"Pure Power: Aura Finisher!" Leaping into the air, Medicham spun, slamming a flying roundhouse kick into the face of the titanic Seismitoad. The Water/Ground-type bounced off the wall of the dojo and tumbled to the ground, unconscious.
Medicham landed, glancing around to make sure neither the Rhyperior nor the Aegislash had managed to get up. Then she rose. "I doubt that's how strong Leon's team is."
"I know," said Darkrai, "but what would you learn from taking on three Champion-level Pokemon at the same time? This was just to help you get a feel for their fighting styles."
"Well, if you want to help with that," said Medicham, "then put me up against a Charizard, because that's the one Marcus is going to send me out to fight."
"Fair enough," Darkrai admitted. "Regular or Gigantamax? If you're facing Leon, you're just as likely to face either."
"Then let's start with regular," Medicham suggested, "and move up to Gigantamax."
"Very well," said Darkrai. "One regular Charizard, coming right up. And I'll put this one more on your…current level."
"Thanks." Medicham crouched, readying her singular fist.
No Charizard came. "Um, Darkrai-"
"Hold on." Darkrai sighed. Medicham had been training under the Legendary long enough to know that he was constantly scanning the timeline even during their sessions. And whenever he paused like this, that meant he'd noticed something out of the ordinary.
Something that might prove dangerous.
It took several seconds before Darkrai spoke again. "Medicham," he said, in a tone that at once made Medicham stiffen, "am I correct that Marcus is planning to take the first train out of Wedgehurst tomorrow?"
Medicham nodded.
Darkrai sighed. "That's what I was afraid of," he said. "I noticed a blip on my Future Sight - the renegades are keeping up quite a potent Psychic block, but a small hint of their intentions was able to slip through. That train only has a 26% chance of reaching its destination at the correct time, and scanning the various probabilities, I can only conclude that it is going to come under attack along the way."
"By the renegades, I presume?" Medicham queried.
"I doubt anyone else in Galar would have a reason to assault a train with Marcus on it," said Darkrai. "And regardless of whether it's the renegades or someone else, that doesn't change the fact that someone is likely going to attack that train."
"I suppose it wasn't like they weren't going to go after Marcus," Medicham murmured. "I just hoped it wouldn't be so soon."
"Medicham," said Darkrai, "you can do this, okay? You and your teammates have been training for three years now, and it's going to be all nine of you on that train. As much as I hate to admit it, Bringer-Of-Visions would not have sent Marcus to Galar if she wasn't confident he could handle himself against the renegades. And if she's confident in that, then so am I. You can do this."
"Thanks, Darkrai," said Medicham with a smile. She took a deep breath; the smile faded. "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I'll be able to concentrate on the rest of tonight's training session. Not with this hanging over me."
"I understand, believe me," said Darkrai. "You can go wake up and warn Marcus, if you want."
"I don't want to wake him up so early…" Medicham sighed. "Who am I kidding? He needs to know about this now. We need to prepare."
"Then go," Darkrai urged. "And good luck, Medicham."
"…crap." Marcus's summary was fairly succinct.
"My thoughts exactly," said Medicham. She glanced around at the rest of the team; all of them had been rather grumpy about being woken up so early, but now they were paying full attention, all thoughts of sleep gone after news of this kind.
"Well, thank Arceus for Darkrai," Houndoom muttered. "Did he say how many attackers there would be?"
Medicham shook her head. "He doesn't even know if it's actually the Absols, or if it's someone else. Even the train being attacked is practically an educated guess on his part."
"So it could be nothing," said Liepard.
"But it's probably something," Cloyster added.
"And that something, if it exists, is most likely the Betrayer-Of-Kin fan club," Trevenant finished.
Marcus, who was being provided with a telepathic translation of the discussion, spoke again. "Right. Well, this means we cannot sit anywhere near Hop and Gloria. I'm not putting either of them in harm's way."
"Maybe think of yourself before thinking of them?" Liepard suggested.
Kriesh glared at her. "Marcus is right. We do not want either of them to end up as collateral damage."
Liepard dipped her head. "Je suis désolé. But we do need a plan to keep Marcus safe."
"What plan?" Drapion bared his teeth. "Seems easy enough. We stay close to Marcus, and when they attack, we stop them."
"This isn't going to be like Alola," Kriesh pointed out. "We're not going to be able to move freely. We're going to be on a train. If we try and fight as a full team in such a tight space, all we're gonna accomplish is fouling each other up."
There was silence around the circle as everyone digested this. At last Marcus broke the silence. "Okay, look. Pokemon aren't allowed to be released on the trains - you all remember that from our journey to Wedgehurst, right?"
Nods came from all around.
"So," said Marcus, "whatever this plan is, keep in mind that when the attack starts, you're all going to be in your Luxury Balls on my belt. I can leave the seals off, so you can pop out whenever you need to. And Kriesh, I know you're capable of throwing your hearing to other nearby places. Is it possible for you to sort of create a bubble of hearing around a train car?"
