CHAPTER 10

Fluttering Hopes

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

Dusk had passed over Kalos a few hours ago, but however, the Shinkaigers (who were supposed to be already resting at the Guardia Base at the same time) instead got their hands full by having to fight a new Inhumanoid, which M.Y.T.H.O.S had oddly sent at the beginning of the evening instead of in daytime hours. The new cyborg monster, Owl Inhumanoid was, in particular, based on a Noctowl, hence the reason why the aforementioned terrorist organization had decided to send the owl monster at that specific time to strengthen his attack power, which would be even more powerful at nighttime hours rather than in daylight, owing to the nocturnal nature of the true Owl Pokémon.

Due to M.Y.T.H.O.S' intelligent planning however, all five of the Shinkaigers and even both Shigeru and Lillie were caught off-guard due to being completely unprepared, and as a result, the team was severely underperforming, causing reasonable concerns from Takeru and the Shinkaiger mentors, especially Lillie, who wasn't going to be thrilled to hear N's reactions about the matter. In terms of power though, despite Ran himself having a massive type advantage against the monster and the usage of the Golem Medal by some members of the team empowering them even more, only Takeru and Hikaru could come close to barely defeating the monster due to how strong they were; Ran's usage of the Galvantula Medal was getting useless at this point as he eventually ended up being defeated by the Noctowl-based monster anyway, with Ryouma suffering the same fate after only a single usage of the Golem Medal and Erina being effortlessly defeated off-screen. This of course meant that only Takeru and Hikaru had the sufficient manpower to defeat him, with the former currently using the Infernal Blade to assume his stronger Talonflame form and the latter using Mega Blastoise with help from the Axis Brace in order to attack.

The two rival Rangers however were getting extremely tuckered out at this point, and as a result, they eventually decided to go for their finishers anyway, with Hikaru getting ready to fire his shoulder cannons at the Noctowl-based monster and Takeru activating his finishing blows by scanning the Talonflame Medal on the Infernal Blade twice.

CHARGE!

FIREBIRD NOVA!

Takeru then proceeds to cover both of his lower arms in orange energy, before performing six punches surrounded by burning flames using one of his arms, with each punch creating an explosion upon hitting the Noctowl monster. He then repeats the six punches two times, with him alternating between each arm as the last punch would then knock the monster back with an orange shockwave before Hikaru then fires two jets of hot water out of his shoulder cannons, forcing the Noctowl cyborg monster to retreat back to the Olympus Castle. With the threat taken care of for the time being, the team then ultimately decided that they needed to rest and continue the ordeal tomorrow, as they were severely tired out from having to fight that evening.

The next day...

Takeru was caught in a less than favourable situation.

His team had severely underperformed in yesterday evening's run-in with Owl Inhumanoid that they almost got kicked to boot if it weren't for his use of the Infernal Blade and Hikaru forcing the monster to retreat using Mega Blastoise at the time. However, the defeat only made him feel overwhelmed, as anxiety and concern was about to get the better of his emotions. Sure, he was supposed to be the more mature member of the team as its leader, and the unexpected attack by M.Y.T.H.O.S also contributed to the underperformance, but he had thought that the fight wouldn't have had this outcome if only he had heeded what his grandmother's spirit had said to him when he fought Tyranno Inhumanoid just over a week ago. Shinkaiger almost fell due to his poor management as leader, and he was to take the full blame on it. As he was going to take the full blame on that problem, he'd have to find a solution to remedy it. And he would have to be quick at it before M.Y.T.H.O.S would, in theory, launch a reprisal against them, which makes it even more painstaking for Takeru to sort things out.

Just then, Ran would then proceed to enter the lounge room, where Takeru was located. Noticing his second-in command's presence, the Red warrior then turned his head for a moment. "Oh, Ran? You're surprisingly early today..."

"Oui, pal. Professor Shigeru had hit me up and relayed to me that the Kalosian government wants the Infernal Blade to be mass-produced for human use. I still have the schematics that I used to make the original one, but I had to make a slightly modified copy anyway in order to make it safer for them. Due to that, I intentionally made it so that the weapon's power output would actually be significantly lower than your original version that you have right now." Ran explained. Takeru would then only give a nod, getting the memo rather quickly, before his facial expressions later turned back into a frown. This caused Ran to tilt his head in confusion after taking note of his team leader's rather pained expression.

"What's the matter, Takeru?" Ran asked, politely.

"Look, Ran... I'm very very sorry that I was pretty much never too open with you about that 'hidden power' thing. Hikaru personally confronted me over a week ago about it, and he practically dueled with me just to make me spill everything about it. I just have my reasons, you know? But let's hope that this wouldn't cause too much of a rift between our friendship and the team as a whole."

Fortunately to him, Ran was quick to accept his apology. "I've forgiven you already, pal. I'm not typically the person to hold a grudge against someone. I respect your reasons for hiding it, but you should've been more open about it to us, you know? The fact that even Erina never knew about it despite her being your full sibling kinda makes me weirded out about it."

"Merci, Ran, but I'm slowly getting really anxious about last night... You got kicked to boot by that owl bastard despite having a massive type advantage, and Ryouma fell to the same fate! And I couldn't even back up my own sister in that fight... It's just, our team isn't even powerful enough, and I don't want to mismanage this to the point that we may actually have to disband..."

"So, you're eventually thinking of strengthening our fighting prowess? You could just, you know, train us even more, right?" Ran responded.

"It's not just about you, Ryou, slug and Eri... I've barely managed to get out alive in that fight, which means that I'm also still not powerful enough. Yeah, you know that I'd usually sleep early and wake up at 4-fucking o'clock in the morning just to train up, but all that time I took is probably already going to be worthless anyway, Ran..." Takeru rebutted back.

"Don't be too pessimistic, Takeru. As long as we could actually make it out of every fight alive, everything is going to be just fine, but where the heck is your usual optimism? We don't have good teamwork, yes, I know that, but couldn't you just improve everything with training yourself and your other teammates?"

"I probably could do that, Ran, but the training that I may have in the back of my mind right now might make you go uncomfortable at hearing it... Especially since this one is going to feel like you're going through the literal Hell itself." Takeru answered, before smirking at the last part. Ran's pupils then shrank down, and his mouth immediately snapped shut at hearing this. It seems like the Red warrior has a hellish training regime already planned and prepared for his own team under these circumstances.

Fast forward a few hours later, and the Shinkaigers would then be already gathered around in the training / sparring room of the Guardia Base. Overall, the room's walls, floors, and even the room's ceiling and automatic doors would be painted in black, causing the aforementioned room to be too dark and unable to navigate through, had it not for the white kleig lights which lined the top of the ceiling. The door frames which contained the entrance and exit to the room was painted dark gray, with the kleig lights giving the room some lighting and brightness to it and the dark gray door frame helping the team make their way to the exit with ease.

Inside, Takeru was currently informing his teammates about the reason why he eventually decided to call them up for a training session, spilling everything to them except the hellish and rigorous part of the training. Speaking of the hellish training regime though, Lillie herself tried to prevent the 17-year old Kantonian trainer from enacting the training procedures out of overprotectiveness towards Hikaru, while Shigeru just calmly gave Takeru the green light for his training plans after thinking back to how underpowered the team was during the previous day's fight before practically forcing his wife to relent allowing such training. As for the Shinkaigers themselves however, Ran was the only one who knew about the rigorous nature of the training, and was therefore the only team member whose facial expressions looked pained, even though he had tried his best to hide it from all of his other teammates besides his team leader. All four of the remaining Shinkaigers were also handcuffed in order to increase the training's pure difficulty.

"Since Owl Inhumanoid had inherently showed his ability to remove his head crest and throw it like a boomerang to attack us last night, I've decided to develop a training procedure to counter that attack..." Takeru explained, stopping briefly to open a red briefcase that he'd left lying down on the floor just a few minutes prior, before continuing. "...With our own boomerangs." As he said the last part of his explanation, he was really holding a stack of metal boomerangs in his hand, all of them made of reflective but sharp steel alloys that had been treated with a fireproof coating.

"Okay...? And how exactly are we supposed to train with this, though?" Ryouma asked, tilting his head in confusion. However, his question fell on deaf ears as Takeru proceeded to walk away into the farthest corner of the sparring room, before proceeding to LITERALLY THROW the metal boomerangs at all four of his teammates without mercy. This of course caused them to literally be taken off-guard, as what was then just one metal boomerang quickly multiplied into the tens; Takeru's throwing speed was just so fast that the rest of the team didn't have time to quickly dodge out of the way of those boomerangs. Pretty much every member of the team got hit by one, and since the metal used to make them was sharp, they easily tore through the Shinkaigers' special training tracksuits and even pierced their synthetic skin deep enough, to draw blood.

