CHAPTER 4
Two Standpoints
Disclaimer: Pokémon belongs to Nintendo, Satoshi Tajiri, and the Pokémon Company International, while Super Sentai belongs to Toei Company Ltd. I own nothing but the idea, story, and my OCs.
Written by MagicWings001
It has already been five days. Five days since the Shinkaigers was able to finish off Cobra Inhumanoid without the help of Shinkai-Oh itself, being equipped with just quick wits and proficient strategizing. The Shinkaigers were currently relaxing on a cafe in Lumiose City for about two and a half hours, since they would've needed to go to Santalune by that time for Takeru's upcoming Gym battle against the Santalune City Gym Leader.
However, two of the team members weren't present in the area. Takeru wasn't there at all, as he was given a day off from leading the team to train his Pokémon and focus on his upcoming Gym match, which he would've usually done whenever M.Y.T.H.O.S has no other Inhumanoids to send off for them to kill. Ryouma also wasn't there, but unlike Takeru, he still remained in quarantine at the Guardia Base's housing area since he picked up Cobra Inhumanoid's viral pathogen.
However, he had finally woken up after being in a comatose-like state for so long, and he was making a rather fast recovery thanks to Takeru's vaccine.
"So, big brother, what are you going to do now that you're already fully prepared for your gym match against Antoine?" Erina said, calling her older brother through the U-Phone.
"Eh, Antoine's no fucking pushover, but at least I'll try and still plan my strategies against him and his bug types. However, since Ohkido-san allowed me the day off either, I suppose I'd go back to Vaniville to relax. After all, being away from Mom and Dad does make me miss home." Takeru said.
"Guess you've been as cunning as ever, eh, Take-chan?" Hikaru remarked, as he would join in on the call together with Ran.
"You knew I would've done that, slug. Have you got any plans to challenge the Santalune Gym as of yet, though?"
"Guilty as charged. But I don't think my team's prepared." The 17-year old replied back.
"In any case, I don't want to see you fuck up the match, Hikaru. Also, Ran, hold down the team together while I'm gone, yeah? I don't want my second in command to be a shit one, so don't screw this up, alright?" Takeru ordered.
"Gotcha, Takeru. Take your time, you're still tired after all, right?
"Yep, after all, those stupid M.Y.T.H.O.S members are pretty much like a machinegun ass shooting out turd after turd after turd after turd that even I can't keep up fighting them, you know? Anyways, I'm off, see you all in a few hours, alright?"
"Alright, bye, Take-chan!"
"Au revoir, Takeru."
"Goodbye, big brother."
Takeru then promptly chuckled before proceeding to hang up. "Take care, you lot!"
And thus, the Shinkaigers were left alone to relax to their heart's content, so long as there was no new attacks from M.Y.T.H.O.S to relentlessly plague them. However, unbeknownst to them, the organization is currently planning another one of their relentless, evil machinations.
Olympus Castle, Kalos
"Splendid work, Apollo. I expect you to deploy Scorpion Inhumanoid away into Santalune City shortly." Hera said, once again praising her favorite war hero and best general.
"Duly noted, Your Imperial Majesty. In my defense, I myself did not account for the Shinkaigers having no lethal side-effects to the viral pathogen from our last attempt. I have gone and made sure that would not be the case for this specific one." Apollo said, acknowledging his mistakes from the last attempt with Cobra Inhumanoid.
"Very well. Do not disappoint us, Apollo."
Guardia Base Kalos, Lumiose City
Lillie was currently still looking at her computer, scouring every part of the Shinkaiger suits' digital data files to find if there was any evidence about Takeru's communicator being hacked by the mysterious caller from before, with the secret communicator on the Shinkai Red helmet being connected up via a cable to a USB port. She was informed of the incident by Takeru after she had arrived in Kalos, however as the 17-year old did not want to continue talking about the incident (he'd probably knew that she would interrogate him to no end), she stayed silent about it to respect the wishes of her protege.
The Alolan woman though has to temporarily stop her search for the culprit of the hacking however, as the base's alert system suddenly blared, prompting Lillie to make her way into the briefing room, arriving just in time as her other proteges entered the room, including Hikaru.
"New Inhumanoid, huh?" Hikaru remarked almost immediately.
"Why is it that they have to send them out at a time like this... Big brother is away and Ryouma is in quarantine..." Erina loathed. The 15-year old girl was completely miffed at the situation, which had put her team on a massive disadvantage.
"Hold out some hope, Eri. Your brother was an excellent leader, but you need to give the team a chance to win. Speaking of which, Ran, as you're the next in line to succeed in the leadership position, you're now the acting leader. Don't let us and Takeru down, alright?"
"I'll try, Ohkido-san." Ran nodded.
"Alright then. Shinkaigers, you are to be deployed into the battlefield at once. Move out!" Lillie ordered.
With that order, the trio made a mad dash to the front door of the base, not even bothering to respond to Lillie herself, not that she even minded, anyway.
Santalune City, Kalos
True to the Guardia Base's alert systems, the Drapion-based monster was already in the vicinity of the area, infecting more people with a more lethal and improved version of the virus that Cobra Inhumanoid had used. Most of the citizens there were evacuating out of the city by orders from the local police, with said police forces being dependent on the Shinkaigers to defeat the cyborg monster.
Ran, Hikaru and Erina would later arrive in the city via the EvolStriker in their Ranger forms, with them having already taken out their weapons. However, due to his apparent stupidity, Scorpion Inhumanoid himself didn't even notice the three warriors approaching the area and pull up to momentarily discuss how to kill him.
"Damn, another Poison-type?" Hikaru remarked.
"Easy there, Blue. We already have the Golem Medal to finish him off. That shouldn't be too hard, right?" Ran said.
"I have a feeling that this plan will probably involve another virus in the commotion, because I see some stingers. We do not want any one of us to get an infection like Ryouma-san did. Big brother is out of commission, however..." Erina said before letting out a pout, still feeling miffed.
"You're right, Pink. So that means we couldn't do a form change yet. We could just probably go finish off that monster with the Golem Medal, but none of us really specialize in rougher close-range combat unlike Red."
"I'll go out." Hikaru declared.
Erina then subsequently became worried. "Huh!? Blue, that's dangerous!"
"Don't underestimate stuff, Hikaru! Takeru's gone through a lot just to kill a Poison-type like this thing!" Ran rebutted.
"Keh! If Take-chan can kill off an Inhumanoid like this fucker, then even I could do it anyway!"
"Don't be reckless, man. Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go, shall we?" Ran asked.
"Right!" The two remaining members said in unison.
