Draco: Okay, big badass final battle. Twelve whole chapters after #TheReveal.

Pokémon and protagonist © Nintendo. Character designs © Koei. Ransei © somewhere in the middle.

Ultra Kingdom - Twisted Citadel: Trainers and Warriors

Kaguya had been so confident.

When Evia had asked if she wanted to come into Ultra Space, she had been all too willing to come along. When she had discovered the old man was responsible, she had been scared... but she hadn't wanted that to stop her. She had been so insistent that she could handle it. After what had happened with Takatora, she had found the strength to keep going, and when she and Mitsuki had defeated Ghetsis and Kyurem, she had felt like she could take one anyone and anything.

But seeing the old man again, after so long, had stripped that confidence away. Now she was shaking, clutching her bamboo pole tight to her chest, and she could barely hear her mothers' voices until a pair of hands connected with her shoulders.

"Kaguya!" Evia knelt in front of her daughter. "Kaguya, can you hear me?!"

"M-Mama...!" There were tears in Kaguya's eyes as her grip on her weapon faltered, the bamboo pole clattering to the ground. "I... I'm sorry...! I'm so sorry-!"

Evia pulled her into a hug. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

It all came loose; Kaguya buried her face in Evia's robe and cried, fear and terror and sorrow shaking her body as she sobbed in her mother's arms. Oichi came up to them, pulling them both into a hug to assure her daughter that it was alright, that there was nothing to be ashamed of.

"I'm sorry, Mama," she forced out when the tears had finally slowed. "I... I thought I could keep going, but... I can't. I can't take another step."

"Then you don't have to," Evia insisted. "Look at me."

Slowly, Kaguya pulled away, looking at her mother as she drew shaky breaths.

Evia set a hand on her daughter's cheek. "I'm proud of you," she assured her. "For what you did. Oichi and I were stuck, we couldn't fight. But you could - and you did. You fought Ghetsis, and you won, when nobody asked you to. You put grown Warriors to shame with what you did, and I'm proud of you. So rest. If you can't keep going, if you can't face the old man... then don't. You can rest now. You and Gardevoir. We can handle the rest."

Kaguya sniffled. "O-Okay, Mama..."

Mitsuki stepped forward. "I'm gonna stay here with Kaguya," she insisted.

"Thank you," Evia praised. "You're doing a big thing, helping her when she's going through this. But you don't have to keep doing it alone. If you're tired, I can have someone else come join you."

"No," Mitsuki insisted. "I wanna do this. I wanna help her."

Evia nodded in concession. "Alright."

The little ninja helped Kaguya to her feet, and she, Salamence, and Gardevoir started up the steps to the chamber's second-floor balcony; once they had reached the top, the Warlord spoke into her com-crystal bracelet. "Driftwalker, respond."

Silence.

"...Driftwalker? Coursebreaker? Can you hear me?! Respond!"

Silence... and then a groan. "Lady Evia?"

"Coursebreaker!" Evia sat back with a sigh. "Thank the Alpha."

"We're alright," Driftwalker insisted. "And the... the prisoners are safe. But we're in no condition to keep fighting."

"I suspected as much," Evia admitted. "Then I won't ask you to. Rest up - and in the meantime, keep them and their Pokémon safe."

"Understood."

Evia tapped her bracelet. "Shingen, Kenshin, Nōhime, Nobunaga. Respond."

"What is it?" Nobunaga demanded.

"Hush, you," Nō scolded.

"We're here," Shingen assured.

"What do you need of us?" Kenshin asked.

"There's one battle left, and me and Oichi are the only ones still in fighting condition," Evia proclaimed. "I need you four to join us for this last fight. If your Pokémon can pick up my location, then warp right here. If not, I'll find you the fastest route to the battlefield first."

"Hmm..." There was silence on the line for a moment, and then Kenshin responded; "We should be able to manage. Let us meet where the roads converge."

+x+x+x+

It didn't take long before Shingen, Rhyperior, Groudon, Kenshin, Gallade, Mewtwo, Nō, Mismagius, Giratina, Nobunaga, Hydreigon, and Rekkūza were able to teleport into the castle. (Zekrom was apparently 'recovering' from an encounter with Ghetsis.) Oichi and Wigglytuff made sure everyone was in fighting condition, and then Evia and the Eeveelutions led the way through the door the old man had gone through.

