Through Their Eyes

by Capt.Hikimari

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

101. Blasphemy

I think this one's a day late. But it's over 14,500 words, so hopefully you'll forgive me.

Nebby watched.

With his telepathic abilities, it was as if he could see the entire battle unfolding around him. Every fight, every fall, every plan made, every attack unleashed. So many battles that Nebby couldn't keep up, like watching fifty different television screens all at once.

All Nebby knew was that the battle was turning in Necrozma's favor.

The Ultra Beasts were down, but Necrozma was engaging the Tapus, the other Alolan Legendaries were rushing to help fight the corrupted Marshadow, and the other Trainers were occupied with the hordes of regular Pokemon Necrozma had sent in to overwhelm through sheer numbers, so any help that might have been freed up by the Ultra Beasts' fall was not actually coming. And Necrozma had kept plenty of reserves - himself and Primal Dialga, and also Nihilego, who from what Nebby could tell had likely been sitting in the forest on Melemele Plateau the entire fight, slowly powering up from each Pokemon the Trainers in Kukui's house had knocked out. Now Nihilego was ridiculously powerful - so powerful, in fact, that even five-on-one AZ's team was barely slowing the Ultra Beast down. Not to mention Lusamine's five Pokemon (Nebby remembered what had happened to her Clefable all too well), who were currently each engaged in a two-on-one battle as Marcus and Gladion's Pokemon tried desperately to fend them off. Silvally remained standing protectively in front of Gladion and Lillie, shielding them from any stray blasts with his own techniques. Snowy and Rosy stood with him, ready to defend their Trainer despite the obvious terror on their faces. And Marcus…

Nebby squeezed his eyes shut. If I wasn't trapped in this useless, immobile body…I could have saved him. I thought for a few seconds that he was safe. That he was alive. But…

…I couldn't have been more wrong.

---

"MARCUS!"

Kriesh's scream was painful to Kamado's ears, horror and rage filling her voice in equal measure. "Betrayer-Of-Kin…I will end you!" she snarled, lunging at the Absol who had dealt the deadly blow.

This is Betrayer-Of-Kin? Kamado froze; he'd heard stories about the murderous Absol who had tried to kill Marcus twice over. He'd heard other members of the team worrying about her return. But actually seeing her…actually watching her kill Marcus…Kamado couldn't move, so chilled he was by shock and fear.

Betrayer-Of-Kin barely moved; the edge of her horn-blade intercepted the point of Kriesh's Flying energy-enhanced beak. "No. You won't." The Absol's words were spoken with a deceptive calm; with a jerk of her head she sent Kriesh staggering, and as the Fearow stumbled Betrayer-Of-Kin twisted and dove for Kriesh's wing.

"Steel Impact!" Kriesh reacted fast enough to cover her wing in Steel energy, intercepting Betrayer-Of-Kin's horn with the suddenly much tougher appendage. But Betrayer-Of-Kin simply teleported in response, causing Kriesh to stagger forwards from the sudden lack of resistance; the Absol materialized on Kriesh's right, head bowed, and slashed her horn up Kriesh's side, sending a spray of blood into the air. Kriesh collapsed; Betrayer-Of-Kin's horn had cut deep, and the Fearow's blood ran thickly from her ripped-open side.

Marcus gurgled something unintelligible as he writhed, the spasmodic jerking of his body beginning to slow.

"Why?" Liepard's voice wasn't filled with rage like Kriesh's had been; instead it was saddened, on the verge of becoming lost in despair. The Dark-type was in shock, her query genuine.

"You wouldn't understand," Betrayer-Of-Kin murmured. As Kriesh struggled to rise, the Absol tossed a barrage of Pursuit rays from her mouth, sending Kriesh tumbling limply across the beach. "This is much larger than anything you could imagine."

A gasp sounded from the nearby forest.

All eyes turned to the tiny Espurr that was standing in a gap between two trees, eyes wide. The Espurr scanned the entire beach in an instant, her eyes swiftly falling upon Marcus's body. "No." The Espurr thrust out a hand towards Meowstic; before Kamado's eyes, the gaping tear in Marcus's throat began to heal, blood flowing up from the surrounding sands and back into his body, his fatal wound closing as pure Mind glowed around his throat.

"Heal Pulse?" Betrayer-Of-Kin's eyes narrowed. "I don't think so."

In a flash, Betrayer-Of-Kin teleported once again; her horn blazed with Oblivion as she reappeared next to the Espurr. Anger glinted in Betrayer-Of-Kin's eyes as she slashed downwards-

"Farceur: Imitateur!"

A line of energy flashed in a split second between Liepard and Betrayer-Of-Kin, and in the next moment Liepard faded from existence, reappearing between the Absol and the Espurr just in time to take Betrayer-Of-Kin's horn-blade on her own forehead. Oblivion burst forth from Liepard's temple as she perfectly copied Betrayer-Of-Kin's technique, countering the Absol's attack with her own rendition. Liepard's features contorted with pain, the sheer power of the copied technique threatening to overwhelm her entire body; Kamado realized with a jolt of panic that she'd never copied an attack of such strength before. But a wrathful snarl escaped Liepard's jaws, and she held firm even though her body trembled. Betrayer-Of-Kin's eyes widened as she found herself unable to prevail against Liepard's guard. "I…finally found…someone I can believe in!" Liepard snarled. "Someone…who finally…allowed me to escape…my endless cycle of aimless wandering! Et je ne te laisserai pas me l'enlever!"

With a vicious snarl, Betrayer-Of-Kin blinked out of existence yet again. "Farceur: Imitateur!" Liepard hissed; as Betrayer-Of-Kin materialized on the Espurr's other side, Liepard once again teleported in front of her, and once more intercepted Betrayer-Of-Kin's attack with her own counter. This time Liepard screamed in agony as the copied Oblivion once more nearly proved too much, but again she refused to relent. Oblivion erupted from the clash, pulse after pulse radiating through the air, blanketing the beach in darkness so absolute that it blotted out the sun and enshrouded the sands in shadow.

And then Liepard broke, pain overwhelming her; Betrayer-Of-Kin lunged forwards even as Liepard fell, horn slashing towards the Espurr. The Espurr raised her hand, forming a barrier of energy between her and Betrayer-Of-Kin, but the Absol's attack was so strong that it shattered the barrier and carved a gash into the Espurr's shoulder. A scream of pain split the air as the Espurr fell, rolling down the shallow cliffside onto the sandy beach.

Marcus took a deep, rattling breath. Kamado's eyes flicked towards him, and his heart leaped as he saw Marcus's eyes flutter open, the wound on his throat closed but for a thin red line, life trickling back into his body.

"No!" Betrayer-Of-Kin's voice was laden with fury as she teleported once more, reappearing by Marcus's side. "I will not let you escape me again!"

The paralysis afflicting Kamado broke, and with a wild, desperate roar, Kamado threw himself at Betrayer-Of-Kin, watching in horror as the Absol's horn began to descend once more, aiming for Marcus's neck. The Trainer was facing away from Betrayer-Of-Kin, unable to see the Absol coming.

Kriesh was down, not moving; Liepard was only stirring feebly; the Espurr that had saved Marcus's life was a crumpled ball of fur on the sand. None of them could help Marcus this time. Kamado lunged, his clawed feet leaving the sand as he hurled himself into the air, lowering his head as he aimed it towards Betrayer-Of-Kin. "Head Attack!" he cried, the words shouted out in a vain attempt to attract Betrayer-Of-Kin's attention, to distract her from her clear intent.

But as Kamado caught sight of the Absol's glittering eyes as her horn-blade lowered in slow motion towards Marcus's neck, he knew it wouldn't work. And he wouldn't be able to reach her in time to knock her away, either. He was only halfway to her; her blade would sever Marcus's head from his shoulders before he even got to her.

He was too weak. Too small. Too useless to save his Trainer.

I can't…

Kamado felt a surge of energy pulse through him.

I won't…

The energy surge grew and grew. Kamado saw a blue light shining around him, and all of a sudden he felt himself moving forwards faster than before, his head seeming to accelerate towards Betrayer-Of-Kin. But that was impossible! How could he have gotten more speed?

No. Not more speed.

More size.

His body was swelling in size, glowing brightly as it did so, his legs and neck increasing in length, accelerating towards Betrayer-Of-Kin with increasing rapidity. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Betrayer-Of-Kin, suddenly a lot closer than she had been. Kamado's head shot forwards, but this was no Head Attack. The power behind it was far too great, the telltale brown color of Rock energy replacing the bland gray of Normal energy.

This…was something much stronger.

I won't let him die!

"Head…Smash!" Kamado's roar split the sky as the newly-evolved Tyrantrum's Rock energy-enhanced head slammed into Betrayer-Of-Kin's body with a brutal crack. The Absol was hurled bodily away from Marcus and straight into the side of the nearby shallow cliff, a plume of dust erupting from the impact point. Kamado raised his head and roared wordlessly, his voice echoing across the beach in triumph.

The world seemed to fall silent for a moment as if savoring Kamado's moment. A small chuckle came from the side; Kamado looked over to see Kriesh, her eyes open, a wan smile on her face as she stared at the Tyrantrum. And then Marcus gasped, and Kamado looked down, realizing that this fight was far from over.

For Betrayer-Of-Kin was stepping out of the small crater her flying body had made in the cliffside. Her fur was badly ruffled, blood dripped from her side, and she was limping slightly, but rage filled her blood-red eyes as she glared at Marcus. "Aid from nowhere, Copycat, spontaneous evolution…" Her voice radiated pure anger. "I have killed twenty-five humans and thirty-eight Pokemon. Many of them far stronger than any of you! So why is it that you, of all Trainers, are so damn hard to kill?"

