Draco: Little jump back for the preceding events from the other perspective, and then meet up with the cliffhanger.
Pokémon and protagonist © Nintendo. Character designs © Koei. Ransei © somewhere in the middle.
Ultra Kingdom - Twisted Citadel: Strength of Heart
"Hey, hey. Easy."
Mitsuki's utterance had Kaguya shaking her head as she got to her feet. "It's okay," she insisted. "I... My head's right again."
"Are you sure?" Mitsuki asked.
"I'm sure," Kaguya insisted. Turning to Gardevoir; "Can you find Mama Evia and Mama Oichi?"
Gardevoir closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them and nodded, making to lead the two little ones through the castle.
The halls changed, becoming Chrysalian and then Terreran as they made their way through - though that became the least of their concerns when they found uniformed Trainers patrolling the halls. Mitsuki's ninja training came in handy as they stealthily made their way to the second floor; this tier seemed to be slightly less busy, and she gave Gardevoir the go-ahead to continue leading the way.
She opened the door they needed, revealing a second-floor balcony in a rather expansive chamber - and the two of them immediately heard the pirate's voice.
"Freaks like you will never understand true power!"
A shocked Mitsuki and Kaguya quickly sprinted out, dashing to the edge of the balcony to find Ghetsis and Kyurem on the other side of the hall. Evia and Oichi were bound in chains, and they heard the sound of Poké Balls flying; Kaguya could only watch in terror as they approached Wigglytuff and the Eeveelutions and caught them, clicking shut definitively.
"Poké Balls!?" Oichi exclaimed.
"Snag Balls," Ghetsis corrected.
Kaguya stumbled back in shock - but Mitsuki thought quickly. The Poké Balls had come from below the balcony, and she looked towards the corners to find railing-lined gaps in the corners - whether they were stylistic or served some purpose was both unknown and irrelevant. She quickly directed Salamence towards one and grabbed Kaguya's hand, pulling her towards the other and beckoning for Gardevoir to follow them; sure enough, as they looked down through the gap, they found a large machine of some kind.
"You ready?" Mitsuki asked, whispered.
"Uh-huh!" Kaguya turned to Gardevoir. "Do it!"
The sound of Ghetsis slamming his cane echoed from below. "Which means there is nothing stopping me from destroying you here and now!"
Salamence roared, soaring into the gap in his corner, and dragon mist blazed around his body as he brutalized the machine in an outrage. Gardevoir took aim down the other gap, and a Psychic pulse ripped up around it, causing it to be crushed in on itself; then Mitsuki and Kaguya leapt over the railing, and the Psychic-type ensured a safe landing behind the machine so they could kick it towards Ghetsis like Salamence had.
Kaguya drew her bamboo pole.
Mitsuki drew her cypress stick.
"You're not destroying anyone!"
"You!" Ghetsis shrieked. "The children!? How!"
Mitsuki aimed her cypress stick forward as Gardevoir descended behind them. "I'm the great ninja Mitsuki!" she retorted. "Your Shadows are just Trainers, they ain't got nothing on me!"
"No..." Evia shook her head. "Mitsuki... Kaguya!"
"It's okay, Mama," Kaguya insisted as she and Gardevoir stepped forward; Mitsuki followed suit as Salamence approached from the other side. "I can take another step. So let me do this."
"Being a mother isn't just about protecting your daughter. It's about knowing when she's able to protect herself... and giving her the chance to do so."
Johanna's words rose in Evia's mind, and tears welled in her eyes. "...Okay."
"Okay." Kaguya smiled.
Mitsuki gave the Aurorans a confident grin. "We got this, Lady Evia!"
Kaguya's face contorted into a glare as she turned to Ghetsis. "And you - you're gonna pay for hurting my Mamas like that!"
Ghetsis glared. "No!" He slammed his cane, and this time it impaled itself in the floor, cracking the tiles around the point of impact. "I refuse to be defeated by some ignorant nobody! Not again!"
He drew a Poké Ball and hurled it into the air, and as it landed a Tyranitar emerged on his other side from Kyurem. It was wearing something around its midsection, and Kaguya started as she recognized the patterns of a Mega Stone; Ghetsis reached his left hand to his face, and the eyepatch resting over his right eye was pulled off.
Baring the Key Stone mounted in the empty socket.