Takeru then continued on with his relentless flurry of boomerang attacks towards his teammates, who writhed in pain due to the sharpness of said melee weapons. They were practically weakened now, so much so that they ended up falling onto the black floor of the room. Since the training room was fully painted black, down to the floors itself, the heat from the klieg lights was easily absorbed by the coloring of the paint, thus making it much, much more uncomfortable for them.

"Take-chan... S-stop the training! We're in so much... pain, do you even know that, pal!?" Hikaru said, trying to beg Takeru into stopping the training whilst he was in immense pain. However, Takeru's response was harsh.

"We have a lot of responsibility on our shoulders, Hikaru. Do you know why is that? Do you EXACTLY REMEMBER WHAT YOUR OWN PARENTS HAD SAID TO YOU WHEN YOU WERE BACK IN KANTO!? We're warriors, and we're much more than that... WE'RE THE WORLD'S LITERAL LAST HOPE, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Do you want to see all of those people and all of your loved ones suffer... BECAUSE YOU FAILED TO FUCKING PROTECT THEM!?"

When his pure rage had subsided for a little bit, Takeru then momentarily stopped throwing his metal boomerangs to press a hidden button located in the fingernails of his cybernetic thumb. This caused his cybernetic hand to open up some hidden compartments and reveal a flamethrower cannon at the palm of his hands and five sets of buttons located on his forearms. Takeru then took one of the metal boomerangs using only three of his fingers and later hit the fifth button on his forearm using the fourth and fifth finger, causing the cannon to shoot out large, dangerous flames. The flames then proceed to set the metal weapon ablaze, hence the fireproof coating. The 17-year old boy then proceeded to grip the still-flaming boomerang and literally THROW it towards Ran, before throwing three more of them at his other teammates and setting it ablaze in mid-air. Fortunately, Takeru himself was a fire-proof cyborg, and he was able to come out virtually unscathed from gripping a burning object like that. As a result of the boomerang being set alight, Ran, Ryouma, Hikaru and Erina themselves would then have their lower bodies burn in literal flames. Fortunately, their cyborg skin, whilst not as fire-proof as Takeru's, was more durable than genuine human skin that they didn't get as much of a second-degree burn from that. However, the Red warrior was getting more fed up and super-impatient with his teammates that he eventually ended up lighting all of his remaining boomerang stacks on fire before throwing them again. None of the Shinkaigers managed to catch some of those weapons, though, causing Takeru to finally throw four of them square into the faces of his teammates, causing them to go into a position in order to brace themselves for the next throw and unlocking their handcuffs in the process, before the Shinkaiger leader then verbally assaults them.

"PATHETIC FUCKING WEAKLINGS!"

Three, six, nine, and then twelve throws of the flaming boomerangs later, and Erina later successfully catches three of them with her cybernetic hands, and although it risked having her hands getting burned, it easily caused her to pass her brother's grueling training session. Ran then follows suit by catching another three, followed by Ryouma, and Hikaru being the last Shinkaiger to pass the session. Seeing this development, Takeru then pressed a button on his index fingernail, changing the flamethrower cannon into a fire extinguisher, before once again pressing the fifth button to put out the mess of flames that was the result of his hellish training regime, and ultimately enough preventing Ran, Ryouma and all of the other Shinkaigers from getting even more severe burns. However, Takeru wasn't done with his hellish training regime, and this was only the beginning of many things to come.

Over thirty minutes and one rapid healing process later, and the four Shinkaigers would then gather around again at the sparring room, where Takeru himself would be waiting for them after the Red warrior had called them up again for their second session. Shigeru and Lillie was even inside the room, wanting to see how Takeru would train his fellow team members in order to properly fight (Lillie had apparently heard of the hellish boomerang training from Hikaru after he had went out of the room covered in burns, and out of sheer overprotectiveness, eventually insisted that she and Shigeru come into the sparring room themselves). Speaking of the Kantonian trainer though, he was now currently holding a wire rope, which Ryouma had already deduced in his mind to be the training apparatus for this second session.

"We may never know what Pokémon that M.Y.T.H.O.S will exactly transform into their mindless Inhumanoids of theirs, but if they have such a monster with a whip or a tentacle as a weapon, this training is probably going to be needed. Ran... Have you ever heard of a classic Kantonian proverb that says... 'The weak are meat, the strong eat?'" Takeru began to summarize, with him quoting a specific proverb and asking Ran about it in the very last part. Instantly, Ryouma, Hikaru, Erina, Shigeru, and Lillie's facial expressions began to transform into one of shock, with them having heard of that proverb. In response, Ran was only able to tilt his head in confusion, as he never had a vast innate knowledge on linguistics.

"This is what it means, Ran!" Takeru said, before ultimately lashing at Ran with the wire rope relentlessly and without mercy, using the rope as a whip, catching the 16-year old off-guard and causing himself to get whipped. "If the four of you can dodge EVERY single stroke of this whip without getting hit, then you'll successfully pass this second training session! And if you want to know more, this will be your last training session for the day! If you want me to stop tormenting you with this, you BETTER PASS THIS SESSION QUICK!' He ended. Even Shigeru and Lillie were surprised at seeing just how harsh Takeru's training actually was; he definitely wasn't joking at a 'training from Hell' regime. And thus, the red Shinkaiger then began his relentless whiplash training, hitting his other teammates with his wire rope as if he was hitting an enemy monster as Shigeru and Lillie just looked onward, with them utterly speechless.

The grueling torment that was the Red warrior's training regime later continued for what was seemingly an eternity to the four Shinkaigers, as they were relentlessly being lashed to the point that their synthetic skin eventually ripped again and blood was eventually pouring out of the open wounds. This caused Lillie, who was watching from the sidelines, to be so overcome with shock from watching her son getting injured during the training that she tried to take matters into her own hands and stop the hellish training session BY HERSELF, forcing Shigeru to physically restrain her from doing so and assuring to his wife that Hikaru would be fine anyway. A few more minutes later, and Ryouma would then be the first to successfully dodge the whiplash, followed by Hikaru, Ran, and then Erina, much to the relief of the team's mentors and to the delight of the Shinkaiger leader. Seeing this, Takeru then took out some tissue paper that he had prepared ahead of time, before deciding to personally wipe off all of the blood on his teammates' wounds and patch them up, before giving them back pats as well as an apology for putting them through the torment (though he subsequently told them that while tomorrow's sessions would be grueling, it would be more tame compared to the first session as a whole). The 17-year old seemed to be right on time with finishing his training however, as the Guardia Base's alarm systems then proceeded to blare at full volume, prompting Lillie to check her phone to see where the attack was located before briefing the team to go to the area.

"Owl Inhumanoid is back, but he's decided to place his attack on Laverre City." Lillie explained to her proteges.

In response, Takeru then just sported an 'Are you serious' look before eventually sighing in disbelief. "Laverre!? I mean seriously!? Yeah, It's not far from Lumiose, but what the fuck is he just planning this time!?"

"Either way, your objective is to quickly go to Laverre and try your best to minimize any casualties there. The government would not like it if we fail to do so." Shigeru summarized. Lillie then continued on by letting out the order for the team to deploy. "With that said, then... Shinkaigers, deploy immediately!"

"Roger!"

The five Shinkaigers eventually were able to arrive in the vicinity of the area, quickly taking the initiative to evacuate the Laverre City residents out of the main city center. Even though Lumiose City has been the prime target for M.Y.T.H.O.S attacks for a few months now, it seems that Zeus ultimately decided to plan something that needed them to attack another city, probably since the Shinkaigers were able to foil their schemes in Lumiose every single time due to them not fully using their braincells. When the Shinkaigers had completed all of their evacuations, though, the team would then finally transform into their Ranger forms, with the primary color members of the team opting to use the strongest medals available at their disposal while Ryouma and Erina defaulted themselves to their personal medals.

CHARIZARD!

GALVANTULA!

UMBREON!

BLASTOISE!

SYLVEON!

"Spark Change!" The team proclaimed, inserting the aforementioned medals into the slots of their respective devices before activating it, causing them to instantly be suited up wearing their armor in the blink of an eye.

CHANGE, SHINKAIGER!

Electrifying! Ensnaring! Shocking! Link Up! (Harmony!) Galvantula~ [Trapping opponents with its electrifying webs.]

