive energy - or Rust, as he called it - then sent them forwards with a gesture of his arm, following up with a flurry of Rust-laden projectiles. Marshadow leaped back into battle, Distortion coursing around his body.

I think I can still win this, Marshadow thought as he descended. I found one way around his barrier. I'm sure I can find another.

But I can't deny that I'm starting to run short on options.

---

"Who's winning?" Kamado asked from where he stood on the floor, looking over at the inside of the window upon which Kriesh was sitting.

"Can't say," the Fearow responded. "It's still just as chaotic as ever."

Pangoro let out a low growl. "I hate this."

"So do I, Pangoro," said Liepard from where she lay as Marcus sprayed a Super Potion on her wounded side. "But I cannot deny that we are out of our depth in a battle like that."

"I'll admit that," Cloyster murmured from the side of the room. "I was being pressed pretty hard out there. But Pangoro's right. It just feels wrong to sit here and watch from afar."

"How do you think we feel?" The sharp voice of Silvally brought everyone's attention. "I am practically a Legendary, and the rest of Gladion's team are no slouches in battle either. And yet we, too, remain inside, away from the fighting. But I do not begrudge that, for I know I am Gladion and Lillie's greatest line of defense. And I know the rest of Gladion's team feels likewise. So cease your complaints. The objective of this is to protect Nebby, and now Medicham as well. I struggle to understand why you would prioritize glory in battle over protecting your teammate."

Silence fell for a few moments before Pangoro broke it. "Yeah, he's right," the Dark/Fighting-type muttered. "Medicham's the priority here."

"And Nebby," Trevenant added from where they were standing next to a potted plant.

"And Nebby," Pangoro echoed.

"This is stupid!"

Once more the conversation was interrupted, this time by a Psychic voice that filled all of their minds. "All these people and Pokemon assembled, ready to give their lives to protect me, and I can't even do anything to protect myself! I'm just a useless ball of energy trapped in this useless shell! I can't move, I can't fight…"

"How do you think Medicham feels?" Kriesh's telepathic reply came across the link Nebby had created. "She's having to sit uselessly in her ball too. Do you think she wants to do that? Do you think she doesn't want to fight alongside us like she's done so many times? No! But do you hear her complaining about it?"

"No…" Nebby murmured.

Kriesh heaved a telepathic sigh, collecting her emotions. "Listen, Nebby," the Fearow said. "This Psychic link…you created it in an instant between all of us. Right?"

"Um…"

"So can you do more with that?" Kriesh asked. "Can you establish a Psychic link with the Pokemon fighting elsewhere? Is that possible for you to do?"

"Maybe…" Nebby sounded unsure. "I've never tried it before. This is just how I speak…"

"Well, then," said Kriesh, "now's a good time to try it. You don't want to be useless? Then show me you aren't."

"Yeah," said Nebby. "Yeah, okay. Psychic link…let's get started."

Kamado felt the Psychic presence in his mind suddenly expand as Nebby cast out his senses, expanding the link. The level of Psychic power Nebby could wield was astounding. Kamado had felt Medicham use Psychic power before; this was on a whole different level.

"I can feel them!" Nebby's voice was joyous. "So many minds! I can feel them all!"

"Great!" said Kriesh. "Now connect them! Send them a message, Nebby!"

Kamado felt a surge of positive emotion in his mind. Nebby's emotions, coming through his link, communicating euphoria, happiness at finally being able to contribute, to not be useless. And then it all came crashing down, the joy turning to fear, to nervousness.

"Nebby?" Kriesh asked through the link. "What's wrong?"

"Medicham," Nebby whispered. "I can't sense her mind. She…she isn't in her Luxury Ball. She isn't even in this room!"

A dead silence fell over the room, broken only by Drapion's shocked snarl.

"But…then where is she?"

The question had not been answered - in fact, Drapion had barely finished asking it - when the left window of Kukui's house exploded inwards in a shower of wood and glass, and Kamado knew before the first enemy even charged them that the answer to that question would have to wait.

---

"Darkrai," Medicham greeted.

"Medicham," Darkrai responded. "I'm sorry for the abruptness, but once we received word that the battle had started, we knew the Aberration would be coming any minute."

"We?" Medicham asked.

"Come." A blindingly white portal that glowed with energy opened up in the walls of Oblivion, crackling loudly. "There is not much time."

Medicham stepped through the portal, grateful to get out of the choking confines of Oblivion. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the sudden light, but when they did, her eyes widened as she recognized the place where she was standing.

Before her, Yggdrasil rose above the Island of Dreams, the great green landmass that rose above an ocean of clouds. But where the sea of clouds once had been, now a massive field was spread out in all directions, grassy terrain pockmarked with boulders, no trees in sight. A large stone wall had been laid in a circle around the Island of Dreams, and another around the Tree of Dreams itself.

A battlefield, Medicham recognized. Created by Darkrai.

And on the battlefield, countless Pokemon stood ready. Heralds, of course, but many others of all different types, all standing ready to fight. Medicham turned towards Darkrai, who was now slightly visible, looking as if wisps of smoke were making up his body. "How many have you gathered?" Medicham asked in awe.

"Five hundred," said Darkrai. "It's not much. Less than I would have liked. Risking one's life is a hard choice to make, and some chose not to. But every fighter counts."

"Darkrai." A female voice reached Medicham's ears. "I wondered where you'd gone."

Medicham turned her head towards the voice, and her eyes widened as she recognized Cresselia. She remembered the Lady of the Moon's visage from Darkrai's visions; Cresselia looked every bit as radiant as she had then, but Darkrai's visions had not been able to convey the Psychic presence she carried with her. Medicham felt a strange sensation, as if she was being weighed down by Cresselia's proximity.

"Ah, I was wondering when I'd finally get to meet you," said Cresselia. "So you're his new apprentice. I would not have expected him to take on an Aura-wielder, but I will not question his judgment."

"Apprentice?" Medicham queried.

"Her words, not mine." Darkrai sounded embarrassed.

"I beg your pardon," said Cresselia. "I seem to recall you said to me, in no uncertain terms, 'I hope I may soon introduce you to my new apprentice.' Am I misremembering?"

"Cresselia…" Darkrai sounded even more embarrassed.

Cresseila chuckled softly. In that moment, Medicham could very much believe the two Legendaries were in love. She felt herself relaxing slightly; even with the tension of Necrozma's invasion, it was hard to stay nervous in the face of the two Legendaries' casual demeanor.

They seem so at ease…it's almost like there isn't even a war going on.

"So, how is he?" Cresselia asked. "Has Darkrai been a good mentor for you?"

"Um…yes," said Medicham. Well, there was that time when he lied to me about the whole 'Master of the Heralds' thing…but that's behind us now, right?

"Good," Cresselia said. "I am glad that he is branching out. Taking risks. Speaking of risks…" Her voice hardened as she turned to face Darkrai. "Have we established through your Herald contacts which of Necrozma's forces have entered the fray?"

"Yes," said Darkrai. "And it's not looking good. The Tapus and other Legendaries are fighting the Ultra Beasts, but he's recruited other allies. Many Pokemon from across various realities have joined him, giving him a very large army - from estimates by Heralds around Alola, he has at least a thousand Pokemon engaged in battle right now, and more are coming. They vary wildly in quality - some are weak wild Pokemon, others are capable of taking on a Gym Leader-level Pokemon by themselves. But they are not the most dangerous threat Necrozma has unleashed."

"Then what is?" Cresselia asked.

"Bringer-Of-Visions has reported two creatures assaulting the main defense at Melemele Island," said Darkrai. "One is the Bittercold. The other is a creature that Necrozma calls Dark Rust. I have scoured various timelines and discerned that the Bittercold is an alternate version of the creature who assaulted Unova five hundred years ago, drawn from the same network of timelines the Aberration hails from. Dark Rust, by contrast, is from a timeline adjacent to that network - if you'll believe it, a timeline where all Pokemon are wind-up toys."

Cresselia swallowed. "That means Necrozma could have plucked villains from any timeline."

"And we have no idea how many villains he has selected," said Darkrai. "We can assume that the villains are mainly from that network of timelines, since that is the general area the Aberration hails from. Likely it is a matter of that creature calling in some of his allies. By investigation, I have discovered another enemy we might want to look out for. In his timeline, the Aberration worked with a mutated, strengthened form of Dialga known as Primal Dialga. That creature has not yet been seen on the battlefield."

"Listen," said Cresselia. "Whatever the Aberration brings to the table, I can handle it."

"I hope so," said Darkrai.

"Come on, Darkrai," said Cresselia. "You can trust me."

Darkrai turned to Medicham. "You might want to get into place," he said. "Find some Heralds - yes, I know, but remember that their intent is to keep you alive."

Medicham nodded reluctantly.