The hallway on the other side was the Dragnor Castle battlefield, though the nodes were all inactive. Neither the old man nor any of his underlings were here, however, and the legion advanced to the far end to find another pair of doors resting open. On the other side was what looked like a combination of the Spectra and Terrera battlefields, with a sea of soft sand forming an expanse between two courtyard 'shores'. Workshed-type structures were scattered along the edges of the battlefield; great towers from Terrera stood in the two corners on the attackers' side, and the third was directly opposite the doorway.

The old man was standing there, with five other Trainers at his sides; one was a woman in the Team Rainbow Rocket uniform, but the other four all wore something distinct and customized. A man with grey hair flaring out from beneath a cap wore a top with a high collar and a V-neck deep enough to cut into the prismatic R; around his waist was a belt that seemed to be a string of interlocked diamonds, on which a pair of pistols were holstered, and his gloves and boots were a brighter white than the uniform's usual grey. The next man, with purple hair in a prominent curl, also wore white gloves and boots, over what seemed to be a tighter jumpsuit rather than a separated top and trousers; yellow lines framed the prismatic R and halted at his belt, which was lined with throwing knives.

A redheaded woman with hair that came to a prominent peak and flared out from behind her neck wore a bright white dress with black trim on the cuffs and hemline; she, too, had a V-neck, though she wore a high-necked black shirt beneath. A pair of white heels covered her feet, but her hands were bare; the prismatic R was mounted on a shield offset to her left, rather than being centered for the V to cut into, and across her back was a halberd. The last man had grey hair that looked like it disagreed with his attempts to keep it orderly, a few loose locks rising out of an otherwise short cut. Like the redheaded woman, he was dressed in white, though he opted for a top and trousers over the high-necked shirt; his feet were settled into a pair of dress shoes, and he also sported the prismatic R in an offset shield, while a greatsword rested on his back.

As the Warriors stepped onto the field, the old man stepped forward.

"Evia of Aurora, I presume?" he mused. "The Heroine of Ransei." He set a hand over his chest. "I am Giovanni, the leader of Team Rainbow Rocket. I apologize again for failing to stop what Ghetsis did. He had served me well in the previous iteration of Team Rainbow Rocket. I knew he was ignorant, but I had no idea he would act so contrary to my goals."

"And what are your goals, exactly?" Evia demanded. "Why did you attack Ransei? Why did you alter Takatora? Why did you do what you did to those children!? What do you want!?"

A smile rose on Giovanni's face, as though he found it amusing that she was asking. "Ghetsis may have been ignorant," he admitted, "but he did understand one thing."

He set his hands into his pockets.

"I want to take over the world - for profit and power."

Evia couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What?!"

"Team Rocket has humbler beginnings than you might believe," Giovanni insisted. "A small band of Pokémon thieves in the Kanto region. Being based in a land of Trainers, we would steal their Poké Balls with the Pokémon inside them. From there, we would train the Pokémon as our own, and bring them to heel. Eventually, our organization grew, and so did our ambitions. And at long last, we successfully took over the greatest corporations in Kanto - at least, the Kanto of my world."

Giovanni raised his gaze to the skies of Ultra Space. "It was then that a blinding light consumed me, and dragged me into Ultra Space. There, I found other leaders of men, with ambitions of their own, who had been dragged from the worlds where they had been on the cusp of their success.

"Archie of Team Aqua, and Maxie of Team Magma, in Hoenn."

Shingen started.

"Cyrus of Team Galactic, in Sinnoh."

Nō grit her teeth.

"Lysandre of Team Flare, in Kalos."

Kenshin's gaze fell.

"And Ghetsis of Team Plasma, in Unova."

Nobunaga narrowed his gaze.

"Together, we beheld the powers of the Ultra Beasts, and knew they would be unstoppable in force. And in the interest of amassing that force, we banded together to create Team Rainbow Rocket. We strove to build an army of UBs, and for that, we needed the technology developed by the Aether Foundation, in Alola. But when we descended on Aether Paradise, we were faced with an obstacle."

