CHAPTER 9
Rivalries and Stark Opposites
Disclaimer: Pokémon belongs to Nintendo, Satoshi Tajiri, and the Pokémon Company International, while Super Sentai belongs to Toei Company Ltd. Both Morgan Alter and I own nothing but the idea, story, and our OCs.
Written by MagicWings001 and Morgan Alter
Approximately about 3 days after the Shinkaigers had faced off against Swallow Inhumanoid in the events of the last chapter, the team was now currently taking some time for themselves to relax inside of the Guardia Base, as the aforementioned attack has given them nothing but a hard time given their busy schedule during that week. However, most of the team's members, especially Hikaru, were happy to see Shigeru's arrival, though the former wasn't so thrilled to learn that his rambunctious and extra-mischievous younger siblings, Ibuki and Kaoru, was also there, having tagged along with Shigeru.
The five members of the team were now currently taking their own quality time to relax with Lillie while Shigeru himself was currently manning the computers in the briefing room, though a certain Blue-colored warrior was currently being annoyed by the antics of his twin siblings, who loved to out of all things crawl on top of him, and as a result inadvertently making the half-Alolan Trainer absolutely uncomfortable at their presence. After shaking Ibuki and Kaoru off of himself though, Hikaru then proceeded to ask his mother about a thing that he had requested earlier on off-screen before N had exposed his identity to the public.
"Mom, do you have any of those Water-type medals that I requested you to build? I'm only limited to having Sharpedo and all of the other medals, but I don't have any one of them that has an Elemental Link, so that's why I requested you to make me a bunch of those things."
"Well, about that... I eventually decided to move the medals over so that they would only be used by Takeru, and he's also going to be the main priority for all of the medals as well, though..." Lillie answered. Hearing that, Hikaru's eyes then instantly narrowed before his face morphed into a more agitated expression.
"WHAT!? HOLD ON, WHAT THE-" Hikaru yelled, almost uttering out obscenities if it wasn't for his mother reprimanding him. "Watch your language, Hikaru! Ibuki and Kaoru are here and you're not cursing in front of them!"
"I get it, Mom, but seriously!? I asked you to just give me one thing. Just ONE thing! I'm trying to not burden both Take-chan and Brainiac too much, so that was why I was asking you to build all of those medals, and you... You didn't do my request? Why does it have to be Take-chan again of all people, Mom?" He rebutted back.
"The top brass wanted me to have the medals that you already requested Ohkido-san to build because I've been the only member who can carry the team up and running. While yes, it is very much true that Shinkaiger can't hold up its ground without my presence for the time being, you could just ask me to give the medals to you if you want to use it, right, slug?" Takeru remarked, while also explaining the reason why Lillie had 'decided' to move over the aforementioned devices that he had requested her to create for him. The truth is, she wasn't the one who moved over the ownership of the Water-type EvolMedals; in reality, it was N's own decision. The Unovan man had already consolidated control over the Aether Foundation, unbeknownst to the general public and the Shinkaigers themselves, with Lillie acting as his intermediary by publicly announcing or informing the government or the mass media of N's decisions, while making it look like that she was the main decision-maker.
"Yeah, you're true, but this still isn't exactly what I wanted, Take-chan!" Hikaru yelled, replying to his team leader with a rather salty, frustrated, and miffed tone.
"There still is one way out for you though, Hikaru." Lillie said, before walking up to her son and handing him a new EvolMedal, which was light blue-colored with gold accents and a gold symbol reminiscent of a Blastoise's head. She would also unveil five copies of a dark gray, almost black, ornate bracelet in a suitcase that she had taken out. The new bracelet had an EvolMedal slot in the very middle, with vivid, blue lines running along the medal slot to the bottom of the bracelet forming an X. The top part of said bracelet was decorated in a similar manner, except that the lines running along the medal slot all the way to the bracelet's button was a deep, scarlet red and instead formed an upside-down Y. The aforementioned bracelet also had wrist straps, unlike the EvolBracelet, which was already grafted onto the Shinkaigers' cybernetic hands. This was a new transformation device that would enable a Shinkaiger to utilize the power of a few certain Pokémon with an available Mega Evolution, such as Mewtwo or Charizard.
"Mom, what's this all about?" Hikaru asked, with him being clearly befuddled by the new devices that his mother was giving, as was the other members of the team.
"Your father and I created this Blastoise Medal for you to make up for the ones you requested being moved over to Takeru's side. We've also created a new medal for Takeru as well, and after completing it, I created this new bracelet for you to draw the powers of Pokémon's Mega Evolved forms." Lillie said, while strapping and fastening a copy of the new bracelet into Hikaru's right wrist, which wasn't occupied by the EvolBracelet, gently. She then gave her son a tender, motherly smile before ruffling his hair.
"No way, we can use the powers of a Mega Evolved Pokémon now? Like Tyranitar or Charizard!? And, or, Mewtwo too!?" Ran said with excitement in his voice.
"You bet, Ran." Lillie answered back, prompting the Yellow warrior to take one copy for himself before strapping it. Takeru as a result walked over to the suitcase, proceeding to then take the remaining three copies of the new bracelet before strapping them onto his, Ryouma's, and Erina's unnocupied wrists.
Ran would then accidentally spin the bracelet's symmetrical body 180 degrees, causing the red Y to be placed on the bottom of the bracelet and become properly orientated so that it was right-side up while the X was at the top of the bracelet. This, in turn, caused his eyes to widen in excitement, before Ran himself then let out an almost maniac-like laugh.
"WHOA, HEHEHEHEHEHEH! THIS IS A FASCINATING BRACELET! AND SERIOUSLY NOW!? IT COULD SPIN?! HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH, THIS IS AMAZING!!!!" The Kalosian child prodigy uttered, with his personality changing into a loud and obnoxious one in contrast to his calm and stern demeanor.
"That's one of the bracelet's built-in functions, Ran. You can change in between the X side and the Y side in order to utilize the powers of certain Pokémon, such as Charizard and Mewtwo, which, as you know, have two Mega Evolutions as opposed to the usual one." Lillie explained.
"That's a sick idea, Ohkido-san, but did you say that there's a new medal for me to use?" Takeru asked.
"Eh, Shigeru probably has the new one. You can ask him for that."
"Ask me for what?" Shigeru's voice said as the room's automatic doors would open to reveal the Kantonian professor entering the vicinity. He had overheard a part of the conversation, having already completed his work. Thankfully, his own son had the nerve to do what Lillie had just discussed, albeit with a different question.
"Dad, did you create this Medal together with Mom for me to use? And are there any more new medals that you've added up to our arsenal?"
"Exactly, Hikaru. Speaking of new medals, I've also created the Charizard Medal for Takeru to use in his copy of the Axis Brace. He'll be able to utilize the powers of Mega Charizard X and Y at his disposal. However, since Blastoise only has one, I'm afraid that that's the maximum limit that you can use to your advantage, my boy." Shigeru answered.
"Yeah yeah, I know... This doesn't help either..." The half-Alolan Trainer said, grumbling before eyeing Takeru with jealousy. Moments later somehow, memories of the bizarre red cracks that had appeared on Takeru's cheeks during their first meeting with Momoka later flooded into his mind, causing him to be lost in thought wondering exactly what his friend was hiding. 'Just what exactly are you hiding, Take-chan...'
A gust of wind later blew around the room, making Hikaru's hair flutter, with him not feeling the gust at all as a result of being too deep in thought, leaving him unaware of what had just caused it.
However, exactly mere seconds later, the alert systems of the Guardia Base would then turn on, causing the loud, stereo sounds of the alarms sirens to blare on the speakers of the base. Ibuki and Kaoru was as a result completely scared of the sirens and ended up crying, causing Lillie to hand over direct command to Shigeru in order to calm down the twins for the time being. Fortunately, the Kantonian man had his master version of the Aether U-Phone on hand, enabling him to know the whereabouts of the monster without having to check the computers in the briefing room, since the prospect that all five of the Shinkaigers plus Shigeru himself having already gathered in the lounge room made going to the briefing room a bit pointless.
"A new Inhumanoid has been spotted in close proximity to the Prism Tower in the Autumnal Avenue." Shigeru summarized in a serious tone.
"Oh, no... My parents are in Prism Tower right now!" Ran stated in worry. The regional professor however put up a calm demeanor, keeping himself professional before reassuring the Yellow warrior.
If that's the case, then I suggest that you all evacuate any citizens out of the area. Prevent any casualties as soon as possible; the government doesn't like it if we fail. With that in mind... Shinkaigers, deploy immediately!" Shigeru ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
True to Shigeru's words, a new Inhumanoid, based on a Tyranitar, did attack the Autumnal Avenue to the northeast of Lumiose City. The new monster did also get hazardously close enough to the Prism Tower, potentially endangering Citron, Corni and the rest of their family, however Ran was able to arrive to the building first out of sheer will, eventually saving his own parents and siblings before they would be caught up in the crossfire. Now, Takeru, Ran, Ryouma and Erina were now pummeling the hapless Hoplite Soldiers that the Tyranitar monster had summoned for extra reinforcements without even needing to transform into their Ranger forms. The team had chosen to attack the soldiers from the side as the platoon was stupid enough to not look over to the left or right in order to notice, catching them off guard as a result.
