Chapter 55: Outworlder
Summary:
Following intense training, Zeryph returns to his team, only to find a scene of destruction. In the last couple days of his training, something had happened. A tough fight, and another early meeting.
Notes:
Fair warning, this chapter is going to be a bit more violent than what's normal for this story, and a bit more graphic than usual. I thought it fair to give a warning ahead of time. Better to give a warning, than to not say anything at all. Just in case.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
As the world returned into focus, I could smell smoke, mixed in with the scent left behind from rainfall. Dialga bowed his head silently, before disappearing. A sinking feeling set in, as I began to realize what this was. Pokemon square was attacked, while I was gone. Craters marred the landscape, and many of the buildings, even Lexie's bar, were in ruins.
"What the hell happened here?" I asked out loud, though nobody seemed to be around to hear me. My senses alerted me to something, and I braced myself. Latias slammed into me, not long after, harder than she ever has before. Poor girl looked like she was in bad shape, going off the bandages she was sporting.
"Zerrie…thank Arceus you're back. We tried to get someone let you know, but we weren't able to signal Dialga, until a couple minutes ago." She pulled away, grabbing one of my hands in the same motion, before pulling me. "C'mon. I'll…take you to the others. We're all incapacitated right now, and Melanie's resting."
As we reached the outpost, I saw that it was also damaged, though not bad enough to make it unusable. The others were very happy to see that I was back, though, nobody was really able to get up right now. Latias was the second least injured out of everyone, explaining why she was up and about. Mewtwo had some light scratches, but was otherwise unharmed.
"Mewtwo…what happened?" I asked him.
"Your senses, that feeling you had? It was right." Mewtwo said quietly, just as he wrapped me up in a tight hug. "We were attacked, by a Pokemon. I've never seen anything like it, other than glimpses from your memory. Orange and teal, with its arms twisted up into the shape of a double helix."
"Deoxys." I said out loud. This is not good…at all. I knew it, I bloody knew it. Should've warned Rayquaza that he was on the asteroid. Should've figured that my senses were telling me something was very wrong. "Damn it." I growled.
"There's…more. Though most of the townsfolk escaped, Alakazam's team…they…"Mewtwo fell silent, realizing that I knew what he was gonna say next. I sighed, loudly, before shaking my head. "I fought Deoxys off, myself, but I've been injured as well. Melanie healed me first, since I was our strongest at the time."
"I'm not just gonna let him get away with this." I growled, before gently pulling away. "Stay here, guard the girls. I'm going to the Sky Tower."
"On your own? Sorry, Zeryph, but…are you nuts?" Mewtwo then shook his head. "Nevermind. Going for Rayquaza is the right call. Just…promise me you won't fight Deoxys on your own."
"I promise." I said, and at the same time, I opened a rift. "I'll be back when I can. Like I said, stay here, protect the girls. They'll need you here, since you're able to fight."
"And, Zeryph…one more thing. Lexie's been…" Mewtwo trailed off when I made a motion with one of my hands. I already know, likely to use her against me. If Deoxys sensed it, then he's going to use that against me.
"See you soon, everyone. I'll take Deoxys down, and I'll bring Lexie back." I turned, stepping through the rift. It snapped shut behind me, and I found Rayquaza lowering his head down to speak with me. "Rayquaza, I need your help. More than ever now, because…it's Deoxys. He attacked the village while I was training." I felt the rumble when Rayquaza growled.
"Say no more, chosen. He and I have a long…violent history. I'm more than happy to help you deal with this mess." He swept me up, settling me onto his back just behind his head. "You and your senses will guide me. We leave immediately." As Rayquaza took off into the air, I began to focus on my senses, spreading them out. It didn't take long for me to find Deoxys, but it's likely that he wants to be found.
"Just be careful, we could be flying right into a trap." I said quietly. "I found him. Where Baram town should be. It's likely he thinks that mass-casualties will draw us out."
"Well, he's right, in this case. Wish we would've caught him before this mess." Rayquaza oriented himself, flying towards the town at high speed. "What's our plan for this?"