WHIRLPOOL! CLOUDBURST! SPLASH! VORTEX! MEGA BLASTOISE~!

FLAME! WILDFIRE! BURST! INFERNO! MEGA CHARIZARD~ X!

With them now properly transformed into their Shinkaiger forms, the five trainers then began their all-out assault against Owl Inhumanoid. Of course, said owl monster did not take the attack well after he realized that he was, quite literally, found out.

"D̶̥̍ŕ̷̤͈ă̸̬͠t̶͉̟̄̆!̴̜̞̀͝ ̶̢̨͆͘T̸͙̏ḣ̵͔͖̕é̸̫͌ ̵̞̽͝S̶̡̈́h̸̺̕i̸̯̚n̵̝̐̄ķ̷͑̔a̶̦͌į̸̮̒ģ̶̩͌͝e̴̼̳͆͋r̷̩͔̓s̵̟̣̏͘ ̶̜͑a̵͔͋͒ǧ̸̺a̴̼̪̒̒ȋ̸̹͕̈ń̸̙̞!̷͖̔̿?̶̻̔̕"

"What is it, Owl Inhumanoid? Nocturnal birds like you don't normally show up in this time of the day... What the fuck has your emperor been planning!?" Takeru taunted.

"Ě̵͜m̸̰̟̈́p̷̹͌ë̴̺̩́͒r̶͉͌o̶̧͒r̷̟͕̀ ̴̣̜̇Ż̷̗̅e̸̹̠̾u̵͍̭̐̋ṡ̵̲'̸͈͑ ̵͍̬̑͒ṕ̶̛̝̰l̷͇̜̃a̷̰̞͛̌n̷̼̈́ş̸̥́ ̸̘̄i̴͚͆́s̶̞̺̍͐ ̵̱̍ͅṉ̵̠̇ǫ̶̳͒͒t̴̫͈͂̌ ̶͔̇̋ḟ̶͖̗ô̵͍r̵̛͙̦̉ ̵̰͐̕ÿ̶̭͓́ơ̴͔͓ű̵͉͔̏ ̵͉͝t̶̰̖̿̀o̴̭̞̾ ̴̯̊k̴̯̟̈́̓ṅ̶̜̘̾ö̸̰̝̈́w̶̖͇̿,̵̳̋ ̴̹̤̃̚y̸̡͓͛ò̷̮ù̷̥̓ ̶͓̫̀̄i̴͙̞̾m̵̳͒̐p̸̠͆ư̴̬͛d̴̼̩͝e̴͖̋n̸̤̬̄t̸͈̐̐ ̴̟̀b̴̝̝̐̅a̸͇͆̎s̸̩͎̀t̷̝̀a̸͍͈͆̍r̷̩͋͠d̶̬̚s̶̡̨̏!̶͎̜̆̔" Owl Inhumanoid retorted back in anger. In response, Takeru then proceeded to jab the cyborg monster in the gut with a punch before continuing his sentences. "I suppose we'll settle this the hard way, then."

The team then continued on with the relentless fighting, with Ran, Ryouma and Erina trying their absolute best to attack the aforementioned M.Y.T.H.O.S Inhumanoid using their weapons even though they were nowhere near the level of their team leader and his rival.

With how relentless the attack eventually ended up getting for him, Owl Inhumanoid ultimately decided that it was time to put his game plan against the Shinkaigers into action. "Ḍ̶̯̄͗ạ̵̝̈́m̷̠̞̐n̶̬͋̓͜ ̵͙̹͒͝y̸̤͆̽ó̴̳̤͂u̷̺̒̋ ̷͓̑ä̸͉̜́̽l̷̤͖̚l̶̺͇̾͛!̶͎̩͠ ̶̱̜̽Ï̸͚'̷͇͎̓̎l̶̨̹̃l̸͂̉͜ ̴͙̾m̶̖̚ä̴̖́̚k̴͉͖̉̄ë̵̠͕́͠ ̵̟̳̿̎s̴͕̞̎ȗ̶͇͠r̸͙̝̒ė̶͎̟͂ ̷̭͚̐ṭ̷̑h̵̘̃̍ͅa̴͉̅̔t̸͓̾ ̸͈̈́ỹ̷̠́o̶̥͊̅u̷͍͆͘ ̷̯̈́â̴̧l̸̨̟͐ľ̴̳ ̷̹̉͘w̷̺͌̉i̵̢̐̔ľ̵̨̪̎l̵̜͈̐ ̵̜̇͠s̸̹͕̏ǘ̸̡̢̑f̴̜̱̀̂f̶̯͆́ë̵̯́̑r̷͉̉ ̸͍͘ẃ̶̗ḯ̵͜t̶͎͂h̴͍̕ ̵̳̔̕t̷̡̘̒̋h̵̬̉̋i̷̤̗̿s̵̬̄͠ ̷͖̉̕b̶̼̭̾e̵̬͉͂f̵̳̜̅̔ố̸̦̬r̸̟͌͘ę̸͑ ̷̨̏I̷̲̅̃ ̵̹͈̀s̴̤̋e̴͓̒͛n̸͍̬̓̒d̷͇̋ ̵͙̦̅͠y̸͎̔̔͜ó̸̗ṳ̵̳̾ ̶̘̏͠s̸̫̈́͂t̴̢͆r̶̛̪̊å̸͙̫ȋ̷͖g̵͇̲͑͠h̸̗͂̌͜t̴̰̤́ ̸̼͎̊t̵̘͓͝ǭ̵͓ ̴̡̖͂͆Ḣ̴͚̅ȅ̴͎̪͠l̸͍̓̓l̸̜̠̈!̷͈̹̃ ̴̧̡̿H̶̲̾o̸̥̥͋p̷̤̚l̴̺̼͌i̴̭̯͝t̶̞̀͝e̵͙̒ ̴͕̟̍S̶͖̲̚ơ̸̧͑l̷̮̳͛d̵͉̓i̷̖͑e̷̝̦͒r̴̭̹̿s̸̡̍!̶͍̖͒"

As a result of the command, large amounts of Hoplite Soldiers would then proceed to appear at the area. However, compared to the usual platoons that a monster would typically send, the Noctowl-based monster ended up summoning two whole companies of soldiers, all of which were made up of a dozen platoons totaling to about 1,400 soldiers. This would cause the team to be taken aback slightly upon seeing what their opponent had done. Sure, they could easily pummel those Hoplite Soldiers like slabs of meat given that their cyborg technology was designed to surpass the ones M.Y.T.H.O.S used for their henchmen, monsters, and if upgraded, generals, but a 5 on 1,400 battle would be unfair treatment for the team, thus causing them to be in a bit of a dilemma.

"Oh snap! How many soldiers are this supposed to be!?" Ryouma exclaimed in surprise and confusion. Erina and Hikaru also expressed confusion and surprise as well, with them momentarily tilting their heads. However, Takeru and Ran then frowned behind their helmets upon finally calculating and determining the amount of soldiers, with the former using a function on his suit purposed specifically for analysis of enemy forces while the latter used his high IQ instead.

"They've summoned about two companies, a company of which equals to seven normal platoons, each of which in turn has about 700 soldiers." Ran confirmed. Ryouma's pupils shrank behind his helmet upon hearing that, with the information also causing the Black warrior to panic after finally realizing the problem.

"Over a thousand soldiers!? There's no way that we could handle that much of an amount!" The team was practically in a severe problem at that. While Ryouma and Hikaru proceeded to panic, Erina however kept a calm and collected composure like her brother and Ran, before she then politely questions them about something. "You're right, Ryouma-san. This might spell trouble to us, but, big brother, do we have any backup forces?"

"Not that I know of, Eri." Takeru responded back to his sister. He was practically starting to lose his temper by this point in time. In response, Ran then turned his communicator on, speaking to Shigeru and Lillie almost immediately. "Professor, Ohkido-san, do we have any backup forces? As you might've seen on the monitor, Owl Inhumanoid ended up summoning about 1,400 soldiers, and we're just five people. We desperately need backup if we need to eliminate him."

"Don't worry, Ran! We've anticipated that this would happen, and as a result we've already built that mass-produced version of the Infernal Blade that you created and distributed it throughout the Kalosian Army while you were on your way to Laverre City." Shigeru explained.

"When we saw that absurd amount of soldiers that was deployed to fight you, we immediately hotlined the government to send their newly formed special division of the Army to the area in order to back you up. They should be here any minute now, so I recommend that you better continue attacking Owl Inhumanoid as best as you can. Shigeru and I will monitor your progress." Lillie added, reassuring her proteges at the same time.