Kamado set his stance, rising protectively over Marcus. Betrayer-Of-Kin crouched, Oblivion gathering across her horn-blade as she prepared to lunge again-

"BETRAYER-OF-KIN!"

The snarl, no, the roar echoed across the beach. Betrayer-Of-Kin's eyes shifted to the side, and then went wide. She took a step back. "Ripper…" she whispered. "You can't be…I killed you!"

Kamado saw Kriesh, too, recoil slightly at the sight of the Manectric that had stepped out of the trees. Ripper, too, was one he'd heard about; he'd even watched this same Manectric viciously assault Kriesh in Aether Paradise, immobilizing her before Connie's Tyranitar came to the rescue. Now here he was, ferocity in his expression and his every step, Electric energy crackling around his body, and strangely enough, Distortion wreathing his form. It was terrifying how utterly wrong the Manectric felt; Kamado's blood ran cold, and deep in his mind he somehow knew that something was very wrong with Ripper.

"I killed you!" Betrayer-Of-Kin cried, her calm veneer completely shattered.

"Yes. You did." Ripper's growl chilled the very air. "It's time I returned the favor. Thunder Release."

Whether it was due to pure shock, or the speed of Ripper's attack, Betrayer-Of-Kin didn't teleport or even twist out of the way. The powerful Thunderbolt struck her full-force, and Betrayer-Of-Kin was once more sent flying, her body sailing over Kriesh and into the water behind the prone Fearow. Kamado watched the water where Betrayer-Of-Kin had landed, but the Absol did not surface, and no outline, not even the slightest shadow, made itself visible in the crashing waves.

Ripper's eyes watched the same area for a few moments, and then slowly his gaze lowered to Kriesh's form. "There you are," the Distortion-wreathed Manectric snarled.

"Ripper…" Kriesh whispered. "What…what is this?"

"Death," Ripper snarled. "Oh, you must have thought you were rid of me when that monster of an Absol cut my throat. But I will not let Distortion have its way until I've taken you with me." The Manectric chuckled horrifically. "This ends now, Fearow. I will-"

"Submission."

Mind erupted around Ripper's form and he froze in place as behind him, the Espurr slowly rose, one hand pointed at the Manectric. Her body was trembling, the gash Betrayer-Of-Kin had made still bleeding, but she was standing strongly despite the obvious pain she was feeling.

"What…" Kamado asked.

"Trick Room plus natural Psychic power," the Espurr grunted. "He's powerful, and that Distortion around his body isn't helping, but I can hold him for a little longer." The Espurr looked to Marcus. "Hi," she said telepathically. "I'm Mimi. Emma sent me. You need to get you and your Pokemon out of here, now."

"Okay…" Marcus looked decidedly overwhelmed; he was still clutching his own throat, as if afraid that his lifeblood would start spilling out again. "What…what about you?"

"I may not be Elite Four-level," said Mimi, "but I've been at this for a decade. I can handle him long enough for you all to escape. I know having your jugular torn open and then put back together isn't the most pleasant experience, but you need to get your act together. I can't hold this guy for much longer."

"I'll handle him."

Kamado and Mimi both glanced at Kriesh. "No," said Mimi. "With a wound like that, you won't stand a chance."

"Then heal me," said Kriesh, rising to her feet in spite of the still-gaping wound in her side. "You healed Marcus, didn't you? I've been training for this fight for months." The Fearow's eyes narrowed as she swiveled her gaze between everyone else on the beach. "This one's mine."

Marcus grunted. Kamado looked over at him concernedly; the Trainer was staring straight at Kriesh. Kriesh stared back, a challenge in her eyes.

Slowly, Marcus nodded.

Mimi sighed. "All right." She raised a hand, and just like Marcus's throat, Kriesh's side began to close, the blood rising from the surrounding sand and flowing back into her body. "Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely." Fury filled Kriesh's voice. "Kamado, Mimi, if Betrayer-Of-Kin comes back, keep Marcus safe."

Mimi nodded.

"Kriesh-" Kamado began.

"Go," Kriesh commanded, eyes locked on Ripper.

Marcus raised Liepard's Luxury Ball and returned her unconscious form. "Follow me," Mimi ordered telepathically, already moving into the trees; Marcus swiftly followed the Espurr, taking one last look back at Kriesh before he, too, stepped into the forest. Kamado, bringing up the rear, watched Kriesh for a moment as well, but the Fearow did not return his gaze, her eyes focused on Ripper as he began to slowly stir within the Psychic prison encasing him.

Hoping to Arceus that Kriesh knew what she was doing, Kamado turned and pounded after Marcus, his much larger body brushing trees aside as he disappeared into the forest.

---

Kriesh gazed after Kamado as he stepped out of sight. She smiled at the sight of his much larger body; she knew full well he'd been waiting to evolve for months.

If only it had come at a more peaceful time.

The Psychic cage containing Ripper shattered as Mimi's influence finally faded. Freed, the Manectric rose to his full height, a low growl emanating from his throat as he glared at Kriesh. Kriesh wouldn't deny Ripper looked absolutely terrifying. Now that he was standing strongly, Kriesh could see a gap in his throat not unlike the injury Betrayer-Of-Kin had dealt Marcus. The entire front of Ripper's throat was missing; Distortion was swirling around the gap, plugging it up, replacing the front of Ripper's neck with an expanse of roiling energy.

The same energy that wreathed Ripper's form.

Kriesh swallowed. Ripper claimed he came back from Distortion itself…and from the look of it, I don't think he's exaggerating.

"I didn't think you were this much of an idiot, Fearow," Ripper growled. "'Oh, leave him to me!' 'Oh, I'll handle it!' Who do you think you are? You're pathetic! The only reason you've ever beaten me is because someone else showed up to bail you out! And you send away anyone who can help you? How stupid can you get?"

Kriesh spread her wings, unleashing a small burst of Flying energy from them, and adjusted her posture. "You want to kill me?" she asked. "Come on, then. Give it your best shot."

With a loud bark, Ripper sprang forwards. "Thunder Blast!" he growled as he leaped; a Discharge exploded out from his body, spreading outwards as it came towards Kriesh, Ripper a half-second behind.

"Earth Impact!"

Kriesh drew upon Drill Run, willing the Ground energy of the technique to spread out across her body, and lunged forwards into the teeth of Ripper's attack. Ripper was forced to dive to the side, aided by Quick Attack, as his Thunder Blast dissipated harmlessly against Kriesh's shell of Ground energy. Kriesh twisted. "Sniper: Beam Impact!" she cried.

"Thunder Release!" Ripper snarled; another powerful Thunderbolt blasted out from his jaws, slamming into Kriesh's Beam Impact. The two beams strained against one another; Kriesh remembered from their last fight that his Thunderbolt was equal in strength to her Hyper Beam, and sure enough neither attack prevailed over the other.

Kriesh abandoned the attack and leaped into the air. "Flurry Impact!" she cried, but Ripper was quick on the uptake, unleashing a Thunder Blast that intercepted the Pursuit Rays and forced her into another Earth Impact to defend. "Thunder Release!" Ripper growled.

"Beam Impact!" This time it was Kriesh who initiated the stalemate; the sound of crackling energy filled the air once more.

"You have no chance!" Ripper bellowed over the noise. "No one's coming to save you this time, Fearow! And I'm not going to stop until I'm standing over your corpse!"

"That's where you're wrong, Ripper," Kriesh growled. "I know you heard everything I said from within that prison, so let me make one thing clear. When I said I trained for months for this fight? I wasn't exaggerating. You might have been more powerful than me once upon a time. But I've grown much stronger since then…and judging by the fact that you're going for the same old attacks, you haven't."

"Brave words," said Ripper, "and yet you're also going for the same old defenses. Defenses which I broke in the past, and will again."

"That's because I haven't even started trying," Kriesh retorted. In one swift motion, Kriesh folded her wings and dropped; bereft of resistance, Ripper's Thunder Release sailed over her head as she flicked out her wings again. She landed on the ground in a crouch and quickly sprang forwards. "Earth Impact!"

Ripper grinned. "If this is you trying, I've already won," he snarled. Normal energy coursed around his body as a Quick Attack once more propelled him to the side.

He was completely unprepared for Kriesh's newest technique.

"Earth Impact!" Kriesh stopped dead, twisted, and thrust out her left wing. A blast of Ground energy flew out from the tips of her feathers; Ripper twisted towards Kriesh just in time to get a faceful of it, and the force of the blast was enough to send him tumbling onto his back, a cloud of sand erupting from where he landed. Kriesh twisted, following up with a Sniper-boosted Beam Impact, hoping to catch Ripper before he could recover.

She was sadly disappointed.

"Thunder Charge!" Augmented by Quick Attack, Ripper's Electric energy-clad body lunged out of the cloud of sand. The Beam Impact didn't turn fast enough, and another spray of sand was sent up as the attack impacted the ground. Ripper paid no heed to the attack, wrath filling his eyes as he rushed Kriesh, jaws open wide.

"Earth Impact!" Kriesh formed the technique across her left wing this time, and with a flick of her wing-joint she slammed the Ground energy-covered appendage into Ripper's face. A loud crack echoed across the beach; Ripper staggered, his attack rendered useless. Blood dripped from his jaws as he raised his head, and Kriesh saw one of the Manectric's teeth on the sand beneath him, painted with red bloody splotches.

"So," Kriesh growled. "You still think you can win this fight?"