"I'll face him for as long as I can manage. While you prepare yourself to Mega Evolve. I hope you recently picked up a meteor with enough energy, 'cause you're gonna need full power for this." I saw Rayquaza's head shift as he nodded. The flight to the town took no time at all, since he's way faster than anyone on my team. It felt almost as fast as teleporting, in fact. And his Mega form is even faster at full speed. Being able to go from the surface to orbit in seconds.
Rayquaza dove, and as he was close to the ground, I leapt from his back. I landed in a roll before slowing to a stop. Watching as he took off into the sky in a streak of emerald light. Baram town was totally wrecked. From both storm damage and the attack that hit it. Almost as soon as I landed, I felt a psychic force press down on my mental defenses, but they held strongly. Sorry, Mewtwo, but it looks like I can't keep the promise.
Moments after, Deoxys appeared. Yellow eyes staring down at me from behind his mask-like face. The strength of the hatred he was putting off, was unlike any I've ever sensed before.
"So…the Sky-beast and his ally finally make their appearance." Deoxys's voice was cold, metallic. Like there was no emotion at all, despite the potent hatred he was putting off. I felt my shadows shift, but used my training to calm myself. Already slipping into battle meditation as I sensed the impending fight.
"You should not have stayed to face me alone, Earthling." Deoxys moved in an instant, his right arms colliding with the blade of Sacred Sword as I summoned it just as fast. I used the inventory system to pull my weights off, as there was no way I would be able to with him bearing down on me. I unsealed my powers, in stages, then shifted into my Mega Form.
"Do you not speak?" Deoxys asked during the process. "No matter. You will fall, just as everyone else who has faced me." His form shifted, changing into the Attack Forme. He quickly began his assault, hitting extremely hard with whip-like swings of his arms. I found myself having to both dodge and block at the same time. Using both my new blade, and my shadows for when he predicted my movements. As he couldn't track them in the same way.
"What trickery is this?" He spoke again, grunting when one of my shadows struck him in the chest. Though he seemed barely fazed by it. "Hmmph. No matter. You must realize, child, you are no match for me." I found myself in a Psychic grip, before I felt the rushing air, and the painful impact with a tree. The tree broke under the force, and I tumbled to a stop. I wasn't able to get up before I found myself being slammed about. Karma for what I did to Gengar, I suppose.
"You are foolish, creature. I am leagues above what you are capable of. I spared those you call 'lovers,' because I want them to suffer, just as I want the Sky-beast to suffer." Deoxys wrapped two arms around my neck. "Farewell, creature." The pain stopped and the world went black as he made an abrupt movement with his arms. In the next instance, I was floating in the Distortion World.
"Well, that went poorly, didn't it?" Giratina asked, sounding amused.
"Oh, shut up." I growled, rubbing my neck, sore from where Deoxys snapped it just a moment ago. Indicating that my recovery time was much faster than I thought.
"I think I'm going to enjoy this. Go on, fight him again." Giratina said, before chuckling.
"Don't suppose I can convince you to help out on this one, can I?" I got a brief laugh in return.
"No, sorry. This mess is your responsibility. It's your mission after all. Besides, I thought you were supposed to be stronger." Giratina tilted his head. I could almost sense the smirk under that golden mask of his. Growling, I reached for my powers before opening a rift and leaving. Deoxys reacted with a moment of surprise, before attacking again.
"How? How are you not dead?" He looked past me, towards the rift as it closed. His eyes widened for a moment as they met Giratina's. "Oh…interesting. So, it seems that you aren't mortal, correct?" Deoxys narrowed his eyes, and I felt a chill go down my metal spine. "Oh, I will enjoy this."
Dexoys began to attack, once again, only now…he was vicious. Lashing out with attacks that even Mewtwo would have trouble defending against. Even without weights, I was having trouble. For the first time, I had to push myself to Stage Four. But, despite that, Deoxys still had the advantage, breaking through my guard in a short time by shifting into his Speed Forme. I felt a searing agony, and at the same time, lost feeling in anything below my waist. It wasn't hard to figure out I had just been cut in half.