"Noted. We'll try to keep that in mind, then. Thanks, Professor, Ohkido-san." Takeru responded back, before turning off his communicator. Hearing what their mentors (and parents) had said, the five-man team then just brute-forced their way out of the Hoplite Soldiers in order to resume the attack on their commander, with them literally dragging their opponent farther away from his henchmen in order to prevent the aforementioned monster from requesting any more help, although some of the soldiers later rushed in to fight against the Shinkaigers, anyway. The ensuing battle later ended up being interrupted by a sound of heavy gunfire, but Takeru and the others could tell that it was a normal assault rifle by the sound of its firing and a flurry of bullets, when compared to Ryouma's EvolGun which used laser munitions and had made a different sound when it was fired. The gunners were later revealed to be the special divisions of the Kalosian Army that Lillie had mentioned earlier, who then promptly revealed a monochromatic color version of the Infernal Blade, as opposed to Takeru's original fiery red color scheme. The soldiers then also took out their personal EvolMedals, colored a deep, vivid red with gold accents and a symbol reminiscent of a Falinks. The squad leaders however took out a different medal, this time with the color being a vivid sky blue instead.

FALINKS BRASS!

FALINKS TROOPER!

The soldiers then scanned their respective medals at the device's scanner, located at the blade of the sword.

BURST!

The medals are then simply inserted into the handle slot of the sword, straightforwardly, initiating the transformation.

INFERNO UP!

CONSTANT! TEAMWORK! PERFECT HARMONY! FALINKS BRASS~!

CONSTANT! TEAMWORK! PERFECT HARMONY! FALINKS TROOPER~!

In a matter of a few seconds, the whole division would then transform into their new Falinks-based forms, with all of the soldiers decked out in dull green, camouflage-patterned undersuits with dull gray straps on the arms, equipped with a light yellow and black chestplate, black gloves with light yellow gauntlets, a black codpiece, light yellow and black shin guards, kneepads, and boots, and complete with a black belt with a silver, hexagonal buckle fastening the codpiece together. However, their shoulders wasn't as protected compared to the other parts of their body, as only the left shoulder was protected by one single black shoulder pads, thus leaving the right side asymmetrical and vulnerable to attack. As for their helmets though, they were heavily modified from Takeru's helmet when he was using the Infernal Blade; the aforementioned helmet was predominantly light yellow, with a black mouthpiece complete with red accents, red protrusions, red earpieces, and a modified visor featuring a red moving crosshair for enhanced vision. Ran and Lillie, who both worked together on the design of the suit with approval and feedback from the government, decided to have the Falinks Trooper helmets retain the basic bird-like shape of Takeru's original helmet while modifying the mouthpiece, visor and plumage design to better resemble a Falinks' Spartan helmet-like shell. Some facsimiles of the original Talonflame design still remain on the helmet though, in the form of a glowing rhombus added onto the red protrusions. The squad leaders using the Falinks Brass medal had otherwise identical suits, if it weren't for the sky blue triangles on their chestplates, sky blue accents on their mouthpieces, and sky blue crosshairs on their visors. This ultimately serves to help the Shinkaigers and the government distinguish which of them is an ordinary trooper and which of them is the squad leaders of the division.

Seeing this, Takeru and the rest of the Shinkaigers later sighed in relief, before they then continued their attack against the owl monster, with both him and Hikaru being the ultimate powerhouses out of the bunch with their stronger forms and more rougher fighting style. Ran and Ryouma were both a bit amateur-ish in fighting, as they lacked any experience in self-defense (and in Ran's case, had poor physical condition), unlike Takeru who learned karate and kenjutsu in his early days as a Trainer in Johto (with him learning kenjutsu using only a bamboo sword, so he never really used any sharp-edged, bladed ones as his main weapon prior to becoming a Shinkaiger for the first time), and Hikaru, who took up kickboxing classes and studied judo prior to his conversion as well as drawing influence from wrestling matches. Erina was also the same case as the aforementioned Yellow and Black warriors, however her experiences in showcases and coordinating made up for her lack in fighting expertise as she was able to fight with a level of elegance at the cost of only dealing minor, if not mediocre, damage unlike her brother. However, Ryouma's fighting style was certainly beginning to improve more by that point, as during the interim between Tyranno Inhumanoid and Owl Inhumanoid's attacks, he had secretly begun to practice krav maga during the days in which the Shinkaigers had no more duties to do, and as a result, he then started to incorporate some of the self-defense techniques in his fighting style.

As for the Falinks Army Corps though, both the troopers and the brass of the division had already encircled much of the Hoplite Soldier forces, either dispatching them with an ordinary assault rifle, slashing them with their blades, or beating them to death. The relentless attacks that the division was implementing ultimately ended up gradually cutting off the two companies' numbers down to a more manageable size, and due to this, both the Shinkaigers and Falinks Army Corps slowly but surely outnumbered Owl Inhumanoid's own forces as a result. Some members of the division later went on to assist the Shinkaigers, who in turn also assisted them in finishing off the Noctowl monster's soldiers as well. The response? He did not like the fact that his plan was backfiring on himself at all.

"C̵̖͉̑u̴̩͠r̸̦̝̋s̷̛͇̎e̴̬̬̚ ̸̺̺̈́͝y̷̨̋o̵̺͗͝u̷̳̖͘,̴̪̕ ̴͉̮͊͐S̴̟̍ḫ̷͛ȋ̶͎̹n̴̳̋ǩ̷̞͑a̴͍̓̃ͅi̷̛̳̐g̶͍̚͜ę̴͐ŕ̸̝̄s̴̲͐!̶̟̔ ̸̭̻͐̓W̸͎͂͋ẖ̶̆y̴̞͛ ̸̇̕ͅc̴̹̽ǫ̵̻͒͛ủ̷̮̺l̷̪̊d̴̦̊n̶̛̩͝'̵͍̖͒t̶͚̓ ̷̮̫̈y̶̲̓o̴̦͗̅u̷͐͜ ̸̱̑͠j̶̪̹͑̃u̸͚͂̑s̴̠͕̍̒t̷̹͑ ̴̧̭̏͝d̵̀̎͜i̴̧̓è̶̞̟̚ ̵̰̈a̵̠͆̈́l̸̦̱̈̽r̴͇͂ě̴̢ͅa̷̜̓d̴͖́͗y̷̭̆͜!̴̨̏̒?̴̼̿͘"

"Okay, just how many times have you despicable Inhumanoids have said that line to us?" Ryouma replied sarcastically.

"If I had a nickel for every time an Inhumanoid said that, then I'd reckon I'll be able to fill up a jar half-way through using it..." Takeru added, acknowledging his teammates' sarcasm while coming in for a slash at the owl monster's midsection.

"Hey, at least we're taking this even better than what your parents did when they saved Hoenn from a giant meteor, right, Take-chan, Ryouma?" Hikaru replied, with him sporting a smug grin at his helmet. This elicited a response from Ryouma, of course. "What are you on about, dude?"

The 17-year old warrior however was not happy. His face immediately twitched behind his helmet, and his veins began to pop at that statement. Takeru then walked up to his rival, before literally proceeding to grab Hikaru by the neck. "Are you high, or are you messing with me?

Hikaru however was unaffected by it, deciding to go for a straightforward response that only seemed to make Takeru become even more fed-up. "Yeah, Take-chan, I'm really trying to mess with you, eh?"

"Oh yeah? Then do me a fucking favor... FUCK OFF! GET A GRIP, AND FUCKING WAKE UP, YOU PATHETIC FUCKWIT!" Takeru yelled in anger before ultimately letting go of the grip, which caused his rival to almost smash into a wall. However, the Pallet-native warrior ultimately regained his footing and then began to charge at Owl Inhumanoid. "Alright, alright, alright, geez! But Arceus damn it, this abomination of an owl is much stronger than we expected!"