"No," said Kriesh, with Medicham translating. "I can only throw my hearing at a specific place, not all around. I'll try and keep Auditus up, but there's no guarantee it'll be able to detect them."
"Right," Marcus murmured. "Maybe we can work on that sometime later…okay. That's my main contribution. Let's start making a plan."
"You're not sitting with us?" Gloria asked.
"Afraid not," said Marcus. "Though, I mean, seriously. Wouldn't you want to spend the train ride without me hovering over your shoulder? After all, you're going to have plenty of that once you start the Gym Challenge proper."
"That's fair," Gloria admitted. "But where are you going to sit?"
"Oh, calm down, Gloria," Hop urged. "He's a Gym Leader! I've heard they get their own train cars all to themselves!"
"That's not true," Marcus pointed out. "Or, at least, that's not true for me - I'm not sure how it works for local Gym Leaders - but regardless, don't worry about where I'm going to sit. It's not like too many people are taking this train, right?"
Hop and Gloria glanced around at the fairly empty train station. "Right," said Hop. "Oh, looks like the train's arriving!"
Behind the trio, Casey moved forwards, Hop's mother a step behind. "I'm going to miss you, Gloria!" said Casey, hugging her tightly.
"And I'll miss you, Hop!" Hop's mother did the same to her son. "You look so much like Lee did when he left…I'm so happy you're finally getting to take the Gym Challenge!"
"And you can bet we'll catch the opening ceremony on the telly!" Casey added. "We'll be rooting for you both every step of the way!"
"Thanks, Mom," Gloria murmured, a sentiment that Hop echoed to his own mother. "I'll miss you, too."
"Hey, we'd better get on that train before it takes off without us," Hop pointed out, gesturing to the now-open doors of the train. "I'll race you to the train, Gloria!" He promptly took off. "That's literally, like, thirty feet!" Gloria protested, running after him.
Marcus stepped after the two younger Trainers, smiling wistfully as he did so. As he stepped into the train, he spotted the duo already seated at a table, pulling out their Pokedexes. His smile dipping a little, Marcus moved past them, heading for a faraway car, the reality of his current situation clearly now hitting him.
Before long, he found a seat about five train cars away from Hop and Gloria. There he sat down heavily, glancing out the window as the train slowly began to move out of the station, the buildings of Wedgehurst quickly giving way to the surrounding massive expanses of fields and then the forests that lay beyond those.
"Five minutes," Arbiter-Of-Fates murmured. She and her trio of followers were perched atop a fairly high cliff, the other three Absols watching as she slowly scanned the landscape below. "Five minutes until the train is scheduled to pass by this point." She glanced over her shoulder. "Let us go over the plan one more time. Which train car is Marcus going to be in?"
"Sixth from the front," said Bearer-Of-Darkness. "Though, if I may ask, how do you know that?"
"Never you mind," said Arbiter-Of-Fates. "Now, Bearer-Of-Darkness, Wielder-Of-Blades, you know your parts of the plan?"
"Drop into the train cars on either side of Marcus's," Wielder-Of-Blades answered. "Block off his escape routes and pincer him from either side."
"Exactly," Arbiter-Of-Fates agreed. "And you, Leaper-Of-Realities?"
"Right for the throat." Leaper-Of-Realities lashed his tail.
Arbiter-Of-Fates nodded. "And I will be atop the train, ready to support anyone who requires it or to intercept Marcus should he try and get out of the train through the top."
The three other renegade Heralds nodded determinedly. Arbiter-Of-Fates turned back towards the vast landscape. "Gather around," she ordered her compatriots. "And be ready when Marcus arrives. The last thing we want is to miss our train…"
The atmosphere was filled with excitement; nearly everyone else on the train was heading to Motostoke to see the opening ceremony for the Gym Challenge as well, and Medicham could overhear several conversations about what to do and where to go in Motostoke, as well as dinner plans, various offers, and even a few people discussing sons and daughters who would be taking the Gym Challenge this year. Adding to the atmosphere were the numerous refreshment-serving attendants, who were always pleased to join in on the conversation whilst delivering items of food and drink. It should have been enjoyable.
But Medicham's attention was focused entirely on listening for any sign of the attack Darkrai had warned her about, and as much as she wanted to relax and enjoy herself, she knew that was an impossibility at the moment. On the contrary, as minute after minute passed by with no sign of any sort of assault, the tension only seemed to grow.
What if Darkrai's wrong? Medicham couldn't help but ask herself that question. He said there was a 26% chance the train would arrive at its destination safely…that means there's a possibility that this is all unnecessary. That we'll get to Motostoke with no problems. Oh, please, Arceus, let that be the case…
A sound of something striking metal sounded from above.
Medicham stiffened, instantly straining her ears. She heard three more of the same sound, followed by what sounded eerily like footfalls, all coming from a point terrifyingly close to right above them. Even if Medicham hadn't heard it herself, the multiple passengers who turned their heads up towards the ceiling, expressions shifting to puzzlement, would have let her know something was going on atop the train. At once she opened a telepathic link with Kriesh. "Kriesh. Above. Listen."