"Ḭ̵̫̃'̶͈̈́v̴͖̮̑͂ë̶́ͅ ̵̩͛͘n̶̳̫̓e̸̛̳̫͌v̴̻̈́e̶̝͆r̶͎̬̓̄ ̸̣͐k̶̘͂ͅn̵̖͋o̵̥̲͆̍ẅ̴̳͑ͅň̸̠͈̏ ̵͇̱̐͠t̴͎̑ĥ̶̟̙̊à̷͍͍͌t̷̡̚ ̷̛̪̈́h̵͎͊̚ṷ̸̡́̓m̸͉̿̀a̵̡̒͠n̴̞̗̈́̾s̶̫̆͗ ̸̺̂c̴̛͔̔ó̴͔ũ̸̘͕͝l̴͚̟͘͝d̸̝̓̃ ̴͓̇̕b̶̯̳̀e̶̯̎̅ ̴̹̐ͅs̵͚̄ů̵̻̰̋c̴͎̮̄ĥ̴͈̣ ̴̳̝͒̐f̶̟̩̀̂o̵̗͎͘o̷̩̟͂̽l̶̟͌i̴͇̲͝ṩ̵̞̿h̴̨͕͑̔ ̷̪͝ĉ̶̫͌r̶͔̿̀e̷͖͆â̸̛̲͓t̷͍̮͌͋ũ̶͉̰r̵̙̾̊e̷̢̽s̴̹̮͛̆!̶͙͝ ̷̢͇͌͝S̸͎̲̓̓u̸̩̐̔f̴̹̕f̷͕̰͐͌e̷̢̠̅r̶̹̆ ̶̨͘t̵̯͒ͅo̸̳͋ ̵̗̕y̶͍̯̽o̴̱̒͝ͅu̶͎̱̾̋ṛ̸̖͐ ̶̛͙̙̽d̷́̀͜e̶̜͋å̵̞͌t̴̠͌h̷̢̳͑s̴͎̲̓͝,̵̪̌ ̶̩̫͝s̶̫͂͂ư̴̘̿f̶̈́̕ͅͅf̷̗̳̔̕è̴͚̉r̵̨̖̀,̷̫̑̊ ̵͉͉̕͠y̸̱̪̐ỏ̴̯̪u̵͔͓͊͠ ̷̘͂̈́v̶̰͠ě̸̥͗r̶͚͉͐͘m̵̫̽̈i̸̮͝-̷̢͉̑̋ ̵̜̮̆G̸̯̀̆a̵̛͈̾h̶̛̟͚́!̵̟̦́" Scorpion Inhumanoid said, before he was interrupted by a slash from the EvolRapier that Erina had delivered.
"Hold it right there, M.Y.T.H.O.S monster!" Ran said.
"S̸͍̮̅̓h̵̖̕i̷͓̋n̸̲͂ḱ̴̥͇a̷͔̅̈́ḯ̵̮g̶̹̕é̷̬͓͆r̸̙̮̎͘ŝ̴̻!̴̜͛ ̵̻̺̈́̽W̶͎̏̎ͅe̴͙̙͆l̵͖͗l̵̗̏͐,̷̡͂̈́ ̸̺͈̓n̸͈̓̈́ǫ̸͠ ̵̥̳̏m̷̙̓̊ã̷̦ṫ̵̰t̴̛̰̦e̵͙͓̊r̴͉͖̆̕.̶̛̖͗ ̸̗̣͑Y̵̭͐̌͜ǒ̶̙̀ù̸̡͝ ̶̗̊a̶̳̫̕͝r̸̟̈́͗e̷͖͑ ̸̪̪͊i̷͚̊n̵̙̦͑c̴̊ͅḁ̶̬̌̽p̷̼͆͌ǎ̸̫̪b̴̝̗͘l̶̛̝̐ȩ̵͎̍ ̴̢̥́̍ọ̵̢̐f̸͙̬̌̆ ̸̹͇̋̚t̴͇̗̉ą̷̀k̴̩̓̕i̴̝͎͛n̷̟͝g̷͖̓͆ ̵̠͔͒̽t̵̩́h̵̭͆͛i̶͕̥͐s̵̳̺̏͘ ̴͉̦͊S̵͍̻̾c̷͉̖̍͛o̷̳̾ŗ̷̺̅̎ṕ̶̥̓ì̶͚͍o̶͚̳͊n̶̼̍ ̷͉̫͗̃Í̶͕̇n̴̝͋̏ḣ̷̺u̶̧̪̓m̷̹͕̍̋a̴̧̛̤͐n̷̯̂̀o̶͈̍̕ͅỉ̴͕͍̍d̴͇̂ ̶͙̈ō̴̠̕ũ̷̩͚t̸̼̒ ̸͔̊̉w̵͑ͅͅi̶͓̾ͅt̸̗͌ḣ̶̥̽ő̴̢ṷ̷̑͒ẗ̴̗̲́ ̸̳̮͒ṭ̸̺͝ẃ̵̰͕͘o̷̜̅ ̸̖͂m̵̲̉̾e̵̘̠̔m̷̝͝b̵̥͍͂e̵̮͊ŕ̶̠s̶̢̺͐!̴̡̑́"
Hikaru then retorted in defiance. "We may be down two members, but hey, scorpion-man! We'll be your opponent!"
Scorpion Inhumanoid then proceeded to accept the challenge. "Ṽ̶͍̖è̵̘̞̚r̴̠͙̃͝y̷̻̐͠ ̷̹̈̒w̵̖͐e̵͇̰̔l̸͍̺̓l̸͙͛.̴͍͍̍͝ ̶̛͈A̷̧͕͠ș̶̢̂̒s̶̺̹̽í̶̩ş̷͈̃t̶̙̳̉͝ ̷͔̠̋m̶̤͠e̵̙̟̐,̴͕̻̀͒ ̶̧̤͛H̴̖̽o̴̢̹̅̽p̴͈̏ͅl̷̨̐͒ḯ̶̤̼̿t̷̝̏e̸̡̟͝ ̶̉ͅS̸̜͛̓ǫ̶̠̏̓l̴̡̿d̸̢͌i̷̞͐͂ĕ̷̼̅ŕ̶̨̮̓ṡ̴̯͙͑!̸̬͉͒̽"
The Shinkaigers then began charging into battle, with Ran beginning the team's trademark roll call while punching aside some soldiers.
"Shinkai Yellow."
"Shinkai Blue!
"Shinkai Pink!"
"Shuugo Sentai, Shinkaiger! The trio then ended the roll call, proclaiming their team name in unison.
Hikaru then began trading blows with the Drapion-based monster as his teammates proceeded to kill off the remaining soldier reinforcements. Scorpion Inhumanoid though took on the more offensive part of the fight, using his pincers to attack. Fortunately however, the Blue warrior was quick to go on the defensive and block the pincers from hurting him, using his juttejutsu proficiency. Using the EvolRod's bladed edge, he would then catch the pincer and turn the aforementioned jutte, effectively preventing the monster from attacking. He then grabs the scorpion monster by the forearm, careful not to hurt himself, and then scratches him using the EvolRod's sharp hook before delivering a slash using the blade. This would cause mediocre damage to the Inhumanoid at best.
The scorpion monster then decided to retreat due to the damage, hoping to properly recuperate instead before the wounds would take a toll on him. "C̷͍͒u̶̯̺͑͝r̶̮͒ͅs̷̮͊ë̵̪͔́̔ ̸̥̺̒̓y̸̤͇̌o̴̪͝ṳ̴̯̇,̸̦͆ ̷̙͛S̵̤̋h̶͖̙͛ỉ̷̢̂n̷̲̟̐k̶̢͠ͅa̶̧͙̾i̴̞͗͝ ̵͈̖̀B̴̝̤͑̍l̷͙̲̎̊u̵̟̪̚ḛ̴̒̋!̶͕͊ ̵̺̑̆W̵̛̘̒è̸̲̍'̷̻̝̊́l̵̳̻̊̓l̵̹̓̇ ̵̟̅̂s̸̼̆ḙ̴̳͒t̴͕͂͆t̵͓͉͗ĺ̸̰e̸͇̿ ̶͔̟̈͆t̶̯̜̿h̸̤͂ĭ̴̟s̸͉̜͂ ̵̝͍̄̕l̷͓̊̾a̶̐͜t̸̨̯͌e̵̛̩̾͜r̸͎̮̈!̵̳̦̿̋"
"Damn stupid monster. One wound and they'd skedaddle like a fucking Purrloin being chased by a Lillipup. Keh." Hikaru remarked.