"F̷̰͇̀́l̴̗̊ͅa̴͚̔ť̵̤͜t̸͉͌͝e̷̩̓r̴̜͛̈ẙ̴͓͎́ ̷̮̊ẘ̷̙̾ȉ̸͔̺͒ḽ̴̃l̸̛̬ ̷̡̹̄g̸̢͓̃è̶̜t̴̜̓̋ ̶̺̮͋y̴̧̒͝o̶̗̭̓͝u̴̱͐ ̵̰͑͒n̶̖͍͌̔o̷̞̅w̷̧͊̓ḧ̶̨̗ȩ̸̣̀͝r̵͓͖̈e̶̫̿,̶͎̂ ̴̬̍͋Ṡ̴̝h̴̖̻̓ḭ̵̕ṉ̸̭̈́k̶̥̻̏̎a̶̮̋̚i̴̫̇͐ ̸̨͕̒̽B̷̻̼̎l̸̘͊͠ȕ̸͈̠e̴͇͐.̴̧͓͑.̷͉̽ͅ.̶̤̗̇ ̸̡̜͑N̴̩͖̈o̷̤̺̽̄ẃ̸̳̾ ̵̭̥̏d̷̘̀ĩ̶̱̳ë̷̗̩͝ ̶̨̣́̚á̶̩̣̋n̷̢̰͝d̶͙̟͌ ̶̝̈́ȅ̵̢ń̸̯̚t̵̘̍̿é̸͚ŗ̵͙͗͗ ̷̝̦̉̕t̴̹͊h̷̼̓e̸̗̒ ̴̯͈̇ḋ̶̪̈ę̵̽̔p̸̝̈́t̸̨̥̍h̴̙̘͌s̸̥͖̊̈ ̸̢̠̄ò̶̗f̸͈́͘ ̷̠͊͝H̸̲̱̄ĕ̵̩̂l̶͕̋̐l̷͙͝!̴̞̖͝" The Noctowl monster later started taking up a battle stance, throwing his boomerang-like head crest DIRECTLY towards the Shinkaigers. This caused Takeru to grab all four of his teammates and jerk out of the way just mere seconds before the weapon could narrowly graze their heads and damage their helmets, in a similar vein to what they did during Takeru's hellish training session earlier in the day. Ultimately, a squad of the Falinks Troopers decided to back up the Shinkaigers anyway, with them trying their best to fight back despite their much more weaker power level. Fortunately, that problem was compensated with the large number of troopers, thus making it not much of an issue.

Just then, Erina's communicator then beeped, signifying a call, which prompted her to pick it up. Sure enough, Lillie was the one on the dial, and she had a new present for her. "Erina, we've gone ahead and purified a new medal. Could you test its performance for me, please?"

"Alright, Ohkido-san. I'll try my best." She affirmed, before she then took out her phone, slid down the monitor to reveal an extra compartment, and then retrieved the new medal from the aforementioned storage compartment. The medal itself was dark blue with gold accents and a gold symbol reminiscent of a Swellow's head; this was the Swellow Medal that both Shigeru and Lillie were working on from the Pokémon genetics of Swallow Inhumanoid, extracted from a few small pieces of her giant body parts which wasn't completely destroyed in the explosion following her clash with Shinkai-Oh back in Chapter 8. Without wasting any more time, Erina then proceeds to remove the Sylveon Medal from her bracelet and then replaces it with the aforementioned Swellow Medal, swiping the glass lid shut with her hands.

SWELLOW!

The half-Kantonian young woman then presses down on the top button of the bracelet using the palm of her hand, initiating the transformation before the Pink warrior would then unfurl her pair of fairy wings and take off into the sky; her armor then begins to morph completely, even though she was still in flight.

Take Off! Soar! Rise! Glide! Link Up!

Erina's undersuit had morphed first at the specific moment that the transformation was activated; her skirt and her torso's lower half had changed color from pink to white reminiscent of a Swellow's underside (although a little bit of the pink still remain to evoke a Swellow's breast markings), and the top half of her torso was now dark blue alongside her gloves. Her chest armor didn't actually morph, though; it had simply changed color to dark blue in order to match the upper half of her undersuit. The color of her shoulder pads and her legs remained pink, while her boots changed color to a light red in order to resemble a Swellow's foot. She had lost the Sylveon ribbons on her back as well. Her open fairy wings had also changed to become more bird-like similar to her brother's hawk wings, and it had changed color to dark blue to match the upper torso and the chest armor.

Meanwhile, her helmet now had lost its characteristic Sylveon bow, and the top half of the helmet had changed a bit to resemble a bird's open beak, although the helmet lacked a crest and the Sylveon ears on the helmet still remained untouched. The aforementioned top half had also changed color to dark blue instead of pink like her torso did, and the insides of the ears had also changed to a darker shade of dark blue compared to the original sky blue. Lastly, the decorative eyes on her helmet had also changed color from sky blue to yellow, and her pink mouthpiece remained untouched amongst all of the changes.

SWELLOW!

With her transformation now complete, Erina then lets herself glide down in front of her teammates; she was directly making eye contact with the Noctowl-based cyborg monster at that, putting herself in an upright position as if she was standing firm on the pavement below. However, her feet never did touch the ground, as her now-bird wings were open wide, and she was flapping both wings by herself, keeping her in mid-air. The impromptu form change caused a few reactions from the other Shinkaigers present, while Owl Inhumanoid gawked at the sight, letting out a creepy, twisted hoot in surprise and utter shock.

"Wait, is that!?" Ran exclaimed, a moment after realizing that Erina's new form closely resembled a Swellow. This caused him to figure out that his teammate had received a new medal from Lillie, and that he was correct with his guess about which Pokémon was incorporated into the device. Hikaru on the other hand... yeah, he was quite loud about it.

"What the actual fuck is this, Eri!? So, Mom and Dad purified a new medal for you and I wasn't even informed about it? FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, COULD THEY JUST GIVE ME A NEW MEDAL!?"

"Oh, shush, Hikaru-san, you literally have the Blastoise Medal to fawn over..." Erina replied, letting out a huff at that last part. Seeing this, Takeru then tried to get his rival to focus properly on the fight, as he didn't want any distractions which would be detrimental to the Shinkaigers' performance. "Shut the fuck up, slug, and for the second time, get a grip!" After the reprimand, he then shared a knowing glance with his younger sister, before nodding and encouraging her to begin fighting again now that she was even stronger than before. "But anyways, go for it, Eri. You've got my back in this."

Realizing that she now has her older brother's full support, Erina then nodded, going on to thank her brother before facing the owl monster. "Thank you, big brother." She then took a proud battle stance with Takeru and the others looking on towards her, before the Pink warrior then made a pivotal declaration that will turn the tides of the battle in her favor. "I challenge you to a duel, Owl Inhumanoid."

A less than favourable response was all that came out of the owl monster's vocal chords, with the Inhumanoid mocking Erina for the prospect at first. "A̷̱̿r̶̻͂e̴͕̱̓ ̵̡̭͋y̷̲͇͑͗ö̸͙̱́ǔ̸̠̅ ̷̡̳̔t̴̹̑̿r̷̘̜̈́y̷̪͋i̸̘̞͂ń̷͖̯̕g̸͉̈́ ̶̢͚͋̂t̵̫͌̔o̵̗͔͑ ̷̗͎̇k̴̠̆i̸̦͕̚l̷̼͌͛l̶͙̯̀̒ ̷̜͊́y̴̹͈̏ô̴̤͕̈́u̶͎̓r̴̮͊š̴̢e̴̻͘l̵̲͓̾̚f̶̼̒ ̷̮̿͝t̸̬͑h̵̞͠a̴͍̹͑t̷̹̿ ̶̪̻̕̚b̵̞͉̋a̴͔͊ď̴͔͖̕l̴͉̬̄y̴͎͔̑͠,̴̫̹̂ ̸̳̱͂̐ỳ̷̛̗̪ơ̸̱̂u̶͉͍͒ ̵͍̿͑f̴̧̬́o̶̫̻͛ǒ̵̺͋l̴̲͐?̴͚̽"

"Oh? And what makes you think that, exactly?"