I then felt another searing pain as I was speared through the chest. It wasn't long before I was waking up, back in one piece. Growling softly at Giratina's low chuckling over my second death in a row. I ignored him, though, and returned to the outside.
"Again? Why won't you just stay down?" Deoxys sounded annoyed. "So persistent, just like the rest of your kind. I can sense it now, you were human once…weren't you? Oh, and what's this…so familiar. Have I seen you before?" Deoxys wrapped two arms around my neck, squeezing so tightly that air was cut off right away.
"Maybe I have, maybe I have not. No matter. One human isn't very different from all the-" He was interrupted as an Aura Sphere impacted with his abdomen. He doubled over, dropping me as he stumbled slightly. His eyes flashed red, and he made a swipe for my neck. One which I narrowly avoided. "How dare you strike me, creature?" He growled. "No more quick deaths, I will make you suffer."
I felt him get ahold of one of my legs, before finding myself being thrown around. Much more violently than I had with Gengar, a little over a week ago. Every single hit that I took, hurt unlike anything I felt before, short of being cut in half, or the double impalement from Libra, a while back.
It wasn't very long before I found myself dying, again, either. But when I opened the rift, I was yanked through this time, and the assault continued. I could sense that same hatred, but now mixed with a burning fury unlike anything I've felt before, even from myself. Or even Mewtwo, and this was without a shadow transformation.
And it was growing rapidly, as Deoxys seemed to begin to realize I was someone that he knew. His swings becoming wilder as he sought to cause even more pain. It soon shifted from just throwing me around, to using Gravity to slam me into stuff even harder than he could with his physical strength. Each wave of one of his limbs sending me crashing into something.
Every inch of my body was in agonizing pain. Having realized my skeleton was metal, Deoxys began to use that to his advantage. Hitting me against stuff hard enough to break normal bones, but not enough to kill me. At least, not right away. Giratina decided he wasn't going to get involved, much to my annoyance. Stating that he wasn't actually part of the team, so he didn't have to.
Deoxys relented for a moment, letting go, before power began to flow over his arms. I then felt a series of strikes that were accompanied by agonizing pain. Seeing blood fly, my blood, and the pain in my abdomen. In a short time, I began to black out before waking up in the Distortion World once again. I held my abdomen, as, even with my wounds being fully healed…it still really, really hurt.
In moments, I was back outside, where Deoxys began to lay into me once again. Cripling my movement right away so I couldn't fight back, before lashing away with his limbs, sharpened by Psycho Cut. Every strike burned like fire, Deoxys's eyes taking on a deeper red color. He began to chuckle lowly, a sinister sound that would surely haunt me for a long time going forward.
"You never…should've allied…with the Sky-beast." Deoxys growled. Wrapping his arms around my neck once more in order to lift me up. Squeezing as he caught on to my heavy breathing, cutting off air. "You who dared to give the order to intervene. You who dared to help him stop my plans, not once, but twice. You who dared to make an enemy out of me." I felt another bout of agony when Deoxys delivered a strike that cut a deep gash across my abdomen. I felt the taste of blood in my mouth, and my consciousness began to fade once more.
"So, go ahead, die…again. But know this, I don't do this out of vengeance. However, I would be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying this." Deoxys chuckled lowly, a sound that rapidly faded as the loop repeated itself once more.
"Fucking…sadistic…asshole."I growled, a sound which grew louder when I heard Giratina chuckling. "Shut. It. You are not helping." I snapped at him.
"You're right, I'm not. In fact, I'm enjoying this." Ah, great. Wonderful. Giratina opened a rift and sent me back out. What the hell did I do to him to deserve this, anyway? I mean, I know he's supposed to be evil, but isn't he supposed to be on my side? Or is this because I wasn't using my powers the way he wanted me to?
Or does he just want me to learn a lesson about being overconfident? Or even, make sure that I'm hardened in preparation for what my team will face eventually.
"This would be more enjoyable if you weren't so damn quiet." Deoxys growled. I wasn't paying attention to him, instead using my senses to feel for where Rayquaza was. Even though my regenerations left me fully healed, they didn't recharge my Aura. And I was starting to slow down. I couldn't quite make the push to Stage Five yet. And with Deoxys constantly on the offensive, I wouldn't have the time to try for it.