"Let us go prepare ourselves," said Cresselia. "I do not wish to be caught flat-footed when the Aberration does show up."

"Indeed," said Darkrai. "I-"

He ceased to speak. Medicham watched his faded eyes narrow. "Too late. He's coming."

A loud series of cracking noises brought their collective attention. All three beheld the air in front of the first line of stone walls abruptly rip open in several places all along the line, revealing several gaps lined with a checkerboard pattern.

And from those gaps poured another army, rushing towards the stone walls with a loud battle cry. More of the morass of Pokemon Medicham had seen atop Melemele Plateau - how many of those did Necrozma have? But these Pokemon were joined by others who appeared to be made entirely of a dark substance. Medicham's first thought was that these were more of Dark Rust's Dark Legion, but these creatures had the same proportions as the Pokemon around them, whereas the Dark Legion had been about half the size of a Pokemon each. In fact, these creatures looked exactly like Pokemon, aside from the dark substance that seemed to either enshroud or make up their form.

A barrage of energy flew from the attacking forces, striking the stone walls from every side. But the walls held - of course, they were extensions of Darkrai's will, they would hold as long as Darkrai willed it - and the defenders leaped into action, firing a retaliatory barrage. An entire rank of attackers fell, consumed in a storm of energy. A few defenders toppled over as well, struck by lucky shots from the oncoming horde, but Darkrai reached out a hand, and before Medicham's eyes those defenders' wounds repaired themselves in an instant.

For a moment Medicham's heart leaped. Darkrai has control over everything that happens in this world. How can we lose with him on our side?

And then the wounds Darkrai had closed abruptly reopened, and a section of the stone wall exploded inwards, crumbling right on top of a group of defenders, and Medicham remembered that Darkrai wasn't the only one who had power over the Dream World.

As Darkrai reached out again, stopping the wall's descent before it could crush anyone, Medicham looked up in time to see the Aberration float through another wormhole high up in the sky. He wasn't alone - behind him came a roiling sphere of darkness, not Oblivion but something else entirely, encasing a glowing purple ball of energy that Medicham could only barely see through slits in the darkness-formed sphere.

The Aberration looked down upon the point in the wall that had collapsed; even now, Necrozma's forces were rushing the gap, while the defenders had formed a line and were endeavoring to push them back. Medicham could see enemy fliers soaring over the wall, coming down on the defenders and throwing their lines into disarray. Energy crisscrossed the air so thickly that Medicham wondered how anyone could fly in these conditions.

"Pretender!" The Aberration's voice carried through the air. "It is time to face your reckoning! Dark Matter, the Tree of Life is yours, as agreed."

"yeS." The sound that emanated from the sphere of darkness and energy wasn't one voice, but multiple discordant ones, sounding so alien and so wrong that Medicham felt slightly dizzy just listening to it. Dark Matter began to shift, floating towards Yggdrasil as the Aberration started to descend towards the hill where Medicham, Cresselia, and Darkrai stood.

"I will handle the Aberration!" Darkrai snarled. "Focus on Dark Matter!"

Cresselia nodded; as Medicham watched, the Lady of the Moon twisted towards the oncoming roiling sphere of darkness. Medicham saw the large purple arch on Cresselia's back blaze with Life.

"dIsapPeaR!" Dark Matter bellowed from a hundred throats. Darkness flowed out of the creature's body, forming into a tendril twice the creature's size, a tendril that scythed through the sky, bathing it in darkness even as it came at Cresselia.

Cresselia's eyes glinted purple. "Levitate: Crescent Sickle."

The Life-wreathed arch on Cresselia's back seemed to separate from her body, glowing pink as it spun through the air, borne upon a wave of Mind. Medicham's eyes were wide as she watched the arched shape twist to the left and slash upwards; the curved blade of Life impacted against Dark Matter's swinging tendril, and despite being grossly outsized held it back.

"whAt?" Dark Matter snarled, pressing down harder with his tendril.

Cresselia narrowed her eyes, pouring more Mind into her Crescent Sickle to keep it steady against Dark Matter's strength. "You will not take another step towards Yggdrasil!" she growled.

Dark Matter suddenly reared back; abandoning the clash of blade and tendril, he instead unleashed a swift barrage of darkness-infused projectiles. Cresselia lunged forwards, twirling her Crescent Sickle artfully. "Crescent Storm!" she cried, drawing upon Levitate once more; her sickle swept through the air in a series of swift slashes that left arcing afterimages of Life, afterimages that streaked forwards, intercepting Dark Matter's barrage in a spread of explosions. Howling, Dark Matter lunged forwards, creating a pair of tendrils this time and swinging them downwards at Cresselia; once more Cresselia countered with her Crescent Sickle, and the two clashed once more, Dark Matter straining to overcome the force of Cresselia's Mind through brute strength.

Across the battlefield, Darkrai faced the Aberration, the two Darkrais circling one another. "This ends here and now, Aberration," Darkrai growled.

"And what makes you think you can do any better than last time?" the Aberration snarled. "I am stronger than you in every way! Time Skip!"

The Aberration blurred; in the next moment, his Oblivion-enhanced fist was buried in Darkrai's vaguely-formed stomach. Darkrai gasped, folding around the blow, a ghastly noise escaping his throat.

"Same old mistakes," the Aberration gloated. "This will be over quickly."

Darkrai's eyes suddenly flared gray. "Disable."

The Aberration grunted in pain as Normal energy crackled across his body. He stumbled backwards, shaking his head. "What…what is this? What did you do?"

"Actual techniques are fairly hard for me to draw on in this form," growled Darkrai. "But I consider the stamina cost well worth it in this case. You'll find it a little harder to use Dialga's power now, I think."

The Aberration clenched his fists. "You will pay for that!"

"I think not," Darkrai retorted. "It's been three months, Aberration. Do you think I haven't trained for our rematch? Prepared countermeasure after countermeasure for your abilities? I knew you would come for me as soon as you possibly could. And what's more, I knew you wouldn't train at all. You'd come at me with the exact same tricks as last time. After all, they've worked against all the other Darkrais. You've never had a reason to branch out."

Darkrai spread his smoky hands; around him, a large section of the landscape arose, tearing itself apart, half a dozen floating islands spinning around Darkrai's form, held up by his power over the Dream World. "Your move, Aberration. At least try to make this interesting."

A furious roar escaped the Aberration's throat as he flung himself at Darkrai. Oblivion exploded outwards from his hands in a wave; Darkrai met the wave with two of his levitating islands, tossed forth to erupt in twin blasts of earth and rock that blunted the Dark Pulse before it could come close to Darkrai's form. Darkrai retaliated by reaching out with one hand; the air itself exploded outwards, forming into a vertical wave, an oncoming blade that sliced through the space between the still-dissipating remains of the floating islands. "Spacial Rend!" the Aberration snarled, unleashing a blast of Eterna that warped Darkrai's attack straight out of existence.

Medicham wasn't sure if it was intentional, but she was forced to dive to the side to avoid the vertical blade of compressed air as it reappeared directly in front of her, closing fast. She could feel the power behind it, and even though it missed her courtesy of Detect, the force of its passing was enough to destabilize Medicham's dodge and send her flailing uncontrollably through the air, down the hill and towards the battle. Medicham flew for several weightless moments and slammed into the ground shoulder-first, rolling a few times before she managed to dig her fingers into the dirt and stop herself.

"Get her!" Medicham rose in time to see a Chatot and a Mandibuzz streaking at her from the sky. She'd rolled right into the battle. Medicham clenched her fists, readying herself for combat. I can't pay any more attention to how Darkrai and Cresselia are doing.

I just have to trust that they can handle themselves.

---

Kriesh had been at the window. She'd seen the fighting going on. She'd known the enemy drastically outnumbered the Trainers and Pokemon remaining on the plateau. She knew Necrozma had sent the Ultra Beasts and parts of his army to different islands in Alola in an effort to draw Lillie's protectors away from Melemele Plateau.

And the gambit had worked to perfection. N, Cynthia, Grimsley, Kukui, and the woman with all-black hair and clothing that Kriesh still didn't know the name of remained on the plateau. All of their teams were powerful - in fact, from a few minutes of watching outside, Kriesh was almost certain that Grimsley was the weakest of the five Trainers. Their teams were fighting like Legendaries, taking on the seemingly endless array of opponents. The actual Legendaries were holding back the Bittercold, Dark Rust, and the Dark Legion. It was pure chaos out there.

And it wasn't enough. No matter how powerful the five Trainers were, they were still only five Trainers, each only with a limited number of Pokemon they could bring to bear. The enemy numbered far, far more, and continued to stream out like a river of bodies. It had not been a question of if the sheer numbers would allow Necrozma's forces to break through, but when.