"Ȳ̵͉̃ŏ̵̪̟u̷͔͝'̶̙͘r̶͔͝e̶̮̓͝ ̶͎̳͘t̴̹͉́o̸̖͗o̵͎̿̍ ̴̧͓͋ẃ̴̢̕ẽ̵̬̓a̷̮̰͘k̸̎̅ͅ ̴͕̪͑t̸̳̞́̾o̸̜͉̾ ̵͙͍́̾b̴̬̃ͅȅ̴͍͚͐ ̸̫̭̎̔å̷̱ ̵̺̻͘w̸̙̮͋͝ợ̶̔r̶̤̀͜t̸͍͘͝h̸̜̓̋y̴̹͆͝ ̷̲̾̊o̶̰͓͝͝p̸̣̓p̵̬̔͝ͅo̵̡͘ͅn̸̬͍͝ë̴͕́n̴͍͉̄̂t̷̰̲́̋ ̸̜̒͌õ̶͘͜f̶̯̈́̅ ̵̺̰̑͊m̷̝͊̔ỹ̸͇̚ ̶̛̯ľ̶͖i̷̪̗̿k̸̺͎͗i̴̡̭͆͗n̵̤͊͜g̵͕̩͒,̸̛͖̯̈ ̷̩͇͐̇S̸͍̣͌́h̸̜̓̅i̸̖͂n̵̩̏k̴͕̤̎á̸̩͍i̸͛͜ ̴̥͂̽P̶̤̚i̸̟͒̔n̶̫̿̄k̶̟̄̑͜.̴͎̒ ̵̥̀͐B̷͎̐ṷ̵̬̋t̷͕̏ ̷͈̗͂̽i̶̞͂f̴̥̮̔̎ ̷̥̑̾y̷͎̍́o̶͇̗̓͝u̸̲͐ ̴̣̳͐͠a̴̱̮͂̒r̴͈͛e̵̬̓͒ ̴̨̈́p̶̣̈ě̷͍̕ŕ̸̨͔s̶̙̒͘į̴͕́ṣ̴͛t̶̛͎̂ē̷͎ṇ̷̄͑t̸͈̋͆ ̴̲̍̍w̴͈̟͋ḭ̴̡̓t̶̮̋ḥ̸̐ ̸͔̄t̴̬̒͠h̴͖̹̿͝á̵̝t̷̖̻̀ ̵̣̈́̕p̷̭͒a̷͕̗͑̆t̶̛͇ḥ̸̜̓͐e̸͔̯̊t̷̪̓̄ǐ̵̭̯̕c̸̖͖̑ ̸̭̊̇s̸̼͖̀͆t̴͔̠̀ṵ̶̞̍͋b̸̪̂̕͜b̶͖̩́͝o̵̺̾r̵̛͎̉ņ̵͚̚n̴̂͜e̶͚͑s̸̺̈͑s̸̲͌̊ ̴͉̞̎o̵̢̟̕͠f̸̣̂̉ ̶̠̜̿̈́y̸͔̽ô̶̻̖u̶̧͊ͅr̵̡͔͌s̴̮̲̔,̵̧̩͂̿ ̷̰̟͌̐t̷̰̝́h̷̲͒͜ę̷͠ņ̵̏̋ ̵̰̉I̷͖̽'̸̮͌̚l̴̪̿l̶̄͝ͅ ̸̥̲͋m̴̟͔̾͝á̵̘k̵͕̥̿ę̸͝ ̸̞̫̕s̴͇͓͊̐u̵̻̯̍r̵̥̣̎ê̴̿ͅ ̸̠̲̒̄t̷̝̯̍͘o̷̲͗ ̴̟͑h̶̹͂ą̶̈́̃ṿ̴̈͘ệ̴̘̊ ̷̬̊͂y̷̗̰̽͋ö̷̯u̴̪̇ ̵̖̝͆b̶̟̲͒ẹ̴̅̑ ̸͈͇͛̍k̵̩̻̍̄ỉ̵̙͕l̶͚̘͊́l̵͚͖̑͒ě̷̗̥̓d̵͉͠ ̵̗̲̑b̴̲͊͜y̶̢̡͐̌ ̶̘̀̿m̴̼̭̍̚y̴̟͉͑͝ ̶̣͗̄h̷͓̊ä̶̪n̴̞͑̆d̶̢̨̆s̶̗̘͝!̵͖͔͆"

"And suffer from the wrath of my brother? I don't think so, Owl Inhumanoid. And if you think I'm weaker than all of my male teammates just because I'm a woman, then I'm going to prove you wrong right now. Bring it on, then." Erina responded defiantly. With that, Owl Inhumanoid himself decided to take on the initiative to do the first move, conjuring a larger and more lethal version of Hyper Beam. However, Erina herself was swift, and, using her fairy powers brought over from the Sylveon Medal, she then proceeded to create a large, pink barrier, which was able to absorb the attack. She would then make the barrier disappear after the aforementioned attack was successfully absorbed, before she herself would ultimately glide off and spin around the owl monster at a speed so fast that seeing the spinning movements disoriented him and caused him a lot of discomfort. She then grabbed the Noctowl-based cyborg monster by the neck and flew high up into the sky, before turning her body into an intangible pink whirlwind. Her intangibility made it easy for her to sneak up and "teleport" behind Owl Inhumanoid for her to execute her last move; she then punched the owl monster without mercy, leaving him to fall to the ground from a few meters high up in the sky.

Seeing the opportunity, Erina then unsheathed the EvolRapier from her belt's scabbard, before she then inserted the Sylveon Medal into the weapon's medal slot and pressed the trigger to initiate a finishing blow.

FINISHING BLOW!

The Pink warrior then readied herself to deliver a mid-air slash, with her proclaiming the name of her attack in Kalosian.

"Feé Dansant Sabrer!" (Fairy Dancing Slash!")

Erina then presses the trigger for the second time, before she then proceeds to fold her bird wings and jump towards the Noctowl-based cyborg monster with her rapier on hand. The 15-year old would then deliver a diagonal slash to the monster's chest, which was enough to mortally wound him. Realizing that the Pink warrior was able to defeat him, Owl Inhumanoid then uttered his final words, in denial over what had just happened. "I̶͕̒͂m̶͉̂͌p̸͖̪̀o̸̳͍̕ś̸̭͜s̶͙̟͋͋ï̴̢̫̒b̶͉̌̏l̵̳̉e̷̹̲͑̋.̸͙̌.̵̝̆.̵̭͊ ̷̖̿Ī̶̢̱͊.̸̘͝.̶̖̽̾.̷̤̣͆ ̷͈͊͂c̶̫̰̈́͑ȯ̴̳ŭ̵͚l̶̨̥̓d̴̢̟̈ ̴͎̈́̂ņ̴̬̓ė̸̫̩v̵̹̔̽é̴͔͉͝r̵̼͆̊ ̶̟̱́̅l̵̢͉̏̑o̶͍̒̏ş̵͆͘é̸̲.̷̱͌.̸̟̝̉͂.̵̹͔̈ ̸͙̭͆t̴̡̾̅o̵̧̞̿̓ ̸̥͛́t̷̠̀̓h̶͕͂ę̴̙̈ ̵̟͚̐̏l̶̲͇̚i̴̮̻̾̐k̸͙̦͐̏ȩ̸͈͗̕ś̴̟̂ ̷͉͗o̷͍͘f̵̖̊ͅ ̷͕̊ỳ̵̩̯ǫ̵̈́ͅu̸̱̘̍͆ ̶̹̹̽ã̵̧̗́l̸̪͠l̵̇ͅ!̷̰̚"

And with that, he then exploded to his first death, all while Erina would then go for a soft landing by re-opening her wings and flapping them to soften the impact quickly. The Shinkaigers had clinched their first win for the day, but however, Takeru was still cautious on what would happen next. As a result, he then began to address all members of the Falinks Trooper squad in the area and the rest of his own team in order to prepare for Owl Inhumanoid's revival. "Be careful, everyone. Owl Inhumanoid is going to grow up to giant size any minute now, so please get out of here quickly if you don't want to get trampled, and for Ran and the others, be prepared.

In response, the Falinks Brass squad leaders would then affirm the order with a nod and a salute, before they would then make their way out of the area, disengaging their own transformations and then goose-stepping out of there as fast as possible. As if on cue though, once they were out of sight, the fail-safe program that Apollo had implemented on the owl monster would then activate, reviving the aforementioned Inhumanoid and causing him to grow up into giant size. In glee, the gigantic owl cyborg would then begin his rampage around the city, destroying much of the Laverre buildings and remaining infrastructure, much to the chagrin of the Shinkaigers, of course, but as Takeru and the rest of his team were preparing to summon their vehicles, the area upon which they were standing on was struck by a fleet of arrows; this caused the 17-year old Red warrior to perk up, with a red crack showing up on his cheek right behind his helmet.

"Yo... There you are, Apollo, Artemis." Takeru said. His facial expressions were concealed behind his helmet when he had said that, but Hikaru swore he could tell that his rival had a teasing smirk plastered on his face.

"Oh? So you've heard of my name, Takeru Kamishiro?" Artemis responded, and unlike Apollo or every M.Y.T.H.O.S Inhumanoid that they had sent to attack the Shinkaigers time and time again, she'd finally manage to mention who Shinkai Red's human identity was by name.

"Ah yes. You're pretty famous, after all, and likewise, I could say the same for yourself. You are Princess Artemis, the trusted general, aide and majordomo to Empress Hera, and one of the most powerful women to be a member of the notorious organization, M.Y.T.H.O.S, behind only Empress Hera herself. Unfortunately, you are one of my enemies... along with your fellow general, Prince Apollo." Takeru responded back, with him taking note of the identity mention.