"Maybe you would be more vocal if I tortured those weaklings you seem so attached to. Especially…the one with the white fur? A carrier, perhaps, of something very dear to both of you?" Deoxys chuckled lowly. "Going to spawn, hmm? What would you think of if I were to stop that ahead of time?"
That was what finally did it, the spark that made my eyes turn red as my shadows flared violently to life. Deoxys was quick to teleport backwards, out of my reach. Chuckling lowly, amusement in his eyes.
"Oh, seems I've struck a nerve. Alright then, come at me, creature." Deoxys taunted. I was happy to oblige, charging forward as I pushed into Stage Four, mixing in my Mega and letting my shadows flow freely. Deoxys dodged my attacks or even outright blocked them with ease. And for every strike he blocked, he lashed back with one of his own. Stinging pain breaking through my growing fury, the feeling of warm liquid in my fur as I felt myself begin to bleed once again.
Before long, Deoxys stopped blocking, instead choosing to dodge my attacks, occasionally throwing in taunts. But even as my fury grew, I was slowing down again. I began to catch the feeling, the fear of what happens when I let it loose. And because of this, I was knocked to the floor. Weakened, unable to move. Even if I were to regenerate again, I could feel that I was at my limit.
"Finally giving up? I thought you were stronger than this. Those dear friends of yours seemed to think so." Deoxys let out a low chuckle. "Maybe that little hostage of mine would be more fun. The Cinderace…what was her name?"
I could feel my powers waning, felt myself return to my base form as my seals were engaged again, automatically. Their stored energy needing to recharge. Even if I were to push it all the way to my eighth stage…without training for that, it was too risky.
[Chosen, I am prepared. Clear the way, and I'll hit him, myself.] Rayquaza called out. Hearing his voice in my mind was a major relief. I began to push myself up, using an Aura staff. Even in my weakened state, forming one was still something I did with ease.
"Are you still going to try to fight? Even though it's hopeless? Fool, I know everything you're capable of…and yet…you seem so much weaker than…" Deoxys's eyes widened for a moment. "Ah…now I see. Your past, is my future. If I take you out now, everything changes. But…it would seem that I'm only too late by a little over a week."
[Zeryph…your human form, use it.] Giratina spoke up. [I might've been enjoying watching you get your ass beat, but it ends now. Your Aura is weakening your shadows in your current form.] Listening to his words, I called upon my mana. Feeling a rush of warmth as my form changed into my human self. I felt a surge as my powers recharged. But I couldn't feel my Lucario form, at least for now. Likely too damanged to switch form, at least for now. This also tells me that changing forms can actually serve as a boost.
"Well…isn't that interesting? So, a human and a Lucario. You never showed such capabilities when I last saw you." Deoxys lashed out as he spoke, only to grunt in surprise when I caught his arms. Not with a hand, but with my shadows. A grin slowly broke out on my face as I felt Giratina's power flow over me. The same shadow cloak I had used in the Magma Cave, began to form over my body.
[BGM Suggestion]
[Led Zeppelin- Black Dog]
"Even though I may not be the same, it doesn't change the fact that you shouldn't underestimate me." I lashed out, delivering a right hook with shadows flowing over my right arm. Deoxys let out a grunt, stumbling backwards. "My Aura seems to weaken my shadows. But in my human form, they both exist in a nearly-perfect balance." It was true, I could feel it. Though I lacked a form that was more shadow focused…at least for now. Plus, Giratina was actually helping now, so there's that.
My senses caught an approaching signature, and I backed off. The shadows forming into a barrier as a deafening bang met my ears. There was a bright green flash just before, and Deoxys was launched off his feet, crashing to the ground not far away. The howling wind met my ears as the barrier fell, the power of the Delta Stream flowing around me like a second shield. Rayquaza nodded, smiling briefly, before turning his focus towards Deoxys.
"What took you so long?" I asked him.