So it was a shock, but not very surprising, when an enemy Minior slammed through the window of Kukui's house, shattering glass everywhere, and a number of Necrozma's forces rushed through after it, surging towards the corner where Lillie, Gladion, and Marcus stood.

Gladion and Lillie's Pokeballs erupted in light as their Pokemon were released. Kriesh opened fire with a Beam Impact. Others from all three teams joined her, and five of the enemies reeled backwards, overcome by the torrent of attacks. But more came, trampling over the bodies of their fallen allies.

"RKS System: Fairy Memory!" Silvally called. "Multi-Attack!" A titanic blast of Fairy energy exploded outwards from the artificial Legendary's body. A dozen enemies were thrown bodily into their own ranks, and the entire enemy front line dissolved into confusion, some of the conscious enemies tripping over their allies' unconscious bodies.

"AVALANCHE ATTACK!" In that moment, Kukui's back window exploded inwards, along with part of the surrounding wall; to Kriesh's horror, a snarling Golem rolled through the gap, its rocky body making a beeline for Marcus, Gladion, and Lillie's gathered teams.

"Quake!" Drapion bellowed; the entire house shuddered, several loose objects toppling over, as Drapion's Earthquake shot out at the Golem and the group of enemy Pokemon that were hurtling in behind it. The Earthquake completely arrested the Golem's roll; the Golem's limbs and head popped out as it skidded to a halt. It raised a hand. "I, Boulder, will be your end!" the Golem snarled. "BOULDER BARRAGE!"

A flurry of Rock energy flew from Boulder's fingers. Kriesh narrowed her eyes as Drapion deflected the attack with a Protect. She recognized the name - wasn't Boulder the name of Medicham's wild Graveler friend? And even though he was evolved, did that face and those eyes not look familiar?

What am I thinking? There's no way Medicham's old friend could have evolved and joined Necrozma. That wouldn't make any sense!

Gladion's Lucario shot past Drapion and buried a Fighting energy-enhanced fist into Boulder's face. The Golem flew backwards, scattering several of his allies. Kriesh saw several Flying-types lunging in from both openings; Gladion's Charizard and Crobat were leaping to engage. Kriesh spread her wings and lunged for a ferocious-looking flier with black patches on its wings and body. "Flurry Impact!" she cried.

The black-patched flier barely seemed to feel the attacks; its eyes were filled with anger as it turned towards Kriesh. "Not smart to attack a Bombirdier with Dark-type attacks!" the flier cried, its voice male. "Rocky Payload: RPS!"

A sphere of solid Rock energy materialized in front of Bombirdier and propelled itself at Kriesh. Kriesh tucked her wings and dove as best she could in the narrow confines of the house, narrowly avoiding Bombirdier's attack. I've never heard of this Pokemon before, Kriesh thought. What kind of Ability is Rocky Payload?

Unfortunately, Bombirdier seemed unwilling to explain, letting out a cry and lunging at Kriesh beak-first. "Rocky Payload: Stone Beak Javelin!" Bombirdier's entire beak seemed to grow a shell of Rock energy as he lunged for Kriesh's back.

"Earth Impact!" Kriesh cried, raising her own beak and summoning Ground energy around it. She lunged upwards, slamming her beak into Bombirdier's; the rocky covering around Bombirdier's beak shattered, and Bombirdier cried out in shock as he reeled backwards from the force of his backfiring attack.

Abruptly, something cannoned into Kriesh and knocked her sprawling; she twisted to see the Minior that had achieved the initial breakthrough, somehow still up. Bombirdier screeched victoriously, and then he, too, was struck from the side, a hail of Ice-type projectiles recognizable as Cloyster's knocking him out of the sky.

Kriesh twisted, blasting Minior away with a Beam Impact that sent it flailing into a nearby counter, punching a hole straight through the wooden structure and out the other side. She heard a cry of pain from the side and turned to see Lillie's Cutiefly, Buzzy; the Bug/Fairy-type was being beset by a large Muk that had Buzzy entrapped in one sludgy tendril and was bringing the Cutiefly towards its gaping maw.

"Earth Impact!" Kriesh lunged, skimming across the ground; the Muk roared as the Ground energy-enhanced Kriesh struck it beak-first, staggering backwards and dropping Buzzy.

"Th-thanks!" Buzzy cried.

"Stay back!" Kriesh warned. "Beam Impact!" Another Hyper Beam flew from her beak, slamming into the Muk and knocking it into the right wall of Kukui's house.

Kriesh looked wildly around. Pokemon were rolling around and flying through the air along with blasts of energy. The inside of the house had completely descended into chaos; Kriesh could barely tell friend from foe, so thickly clustered the Pokemon were. Lillie, Gladion, and Marcus were backed into a corner; Silvally was standing protectively in front of all three, unleashing energy blast after energy blast, the artificial Legendary sending at least a couple enemies to the ground with every attack.

But not even Silvally saw Bombirdier. The strange Flying-type had its eyes turned towards the three Trainers. Kriesh's eyes widened in horror as Bombirdier broke into a dive, hurling himself straight towards Marcus.

"No!" The word ripped itself from Kriesh's throat as she lunged into the air, moving so quickly that a Leavanny that rose up to intercept her was knocked headlong before it could even attack. "Beam Impact!" Her throat hurt from unleashing so many Beam Impacts so quickly, but she fired it anyway; Bombirdier was struck in the tail feathers and went flying into the wall right above Marcus.

Kriesh slammed bodily into Bombirdier, forcing it into the wall so hard it cratered under their combined weights. Bombirdier glared at Kriesh. "Don't get in my way!"

"You won't harm my Trainer!" Kriesh snarled.

"It's them or my family!" Bombirdier cried.

Kriesh froze up. "What do you-"

"They were stolen," Bombirdier growled. "By poachers. Necrozma's recruiters promised to help get them back. All I have to do is kill these Trainers. I've killed to protect my family before, and I'll do so again! So stop getting in my way! Rocky Payload: Stone Talon Scimitars!"

Too late, Kriesh realized she'd relaxed her hold on Bombirdier; the flier brought his claws up, wreathed in a shell of Rock energy, and slammed a vicious blow into Kriesh's chin. As Kriesh reeled, she saw Bombirdier twist out of the corner of her eye. "Rocky Payload: Stone Beak Sledgehammer!" Bombirdier spun and drove his blunted Rock energy-enhanced beak into the side of Kriesh's body, sending her flying straight into the left wall of Kukui's house, over the staircase.

She saw Bombirdier twist, readying for another dive at Marcus. Silvally was fighting off an Electivire and a Maractus, too occupied to intercept. Kriesh bounced off the wall as if in slow motion and began to fall, descending towards the staircase; Lillie, Gladion, and Marcus passed out of view, and she didn't know which one Bombirdier was going to target, only that she couldn't stop it.

And then Bombirdier shrieked out in pain, and as Kriesh slammed into the first of the stairs she saw Bombirdier fly overhead, propelled by another Pokemon who had evidently caught Bombirdier mid-flight. The new arrival slammed Bombirdier into the wall of the staircase. Just like Kriesh had, Bombirdier bounced off and began to tumble down the staircase after Kriesh; Kriesh barely had time to register that the new arrival had disappeared before she was abruptly ripped from the world.

Darkness filled the air around Kriesh for a moment, and then she rematerialized at the bottom of the stairs. Bombirdier toppled down the stairway in a ball of feathers, bouncing off each step before finally coming to a rest at the bottom.

Bombirdier looked up just in time for the new arrival to lunge forwards from out of Kriesh's view and slash its horn across Bombirdier's outstretched neck. Bombirdier gurgled something unintelligible as he collapsed to the ground, his body slackening as life left his form.

Kriesh's claws dug into the carpet as she recognized who had just, in all likelihood, saved Marcus.

"How foolish of me to think Keeper-Of-Memories could protect Marcus on his own," Bringer-Of-Visions growled. "He is bound to his Trainer, and his Trainer cannot be everywhere at once. I shall have to call in some of the other nearby Heralds."

"What are you doing here?" Kriesh asked angrily.

Bringer-Of-Visions turned her head to glare at Kriesh. "Unlike you, I'm ensuring Marcus remains alive," Bringer-Of-Visions retorted. "Where is Spirit?"

"I don't know where Medicham is," Kriesh snarled. "We were trying to figure that out when-"

A Pidgeotto appeared out of the stairwell, screeching a battle cry as it lunged for Kriesh. Bringer-Of-Visions moved before Kriesh could blink; a flurry of Pursuit rays arrested the Pidgeotto's flight, and before it could recover Bringer-Of-Visions had sliced its belly open. The Pidgeotto crumpled to the ground beside Bombirdier's body, wailing, blood pooling under its writhing form.

"I'll have to have another discussion with Spirit after this," Bringer-Of-Visions murmured. "It seems I have not adequately impressed upon her the necessity of Marcus's survival."