"Hikaru-san, big brother's battle is in about 50 minutes from now. Do you want to go to the Gym to spectate or?" Erina offered, disengaging her transformation into Shinkai Pink.
"Trés bien, Eri. We could probably relax for a bit until that Inhumanoid decides to show up again. Should we go ahead?" Ran asked, also disengaging his transformation.
"Let's go!" Hikaru said, disengaging his transformation before putting on a shit-eating grin, flashing them to his two teammates cockily.
With that, the trio then proceeded to make their way into the Santalune Gym.
Santalune City Gym, Santalune City, Kalos
At the Gym, the three Shinkaiger members were currently waiting for Takeru and Antoine's match to happen, with them already taking their seats in the stands of the building. Fortunately, there were no other audiences spectating in the stadium at the time, and both Antoine and the referee for the upcoming match, as well as Takeru himself, wasn't there at all. This opened up the perfect opportunity for the three members to speak to Lillie via their U-Phones while ensuring that their identities would not be jeopardized.
"Well, that fucker's retreated back to its hidey-hole already. What are we even going to do, Mom?! Do you have any idea how pissed off I am right now!?" Hikaru yelled.
"Calm down, Hikaru! You know you could've used the Golem Medal to kill Scorpion Inhumanoid, right? Besides, we already have Shinkai-Oh as good as new, so we might as well use it if we have the chance." Lillie replied to her son's outburst.
"Keh! Shinkai-Oh's down two pilots and most importantly, the maintenance is going to be a further problem if we have a new monster attacking every time it's in repairs..."
"Takeru's pretty much available after the Gym match to my analysis, so that's him out. Ryouma though is a different story, because he's still in quarantine. That's the main problem." Ran remarked.
"But what about the fucking robot, Brainiac!?" Hikaru replied.
"Take it easy, dumbarse!" The Yellow warrior rebutted back.
"Stop arguing, you two. Yes, Hikaru, Shinkai-Oh may be down two pilots, but if Takeru can come back to leading the team as Ran would have said, he can take his usual spot in the cockpit without any problems. That just leaves Ryouma. I'll go in and help you all control the robot remotely." Lillie said.
The 17-year old blue-clad cyborg then pouted in response. "But... But... Maintenance..."
"Easy there, son. I'm sure your father would have already thought up of a solution to fix the problems with Shinkai-Oh's maintenance. Hopefully, we wouldn't have to go through a hassle like that again."
"Well, if you could put it like that, I suppose you're right." Hikaru then proceeded to concede to his mother's words.
Just then, the team then would begin seeing the Gym Trainer refereeing the match walk on the corridors leading up to the field via their super-enhanced eyesight. This prompted the trio to wrap up on their call.
"Ohkido-san, big brother's Gym match is going to take place any minute now, and we don't want our identities to be unmasked." Erina explained.
"Okay, then. We can try to talk later if the situation allows it. Take care, you three. Eri, tell Takeru I said hi, alright?"
"I will, Ohkido-san." The Pink warrior responded.
"Send my regards to Dad, alright? See you, Mom." Hikaru ended, with Ran nodding beside him.
With that, the team later hung up the call. The referee then entered the room and then proceeded to make his way onto the field, with Takeru and Antoine later entering and taking their respective trainer boxes on either side of the battlefield.
"Yo, Antoine, it's been a while. Hope you're ready for this match as always." Takeru greeted to the Bug-type Gym Leader while making his way to the trainer box, crossing paths at the same time.
"Likewise, Kamishiro. You bet am I ready for this match, because I'm not going to go easy on you. You better brace yourselves, alright? "Antoine said, likewise crossing paths. He was a man at about 21 years of age, hence the reason why he had addressed Takeru by his surname instead due to the 17-year old Red warrior being younger than him by a few years. He had a fair complexion, black hair, and dark green eyes. He also usually wore a casual outfit even for formal situations such as a League meeting or official battles, thus making him a little bit more different than the other Gym Leaders in the region. Nonetheless, Antoine and Takeru are both acquainted with each other for about a few years, which also explains how straightforward the latter was to the former. Antoine himself was also equipped with a camera and a few meters of film, as his main hobby was recording videos of bug Pokemon or some of the Kalosian environment.
"I see you've also got Ran, Erina and a friend of yours as well, Kamishiro. But nevertheless, I'm ready to battle when you are." The Bug-type Gym Leader affirmed, gesturing to the referee that he was ready.
Takeru then proceeded to chuckle for a bit before his expression turned serious, gesturing to the referee. "All set here, pal. Well then, let's get this over with."
The referee then proceeded to speak up. "This will be an official two-on-two Pokémon Battle between Takeru, the challenger and Antoine, the Santalune Gym Leader. Each side will have the use of two Pokémon and the battle will be over when either trainer's Pokémon are unable to continue. Only the challenger will be able to make substitutions."
"Antoine, let's get straight to the point, yeah? You confident you can clinch this win?" Takeru asked.
The Bug-type specialist then simply responded to the question before throwing a Poké Ball to the ground. "Well, I'm determined to get myself the victory. Be ready, because I've set my sights on you. Go, Scolipede!"
A beam of blue light then shot out of the Poké Ball, revealing Antoine's Scolipede, ready to battle in its prime.
"Ah... So you're using two of the much more stronger members from your team to deal with me, huh? Well then, it might be farfetched, but I hope this works. Froakie. I choose you." Takeru said while throwing Froakie's Poké Ball upward, keeping a calm and stoic demeanor unlike his father.
In seconds, Takeru's Froakie would then come out onto the battlefield, fully trained and eager to battle.
The referee then made his call. "Let the battle begin!"
"Antoine, due to seniority reasons, you'll be the one taking the first move." Takeru said, generously giving Antoine a chance to attack.
At the stands, Hikaru then smirked, muttering out something for only himself to hear. "Same old generous Take-chan..."
The Santalune Gym Leader then immediately took his chance due to the fact. "Okay, then. Scolipede, use Bug Bite!"
"Counter it with Water Pulse."
Scolipede's teeth then proceeded to glow white and grows slightly longer. The Megapede Pokémon then tries its best to bite down on Froakie, however, a split second before, Froakie had created a blue sphere of energy from in between his hand, with him firing the sphere right at Scolipede, square in the face, which would then explode into a wave of water.
"Bubble."
Antoine was however back on his feet. "Quick, use Poison Tail!"
Scolipede's tails would then begin to glow purple, proceeding to hit Froakie with them. Unfortunately to Takeru though, the aforementioned Water-type was poisoned due to the move, despite it having a 10% chance to happen. This caused Froakie to cry out in pain, eliciting gasps from the other Shinkaigers in the stands, as well as Takeru himself in the trainer box.
"Oh, shit..."
Ran then began putting on a worried and panicked expression. "Oh no... The move landed the 10% poison..."
"Well, fuck. Let's see what Take-chan could do in this situation, but ehh, I guess it depends on how that frog could hold up." Hikaru said, rolling his eyes and giving off an annoyed expression.
"Big brother! Don't let your guard down just yet! Remember what Father and Mother both used to say!" Erina yelled, cheering for her brother to win just as her other teammates were panicking and worried about Froakie.