Kriesh hesitated for a moment before replying. "I hear them. Sounds like four. They're splitting up - one seems to be moving towards the car in front of us, one towards the car behind, and two appear to be remaining on top of this car."
"Right." Medicham swiftly opened another telepathic link with Marcus. "It's started."
Marcus muttered a curse. "What's the plan? Do we reveal ourselves now, or do we wait until they strike?"
Medicham glanced out of her Luxury Ball at the surrounding passengers. "We can't let them get caught in the crossfire. I doubt these Absols will care about limiting casualties."
"Reveal ourselves it is." Marcus rose, releasing Medicham. "Hit the roof."
"Got it," said Medicham. She heard a nearby attendant's footsteps behind her as she began to charge up an Aura Blast. "Sir!" the attendant cried. "No Pokemon on the train. Please recall your Medicham or-"
"Everyone out of the train car, now!" Marcus shouted, overpowering the attendant's voice with his own. At the same time, Medicham unleashed her Aura Blast straight at the roof of the train, and the ceiling exploded outwards, revealing the faces of two Absols who clearly hadn't expected to be discovered.
Both their expressions changed from surprise to determination in an instant. "In, now!" one of the Absols commanded. In the blink of an eye the other Absol hurled itself through the hole, horn-blade glowing black. "Pure Power: Aura Barrier!" Medicham snarled, bringing her single arm up in front of her body and manifesting a circular shield of Aura across it. The renegade's horn slammed into the shield, and a thunderclap of noise exploded across the train car.
There was a moment of stunned silence, and then everything erupted in chaos.
Passengers leaped from their seats, running as quickly as they could out of the train car. The Absol facing Medicham snarled in irritation. "I don't know how you knew we were coming, but it doesn't matter."
"We'll see about that," Medicham spat. "Pure Power: Aura Sweep!" She lashed out with a kick that forced the renegade to draw back; his movement was surprisingly fast even for a Herald, and Medicham felt a slight tremble in her stomach at the realization that he hadn't even used Detect to dodge the attack.
At the same time, hisses of opening Luxury Balls sounded as Marcus released the rest of his Pokemon. "Kriesh, up!" he cried. "Everyone else-"
His orders were cut off by screeches of tortured metal and screams from the other two train cars. Medicham saw part of the ceiling of the train car in front of her give way as another renegade burst through it with a blast of Oblivion; from the sound coming from behind her the train car back there was suffering a similar incursion. "Split up, take them down!" Marcus finished.
Medicham spotted Liepard, Houndoom, and Trevenant rushing forwards, leaping over the seats on either side to intercept the renegade in the frontmost of the three train cars, and she also saw Kriesh angling upwards, furling her wings to arc through the hole Medicham's Aura Blast had made. She's going up there by herself, Medicham realized. Sure, she'll have an aerial advantage, but she'll be facing one of these Heralds by herself.
The renegade Herald opposite Medicham swiveled his gaze towards Marcus; his eyes flashed with interest as Drapion stepped to Medicham's side. "Just two of you to protect your Trainer? Unwise."
"Who are ya?" Drapion snarled. "Why do ya want ta kill Marcus?"
"Your Trainer has been calculated to have too high of a chance to interfere with our plans," the renegade answered. "As such, we have chosen to preemptively remove him. It's nothing personal - just what must be done to ensure the world's safety. And as for who I am?"
The renegade shifted, revealing a silken blue scarf tied around his neck. Medicham's eyes widened - there was no mistaking it. He's wearing a Choice Scarf - drastically increases speed, but constantly drains energy and thus decreases the amount of energy he can funnel into his attacks. Heralds with held items…they're already dangerous opponents, but these renegades have strengthened themselves even further.
Medicham shifted, glancing over as Drapion readied his Battle Armor. If all these renegades have strengthened themselves in such a fashion, we're going to be in for a difficult fight.
"I'm Leaper-Of-Realities," the Choice Scarf-equipped renegade growled. "And when I'm set on a target…nothing can stop me."
Kriesh exploded out of the hole in the roof and flew swiftly up into the sky, wings spreading to catch the air. Curving back around on herself, Kriesh dove back downwards, her roving eyes spotting her target almost immediately.
Three of the attacking Absols were already down in the various train cars, fighting her teammates. That left just one on top.
One that it was her responsibility to fell.
"Sniper: Beam Impact!" Kriesh bellowed as she dove.
The Absol glanced upwards as the Hyper Beam arced towards her. "Ah, the Fearow." She stood still, watching as the beam came closer and closer; only when the beam was mere inches away did her body flare with Aura. The beam was too close to the roof of the train to adjust its trajectory in time, and the Absol stepped smoothly out of the way as the beam struck nothing but metal. A large chunk of metal was torn straight off the train; inertia instantly took hold and flung it backwards, until about two train cars down it slammed into the side of the train with a horrendous sound of screeching metal and stuck there.