"Her name is Medicham," Kriesh spat.

"I don't care," Bringer-Of-Visions growled. "Now are you going to help protect Marcus, Kriesh, or are you going to waste more time with your pointless arguing?"

A low growl coming from within her throat, Kriesh spread her wings as best she could and hurled herself back upstairs. Bringer-Of-Visions leaped forwards alongside her, horn awash with Dark energy. Kriesh knew both of them wanted the same thing - to protect Marcus. And despite her hatred for the leader of the Heralds, Kriesh knew Bringer-Of-Visions was much stronger than she was.

So, for Marcus's sake, she would accept Bringer-Of-Visions' aid.

"Sky Impact!" Kriesh snarled as she dove upwards, cannoning into a ponderous Azumarill not unlike Valerie's in stature and driving it back with the force of her charge. A Cofagrigus reached out with a ghostly hand, attempting to retaliate with what was almost certainly a Curse, but Bringer-Of-Visions drove her horn-blade into the Ghost-type's side before it could touch Kriesh. As Cofagrigus staggered, Bringer-Of-Visions teleported to the Ghost-type's other side, spun, and slashed it across the side with a swipe from her horn-blade. Cofagrigus toppled over, landing on top of a tiny Wishiwashi and crushing the Water-type as Kriesh reared back. "Barrage Impact!" A flurry of strikes knocked the Azumarill down before it could defend herself.

"Help us!"

Nebby's telepathic scream sent Kriesh spinning, desperate to find Marcus, Lillie, and Gladion. But as she beheld them, Kriesh realized they were still unharmed. Silvally was swatting away a Sharpedo with a Fighting energy-enhanced swipe; as a pair of Sandslash rushed Silvally from the side, vines exploded upwards, wrapping around both of them, and Kriesh saw Trevenant, a wrathful expression on their face, flick their branchlike fingers and send out a pair of Shadow Balls that slammed into the struggling duo of Sandslash, knocking them unconscious instantly.

"Help us!" Nebby cried again. "We're under attack in Kukui's house! I don't know how much longer we can hold all of them off! Please, whoever is nearby, send help!"

He's calling for backup, Kriesh realized. Which means he has the telepathic link up and running. With any luck, someone should show up soon enough.

Bringer-Of-Visions stepped into view; clearly she, too, had heard Nebby's call. She swept her horn in an arc, daring Necrozma's forces to come at her. Kriesh readied herself as another wave of adversaries came at her and Bringer-Of-Visions.

We'll just have to keep fighting until someone does show up.

---

Tapu Koko knew the Ultra Beasts' capabilities. Guzma, leader of the organization formerly known as Team Skull, had made sure of that. He had given Professor Kukui a data chip of some kind carrying information about the Ultra Beasts, information that had proved valuable when determining the best matchups for the Beasts.

For starters, much of the Ultra Beasts' strength was derived from their Beast Boost Ability, which allowed them to absorb the souls of the dead to increase their own strength. As such, the longer a fight went on and the more collateral damage that resulted, the stronger an Ultra Beast would get. Oftentimes in a fight, battlers would begin with probing attacks, testing an enemy's strength before unleashing their full power. Against an Ultra Beast, Tapu Koko had no such luxury.

But that was a double-edged sword for the Ultra Beasts. After a few activations of Beast Boost, an Ultra Beast would be a dangerous foe. But without any activations, Ultra Beasts were not as strong as Legendaries. Far from it.

And Stakataka, the Ultra Beast Tapu Koko was facing right now, had not been able to obtain any boosts from its Ability before Koko and the foreign Gym Leader Raihan had arrived to engage it and its allies that had been swarming Hau-oli City.

Raihan, with the aid of local Kahuna Hala and Trial Captain Ilima, had swiftly been able to stabilize the situation; Necrozma's forces still assaulted, but the trio of Trainers, along with any allies they could scrounge up, were sufficient to keep the attack contained to the space of a couple city blocks. Stakataka could not support its allies, for Koko had exerted his will upon the air, hardening it to the point where it formed a hemispherical dome that forced Koko and Stakataka into a fairly sizable arena, away from the rest of the fighting. The only way Stakataka could escape was by breaking Koko's concentration, and it had clearly decided the best way to do that was to knock Koko unconscious.

And it was failing.

Oh, sure, it was annoying. Stakataka's body was made up of at least a hundred stone-like blocks, and it could manipulate them as it pleased, twisting and bending its body in ways that defied several laws of physics and gravity. Furthermore, through a combination of what seemed to be Magnet Rise and Autotomize, it was actually fighting Tapu Koko in an aerial duel, moving with astonishing speed for something of its bulk. Titanic blasts of Ancient flew from its body, each one forcing Koko to expend energy to deflect it lest it wipe out an entire row of buildings, and the Iron constantly rippling across its body was of course a source of danger to the Fairy-type Tapu Koko as it lashed out with tendrils made up of a dozen individual bricks and charged Koko with head lowered over and over.

As such, a casual observer might have believed the Ultra Beast and the Tapu were fighting evenly. But if one watched for a long time, even the least discerning eye would notice that Stakataka, for all its strength, speed, and versatility, wasn't actually landing any hits on Koko.

The same could not be said for Koko's performance against Stakataka.

"Electric Surge: Lightning Storm!" Lightning coursed around Koko's body and blasted out in a dozen massive bolts.

"MATTER REARRANGEMENT." Stakataka attempted to evade, shifting its bricks around to create holes in its body that several of the Lightning bolts streaked through, but it could not evade them all; three hit, sending the Ultra Beast reeling.

"MATTER REALLOCATION."

"Shell Formation!" Koko brought his two arms together in front of him, encasing his front side in the yellow-white shell that grew across both his arms. "Sky's Madness: Alolan Winds!" A blast of Air shot out from the point where the two halves of his shell met, expanding into a barrage of wind so massive that the flurry of Ancient projectiles that Stakataka had fired slowed and stopped, tumbling uselessly to the ground before they could come close to Koko's body.

Koko opened up his shell, glowering at Stakataka. "I am the Tapu of the Skies," he growled. "I command every aspect of what lies above the earth. Clouds, wind, lightning. Even the atmosphere, if I become truly desparate. And you think to overcome me with such simple attacks? You may think of yourself as strong, but even with your power, you could never overcome a true Legendary."

Snarling, Stakataka rushed Koko through the air, the Ultra Beast moving with insane speed, covering his entire body in Iron. Drawing upon the winds to boost his speed, Koko slipped to the side with equal haste. As Stakataka rushed past him, Koko reached out with one arm and brushed Stakataka.

"Electric Surge: Tribocharge."

Stakataka roared in agony as its entire form lit up with the Lightning Koko's touch had transmitted. Koko drew back; the Ultra Beast turned towards him, readying for another barrage of attacks, eyes glowing red.

Electric Surge, Koko's Ability, allowed the Tapu to perfectly control Electric energy. In theory, the Ability was a strictly worse version of Regieleki's Transistor, which gave him control over Lightning. But Koko was a Legendary, and one whose powers as the Tapu of the Skies gave him natural control over Lightning. This natural control was such that he could transmute Electric energy into Lightning, granting him effective control over Lightning as well. It was similar to Rain Dish vs. Swift Swim - a Pokemon with Swift Swim was effectively made up of pure Water energy, allowing them to dissolve into Water energy and reform at will. A Pokemon with Rain Dish could achieve a similar feat, but it took many years of Training to unlock that aspect of their Ability.

Tapu Koko had been alive for countless millennia. He'd had more than enough time to train.

As Koko readied another barrage of Lightning, a telepathic voice called out in his mind. "Help us!"

Koko froze. Who…

"Help us! We're under attack in Kukui's house! I don't know how much longer we can hold all of them off! Please, whoever is nearby, send help!"

Koko at once sent his own telepathic message through Lele's Psychic link. "Did anyone else just hear that?"

"Hear what?" Lele asked.

"I heard it," Zekrom growled. "Little busy right now, though."

"What are you talking about?" Zeraora queried. "I really don't need distractions like this right now…this Xurkitree thing's faster than it looks!"

"Kukui's house is being overrun," said Koko. "They need help immediately."

"I'm not sure any of us are capable of helping out right now," Bulu admitted. "We're still engaged with the Ultra Beasts."

"And the Bittercold is proving an irritatingly durable adversary," said Zacian. "We're all occupied up here."

"I can help."

This new, male voice sent a stir across the mind-link. "The Immortal King," Fini intoned. "I did not realize you were here."

"I would be grateful if you referred to me as AZ," said the Immortal King. "Attend to your battles. I will clear the house."

With that, AZ's voice disappeared as fast as it had arrived. Melmetal was the first to speak up again. "Right, who thinks they're gonna be done the fastest?"