Takeru then walked up to the tyrannosaurus-based monster in order to personally confront him, with the bizarre red crack on his cheek appearing soon enough. Ran, Ryouma and Erina then gasped, as Takeru's position was able to finally make them notice the mysterious occurrence while Hikaru just gave his rival a look that said 'there it is again'. However, the Red warrior was too focused on confronting his would-be opponent to not care about it.
"Ẇ̷̩͜e̵͎͕̎l̸̙͛̌l̶͎̖͝ ̸̤̏w̴̻͓̕ȩ̷̛̱̍l̸̢̤̐l̷͍̅͘.̸̪̲̌͝.̴̨̞̿.̵̯̍ ̵̙̎͠I̸͓̣̍f̵̺̏ ̴̖͆ͅi̷͚̍̚t̷̖͋͜ ̵̢̽i̸̟̩̍̅s̸̼̠͆̈́n̷̺͕͑'̷̥̆t̶̰͑̂,̸͉̣͆̿ ̶͇͝Ş̷̒h̷̼̎̅ï̶̮̚ṇ̷̍k̷͈̩̄a̵̫͕̽͗í̵͍ ̸̌ͅR̶̪̃͒ȩ̴̫͛͆d̴̰̬̓̓,̵͔͕͠ ̸͇́́e̶͖͆͊ḧ̷͎͆͜?̶̦̥́̾" The new monster said, with him knowing who Takeru was due to the colors of his clothes and the aforementioned monster being able to identify the EvolBlade sheathed on his hip, despite him not transforming just yet.
"You've been weirdly diligent in your observation... Tyranno Inhumanoid. But, regardless of that, I'll still be trying to finish you off if you keep attacking the city like this."
"T̴͎͊͗h̸̥̭͝e̴͓̎n̸̖̑̑,̸̻́͌ ̵̯͍͑Ī̷̳̉'̸̫̄l̵̼̯̕l̵̨̰̄̌ ̴̞̒m̷͎͂a̴͎͈͗̎k̷̗̽͘ë̵̙̲ ̸̭͘s̸͎̥̔͠ů̷̹̩r̵̡͍͘e̷̮͂̀ ̸̛̩̔ͅy̵̪̽o̶̗͝u̴̹̖͆ ̶̹̳̍́w̷͉̜͌o̷̻̹͋ù̵̊ͅl̴͕̣̑̓d̵̙͕́̊n̵̠͗͝'̴̮͝t̸̖͊̊ ̸̤̬͗b̸̪̝̀̌e̵̥͈͂ ̵͚̬̔ả̶̡͙͑b̷̧̻̆ľ̶̳̪e̴̫̽ ̵̡̜̂͋ẗ̸̪͜ȯ̸̝̫̕ ̷̦̿f̴̣̬͐̇ị̷̠͒̓n̸͈̍̈́i̵̪̝̋s̸͙̱̑h̸̘̣̚ ̶̢̭̀m̴̭̅ẹ̶͚̾̍ ̸̼̎̇o̵̬̾͜f̴̮̤̐̒f̵͕̊̋ ̵̫͆ͅi̸̤͇̅̕f̴͓͙͊͂ ̶̱͆Ị̸͙̇̏ ̸̢͍̓k̸͋̚͜ḭ̴̠͘l̴͕̅̿l̵̳̳̍̕ ̴̼̬̌̐ý̵͔̼o̴̙̐ǘ̵̡͍͗ ̶͈̗́̉f̷͈̊̿i̴͎͔̋͊r̸̺̠͒̒ś̷̙̞̉ṫ̴̳ͅ!̷̛͓̜" Tyranno Inhumanoid simply rebutted. However, instead of providing a verbal response, Takeru simply hovered his right hand over his left one, summoning his newly repaired EvolBracelet which has been grafted onto his cybernetic hand after the events of Chapter 8. This would then prompt the other Shinkaigers to also summon their bracelets as well.
"Now that I have my old EvolBracelet repaired, let's rumble, shall we, guys?" Takeru asked while delivering a brief glance to his teammates, who nodded in approval. They then swiftly inserted their personal medals before positioning the palm of their hands over the top button of the EvolBracelet.
"Spark Change!" The team proclaimed in unison, before finally pressing down on the aforementioned bracelet.
CHANGE, SHINKAIGER!
In a split-second flash, Takeru and the rest of the Shinkaigers would then instantly transform into their ranger forms, with the Red warrior finally using the EvolBracelet for the first time since it ended up being broken. The team then proceeded to begin their trademark roll call whilst they began to rummage through platoons of Hoplite Soldiers that Tyranno Inhumanoid had already summoned.
"Shinkai Red." Takeru started while snapping his fingers.
"Shinkai Yellow." Ran followed, also simply snapping his fingers.
"Shinkai Black!" Ryouma continued while once again snapping his fingers, which were becoming a simple norm at this point for the team's roll calls.
"Shinkai Blue! "Hikaru proclaimed, also following suit.
"Shinkai Pink!" Erina ended, with her adding an elegant twirl besides the finger snap to give a little more extra flair.
The Shinkaigers would then lastly end the roll call by proclaiming their name in unison. "Shuugo Sentai, Shinkaiger!"
And thus, the five cyborgs would then begin their all-out offensive against the Tyranitar-based monster with them having already pushed the hapless soldiers away. Takeru would then deliver a few kicks and a full barrage of punches against Tyranno Inhumanoid, only to find that his attacks would barely make a dent to the monster. A light bulb then begins to spark in his head.
"Hikaru! Catch!" The Red warrior called out, while opening his EvolMedal Holder and throwing the Golem Medal which was already stored there. In response, the 17-year old Kantonian trainer later retrieved the aforementioned medal. "Thanks, Take-chan!"
Hikaru then proceeded to remove the Sharpedo Medal from his EvolBracelet during the ensuing fight, with him swiftly replacing it with the Golem Medal while dodging a few spear attacks from the Hoplite Soldiers.
GOLEM!
Hikaru then proceeded to press down on the top button of the EvolBracelet using the palm of his hand in order to finally initiate a form change.
Crash! Rumble! Burst! Smash! Link Up!
With the form change having been activated, Hikaru's undersuit then proceeds to gain blue hexagonal markings as well as accentuated panel lines, before his armor then begins morphing completely. His Golem form was almost identical to Takeru's own, except that the undersuit was now blue instead of red and the helmet still retains its characteristic Sharpedo eyes, fins, and decorative gill slits.
GOLEM!
Hikaru then proceeded to charge into battle, with him now sporting his new Golem-based form, accompanied with the large and heavy EvolGreatsword, which instantly materialized in his hands for him to use when he quickly pressed a button on his cybernetic hand, located under his gloves.
Meanwhile, Takeru himself had proceeded to press the same button under his gloves, causing the Infernal Blade to instantly materialize out of thin air while he was on a fist-fight with Tyranno Inhumanoid. He had realized that the team needed to be much stronger in order to kill him, and Hikaru had already accomplished it by changing forms into Golem when he had immediately thrown the medal over to his rival.
He then promptly removed the Talonflame Medal from the EvolBracelet, hovering it over the sword's scanner.
BURST!
Takeru then proceeded to insert the aforementioned medal into the handle slot of the Infernal Blade, while also quickly pulling out the EvolBlade and stabbing it into the ground in the process.
INFERNO UP!
BLAZE! ABYSS! HELLFIRE! SHINKAI RED! TALONFLAME!
Now having changed forms into his much stronger Infernal Blade suit, Takeru then proceeded to join Hikaru and the rest of his team on ganging up the monster together. Ran, Ryouma and Erina were only able to barely make a dent to the Inhumanoid, so the severe amount of damage ended up coming from the two Pallet-native rivals: Hikaru was dealing an already substantial amount of damage with his stronger punches and kicks, however Takeru took the level of pain endured by the monster up to eleven, already weakening him in the process.
Takeru then decided to quickly take up the initiative to activate a finishing blow after the rest of their team has completed their barrage of attacks, quickly removing the Talonflame Medal from the Infernal Blade's handle slot before scanning it on the sword's underside.
CHARGE!
Without wasting time, the Red warrior then scanned the Talonflame Medal again, this time on the blade of the sword, before inserting it into its original position in the handle slot.
FIREBIRD ASSAULT!
Takeru's lower leg is then covered in red energy as an energy construct of a Talonflame flies behind him with its beak glowing orange. He then delivers a roundhouse kick to the Tyranitar-based monster, leaving behind yellow and orange energy. Simultaneously, the Talonflame construct slashes the monster with its beak, leaving behind a trail of white energy, and leaving Tyranno Inhumanoid at his absolute weakest, though he wasn't in the brink of death yet.
"Y̴̧̙̋̈́o̷͚̩͝u̵̻͉͗ ̸̖̖͊̉c̶̲̼̋u̴̯̫͊̌r̵̡̛̍.̵̬͍͒.̷̢͕́.̵̏͜ ̸̝͓̏̉I̴͓͋͜'̶̜͙̓͆l̶͔̓̚l̸͓̂̊ ̶̧̒r̷̥̍e̸̱̙̍m̷̭͆e̶͍̙̽m̴̬͝͝b̴̯́̆e̵͍̞̅͝r̷̗͒̃ ̸͔̗͛ṭ̷͉̆̍h̵̫́̈́i̵̯̕s̵̥͙̄,̵͙̀ ̴̪͛̍S̴̜̅h̷̯̆͘į̶̠̑n̶̻̖̊k̴̛͓ͅą̵̫̇͐i̷̢̅̎ ̶͓͛͛R̵͈͔̚e̷͙̹̍ḍ̵͚͒͠!̶̠̱̈́" Tyranno Inhumanoid said, getting away to retreat back to the Olympus Castle. Hikaru tried to chase the weakened Inhumanoid in order to finish him off quickly, but Takeru restrained him from doing so as he would only wound up overexerting himself. The team then returned back to the Guardia Base as per Takeru's orders, with another small gust of wind making their hair flutter as they proceeded to disengage their transformations.