There was an amused grin on Giovanni's face as he turned his attention back to the Warriors. "A young Trainer, freshly crowned Champion of the Alolan island challenge, came to Aether Paradise to oppose us. And, against all odds, he succeeded." He drew out the device he had used on Ghetsis. "After he had defeated each of us, a man named Colress - a former servant of that world's Ghetsis - used a device much like this one to send us back to the worlds from whence we came. And when I awoke in the Kanto region I knew, I found that Team Rocket had been dismantled in my absence."

Evia stepped forward. "Bested by a young Trainer," she exclaimed, "and your ambitions thwarted? That wasn't enough for you?!"

Giovanni's face fell; he was silent for a moment as he pocketed the device once more, and when he spoke again, there was a sorrow in his voice.

"Sometimes I wonder." He closed his eyes. "So many nights, as I lie in bed and drift off to sleep, I wonder if it would have been enough. If I had never seen Ultra Space before Team Rocket's downfall, would I have accepted my loss?" He leaned his head back. "But then I dream of the brilliance of countless worlds, and I wake knowing I can no longer be satisfied."

His eyes opened once more. "I devoted myself to Pokémon training, that I would be stronger the next time I faced such opposition. Eventually, my subordinates resurrected Team Rocket in the Johto region, and I hurried to join them. When I did, the same blinding light consumed us, and I was returned to Ultra Space."

Giovanni hung his head. "...But this time it was only me and Ghetsis. The others were not returned as we were. And when we attempted to reach them, they were nowhere to be found... save for their epitaphs. Ocean, earth, creation, devastation... They had been struck down by the very powers they had harnessed for their ambitions, and their worlds continued to turn without them, their goals amounting to naught but a memory of suffering. In light of which, Ghetsis and I parted ways, to contemplate how to proceed with Team Rainbow Rocket so reduced."

The five who surrounded him looked surprisingly solemn as he continued. "My executives and I strove to reconnoiter the UBs, that we might determine if it were possible to tame them without the Aether Foundation's technology. But we overestimated the stability of the Ultra Wormholes - least by the means we could open them. My endeavours with the first iteration of Team Rainbow Rocket had taken advantage of a naturally-occurring Ultra Wormhole, one which gave us a road to Alola. But when we tried to open them willfully, with the means at our disposal, we had little control over where the Wormholes led to, or who would be brought through them, or even where they opened. We could not even be sure if we or the UBs would be able to remain on the other end."

Oichi's memory was provoked at his words, remembering how so many Ultra Beasts had appeared and then vanished, leaving nothing to show they had been there but the damage that had been done. Is that... why they started appearing in Ransei? Her hands closed into fists. Is that why she...?!

"Until one day," Giovanni proclaimed, "we arrived in a tiny world, that nevertheless had food and water to sustain its inhabitants. There, we found a group of children too young to care for themselves, newly arrived just as we were. And they had a power, the likes of which I had never seen before - the power to understand Pokémon, and to connect with them."

"The power of a Link," Evia observed.

Giovanni nodded. "Indeed. I took on the role of their caretaker, and entrusted my executives to learn more about this power of theirs. In time, we learned of regions where Warriors take to the field of battle alongside their Pokémon. And not long after, Ghetsis returned, having found more individuals much like us - those who had succeeded in their ambitions, and been dragged away from their worlds... including the president of the Aether Foundation, whose technology could stabilize the Ultra Wormholes and guarantee their destinations."

He raised one hand at his side. "Thus was Team Rainbow Rocket reborn - this time with a new objective. Rather than an army of UBs to ensure our might as Trainers, we would raise an army of Warriors, that no Trainers could stand against us. Pokémon are at their mightiest with human guidance, and if we can deny them that guidance, then we will triumph with ease. So we saw the children and ourselves trained in combat, that we might incapacitate those who would guide their Pokémon in battle."

A grin appeared on his face - but this one was a much more threatening grin. "Ransei is the pinnacle of our efforts. Only once we can overcome a land of Warriors will we be ready to wage war."

"You...!"

"That is why we will follow the terms of Ransean combat for as long as you do the same," Giovanni insisted. "If we cannot triumph over you and yours fairly on the field, then we are not stronger - we are merely more numerous. And the instant we are faced with a foe possessed of the same numbers and the same capabilities, we will fall."

He lowered his hand. "Which brings us to the present. I trust that Ghetsis told you of the intention of Project Nezha?"