In response, Takeru just looked to the side, giving his sister a brief glance before returning back to face Antoine with his calm demeanor. He then muttered out before asking. "Damn... She's really being the overly supportive little sister, isn't she? Eh, but I guess I should. Froakie, can you still hold up against him?"
"Fro!" The little Bubble Frog Pokémon grunted, telling Takeru that it wasn't going to let the poison make himself lose.
"Alright then. Be careful, he could damage you at any moment, and that's not going to be good."
"Screech!"
Scolipede then begins waving its antennae repeatedly and shrieks loudly on the command, causing orange shockwaves to come out from its antennae and reverberate into the stadium, causing everyone present except Froakie and Scolipede to cover their ears.
"Oh, not this again..." Hikaru muttered from the stands.
Takeru then proceeds to hastily give out a command. "Froakie, cover your ears and go into Double Team."
With a grunt of confirmation to his Trainer, Froakie then covers his ears before his body proceeds to glow white, creating multiple clones of himself, confusing Scolipede. Froakie was by no means able to push further into his limits though, but he was able to hold up through the effects of the Poison Tail.
"Find the real Froakie with Venoshock!"
Scolipede then proceeds to fire dark purple blobs of poison from its antennae straight to the Froakie clones, making them disappear one by one. However, the real Froakie was unable to be seen, as it had used its tremendous speed to jump up into the air in the small margin of time and quickly avoid detection.
"Froakie, finish this and use Cut."
The real Froakie, in midair, then proceeded to form a white needle in one of its hands and uses it to strike Scolipede as it comes down into the ground, in a similar vein to how Takeru would use his kenjutsu proficiency when fighting M.Y.T.H.O.S in secret as Shinkai Red. The slash leaves a white trail of energy on Scolipede's body, inadvertently causing dust to cover the battlefield from Froakie's landing, leaving Ran and the others puzzled at Scolipede's fate. It seemed that Takeru had already thought up of a tactic using Froakie's speed and Double Team to confuse the opponent, secretly come in with a sneak attack, and prevent onlookers from knowing the fate of the opponent until it was revealed.
The smoke then dissipates, and it was ultimately Froakie who was still standing. Despite being poisoned by the earlier Poison Tail, Froakie had managed to pull through until the poison faded away. However, he was certainly not in good condition, as the poison had drained away most of his energy, telling Takeru that it needed a long-deserved rest and that he should switch out for another Pokémon.
"Scolipede is unable to battle! The winner is Froakie!" The referee spoke up.
Antoine then returns Scolipede back, very much impressed after seeing what Takeru had done, before unclipping his last party member's Poké Ball from the selection off of his belt. "Impressive. You've taken down a Pokémon that was much stronger than yours, and you did it without having to use any type advantages. You've clearly proved yourself to be a strong Trainer, Kamishiro."
"Merci, Antoine, but I think I still have some work to do. Froakie, return." Takeru responded, before proceeding to return Froakie as well.
"Making substitutions are we? Well then, let's see if you've brought one of your veterans or have you brought new ones into the team. Go, Beedrill!"
Antoine then proceeded to throw the Poké Ball onto the ground, releasing his Beedrill.
Takeru then also threw his own Poké Ball, having unclipped one out of the three on his belt and re-attaching Froakie's while he was talking with Antoine. "Ralts, let it rip."
Released from the confines of the Poké Ball was a Ralts, clearly one of Takeru's newer captures in Kalos. Like Froakie, the male Ralts had received adequate training in order to face off against the Santalune Gym's Bug-types, however Takeru was never confident that he could win, because he had rather preferred for his actions and the flow of time itself to decide the outcomes of the battle instead.
Back at the stands though, Erina's Poké Ball later spontaneously released out a Pokémon just after Ralts was revealed to be out in the battlefield. This was another Ralts, specifically the female sister of the one that Takeru used. The two had caught a pair of Ralts siblings themselves at the same time while the Shinkaigers were camping in Route 4 prior to the events of Chapter 3, and the female Ralts had decided to break out of its Poké Ball willingly to see her brother battle it out with an opponent.
In response, Erina then chuckled a bit before talking to the Feeling Pokémon. "Excited to see your brother, Ralts?"
"Ehh... Like trainer, like Pokémon..." Hikaru muttered under his breath. We then shift back into the battlefield.
Takeru then began commanding Ralts, this time taking the first move. "Confusion."
"Counter it with Fury Cutter!"
Beedrill then proceeds to deliver three slashes, in rapid succession, to Ralts, with her conical stingers. However, Ralts dodges the slashes with ease while also delivering a weak telekinetic force to confuse the Poison Bee Pokémon. The move however fails to confuse the Beedrill.
"Use Poison Sting!" Antoine commanded.
In a fraction of a few seconds, Takeru then was hit with an instant flashback, reminding him of the Poison Sting-esque attack used by Cobra Inhumanoid which ended up putting Ryouma in quarantine. As a result, his instincts immediately took over, and he no longer displays a devoid expression; Before becoming a Shinkaiger, he would just be worried about the attack hitting, even though he still tries to be calm and stoic, however, he was now extremely terrified of it after that attack. And well, being extremely terrified is an understatement.
"DODGE IT!"
Ralts then proceeded to swerve into the side, just enough to miss the Poison Sting.
Takeru then scratched the nape of his neck, casting a glance to his teammates and sister before regaining his focus on the battle. "Sorry, Antoine. Getting some bitter flashbacks with your Poison Sting."
"No offense taken, Kamishiro." the Bug-type specialist said, though he was a little bit confused given that he didn't know that Takeru was a Shinkaiger.
"Draining Kiss." Takeru ordered.
In response, Ralts then dashes over to Beedrill and gives her a kiss. The Poison Bee Pokemon starts to glow red, and a light yellow orb of energy flies off from Beedrill's body and into Ralts, draining her energy.
"Pin Missile!"
Beedrill's stingers then glow white and Beedrill then proceeds to shoot multiple small, white needles towards the Feeling Pokémon.
Feeling guilty for the screw-up, Takeru decides to rush his game plan into action and then gives another command quickly as a result. "Psybeam. Don't forget: remember our training."
Ralts then proceeded to fire a multicolored beam while avoiding the Pin Missiles, dealing mediocre but almost major damage to Beedrill as a result. Antoine then proceeded to take his turn. It was too soon, however.
"Assuranc-" He was then quickly cut off by Ralts using the move Teleport to get in an extremely close range to Beedrill before firing two consecutive Psybeams at full power straight into Beedrill's abdomen. It was more than enough forcibly knock Beedrill unconscious due to major damage and as a result, the Poison Bee Pokémon fell to the ground, while Ralts was still standing, smirking triumphantly.
The referee then made the official call. "Beedrill is unable to battle! Therefore, the winner of the match is Takeru Kamishiro!"
Antoine then proceeded to return the Beedrill back to her Poké Ball, getting out of the trainer box while Takeru returned his Ralts. After that, while getting out, he proceeded to speak. "Oh damn. I seriously didn't have to use Charizard for this one! Nice job, Ralts.
The Poké Ball then wiggled, signalling a nod.
Antoine then approached over to Takeru's side of the battlefield, patting the 17-year old on the shoulder. He then began speaking. "That was even more impressive. You clearly had a strategy thought up, eh, Kamishiro?
"My dad was more to the unorthodox side. Guess I take after my grandpa so much, to be honest. I had a recent bitter incident involving a Poison Sting, and so that gives me kind of a nasty flashback. As a result, I had to rush to catch you off-guard and attack Beedrill."