The team would surely enough arrive at the Guardia Base a few minutes later, with them staying on high alert in case Tyranno Inhumanoid decided to make himself known again. Speaking of the team however, Takeru was currently away at another room of the building to run a specific errand, leaving Ran and the other Shinkaigers to sit in the lounge room and discuss topics with each other. In particular, Ryouma was drawn to the bizarre red cracks that had appeared on Takeru's cheeks earlier on during the confrontation.
"So... What do you think just happened to Takeru during the fight earlier, guys? A red crack suddenly showing up like that is bizarre, after all." The aforementioned Black warrior asked rhetorically.
"Even though I'm the most genius member in the team, I don't even know anything about what just happened with Red, Black. I couldn't even comprehend it, to be honest!" Ran responded, clarifying to his teammates in case they decided to bombard him with questions.
"Okay? And how long has this occurrence had happened with him?"
Hikaru then began explaining how he had known about the mysterious phenomenon matter-of-factly. "I first noticed that mysterious red crack showing up on Take-chan's cheeks when he and I first met Momoka-san shortly after N exposed our identities. I'm sure you've already known that she's already friends with my mom by now."
"So, Ohkido-san knows about it this whole time?" This time, Ran was the one who asked.
"Pretty much, yeah, Mom was the only one who knew about it besides me, and probably Momoka-san too back then. But, did you know anything about what ever happened, Erina?"
"I'm afraid not, Hikaru-san. Big brother was not too discreet about it with me, really..." The Pink warrior admitted. Takeru was never really too open with his family. Even Satoshi and Serena never knew of their son's rather mysterious condition, even though they were Takeru's own parents.
"Either way, we need to find a way to get some answers, because asking Red about that thing isn't going to cut it just yet. If Ohkido-san is the only other person who knew about it besides Blue, then she should've informed the Professor about it by now and he would have done research in order to find out what exactly is that incomprehensible crack." Ran said in response to Erina's statement.
"Do we have to, though? If I recall correctly, Kyouhei-san's also a bit proficient at intel. Maybe we can ask him later when he's actually on duty, though..." Hikaru rebutted.
The Yellow warrior could just let out an exasperated sigh before glancing at his teammates. "Eh, that could work. But let's just stay on high alert for Tyranno Inhumanoid, shall we?" Ran asked. Ryouma and Erina was the only one who nodded, however, prompting him to ask again.
"You coming to the briefing room, Hikaru?"
Hikaru then proceeded to huff before declining the offer. "Keh.. No thanks, Brainiac. I'll just relax in here."
"Fine, have it your way."
With that, Ran, Ryouma and Erina later made their way into the briefing room to man the computers of the base, in case it had spotted any attacks. Back at the lounge room, however, Hikaru then let out his own exasperated sigh, with the Water-type medal debacle and the Inhumanoid attack severely tiring him out; with Takeru's own problems added up together just made him even more excruciatingly uneasy.
He then suddenly sensed the familiar aura of Green's deceased spirit on his mind, before he then finally hears his grandfather's disembodied voice.
'Hikaru, what's the matter, my boy? I saw you getting uneasy, so, I guess there's no denying it, eh?' Green said. He had actually seen his grandson's rather tense expression a few moments before that, and as a result decided to have a talk with him by way of entering his subconscious.
'Yeah... It's just... The problems are a bit much for me to handle, Gramps...' Hikaru replied via his inner voice, so that he wouldn't be seen 'talking to himself' by the other Aether Foundation employees inside of the building.
'Hey, don't be too pessimistic like that. I'm 100% sure that there has to be a way for you to get out of the complicated situation, you know? Just trust your teammates, Hikaru. As long as you don't screw everything up with them, it'll be fine. After all, being in an elite tactical unit like this is different from what you've usually faced.'
'Well, I guess you're completely right on the money, Gramps. But... but why?' Hikaru responded.
'Hmm?' Green replied back, confused about what his grandson was on.
'Why did you just decide to talk to me like this? I mean, I could always visit your grave and talk to you for a moment, you know?'
'Things just... Don't work like that, Hikaru. I mean yes, I could hear you talking from there because I'm now just a dead spirit... but you couldn't really hear my voice, could you? Besides that, I just wanted to give you some... moral support if it needs be." Green summarized, with it being the main reason why he had tried contacting Hikaru directly even though he was in spirit form.
'I... appreciate it, I guess... After all, our fight with those cruel, barbarian, brainwashing bastards are still beginning and it hasn't gotten more vicious just yet, to be honest. They're just kinda stupid, that's all.'
'Heheheheh... Always being the one with a fiery fighting spirit, eh, my boy? Reminds me of back when I was alive and being rivals with Red all those years ago when I was your age... But, speaking of which... Let's be honest, Hikaru. Do you have a problem with Takeru lately?' Green asked.
'You knew?' Hikaru rebutted, with his facial expression becoming gobsmacked as he heard his grandfather's words from his inner voice.
'Yep. How could I not see what really happened now that I'm a spirit? Your facial expressions before that monster attacked told me everything I needed to know.' Green responded back.
'Honestly, Gramps... Yeah, I kind of have a problem with him. But, the one thing that would constantly bug me off is that... Take-chan actually seems to look like he's hiding something from me and the other Shinkaigers. I'm not sure if you've seen the conversation which just happened before you began talking to me a few minutes ago, and I'm not sure if Kamishiro-san can figure out what had happened with him from up there, but yeah. He's hiding something, that his own, FUCKING, younger sister doesn't even know ANYTHING about it. Until today, that is.'
Green then paused, heralding a minute-long silence before he proceeds to break it again. 'Red knows, my boy. Yellow also knows everything. They are well aware of what had happened with Takeru for all this time. They actually couldn't even comprehend what it is either; not even me too. But if you're so certain that he's hiding something from you and your other teammates, and if he doesn't want to talk to you about it, you can probably do whatever your friends suggested you do, but if you want to do it the Ohkido family way, then I'll tell you: We force them into a Pokémon battle, or, in your case this time, a DUEL.
'Why does it have to be a duel, gramps?' Hikaru asked.
'Takeru clearly doesn't want to talk about it to you, Hikaru. No matter what methods you try, he is probably going to shut up about it. Now, the point is that, if he still doesn't want to talk about that incomprehensible hidden power of his, then you'd have to force him to open his mouth up. Red's already weirded out by the fact that even Erina doesn't know about his powers. It's also the same case with Yellow, but they can't communicate with Takeru right now because there's an outside force that keeps rejecting them from entering his subconsciousness, like what I did to you.'
'I guess I'll try and do my best, then, Gramps. If he still wouldn't possibly talk, then I'll probably do what you would do.' Hikaru responded, finally relenting to do his grandfather's decisions.
As a result, Green then let out his signature boisterous chuckle, before sighing. 'Now that's my grandson...'
However, before Hikaru could actually respond any further, the stereo alarm systems in the Guardia Base then began to blare at full volume again, prompting the 17-year old Ohkido eldest son to make his way into the briefing room. This resulted in Green letting out a few more sentences before leaving Hikaru's subconsciousness, with his free will thankfully still intact. 'Well then, Hikaru, it looks like I'll hand it over to you from here, my boy. Don't worry, I'll be by your side watching the whole fight. Just keep in mind that if there's an extremely sudden gust of wind, then it's a sign that my dead spirit's still lurking around. Until later, then!"
With that, Hikaru later entered the briefing room, with both of his parents and the remaining three Shinkaiger members waiting at the same time. They then proceeded to bring the four of them up to speed with the current situation, but however, just as Lillie was proceeding to inform Takeru (who was still away), the Blue warrior then politely told his mother to cancel the call and give permission for him to leave the base early, as he had other plans regarding the Shinkaiger team leader. That plan was obviously the duel that Green suggested, however Hikaru just kept it a secret for the time being. As a result of the decision, both Shigeru and Lillie then complied, letting their son get away from the Guardia Base to commence whatever plan he had, without the two parents bombarding questions about it, fortunately.
Hikaru then tracked his team leader down, finding him sitting on a bench perfectly situated at a sidewalk near the very same battlefield in the Lumiose Airport vicinity where Takeru's father Satoshi challenged Ran's father Citron on a Pokémon battle during his first day in Kalos 22 years ago; that battlefield was also the same one upon which Satoshi had challenged Serena, his future wife and Takeru's mother, into another battle on his last day in Kalos on the next year. Seeing the battlefield and knowing of its special two-decade old memory to his rival's parents, Hikaru had thus made a final subconscious decision to do the duel there to create their own new memories, approaching Takeru on the bench in order to talk it out with him.
"Yo, Take-chan!" Hikaru greeted. This caused the half-Kalosian and half-Kantonian trainer to turn his head, noticing him.
"Oh, it's you. What brings you here, slug? Have we gotten an attack or anything from Tyranno Inhumanoid while I was away?" The Red warrior simply asked, standing up and sheathing his sword to his hip.