Evia grit her teeth. "An enhanced Warrior meant to be above all others," she admitted. "Not that Takatora was your best option."

"Just so," Giovanni agreed. "Though his strength was well beyond normal human capability, it seems he overestimated the value of skill, and fell into the same pitfalls as Ghetsis did regarding his allied Pokémon. It was my intention to have him join my executives and I on this final battlefield. But it is clear to me that strength is worthless on its own, and so calling another ward of Project Nezha to join us would be more a detriment than a boon. So I have asked one of my grunts to take his place, and we shall face you with the might of Team Rocket alone."

The grunt in question took the prompting and tossed a Poké Ball forward; a Persian emerged, looking like she was ready to slaughter, as the grunt brandished a whip.

"Proton!"

The behatted man tossed up a Poké Ball of his own, and a Golbat emerged before him; the Bat Pokémon screeched as Proton drew his pistols and twirled them at his sides.

"Petrel!"

The jumpsuited man followed suit with a Poké Ball, and a Weezing emerged before him; the Poison Gas Pokémon coughed as Petrel brandished one of his throwing knives.

"Ariana!"

The white-clad woman threw a Poké Ball forward, and an Arbok emerged before her; the Cobra Pokémon hissed as Ariana seized her halberd and readied it in both hands.

"Archer!"

The white-clad man threw a Poké Ball forward, and a Houndoom emerged before him; the Dark Pokémon howled as Archer pulled his greatsword from his back and held it before him.

Giovanni unfastened his coat and pulled it off of himself - the belt of Poké Balls included - before tossing it behind him. Beneath he wore a black business suit, the jacket unbuttoned to reveal a crimson shirt beneath; like Archer and Ariana, he wore the prismatic R in a shield offset to his left, but this one at first seemed to have the loop of the R filled.

Until Evia realized there was a Key Stone mounted in it.

He pulled the fedora off his head with his free hand, and from within drew a separate Poké Ball; then he tossed the hat aside to join his coat as he threw the Ball forward; a towering feline Pokémon appeared before him, causing the matching Pokémon on the Ransean side to start in surprise.

"Now, then, Lady Evia." Giovanni stepped forward, cracking his knuckles as he arrived at Mewtwo's side. "Let us see - let us truly see - how the powers of Ransei compare to the might of Team Rocket!"

Shingen raised his war fan as Groudon stormed onto the battlefield.

Kenshin seized his spear as Mewtwo floated in position.

Nō licked at her claws as Giratina soared out.

Nobunaga brandished his sword as Rekkūza twisted through the air.

Oichi seized her staff as Wigglytuff took a fighting stance.

Evia took a deep breath, removing her robe and casting it aside, leaving her armour exposed as Sylveon stepped out.

"You can take your 'might' to the grave."

With a grin, Giovanni reached for his Key Stone - and the Mega Stone that his Mewtwo was carrying reacted. The primsatic light encompassed him, and then shattered to reveal a Mewtwo with much more bulk, prominent musculature rippling with its every motion.

Giovanni began to advance, and his Mewtwo followed suit; Kenshin quickly reached for his own Key Stone, and Shingen thrust the Red Orb over his head, wreathing Groudon and the Ransean Mewtwo in lights of their own. Evia started to march forward as the lights shattered, revealing a magma-lined Groudon and a much more condensed Mewtwo, and Sylveon charged forward, causing the legends of Ransei to follow; the members of Team Rocket promptly advanced to meet them.

Proton took aim at Shingen with his pistols, but the Terreran only raised his war fan to meet each bullet. The Executive's face rapidly sank from confident to terrified as the large man closed the gap, and then beat the guns out of his grip with an Alpha-damned signal fan, followed swiftly by driving the edge into Proton's stomach to leave him reeling. Golbat soared forward, poison dancing around his maw as he made to charge at Wigglytuff, but promptly found himself blasted into the sands by a Dragon Pulse from Rekkūza.

Petrel hurled his throwing knives at Kenshin, but a swing of the Illusian's spear deflected every edge into the surrounding sands, or else sent it flying back at the Executive who threw them. The swift and flourishing movements masked his advance, and Petrel didn't realize he was getting close until the shaft of the spear slammed into his leg, forcing him to one knee before Kenshin struck him in the side to knock him over. Weezing loosed a Sludge Bomb in Sylveon's direction, but the projectile slammed ineffectively into the sands a moment before Giratina emerged from nothing, slamming into the Poison Gas Pokémon and knocking him out of the air.