"I was asked to wait just a little longer, in order to let you test yourself." Rayquaza admitted. "It was Dialga, he said that Giratina wanted you to learn something important. I see now that I was right to listen to his words."
"Heh." I smiled. "Leave it to Dialga to make sure things go as they should. I wonder, had he not asked you to wait…would I have discovered this bit about myself?"
"It's likely that you still would've, but it would take longer to do." Rayquaza said. "Well, that's what Dialga was saying, anyway." He turned his head slightly, his eyes widening as my shadows began to shift, and I felt Giratina rise up from a rift. Guess he wants to get in on this, for real.
"I shall be assisting Zeryph from here." Giratina spoke up. "Zeryph, I will guide your movements. You should still be able to use Sacred Sword, even with your shadow cloak."
I formed the blade in my right hand, much faster than I had on my first cast. With the shadows, it had taken on a much more wicked appearance, its edge becoming serrated. Almost like that of a Daedric weapon.
"Just like last time." Deoxys pushed himself up, groaning in pain. He was in worse shape than before, Dragon Ascent had done a number on him. "Every time…your blasted beasts jump in to help out. First the Sky-beast, and now…this…thing."
"I take offense to that." Giratina growled back. "At least I wasn't a bunch of space gunk before I came to life, unlike you." He chuckled when Deoxys growled. "Zeryph, he's all yours. Kick his ass."
"No, we do this together. Rayquaza, you ready?" I asked. When Rayquaza nodded, I shifted into a stance, then charged forward, lifting my blade for a high swing. With the shadow cloak and the Delta Stream, when Deoxys tried to blast me backwards, it did nothing. As I struck, Deoxys let out a sound. Whether it was from pain or annoyance, I'm not sure. Still, my blade drew blood as it should've.
I then grabbed him by the arms, before whirling around and tossing him. Leaping into the air as a Shadow Ball whirled to life in my left hand, courtesy of Giratina's guidance. As I slammed it down, Deoxys was blasted into the ground. I was already beginning to pick up the signs of Rayquaza's Hyperbeam charging, I just need to set him up for it.
He can't fire it at the ground, as it's far too strong to safely do that, especially at full power. Giratina's head turned upwards, catching onto what I was thinking. I backed off, allowing Deoxys to pick himself up. He began to try to teleport, but a quick use of Disable, something Mewtwo taught me, shut that down right away.
Counting down the timer to when Rayquaza was ready to fire, I began to press the attack. I stopped fighting the way I did as a Lucario, as that would only slow me down. Though my human form doesn't have its own style, yet…I plan to see what I can do to learn one. One that makes use of both sides of my power.
Even through his blocks, Deoxys was being worn down, quickly. Yet he managed to remain calm. Or at least, it seemed like he was. It was hard to tell, since he can't really show emotion outside of how his eyes change. As the countdown neared zero, I felt the shadows move on their own as Giratina took over. Grabbing on, we both put our power into it, throwing Deoxys high enough that there wouldn't be a risk.
Rayquaza locked on, tracking his ascent, then at the apex of Deoxys's unplanned flight, just as he began to recover and shift into levitation, Rayquaza fired. The shadows flared up as a shield, protecting me from the massive backblast that kicked outwards from the shot. The ground crunched beneath Rayquaza, and trees were uprooted under the force as the blast wave turned the area around him into a crater.
As for Deoxys, caught in the beam with nowhere to go, he was gone in an instant. A grin formed on my face, knowing that we'd won. Rayquaza's form shifted back to normal and the Delta Stream faded along with it. I felt the shadows fade as Giratina began to return to the Distortion World. Of course, my boosted strength didn't last long, either. A wave of fatigue slammed into me like a train, and I dropped to the ground, suddenly feeling exhausted.
I felt three new signatures appear, just as I sat down with a tired huff. The sisters flew into what was left of Baram town, returning soon after with Lexie held in a telekinetic grip. She was in rough shape, and knocked out, but she was alive. I felt an immense wave of relief, something which softened the exhaustion if only just a little bit. There was another flash as Dialga appeared. He tapped the ground, and the damage done by Deoxys began to steadily mend itself.