"I'm sure I can take this thing down quick," Zeraora growled. "Just…need to…pin it down!"

"As soon as you are done," said Koko, "return to Melemele as fast as possible. It has become clear that leaving the plateau this lightly guarded is untenable."

"I doubt I will be done for a while," said Magearna. "I'm having trouble even locating Kartana. He's a fast one."

"I told you I should have gone after him," Zeraora stated.

"We needed you for Xurkitree," said Koko. "I could not leave Melemele, and aside from me you're the best at countering Electric-types. Have faith in Magearna. She will not fail us."

"Indeed," said Magearna. "I will not."

---

"Torrent: Water Shuriken!" Greninja hissed, unleashing a torrent of Water energy-formed stars at the Blaziken that was rushing him. Caught off-guard by the sudden priority move, the Blaziken staggered, and in that moment Tierno's Oricorio leaped in from the side. "Dancer: Feather Pirouette!" With a spinning kick, Oricorio decked the Blaziken in the face, knocking the Fire/Fighting-type to the ground.

"Torrent: Water Dagger!" Greninja leaped forwards, manifesting a watery blade in one hand; Blaziken was just raising his head when Greninja slashed the dagger across his cheek. Blaziken toppled back to the ground, and stayed where he was for good this time.

Greninja flicked his head to the side, tossing another Water Shuriken at a Swalot off to the side, taking a glance at his Trainer as he did so. Shauna was in a little cluster with Tierno, Trevor, and Kahili; Kahili's Toucannon was keeping up a storm of energy projectiles, peppering anyone who came at the group of Trainers with a withering barrage.

The attack had come when Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor had been meeting up on Akala Island to exchange stories; Kahili had arrived shortly afterwards alongside the Legendary Magearna, who had gone off in search of an Ultra Beast known as Kartana while Kahili's team leaped into battle against the horde of Pokemon Necrozma had unleashed. It was tough going; even with Greninja's speed, he found it hard to keep up with the rapidity of the battle. But Trainers from all across Akala had come with their Pokemon to even the odds slightly, rising up in defense of their home. Greninja saw one now, a labcoat-wearing man shouting commands to an Aurorus and Omastar as they dueled with four enemy Pokemon, evening the odds with sweeping attacks that kept the enemies back.

Never thought I'd wind up in the middle of something like this, Greninja thought, continuing to watch the scientist command his two Fossils. I should concentrate. There's more fighting to be done.

Something blurred, and the Aurorus froze. Greninja turned back towards the Aurorus just in time to see its head slowly slide off its body, its neck sliced in half. The two pieces of the Aurorus had barely begun to topple to the ground when the Omastar, in the middle of twisting towards his ally, suddenly stopped moving as well. Greninja stared, unable to turn his head away, as the left and right halves of the Omastar's body fell in opposite directions, landing on the ground next to the decapitated Aurorus.

The scientist collapsed to his knees; Greninja could do nothing but continue to stare in horror as the man bent down, squeezing his eyes shut as if trying to convince himself that this was all a nightmare. It was the last thing the man did; blood suddenly exploded out of the front of his throat and he fell to the ground beside his two Pokemon, his neck ripped cleanly open.

A choked gasp from behind Greninja indicated that Shauna had seen the carnage too. Greninja saw a small object - no, a creature - flying straight towards him. A small voice came to Greninja on the wind.

"ecilS gnittuC-taorhT."

Every instinct in Greninja's body screamed at him to run. He tapped into Shadow Sneak, not yanking himself to any particular point, just somewhere away from this thing. He felt a sudden sharp pain on the left side of his neck, and as he materialized, he put a hand to it and it came away bloody.

And the creature was floating in midair. It was tiny, only a little bit larger than a Ribombee. It seemed to be made up entirely of interlocked blades, with its arms and its legs honed to such sharp points that they shone in the sunlight. It had one large diamond-shaped yellow eye in the center of its head. The eye was staring right at Greninja.

"Greninja!" Shauna screamed. She'd seen the blood. The creature's eyes flicked over to Shauna; before Greninja could blink, it lunged.

Greninja couldn't see where it was aiming. But he somehow knew the creature was aiming for Shauna.

"ecilS gnikeeS-traeH," the creature droned, lunging forwards with one blade-arm outstretched and glinting with energy. Greninja had no time to do anything, not to try and attack the creature, not even to leap between it and Shauna.

"Soul-Heart. Soul Siphon."

The sound of a female voice made the creature freeze in midair. The light in its eye died and the Steel energy wreathed around his blade arm faded away; the creature's body hung suspended in midair as a translucent copy made of pure, constantly shifting energy was ripped straight out of its back, bound by yet more Life. The copy was borne upwards, struggling, as the silvery form of Magearna faded into existence.

"Kartana," Magearna intoned. "You have caused enough death today."

"siht si sihT?" Kartana hissed, his energy copy struggling against Magearna's grip.

"A soul," Magearna stated, gazing upon the energy-created Kartana, "is the spiritual part of a human or Pokemon. That spiritual aspect of us is represented through the energy that lies inherent in our bodies, waiting to be used. And it is that aspect of us that my Ability, Soul-Heart, grants me control over. I would cease your struggles, Kartana, lest I am forced to display more of what I am capable of doing with one's soul."

Kartana's energy form ceased to shift.

"A wise choice," said Magearna, turning towards the four-strong group of Trainers that were staring in shock at the scene. "Humans, turn your attention elsewhere. There is still a battle going-"

"ecilS gnicreiP-ygrenE."

A ghastly tearing sound erupted as the Life surrounding Kartana's soul was split into pieces. Kartana's soul lunged back into its body, and the Life around that was also ripped apart by a rapid slash of Kartana's twin blade-arms even as Magearna turned back towards the Ultra Beast.

"Hold that thought," Magearna said coolly as Kartana rushed the Legendary with blade-arms drawn back. Magearna raised her arms and unleashed a barrage of Aura Spheres at Kartana; with a drone of "ecilS gnicreiP-ygrenE," Kartana twisted and tore through each one of the Aura Spheres, rotating his body like a rapidly-moving fan.

Magearna frowned. "Soul-Heart: Soul Transfer."

This time, it was Magearna's body that ceased to glow with energy as she ripped her soul out of her own body. Magearna's energy form materialized behind Kartana even as the Ultra Beast ripped right through her physical form, tearing through the armor with a single stroke of his blade.

"For most Legendaries, that would have been debilitating," said Magearna, the sound of her voice attracting Kartana's attention. "But my role, as decreed by Arceus, is to seek out those who have been wrongly stripped of their physical forms in battle. I am capable of bequeathing any Legendary enough energy to reassume their physical form, granting them the ability to do so at a tiny fraction of the normal time." Before Greninja's eyes, Magearna's energy form was encased in a cocoon of silver, which immediately transformed into a complete copy of Magearna's silvery body even as her old body crumbled to dust. "You are strong, Kartana, but far too one-note in your power. And that is why this is a fight you cannot win."

"ecilS gnicreiP-romrA." Looking angered, Kartana lunged for Magearna once more, Steel energy coursing around both his arms.

Magearna stared levelly at Kartana as the Ultra Beast neared her. "Soul-Heart: Soul Fleur."

Greninja's eyes widened as an explosion of Life rippled outwards from Magearna's body, looking as if it were a six-petaled pink flower as it burst forth. The sheer force of the wind generated by the explosion was enough by itself to send Kartana's tiny body flying backwards. "ecilS gnicreiP-ygnerE," he snarled, twisting in midair and scything through the explosive life-made petal that came at him, cutting it into two separate halves.

Magearna brought her hands up; beckoned by her, the five remaining petals began to retract, flowing towards her outstretched hands. "Everything has a soul," she murmured. "Not just humans and Pokemon, but also plant life, the earth, even the vast sea. And none show it better than the humble flower. On the surface, a flower is simplistic. But that beautiful color is not created by nature. It is formed by the flower's soul, the spiritual construct that gives each flower its own unique identity. A Pokemon's soul is natural, manifesting itself as unique in everyone. A human's soul is less so, and much harder to manifest in true energy. But a flower is unrivaled in the difficulty of manifesting its soul, for a flower must defy nature itself in order to do so." Magearna chuckled softly. "You could do a lot worse than learning from the flowers, as I have."

Kartana came on, unheeding of Magearna's speech.

"Allow me to demonstrate." The glow of Life in Magearna's hands reached a fever pitch. "Soul-Heart: Fleur Cannon."

A titanic beam of Life erupted from Magearna's hands, so wide and tall that Greninja didn't think Kartana had any way of dodging it. Unfortunately, Kartana was fast enough to jink his entire body to the side, just barely getting clear of Magearna's Fleur Cannon. The titanic beam ripped through a nearby copse of trees, except the trees did not shatter or even bend, the Fleur Cannon almost seeming to bend and contort around them as it flew through the trees and beyond.