"I can confirm. I also can vouch for Takeru as well, Antoine, because I was there." Ran said, as he walked over to the battlefield from the stands with Erina, Hikaru, and their Pokémon."
"Salut, Ran. Say, you going out with Kamishiro here?" Antoine greeted.
"Oui, oui! I'm travelling with Erina too. She's trying to be supportive to Takeru on his future Kalos League competition, and then I decided to tag along. This is Hikaru, the son of the Kantonian regional professor." Ran responded, gesturing to the Pink and Blue warrior as they all made their way to the center of the battlefield.
"My, my! What an ensemble of friends do you have here! But anyways, Takeru, as proof of your victory against the Santalune Gym, I present to you, the Bug Badge." Antoine said before handing over the badge to Takeru. In response, the 17-year old simply took out a gym badge case from his casual outfit's backpack, opening it up before putting the Bug Badge in and closing it shut.
"Well then, guess we all will be leaving, though since Hikaru wants to challenge you in a few days' time, we aren't going to be leaving to Cyllage City soon. Merci, and Au revoir, then, Antoine." Takeru said, extending his hand out in sportsmanship.
Antoine then took Takeru's durable cybernetic hand and shook it in a vice grip. "Au revoir."
After pulling apart from the handshake, the team then made their way to the Pokémon Center back outside. Takeru was then informed of the previous run-in with Scorpion Inhumanoid earlier in the day, and thus, they went back to wait for the lingering threat that was M.Y.T.H.O.S, still lurking around in the shadows.
Guardia Base Kalos, Lumiose City, Kalos
Lillie was holding a lot of weight on her shoulders.
She was still frantically trying to think of how to appropriately defeat Scorpion Inhumanoid. Yes, Shinkai-Oh was in a usable state for now, however Ryouma was still bedridden in quarantine, since the boy's immune systems took a very long time to kick the bio-weapon out of his body even with the help of a vaccine. That left the Alolan woman puzzled on how to fill in the void left out by the Black warrior in order for the giant robot to work properly, especially with the vehicle maintenance taking an ungodly long amount of time, as a result discarding her other concurrent thoughts of the hacker who cyber-attacked her organization's systems five days ago.
Fearing that it could have probably lead to unwanted stress, Lillie then decided to call her husband via video call to talk with him about the solution to the problem. It was fortunate that Shigeru was always ready to help her, even though he'd decided to stay behind in Kanto instead and focus on his research duties while also caring for their other children, some of whom are ineligible to become a Trainer.
"If Ryouma doesn't recover on time, what are we going to do with Shinkai-Oh? It's down one pilot and we have to make sure it works properly!" Lillie said, panicking, with Shigeru on the monitor of her computer.
"I know that you're extremely worried right now, but calm down, Lil! Didn't we already have a solution already programmed if one of our proteges are unavailable like this?" Shigeru replied.
"Doesn't that require me to control the robot from the base here?" Lillie rebutted with a slight pout.
"That could work, but not to mention, we also have Shinkai-Oh's slow maintenance to deal with. You think you can handle that yourself, Lil?"
Then, there was a few minutes of silence for the husband and wife, but for them, it felt like an eternity. Lillie later decided to break it, anyway. "I think I might already have a solution to the problem."
"What?" Shigeru asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"The Thanatos System. Shinkai-Oh is very prone to battle damage, after all, but what if we could fix it at a much faster rate? We might be able to cannibalize the cybernetic parts of a giant Inhumanoid and probably use it to our advantage."
The regional professor then instantly became ecstatic as a result."That's an ingenious idea! But wait, did you have it already built in yet, Lil?"
"Yes, honey. As a matter of fact, it's still being worked on. I installed it in secret because I wanted you to figure it out by yourself, but well, guess telling you about it isn't going to make the situation worse." Lillie clarified.
"Ehh, good grief that I was able to help you out on restarting Mom's Ultra Guardian project, huh?" Shigeru remarked.
Lillie however was irritated. "Don't get me wrong, but transforming the Foundation from a Pokémon welfare organization like what Mom intended it in the past to a government-backed militant organization with the Shinkaigers as our team members to fight off M.Y.T.H.O.S is already harder than that, Shigeru..."
"You're right. But, hey, at least I'm more than proud to have met a smart woman like you in Alola with Satoshi, even if I was pompous and arrogant back then and you were deathly afraid of touching Pokémon at the time, you know?"
However, the talk was then cut short by the sound of a young girl's voice calling out for her father on the other side of the screen in Kanto. "Dad!"
"What is it, Fuuka?" Shigeru responded to his daughter's calls, temporarily not caring that Lillie was still on the call.
"Ibuki and Kaoru's at it again!" The girl, identified as Fuuka, replied in the background. Fuuka was currently on a journey across Kanto, but she never forgot to drop by her parents' house every now an again. However, it was then made apparent that Ibuki and Kaoru, Shigeru and Lillie's twin son and daughter, was getting themselves into trouble with their antics.
The Ohkido family patriarch only could sigh, before responding back. "Alright, I'll be back once I get off the call with your mother!"
Lillie then let out a chuckle. "Looks like Ibuki and Kaoru hasn't been behaving properly since I went off to Kalos, eh?"
Shigeru then sweatdropped. "Yep, yep, you're right. Big bro Glazio came over a few days ago and they ended up being a handful to the three of us, that I can pretty much say curiosity killed their good behaviors. But well, looks like that's my cue. Send my regards to Hikaru and the others, alright?"
"Likewise with Fuuka and those two, then."
"Will do. I'll be off. Take care and Alola, Lillie!" Shigeru ended, also hanging up. With that, Lillie later made her way out into the hangar of the base, with her directly supervising the ongoing installation of the new Thanatos System into the team's giant vehicles.
Back in Santalune City, the team was out enjoying another walk in the city now that Takeru had won his Gym match with Antoine. However, the team was then interrupted by screams of people running away for their dear lives due to the city being under attack by M.Y.T.H.O.S. It turns out Scorpion Inhumanoid had finally re-emerged after retreating during their last run-in. Takeru later took the initiative to run towards the fleeing citizens, before transforming into Shinkai Red and proceeding to help them evacuate from the area, with him also trying to conceal his true identity, leaving the remaining trio to take on the scorpion monster once again.
"Hold it, Scorpion Inhumanoid!" Hikaru declared, shouting while the other team members were standing guard to prepare for any reserves. This would subsequently attract the attention of the Drapion-based cyborg monster.