Ripper panted heavily. "Don't…you…DARE talk to me like I'm beneath you!" he roared. "I am the former Pokemon of a Team Flare Admin! I am stronger than you are! I will always be stronger than you are! You're just a stupid worthless failure who can't protect anyone! And when I kill you, Fearow, I'm going to make your screams echo over all of this island, so that your Trainer and all of your friends can hear how much of a failure you are! Thunder Release!" Ripper unleashed a sudden Thunderbolt from his jaws, but Kriesh managed to get clear just in time, feeling the Electric energy crackle past her tail feathers as Sky Impact propelled her clear.

"Die!" Ripper roared, charging Kriesh once more.

"Not this time, Ripper," Kriesh snarled. "Earth Impact!" Twisting, she lunged at the charging Ripper, sand blasting out from behind both of them as the two came together with mingled challenging cries.

---

About half a mile away, Betrayer-Of-Kin stood in a small thicket, breathing heavily as she pondered her next move.

She hadn't felt this amount of rage in a long time. She'd had a perfect plan. Simply teleport up and slash Marcus's throat. An instantly fatal wound. He'd be dead in thirty seconds. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

And then every single thing that could have gone wrong had gone wrong.

Three times. No one had ever managed to escape Betrayer-Of-Kin twice, and Marcus had done it three times. The Lifebringer's arrival at the first attempt had been unfortunate, but not unprecedented. Seeker-Of-Endings successfully stalling her had been more annoying, but understandable - that was the Heralds' job, after all.

But this? No Heralds in the area, possibly the perfect set of circumstances to hand Betrayer-Of-Kin an easy kill on a platter, and Marcus had been bailed out yet again. The sheer amount of coincidences and pure, unbridled luck that had prevented Betrayer-Of-Kin from finally finishing off the annoyance that was Marcus was impossibly infuriating.

Betrayer-Of-Kin took several deep breaths. Mindless rage had left her open to Ripper's attack. She could not let it rule her. Slowly, she forced her anger to ebb, forced her mind to focus on her next move.

One thing was for certain - she could not try again, at least not here. By now, the timeline would have updated to a point where the Heralds would be realizing Betrayer-Of-Kin had made an attempt on Marcus's life. Backup would be arriving shortly, and Betrayer-Of-Kin currently had no idea where she was in relation to Marcus. Even if she could pick up Marcus's trail again, not only would he be fully prepared, but it was highly likely the Heralds, or someone else, would find him first.

As much as it pained her to admit it, the risk was too great.

That left retreat as the only real option, and that meant fleeing back to Aether Paradise and hoping that Sierra and her Grunts hadn't finished and left already. Betrayer-Of-Kin grimaced. If they had left her behind, it would be fairly difficult to escape Alola without being spotted by the alerted Heralds.

I'd best be off, then.

Betrayer-Of-Kin sighed exasperatedly as she began to move in the direction of Aether Paradise. I suppose I was asking to be done in by luck, going in half-cocked like that. With Future Sight, I could have seen that Espurr coming and taken steps to deal with her. And I could have seen Ripper coming as well. I made the choice to go in without Future Sight. It was a risk. It didn't pay off.

There's always next time.

---

Type advantage had always been a strange concept.

On one hand, it was practically the rules by which Pokemon were governed. Since the beginning of time, Water had been strong against Fire, Fire had been strong against Grass, Grass had been strong against Water, and so on and so forth. That was just how it worked - no amount of training or raw power could change that.

On the other hand, so much of training entailed endeavoring to surpass those natural type advantages. Ghost-types were a naturally terrible matchup against a Fighting/Psychic-type like Medicham. They were outright immune to Fighting-type attacks, and their Ghost-type techniques could easily brush aside Medicham's Psychic-type attacks. So it made sense why Dusknoir had been so confident that he could beat Medicham alone.

Medicham had never learned any moves that were super-effective against Ghost-types, but that didn't mean Marcus hadn't trained her extensively on how to handle one of her biggest weaknesses. Against a Ghost-type, he had said once, stay on your toes. Keep Detect up at all times. And don't go on the offensive. That's what a Ghost-type wants you to do; they thrive off their opponents giving them openings. So stay on the defensive. Dodge, and counter when you can. And never get cocky.

Snarling, Dusknoir unleashed a flurry of Shadow Punches at Medicham; Medicham stepped back, countering as she did so with her own barrage of fists, enhanced with whatever elemental energies she could summon so that they didn't simply phase through Dusknoir's form. Dusknoir disappeared in a Shadow Sneak; Medicham tapped into Detect, and as Dusknoir reappeared behind her she swayed out of the way, twisting to send a Psychic Blast into his floating form. Dusknoir countered with a pair of Shadow Balls even as he staggered from the hit; Medicham dove to avoid them, rolling across the ground and rising just in time to counter Dusknoir's follow-up Shadow Punch with a Fire Strike.

Dusknoir unleashed a swift burst of ghostly fire from his other hand. Recognizing a Will-O-Wisp, Medicham backpedaled, barely avoiding the dangerous move. As she stepped backwards, Dusknoir lashed out with an omnidirectional Dark Pulse. "Pure Power: Aura Wave!" Medicham cried, blasting the Dark Pulse away; another Detect allowed her to avoid an incoming Shadow Ball, and again she twisted just in time to counter another of Dusknoir's Shadow Punches.

Dusknoir was surprisingly fast and versatile, constantly combining onslaughts of Shadow Punches with blasts of Ghost and Dark energy combined with the odd status move. A textbook example of an offensive Ghost-type, but with enough speed and strength that Medicham could barely get an attack in. A few stray Psychic Blasts were all that she had landed, and from what Medicham could tell they hadn't hurt Dusknoir all that much, whereas the single Shadow Punch Dusknoir had managed to land on Medicham since the start of the fight had hurt a lot.

If Medicham hadn't already been tired and hurt from the Void Shadow, she suspected she would have had an easier time with Dusknoir. But as it was, they were about evenly matched…and considering the surrounding events, 'evenly matched' was a losing proposition for Medicham.

For just off to the side, Seeker-Of-Endings was facing off against Dusknoir's gang of Sableye. Six-on-one was horrible odds, even for a Pokemon as strong as Seeker-Of-Endings. It wouldn't have mattered much if the Sableye were simple wild Pokemon, but like Dusknoir, they obviously had some strength, and like Medicham, Seeker-Of-Endings had only recently come out the other end of a fight with a Void Shadow.

From the brief glimpses Medicham had been able to get of their fight in the midst of her fast-paced battle with Dusknoir, Seeker-Of-Endings was still fending the Sableye off with barrages of Pursuit rays, Double Teams, and sheer speed, but their teamwork and collective power meant that the Herald was slowly but surely being overwhelmed.

And then, of course, there was Darkrai, who was still hanging overhead from the dark chains the Aberration had bound him with, his reality-altering capabilities shut down by the Aberration's superior mental strength. And there was the fact that Dark Matter had reached Yggdrasil. The creature was hanging over the Tree of Dreams right now, engulfing the crown of it in a roiling cloud of darkness, its echoing laughter audible even over the still-ongoing battle that surrounded Yggdrasil. The few that tried to attack it were blown away, no match for Dark Matter's power.

A growl from behind stirred Medicham back into the battle; she turned to deflect Dusknoir's fist as he tried to Shadow Sneak behind her once more, avoided a Confuse Ray with Detect, and unleashed an Ice Strike that Dusknoir blocked with a Shadow Punch. A Shadow Ball was Dusknoir's next attack, but it was clumsily fired, and Medicham didn't even need Detect to dodge it. Trying to take advantage of the opening, she unleashed an Electric Strike on Dusknoir, only for the Ghost-type to Shadow Sneak behind her and force her back on the defensive with another flurry of Shadow Punches.

I need to go on the offensive if I want to win this fight, Medicham thought as she parried Dusknoir's renewed assault with a barrage of elemental punches. But at the same time, I need to stay on the defensive. If Dusknoir lands a Confuse Ray or a Will-O-Wisp on me, this fight might as well be over…and yet if I stay back, constantly avoiding them, I'm not going to win!

It was a vicious dilemma that Dusknoir was forcing. One that Medicham couldn't see a clear answer to. And the more time Medicham spent playing defense, the more time the Aberration's allies had to win their own battles.

Something has to change. I have to be faster somehow…

Wait.

Of course.

"Bullet Strike!" Medicham cried as she drew back from parrying another of Dusknoir's Shadow Punches. In an instant her fist flashed out, enhanced with Steel energy; not expecting the sudden burst of speed from the priority move, Dusknoir caught Medicham's Bullet Strike square in the face.

Dusknoir staggered backwards with a pained, surprised grunt; Medicham wasted no time in rushing him, firing off a Psychic Blast as she did so. But Dusknoir maintained enough presence of mind to fire a rapid Dark Pulse at Medicham, blasting away the Psychic Blast in the process. As Medicham ducked the Dark Pulse with Detect, Dusknoir came on again, lashing out with a Will-O-Wisp aimed at Medicham even as she straightened back up.

Bereft of Detect, Medicham dropped, abandoning her charge in order to just barely avoid the streak of ghostly Fire energy as it flew overhead. Dusknoir pounced, one arm raised; Medicham rolled to the side, feeling the wind from Dusknoir's punch as it slammed into the earth she'd been lying on a second earlier.

I just need to get a few more openings…a couple more Bullet Punches and Psychic Blasts should wear him down enough for me to get the upper hand.

Medicham rolled to her feet just in time to see Dusknoir disappear in another Shadow Sneak. Instantly she tapped into Detect; the Aura surrounding her body jerked her sideways as a Confuse Ray shot past her face from behind. "Bullet Strike!" she cried, twisting; again Dusknoir wasn't fast enough to react, and the Ghost-type reeled again, fury resplendent in his eyes.