"Yeah, Tyranno Inhumanoid has decided to attack, but fortunately we're far off from the area. Ran and the others are taking care of that fucker right now, but I have other plans for you, hence why I was allowed to leave the base early and why Mom ended up not informing you of anything." Hikaru explained straightforwardly.
This caused Takeru to tilt his head in confusion. "Oh? What the fuck is that plan that you have regarding me, exactly, you big fat bloke?"
"Geez! Chillax, man! I was just thinking of challenging you to a friendly duel on that battlefield back there! I know, I know, you might be worried about Ran and the others right, but they're trying to deal damage to the monster right now and there's a high chance that somebody on our team is going to probably use the Golem Medal to finish the thing off as quickly as possible. So... Do you accept or what?"
"Well then... Because I don't want you to get really persistent when I decline the offer, even though I really want to help the others with that damn tyrannosaurus... I guess I'm not going to pass up. I accept, then." Takeru said, before walking to the aforementioned public battlefield while letting out a sigh whilst taking his place. He then continued asking his long-time rival. "EvolBracelet, Infernal Blade, or are we going to be testing the Axis Brace this time around?"
"Axis Brace. It's about damn fucking time that we finally put it through a trial by fire run. Dad and Mom will also be happy if they found out that we've already used it and it performs perfectly. I guess it's better to not let the device come to waste, right?" Hikaru retorted, pulling out his new Blastoise Medal with the Axis Brace strapped on his right wrist.
"I guess you're right. Let's just rumble, shall we?" Takeru replied, doing the same thing.
CHARIZARD!
BLASTOISE!
The two then began inserting their respective medals immediately onto the middle slot of the Axis Brace, which later resulted in the devices playing their standby music, which was notably rather catchy.
At the same time, an astral projection of a Charizard and a Blastoise would then appear, as well as two projections of the Mega Evolution sigil. The two Pokémon projections would later fly and run through the sigil in a few seconds, transforming them immediately into Mega Charizard X and Mega Blastoise before spinning around Takeru and Hikaru. Simultaneously, a blaze of burning, blue flames and a vortex of seawater would then appear on the battlefield surrounding them.
Takeru then meanwhile proceeds to do a series of poses, crossing his arms into an X shape, while Hikaru on the other side begins doing a graceful Alolan dance before shortly taking up a samurai battle stance. Omitting the 'Spark Change' transformation call to show how serious they were, the two Pallet-native rivals would then press the buttons of the Axis Brace.
AXIS UP!
The blue flames surrounding Takeru would then begin engulfing him completely, creating a pillar of hot, blue flames, as a result preventing Hikaru and any bystanders passing through in the area to see the transformation unfold before their eyes. At the same time on the opposite side of the battlefield, the vortex of seawater then begins to also engulf Hikaru completely, creating a spiraling whirlpool that extends into the sky like a waterspout. This would then prompt the projections of Mega Charizard X and Mega Blastoise to stop spinning around; the Charizard projection begins flying up high into the sky, before proceeding to make a nosedive towards Takeru inside the pillar of blue flame to form the full suit and helmet of his new Mega Charizard X-based form. The Blastoise projection would then run towards Hikaru, who was encapsulated inside the whirlpool, and then proceeded to practically bear-hug him in order to form the full suit and helmet of his own Mega Blastoise-based form in a similar vein to what happened to his rival.
FLAME! WILDFIRE! BURST! INFERNO! MEGA CHARIZARD~ X!
With his transformation complete and the musical announcement resounding loudly, Takeru then slashes through the pillar of blue flame with the EvolBlade, revealing him to be decked out in a black undersuit, with black gloves and boots complete with light blue cufflinks and accented again in light blue akin to a Mega Charizard X's black fur and flame color. While the upper armor had the same color scheme, it was completely different in design. The shoulder pads were now pointy rather than flat, the back of the chestplate had two light blue spikes protruding out of it, and the upper torso overall had the same color scheme: black accented with light blue. The forearms also had black spikes to emphasize the spiked design aspect a little bit more, with the elbow being protected with light blue greaves located just right above his gloves. Under his belt, which remained untouched, he had a Kantonian-style robe covering up his lower torso, with the aforementioned robe being colored black with a light blue gradient. His knees was protected with light blue shin guards, and his boots were now bulkier with pointy ends resembling sabatons. The helmet has also drastically changed to resemble the head of Mega Charizard X a little bit more, with the open maw acting as a visor with visible fangs, two light blue horns at the top of the helmet, and an angrier set of 'eyes'. Besides that, the remnants of the iconic bird motif from Talonflame was still persistent in the form of a plumage design and a head feather at the top of the helmet. To round off Takeru's transformation, a blue spinning X then appears at the center of the chestplate before finally coming to a screeching stop.
WHIRLPOOL! CLOUDBURST! SPLASH! VORTEX! MEGA BLASTOISE~!
Meanwhile on the opposite side, Hikaru would just calmly let the whirlpool of seawater flow down to ground level, revealing him to be decked out in a light blue undersuit with light blue gloves, boots, and armor. Unlike Takeru's Charizard X armor, Hikaru's was less spiky and was more simple, with the shoulder pads on the upper armor being flat instead of pointy. The main chestplate, shoulder pads, and boots were accented with gold, as was normal with the usual Shinkaiger suits; however, in a break from the usual design aspects, Hikaru's gloves were not equipped with cufflinks. On his shoulders were two large cannons reminiscent of a Mega Blastoise (however, perhaps Lillie wasn't able to add the main cannon on Blastoise's shell because of her deciding to simplify the design or because said cannon wasn't practical to add), with the lower torso gaining cream markings reminiscent to the underside of a Blastoise shell. Under his belt, which remained untouched, he had a brown Alolan-style loincloth with hexagonal designs covering up his torso, with his legs being decorated by a traditional tattoo design depicting Solo Form Wishiwashi, Wailord, and School Form Wishiwashi. As for the helmet, unlike Takeru's Charizard X helmet, it did not change too drastically, with the only differences being that the helmet was now light blue with a cream mouthpiece, and the top of the helmet had changed in order to resemble Blastoise's triangular ears. Other than that, the shark fins on the helmet and the characteristic Sharpedo eyes, complete with gill slits, still remain untouched.
Takeru then proceeded to run the palm of his hand along the sharper edge of his sword while Hikaru then takes up another battle stance before beginning to attack. He first charged towards Takeru before trying to deliver a strike to his neck with the EvolRod, with his rival managing to parry it with ease and result in the Red warrior delivering a slash towards Hikaru's forearms. As the two rivals then began to clash their weapons, Hikaru then tried to force Takeru into attempting to disclose his hidden powers.
"Take-chan, I've got a question to ask you." Hikaru said, whilst again trying to deliver a strike towards his rival / opponent. Hearing this, Takeru then sent a gesture to him via his body language, prompting him to carry on.
"What was that mysterious red crack that would occasionally appear on your cheek!? And why does your eye also occasionally glow red when that thing would show up!?"
Hearing this again however, Takeru then quickly became flummoxed about it. "What the fuck are you on about, slug?"
"DON'T EVEN TRY DENYING IT, YOU SCHMUCK! Ran, Ryouma, Erina, I, Momoka-san, and Mom noticed a mysterious red crack showing up on your cheeks with your eyes glowing red, and that thing caused you to INSTANTLY KNOW about ANYTHING WITHOUT EVEN HAVING TO DO ANY MORE RESEARCH!" Hikaru yelled, before continuing his rant. "If you keep hiding anything like this from us, no matter if that's bizarre or important, then it SHOWS, THAT YOU'RE A BAD LEADER TO THE SHINKAIGERS, DO YOU KNOW THAT!?"
"Dude, I honestly don't know what you're on abou-" Takeru retorted, before being cut off by Hikaru, who went on to deliver a strike to the abdomen.
"Oh yeah? THEN HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO CHANGE YOUR PHONE INTO OUR EVOLSTRIKER BIKES WITHOUT BEING TOLD BY MY MOM AND DAD, AND THEN HOW ARE YOU ALSO ABLE TO TRANSFORM INTO SHINKAI RED DESPITE BOTH MOM AND DAD ALSO NOT TELLING YOU THE INSTRUCTIONS YET!? Just what are you EVEN HIDING, TAKERU KAMISHIRO!?"
"I just sorta felt this burst of information pouring out into my mind when I did that... it was the same thing every time we first met an Inhumanoid, and it also happened when I met Momoka-san and Apollo too, Hikaru..." Takeru admitted while trying to attack his rival back, the emotional pressure finally causing him to relent and finally open up.
"Okay, that answers my question, you son of a bitch, but what about N? Did you know his identity immediately or what!?"
Takeru then began responding again, this time calmly and with no hesitations. "I knew him since before I became a Trainer, when dad had an exhibition match against Iris, the Champion of Unova... He contacted me by speaking through my communicator when we were facing off against Cobra Inhumanoid, but I only realized it was him when I reunited with him in person after about 11 Arceus damn years..."
"11 years huh? Well then, I suppose your point is going to be valid enough, Take-chan. Now though... Let's not wreck this battlefield, shall we?" Hikaru said, inserting the Blastoise Medal into his weapon's slot before pressing the trigger of his EvolRod while showing signs of holding back to prevent the stronger power of the form from wrecking said battlefield.
FINISHING BLOW!