But even as Magearna spun, continuing to fire the Fleur Cannon from her body, the Life-imbued beam carving through the air as it chased the charging Kartana, the air was once more ripped in two right next to Greninja. Greninja flinched away, preparing for more adversaries, but this portal was not like the others. Instead of the glowing blue checkerboard pattern that the Ultra Beasts' portals all shared, this portal was round with frayed edges, and the center was an endless abyss of darkness.

A creature burst out of the new portal, a female voice booming outwards. "Contrary: Energy Redirection!"

Kartana's form exploded in a gout of Life as all of the energy enhancing his blade-arm was suddenly reflected back into his own body. Kartana's body cannoned into the earth, kicking up a massive spray of dirt as he skidded through the ground at least fifteen feet.

The new creature was colored bright pink with red splotches all over its body. It floated on a large white cloud, and a purple snakelike construct dotted with red hearts twined around its torso. It would have looked almost cute if it hadn't been for the Distortion that wreathed its form, enshrouding its body and radiating pure malice.

Magearna's eyes narrowed as fifty more creatures lunged from the newly-created portal. All were Pokemon, Greninja realized, but all were similarly Distortion-wreathed, looking like twisted facsimiles of their former selves. Greninja's eyes quickly made out a Poliwrath, Gourgeist, and Manectric among the group, all bearing horrific wounds - the Manectric's throat was split open, the Poliwrath's legs were missing and replaced by Distortional formations, and the Gourgeist had a gaping hole in its head.

And after them all came the most terrifying entity yet. This entity did not leave the portal, merely remaining inside it, gazing outward. But it practically blazed with malevolence, its twin red eyes shining as it glared upon the world beyond its portal.

"You have your orders." At those four words from the entity, the fifty-one Distortional creatures broke into a full sprint, heading towards the mass of Necrozma's minions that could still be seen nearby.

"Giratina." Magearna had been fairly soft-spoken even while facing Kartana; now her voice held a hard edge, and she spoke the name with a distinct anger in her tone. "I am capable of handling such affairs myself."

"And now you can go and handle some other affair," Giratina growled, "instead of continuing this pointless duel. My forces and I have come here to help, nothing more."

"We both know that is not true, Giratina," Magearna retorted.

"Believe what you will, Lady of the Soul," said Giratina. "But if I were you, I would pay more attention to the creatures trying to destroy the world. I cannot leave Distortion. I present no threat."

Anger burned in Magearna's eyes as she turned her back on Giratina. "Very well." She reached out a hand and sent a single Aura Sphere at Kartana just as the Ultra Beast feebly stirred. Kartana had just enough time to open his single eye before the Aura Sphere crashed into his body and knocked him down; this time he did not rise again. "I will be watching, Giratina."

"Do what you wish," Giratina intoned, casting his gaze over to the right. Greninja realized that he was staring at the fallen bodies of the scientist and his Pokemon; as Greninja looked over, he spotted Distortion dancing around the Pokemon's bodies, reaching out between their halved forms and drawing them back together. The two dead Pokemon rose, bound back together by Giratina's power, and leaped mindlessly back into the fighting, leaving their Trainer lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

Fury danced in Magearna's eyes, but clearly she recognized that the battle at hand was more important than Giratina's arrival. With a huff, she sped off, shedding her physical form and disappearing into Life in an instant.

Greninja was left standing numbly; it took a few moments for him to remember that she, too, was taking part in this battle. At once, he turned and began to run towards the fighting, trying not to pay attention to the Lord of Distortion behind him.

---

Sierra's teleportation was surprisingly hard on the senses. Teleportation could be instantaneous, but many teleporters intentionally slowed down, taking a few extra seconds to jump from one point to another, in order to lessen the impact on the body. If this was not done, the cognitive dissonance of being in a completely different part of the world than you had been mere seconds earlier temporarily rendered the unpracticed dizzy and slightly nauseous for a few moments.

Sierra's Alakazam had not slowed in the slightest. Betrayer-Of-Kin was far from unpracticed, but the grunts around her clearly were, for they spent a few moments groaning, hands over their stomachs as they blinked their eyes to try and escape the dizziness.

Betrayer-Of-Kin glanced around in amusement. She had not expected to be back here so soon. It was ironic that her association with Giovanni, which had truly originated in this exact room, now had led her right back.

"Finally!" Faba's voice was annoyed; Betrayer-Of-Kin glanced over to see the reedy scientist glaring at Sierra, the larger-bodied Xerosic standing behind him and also looking annoyed. "Was Giovanni napping or something? This could destroy all our research! Months of work down the drain! And you, if you vomit on my laboratory floor-"

"Faba," said Sierra, who like Betrayer-Of-Kin was completely unaffected by her Alakazam's rapid teleportation, "rather than complaints, I want an update on the situation. Allies, enemies, resources to draw on, and the defensive capabilities of this facility in comparison to whatever is attacking. If you have anything other than that to say, then don't, because I don't have time to listen to your whining."

Faba blanched, grimaced, and then sighed. "Xerosic?"

"The Ultra Beast known as Blacephalon engaged Aether forces a few minutes ago," said the portly scientist, "along with a legion of Pokemon similar to those of our world but radiating energy like that of the Ultra Beasts. A minute after that, the Legendary Volcanion arrived alongside Kanto-Johto Water-type Gym Leader Misty to provide aid."

"Water against fire," Sierra noted. "Understandable. Isn't Volcanion a Kalosian Legendary?"

"Indeed," said Xerosic. "Then again, Zacian, Zamazenta, and Zekrom, all of whom have been seen fighting Necrozma's forces on Melemele Island, are not Alolan either. It would seem that the local Legendaries got some help from other regions, same as Kukui did."

"Are there any Legendary-level forces aside from Volcanion on this island?" Sierra asked.

"No." Faba finally spoke up again. "We were too busy delivering the requested supplies to reactivate the Type: Full program. And with all the previous Type: Fulls destroyed-"

"A simple no will suffice," said Sierra. "I don't want excuses. To be honest, I like it when Xerosic talks more than when you do, so please shut up."

Faba recoiled, looking shocked. Sierra turned to Xerosic. "Volcanion's presence is a boon," said Sierra. "We lack the firepower to bring down Blacephalon ourselves. Misty, on the other hand, must be removed. She may recognize us and our intent, and so she represents a threat to this mission. You, grunts, will be in charge of securing Blacephalon once Volcanion has defeated him - Xerosic, detach some Aether personnel to aid in that if possible. I will deal with Misty myself."

"Yes, Executive Sierra!" The grunts, by now recovered, turned and dashed out of the lab; Betrayer-Of-Kin could hear echoing explosions and screams as the door flew open; they then disappeared as the door swung closed again.

"Betrayer-Of-Kin," Sierra said, turning towards her. "I'm going to assume you have your own thing going on. If you want to help, good. Otherwise, whatever you do, stay out of our way."

Betrayer-Of-Kin dipped her head and stepped backwards into Oblivion. "As you wish."

---

Violence continued to reign across Melemele Plateau as the endless tide of Pokemon thrashed against the comparatively tiny amount of defenders. Oftentimes in battle, quality was regarded as stronger than quantity, simply because a strong Pokemon could easily launch attacks that struck a large portion of enemies. But there were limits to that. And Necrozma's forces were taking full advantage of that limitation. Little by little, the defenders were being overwhelmed, forced backwards by sheer numbers.

Up in the air, however, it was a different story.

"Teravolt: Graupel!" Zekrom roared. The stormcloud raging around his body erupted in a flurry of white crystallized pellets, hundreds of spheres lancing out towards the Dark Legion. Five crumpled, overwhelmed by the barrage, and many others reeled, the corruptive energies that surrounded their bodies rippling in the disturbed air.

Teravolt and Turboblaze, the Abilities of Zekrom and Reshiram, gave them control over the cold and warm aspects of weather, respectively. Zekrom's main domain was thunderstorms; Reshiram's, droughts. Both held many, many other aspects of their respective types of weather, granting them valuable versatility.

In many ways, Zekrom's Ability was similar to Tapu Koko's. Being the Tapu of the Skies, he had similar weather control, alongside many other powers related to the air itself, granting the Tapu far more versatility than Zekrom. But the more focused nature of Zekrom's weather control made it much stronger than the Tapu's. The Tapu could create a Category 5 tornado with a small exertion of effort; Zekrom could summon a localized Category 5 hurricane with nothing more than a wave of his hand.

Against most foes, a localized Category 5 hurricane would finish the fight. It was fairly difficult to fight effectively in the midst of wind speeds over 150 miles per hour, and that was before Zekrom drew upon his power to push that wind speed even higher. Unfortunately, the Dark Legion appeared to be stronger than most foes.