Medicham was about to press once more, but then over Dusknoir's shoulder she caught sight of Seeker-Of-Endings staggering as one of the half-dozen Sableye finally broke through his guard and clamped claws and teeth down on his shoulder. The Absol snarled in agony, shaking himself in an effort to throw the Sableye off, but now the other Sableye came at him, leaping at him with their gemlike eyes gleaming. Seeker-Of-Endings disappeared under the pile of Sableye, his cries of pain audible through their snarling.

Medicham at once lunged for the pile of Sableye. She knew Dusknoir was still a threat, but she also knew there was no way she could beat the powerful Ghost-type plus his Sableye gang by herself. "I don't think so," Dusknoir growled from behind her; Medicham felt a rippling of air behind her, and her instinctive Detect was just enough for her to evade the Shadow Ball that Dusknoir sent her way, the Ghost-type attack exploding against the ground, sending up a spray of earth as Medicham skidded sideways-

And then Dusknoir teleported right next to her and drove a vicious Shadow Punch straight into her right cheek.

Medicham crumpled, toppling to the ground, her cheek pounding with pain. Something else struck her side as she landed, a minute touch, and all of a sudden her entire body lit up with agony. Through the haze she realized with mounting horror that Dusknoir had taken advantage of Medicham's fall to finally land a Will-O-Wisp.

Stupid…I disengaged, lost concentration. I gave him the exact opening he was waiting for…and threw away any miniscule chance we still had in the process.

The Aberration's dark chuckling, audible even through the pain, certainly didn't make her feel any better. "Oh, what a shame," he growled to the still-bound Darkrai. "And she was doing so well, too. Then again, this was inevitable…oh, I do wish I could kill her myself, but I suppose I'll have to content myself with watching the show."

"You're pathetic."

The Aberration turned to glare at Darkrai. Despite the pain that continued to wrack her body, Medicham couldn't help but look up as well, even as Dusknoir blasted her writhing form with another Shadow Ball.

"What?" The Aberration's growl was laden with such fury Medicham could feel it even from all the way down where she was. "I'm pathetic? Me? Look at me, pretender!" The Aberration spun Darkrai around to face him. "I have won! I took everything you had to throw at me and I beat it! Your army shattered, your lover discorporated, your protege at my mercy, your very world about to be torn apart, and you dare to call me pathetic?"

"You said it yourself, Aberration," said Darkrai. "You've won. You're about to destroy this world. Everyone in it is going to die anyway…and yet you still feel the need to have this one single Medicham tortured and killed, simply because your sheer pride and ego can't take the fact that a mortal could possibly escape you. That is why you are pathetic, Aberration. Because the fact that you are bothering to take such extreme revenge means that you know the truth. The undeniable truth that you refuse to accept."

"Shut up!" the Aberration snarled.

"Medicham and I…we beat you," said Darkrai. "We succeeded where so many other Darkrai from so many other universes had failed. We took you on and we won. And you're so pathetic that you masterminded this…all of this…just to get your stupid, petty revenge."

Dusknoir hit Medicham with another Shadow Ball. She nearly blacked out from the pain; she could hear Seeker-Of-Endings screaming from somewhere nearby, but couldn't place the exact location.

"And so what?" the Aberration asked. "What's your goal? To make me feel bad so that I stop and apologize? Do you really think that's going to work? Do you really think you can beat me, the greatest Darkrai in all reality, with mere words?"

"No," said Darkrai. "But when it comes down to it…they're a pretty damn good distraction."

And in that moment, something materialized behind the Aberration. The new arrival was an Absol; Medicham's eyes widened as she recognized Bringer-Of-Visions, for she never thought she would be glad to see the fanatical, psychopathic leader of the Heralds. Bringer-Of-Visions was already falling through the air, tumbling down towards the Aberration's back, her horn-blade lighting up with crackling energy. The Aberration was slow to react; he'd been so caught up in tormenting Darkrai and Medicham that his senses had slackened, and surprise froze him for the few crucial moments Bringer-Of-Visions needed.

The leader of the Heralds' horn erupted in a towering blaze of black and white, looking very much like the plume of white that came out from the top of Darkrai's head. The blaze formed into a massive blade, shining in the sky, curving as it came down upon the Aberration with shocking speed. Medicham had never seen this kind of attack from Bringer-Of-Visions before - in that moment, she realized just how much the leader of the Heralds had truly been holding back in her fight, so long ago, with Medicham and Kriesh.

"Master's Blade!" Bringer-Of-Visions bellowed. "Sundering Void!"

The blade slammed into the Aberration's back, right between the evil Darkrai's shoulder blades, and the Aberration let out a shriek of agony as Bringer-Of-Visions' attack carved into his body.

Darkrai shattered the chains in an instant as the Aberration's control over reality slackened, overwhelmed by pain. With a flick of Darkrai's wrist, the Sableye were flung off Seeker-Of-Endings, screaming as they flew. Dusknoir managed to Shadow Sneak away from a tendril of earth that attempted to grasp him, but as he reappeared further away Darkrai waved his hand again; the earth rose up around the reappearing Dusknoir and swallowed him, dragging him down into the Island of Dreams.

Medicham felt the Will-O-Wisp and the pain wracking her fade; beside her, Seeker-Of-Endings also relaxed as Darkrai erased his pain as well. But the Aberration was nowhere near finished; as Darkrai finished healed Medicham and Seeker-Of-Endings, a furious bellow emanated from the Aberration, and an explosion of Oblivion burst out of the evil Darkrai's body. Bringer-Of-Visions was too close to the Aberration to evade, too committed to her desperate attack; she cried out in pain as the overpowered Dark Pulse sent her flying away. Medicham watched her disappear from sight with narrowed eyes; as much as Medicham despised Bringer-Of-Visions, she couldn't deny the leader of the Heralds had just saved all their lives.

Darkrai blocked the Dark Pulse with a shield of solidified air, then created a spherical barrier of the same air around the Aberration and thrust it downwards. Still in pain, the Aberration couldn't react in time to avoid being slammed into the ground. The earth rose up around him, swallowing him up in an earthen cocoon just like it had Dusknoir.

Darkrai dropped as well, landing next to Medicham and Seeker-Of-Endings. "Listen to me closely," he said. "I can fend him off for a while longer, now that he's weakened. You two need to get to Yggdrasil and stop Dark Matter."

"If I may, Darkrai, how are we supposed to fight a Legendary-level creature?" Medicham asked.

"Dark Matter's main body possesses the power of a Legendary," said Darkrai. "But his true consciousness lacks that same power. In his timeline…at least what his timeline was supposed to be…two normal Pokemon were able to stop him in much the same way. I have healed your wounds and restored you to full strength. Now go. My remaining forces and I will ensure you are undisturbed."

"Yes, Master," said Seeker-Of-Endings.

Before Medicham could speak, the Aberration's earthen prison exploded outwards, revealing a very furious-looking Aberration. "I will not allow you to defeat me, pretender!" he roared. "Spacial Rend! DIE!"

"Go!" Darkrai cried, raising a massively thick wall of earth in front of him to deflect the Spacial Rend; the top of it was instantly sheared off, but Darkrai was left untouched, and as Medicham turned and began to move, she looked back in time to see him form the broken-off half of his wall into a flurry of earthen arrows and fling them at the barely-visible form of the Aberration beyond.

Then she turned away and began her dash towards Yggdrasil, Seeker-Of-Endings bounding alongside her, as the two unlikely allies ran to challenge a god.

---

Bringer-Of-Visions rematerialized. Her entire body badly ached as she landed back on the ground; were it not for her natural resistance to other Dark-types, the Aberration's attack might very well have knocked her unconscious completely.

As it was, she stumbled as she landed; her swift teleportation had managed to prevent her from sustaining any serious injuries from the speed and force of her flight, but enough pain was still present that knew she wouldn't be able to take another hit like that. She gazed up at where Darkrai and the Aberration were engaged in a renewed duel, twisting reality around them, neither's power enough to overcome the other now that Bringer-Of-Visions' successful hit had weakened the Aberration.

I expected to show up, give a warning, and then leave. Not arrive to see everything going so wrong. It is a good thing the Aberration was so focused on his vengeance against my Master and Spirit.

Speaking of Spirit…so this was where she'd gone. Bringer-Of-Visions sighed. If Darkrai had called her here…then Spirit was off the hook, at least for this. Bringer-Of-Visions' eyes settled on Spirit's form as she ran towards Yggdrasil alongside Seeker-Of-Endings. I do not agree with Darkrai taking this risk with her life…but I will not argue with my Master's judgement.

A titanic explosion sounded from beside Bringer-Of-Visions; she blurred, Detect forming across her body, and dodged out of the way as a Confuse Ray flew in her direction. Twisting, she beheld Dusknoir, wounded but irritatingly not dead, rising into the air as his earthen prison crumbled to the ground around him.

"You will pay!" Dusknoir snarled, turning his gaze towards the fleeing forms of Spirit and Seeker-Of-Endings.

Bringer-Of-Visions immediately guessed his intent. She threw herself forwards, gathering Dark energy across her horn, lunging towards Dusknoir with an intentionally telegraphed swipe.

As expected, Dusknoir used Shadow Sneak, teleporting away from the blow and reappearing behind Bringer-Of-Visions, hurling himself towards Spirit and Seeker-Of-Endings.