"Ice Horn," the Absol growled. To Kriesh's shock, the Absol's horn-blade blazed with Aurora, and in the next moment an Ice Beam lanced out from the tip of the Absol's horn-blade. Kriesh lunged to the side, continuing to keep pace with the moving train, and allowed the Ice Beam to fly past her. "Electric Horn," the Absol stated; Kriesh dodged again, this time to avoid a crackling Lightning-formed Thunderbolt.
Where does a Herald learn Ice Beam and Thunderbolt?
"Flurry Impact!" Kriesh's next move was a barrage of Oblivion-formed Pursuit rays, curving towards the Absol and coming at her from several directions. "Fire Horn," the Absol retorted; Blaze surged across her horn, and without even a grunt of exertion she swept it to the side, unleashing a wave of Blaze - a well-manipulated Flamethrower - that intercepted and tore apart all of the Pursuit rays. "Electric Horn." Another Thunderbolt burst through the center of the dispersing Flamethrower; this time Kriesh retaliated with an Earth Impact, wreathing her entire body in Earth and allowing the Thunderbolt to dissipate uselessly against her form.
"Sniper: Beam Impact!" This time Kriesh aimed to the side so that the beam would curve around and come at the Absol's right, leaving her unable to counter by dodging and letting it strike the roof of the train car. She then immediately followed up with a Flurry Impact to prevent the renegade from just standing and waiting. The Absol's eyes narrowed; in the blink of an eye she lunged forwards, her own Pursuit flying from her mouth as she went. Rays of Oblivion exploded against one another as the Absol charged; the Beam Impact twisted and came back around, arcing towards the Absol as she hopped from train car to train car.
Kriesh dropped, landing on the roof of the train, two cars behind where the Absol currently was. She opened her beak wide. "Beam Impact!" she bellowed, exhaling another Hyper Beam towards the renegade. Good luck avoiding that on this narrow train.
The Absol twisted and leaped to the side. Too late, Kriesh saw the piece of metal sticking out of the side of the train, the one that her earlier failed Beam Impact had dislodged. The Absol landed on the improvised platform as behind her the two Hyper Beams slammed into one another in a massive eruption of Energy. Before it all had even dissipated, the Absol was lunging back onto the train; a second later the piece of metal finally was dislodged, and this time it flew off the train entirely and was lost somewhere in the morass of passing trees.
How did she…did she plan all that? Kriesh shook her head - no time to ponder. The Absol was already coming fast, and Kriesh knew she couldn't get back into the air in time. Her gambit had failed - now she would have to confront this Absol on the ground.
Then again, it wasn't like ranged combat was going my way, either. Normally a Herald's pretty weak to ranged attacks, as far as I can tell, but her having Flamethrower, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt changes the equation entirely. Perhaps in melee I can actually do some damage.
The Absol lunged, and Kriesh responded in kind. "Sniper: Beak Impact!" she snarled; her beak glowed with energy as it twisted towards the Absol's oncoming horn, and the two bony appendages met with explosive force.
Liepard could see the logic behind splitting up. In the tight confines of these train cars, fighting as a team would just lead to the sheer number of Pokemon fouling one another up. But all the same, she felt irritatingly vulnerable as she leaped into the frontwards train car, Houndoom and Trevenant close behind. As Trevenant came through, he raised one branchlike arm. "Harvest!" A collection of roots and vines burst from the floor, sealing this train car off from the one behind.
The Absol standing in this train car looked surprisingly at ease as she glanced behind her, watching as the last of the fleeing passengers slammed the door shut behind them. Then she turned back towards her three adversaries, her eyes glittering as she beheld Trevenant's work. "Clever," she admitted. "But shortsighted."
"Considering it's three-on-one," Houndoom growled, "I'd wouldn't be so confident if I were you."
The Absol chuckled. "I am Bearer-Of-Darkness," she said. "And to be honest, considering my capabilities…I have every reason to be confident."
Bearer-Of-Darkness's horn flared with Oblivion; in the blink of an eye she reared back and unleashed a ridiculously powerful wave of the black energy that tore across the length of the train car towards the trio. "Farceur: Imitateur!" Liepard hissed - she remembered enacting a similar gambit against Betrayer-Of-Kin. But to her surprise, her copied Dark Pulse was nowhere near the power level of the one careening towards the three of them, and it was overpowered near-instantly.
"Flash Fire: Flame Tongue!"
Houndoom, though, was swift to come to the rescue; a stream of Blaze flew past Liepard and ripped through the center of Bearer-Of-Darkness's strong Dark Pulse, dissipating the majority of the energy and leaving the remainder to fly uselessly past the group. Calling upon his Ability, Houndoom directed the Flame Tongue, sending it streaking down the train car towards Bearer-Of-Darkness.
Bearer-Of-Darkness simply fired another obscenely strong Dark Pulse outwards in retaliation. The remnants of Houndoom's Flame Tongue were obliterated instantly. "Harvest!" Trevenant cried; the walls and floor in front of the trio sprouted a forest of vines, but though they intercepted the Dark Pulse, they were all ripped to pieces in the process, plant matter crackling with Oblivion flying every which way.