"Very well then, old pal." Takeru responded back, letting out a slight chuckle before doing the same thing with the EvolBlade.
FINISHING BLOW!
The two then began taking up their battle positions, before proclaiming the names of their finisher attacks.
"Hoʻouka ʻEkolu Haʻahaʻa Paʻa Wai!" (Water Tortoise Three-Quarter Stab Attack!)
"Hiryuu Juujizan!" (Fire Dragon Cross Slash!)
Takeru then proceeded to deliver an X-shaped, blue burning energy slash towards Hikaru. However, the blue warrior then impales the EvolRod into the ground, creating a blue shockwave and a pool of rushing water. Hikaru then proceeds to pull the jitte out of the ground before swinging it a few times in order for the water to flow upwards towards the weapon like a ferrofluid being attracted to a magnet. He then runs up towards Takeru, tanking the Hiryuu Juujizan attack before stabbing his rival in the midsection. This caused Takeru to be thrown upwards a few hundred meters into the air and Hikaru some minor damage due to him tanking the previous attack. Takeru was able to unfurl his wings, which now were colored black and dark blue and more closely resembled draconian wings, however, preventing him from falling down to the ground and damaging the surrounding area. Hikaru, fortunately, only suffered minor injuries.
CHARIZARD! ONE STRIKE SLASH! FIRE!
BLASTOISE! ONE STRIKE STAB! WATER!
With the attack hitting him hard, Takeru then landed back onto the ground before giving Hikaru a high-five and a bro hug.
"Congratulations, slug... You've managed to win the duel fair and square..." The red warrior congratulated, before continuing on. "And I'm sorry if I was never able to open up to you, Erina, and the others... I just have my own personal reasons to do that, dude. No hard feelings?"
"No hard feelings, pal." Hikaru responded, breaking away from the bro hug. "Now, I have a feeling that Brainiac and the others seem to be lagging behind against Tyranno Inhumanoid. Let's go to the site of the attack and help them, shall we?"
"Well then... Let's show everyone the true power of our new forms, then." Takeru responded, with him smirking at the last remark behind his helmet, which the Blur warrior was able to tell.
"Alright, then. Beam me up, Shinkai Red!"
With that, Takeru then put an arm around Hikaru's back before unfurling his large draconian wings once again, heading to where Ran and the others were situated.
Ran, Ryouma and Erina was having a hard time with Tyranno Inhumanoid back on the northeastern side of the city, as Ran's attacks ended up doing only minor damage despite him using the Galvantula Medal to empower himself. Ryouma was able to do more decent damage with the EvolGun, but however, as the weapon relied on limited laser cartridges, the Black warrior had to continuously refill them in order to keep attacking, which ended up making things more cumbersome, and Erina's attacks were naturally resisted by the Tyranitar-based cyborg monster. Eventually enough, Tyranno Inhumanoid was able to back the three remaining Shinkaigers away into a corner, unfortunately leaving them open to be finished off.
The tyrannosaurus monster later began charging up a deadlier version of Hyper Beam, aiming it at the trio. "Y̷̲̤͋̕ô̶͈̲ư̷̤'̷̮͑͠v̴͕̈́̒e̵̠̚ ̷͇̀͊è̶̖͈͊ń̶̥̒d̸̖̈́́ȩ̸̒͂d̶̜̮̊̚ ̷̳̿̍ṷ̶̢́p̸̪̔̓ ̴̰̘̄p̴͓͚̌ṳ̶̒͂t̸͈͍͛ț̸͆ǐ̶̙̗̏n̵̹̍g̵̣̾̈́ ̶̫̈́͑a̶̟̍ ̴̧̂̈͜v̶̗̓â̴̩͕̋ĺ̵̬̤i̸̛̼a̷͖̗̔n̸͖̑͝t̷̬̍̀l̴̩̇̆y̴̡̿̚ ̵͈̐̄g̶̻̃͗o̸͈͐͘͜o̶̪̾͠d̸̜̥͊͆ ̵̱̼̓f̵̪̙̀i̵̮̓g̶̤͖̀̒h̷͖̖͂t̸͔̿̄,̶̡͓̉͝ ̵̜͐̀S̴̢͎̋̽h̷̻͚̑i̴̜͘n̸̯̐k̸̜̬̆̋á̸̖ī̸̟͎͝g̶̛͓è̴͇͚r̶̩̕̚s̸̡̲̏̂.̴͖̝̅̍.̵̛̟̅.̵̪́̒ ̵̳̿̈́B̷̫̮͒̂u̶̎̋ͅt̴̛̮͠ ̸̯͆͗t̸̞̓h̷̝̏̈ȉ̴̦͈s̷̡̞̓ ̷͔͊̾j̷̜͝ų̷͇̿ș̴̡̋t̸̥̜͑ ̴̰̗̚s̷̻̝̊͂h̴̤͐ö̴̮́w̵̰͍͑͘s̸͉͐ ̵̼͊t̵͓̃̽h̷̥̾͒a̵͖̩͝t̵̙͓̊́ ̶̭͌̏y̴̥̍̄o̷̢̤͝u̷̳͐'̴̭̊̽r̶͓̊͆ě̵͕̋ ̴̨̎ͅp̶̨̺̌i̷̯̱͌t̷̤̯̃̓ì̷̟̍f̸͎͗̋ͅu̵̢͔̇͆l̴̻̗͒͛l̵͇̠̔y̵̘͎̾̊ ̴͊ͅw̶͓͙̑e̸̡͖͑́a̵̛̼̓ḱ̸̤.̶̟͂.̷̜̍͑.̴͇̓ ̶̟̾B̷̳̈́͆e̷̜͊͐c̴̯͗a̷̢̫̔û̴̟͓s̶̥͍͌̀ě̸̛̘ͅ ̵͇̲͐̂ẏ̸̤̻o̵̠̳͑ụ̵͛ ̴̘̌͝n̷͖͈͂e̸͓̦͐͂v̸̰͠͠e̵̢͂r̶̖̃̉͜ ̵̫̈g̵̣̚a̶̫͎͊̑v̴̫͋é̴͈̌ ̷̣̊̊u̶͓̝̒͑p̷͔̲̍̀ ̵̖̠̑̄ǰ̷͓u̸̩̎s̷̢͔̍ẗ̴̗ ̷̆͐ͅo̵̙͝͠ṅ̸̫̈c̴̗̆e̷̗̿̈ͅ ̶̛̯̆ͅo̷̮͚͒n̷͇̏ ̶̳̄f̸̣̝̽i̷̦̋̀g̶̝͘ḩ̵̘̐ẗ̵̳͕́̂i̷͍̐n̵̦̔͜g̸̬̘̃͝ ̴͍͕̾̈o̴̩̱̽ų̸͚͒̎r̴̭̮̋͠ ̷͔̈́̈́f̶͕͝o̶̬̊͜r̵͎̀c̴̨̔e̶̞͝ś̵̤,̶̥̊̀ ̸̣͊ṱ̶̨̾h̴̦͓̃̃e̴͖̹͑̏n̶̠͓͝ ̷̩̯̅̈́n̵̯̋͝o̷̰̕w̶̫̙̃̀.̶͇̲̑͝.̴̈́͜.̵̰̯͌ ̵̰̼̎S̵̫͓̄͝ų̷̥̓f̸̞͕̊͋f̶̱͔̈̿ẹ̷̀̿ŗ̷̪͠͠ ̷̹͉̍̈a̴͇͖͊̊ ̸̨͎́p̵̮̈́̇a̷̯̚ī̷̮n̷̻̔f̷͔̱͊͝ű̵̮͎͐ḽ̶͌͒ ̵̻̭́d̵͒̚͜e̴̝̔͗ă̶̛̬ṭ̶̪͛ḫ̶̀͝!̶̬̉"
"HOLD IT, TYRANNO INHUMANOID!"
Tyranno Inhumanoid was later attacked by a blue burning energy slash, and he was also pummeled by two jets of hot water which ended up scalding him. The source of the attacks and voices was none other than Takeru and Hikaru, which had him attacked using the EvolBlade and being shot by the Blue warrior's two shoulder cannons, which had a lot of power, even in mid-air.
"Takeru! Hikaru!"
"Blue! Red!"
"Big brother!"
The two Pallet-native rivals later made their way down onto the ground, before regrouping with the others in the process and turning on their communicators in order to enable Shigeru and Lillie to speak with them.
"Takeru, Hikaru. Mind explaining why you two took so long to just arrive at where the others were fighting?" Shigeru asked, with his tone of voice being stern and reprimanding. He wasn't really happy with Takeru and Hikaru's late arrivals. Lillie was also angry, however it was even more directed at Hikaru for prioritizing something else other than the safety of people and Pokémon, as she had already known that Hikaru had other plans regarding his rival.
"Sorry Mom, Dad. Guess I got a bit too carried away with my plans, that's all..." Hikaru answered, with him cryptically admitting that it was his idea to arrive much later.
"I'll let it slide this time, but I still owe you an explanation, young man. Takeru, while I'm still disappointed by you arriving late, good job on testing the Axis Brace with Hikaru for me. Please help Ran and the others, alright?" Lillie reprimanded at first, before ordering the two to help the rest of their teammates. In response, Takeru later affirmed the order.
"Tyranno Inhumanoid, you still haven't faced the rest of us yet. Come at me and Shinkai Blue if you want to defeat us!"