But even as he teleported away, Bringer-Of-Visions twisted and hurled a set of Pursuit rays behind her. Dusknoir rematerialized right in their path; the rays impacted him one after another, and his pained snarl echoed through the air. Furious, Dusknoir rounded on Bringer-Of-Visions. "You can't stop me!" he cried, surging forwards, Ice energy glistening around his fists as he tapped into Ice Punch of all things.

Bringer-Of-Visions set her stance, forming Dark energy upon her horn-blade once more. Dusknoir drew closer, hauling back for a furious punch. Bringer-Of-Visions moved, ducking her head just enough that Dusknoir's Ice Punch sailed over it, and then slashed upwards so fast that Dusknoir couldn't dodge or even Shadow Sneak away in time.

Bringer-Of-Visions carved a deep gash up Dusknoir's chest and face. Dusknoir howled, reeling backwards. Bringer-Of-Visions teleported, reappearing behind the staggering Dusknoir, and without a word drove her Dark energy-infused horn-blade straight through the back of his neck and out the front of it.

Dusknoir gagged, bringing his hands up to his throat. Bringer-Of-Visions removed the blade, then backhanded Dusknoir with one of her front paws. Dusknoir landed on the ground face-down, gurgling, his body already fading from existence. He made one last attempt at resistance, rising and snarling something unintelligible, and then Dusknoir was gone.

Turning away from the place where the villainous Ghost-type had fallen, Bringer-Of-Visions looked towards Spirit and Seeker-Of-Endings once more. She opened her mind, unleashing a telepathic order across the Island of Dreams. "All Heralds. This is Bringer-Of-Visions. Unite around Spirit and Seeker-Of-Endings. Protect them at all costs. They must reach Yggdrasil."

Before her eyes, the Heralds all across the island broke away from their fights and ran to obey their leader's command, rushing to ward off any enemy Pokemon or other creatures that tried to intercept Spirit or Seeker-Of-Endings. Satisfied, Bringer-Of-Visions turned back to the battle above. She'd come here to warn Darkrai about Marshadow, but it seemed he was otherwise occupied.

Almost without thinking, Bringer-Of-Visions cast out her Future Sight, wondering what had transpired in the outside world while she was away.

She froze.

"Wait…Betrayer-Of-Kin was here?"

---

Nebby watched.

He could at least be content that Marcus was safe for now. But there was not much else to give him comfort, especially watching the battle just outside his Pokeball.

Nearby, Marcus's Pangoro was trading blows with Lusamine's Bewear while Gladion's Charizard flew above, raining down blasts of Fire and Flying energy on the titanic Normal/Fighting-type. Pangoro had his Battle Aura active, but even so the powered-up Bewear was outmuscling him, and Charizard's accuracy was suffering from his desire not to hit Pangoro; what few of Charizard's attacks did land Bewear tanked with the extra fluff his Ability kept generating. "Iron Fist: Shattering Blow!" Pangoro snarled, but Bewear took the blow on a fluff-covered paw without even flinching, then threw it out and shoved Pangoro away, offhandedly tossing a blast of Normal energy at Charizard that forced the Fire/Flying-type into a rapid, narrow dodge.

Beyond them, Marcus's Trevenant was raising cluster after cluster of vines, attempting to entangle Lusamine's Milotic while it engaged in a dual of energy beams and blasts with Gladion's Porygon-Z. Milotic's tail blazed with energy as it swept aside one of Trevenant's vine clusters with a sweep of the appendage; Trevenant managed to deflect the tail with another, thicker cluster of vines, but that left Milotic undistracted and unencumbered, and the Water-type sprang at Porygon-Z, unleashing a Hydro Pump that sent Porygon-Z flying into the opposite wall with a robotic groan of pain.

He narrowly missed Marcus's Houndoom as the latter, with a snarl of "Dark Surge!", unleashed a wave of Dark energy at Lusamine's Mismagius. A Dazzling Gleam was Mismagius's response, blasting away the Dark Surge and slamming into Houndoom with enough force to send the Dark/Fire-type staggering. Mismagius turned just in time to fend off an attack from Gladion's Crobat, forming a wall of Rock energy between her and Crobat's gnashing fangs. The newly-created Power Gem shot out, cracking into one of Crobat's wings and sending the Poison/Flying-type spiraling to the ground.

A stray spurt of Rock energy from the attack winged over the shoulder of Lusamine's Lopunny. The Normal-type didn't even notice, her eyes blank as she fought off a flurry of swipes from Marcus's Drapion with flying fists. Lopunny blocked a Battle Armor-boosted Slam from Drapion with her forearm, then twisted to deliver a spinning kick that Drapion barely managed to deflect with a swift Protect. As Lopunny drew back for another blow, Gladion's Zoroark materialized behind her. "Ruinous Flame!" he cried; fire shot from his jaws, but Lopunny was quick to act, diving out of the way; she rolled, came up, threw out her hands, and unleashed a pair of Focus Blasts, one at each of her adversaries, forcing Drapion to raise his Battle Armor in response and giving her an opening to charge Zoroark.

As Drapion stepped back, Battle Armor upraised, he nearly bumped into Cloyster, who was firing a barrage of Ice-type attacks into the flank of Lusamine's Lilligant while the latter was engaging in a fast-paced duel with Gladion's Lucario. Lilligant dissolved into pure Fire energy - her Chlorophyll Ability in action - and blasted Lucario away with a burst of flames before twisting and hurling herself straight through Cloyster's barrage, ignoring the ineffective attacks as they melted at her touch. "Wave Blast!" Cloyster cried, unleashing a Surf at Lilligant, but a brilliant beam of Grass energy-formed light - a Solar Beam, powered up by her fiery body - lanced out from Lilligant's form and sent the Wave Blast flying back at Cloyster, who was tossed backwards, his form smoking slightly before the reengaging Lucario could attract Lilligant's attention again.

And beyond those five desperate battles, a sixth was taking place, as AZ's five-strong team threw everything they had at the floating fusion between Lusamine and Nihilego. The towering colossus that was Golurk, the rainbow-colored Mind-wielding flier that was Sigilyph, the stony missile that was Relicanth, the living volcano that was Torkoal, all launched attack after attack at Nihilego's body; all were answered with blasts of Ancient that at times came at them in one solid mass and others in a flurry of tendrils, or waves of Toxic so thick that it time and again seemed that they would engulf the whole room before Golurk's quakes or Sigilyph's Psychic powers blasted the waves into nothingness, or even a few stray blasts of Mind, thrown as curveballs that abruptly wrenched reality in a different direction than it was meant to go, tripping up AZ's team and leaving them open.

Not even AZ's fifth team member was able to overcome Nihilego. Nebby had heard AZ, and the other members of his team, refer to it as Brute - it was a strange but oddly fitting name for the massive Amoonguss-esque figure that fought equally well with sheer physical strength as it did with the ranged attacks Nebby would have expected from an Amoonguss. Brute was likely the strongest member of AZ's team; his attacks, laden with Overgrow, were strong enough to deflect Nihilego's barrages of Ancient, and every time Nihilego tried a Psychic-type attack, Brute would unleash a wave of Oblivion in response, deleting whatever Mind-based offense Nihilego tried to use. But Nihilego kept Brute at bay with his Toxic attacks, the Ultra Beast ensuring that Brute was never able to stymie Nihilego's barrage long enough for the rest of the team to mount an offensive.

Even with all five of them fighting together, none of them were landing actual hits on Nihilego, whereas all five had taken a few stray shots from the Ultra Beast's barrage. Relicanth in particular - a close-range fighter, he'd launched himself at Nihilego time and time again, manipulating Torrent around himself to achieve type advantage, but in doing so had left himself open to a surprise Head Smash from Nihilego, who had taken advantage of the surprise factor to successfully poison the Rock/Water-type. Relicanth was even now staggering, his movements growing slower and slower as Nihilego's poison continued to rip through his body.

Little by little, even though they outnumbered their foes nearly three to one, AZ, Marcus, and Gladion's teams were losing the fight. Perhaps if they'd all been fresh, they might have stood a better chance, but they'd all come into this battle injured to various degrees. Even AZ, who in all likelihood had been engaged in other battles before coming to the support of the teenagers trapped in Kukui's house.

Nebby felt absolutely wretched, watching them all fight this losing battle for his sake. He didn't want to think it, but an awful thought kept repeating itself in his mind.

This is your fault.

Nebby shook his head, but the thought remained. For hadn't it been him that had failed to defeat Necrozma the first time as Solgaleo, necessitating he regress into this useless form? Hadn't it been him that had brought the Ultra Recon squad to world after world?

Hadn't it been him who had started all of this?

It was Necrozma, Nebby thought furiously. He and the Ultra Recon Squad…this is their fault, not mine.

But still the thought remained. And as that thought, and the knowledge that this was slowly becoming a losing battle, weighed upon his mind, Nebby felt a terrifying hopelessness beginning to descend.

---

Five minutes.

Such a small amount of time. Very little of importance could be done in five minutes. Five minutes was not enough time for a business meeting to begin and end. Five minutes was very rarely enough time for a walker to reach their destination. Even a proper conversation rarely would be able to fit into five minutes.

And yet in the terms of a Pokemon battle, five minutes was an eternity.

In that time, the situation with Rusted Marshadow had gone from stable to entirely out-of-control. Not only had Zekrom fallen, his power absorbed by Rusted Marshadow's Spectral Thief, but his physical form had been corrupted into a puppet by the entity possessing Marshadow, increasing the threat even further. If the Dogs of War had their way, Zacian would have instantly broken all contact with Primal Dialga and blitzed Marshadow as soon as he'd turned on them. With her combined with Zekrom, not even the powered-up Rusted Marshadow would have stood a chance.