Before long, citizens started to emerge from the rubble as it shifted back into place. And pretty soon, I found myself being hoisted up by a cheering crowd. I laughed and smiled along with them all as they cheered my name. It didn't take long before they settled down, once they were told that I needed to rest.
I of course, said that I didn't do all the work. Gesturing to both Giratina and Rayquaza. Though the citizens were understandably fearful of the Legends, they still said their thanks. Rayquaza only said that he was simply doing his job as a protector against the outside, and soon went on to leave. While Giratina soaked up the positive attention like a sponge. I could sense the smirk even with his golden mask in the way.
As the day wound down into the evening, I started to walk back to the outpost. I had the sisters take Lexie on ahead, as I wanted to walk alone for a bit. Use the time to think over…everything that had just happened.
[Break]
Just a couple hours into my walk, my senses alerted me to something. A blue-violet flash that appeared in my view, and what came from within was…unexpected to say the least. A human, male from the looks. His high-tech suit worn under a lab coat was something that would look out of place, even back in my normal time.
"Huh? This wasn't where I was intending to go, at all." He said to himself, out loud. Then he turned towards me. "A Lucario? Hm…green eyes. Interesting. I can't say I've seen any like that before."
"And I can't say that I've seen or heard of anyone else time traveling. Outside a set few." I said back, earning a look of surprise. One which grew as I shifted into my human form.
"Fascinating. I've never heard of such tech before." He scratched at his chin. Not tech, but magic, something which he doesn't need to know about. At least, not for a little while longer. "What might your name be?"
"Zeryph, though…I'm surprised there's someone who hasn't heard of it." I said. "And, you are?"
"Professor Turo, a pleasure." We shook hands. There wasn't any indication of the timeline glitching out, thankfully, so he must've also come from some point in the past. "Would you mind telling me where we are?"
"Between Baram Town and Pokemon Square." I said. I sensed the pulse from energy that signaled Dialga's arrival. Whatever Turo did must've caught his attention right away.
"My intended arrival time…doesn't have either of those things. Interesting…so, I must've gone too far forward, then." Turo's gaze shifted from me, to somewhere just behind me. His eyes widening in alarm.
"Human. You are messing with very dangerous technology." Dialga spoke up. He had taken his human form, yet, Turo seemed to recognize him, regardless. "Have I not warned you before?"
"You never told me about this." I spoke up. "Humans with the means to time travel, I mean."
"I didn't feel like it was necessary. Not for a while longer, at least." Dialga admitted. "But since Ash isn't part of the Paldea stuff, you might be able to handle that sooner than planned."
"You're working with Dialga?" Turo asked me.
"Not just him, but yes. I'm in contact with Arceus, and all six of His children. I don't know exactly what's going on, but…if things get out of hand, I may be tasked with intervening." I said.
"I see. Well, the last thing I want to do is cause any trouble. For you or the Creators." Turo said. "I'm afraid I can't stay long. And, Zeryph…right? May we meet again, some day." He started to fade away, and was gone before I could say anything else.
"If his experiments get out of hand, you might just see him again, much sooner than either of you think." Dialga said. "It's not the first time that I've caught him moving around. Him, or the other Professor, Sada. I have warned them both explicitly. But I worry that things may go well off course if they're not careful."
"Does Turo meeting me now have any effect?" I asked.
"No. Other than him and Sada already knowing who you are. They'll recognize you when you get around to Paldea, but nothing major other than that." Well, that's a relief. "Of course, your encounter may also spark a bit of a small note about a green-eyed Lucario. But that's not of any consequence. Word will have spread around Kalos of such an appearance, too." Dialga smiled. "The more your timeline grows and changes, the more fascinating it gets. Celebi has been eagerly exploring all of them as best she can. She said, and I quote; "This is the most fun I've had in years."
"Hehehehe." I chuckled. "Sounds like her, actually. It's too bad Samuel turned down the Time Walker position. He would've had a lot of fun getting to explore with her, again."