The monster later ended up accepting the challenge as a result. "V̶̲͛è̷̜͆ȑ̵̥̆ẙ̸͓͘ ̷̤̲̆w̴̙̗̓̀ę̵̰̽l̴͎̈́ľ̴̩,̵̘̔ ̶̠̓t̵̢͒h̶̠̚͝e̷̖̓n̵̬̓!̴͍̲͗"
Takeru and Hikaru thus began charging towards their opponent, ganging up on the Inhumanoid, who proceeded to summon a few Hoplite Soldiers in order to halt their advances. In response to this, Ran, Ryouma and Erina later took the initiative to help their team leader, walloping through the soldier platoons with ease.
With the Hoplite Soldiers properly taken care of, the two Pallet-native rivals then began to gang up on Tyranno Inhumanoid again, with Takeru simply delivering a few powerful punches. However, Hikaru had decided to go full brute style, grabbing the monster by the waist before knocking him out like an aggressive sumo wrestler.
Takeru then later proceeded to step on the hapless Inhumanoid's foot, forcing him to stand up before punching him in the abdomen, knocking him a few feet back. Ryouma later came into the crossfire as he then begins gunning down the Tyranitar monster, before Ran also shoots him with a barrage of electricity, causing him to be inflicted with paralysis.
"Thanks for that paralysis, Brainiac!" Hikaru said, thanking his teammate who responded with an approving nod. The 17-year old later gave a brief glance towards Takeru, before quickly going in for the opportunity by re-inserting the Blastoise Medal back into the Axis Brace. "Let's go for the kill together, eh, Take-chan?"
Takeru later responded back positively, before the two rivals then proceeded to press the triggers of the EvolBlade and the Axis Brace together at the same time. Well? I'd say it's about time we finally kill off this abomination of a monster. Let's go, then!"
FINISHING BLOW!
Takeru and Hikaru then took on their respective stances, with the former readying himself to deliver an explosive slash and the latter aiming his shoulder cannons towards the Tyranitar monster.
"Ryuujin Dohatsuten!" (Dragon God Infuriation!)
"ʻPana Elua Manawa Moana!" (Oceanic Double Shoot!)
The two rivals then proceeded to execute their respective attacks, with Takeru delivering his flame-enhanced slash towards the Inhumanoid and Hikaru shooting the monster with pressurized jets of hot, boiling water on point blank.
CHARIZARD! ONE STRIKE SLASH! FIRE!
BLASTOISE! AXIS FINISH! WATER!
The flame-enhanced slash and the jets of boiling water later combined into one attack, which rocketed at rapid speeds straight towards Tyranno Inhumanoid, causing the monster to be mortally wounded as a result. With him at death's door, he then lets out his last words, cursing the Shinkaigers before ultimately exploding to his first death. "C̵̆͜ū̵̹̜̄r̴͍̍͛s̶̼̰̐ẽ̴̜̈́ ̵͚̍͌y̸̗͇̏ō̴͖̅ŭ̴̖.̸͓̎ͅ.̷̫̀̐.̸̢̗̒̎ ̸̮͝S̸̞͙͗̽h̶̬͛̇ḯ̷̤̐n̴͓̱̅k̷̪̆a̷̢̨̔̈i̷͕̎̆ǵ̸̱͝ė̸̻̪r̴͍̤̅s̴͔͇̕͘!̶̝̽"
However, just a few moments later, the monster's fail-safe program would then begin to activate, reviving Tyranno Inhumanoid and growing him up to giant size. This caused the ecstatic Tyranitar-based cyborg monster to instantly go on a rampage across the city, with him also firing off countless attacks towards the Shinkaigers in order to disorient and kill them. However, the team was swift to dodge away. The team's communicators then started beeping, prompting them to answer while trying to evade another barrage of dangerous attacks.
"Team, Lillie and Shigeru here. We've forgot to tell the five of you one thing when we were back at base; We've recently just completed a new vehicle for you to use in your arsenal." Lillie said from the other end. This caused Hikaru to answer back upon hearing that information, even though he was trying to dodge Tyranno Inhumanoid's relentless barrage of attacks and enormous stomps.
"Who's the intended recipient, Mom, Dad? We really need that vehicle to be sent out right now!"
"The vehicle's for you, son. We've only planned on giving Mega Blastoise a vehicle of its own from the start anyway, so think of this as somekind of a gift, alright, my boy?" Shigeru replied back positively. This later caused Hikaru to smirk behind his helmet, then literally sneer and cackle at the fact that he could one-up his rival by having his own vehicle.
"Finally, another power boost..." Ryouma said in exasperation, while Erina just shrugged at Hikaru's behaviour after hearing that.
Ran then followed it up, letting out his own remarks. "A power boost may be much appreciated for psuedo-legends like this..."
"I guess we have no choice, then." Takeru said while pulling out his U-Phone. He then began to ask his mentors for a little bit of help, as his teammates also had their phones on standby. "Professor, Ohkido-san, could you use the Connect to Mecha feature to control Marine ahead of time? I had to eject out of Jet when we were using Biker back then and it ended up overcomplicating things instead..."
"Alright then. We'll try our best." Shigeru summarized. As a result of that, the Shinkaigers then began to summon the vehicles in order to deal with the Inhumanoid by the help of Shinkai-Oh, pressing the Summon Mecha feature and typing out the appropriate numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8) before pressing 'GO'.
Summon Mecha, On!
Jet! Trailer! Roader! Marine! Shuttle! Tank!
Summoning, Go!
In an instant, the five main vehicles of the Shinkaigers and a new auxiliary vehicle would then be launched out of the Guardia Base, arriving to the area in just a few seconds. The new vehicle, the EvolTank, was a light blue and cream-colored armored fighting vehicle, with 20 tracked wheels grouped into clusters of of 5, which is attached on both sides of the mecha, in order to help it move on the ground, complete with two pairs of main guns at the top of the tank in order to attack enemy forces. The team then made their way into their respective vehicles' cockpits, with Hikaru going into the EvolTank instead.
Back at base, Shigeru then activates the Connect to Mecha feature via voice recognition in order to remotely control the EvolMarine, doing it just in time as the Shinkaigers had inserted their U-Phones into the cockpit of the mechs in order to act as control consoles.
The team then began their relentless attack towards Tyranno Inhumanoid, with Hikaru using the EvolTank's extremely powerful main guns to immobilize the monster as Takeru swerved the EvolJet around in order to provide a distraction while the rest of the vehicles later backed up Hikaru's efforts in order to deal a lot of damage to the cyborg monster.
Deciding to not waste time any longer after determining that the damage was sufficient, Takeru then began ordering both his teammates and Shigeru to get into formation in order to combine into Shinkai-Oh. "All units, get into formation immediately!"
Takeru and the rest of the Shinkaigers then proceeded to re-open the developer console of their phones, before pressing the 'Combine Mecha' button and typing in their respective numbers. However, the Red warrior had to redo the procedure again, this time typing the number 8, in order to combine the EvolTank together with Shinkai-Oh just mere seconds after that.
Combine Mecha, On!
Jet! Trailer! Roader! Marine! Shuttle!
Shinkai-Oh, Go!
Combine Mecha, On!
Tank!
Shinkai-Oh Blastoise, Go!
With all procedures having been accomplished, Takeru then initiated the keyword to begin the combination process. "Shuugo Gattai!"
The EvolRoader then proceeded to split itself in two with that command, driving up onto both sides of the EvolTrailer before attaching itself into the truck's hidden compartments in order to form the arms of the robot. Takeru however speedily interrupts the process in order to facilitate the EvolTank's combination.
"Team, Red here, this is just a little bit of an interruption. So, since we're combining Tank together with Shinkai-Oh, Shuttle wouldn't be needed for this specific one. Ohkido-san, can you please use the Connect to Mecha feature in order to remotely control it? However, you can't fly Shuttle back to the Guardia Base before Erina gets transported into the cockpit. As for you, Professor, please don't extend Marine's skis just yet. I need Tank to be facing towards Trailer in order for it to be combined first before you proceed with the legs."
Both Shigeru and Lillie then affirmed the order before Hikaru then proceeded to reply back through his communicator. "And how am I supposed to combine this thing, Take-chan?"
"It's simple as hell, slug. When you've steered Tank to the appropriate position, I want you to move it forward onto Trailer's roof like you're driving a war tank up a hill. You're using Shuttle's joints for that."
"Eh, alright then..." Hikaru responded stoically. With that, he then rotated the EvolTank 180 degrees before driving the vehicle up onto the top of the EvolTrailer, taking the place where the EvolShuttle was supposed to be located. The size of the EvolTank made things a little bit heavier and thus more difficult for Ran to keep under control, however he had ultimately managed to pull through.
Shigeru then proceeded to control the EvolMarine to extend out its skis, making the blue submarine vehicle come to an abrupt stop as the EvolTrailer reveals its joints and drives forward in order to form the legs of the robot. With all of the body components in place, Ran then presses his feet down on the brake pedals with much more power than normal while careful not to break anything; even though the braking process' only purpose was to lift the robot up into its standing position, he had to take all of that extra weight from the EvolTank into account, hence the extra power needed to do so. Takeru then attaches the EvolJet onto the back of the robot, as parts of the EvolTank and EvolTrailer then begins to reconfigure itself, including the armored vehicle's main guns, which was now moved over to the back of the robot from the front.