But the Dogs of War had not had their way. As soon as Zacian had tried to turn and rush Rusted Marshadow from above, she'd instantly found herself back where she'd started, borne on a wave of reversed time, facing Primal Dialga once more. Even through the mindless, stuttering roars that continued to emanate from Primal Dialga's mouth, the message was clear.

Your fight is with me.

So Zacian and Zamazenta had fought. The longer this fight went on, they knew, the longer Rusted Marshadow would have to rampage. But Primal Dialga wasn't keen on going down easily.

Far from it.

"Dauntless Shield: Behemoth Bash!" Zamazenta snarled, charging straight into the towering form of Primal Dialga. He struck true, his massive head driving straight into Primal Dialga's side, sending the mutated Legendary staggering in midair.

Primal Dialga twisted and unleashed a Roar of Time at Zamazenta; he barely managed to raise up a shield in time to deflect the attack, and in that time the bruise Zamazenta's Behemoth Bash had left on Primal Dialga's body had already disappeared, the wound completely healed.

But Zamazenta's goal with his Behemoth Bash hadn't been to cause pain. The Dogs of War had known since the start of this fight that such attacks wouldn't work. Primal Dialga's passive, continuous time-rewinding ensured that no matter how deeply the Dogs of War wounded him, time would simply reverse, erasing the wound from existence. So both Zacian and Zamazenta had known full well that Zamazenta's Behemoth Bash wouldn't cause Primal Dialga any real damage.

But they had known that Primal Dialga's attention would be attracted by Zamazenta's attack…giving Zacian the perfect opening.

Zacian lunged. "Let's see you heal this!" she cried. As she leaped, she passed through one of the many swirling time eddies in the area; Zacian spontaneously aged a hundred and fifty years, but that was nothing to an immortal like her, and she continued onwards without slowing down. "Intrepid Sword: Behemoth Blade!"

Snarling, Zacian materialized a massive glowing sword in her mouth and swung it in an executioner's strike towards Primal Dialga's neck. No way Primal Dialga can heal a severed head.

But Primal Dialga did not need to. In an instant the mutated Legendary's gaze swung towards the oncoming blade. "Time…" Primal Dialga snarled gutturally - the only word Zacian or Zamazenta had heard him say since the start of the fight - and in an instant Eterna blazed across Zacian's Behemoth Blade. The toll of thousands of years took place on the blade in an instant, and before Zacian's eyes the blade darkened and then crumbled, rusted away to nothing in the space of a single second.

"Damn it!" Zacian snarled, dodging away from the blast of Iron Primal Dialga sent at her in response. "Intrepid Sword: Executioner's Blade!" This time she didn't bother with the swing - she simply materialized a sword straight through Dialga's throat, coming in the front and out the back.

But Dialga snarled, and that sword, too, disintegrated. Gathering himself, Zamazenta attempted to lunge at Primal Dialga once more, but even as Zacian's Executioner's Blade rusted away in his own neck, Primal Dialga turned to glare at Zamazenta. "Time…" Abruptly, time reversed around Zamazenta; his Behemoth Bash slammed into empty air as he suddenly found himself back fifteen feet from where he'd just been, and Primal Dialga swiftly unleashed another Roar of Time on Zamazenta, who again was forced back on the defensive.

Zacian grimaced. "Intrepid Sword: Bladestorm!" she cried, but as a hundred blades streaked towards Primal Dialga, the mutated Legendary roared and all of them rusted away. At the same time, the deep wound Zacian had made on Primal Dialga's neck was erased, leaving him once more untouched.

Zacian gritted her teeth. It's not like he's dealing much damage to us…but we can't deal any damage to him either! At this rate, we'll be fighting Primal Dialga for the entire rest of this battle!

Which was Necrozma's plan. Of course. Anyone who caused him trouble, he'd sic Primal Dialga on, tying them up for the rest of the battle. How irritating that he had this in reserve…an unkillable stone wall.

Zacian shook her head. No one's unkillable. Not even Arceus himself is unkillable. There must be a vulnerability Primal Dialga possesses. Something that we can use.

And I'll keep hitting him with everything I've got until I find it.

A wrathful snarl on her lips, Zacian flung herself back into battle, renewed strength in her leap as she did so.

---

Marshadow could honestly say he had never been so glad to see Zeraora.

He was grinning even as his body exploded with pain courtesy of Zeraora tackling Rusted Marshadow bodily out of Kukui's house and off the edge of Melemele Plateau itself. Part of that was due to the pained, furious snarl coming from Dark Rust behind him. Zeraora unleashed a Discharge from his body, hurling Rusted Marshadow away, and as Rusted Marshadow flew through the air Zeraora came at him again, Lightning erupting from his body in all directions. "Volt Absorb: Plasma Fists!"

Zeraora unleashed a barrage of punches at Rusted Marshadow, each punch a bolt of Lightning, coming at Rusted Marshadow so fast Marshadow could barely distinguish one punch from the next. Dark Rust's snarl emanated from Rusted Marshadow's mouth as he unleashed a Close Combat in retaliation. Fists met fists; Rusted Marshadow's punches were stronger, but Zeraora knew that, for every one of Rusted Marshadow's punches was met with two or three of Zeraora's. And on account of being made of Lightning, Zeraora's limbs couldn't be shattered from the force of Rusted Marshadow's attacks; every time they were blasted away, Zeraora reformed them in an instant, already ramming them forwards for another near-instantaneous punch.

And all the while, momentum was carrying Rusted Marshadow backwards and Zeraora forwards as the two battled their way across the skies over Melemele Island, the coastline spread out below them. A bellowing roar came from behind Zeraora, and Marshadow saw Rusted Zekrom; the corrupted Lord of Truth was coming at Zeraora full force, a blazing aura of Eterna and Rust radiating from its body as it did so.

Zeraora heard Rusted Zekrom coming - it was almost impossible not to - and as Rusted Zekrom dove forwards Zeraora shot out of the way. Rusted Zekrom would have cannoned into Rusted Marshadow if not for a rapid Shadow Sneak, and even then he passed so near Marshadow felt the wind brush Rusted Marshadow's body.

"Idiot!" Dark Rust snarled through Rusted Marshadow's mouth as Zeraora reformed about thirty yards in front of the two Rusted Legendaries, arms crossed. "Get rid of him!"

Rusted Zekrom bellowed again and charged, this time flaring Lightning across its claws in imitation of a Bolt Strike.

"Oh, please." Zeraora slipped out of the way, then unleashed an Aura-infused punch that snapped Rusted Zekrom's head to the side. Rusted Zekrom unleashed a blast of Eterna and Rust from its maw, but Zeraora ducked again, easily evading the attack, and as Rusted Zekrom shifted its head to try and track him Zeraora dove forwards and kicked Rusted Zekrom in the stomach, sending the corrupted Legendary reeling.

"You've got the physical power of Zekrom," Zeraora mocked, "but corrupted as you are, you're nothing but a mindless drone. No tactics but to rush in and punch. And if that's all you've got, you're nowhere near my level. Volt Absorb: Plasma Coil!"

Lightning pulsed around Rusted Zekrom's body even as Zeraora's arm flew at the corrupted Legendary, separating into a dozen Lightning-formed spheres as it did so. The sky erupted in a cataclysmic series of explosions, and from the dissipating energies Rusted Zekrom's body flew, its agonized roar fading as it flew past Rusted Marshadow and down at an angle. Rusted Zekrom plunged into the ocean with enough force to blast away the water around it in a ten-foot radius; the ocean waters surged apart, then back together in an instant, closing over Rusted Zekrom and consuming it in the sea.

Lightning burst out of Zeraora's shoulder, forming into a replacement arm, as the Electric-type Legendary glared at Rusted Marshadow. "I hope you're more of a challenge."

"Interesting," said Dark Rust. "Looking through your memories…you don't like this one very much, do you? Well, then, I'm sure you won't mind me killing him, now will you?"

"Stop it!" Marshadow cried. Mocking laughter was Dark Rust's only answer.

Rusted Marshadow echoed the laughter as it disappeared in a Shadow Sneak. It reappeared above Zeraora, lunging downwards with a fist drawn back. Zeraora grinned, raising both hands to the sky. "Volt Absorb: Plasma Bolt!"

Lightning coursed out from Zeraora's hands, crackling through the sky as it arced towards Rusted Marshadow. Rusted Marshadow thrust its fist forwards, punching the Plasma Bolt out of the sky with enough force that the air itself blasted outwards from its hand, ripping apart the remainder of the Lightning attack and even staggering Zeraora. Rusted Marshadow lunged again. "Die!" it bellowed, hurling a swift fist at Zeraora.

Zeraora's eyes blazed yellow. A feral grin crossed the Legendary's face as his body split in two; Rusted Marshadow's punch soared through the gap, leaving Zeraora completely untouched. "Volt Absorb: Plasma Current," Zeraora growled; the gap between the two halves of his body exploded in a burst of connective Lightning, and pure agony coursed through Marshadow's body as Rusted Marshadow writhed within the barrage.

"My Volt Absorb Ability gives me a body of pure Lightning!" Zeraora roared. "I can manipulate my own body however I wish! Even if you destroy part of it, I can simply restore it with my naturally-generated Lightning! Zekrom may be strong, but Marshadow's powers are a natural counter to his range-based powerset. I, on the other hand, have trained specifically for a thousand years just to beat Marshadow! I don't know if you've got his memories…but even if you do, they're all obsolete!"