As the Oblivion dissipated, Liepard saw Bearer-Of-Darkness already unleashing a third Dark Pulse in their direction. This is getting nowhere. "Trevenant, Houndoom, block it!" she snarled, crouching down. "Farceur!" Liepard allowed Prankster to suffuse her body, and as she did so Trevenant and Houndoom let out a mingled cry. "Flash Fire: Flame Tongue!" "Harvest: Grass Knot!" A combination of Overgrow-wreathed vines and Blaze intercepted the Dark Pulse; in the same moment, Liepard flung herself forwards, leaping over the clash of energies and streaking towards Bearer-Of-Darkness with claws outstretched. "Farceur: Tranche Vicieuse!"
She spotted a pair of ruby-red lenses atop a yellow frame perched upon Bearer-Of-Darkness's head as she lunged. In the blink of an eye the Absol's body lit up with Fighting energy - a Detect - and she swayed out of the way of Liepard's charge. Liepard landed and instantly rounded on Bearer-Of-Darkness, readying a Fury Swipes-
Just in time to take an Air Slash to the face.
Liepard staggered as the blade of Flying energy dug into the bridge of her nose, drawing blood; she felt a flash of agony way too close to her eye. In the moment of pain, she didn't see Bearer-Of-Darkness shifting towards her right; the first indication she got of the Absol's new position was yet another Dark Pulse slamming into her side and sending her flying back down the length of the train car.
Her flying body passed by Houndoom as he made his own charge. She heard a cry of "Harvest!" from behind her; a second later she landed in a cushion of vines. Scrambling to her feet, she saw Trevenant glaring at Bearer-Of-Darkness. "Harvest: Grass Knot!"
Several vines lashed out from the walls of the train car at Bearer-Of-Darkness, only for the Absol to retaliate with another Dark Pulse, blasting away the vines. Even as she did so, her tail flicked forwards, and a second Air Slash shot forwards and caught Houndoom midleap. Houndoom staggered, and just like she had with Liepard, Bearer-Of-Darkness took the opportunity to fire off a Dark Pulse into his stumbling form, hurling him backwards.
Trevenant caught him in another cluster of vines. As he landed back on the ground, Liepard eyed Bearer-Of-Darkness, who was stepping back to the same place she'd initially occupied, looking quite smug. "What kind of power is that?" Houndoom growled furiously.
"She's wearing a pair of Choice Specs," Liepard explained. "I saw them on her head; it increases the amount of energy she can channel into her attacks at the cost of her physical strength and stamina." She clenched her claws. "With those equipped, she can fire off those overpowered Dark Pulses and Air Slashes all day. We're nothing but targets in an Arceus-damned shooting gallery!"
Bearer-Of-Darkness chuckled. "Well? Do you still think my confidence is unwarranted?" She smirked as she readied another strong surge of Oblivion. "Because you're going to have to do a lot better than that if you want to land even a single hit on me."
Pangoro didn't care too much for subtleties. As soon as he saw that no fleeing passengers were between him and his target, he lunged, bursting through the open door between Marcus's train car and this one in a single bound. "Iron Fist: Bullet Blow!" he snarled as he lunged for the Absol standing before him.
He saw a white cloth band tied around one of the Absol's forelegs as he charged, but thought nothing of it. At least, not until the Absol's horn flashed with Oblivion and he met Pangoro's Bullet Punch with a swift horn-strike.
A horn-strike that somehow managed to send Pangoro staggering backwards from the sheer amount of force put into it.
Kamado came around the side. "Head Smash!" the Tyrantrum snarled, trampling through a row of seats as he came at the Absol with lowered head. The Absol spun, swinging his horn-blade again, and once more he managed to prevail in the contest of strength despite his slight frame. Kamado was sent stumbling away, his lashing tail taking out another row of seats.
Twisting, the Absol lunged for Pangoro. Pangoro brought up one arm in defense, but before the horn-blade could impact, a Protect barrier sprang up, intercepting the blow for Pangoro. The Absol smoothly pushed off the Protect and landed back on his feet, eyes shifting from Kamado to Pangoro to Cloyster as the Water/Ice-type moved to a point between the former two.
"Watch out," Cloyster urged. "He's wearing a Choice Band - increases his physical strength and stamina at the expense of speed. Even as strong as you both are, we're not gonna be able to overpower him in a contest of strength."
The Absol grinned toothily. "Your friend's right. I am Wielder-Of-Blades, and my strength is unmatched. Now get out of my way, or I'll make you."
Pangoro curled his lip. "I'd like to see you try."
"Ha!" Wielder-Of-Blades lunged, his horn-blade seeming to double in size as he swept it towards Pangoro. "Iron Fist: Crushing Blow!" Pangoro snarled, meeting the Absol's horn with his fist. As Cloyster had warned, though, even the super-effective attack was not enough to prevail over Wielder-Of-Blades' raw strength. But that hadn't been Pangoro's attention; even as the Absol's attack shoved him backwards, his other hand came around with a Focus Blast primed. "Crushing Blast!"