Artemis then chuckled at that, before she then replied back to the Red warrior, indicating and admitting that she isn't actually going after him. "I do not take any of my interests in you, Takeru Kamishiro, or should I say... Shinkai Red... But I am more interested in your younger sister."

"She has been showing interest in your sister, Shinkai Pink, ever since you foiled her plan with you killing Swallow Inhumanoid, Red. You still have a score to settle with me following that dreaded defeat that I had ALREADY SUFFERED IN YOUR OWN HANDS!"

"And I'll take it that you want a two-versus-two duel with me and my sister, then, Apollo, Artemis? Especially since you wanted a rematch with me that badly. That defeat must've hurt your pride, eh?" Takeru guessed, before proceeding to taunt Apollo.

"Hold the fuck up! If Take-chan and Eri are participating in a two-versus-two duel, then what about that giant monster!? We're going to be down two pilots if we use Shinkai-Oh right now!" Hikaru said. As if to answer, though, Apollo then pointed his forearm towards the now-enormous Owl Inhumanoid with an open palm, rendering him completely immobile and unable to move, before he then snaps his fingers. This immediately caused the monster to explode to his second death, with Apollo destroying him not just as another show of force, but to get rid of him before he could obstruct his duel with Takeru.

"That pathetic owl monster would only be an obstruction to our duel, Shinkai Blue, and that's why I've ultimately decided to destroy the imbecile. Now, I suggest that you and your other teammates stay out of this duel, or I'll make sure that you're all be dead by my hands. Is that clear?" Apollo said, before destroying the fleet of arrows that he and Artemis had shot earlier using his powers in order to free up the area, prompting Ran, Ryouma and Hikaru to quickly disengage their transformations as a result in order to not interfere with the impending duel that was about to come, and both Takeru and Erina to return to their default forms.

"We both accept your challenge, Apollo, Artemis." Erina said, also covering on behalf of her brother.

"Bring it on, you two. Let's see who'll end up winning this match, then." Takeru remarked. The two Kamishiro siblings, as well as the two M.Y.T.H.O.S generals, later proceeded to take up a battle stance with their weapons already on hand, before surely enough beginning the duel.

Apollo and Artemis both took the chance to do the first two moves at the beginning of the duel, with them shooting a flurry of arrows at the two siblings. However, both Takeru and Erina were swift to dodge them due to their intense training, and the two were able to retaliate by slashing their opponents; however, Takeru was the only one out of the half-Kalosian siblings that was able to make a gash deep enough to wound Apollo, while Artemis had herself barely scratched upon by Erina's attacks. The sequence of events caused Apollo massive outrage, and as a result, he ended up taking out all of his pent-up anger, frustration, and disdain during the duel. In blind rage, the young M.Y.T.H.O.S general ultimately shot another fleet of arrows right at his bitter enemy, who quickly dodged it with ease. Takeru then jumped up onto the air before proceeding to do a few sommersaults to dodge the arrows, and he was then quick to press the hidden button located at the forearm of his cybernetic hand, summoning the EvolBowgun to the battlefield.

With the weapon successfully summoned, Takeru then proceeded to land back onto the ground before he then turned his gaze to Ran, Ryouma and Hikaru, who was watching their duel from afar. The 17-year old boy then pulled back at the bowgun's hammer before taking aim and ultimately shooting it. However, the catch was that Takeru was actually aiming the weapon backwards, thus allowing him to shoot at Apollo without even looking at his target, and the arrow later ended up hitting the young general's shoulder, causing him a lot of pain. "Ergh...!"

Seeing this, Takeru then took the Infernal Blade out and then proceeded to drop the EvolBlade to the ground, before he then switched his combat style from long-range to close-range now that Apollo was unable to attack with his recurve bow, using his kenjutsu techniques to put the M.Y.T.H.O.S war hero at a massive disadvantage. Apollo himself was dodging the attacks, but he wasn't so lucky during a few attempts as he had his right arm and left leg permanently scarred by the Red warrior when he wasn't able to dodge out of the way. Takeru then slashed at Apollo's solar plexus, causing him to be knocked back a few feet. Blood was coming out of his wounds due to all of the slashes, although Takeru didn't deal an attack that was severe enough to cause Apollo's synthetic skin to rip and ultimately expose the cybernetic parts inside.

"How dare you wound my pride, Shinkai Red... I'll make sure I'll kill you and send you... STRAIGHT DOWN INTO THE LOWEST LAYER OF HELL!" Apollo said, once again in pure outrage. Takeru's response however didn't help him either, as he had just simply scoffed at that statement due to how stupid it was. He then proceeded to assume his stronger Talonflame form as a little bit of a nod to Apollo's defeat way back in Chapter 7, but since that specific battle also made the general experience a mental breakdown, the Red warrior had also decided that he'd be a little bit cheeky during the duel and assume his stronger Talonflame form just to piss his arch-enemy off.

TALONFLAME!

BURST!

INFERNO UP!

BLAZE! ABYSS! HELLFIRE! SHINKAI RED! TALONFLAME!

The mere sight of that form literally ticked Apollo off due to the memory of him losing being irrecoverably burnt into his brain, and the young M.Y.T.H.O.S war hero then started to practically roar and charge towards his opponent like a mindless beast in order to attack the Red warrior. However, Takeru was able to deliver a roundhouse kick that knocked Apollo back another few feet, far away from Artemis' proximity. Seeing that his opponent was wide open, the 17-year old then decides to not waste any more time by immediately removing the Talonflame medal out of the handle slot and then scanning the device on both of its scanners.

CHARGE!

FIREBIRD NOVA!

With that, Takeru then covers both of his lower arms in orange energy before delivering a super-fast sequence consisting of 73 punches to Apollo over the span of a few seconds using both of his arms; 8 punches, followed by 9 punches, 6 punches, 4 punches, 1 punch, 3 punches, another 1 punch, 7 punches, another 3 punches, another 9 punches, 6 punches, repeated three times, and then to round off the sequence, a final 4 punches. Takeru was accompanied by an energy construct of a Talonflame during the whole sequence, as multiple streams of red, orange, and yellow energy are released with each punch. The enormous power caused by the sequence of punches would later result in an explosion which would completely surround Apollo, who screamed in agony due to all the pain that the finishing blow had caused.

Rewinding back a few moments though, while Takeru was busy dodging all of Apollo's arrows, Erina herself was now taking up a fencing stance with her rapier on hand, while Artemis had ditched her recurve bow for a saber. The female M.Y.T.H.O.S general would then begin taking up offensive moves while Erina would then get onto the defensive ones, with Artemis lunging at the Pink warrior while having her own saber on hand. Fortunately, the 15-year old was swift enough to block the lunge by parrying it with her rapier, before executing a riposte, as was the common norm in fencing. Erina then followed the riposte with a compound attack, first executing two feints and prompting Artemis to parry her attacks with her saber, however the Pink warrior ultimately deceived both parries anyway, dodging her saber for a bit.

Deciding to not waste any more time, Erina then decided to combine a finishing blow together with her next move, and as a result she then began to remove and re-insert the Sylveon Medal back to her rapier before pressing the trigger.

FINISHING BLOW!

The young woman then prepares herself to execute her final move, the flunge, combining her stance with the usual slash as she prepars to deliver the double move in order to defeat her opponent. She then presses the trigger for the second time.

SYLVEON! ONE STRIKE SLASH! FAIRY!

Erina then simply delivers the combined flunge slash, performing a leap firsthand to give her more speed and close off the extra distance, before jumping and slashing Artemis right at the neck, causing her to have a permanent scar, even though she'd made sure that the slash wouldn't be enough to decapitate the female general. The Pink warrior then elegantly landed on the ground with her rapier on hand in order to signify that she'd defeated Artemis, and she was coincidentally right on time to witness her fellow general getting curb-stomped completely by Takeru. By the time their fencing duel ended, Apollo was surrounded by a flurry of dangerous explosions from the red warrior's attacks.

"Even after a rematch... And I've still... lost this duel...!? D-damn you... Shinkai Red!" Apollo said in disbelief of his loss. His voice tone sounded a little bit raspy, and he was desperately trying to hold the immense pain.

"Keep yourself composed, Apollo!" Artemis berated, before facing her opponents honorably, admitting defeat. "We admit defeat, for now. However, mark my words, Shinkai Red and Shinkai Pink... We shall battle again in another day. Farewell, then.