"Gah!" Dark Rust snarled; in a flash he tapped into Shadow Sneak, disappearing and reappearing fifty feet away. Rusted Marshadow's body crackled with Lightning as the creature straightened, glaring at Zeraora; the Electric-type Legendary returned the glare as the two halves of his body came back together.

"You know," Zeraora snarled, "part of me hoped you really had turned against us. But I guess I don't mind possession either. Whoever you are…you made a big mistake possessing him. Because now that I have an excuse to give him the beating I've wanted to for centuries…" Zeraora grinned savagely. "There's no way I'm holding back. Volt Absorb: Plasma Coil!"

Crouching in midair, Zeraora reached out his right arm; once more, the arm dissolved into pure Lightning, and from what had once been Zeraora's right hand a barrage of Lightning-formed spheres shot towards Rusted Marshadow, crackling with so much energy that Marshadow could smell the ozone emanating from the spheres. Again Rusted Marshadow tapped into Shadow Sneak, phasing out of the way as the spheres exploded where its body had been. This time, Rusted Marshadow reappeared directly behind Zeraora and lashed out with a punch wreathed with Aura, Distortion, and Rust, all combined into a punch faster and stronger than anything Rusted Marshadow had thrown so far.

Zeraora twisted and caught Rusted Marshadow's punch in one hand.

"Ah-ah," Zeraora growled. "Being made of Lightning means I'm as fast as lightning. Volt Absorb: Plasma Fists!"

This time both Zeraora's arms dissolved into Lightning, and in an instant he pounced, unleashing another rapid-fire series of punches at Rusted Marshadow. This flurry was even faster than before, and Marshadow felt his body explode with pain as Rusted Marshadow was simply overwhelmed by the speed of Zeraora's attacks.

This is insane! Marshadow's eyes were wide and he stared at Zeraora as the Electric-type Legendary pounded Rusted Marshadow with blow after blow. He's grown so much more powerful since the War of Legends…how did he achieve such staggering speed?

"A lightning strike travels at 270,000 miles per hour!" Zeraora snarled as he drove Rusted Marshadow back with his Plasma Fists. "Most mortal users of Volt Absorb can't even begin to approach that speed! It would be too fast for their minds to comprehend! But I am a Legendary! My immortality gives me plenty of time to work to surpass that mental barrier! And after Marshadow defeated me the first time, I trained and trained to make my thoughts travel as fast as lightning as well, finally allowing me to get up to full speed! That is the power I wield, creature! How can someone like you, even in his body, overcome such impossible speed?" Zeraora delivered one final Plasma Fist that sent Rusted Marshadow streaking across the sky until its back struck earth. Marshadow could hear fighting nearby and realized that Rusted Marshadow had landed back on Melemele Plateau; the creature was lying in a fairly sizable crater, buried into the top of the plateau. Crouching, Zeraora leaped into the air, spreading his arms out wide as he glared down at Rusted Marshadow. "Volt Absorb: Plasma Strike!"

Zeraora transformed into a single massive bolt of Lightning, a bolt that exploded downwards straight into Rusted Marshadow. Marshadow tasted metal as Zeraora bounced off, reforming into his body, and then just as quickly transforming into another lightning bolt, then half a dozen more in quick succession, each one blasting Rusted Marshadow deeper and deeper into the earth, the cacophony of light and sound and pain so overwhelming that Marshadow could barely form thoughts.

The fact that he's grown this strong…have all the others grown this much stronger as well? They certainly all have the same drive. If so, then…then maybe they can actually beat Rusted Marshadow.

Maybe they can actually end this nightmare.

The bombardment ceased. Marshadow heard a thump from above, and Zeraora's head appeared as he peered into the deep crater his Plasma Strikes had dug. His face was split in a cocky grin. "How's that?" he asked. "All the fight gone out of you?"

Come on, Zeraora…Marshadow thought desperately. Don't get cocky…just finish it already!

But Zeraora was engrossed in his posturing. "Bit of a shame…to be honest, I was hoping that would be a little harder. Come on, creature. You're in Marshadow's body, you've absorbed Zekrom, and that's all you've got?"

Rusted Marshadow grunted, slowly pushing itself up. It glared up at Zeraora. "Far from it," Rusted Marshadow growled, and with that it tapped once more into Shadow Sneak.

This time, it reappeared right next to Zeraora, and its punch was anything but casual. But once again, Zeraora was just too fast for Rusted Marshadow, and his fist caught Rusted Marshadow's punch as he spun. "Don't forget," Zeraora growled, "fast as-"

"Rust."

At the single word from Rusted Marshadow, pure Rust exploded out from Rusted Marshadow's fist, reaching out to grasp Zeraora's arm and wrap around his body. Zeraora's eyes widened and he dissolved into Lightning, abandoning his hold in favor of slipping away from the tide of Rust. The Rust withdrew back into Rusted Marshadow's body as Zeraora's body reformed about a hundred feet away.

"So that's how you got him," Zeraora mused. "Powerful, sure, but with my speed you can't touch me even with that attack. Still, though, I think it's time I put you out of your misery." Zeraora lunged. "Volt Absorb: Plasma Fist!"

Aura blazed around Rusted Marshadow's fist - Marshadow blinked - and the two fists had come together in a massive explosion of Aura and Lightning, accompanied by yet another thunderous BOOM that rattled the plateau around them.

Zeraora blinked. Then he drew back his other fist. "Volt Absorb: Plasma Fists!" Another flurry of lightning-speed punches came at Rusted Marshadow. But somehow, Rusted Marshadow's Aura-imbued fists met each punch in the middle. Zeraora's punches were traveling at the same speed that had initially overwhelmed Rusted Marshadow, and yet now Rusted Marshadow was perfectly countering Zeraora's attacks, the two's fists coming together again and again, each punch unleashing a shockwave of energy that sent the earth around them flying from the backlash of their conflicting attacks.

"How are you doing this?" Zeraora looked shocked even as he continued his flurry of punches. "How are you matching my speed?"

"One of Marshadow's more rarely-used moves," Dark Rust replied through Rusted Marshadow's mouth as it, too, kept punching. "Copycat, I believe…it allows me to create an Aura-based facsimile of an opponent's move that functionally is an exact copy of that move. It copies strength, typing, and most notably for this occasion, speed."

Zeraora noticeably swallowed; inside Rusted Marshadow, Marshadow did the same.

"Try countering this!" Zeraora bellowed. "Volt Absorb: Plasma Fists! Ion Barrage!"

This time Marshadow could tell Zeraora had imbued his fists with Close Combat, for he was now punching so fast that it seemed a dozen fists were coming at Rusted Marshadow at the same time. Rusted Marshadow grinned, Aura wreathing his fists once more as he prepared to copy the attack.

And then he tapped into Shadow Sneak, and before Zeraora could do anything a perfect Aura-made copy of his own Ion Barrage had buried itself in the small of his back.

Zeraora was sent flying all the way across the plateau and into the forest beyond; several trees collapsed as the force of his flight sent up an explosion of earth and plant matter. Rusted Marshadow chuckled darkly, a mocking laugh as Zeraora arose once more, his eyes darting around. Marshadow could tell the Electric-type Legendary was nervous now.

"The problem with being as fast as lightning," Dark Rust and Rusted Marshadow growled in perfect synchronization, "is that you're only as fast as lightning. You yourself said it; you've reached your limit. The maximum speed you can travel at. And when I copy that limit, and then apply a priority move like Shadow Sneak to that copy, that means I'm faster than you no matter what."

Zeraora clenched his fists, crouching in preparation to throw himself back into the fight.

"Really?" Dark Rust and Rusted Marshadow chuckled again. "I have the power of Marshadow, Zekrom, and Dark Rust. My punches are so strong that were it not for the properties of your Ability, your arms would have long since been blown off by the sheer power of my strikes. And with Copycat, I can perfectly counter anything and everything you can throw at me. And yet you're still going to try and fight me?"

"Yeah," Zeraora said with a grin. "Though then again…this time, it's not like I'm gonna be fighting you on my own."

As soon as the words left Zeraora's mouth, a female voice sounded from behind Marshadow. "Soul-Heart: Fleur Cannon."

And as a titanic blast of Life slammed into Rusted Marshadow from behind and drove him into the dirt with explosive speed, Marshadow felt renewed hope that maybe his allies would be able to come through after all.

---

As a Fearow and a Manectric dueled on a beach, as Legendaries clashed in the skies over Melemele Plateau while others both Legendary and not battled upon the plateau itself, as a Trainer ran towards safety while his attempted assassin fled, as those and countless other stories played out all across Alola, all slowly became aware of one thing.

It was not an awareness that attracted attention, merely a realization in the back of one's mind, a stray thought in the heat of battle. Some barely dwelled upon it before their minds went back to the combat at hand, while others worried, scared of what this could mean. But amongst all who fought, there were only five who saw and truly knew what was happening.

Necrozma, and the four Tapus arrayed against him. All of them knew perfectly well why, for the past five minutes, the sky had slowly but surely begun to grow darker.

"Prismatic Laser!" Necrozma bellowed, unleashing a barrage of luminescent light-beams at his four adversaries.

"Grassy Surge: Grasp of Gaia!" Bulu snarled; the stony cliffs the Tapu of the Land was pressed against shifted at his call, manifesting into a pair of gigantic tendrils that lashed out and intercepted the lasers coming at him.

"Misty Surge: Guardian's Wave!" Fini cried; at her command, the watery colossus the Tapu of the Seas had summoned around herself raised one arm and unleashed a powerful blast of Torrent that swept away the lasers streaking towards her.