Ariana lunged at Nōhime with her halberd, only to find the bladed head of her polearm halted on the Spectran's fingernails. Her dress sang as she brought one leg up, kicking the halberd over the Executive's head, and then lunged forward to rake her claws down Ariana's arm, forcing her to release the shaft with that hand. Nō's other hand came up to wrench the spear out of her grip before she twisted into a kick and flung the Executive into the ground. Arbok loosed a Venoshock in Rekkūza's direction, but the bolts of poison barely seemed to register on the Dragon-type before a hellish Psystrike from the Ransean Mewtwo slammed into the Cobra Pokémon, leaving her writhing in pain and collapsing onto the ground.

Archer made to bring his greatsword down on Nobunaga, only to find a drape of dragon mist around the Dragnoran's blade as he moved to meet it - and halted the blow single-handedly. The Sky Demon of Ransei lashed his longsword against every one of the Executive's attempted blows before lunging forward to hook his blade under the hilt; wrenching it skyward, he forced the weapon out of Archer's hands before sweeping a kick across his legs, knocking him to the ground. Houndoom loosed a vicious Flamethrower in Sylveon's direction, and though it did singe the Intertwining Pokémon, that was of little comfort when a row of Precipice Blades ripped up from below the Dark Pokémon, flinging him into the air unconscious.

The grunt lashed her whip at Oichi, who raised her staff to let the length coil around its shaft. With a grin, the grunt made to yank Oichi towards her... only to find with some dismay that the healer was perfectly capable of anchoring herself against the sands, and promptly pulled the grunt towards her instead. As she got near, she found the head of Oichi's staff slamming into her stomach before the healer brought the shaft up to strike her jaw, forcing her to bite her tongue in mid-yell; Persian leapt at Sylveon and Wigglytuff with claws at the ready, only for a one-two burst of Hyper Voice and Dazzling Gleam to knock out the Classy Cat Pokémon.

Giovanni took a swing at Evia, but the Auroran only raised an arm to meet the punch, and his fist slammed into her gauntlet before she moved to beat his hand aside. The next punch was ducked under, and Evia drove her elbow into the Rocket Boss' chest, leaving him stumbling back. Team Rocket's Mewtwo lunged at Wigglytuff and landed a brutal Drain Punch, leaving the Balloon Pokémon tumbling backwards, but Sylveon quickly moved to bar his way before he could strike again. Giovanni raised his leg to slam a kick into Evia's stomach, yet the Auroran took the blow without much reaction and quickly seized him by the leg, twisting into a turn to drag the Rocket Boss into a tumble.

Oichi slammed her staff into the sands, and a soft light pulsed from beneath her as the grunt's whip uncoiled from it, rejuvenating the Ransean Pokémon around them and prompting them to zero in on the last Pokémon still conscious on Team Rocket's side.

Nō raised a hand to her mouth and bit down on it, and Giratina lunged out of nothing for a vicious Shadow Force, the impact freezing Giovanni's Mewtwo solid.

Kenshin slammed the butt of his spear into the ground, and power gathered around the Ransean Mewtwo as he took aim.

Nobunaga thrust his sword skyward, and the dragon mist around it scattered, converging around Rekkūza before it unleashed a forceful Dragon Pulse, and then another.

Shingen swung his signal fan overhead, and brilliant light swirled around Groudon before it slammed claws into the ground to rip up Earth Power.

Future Sight bombarded Giovanni's Mewtwo from all sides, shattering the ice and leaving it falling to one knee.

Then Evia drew her sword and drove it into the ground, and the sigil of Aurora manifested around Sylveon before she unleashed a brilliant Dazzling Gleam, sending Mewtwo flying.

Its Mega Evolution ended in a scattering of brilliant light, and it fell to the ground, unconscious.

Evia pried her blade out of the sands, looking down on Giovanni with a glare.

"You won't be taking it to Ransei."

Draco: It takes some effort to write a #CurbStompBattle that is also a big climactic #FinalBoss fight. Please let me know if I did it justice.