Takeru, Ran, Ryouma, Hikaru and Erina are then transported immediately into Shinkai-Oh's unified cockpit, as the top windows of the EvolTank open up to reveal the robot's mouthpiece. This would then prompt Lillie to take control of the EvolShuttle and fly it back to the Guardia Base, and Shigeru to disconnect himself from control of the EvolMarine. The Aeonic Shield and Aeonic Saber would then materialize in the robot's hands in order to finish the combination process.
SHINKAI-OH BLASTOISE!
Realizing that he was successful in combining the auxiliary vehicle, Takeru then snickered for a little bit under his helmet before controlling the robot to run and subsequently punch the still-ecstatic Tyranno Inhumanoid out of his rampage. "Don't you dare think we're going to leave you alone, you tyrannosaurus fucker. Let's just settle this the hard way, shall we?"
"S̷͕̘̿͆h̵͚̟̒i̸͙̐ǹ̴̘̃k̴͖̗̏̌á̷̈͜i̴̮͚͊ ̷̣̬͛̅R̶̙͔̉e̴̟̊d̴̨̜̓,̷͚̬͐ ̸̨͇͛̇y̵̼̙͗ó̵̩̒u̵̙̩͒̈́ ̸̣̈́̓c̵̡̒u̸̬̰͑́r̴̨̚͜.̸̤̓͠.̴̪̻̓.̶̳̽ ̷͓́̾͜B̶̫̔̈́u̷̗̇͠t̵͎̘̒̔ ̴̼̹̿i̴̥͈̍f̴͓͖͗͝ ̸̣̾̾ÿ̷͖̃ö̴̝͈́̾u̷̿͜ ̷̲̜̈w̵̻̰̎͑ą̸̭̅̕n̶̙̈t̶̗̼̆ ̸̧̀t̷̹̓ö̷̫̝́̀ ̶̫̿k̴̺̍̑í̵̱̲l̷̺͐̓ĺ̵͕̚ͅ ̴̰̅͝ý̴̧̯ö̴͇̮́ụ̸̹́r̷̥̹͌s̷̢̝̿̕e̷̮͌̓ḷ̴͗f̴̧́̆,̸̗͑ ̸̦̼͆t̸̛̗h̵̰̃̊é̸͉͊n̴̮̓͜ ̶̛̲̅Î̸͙̎'̷͙͌ľ̷̜̩l̷͔̇͑ ̵̳̩̿h̵̻͙͛á̴̦̦̚p̸̙͖͛p̷̛̺̳͐ĩ̴̯̝͂l̴̬̅y̵̳̥͐͝ ̴̬̅͝h̸͍̾̒ă̸͎̤v̶̗̤̊e̸̺̅̑ ̸̞̔͊t̷͉͔́͛ḣ̷̖ë̴̺́̒ ̸̥̖͑̀h̵̖̑o̵̤͐n̴̥̿ö̴̢̝́͘r̸̘̿̂ ̴̠̜͗o̵͍̥̒f̶̡̲̈̄ ̵͔̓t̷̟̖͐à̶͉k̷̻̹̕i̶̤͊̍n̵͉̺̔̚g̶͕̯̅͝ ̵̧̽ͅy̶͍̎o̶̼͒̈͜u̷̦̎ŕ̴̥̝͆ ̴̱̓l̸̻͐̉ḯ̸̗f̷̌͜ệ̵̥͝!̶͔͖́̉"
Ran then proceeded to smirk under his helmet, thinking about the monster's god-awful stupidity. 'If only you knew, Tyranno Inhumanoid...' He thought. The other Shinkaigers however had varying reactions, with Hikaru plainly and stoically just sitting there without commenting any further, Ryouma trying to stifle back a laugh, and Erina sporting an 'Are you serious?' look.
"Bring it on, then. Let's see who's the victor in this fight, eh?" Takeru said, accepting the challenge straightforwardly.
As a result, Shinkai-Oh would then begin to take the first move, with it at first delivering some standard punches from its arms before switching to kicks. The robot would then proceed to use the Aeonic Saber to inflict minor dents to the monster's hard armor, before headbutting at it to cause the slash wounds to open up. This caused Tyranno Inhumanoid to jerk backward while Ran had a specific light-bulb moment going off in his head back at the cockpit.
"Takeru, can I take over main control of Shinkai-Oh from you for the time being? I think I have an idea on how we could successfully break through that hard armor of his."
To prove his answer, Takeru then pressed a few buttons on the consoles of the cockpit, causing the main systems' controls to be transferred from his seat into Ran's own. As a result, the Yellow warrior later made a victory sign with his hands and directed it towards his team leader as his way of saying thank you.
"Aeonic Blaster!" Ran proclaimed while pressing a set of buttons, causing the Aeonic Saber to be digitized away into particles. One of the EvolTank's main guns then detaches itself from Shinkai-Oh's back, with the Kalosian trainer being swift to control the aforementioned robot to quickly catch it before it wound up crashing into the asphalt. The EvolTank's main guns, which are normally located on the back armor when not in use, could actually function as, well, giant handguns, and if Ran was to utilize both of them, he could control the mecha to fully go Guns Akimbo at the monster.
The robot then began fighting neck-and-neck with Tyranno Inhumanoid, with the Tyranitar-based cyborg monster firing off a deadlier version of Hyper Beam, which Shinkai-Oh was able to deflect using the Aeonic Shield. The team then proceeded to digitize the aforementioned shield away into particles, with them firing one of the robot's closed fists as a projectile to strike the monster's abdomen, all while the other arm was going wild at gunslinging with the Aeonic Blaster, attacking with relentless rapid-fire shots. Back inside the cockpit, all of the Shinkaigers were cooperating closely with Ran himself in order to control Shinkai-Oh use of the enormous handgun, and all was going well for them, until the team suddenly began to feel an eerie gust of wind blowing at their surroundings, even though the cockpit was closed off from the open air. Moments after that, Takeru then began having severe headaches, with him hearing an uncomfortable ringing in his ears before the sound would then switch to the voices of Red and Yellow, his deceased grandparents.
"Takeru." Both voices called out in unison. As a result, this provoked Takeru to respond non-verbally so as to not cause suspicion, although he was beginning to be gobsmacked by what was happening. As for Ran, Ryouma and Erina though, they were slowly realizing the presence of that mysterious gust of wind and was pretty much weirded out by it, while Hikaru just snickered, knowing that it was probably his grandfather or Red and Yellow lurking around in the cockpit. 'Grandpa...? Grandma...?
No sooner did the words come out of his inner voice, Takeru later began to feel a mysterious aura surging through his body. Somehow, the outside barrier preventing Red and Yellow from entering their grandson's subconsciousness was broken, and they ultimately, and finally, were able to contact him.
'It's been a while since we last spoke... Takeru.' Red said, greeting Takeru through his own inner voice.
'So, my ears didn't deceive me after all... Grandpa, Grandma, what's the matter? You do know that we could talk on some other time, right?' Takeru replied back with visible confusion.
'Things just don't work like that, my boy. Yellow and I recently heard that you've been hiding something from Eri and your other teammates, is that right? Green just had a pep talk with Hikaru earlier and after that, he told me everything we needed to know.' Red retorted.
As a result, Takeru then quickly became flustered, and he was in a bit of a difficulty in making up a response. 'Grandpa, it's not what it looks like-'
'You can't keep the facade up forever, do you know that? It's painfully obvious to us both that you're currently hiding something from your teammates, including Erina. We know that you've gotten into an altercation with Hikaru because of that. Hiding things from your trusted friends, family and teammates will just make things worse, Takeru...' Yellow interjected, cutting off her grandson's frantic response, with her tone of voice expressing utter disappointment toward him.
'You've watched over me like a hawk, Grandma... But I guess since it's that obvious, there's no point in denying it anyway... It's just... You're not dissapointed in me, are you?'
'What's already happened is what happened, Takeru. Yes, we both are dissapointed in you for hiding whatever that power is, but you're also an exceptional team player for being able to carry everything around like that. You're the only member in your team whose strength is much stronger than anyone else, and we're proud of you for that.' Yellow answered straightforwardly.
However, before Takeru could go for another response, Red eventually decided to intervene for a moment. 'I actually think we should postpone this talk for another time, Yellow. Takeru's still in the middle of a fight, after all and we don't want to hinder his progress.'
'Valid, Grandpa, Grandma. So, I guess I'll talk with you about it again when we're back at base?' The Red warrior replied. He was still pressing some of the buttons on the control consoles during the talk, but he was slowly beginning to move out of sync from the rest of his teammates.
'Fair enough, then. But if you want to talk to me and your grandmother, you'll probably need to keep out for mysterious gusts of wind in your surroundings: That's a sign that we're still here, in the mortal realm, waiting to talk to you.'
'I'll wait, I guess... Thanks, Grandpa, Grandma.' Takeru replied, ending the conversation. With that, Red and Yellow's deceased spirits eventually left Takeru's subconsciousness, leaving his free will still intact like Green did with Hikaru earlier.
"Takeru, you okay, buddy?" Ryouma asked, with him taking notice that Takeru was beginning to move out of sync on the control consoles. In response, the Red warrior then hastily made up an excuse. "O-oh, I'm... okay, Black. I'm just.. lost in thought, that's all."