"Well, at the very least, they've reunited. Rekindling an old friendship from a long time ago. She stops in to visit every now and then." Dialga began preparing to teleport away, after returning to his normal form. Which reminded me to shift back into a Lucario, as well. "By the way, I don't know if you sensed it or not, but shortly after…nevermind. Wouldn't want to risk a paradox, after all. Be seeing you soon, and, good work with Deoxys." Dialga then disappeared.
Wonder what he was going to say. After my visit with…Xerneas, I assume. But, what did he mean by that? Was it just a case of my timeline almost crossing itself, perhaps? Dangerous business, that…for many…many reasons. But it tells me that my future self isn't as gone as Camilla thinks he…I…am. Once again, time travel shows that it's just too complicated to understand without getting a headache from simply trying.
Encountering Turo was interesting, though. Makes me wonder if my Legends stuff might see a potential visit from Sada, as well. Speaking of the time travel stuff though, the brief encounter with Turo brings up something else. The Paradox Pokemon, like the ones seen in Area Zero. More specifically, Korraidon and Miraidon. I know I'll be meeting them eventually. But that makes me wonder if…well, if they're allowed to stay, then what effect do they have on things? Obviously it depends on a lot more than simply befriending them, 'cause let's be honest…I'm befriending basically every Legend nowadays. Deoxys is, or rather was, the first one to genuinely hate me.
As far as teams go, which one would I want to have along? Could be either, really, and personally I'm leaning towards Korraidon. Despite how Miraidon looks kinda like the Pokemon equivalent of a Synth. Actually, now that I think of it, they could both end up wanting to stick with me. Question is going to be how far that bond goes, as well.
Given how I have a habit of forming bonds that are more than just friendship. But, even so…I think I'm almost at my limit of what I can handle. I mean sure, Melanie has that side to her. And I think it's possible that the other girls sleep together on occasion, based on what they've said about Melanie. Mewtwo gets involved as well, of course. Though I'd think that it's a lesser extent with him.
Assuming he can even breed, anyway. Team Rocket could've designed him and Libra both to be sterile, for all I know. Without any DNA testing, I wouldn't know for sure. And it's not like I can just ask Oak for that, either. Course, having visited Kalos, I could ask Professor Sycamore about a DNA test.
Nevermind all that, just me rambling to myself, really. I continued my walk back to Pokemon Square, and was pleasantly surprised upon finding everyone waiting for me. Being enveloped in a group hug, then dragged off to celebrate what I'd done. The Rescue Team organization even saw fit to promote my team straight to the highest rank just because of…everything really. It wasn't necessary, but I wasn't going to complain about it. I'm not about to let the fame go to my head, either.
The unexpected party ended up lasting until pretty late at night. By then, between the hell of a fight that I had earlier in the day, on top of the celebration…I was dead tired. So much so that when I opened the base portal, I let Melanie know ahead of time that she'd be bringing the others in. I was out pretty much as soon as I touched my real bed. I didn't feel a shift from anyone coming up to join me, so it's likely they all decided to just let me sleep.
Notes:
I was originally going to push Zeryph into his Shadow form for this, but I figured there was a certain someone who would violently object to that. While Giratina basically allowed Zeryph to lose over and over again, he had his own reasons. He believes that it was to teach Zeryph that focusing only on his Aura and his strength as a Lucario wouldn't be enough. That neglecting his training with his shadows would only weaken him.
Giratina wants him to rely on using the dark, something which Gurkinn's Lucario didn't want him to do. As using dark power normally goes against a Lucario's nature. For now, Zeryph lacks the means to use his shadows effectively. Even if he's in his human form. And as his future self hinted, it takes him a few months to learn of his other form. A Lucario form that's very strong with Aura, which he already has, and a Zoroark form that's very powerful as a Void Reaper. With his human form being the balance in between them.
Also, that little bit there with Turo wasn't originally planned for this, but given how he and Sada were working on time travel, I felt like Turo could end up meeting Zeryph early due to a miscalculation. And as stated by Dialga, because Ash didn't go to Paldea, Zeryph could do the Gen 9 stuff at an earlier time. But that won't be for a little bit longer, since I'm thinking the next major thing is going to be Ferrum.