As a result, the aforementioned monster began to laugh in a very maniacal way, letting out a few creepy scorpion sounds into the mix. "W̷̜͓̄ẽ̴̻̳̅l̵̟̟̑l̷̼̆̀,̸͉̕ ̸͖̌́ͅw̸̦͔͊e̴̫͒l̸̫͐l̸̫̥̐͝,̸̱͒͘ ̶̠͓͊̚i̷̦͑f̵̦̈́̽ ̸̜͉͐̇i̵͋ͅt̷̛̘̊ ̴̥̩͑̿ị̶͈̓̊š̸̢n̴̯̍'̶̞̏̾t̵̖̩̄ ̷̩̚ţ̴̌̈h̷̡̛͈͗ẻ̸͓̤̒ ̶̤̮̿S̴̳͙̉h̶̲̙̎̚į̶̖̂n̶͇̩̍͠k̶̲̘͗̿ä̸̱̇i̵̠͠ḡ̷̤͛ě̴̪̝͠r̶͓̂ṡ̷̢̲̑!̷̥͐̾ ̵̻̣͊͝A̷͍͒̊n̴̝̗͗͌d̴̡͓̆ ̵̝͋̽S̶͇̐h̴̫̑̆ì̴̼̑ṋ̷̌k̷͕͎̑̽a̵̛͍̜ỉ̸̥̤͋ ̵̨͠B̸͙̩̚ḽ̷̰̌̒u̵̯̒͘ë̴͈̈͜ ̸̨͖̊ṅ̶͉͜ȯ̵͕͝ ̵̠̓́l̴̨̛̀ȅ̵̼s̷̳̓̋s̶̙͒̈,̶̖͑͆ ̶̧͝h̶̩́̈́è̷̺h̷͓͐!̵̩̦͌ ̴̙͗̋͜I̶̙̓ ̷̙̠͊ẉ̸͕̋ơ̵̢͘ũ̷̧͇̉l̷̛̰͉̓d̵̟̬͌́ ̸̹͔̽̑v̶̲̜̔e̸͙͌͘r̵͙̆ỳ̵̮ ̸͓͋͐m̶̢͊̊ú̵͙̰c̶͉̺̍h̵͛͜ͅ ̸̤́l̸̲͇͛͝ȉ̵̬k̶̟͍̈́̔e̴̯͈͂̓ ̵̲͋t̵̤̱͠o̸̘͆̐ ̷̭͝s̸͓̓e̶̛͍̟̒t̸̝̜͊t̶̡̫̊l̷̠̟͐ë̴̤ ̵̡̡̎ǒ̶̝u̶̳̽̄r̷̘͆͗ ̶͈͚͋̿s̶͍̏c̶̼͎͗o̵̖̍́ŗ̸̰̃̿é̶̖s̸͎͝!̷̬͌̾"
"A duel to the death it is, then." Hikaru said, accepting the challenge.
"Spark Change!"
With that, Hikaru then began trading blows again with the scorpion monster, with him briefly gaining the upper hand via the help of the EvolRod. However, the Inhumanoid itself was hellbent on trying to win, anyways.
"E̷͇̻̎̓r̷͚͗͘͜g̴̩̔͠ḧ̶̩͍!̷̫̭͒̇ ̴̛̫̽Ḧ̴̡̟́o̵̼̽̕p̸̬̙̒l̸̫̈́ï̵̪̀ͅt̴̜͂͆͜e̸̡͎͌͛ ̶̛̠̗̽S̷̠͊o̴̦͕͋͒l̷̨͕̅d̶̳͝i̴̦̜͋e̸͍̩͒̒ř̵͈s̶͔̿̑͜,̸̛̣̤ ̶͎̪̃Ȉ̵̩̲ ̸͓́͛r̸̛̗̹͊e̵̫͔͂͋q̶̧̆ǘ̶̗͕̓ḙ̷̂͠š̶͎̜͝ẗ̵̗ ̶͇̙̓ỳ̵̡̝o̶͚̭͝ụ̷͎̐r̸̼̈ ̶̜͐̃a̵̧̖̎̎s̷͕͌s̷̯͍̃i̶͈̋̇s̴̛̰͎̅ṭ̶̢̓̊a̴̲̔͐ǹ̵̨c̶͈̦̈e̵̹͓̋͐!̴͚͚̉͆"
As expected by Ran and Erina, platoons of Hoplite Soldiers would then appear after being summoned by the Drapion-based monster, prompting them to transform into their Ranger forms and hold them off for Hikaru's sake. Eventually, Takeru himself would also join in the fight, mysteriously knowing that something was up between that Inhumanoid and his longtime rival.
The Inhumanoid could only then witness as his platoon of soldiers were being beaten black and blue by the other Shinkaigers, with one of them even getting skewered in between the legs by the tip of the EvolBlade due to their stupidity. Snickering at the sight, the Blue warrior would then begin using improvised juttejutsu techniques to immobilize the monster, even though the damage dealt would not be super-effective. He would then repeat the techniques that he used during the last run-in, though instead of delivering a slash, Hikaru would position himself and deliver a corkscrew kick, resulting in the monster being brought down to the ground in an instant.
As the monster struggled to get back on his feet, Hikaru quickly swooped in to open up his medal holder before taking out a black EvolMedal; Ryouma's Umbreon Medal, to be specific. He then inserts it into the slot on the EvolRod, before proceeding to press the trigger.
FINISHING BLOW!
Hikaru then took up a stance, with him preparing to deliver a slash.
"Kahawai o ka Pouli!" (Torrent of Darkness!)
Hikaru then proceeds to conjure a slash coated with purple and black energy, reminiscent of the move Night Slash.
UMBREON! ONE STRIKE STAB! WATER!
The slash would then make its way towards the weakened Scorpion Inhumanoid, who was already back on his feet. It would then cleave through the monster's body, causing the Inhumanoid to fall to his knees before saying his last words.
"Į̷̮̽̉'̷̪͆̎l̷̢̛̪l̶̝͛͗.̷̩͚͂.̴̼̔.̴̨̰̆͝ ̸̧̺̑N̵̮̈́ͅȩ̶́v̸̦͆e̷̢̥͐͠r̷͔̀ ̴͚͗̎͜b̸͙̪͌e̴̛̙̽ ̸̪̐̈́d̵̛͖͂ȅ̴̟f̷̖̳̔͒e̸͗ͅă̷͔̈t̷̠̫́̍e̸̩͝d̷̻͔̓.̴̡̘͋.̸̢̹̕.̵͕͙̈́ ̵̫̳̚B̷͚͖̐y̷̩̯͐ ̴̥͇̃t̶̟̙̚͝ḩ̸͕̓̀ȅ̵̢ ̷̮͚͑̓l̴͍͐͘ỉ̶͔k̴̩̋̆e̶͚̎s̵̟͐͝ ̴̺͗̐o̷̜͂f̸̗͛̊ ̶̣̑͝ÿ̴̠̼ò̸̳̦ȕ̵̬!̶̛̻"
With that, the monster then exploded in a blaze of glory, all while his agonized scream echoed through the air. Hikaru had won the fight to the death.
The whole team then cheered for his win, patting Hikaru on his shoulders, with even Takeru showing some admirable respect for him despite his brash personality and disobedient attitude. The joy, however, was short-lived, as the Inhumanoid's fail-safe program would then activate, reviving the Inhumanoid and growing him to giant size.
"Well then. Guys? Let's go and fight this fucker back in Shinkai-Oh, shall we?" Takeru asked.
Hikaru then objected, however. he was cut off. "Oh hell no, Takeru! We're down one pilot and I don't want my mom to be involved in this! We might as well just go thro-"
"I THOUGHT WE AGREED ON THIS!" Ran yelled, going into a momentary, explosive outburst.
Erina then began to step up, trying to mediate the two teammates together, however, she was stopped by a signal from her older brother, which says that he can handle it by himself.
Takeru then responded by grabbing Hikaru's shoulder, before proceeding to chastise him for his disobedience. "Listen up, Hikaru... hey FUCKWIT! We've all agreed with the plan, yet you suddenly oppose it! If you bitch about the plan again, then you-
Hikaru then cut him off. "I don't want my mother to be involved in this!"
Takeru, however, continued on. "AGREE WITH THE MOTHERFUCKING PLAN! If you fucking disobey me next time, you're going off to the fucking quarters."
"Keh! Fine. Have it your way."