In response, the two siblings then nodded at their enemy, accepting her proposals to seek a rematch as Apollo and Artemis then retreated back to the Olympus Castle. However, Takeru then stopped them in their tracks for a moment, throwing their recurve bows that they had dropped during the duel. "Apollo, Artemis, you forgot something."

The two generals then catched their ranged weapons, before ultimately disappearing off into the distance. With Owl Inhumanoid destroyed though, Takeru also decided that he'd call it a day too, with him and Erina disengaging their transformations before regrouping with the rest of their teammates. "Good work, team. Back to base, we go, then."

And with that, they were already off.

"So, Artemis and Apollo ended up challenging you to a duel?" Shigeru asked. The team and their mentors were now taking some time off in the lounge room of the Guardia Base after the fight with Owl Inhumanoid, and even though the Kantonian professor knew that Apollo and Artemis was there and he'd seen them already fight each other during the duel, since the communicators were turned off, he couldn't possibly hear what they were saying.

"Yeah. Apollo specifically wanted a rematch with me after I kicked his ass with the Infernal Blade back when our identities were exposed. Let's just say that he now has a big hate-boner for that form." Takeru replied.

"Well, at least you've improved by a large margin compared to your first time dueling him, Take-chan... You did get the short end of the stick there, and your bracelet was also destroyed, so I think that counts." Hikaru retorted.

"My training regime isn't as rigorous as what you've experienced today back then, slug! In addition, his power was also too much for me to handle. The Infernal Blade was the one thing that saved my ass, and I reckon I'd be able to also do the same using Charizard X, since its power level is somewhat on par with that form."

"Well, either way, I'd rather recommend that you stay on alert whenever Apollo or Artemis appears. We don't know the true extent of their power, after all, but since Apollo has been shown to destroy his own Inhumanoids in giant size with relative ease, he might be a formidable foe. You five should be more careful with him." Lillie advised. With a nod from all five members of the team, the conversation then continued on until the start of the evening, as the team later went on their separate ways to finish some of their duties.

At dusk...

Kyouhei was currently taking a leisure walk at downtown Lumiose City together with Kengo, right as the sun was setting below the horizon. As the father-and son duo rested outside a cafe, the Unovan man's phone then proceeded to beep, indicating a new text message. Sure enough, it was from N, and the information that he had for him was important.

N 16:33: Kyouhei, I've received information that both Apollo and Artemis has been spotted by the Shinkaigers when they were fighting a monster in Laverre City earlier today. Takeru himself said nothing much about it, except the fact that they challenged him and Erina into a duel and he won against them. I think the one that you're looking for might've been Artemis, but I still don't know for sure. I'll try and get as much information about her to the best of my ability, because if Artemis is actually the one that you've been trying to look for, then we might be on to a headstart. I'll send the data over to you later, then.

Seeing this, Kyouhei's facial expression then turned to a slight frown. He then typed in his own response to the message, before briefly glancing at Kengo for a moment. He then continued on with his own business, keeping himself in contact with the former Team Plasma King that was his friend.

Later that evening, Shigeru and Lillie unexpectedly received some shocking news; a mysterious person had somehow bought the rights for the prototype version of the Shinkaigers' technologies from the Aether Foundation, including the suits, weapons, medals, vehicles and even mechas. This of course provoked a reaction from N, as he had secretly held the real power behind the organization. With Takeru and Ran going away to make an evaluation report about the other team members of the Shinkaigers, and the remaining three warriors minding their own businesses, N decided to take the chance and personally visit the Guardia Base together with Momoka in order to address the issue.

"So, that person ended up buying everything in that arsenal?" N asked. Shigeru then calmly, bluntly, and straightforwardly responded to that question. "Yeah, suits, weapons, and all. They didn't just buy everything, they bought the rights to own it. Even though it's an imperfect prototype, but still."

Momoka herself then replied to the statement, though the reply was directed at Lillie rather than Shigeru. "I have one question though, Lils... Who bought the rights to the technology? And why did you sell the ownership rights in the first place?"

"The person who bought it was originally a member of the Shinkaiger project in his own right, and he was the first team member to utilize our current cyborg technology, right after you and N both walked out of the project. Both Shigeru and I kept in touch with him for over the past year and a half, but we both don't know his true agenda yet. He might be up to something if he was daring enough to buy all of his former arsenal and the ownership rights from us. As for me selling the ownership rights though, I never did. Neither did Shigeru."

"He only managed to buy the ownership rights from us because he managed to broker a deal with a few members of our staff, stating that after he would buy out all of the prototype arsenal and the rights to own it, he'll pay for the purchase as long as they never tell anyone about it, including the four of us." Shigeru added.

"And we ended up figuring out about it from Kyouhei. While he was analyzing Artemis' data for any valuable intel, he also checked the Aether Foundation's official websites and bank accounts to see if the sites were DDoSed or had the money taken away by hackers, but when he checked the bank account, the amount of money that was stored in there was found out to have doubled in size." Lillie ended, provoking a response from N who ultimately figured out the rest of the incident.

"And so since he realized something was off, he ended up informing you both and you forced the staff to open up about it?

"Yes." Both Shigeru and Lillie answered.

"Has the government been informed about this incident yet, Lils?" Momoka asked. Lillie then calmly responded to her questions, keeping everything professional. "Yes, we've also informed the governments of all eight major regions regarding this, Kalos included. They have yet to send an official response, though."

"Well, let's just hope that their response would be positive for us. That technology's not perfect and it's no longer in use, anyway, so I don't mind if it ended up being purchased by someone. The main priority here is... To find out who's messing with us." N said.

To be continued

Author's Note: Finally, for God's sake this was so long! When we started work on this chapter throughout August, I was about halfway through the chapter when I ended up experiencing writer's block, and even though I literally still had the chance to freely write Shinkaiger without any time constraints, that coupled with a few personal issues have postponed work long enough until September. So yeah, no updates for August, unless if you count Wattpad's version of the story.

This chapter has a LOT of debuts and many noteworthy aspects, and both Morgan Alter and I spent a long time trying to get everything to work, from the Falinks Troopers all the way up into what just happened at the end right there. The Falinks Troopers were somewhat inspired by the Riotroopers, ZECTroopers, and Demons Troopers from Kamen Rider 555, Kabuto and Revice respectively, however we decided to not have the government rely too much on them, since the main focus is after all on the Shinkaigers, and since this is a Super Sentai fic, I still had to make sure that the main highlights were still given on them. Additionally, Erina's new form debut was planned from the start before we even wrote Chapter 1, but squeezing it on a chapter filled with so many new aspects, while hard, was still doable, and we ultimately managed to pull it off.

Takeru's super-hellish training session at the beginning of the chapter not only was there to make the Shinkaigers slowly grow stronger over time, but it's also there to signify that he's also beginning to become more rigorous to his teammates and that he's also beginning to take his job as leader seriously after the events of the last chapter. Particularly, him throwing metal boomerangs at his teammates and him also whipping them to no end with a wire rope is inspired by the grueling training sessions from the 1974 TV series Ultraman Leo, and I've tried to capture the rough feel of the original training scenes while also adding some elements that would make the training even more hardcore, such as Takeru literally lighting his boomerangs on fire before throwing them at his team members and forcing them to catch it themselves. This was meant to reflect his hardcore personality. Also, I've inserted a little in-joke to the Delta Episode from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire with Hikaru, which could be spotted during his fight with Owl Inhumanoid mid-way into the chapter; although the joke being targeted to Takeru and Ryouma and Hikaru indirectly mentioning Ash / Satoshi and Serena and Goh and Chloe / Koharu in the joke makes it more of a reference to another Amourshipping fan fiction, Pokémon Journeys: The Delta Episode by Krexxal, which I've enjoyed reading when I wasn't writing Shinkaiger, and a reference which I've included with his permission. That's mainly all of the homages / references that isn't explicitly hidden, like the Godfather reference that I snuck in during Chapter 6. I've also included a rather creepy hidden reference in the Firebird Nova finisher, so let's see if you could figure that out. Also, Apollo finally reappears again for a much-needed rematch, and Artemis also publicly makes her first appearance in this chapter, too. What exactly does N and Nate / Kyouhei have in store with her is for you to find out.

In the end, we also get some information that someone had bought out the rights to own a full arsenal of prototype Shinkaiger technology, and we've also seen how both Gary / Shigeru and Lillie, and also N and Momoka, react to this. This is meant to lead into the second arc of the story, although I wouldn't divulge any more of that and you'll have to stay tuned to find out what will happen. And without any more ramblings that could make this author's note become any longer, as always, please 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!