But the Absol's body blurred with a Detect and he smoothly slipped out of the way. His entire body erupted in a burst of Fairy energy as he slammed bodily into Pangoro's side, sending the Dark/Fighting-type staggering. Pangoro tripped over a seat and landed on his back, grunting in pain. Kamado charged in, snarling. "Strong Jaw: Ice Gnash!"
"I think not." Wielder-Of-Blades' paw came up in a shocking burst of speed, driving into Kamado's throat. "Skill Link: Spike Flurry!" Cloyster cried, leaping into view from behind the stumbling Kamado. But again the Absol's body flared with Aura; his Detect enabled him to slip through the cracks in the screen of spikes, and Cloyster barely managed to get up an Impenetrable Shell in time to deflect Wielder-Of-Blades' next horn-strike.
Pangoro grimaced. It doesn't matter how slow that Choice Band makes him when he's got Detect and Sucker Punch to make up for it. He watched as Cloyster attempted to maneuver his Protect into a Surf only for Wielder-Of-Blades to send him reeling with another Sucker Punch, before the Absol smoothly dodged a blade of air flung from Kamado's jaws and lunged for the Tyrantrum with another Play Rough glinting across his body. Clenching his fists, Pangoro rose from where he'd fallen and tapped into Quash.
Wielder-Of-Blades suddenly slowed, and Kamado took full advantage of the opportunity. "Strong Jaw: Air Gnash!" The Absol was forced into another Detect to dodge, but even as he sidestepped the flying blade of air Kamado grinned. "Rock Wave!" Slowed by both the Choice Band and Pangoro's Quash, Wielder-Of-Blades had no way to dodge; a snarl escaped the Absol's throat as he stumbled backwards.
"Skill Link: Wave Blast!"
And that was when Cloyster sprang into view, firing a duplicated Hydro Pump straight into the staggering Absol. Wielder-Of-Blades' snarl became a bellow of pain as the dual-blast of Torrent sent him flying the length of the train car all the way into the opposite wall. Pangoro stepped to Kamado's side as Wielder-Of-Blades fell to the ground; the Absol arose, spitting out water. Glancing at each other, Pangoro and Kamado smirked, then readied further ranged attacks.
"Crushing Blast!" "Strong Jaw: Air Gnash!"
"Do you think I'm defenseless against ranged attacks?" Wielder-Of-Blades growled ferociously. His body blurred once again; this time it split into seven Absols, all of whom began rushing down the train car towards the trio of Pokemon. Kamado and Pangoro's attacks dissipated two of the Double Team illusions, but the remainder kept coming.
Cloyster stepped forwards, moving between Pangoro and Kamado. "That's not the best attack to use against someone like me," he stated. "Skill Link: Self-Duplication! Split Ice Blast!" Cloyster split himself into five copies, each of which launched a swift Ice Beam at one of the five oncoming Absols. Wielder-Of-Blades managed to blur out of the way of the attack, but his duplicates were dissipated. The Absol snarled at the sight; an instant later his eyes widened as Pangoro and Kamado, with a dual roar of "Ravaging Wave!" and "Rock Manipulation!" hurled a mixed Dark Pulse and Ancient Power at him.
"Enough!" A barrage of Pursuit rays flew from Wielder-Of-Blades' mouth, so many that they were able to stop both attacks in their tracks. "DIE!" the Absol roared, lunging forwards with his horn-blade tripling in size as he brought it around in a sweeping arc towards the trio.
"Skill Link: Impenetrable Shell Wall!"
Duplicating Protects had always been one of the feats Cloyster had been the most proud of achieving with his Ability in the past few years. Wielder-Of-Blades' titanic strike was intercepted by a barrier of energy stretching the width and height of the entire train car. An explosion of energy momentarily hid the Absol from view, though Pangoro could still see his eyes as they widened. "Hit him, now!" Cloyster cried, dropping the barrier.
"Iron Fist: Devastating Blow!" "Head Smash!" Wielder-Of-Blades was off-balance from the dropping of the barrier; before he could recover, Pangoro's fist and Kamado's skull slammed into him, hurling the Absol backwards once again. He skipped across the metal floor of the train car like a stone, bouncing three times before skidding to a halt. Again, though, he managed to get to his feet; Pangoro suspected that he might already be down were it not for the increased stamina afforded to him by the Choice Band.
"How is this possible?" Wielder-Of-Blades spat. "I was stronger than any one of you even before I increased my strength with TMs and this Choice Band! How is it that you could possibly stand against me?"
"You've toughened yourself up against single opponents," Pangoro growled. "Sure, you could beat any of us one-on-one, easy. But with your lowered speed, it's far too easy for you to get overwhelmed. I bet even just two of us could take you down. In fact, why don't we test that theory? Cloyster, go back there and keep Marcus safe. Kamado and I have this one under control."