"Let's cut to the chase then, Takeru." Ran said.
With a nod, Takeru and the other team members then pulled out their U-Phones, opening the developer console before proceeding to summon their mechas.
Summon Mecha, On!
Jet! Trailer! Roader! Marine! Shuttle!
Summoning, Go!
The team's five mechas would then be launched out of the Guardia Base Kalos, arriving to the area in seconds. The quartet then made their way onto their respective mechas' cockpits, with the EvolRoader being controlled remotely by Lillie from inside the base owing to Ryouma's absence.
The team then proceeded to put their U-Phones down to act as the control consoles for their vehicles, later also turning on their helmet communicators to personally speak to Lillie.
"Everyone, I've made some new upgrades to all of your respective vehicles. I assume you all have agreed with me taking control of the EvolRoader for the time being?" Lillie started.
"Well, yes, but, Hikaru changed his mind and disagreed..." Ran said from his part of the communication.
"Before big brother grilled him to agree again." Erina finished.
Lillie then proceeds to sum things up as the five mechas maneuvered past the enlarged monster and attacked it with their on-board weapons. "Good. I suppose we can test out the new system immediately."
"A trial by fire, huh?" Ran said, getting the memo.
"...I suppose you could say that."
"Heheh, let's do it, Mom!" Hikaru said, snickering behind his helmet.
"Alright then. Takeru, I'm handing it over to you." Lillie ended.
"Thanks, Ohkido-san. All units, get into formation immediately!" Takeru ordered. Subsequently, all of the five mechas would get into their usual formation in preparation for combination into Shinkai-Oh. The Red warrior then re-opened the developer console before going through the usual proceedings.
Combine Mecha, On!
Jet! Trailer! Roader! Marine! Shuttle!
Shinkai-Oh, Go!
Takeru then initiated the mecha's combination by uttering the keyword. "Shuugo Gattai!"
The five giant vehicles then proceeded to climb up to abnormal speeds before both the EvolRoader and the EvolMarine would get into their combination modes, splitting themselves in half to form the arms and legs before attaching itself to the EvolTrailer. The EvolShuttle then attached itself on top of the EvolTrailer to form the chestplate.
Without wasting time though, Ran would then immediately hit the brakes on his part, lifting the headless robot to stand on two legs. As a result, Takeru would then swerve the EvolJet to attach to the back of the robot, forming the head and back armor. The quartet was then transported into the main cockpit, effectively completing the combination. The Aeonic Saber and Aeonic Shield would then materialize in the robot's two arms.
SHINKAI-OH!
"Ah... It feels good to be back." Ran remarked.
"I know, right?" Hikaru replied.
Erina then put up a sad expression behind her helmet. "It feels better if Ryouma-san was here though...
However, the conversation was then stopped by Takeru. "Can't you all just shut the fuck up!? He's coming towards us!"
"Ǹ̵͉͝o̶̫̞̐ẅ̵͖̰̐ ̵̮͚͑͝t̴̬́̎ḧ̸͇a̴̝͊̔t̴̪̞̒ ̷͕̓ͅI̵͙͛ ̵͔̟̈́͗ḫ̵͝a̵̼̓̉v̵̼͉͝e̸̟͋͗ ̴͈́b̸̜̊͠e̷̹̐e̴͍͆́ṋ̵͑ ̵̛̺͎r̵̘̍͝e̷̪̰̓́v̵̢̜̿i̴͔͎̚v̵̘͌e̷̩͠d̵̬̘͊.̶̛̫͛.̴̘̓̃.̸̩̓ ̶̡̚S̵͈̤̓͐ḧ̴͚́͝i̶͍̎ǹ̶̲ͅk̴̛̮̅a̷̞̤͘i̶̜̍g̵̪̥̋̿e̸̟͌r̶̭̓s̷̱̿,̸̬̞̒̽ ̶̧̟̑C̶̬̐Ŏ̸͖̘̿Ḿ̷̭̬̈́E̸̩̼̿ ̵̳̰̽͝A̶̛̪̎T̶͈̔̓ ̸̭̝̅͠M̴̛̩Ẹ̷̥̎̄!̷͔̺̓͂" Scorpion Inhumanoid said.
"Well then... Try and stop us!" Takeru replied. With that, Shinkai-Oh then began charging into battle.
The robot then began taking on the offensive, using the Aeonic Saber to deal damage to the cyborg monster. The damage would be mediocre, if not major, but the monster would be knocked back a few feet from this.
Scorpion Inhumanoid however, was pissed. "D̶̗́a̴̱̱͗͗m̴̺̅̚ń̶̢̚ ̶͈͝y̷̳͆ơ̷̹ŭ̶̬͛,̵̟̹̾̊ ̵̡͒ẉ̴͌́r̵͙̳̍ě̴͚͕͝t̸̗̣̀̈́c̷͉̙̈́ȟ̵͍̒e̶̢̛̟d̵̞͘ ̶̜̜̆͠S̶̬̜͌ḩ̴̛͙i̷͂̐͜n̵̥͙͒̐k̴̩̆a̸̻̱̿̎ĩ̷̭̱͗g̶͙͌͝e̸̹͝r̷̬̈́s̴̞̏̋!̴̻͚̀ ̷̺̃͊Ţ̸̐͂ą̸̬͐k̵̘̭͒e̷̻̲͋ ̷̣́t̶̼̚͘h̵͉͆̊ï̵͓̈́s̸̺͂̑,̴̯̅͆ ̵̠̍̎t̷̛͈̀h̴̹̊̃e̷͚̽n̶̥̈́!̵̤̖̅͘ ̶̮̪̓̐V̸̛̪e̸̤͒ṉ̷̀̕o̷̧̊m̴̼̰̒o̴̺̩͒͘u̶͖͚̽̊ṣ̶̈̇ ̸̎ͅF̵̘̭̃͋a̴͓͖͂͠n̴̤̿g̵̜̉!̶̨̺̍"
With that, the monster then proceeded to grab one of Shinkai-Oh's arms using its pincers as its grotesque bottom fangs then begin to glow purple. The purple glow then surges down through the monster's upper torso, with the Inhumanoid later tightening his grip on the arm with one of his pincers glowing purple. This was the deadlier version of Poison Fang.
A few seconds later, the monster would then aggressively rip off the aforementioned arm and would later throw it to the ground before inflicting severe damage on the chestplate, the arm joint, and the legs. The Aeonic Shield fell down to the ground as a result, along with the broken arm. This caused the Shinkaigers to be extremely shell-shocked.
"Oh no..." Erina said, terrified after seeing the monster rip off one of the robot's arms.
"We have 42% damage on the right arm! We can only use the Aeonic Saber here, and that wouldn't even be enough for us to block all his attacks!" Ran said, panicking.
Takeru then went ballistic as a result, slamming the cockpit's controls while also careful to avoid damaging the U-Phone that was firmly locked there. "FUCK! What are we going to do if it's like this?!"
"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad..." Hikaru muttered.
"Everyone calm down! We have a solution!" Lillie ordered. Everyone later tried their best to not cause any noise.
"Ah, now I get it! The new system that Ohkido-san had installed may be able to help!" Ran exclaimed.
Lillie then proceeded to confirm it. "Exactly, Ran."
"But, how can we activate it, Ohkido-san?" Erina politely asked.
Instead of an answer though, as if to prove her point, Lillie then proceeded to open the developer console on her master version of the U-Phone, before pressing on the button to activate the Thanatos System.