It was unnerving how they fought, attacking like a mindless horde and yet with a synchronicity that implied intelligence. The energy surrounding their bodies was pure corruption, the same kind they'd been firing at him; the few attacks that had struck Zekrom had carried a foul taint, and when they'd hit they'd tried to seep into his body like acid, yearning to infect him, to corrupt him. It would take more than a few of those blasts to do that, but if Zekrom wasn't careful the Dark Legion could easily land more than a few of those blasts.

And, irritatingly, the corruption seemed to offer their actual bodies some form of protection. Graupel should have taken out more than a few, especially after the attacks Zekrom had already struck them with. But even now, most were rallying and rushing Zekrom once more, firing blasts of corruptive energy at the Lord of Ideals.

Zekrom retaliated with a Dragon Breath. To most, Dragon Breath was a weak technique, used by unevolved Dragon-types as an unrefined version of Dragon Pulse. A scattered blast rather than a concise beam. But the scattered nature of it was exactly what Zekrom desired in this situation.

Being a Legendary, Zekrom's version of Dragon Breath was a fair bit more powerful than usual.

A torrent of Eterna swept out from Zekrom's maw in a wave, rippling as it surged through the air. The wave expanded as it flew, spreading outwards, impacting the corruptive projectiles hurled by the Dark Legion and dissipating their energies before it. Zekrom swept his head to the side, unleashing more Eterna, tearing through the projectiles of the Dark Legion all around him. The sky glowed blue and purple.

Zekrom finished his breath. He had no need of breathing; with Teravolt giving him control over cold aspects of weather, he had long since learned to passively conjure air into his lungs. He glared up at the members of the Dark Legion still flying, the stormclouds around him beginning to swirl. "I tire of this," he snarled. "Teravolt: Cyclogenesis!"

At the sound of Zekrom's roar, the clouds erupted in a whirling frenzy, a localized extratropical cyclone spinning around the Lord of Ideals' form, enshrouding him so that all anyone could see of him was his two eyes staring outwards.

The Dark Legion was powerful. But their small size made them quite light, and as such they were one and all picked up by the cyclone spinning around Zekrom, borne uncontrollably upon the high winds. Some attempted to fire on Zekrom once more, but the blasts were picked up by the storm and dissipated long before they reached their target.

"Teravolt!" Zekrom boomed from the eye of the storm. "Thundersnow!"

Thunder and Blizzard were two of the strongest known moves available to mortals. Obtaining access, let alone mastery, of those moves was seen as the pinnacle of power for many Ice and Electric-types. Zekrom wove them together with a flick of his hand, and with a single gesture he unleashed a tide of crackling bolts of Lightning and uncountable pellets of Aurora upon the hapless Dark Legion.

The explosion of energy was so immense that the cyclone around Zekrom was obliterated, the power carried upon Zekrom's conjured Thundersnow too much for it. The Dark Legion were tossed away like golf balls, sailing away at velocities so impossible that a few of their bodies disintegrated from the sheer force of their flight. They fell in their entirety, and Zekrom rose triumphant, the stormclouds cast aside to reveal the sun as it silhouetted his victorious form.

---

"Intrepid Sword: Behemoth Blade!"

Zacian leaped, swinging her head to the side as she did so, and carved yet another deep gash across the Bittercold's form. The Bittercold howled, unleashing a retaliatory frosty blast, but with a snarl of "Dauntless Shield: Absorbing Aegis!" Zamazenta lunged between the two, intercepting the Bittercold's attack with the Aura-emblazoned shield surrounding his head.

"Dauntless Shield: Behemoth Bash!" Zamazenta charged the Bittercold full-tilt. The Bittercold twisted, tapping into Levitate once more to spin its body wildly against Zamazenta's charge. The two slammed into one another, neither giving ground.

Zacian spun. "Intrepid Sword: Behemoth Blade!"

A sword as long as a football field materialized straight through the Bittercold's center. The Bittercold shrieked, recoiling, and in that moment Zamazenta's Behemoth Bash hit home, sending the Bittercold flying away, ripping itself off the sword as it did so.

Zacian grimaced as the Bittercold once more recovered, turning towards the Dogs of War and beginning to advance despite the blue blood leaking from the many wounds it had sustained. Over the course of the past several minutes, the Bittercold had sustained twenty-two sword wounds from Zacian's blades and nine slams from Zamazenta's head. Its barrages of negativity were useless against the strong mental barriers Zamazenta had conjured, and its Aurora-like attacks were mere annoyances to the Dogs of War and their collective Steel typing. There was no way the Bittercold could win this fight.

And yet it simply refused to die.

"Give me a break!" Zamazenta snarled as he raised another shield of Aura to deflect a volley of not-Aurora fired from the Bittercold's form. "What's it going to take to finish this thing?"

"It does not appear to have a healing factor," Zacian noted.

"Yeah," Zamazenta growled, "but it's bulky enough that it doesn't need one!"

"Maybe so," said Zacian. "I see now why it took the Swords of Justice so long to kill it five hundred years ago. It was so tough that it could take everything they threw at it and keep fighting, especially after they were exhausted from fighting through most of Unova beforehand."

Zacian's eyes sparkled. "But we are not the Swords of Justice. We are the Dogs of War. I think it's time we showed this thing why we are Arceus's chief enforcers. Ready for an execution, Zamazenta?"

Zamazenta grinned. "Not a bad idea. This'll be tough without a neck, though."

"I think the center will suffice," said Zacian.

"Fair enough." Zamazenta hurled himself forwards, Zacian a half-step behind. The Bittercold came on, roaring in pain and fury, unleashing random blasts of chilling energy. Zacian forced herself to run through, ignoring the chill - even with her natural resistances, she couldn't take attacks like that all day, but a few seconds of this was nothing to her.

"Dauntless Shield: Behemoth Bash!" Zamazenta roared. As it had before, the Bittercold twisted so that its edge faced Zamazenta, falling back on its usual method of defending against the Fighting/Steel-type's attacks.

Exactly as expected.

"Now!" Zacian cried.

"Dauntless Shield: Behemoth Barrier!" Zamazenta bellowed. Aura arose to the left of the Bittercold's spinning body, framing the Bittercold in a massive square of glowing blue energy.

Zacian darted to the right. "Intrepid Sword!" she cried, materializing another massive blade in her jaws. She twisted in midair, carving the blade through the air, swinging it at the Bittercold so that it would strike when the blade was perfectly parallel with its body.

"Executioner's Blade!"

The Bittercold screamed as Zacian's blade hit dead center. As Zacian had expected, its center was tougher than the icy spokes on the outside of its body, and the Bittercold would have been thrust away rather than cut but for the Aura-formed barrier blocking it from moving that way. Pinned, there was nowhere for the Bittercold to go, no way it could avoid Zacian's blade. Zacian hauled back and twisted her head to the side with all her strength.

The Bittercold's resistance broke, and Zacian's blade streaked sideways until it struck Zamazenta's barrier, cleaving the monstrosity clean in half.

"Dauntless Shield: Absorbing Aegis!" Zamazenta lunged in front of Zacian, raising a swift barrier as the Bittercold exploded in a dying flurry of frozen wind. Zamazenta grunted, straining with the effort of deflecting the sheer force of the Bittercold's death throes. How ironic that its death would be its strongest attack, Zacian found herself thinking.

As the wind finally slackened, as the two halves of the Bittercold's body began to tumble down, down into the waiting ocean, Zacian looked up at Necrozma. The titanic creature met her gaze; anger burned in Necrozma's eyes.

"I have had enough of you!" Necrozma bellowed. "Come, Primal Dialga! Tear them apart!"

Primal Dialga?

Yet another gateway ripped open in the sky, and to Zacian's surprise the Lord of Time himself stepped out. But he was different, his body wreathed in orange hues, a low growl emanating from him as the gateway disappeared, leaving him standing in midair. Zacian noticed Primal Dialga seemed to be vibrating as he floated, glaring at the Dogs of War balefully.

But that shouldn't be possible. Dialga is powerful. He is one of the few Legendaries that could conceivably rival either Zamazenta or I in a fight. But he cannot fly. Never has he been able to access that power.

Zacian peered closer as the vibrating Primal Dialga continued to stare at her and Zamazenta. The air around him seemed to be distorting, and as Zacian watched part of a cloud that shifted into the bubble of distorting air around Primal Dialga stopped moving and began to vibrate in place as well, even as the rest of the cloud moved normally towards the bubble.

That bubble…within it, time is repeating, Zacian realized. The same moment, happening over and over again, repeating at a speed so fast that our eyes perceive it as vibrations. Which means Primal Dialga isn't flying - he's falling. Falling from the exact same height every single time loop. Yet each loop is so short that gravity only takes hold on him for a couple microseconds.

All of that, of course, unites to create the illusion that he's floating.