"All right, I trust you." Cloyster retreated, moving swiftly towards the train car where Marcus still stood.
Wielder-Of-Blades spat out a mouthful of blood. "I'd heard you were arrogant. I didn't realize you were outright suicidal. That Cloyster was the only reason you were beating me! With him gone, you stand no chance!"
"Brave words for someone who can barely stand," Pangoro retorted.
"We are stronger than you think," Kamado growled. "Pangoro's right. We are more than capable of defeating you on our own."
"I'll show you why you shouldn't underestimate me!" Wielder-Of-Blades hurled himself forwards, and Pangoro and Kamado lunged to meet him, fist and horn and head meeting in the center of the train car.
Medicham stumbled backwards, reflexively pressing a hand to the shallow cut inflicted upon her side from Leaper-Of-Realities' horn-blade. "Rend!" Drapion snarled, lunging with jaws open; Leaper-Of-Realities easily dodged, though his retaliatory horn-strike glanced off a thick layer of Drapion's Battle Armor.
Medicham's eyes narrowed as Drapion twisted, flinging out one massive arm in a swipe that Leaper-Of-Realities smoothly ducked. "Pure Power: Aura Blast!" she cried; she wasn't surprised to see Leaper-Of-Realities dodge that as well. In fact, she'd been counting on it; even as Leaper-Of-Realities danced away from both the Aura Blast and another swipe from Drapion, Medicham exploded forwards, Aura flaring across her fist.
"Pure Power: Aura Blade!"
Leaper-Of-Realities only narrowly avoided Medicham's Aura-formed sword. Far from the flickering, prone-to-dissipating construct that it once had been, this blade was as sturdy as a real one, if not more so. Medicham spun, lashing out again; this time her blade clashed with Leaper-Of-Realities' horn, and the two fell into a swift exchange of slashes, both parrying and slicing in equal measure.
Medicham noticed that Leaper-Of-Realities was clearly well aware of his own strength limitations; he never held a blade-lock, and any time they seemed about to engage in one, the Absol ducked backwards, using his superior speed to avoid retaliation before coming in again to force Medicham back on the defensive. Their blades clashed half a dozen times in the space of a few seconds, with such speed that neither was paying too much attention to their surroundings.
Unfortunately, this meant that Medicham didn't see the train seat until it was too late. Her blade cut into it, and for a single vital moment it was stilled by the well-made mixture of materials. Leaper-Of-Realities struck, and it was only Medicham leaping away with Detect that prevented her from being sliced open.
"Pierce!" Leaper-Of-Realities whirled; his horn sliced through the air so fast that it was a blur, and all of Drapion's Pin Missile projectiles were ripped out of the air in about half a second.
"Medicham, Aura Wave!" Marcus cried from where he was taking cover behind his seat.
Right. Medicham raised her foot. I'll have to do something other than simple blasts or strikes to land a hit on him. "Pure Power: Aura Wave!" she cried, unleashing a torrent of Aura in the general direction of Leaper-Of-Realities.
Leaper-Of-Realities frowned; in the brief moment before he disappeared behind the expanding wave of Aura, Medicham spotted his entire body flare with Flying energy. Marcus clear had spotted it too, for his eyes widened. "Drapion, Protect, now!"
In the next second, Leaper-Of-Realities burst through the center of the Aura Wave, his Flying energy-formed armor protecting him from the worst of the wave, though Medicham smirked at the sight of ruffled fur - the technique hadn't been able to protect him entirely. But he was moving so fast that he would have easily landed a hit on Drapion had Marcus not warned him. The Herald bounced off Drapion's Protect like a pinball and landed smoothly back on the ground, the Flying energy fading from his coat.
"You think I would've sampled Trainer items without taking advantage of TMs too?" Leaper-Of-Realities asked. "I've learned quite a bit about the inner workings of Bounce. Allow me to demonstrate."
Flying energy surged forth from Leaper-Of-Realities as he flung himself sideways. Landing on the side of the train car, he pushed himself off and hurtled at Medicham with so much speed that he was on her before she even tapped into Detect. The move came too late; his horn-blade scythed across her other side as he flew past. Even as Medicham stumbled, she saw Leaper-Of-Realities land on the train car's other wall and bounce off again, this time aiming for Drapion.
"Battle Armor!" Drapion snarled, forming a shield of chitin between him and Leaper-Of-Realities. But the Absol simply Bounced off that, too, and then he was flinging himself past Medicham once more, scoring a gash across her shoulder before she could react.
He's moving too fast for my normal moves to even come close to hitting him. Medicham saw Leaper-Of-Realities land on a seat and Bounce off, caroming towards the ceiling. But I've got more than just normal moves.
"Bullet Strike!" Medicham cried; Leaper-Of-Realities pushed off the ceiling and hurled himself face-first into Medicham's Iron-enhanced fist. Bullet Punch was one of Medicham's weaker moves in terms of power, and as such had never been one of Medicham's more widely-used moves, but in terms of speed it easily outmatched the rest of her arsenal.