"This time I will succeed! No matter what they try, no one will be able to stop me!"
"Kaguya!"
"Yeah!"
Kaguya reached for her own Key Stone as Mitsuki charged forward; Gardevoir was consumed in prismatic light, and the moment it shattered around her she loosed a vicious Moonblast in Kyurem's direction, interrupting the Wuji in mid-attack. Salamence soared at Tyranitar, who stomped in a vicious Stone Edge that barely missed the Dragon Pokémon; Ghetsis reached for his eye, and found the little ninja up in his face.
"No you- DON'T!"
She leapt up and slammed her cypress stick into the side of Ghetsis' face, and as he reeled away the Key Stone was knocked out of its mount. It bounced across the battlefield, and Mitsuki dashed away before Ghetsis could grab his cane again, sliding across the tiled floor and grabbing the Key Stone.
And Salamence, too, was consumed with prismatic light.
When this one shattered, Salamence had changed; his skin had darkened, the spikes on either side of his head had elongated, and his hardened underbelly had extended to wrap around him like a vest. His wings had become a single, blood-red crescent, and he seemed to stay aloft without needing to flap; as he roared, there was an echo to his voice that shook the hall around him.
He turned to Kyurem and twisted in the air, and blades of wind soared out of his wings.
"No!" Ghetsis seized his cane from behind the wheel and pried it out of the floor. "Shadow!"
Mitsuki found the trio of dark figures from the Nixtorm/Illusio castle manifesting around her; one raised a dagger at her, and she lashed her cypress stick up into his jaw, leaving him reeling. She quickly dove between his legs before the other two could strike; Tyranitar tried to strike Salamence with another Stone Edge, but the Dragon Pokémon only soared above and lunged forward for a vicious Outrage before Gardevoir struck him with a Moonblast to finish him off.
As the Armour Pokémon slumped to the ground, Ghetsis withdrew him; Kyurem took aim with a Glaciate, the ice slamming into Salamence in mid-flight and leaving him tumbling towards the ground. The Shadows each threw up a Poké Ball or two, deploying a Banette, Absol, Accelgor, and Bisharp; the new arrivals quickly ganged up on Gardevoir, striking her with a pair of Night Slashes, a U-Turn, and a Shadow Ball. She was left skidding backwards, barely conscious, but Oichi forced herself to move, pressing her palm against the ground to send a pulse of Soft Light to rejuvenate her and Salamence both.
The Dragon-type quickly soared at the Shadows' Pokémon, who had no time to react before he was between them and striking them all with an Outrage. Banette, Absol, and Accelgor were thrown aside, at the edge of unconsciousness, and Gardevoir quickly loosed a Moonblast past Salamence to leave Bisharp reeling as well; Kaguya quickly charged towards the Poké Balls surrounding Evia and Oichi, grabbing two of them and throwing them towards the horde.
Vaporeon and Jolteon emerged, and immediately understood the situation; a Thunderbolt from Jolteon finished off Bisharp and Banette (and may have singed Salamence), while Vaporeon unleashed a Hydro Pump to blast Accelgor and Absol down. They and the Mega-Evolved Pokémon quickly turned their attention on Kyurem, who only roared in response; Glaciate icicles appeared around Gardevoir, Vaporeon, and Jolteon as Salamence soared ahead, and a bombardment of Outrage left the Cold Wuji reeling long enough for Gardevoir to follow through with a Moonblast.
Kyurem fell to the ground, unconscious.
"No!" Ghetsis slammed his cane angrily. "This can't be happening! This cannot be happening!"
"It happened!" Kaguya proclaimed. "You've lost! You and all your little wannabe shinobi!"
The Shadows all withdrew their Pokémon and leapt back, landing around Ghetsis as he stepped back in shock. "How can this be? How could I have lost to sentimental children, not once, but twice?!"
The door behind him opened.
"You ignorant pirate. It is the very sentiment you scorn which gives them strength."
A hand slammed into the arm that held his cane, knocking it out of his grip and leaving it scattering on the ground. Ghetsis turned around in time to receive a vicious punch that threw him backwards, leaving him sprawled on the ground as the Shadows parted in shock; a Poké Ball was knocked from his person, and a hand picked it up, withdrawing Kyurem into it.
Kaguya clutched her bamboo pole close to her, terrified by who that hand belonged to.