Zacian swallowed. The level of power required to achieve that kind of temporal control…I don't think even Dialga is capable of that.

Looks like this will be a real fight.

Primal Dialga raised its head to the sky and let out a horrifying, vibrating roar in challenge. A challenge that the Dogs of War, despite their new adversary's clear strength, would not hesitate to answer.

---

Marshadow threw a Distortion-enhanced punch hard enough to tear the Sigilyph-lookalike corruptive creature in half, then tapped into Shadow Sneak once more to avoid yet another volley of Rust-enhanced projectiles. As he reappeared, he once more took a moment to ponder his options.

Spectral Thief was out now that Dark Rust's shadow was outside his barrier. No conventional attack, melee or ranged, had proven capable of piercing the barrier. Attempting to use Copycat, one of his more rarely drawn-upon moves, to duplicate Dark Rust's barrier had failed completely, as the technique had somehow been unable to replicate the barrier's invincibility. Teleporting into the micro-space between Dark Rust and the barrier had just gotten Marshadow another faceful of Rust, forcing him to immediately teleport out again before he could use any actual attacks. And even if Marshadow did get an attack off with that method, Dark Rust would just heal it off.

Amidst Marshadow's dwindling suite of options, one technique he had left unused was becoming increasingly obvious. Drawing upon his Z-Move to try and brute-force it, unleashing far more power than Marshadow was otherwise capable of using.

Z-Moves were derived from Z-Crystals, concentrated pockets of pure energy that allowed the user to temporarily draw upon power that dwarfed their own. These had been created long ago by the Tapus, in order to bequeath some of their own strength to native Alolans for use in the Trials against their chosen champions. Some Z-Crystals corresponded to elements, such as Blaze, Overgrow, or Torrent, while others corresponded to specific Pokemon, such as Kommo-O, Lycanroc, or Pikachu (the last one being, Marshadow suspected, because Tapu Koko had always held a strange fondness for the species).

The Tapus, being the Tapus, were able to create and synthesize their own Z-Crystals, including unique ones specific to themselves. These they could then unleash, albeit at significant cost to their stamina, as the sheer expenditure of power required to quickly create, shatter, and utilize a Z-Crystal was immensely taxing even to a Legendary.

In the prelude to the War of Legends, Marshadow had absorbed the power of the Tapus, and in doing so, had gained the knowledge necessary to create a unique Z-Crystal for himself, though with the same drawbacks as the Tapus faced. Ironically, the move had been another reason he'd fallen during that war; arrogantly believing himself invincible, he'd tapped into the technique too many times, exhausting himself and reducing his own capabilities.

But he'd never forgotten the technique. In fact, he'd used it first thing against Necrozma during his assault on the creature and his Ultra Beasts a couple months back. That had been a calculated risk; knowing that Necrozma was the strongest and the leader, Marshadow had guessed, correctly, that Necrozma's fall would demoralize the Ultra Beasts and throw them into disarray, preventing them from adequately coordinating their attacks.

This time, though, Marshadow knew his fight with Dark Rust would not be the last battle he undertook. And he did not want to use his Z-Move before he even got a chance to go after Necrozma.

But, Marshadow mused as he avoided another flurry of corruptive projectiles, he was starting to think his Z-Move was his only real shot of breaking Dark Rust's barrier. His stupid, impenetrable, passive barrier.

How does a completely impenetrable barrier that never goes down as long as the user concentrates make any kind of sense?

Wait.

How does it make sense?

Realizations raced through Marshadow's head one after the other. A barrier as impenetrable as that can't just be impenetrable from the outside. Which means it's not up when he's firing his projectiles. Which means he's not keeping that thing up 'all the time'. He has to bring it down occasionally.

It's only a hunch. For all I know, he could have some stupid power that allows him to fire through his own barrier. But if he doesn't…

Then I just might have the key to winning this thing.

Another torrent of Rust-created Unown rushed Marshadow. Marshadow unleashed a wave of Distortion, ripping them apart in an instant. Before, he would have impatiently rushed Dark Rust, trying another flurry of punches to break the creature's guard. Now, he held his ground.

"Given up, have we?" Dark Rust taunted; Rust rippled across the creature's body as another wave of projectiles began to fly forth-

And Marshadow Shadow Sneaked right up to Dark Rust and punched him square in the face.

Dark Rust roared in surprise, staggering backwards; he managed to throw up his barrier again as Marshadow came in for another punch, deflecting it. Thwarted, Marshadow drew back, a smirk on his face. "You can't attack as long as you have that barrier up," he said. "So what's your plan now, Dark Rust? Sit there and wait for me to go away?"

"Not a bad idea," Dark Rust shot back. "You can't beat me as long as my barrier is up. And I can keep it up as long as I desire. Your friends…they need you, don't they? What are they going to think when you spend the entire battle sitting up here watching me?"

Marshadow clenched his fists.

"Ooh, was that a nerve I struck?" Dark Rust asked. "Your choice. Either stay here and watch me, or leave and let me find another opponent. What's it gonna be?"

Unexpectedly, Marshadow smiled. "You're wrong."

"Am I?" Dark Rust asked. "By all means, enlighten me."

"You can't keep that barrier up forever," said Marshadow. "It's impenetrable, right? That includes air, doesn't it?"

"What makes you think I need to breathe?" Dark Rust asked rapidly.

"Because I'm pretty sure," said Marshadow, "I just heard fear in your voice." Marshadow flared Aura and Distortion across his entire body. "Technician! Bone-Shattering Shifting Strike Pummel!"

Marshadow lunged forwards, pounding a fist against the barrier in front of Dark Rust. Then in back, then to the left, then the right, and then from a hundred other directions as Marshadow drew upon Close Combat and Shadow Sneak at the same time, teleporting to a different point around Dark Rust's body with every single punch he threw, forcing Dark Rust to keep his barrier upraised on all sides lest a punch sneak through.

Thirty seconds passed. Marshadow kept punching, his fists slamming into the barrier time and time again, each hit generating a miniature explosion of energy. The explosions might have forced him backwards a little if he wasn't teleporting in between each one, warping around Dark Rust so quickly that the energy backlash from striking an invincible barrier missed him completely each and every time.

One minute passed. Dark Rust was beginning to perspire. His own near-skintight barrier was working against him, giving him very little air to work with. Still he kept the barrier up, and so still Marshadow punched and punched and punched, refusing to allow exhaustion to slow his barrage. One lapse could let Dark Rust momentarily drop the barrier and get some air. And Marshadow would not let that happen.

One minute and thirty seconds passed. Marshadow kept punching, and as he did, he heard Dark Rust begin to audibly choke, the creature looking strained as he tried to keep his barrier up. Marshadow could feel the strain of every punch now, and his body was screaming at him to stop. But he refused. He would not let this monster beat him.

Two minutes passed. Two minutes thirty seconds.

And then Dark Rust finally broke, and as the barrier went down Marshadow's fist struck Dark Rust once more, this time in the side, sending the creature careening away.

"Gotcha!" Marshadow crowed, tapping once more into Shadow Sneak. He reappeared right next to Dark Rust as the creature arose, fury radiating from his Rust-filled form. "Bone-Shattering Shifting Strike Pummel!"

The first fist struck Dark Rust full in the stomach, and Marshadow realized that the creature hadn't even bothered to put up his barrier.

Why would he-

And then Dark Rust dissolved into pure Rust. Rust that, before Marshadow could pull his fist back, use Shadow Sneak, or even leap away, flooded into Marshadow's fist.

Marshadow's arm erupted in pain, pain that traveled up it in the blink of an eye, reaching Marshadow's torso, his neck, his head. As Marshadow reeled, a scream that wasn't entirely in his voice emanating from his mouth, Dark Rust's voice sounded in the back of his mind.

"You know, that would have finished me once," the creature stated. "But when Necrozma saved me from my death, he showed me how it would happen in my base timeline. Gave me the knowledge I needed to prevent it, all in exchange for me aiding him here. And that knowledge allowed me to access a new technique. You forgot, Marshadow…I don't just use Rust. I am Rust."

"What did you do?!" Marshadow demanded.

"Your willpower was too strong to be rusted normally," said Dark Rust. "So I tapped into my ultimate technique, the one Necrozma taught me to nullify my defeat in my original timeline. By discarding my body and transforming into pure Rust, I was able to effectively possess your body. You are mine now, Marshadow. And if I may say so, your strength is truly impressive. It will be a pleasure for me to use it."

Marshadow watched helplessly through his own eyes as his body, now under Dark Rust's control, turned to face Zekrom.

"I am Rusted Marshadow," said Dark Rust through Marshadow's mouth. "I am ruin incarnate. I will bring destruction to this world. And all who live upon it…"

"…will become Rust."

This being my grand return, of course I had to end on a cliffhanger.