"Gah!" Leaper-Of-Realities cried as he bounced off Medicham's Bullet Punch and flew ungainly for several feat before landing in a crumpled heap on the floor of the train car. In an instant he was up again, blood oozing from his nose. He let out a snarl. "I should have expected as much from Darkrai's pet."
"Yeah, ya should've," Drapion growled, stepping to Medicham's side. "Now if ya know what's good fer ya, get away from our Trainer."
Leaper-Of-Realities spat. "I don't think so. This has been fun and all, but I have a mission to complete." His body surged with mingled Normal and Flying energy; in a split second he was leaping over Medicham and Drapion's heads, propelled by Bounce, Quick Attack, Detect, and his Choice Scarf all at the same time.
Medicham lashed out with a Bullet Punch, and Drapion summoned a Protect, but Leaper-Of-Realities outsped both. His voice came mockingly as he sailed overhead, horn-blade extended towards Marcus's chest. "Too slow."
"Impenetrable Shell!"
Leaper-Of-Realities slammed into a Protect mere inches from Marcus. The sheer speed of his impact left him winded for a moment; Drapion swiftly twisted, leashed out with one arm, and grasped Leaper-Of-Realities tightly before the Absol could blur away again. "Inject," he snarled gleefully. Leaper-Of-Realities snarled in agony as poison began to flood his body. "You…you piece of-"
He didn't get out any more before Drapion slammed him bodily into the floor of the train so hard it left a crater. "Cloyster!" Medicham cried gratefully, smiling at the sight of the Water/Ice-type.
"Pangoro and Kamado have the Absol in that car handled," said Cloyster. "How are the others doing?"
"No word from the group in that car." Medicham pointed to where Trevenant's vines were blocking the frontward car from view. "And I haven't heard anything from Kriesh, either-"
She was cut off by the sound of a pained shriek from atop the train. A shriek everyone in the train car instantly recognized.
Drapion, momentarily distracted, didn't see Leaper-Of-Realities' attack coming. The Absol's horn sliced into Drapion's wrist, cutting deep despite his reduced strength. As Drapion roared out in pain, the Absol yanked himself free, hurling himself away from the Poison/Dark-type. But as he rose to his feet, Medicham saw he had by no means gotten away unscathed - not only had he been injected with what had to be quite a bit of poison, but he was also bleeding heavily from his sides as well as his face, his legs trembling with the effort of holding himself up.
Good work, Drapion...you really did a number on him. With that poison combined with his already existing wounds, I don't think he's going to last much longer.
"Go up there and help her," Marcus urged; the Trainer was shaking a little at the close call he'd endured, but his voice was determined regardless. "Cloyster, Drapion, I trust you can take this from here."
"Yeah, we've got this under control," Drapion growled.
"Get up there, Medicham," Cloyster added.
Medicham nodded determinedly. Crouching, she hurled herself up through the hole in the roof of the train, mentally preparing herself for the horrible sight she feared awaited her.
"So where are you headed once we reach Motostoke?" Hop asked.
Scorbunny watched from his Pokeball as Gloria let out a hmm in answer. "I think I'm definitely going to visit the Battle Cafe," she said. "Scorbunny and Bunnelby can get some training in, and it says on the website that I get free coffee and pastries if I win a battle with the owner!"
"Huh," said Hop. "I might have to try that out myself. Hey, do you hear that?"
Scorbunny frowned as the two teenagers fell silent. Sure enough, he could hear something; panicked screams coming from the train car ahead, sounding like they were coming closer.
Then the door to their train car flew open, and a mob of very scared-looking people surged through. A train attendant standing nearby took a step back in shock. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's all this about?"
"There's a big battle tearing up Cars 5, 6, and 7!" a man yelled. "We don't know how many cars it'll spill to, so we're getting as far away as we can!"
"What kind of battle?" the attendant asked. "Did some of the passengers let Pokemon out to fight amongst themselves?"
"No!" the man cried. "At least, I don't think so. There's a bunch of…I dunno, weird looking black-and-white Pokemon attacking the train! And there's a guy with a one-armed Medicham fighting 'em off! It's chaos back there!"
Scorbunny saw Gloria's eyes widen, and knew she'd come to the same realization he had. Marcus. Gloria rose and instantly broke into a sprint, shoving people aside as she hurried in the opposite direction the panicked crowd was moving.
"Gloria, wait!" Hop leaped from his seat and hared after her, both teenagers ignoring the cries of shock and calls to stop from the rest of the crowd.
Scorbunny held on tight to the inside of his Pokeball as the sphere jostled and bounced upon the running Gloria's belt. Nervousness was suddenly flooding his stomach; what kind of Pokemon would attack a passenger-filled train?
And why?
In the interest of avoiding another freakishly long chapter, I've decided to split the intended opening chapter of this arc in two.
Side note - keep in mind that this train was canonically delayed as well. In canon, it was due to a herd of Wooloo on the tracks. This made absolutely no sense to me, so I decided to give the train a more...understandable...reason for being delayed. Heh heh...