Standing there was a man who seemed remarkably fit for his age, being as he was visibly getting on in his years; his posture was upright, his shoulders were broad, and there was no unsteadiness to his movements. He was dressed in an all-consuming black trenchcoat which covered everything to his knees; beneath were a pair of black, formal trousers, and a pair of black dress shoes covered his feet. His skin was tan, his features were sharp and angular, and there was the hint of a pair of black sideburns poking out from beneath the fedora that rested atop his head; a crimson cloth was sticking out of his breast pocket for colour contrast, and a belt was hanging on his side with a row of purple Poké Balls.
"...The old man..."
Ghetsis forced himself to turn around with a glare. "You!"
"Still you refuse to see the truth," the old man scorned, tossing Kyurem's Poké Ball at one of the Shadows. "You paint yourself as perfection even as your failings bring your downfall, and you refuse to even contemplate that you might be mistaken. No matter how many times you are defeated, no matter how many worlds see your plans torn down, still you fail to grasp why you cannot succeed! That is why you and your ambitions are destined to fall!"
He swept his hand out at his side. "Because you continue to treat Pokémon as tools!"
"You must be joking!" Ghetsis exclaimed. "Are you truly so pathetic as to act like Pokémon deserve compassion?! You, who want to take over the world for profit and power! You would treat them as companions?!"
"I would treat them as allies," the old man insisted. "That they fight alongside me is an exchange, just as it is with humans. I use the power at my disposal to their benefit, just as they use their power to benefit me, and thus do we both grow stronger! While you beat them down, abuse them until they can comprehend nothing but serving your purposes, and in so doing keep them weak!"
"Shut your mouth!" Ghetsis shrieked. "Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP! I will not be looked down upon by a man who can't even use Pokémon correctly! A man who seeks to conquer cannot be so blind as to think tools can have emotion or thought!"
There was a forceful impact; the old man had kicked Ghetsis in the face, leaving him stumbling backwards, and his Shadows moved to aid him as the old man drove his hands into his pockets. "You deny all proof, no matter how many times it leads to the same result, and you style yourself a ruler?"
"I am the absolute ruler who will change the world!" Ghetsis roared. "I am perfect!"
"You are worthless."
One hand came out of his coat holding something - a small, metallic object with an antenna - and Ghetsis started. "That device... a Colress Machine?!"
"Not quite," the old man admitted. "But of the same function, at least. When I realized that man-made technology could latch onto a Faller's signature and send them back through Ultra Space, it was a simple matter to produce one of my own... in case my allies should turn on me."
He aimed it at Ghetsis and pressed a button, and the pirate began to writhe. "No... Not this! My body is being pulled! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
A surge of light emerged from where Ghetsis and his Shadows were standing - and when it faded, they were gone.
With a sigh, the old man pocketed the device once more. "Now, then..."
He snapped his fingers, and a sinister cry echoed around the chamber; the chains around Evia and Oichi were seized with a psychic power, and then shattered. As the Warriors got to their feet, the remaining Poké Balls around them were thrown into the air, and then landed to deploy Wigglytuff, Glaceon, Sylveon, Espeon, and Flareon. Then all seven Poké Balls were lifted into the air by the same psychic power, pulled open... and then snapped, breaking at the hinges as the pieces fell to the ground.
"You have my apologies, Warriors of Ransei," the old man proclaimed, "for letting his machinations continue. I had the message delivered to you that I would face you on Ransean terms if you would do the same, and it was my intention to uphold that offer. I should have kept a closer eye on my subordinates, to ensure they did not defy those terms."
He started towards the doors set into the center of the wall to Evia's left - a massive pair of double doors that could accommodate any Pokémon in Ransei. "I shall await you on the final battlefield - as I had intended to. You may call upon any of your other Warriors to fill the ranks that he depleted with his actions, and join me only once you are ready."
The door was pulled open, and then closed behind him, leaving the Warriors of Ransei and their Pokémon in the chamber where Ghetsis had vanished.
Draco: Giovanni's HGSS/B2W2 outfit looks so sharp in a way that his Team Rocket Boss suit just doesn't capture. I think it's the fedora. If I'm still alive to see Unova remakes, I hope they include the Pokémon World Tournament, just so we can see him wear that outfit on a 3D model.