"Electric Surge: Lightning Storm!" Koko did not bother with a shield; he simply called upon the skies above him, and a trio of lightning bolts streaked down from the dark clouds gathered overhead, intercepting the lasers flying towards him in midair and dissipating them in three miniature electrical explosions.

"Psychic Surge: Grasp of the Beyond!" The world around Lele warped, and a cloud of Mind grasped the lasers sent her way before they could even come close, dragging the beams of light into its embrace.

"GUARDIAN'S LIGHT!" All four unleashed a single swift, overpowered Moonblast at Necrozma in response. Necrozma snarled in rage. "Prism Armor: Polychromatic Barrier!" he roared, creating a shining hemispherical shield of light in front of him. The four Moonblasts exploded against the shield in a fantastic shower of light and color.

Bulu was the first to strike; even as the energies dissipated Bulu sprang, the cliffside lunging alongside him. "Grassy Surge: Fist of Gaia!" he cried, throwing his hands forwards; he sank into the cliffside like it wasn't even there as it rushed through the spot he was floating in, an entire mountain bearing down on Necrozma.

Necrozma unleashed a surge of Mind in response; the mountainside broke in half under a titanic blast of Psychic power, and Necrozma did not even move as the two halves of Bulu's attack flew past him on either side, shattering as they fell against the still-present cliffs behind Necrozma. He paid no heed to the tons and tons of earth falling into the ocean; rather, his gaze was focused on Koko, who was plunging down from above, a storm of Lightning at the Tapu's fingertips. "Electric Surge: Guardian's Smite!"

Unlike last time, what flew forth was no mere bolt of Lightning, but nearly two dozen of them, all unified to create a single massive bolt. "Photon Geyser!" Necrozma roared; drawing yet more light from the world around him, he unleashed a strong enough beam of light that it cleaved straight through Koko's Guardian's Smite and forced the Tapu of the Skies to drop, the combination of his natural speed and a Quick Attack just enough to evade Necrozma's wrath.

"Hey! Catch!"

Necrozma looked down in time to see the shattered remnants of Bulu's attack soaring back upwards, carried on a thousand tendrils of water, Fini glaring up at him from the middle of the rising avalanche. Fini flung the tendrils forwards; Necrozma was unworried. "Prism Armor: Polychromatic Rain!" he roared; sticking out an arm, he unleashed a barrage of colorful shards, replenishing his Prism Armor with yet more light drawn from the surrounding world as he did so. The Polychromatic Rain exploded against the water-borne boulders, and Fini's attack was torn apart, its remnants falling down in a million shattered pieces.

"Electric Surge: Guardian's Smite!"

"Psychic Surge: Attack Empowerment!"

The massive bolt of Lightning that came from Koko this time was surrounded by a field of Mind courtesy of Lele. "Photon Geyser!" Necrozma snarled again, unleashing a second, even stronger beam of pure light at the combined attack. The two attacks stalemated, neither beam prevailing nor dissipating - and in a four-against-one situation, that was untenable.

"Grassy Surge: Grasp of Gaia!"

As Bulu demonstrated by phasing out of the cliffs behind Necrozma alongside several earthen tendrils. Necrozma broke off the Photon Geyser and lunged upwards, barely evading Bulu's grasp; Lele swiftly diverted her and Koko's attack off to the side to avoid striking Bulu, the combination attack carving a jagged gash in one of the few still-intact cliffs surrounding them. Necrozma glared down at the gathered Tapus. "Prismatic Laser!" he snarled, unleashing several dozen lasers downwards, but Fini, still floating just above the crashing waves below, was swift to react. At her command, two of the waves that were just now slamming into the nearby rocks shot upwards, rolling up the cliffsides like a river bursting its banks, completely defying gravity. "Misty Surge: Sea's Madness!" The twin upwards-rushing rivers exploded outwards, flying towards each other, expanding as they did so, meeting in the middle to create a massive watery shield that absorbed every single laser Necrozma had fired.

And out of it leaped Fini, piloting her watery colossus, fist drawn back as she lunged upwards towards Necrozma. "Misty Surge: Fist of Oceanus!"

"Prism Armor: Polychromatic Fist!" Necrozma bellowed, meeting Fini's giant fist with his own. Light and water exploded against each other; a miniature rainbow formed in between the two fists, shining even amidst the steadily darkening sky.

"Fini, now! Electric Surge: Tribocharge!"

In a flash, Fini destablized her own colossus, pouring all the water that had formed it forwards into Necrozma's Polychromatic fist. She fell downwards as Koko rose, unleashing a blast of Lightning straight at the gathered water. Necrozma realized what was going on a split second too late; the Lightning struck the water and was conducted straight into Necrozma's Polychromatic Fist.

The fist shattered, the sheer power of the combined attack too much for it. And there was Lele, catching the falling Fini in a Psychic grip with one hand while raising the other towards Necrozma, and Bulu, surging upwards on a tide of stone and rock with both hands upraised. "Guardian's Light!" they both cried; two Moonblasts flashed out from the pair of Tapus, soared through the newly opened hole in Necrozma's defenses, and impacted the Psychic-type Legendary with a pair of massive pink explosions.

Necrozma roared in pain. "Photon Geyser!" he cried as he recoiled upwards, hoping to ward off his adversaries and give himself time to recover. But the Tapus had no intention of giving him that time. "Electric Surge: Lightning Storm!" Koko cried even as he dodged; a barrage of Lightning bolts struck Necrozma's Prism Armor guarding his back, and though the armor warded off the pain the sheer force of the flurry was enough to send Necrozma staggering forwards, or in this case downwards.

"Grassy Surge: Shield of Gaia!" Bulu sent the towering swarm of rocks he was standing upon flying upwards, intercepting the Photon Geyser with an earthen barrier. With a murmur of "Psychic Surge: Shift Into Beyond," Lele grasped herself, Fini, and Bulu and pulled them into a cloud of Mind. The cloud dissipated, along with the trio of Tapus.

That just left Koko. "Nature's Madness: Alolan Winds!" he cried, unleashing a massive surge of Air that caught the remnants of Bulu's earthen shield and sent it flying up towards Necrozma as well. But given a small fraction of breathing room, Necrozma had time to plan his response; with a flick of his wrist he increased the gravity in this locality tenfold, and Koko's attack was dissipated as the boulders were yanked downwards by Necrozma's Psychic power.

"Gotcha. Misty Surge: Guardian's Wave!"

"Grassy Surge: Guardian's Quake!"

Psychic Surge: Guardian's Nova!"

Necrozma only realized his relaxation had been the Tapus' goal when a combined blast of Mind, Overgrow, and Torrent slammed into his back, directly where Koko's Guardian's Smite had struck Necrozma's Prism Armor.

The Prism Armor shattered, and Necrozma felt pain the likes of which he hadn't felt in a very long time.

He was only dimly aware of being thrust downwards, only dimly aware that he was careening towards land. His Prism Armor cushioned his landing somewhat, but under the combined force of the Tapus' attacks and the hard landing most of it shattered into shards, the remnants flickering away, unsupported. Necrozma groaned; snarling, he rose, clawed hands clenched into fists as he glared up at his unified adversaries.

"We advise you surrender, Necrozma," Koko snarled from above as the four Tapus readied further Moonblasts on their outstretched hands. "This world's light is not yours to take."

Necrozma let out an enraged growl. "All light is mine to take!" he bellowed. "I am Necrozma! The Blinding One! I am light incarnate!" He calmed himself, taking a deep breath, and his next words came out under a renewed veneer of calm. "And I…am done playing around."

Tapping into the shard of Lunala held within his body, Necrozma changed. His body sprouted massive glowing blue wings, light blazing from them even as shadows pooled around him. Necrozma, now in his Dawn Wings form, spread his newly-created appendages and glared up at the Tapus.

"Moongeist Beam!" Necrozma roared. A barrage of spiraling beams formed from pure shadow and yet glowing with blue light blasted out towards the gathered Tapus. "GUARDIAN'S LIGHT!" the Tapus chorused, throwing their Moonblasts forwards; Life and shadow came together, and the resulting explosion seemed to tear open the sky itself.

Glowing wings spread, Necrozma rose off the ground, shadows surging forth around him as he exerted his new Shadow Shield Ability upon the surrounding world. Out of the dissipating cloud of Life came the four Tapus, tapping into their own Abilities. Overgrow and Torrent, Mind and Lightning, all were brought to bear against Necrozma as around them the entire world slowly grew darker and darker from Necrozma's influence.

And on and above the shores of Poni Island, this great and yet terrible battle began anew.

---

Every breath was torture. Every step made Medicham feel as if she was being stabbed in the side. She could feel her legs threatening to give out. But she kept sprinting, knowing that if she didn't reach Yggdrasil before Dark Matter did…whatever he was going to do to it, she, and everyone else, would be dead in an instant.

Seeker-Of-Endings ran alongside her, his breaths also coming out harsh and exhausted. To their left and right, others dashed as well; Heralds, at least half a dozen on either side, their horn-blades flashing as they warded off any opportunistic Pokemon or Void Shadows that tried to intercept the running duo.

Yggdrasil loomed closer and closer. Medicham could see an opening in the base, big enough for both her and Seeker-Of-Endings to fit comfortably. She would have preferred to stop and catch her breath, but she knew full well there was no time for that.

"Ready?" she asked, head turned towards Seeker-Of-Endings.

"Ready," Seeker-Of-Endings affirmed.

And as the Heralds formed up behind them, creating a solid wall of bodies and blades that forced back any opposition, Medicham and Seeker-Of-Endings ran side by side into the trunk of Yggdrasil.

In seconds, the darkness of Yggdrasil's interior swallowed them up.