THANATOS SYSTEM, ACTIVATED!
Upon activation, hidden compartments, one on the remaining, intact arm of Shinkai-Oh, one on the chestplate, and one on the right leg, would open to reveal a brand new module, which was recently installed to remedy the problem with the giant robot's own maintenance time. Lillie then begins to control the robot with precision, so much so that the aforementioned arm module would be aimed directly at Scorpion Inhumanoid's exposed, open wounds from the damage that they had inflicted. Seconds later, the module would begin sucking out the monster's cybernetic parts like a vacuum cleaner, with said parts later being used to repair the broken joint. The Shinkaiger mentor would then control the robot to pick up its broken arm and later re-attach itself, effectively repairing the damage to the arms. Lillie then also repeats the process to the chestplate and the left leg, though as the other two only involved a few dents and slashes and not a chopped limb, the system had a much easier work in repairing it to be as good as new.
The modules would then be retracted and the hidden compartments are closed in a few seconds, signaling Shinkai-Oh's completed reparations. The robot then picks up the Aeonic Shield before taking up a battle stance.
"Ḯ̸̺̼-̸͙̏͗i̷̢̭͑̉ḿ̶̗ͅṗ̵̜̕ǫ̵̈́̚ṣ̸̨͒̐ṣ̸̔i̶̬̖̍̌b̸̜͙̔͊l̴͎͂e̷̲͉̓̈!̷͔̳̌" Scorpion Inhumanoid said in a mix of surprise and immense pain from the extraction of his own cybernetic parts, a pain which is equivalent to having ordinary human flesh being peeled back.
"Scorpion Inhumanoid, if you think we would ever give up so easily, then you're wrong. We're not going to hold back either. Let's settle this." Takeru declared, with Shinkai-Oh charging back into battle.
This time, the robot had the upper hand with the monster being in pain, as Shinkai-Oh itself was able to inflict more severe damage with the Aeonic Saber, effectively adding an insult to injury. The scorpion monster then attempted to use the deadlier version of the move Crunch, however, the action was swiftly prevented by the team blocking the attack with the Aeonic Shield.
Eventually, the monster was immobilized from all the pain, resulting in Takeru having an instant decision to end the monster out of his misery.
"Everyone, that scorpion fucker is weakened enough I don't even give a shit on attacking him anymore. Let's just put him out of his misery, shall we?" Takeru asked. The team then responded with a nod.
"Well then, I suppose it's time for the finishing move. Takeru, I'm handing it over to you." Lillie said, silently giving her approval.
As a result, Takeru then began pressing a few buttons on his side of the console, before initiating the final blow.
"Aeonic Saber: Shuugo Giri!" (Aeonic Saber: Guardian Slash!)
The robot then readies itself to attack using the Aeonic Saber, delivering a vertical uppercut and slashing the scorpion monster in two.
"I̶̜̬̓ ̶͎̔͝ͅẅ̴̬̓à̸̹̝̈́s̸̜̈́ ̵͎͕̓̈ḇ̴͝e̸͕̋̑͜ţ̴̙̑́t̶͇̔ͅḛ̵̈͂r̶͇̼͐ ̷̧̀o̷̟͠f̵̢͓̆f̶̪̘͌͝ ̷̳͈̾̌ǎ̴̧̖͂s̸̟͌̿ ̸͈̑̀a̵̩̐ ̵̖̬̋͠P̷̱̱̆ỏ̶̥͘k̴̯̻͌̇é̵̼͆m̸̳͑̆o̷̞͝n̶̫̅ ̶̜͒̍p̸̥̏͜ǫ̵̈́͋ͅa̶̲̋̈́ç̶͑ḫ̶͋̀͜e̸̢̖͂r̴̗̪̃.̶̜͋̏.̵̯̮̑.̴̪̃!̷̗̏̌" In his last breath, Scorpion Inhumanoid would then say his final words, before falling to his second death. The Shinkaigers have successfully secured another win.
In celebration, Ran then begins controlling the robot for another post-battle pose, before returning it to its normal standing position.
The sun had begun to set over the skies of Kalos, and the Shinkaigers were currently recuperating from their battle against the Scorpion Inhumanoid, leaving Lillie as the team mentor to take some time to relax and have some quality time to herself, Shigeru, and the rest of her family. But, as Lillie was about to make her way into the lounge room, she was interrupted by a ring from her master version of the U-Phone. It turns out that an unknown caller had somehow managed to track down her number, and had proceeded to engage her into a voice call.
Instead of fear, however, Lillie was sure that the person who had tried to call her was the one that instigated the cyber-attack on her organization's systems five days ago during the events of Chapter 3, thus leading her to pick the call up in order to confront the caller about the previous incident.
With the call picked up, the mysterious caller then began the call. "It has been two long years, Chairwoman."
"It couldn't be... Couldn't it?" Lillie gawked in surprise. She was suspicious that the hacker may actually be one of the candidates for the Shinkaiger team, but she was also having self-doubts, since that same candidate was supposed to have died long before Takeru and the others were recruited.
"You may have given me the codename 'Hades' back then, but at least I'm not even dead yet, Chairwoman..." The caller replied, trying to desperately hold back a laugh.
"I thought you were dead!" The Shinkaiger mentor replied back with a chuckle.
"That was supposed to be a joke, Chairwoman. But I'm well aware." The caller clarified. It seems that him and Lillie had already known for quite sometime.
"What about your psychology, then? You sure wearing that old scrapped suit didn't take a toll on your brain?"
"I could say that it has, but it isn't as severe as the... other ones." The caller rebutted. However, he said the last part in a more dreaded voice.
"Where are you located now though? You haven't contacted me and Shigeru for two years!" Lillie asked.
"Hammerlocke. It isn't easy to find another region to go other than Kanto, Sinnoh, Unova or Kalos for me ever since we both decided to oppose Lord Arceus' intentions, because apparently you right there had the idea of putting the powers of one single Pokémon into lots of EvolMedals."
"But at least I was able to make it so that it would be used to combat evil..." Lillie replied.
Unfortunately to her however, Hikaru had accidentally seen his own mother, who was conversing with the caller, from inside one of the rooms, as unknowingly, Lillie had moved into one of the hallways of the base during the call and the automatic door was left opened. As a result, Lillie would later hang up from the voice call immediately while making sure to get the caller's unknown number to inform him of what had transpired. Hikaru then shrugged off at what happened, not knowing about the circumstances with his mother anyway.
Meanwhile in another hallway, we then see Ryouma making his way out of the housing space that he was quarantined in, fully decked out in the Shinkai Black team uniform. All was good for the team.
To be continued
Author's Note: It's been over a few weeks since I posted the last chapter of this story. I've tried to once again keep a consistent schedule, but my mother then died while I was still writing this chapter and as a result, I had descended into writer's block after the beginning of mourning as a result of immense shock from her death. I was able to get over it by one or two weeks though, but the chapter took longer than anticipated, and as a result I've tried rushing to complete the chapter itself as a result. I'm however unsure if I can keep myself consistent on publishing the chapters, since my personal problems could hamper the story and I would need help from a friend of mine to come up with some ideas, however since this chapter has more focus on the team itself and also to Lillie's perspective, including Takeru's gym battle, I had to cut all of my other planned scenes involving M.Y.T.H.O.S and sideline them due to time constraints. But as always, be sure to leave a comment and I'll read up on ya.
MagicWings001 here, signing out. Jaa ne!