"Right, let's get back on with finishing this one heck of a Tyranitar misfit, shall we?" Ran asked. The rest of the team later nodded in approval, and thus resumed their shootout against Tyranno Inhumanoid. Ran's proficient moves were able to put Shinkai-Oh into a massive advantage, since the rapid-fire attack was able to completely weaken and immobilize the colossal cyborg monster, and pretty much everything was going downhill for the Inhumanoid from there. As a result, the deadlier version of Crunch was then fired towards the enormous mecha, causing Shinkai-Oh to deal damage, however it was minor and as thus, had no dangerous impacts that would affect the performance of the robot.
In retaliation for the dirty trick, Ran then had himself practically smashing the control consoles to digitize the Aeonic Shield away from the robot's arms before detaching the second Aeonic Blaster and catching it. The robot was practically dual-wielding two enormous handguns by then, and the ensuing fight proved to be brutal, as the Yellow warrior then proceeded to control Shinkai-Oh to go full Guns Akimbo mode, with the robot mercilessly shooting the monster with two guns at that note. The brutal shootout caused Tyranno Inhumanoid to be vulnerable, with his armor now cracking into pieces and making the revived monster be at its absolute weakest. Seeing this, Takeru then forcefully transferred the main control of the mecha back to him, while also politely telling his second-in command to stop going extremely wild with it. "Alright Ran, enough, pal, we could probably put him out of his misery right now." This elicited a pout from the still-feisty 16-year old, however Takeru just ignored it, before ultimately returning the two Aeonic Blasters to the back of the mecha and re-summoning the Aeonic Saber to go for a kill.
"Aeonic Saber!"
With the Aeonic Saber now back in the robot's hands, Takeru then begins pressing a few buttons in order to initiate the killing blow, as is the custom, before proclaiming the name of the attack.
"Aeonic Saber: Ichiren Giri!"
(Aeonic Saber: One Sequence Slash!)
As a result of that command, Shinkai-Oh then proceeds to slash the vulnerable Tyranno Inhumanoid diagonally, bisecting the cyborg monster into two. With him on the brink of death, the Tyranitar-inspired monster then finally lets out his last words, before ultimately exploding onto his second death like a colossal depth charge. "L̸̲̫̃ơ̶̲͖͂n̸̼̬͊g̷͇͕̑̆ ̶̠̈́͝l̸͇̣̓ỉ̶̮͖͂v̸̖͍̐͛e̶̛͕.̸͕͗.̷͚͔̀̚.̸͇̉ ̵͙͠M̴̨̪̿.̴̯̫̑̑Ý̷̪.̸̻̣͘T̷͙̫͌.̸̛̼͖͝Ḣ̴͇.̴͔̥̔O̴͙̊͘.̵͇͛͠S̵̘͝͠!̴̡̓"
The Shinkaigers then cheered, with them celebrating another win in the war against M.Y.T.H.O.S, with Ryouma and Hikaru noting that Apollo was weirdly absent from his usual field commander role. However, as Ran controlled the robot to strike a celebratory pose, Takeru can't help himself to think about what his grandparents would react with him hiding something from his teammates, as the 17-year old just stared at the front-view screen with dread plastered all over his face behind his helmet.
The Shinkaigers later made their way back to the Guardia Base after their victory, with Ryouma, Hikaru, and Erina taking some time to rest for a little bit whilst Ran was away analyzing his team's overall performance with Kyouhei. However, we then focus our attention to Takeru, which was currently sitting down in the lounge room alone: the remaining three Shinkaiger members, including Erina, had slept a little bit earlier than usual, owing to how tired they were. However, the 17-year old's facial expression looked monotone and mindless after he had remembered about what had happened back at Shinkai-Oh's cockpit.
Just then, the sudden gusts of wind that Red had talked about decided to make its appearance known, blowing throughout the room and making Takeru's hair flutter again before he then feels the familiar aura of his grandparents' spirits. On that note, his facial expression then turned uneasy, with him having feelings of dread and anxiousness running through his thoughts, prepared for the berating that he was about to endure.
'Takeru, let's continue the talk that we had back at Shinkai-Oh, shall we? I really need you to be brutally honest, because both your grandmother and I are still dissatisfied with what you did for over the past few months. What you did was wrong, my boy, I hope you understand what I meant by that.' Red greeted, attempting to start a conversation between him, his wife, and his grandson.
'I'm... Genuinely sorry for letting the both of you down like that, Grandpa, Grandma. It's just... I don't really know the fullest extent of my powers yet, and I can't even repress it... It feels like it has a mind of its own, you know?' Takeru replied back non-verbally, apologizing for his subconscious decisions.
'We're only disappointed because you didn't even think to tell your friends and family about your hidden powers. Sure, you don't know the full extent of your own power, we could understand that, and everyone, including both Red and I, couldn't even comprehend what it actually is, but you've actually gone through to take the decision to hide it from your closest friends and your loved ones? How dare you, Takeru...' Yellow clarified, with her tone of voice shifting to one with pent-up fury at the last part.
'Grandma, I don't even know what to do with this, to be honest... I mean, Dad once had his aura powers show up every now and then in the past, but that's different! This is a power which I don't know the full extent of, and I can't even control it!'
'But this isn't the right solution, Takeru! I know that you're worried, and I'm trying to not put too much pressure on yourself, but at least you could've told Satoshi and Serena-chan about it, even Erina too! You're slowly becoming too reckless without even realizing it, and you've almost let that get in the way of your leadership!' Yellow responded, this time starting to yell at her grandson. She was clearly venting a few months' worth of pent-up anger, disappointment, and frustration towards him.
'Sheer recklessness like that do run in the family, my boy. Even your dad and I also took some pretty brash and reckless decisions when we were your age. But your grandmother's right; you're slowly becoming too reckless without you realizing it.' Red added, backing up his wife in the matter.
'And don't even get me started with the excessive swear words that you've uttered, Takeru Kamishiro... You're putting too much pressure to your teammates with that, one that they couldn't possibly bear nonetheless, and I DO NOT like that. You clearly need to change yourself if you want to improve and be a better leader to your teammates, because I don't think that Shuugo Sentai Shinkaiger will survive for long if you continue your mismanagement.' Yellow continued on, this time letting her rage calm down significantly.
'What your grandmother probably means is that you need to be more calm, collected, capable, wise, resolute, and more stern as a leader. Also, you don't want to put too much pressure on your teammates, so, please, tone down the swear words, alright? Your leadership is crucial for the team, Takeru. Do you want to let the whole planet down with your poor management?' Red clarified, before asking his grandson on the last part.
'Yeah... I don't want the whole planet to fall into despair after knowing that their last hope has failed to protect them against M.Y.T.H.O.S... But honestly, grandpa, I'm still feeling a little bit anxious, since I never thought to tell both Mom and Dad about this and I've already disappointed both of you anyway...'
'Think more positively about yourself, Takeru. Besides, I know that Satoshi's never the one to hold a grudge, he'll forgive you instantly after you apologize. Serena's also probably going to try and understand what you're going through if you have a lot on your mind." Red reassured calmly. His father instincts was beginning to overtake his disappointment after he realized that Yellow was a little bit too hard on him.
Yellow then also realized that she was too hard on her grandson for a little bit, before also beginning to reassure him. Interestingly, Yellow had quoted the family mantra that she had taught Satoshi, who later passed the knowledge down to Takeru.'Trust your convictions, Takeru. You're the one who will dictate what path you're going to take and you're also the one who will decide how you could solve your own problems. Remember to never give up until it's over, okay?'
'Thanks for everything... Grandpa, grandma.' Takeru said, thanking both of his grandparents for the pep talk while his lips curled up into a small smile after hearing the family mantra.
'We'll always be by your side, Takeru. If you have anything on your mind, talk to us, alright? No matter what you're going through with Erina, we'll be there to help you on every step of the way.' Red responded. Yellow then ended the conversation a few moments later, with their spirits leaving Takeru's subconsciousness once again. 'Farewell, Takeru.'
The 17-year old half-Kalosian trainer later ultimately made his way to the living quarters of the base before entering his bedroom and taking a moment to himself, plopping down on his scarlet red-colored bed and looking up at the ceiling. Takeru had ultimately realized on that day, that no matter what he was going through and no matter what situation it is, he'll try his best to lead his team through every obstacle that M.Y.T.H.O.S would send after them, until the peace, tranquility, and harmony that they've tried to fight hard and strive towards is reached.
To be continued
Author's Note: Whew! This chapter took a much longer time to write than we expected it to be! Shinkaiger's last update was posted way back on June 21, and it was still holiday season at the country where I live when I started writing this chapter together with Morgan Alter. However, the new school year ultimately began at the start of the month, and I had to completely rush the writing of this chapter for this to be posted before the end of the month.
Regarding Blue / Green, Red, and Yellow's roles in the story, we've tried putting them into the spotlight as much as possible in this chapter and try to write them with pivotal roles: this will become a major turning point in Shinkaiger starting on the next chapter, when we ultimately see a bit of a personality change on Takeru, as Red and Yellow had wanted on the ending of this chapter. I'll try to take my time and write the chapters as fast as possible, though there is no guarantee that I could have a chapter posted monthly now that school's back and I have to rush myself with time constraints, hence the lack of more antagonist-centric segments and both N and Nate / Kyouhei not appearing in this chapter, physically anyway. But with that said, as always, give us a comment and a review, point out any of our mistakes, and we'll try to read it up and address it when we can.
MagicWings001 here, signing out. Jaa ne!