Chapter 31: Runaway Shadows

Alaria City, 30 minutes ago…

Echo, Cherry, and Sigma were currently in the hotel they had checked into, knowing that they would be taking a small break here in Alaria City. As they waited in the Hotel Room, Cherry was on her laptop typing some notes, Sigma was reading a book in a chair, and Echo was pacing around the room with her arms crossed. "You know that pacing won't make them get here faster right?" Sigma told Echo from his chair, not looking up from his book.

"I know, but I just have this feeling that something bad is going to happen." Echo responded, a hint of anxiety in her voice.

"Fair enough, given what we have been through. That said, you should probably cool it for a bit." Cherry said.

"No." Echo said, a small smile on her face. Sigma sighed before closing the book he was reading and looking at Echo with a smile.

"How about we make a bit then? If I win, you make a good attempt to stop worrying about Hibiki so much… well as much as you can anyway. If you win, I will give you a good chunk of my money." Sigma offered.

"That sounds tempting. How much would that be and what would the bet involve?" Echo asked, a tad curious about the offer.

"The bet is simple, nothing bad will happen before Hibiki gets here. As for the money, how does 500,000 Pokedollars sound?" Sigma responded. Cherry stopped typing on her keyboard as both she and Echo turned to look at Sigma with surprised looks. "I did tell you that they paid me well back at Neo Cypher." Sigma said, a sad smile on his face.

"You were not kidding. How many years of savings is that?" Cherry asked.

"I would say about two and a half years. Keep in mind, I am very stingy with my money, especially given where I got it, and I do send about half to sis." Sigma explained.

"Ok if they're willing to shill out that much money, then it's no wonder Neo Cypher came back so fast. You got a bet Sigma." Echo said, walking up to him to shake his hand. Sigma obliged and the two shook on it as Echo looked at her bag and walked over to it. "Still, that information does tell us something important. Either someone with a lot of cash is backing Neo Cypher or they have done a lot of heisting across the world." Echo commented as she reached into her bag and pulled out a notebook.

"I didn't really give it much thought when I joined, but thinking about it now, the first option makes the most sense." Sigma said.

"That is probably the best guess, mainly because I don't believe there have been massive amounts of cash stolen from anywhere. I'll talk with Looker or Anabell once I get the chance later today." Cherry told the two, making a mental note.

"On a somewhat different topic, what was that Dome we walked past?" Sigma questioned.

"Oh, that was the Desert Tera Dome. It's a habitat for displaced Pokemon that was built after The Surge." Echo explained.

"Yeah I imagine infrastructure as you knew it shutting down for a few hours would probably cause some long lasting damage." Sigma commented.

"Exactly as you said, due to the loss of monitoring equipment and our Pokemon League creasing into the ground, a lot of Pokemon were dispersed from their areas. Additionally, it seemed like the surge in EM Field above the region made some of the Pokemon go a little stir crazy, becoming generally more agitated." Cherry continued, getting back to her computer.

"...God I just realized that's probably why they chose this region to be a big hub. Actually Sigma, surprised that I never asked this earlier, but where exactly did you travel while you were in Neo Cypher?" Echo said.

"Let me think back, cause I've been to a few regions in my time there." Sigma responded. Sigma went silent as he mentally went through the timeline in his head, making motions with his hands before remembering something and reaching into his backpack to grab a picture book. "Forgot I had this for a second." Sigma said as he opened up the picture book.

"You really took photos in every region you went to?" Echo questioned.

"Hey, we weren't always looking to steal pokemon, some grunts literally came along on these missions and disappeared to relax, me being one of them." Sigma responded, a smile on his face. Echo giggled at that thought as Sigma flipped through the book and reminisced for a bit. "God it's weird to see this now." Sigma commented, giving a sad smile as he flipped through the pages.

"Sigma, the regions you went to?" Echo reminded, in a caring tone.

"Hm? Oh right. Uh, just looking through this I've been to Johto, Galar, Sinnoh, and Valguard." Sigma responded.

"That is a fair bit of traveling that you did. That was just in the time you were there?" Cherry asked.

"Yeah, that's just what I visited. From what I remember hearing from other grunts, they had been all around the world, usually for no more than a week at a time. I should also say that there are obviously other, smaller bases aside from the one here in Alaria if that wasn't obvious already." Sigma explained.

"Makes sense given what you've told us, though that is going to be an issue we'll have to address at some point." Cherry said.

"You know I'm glad the three of us could talk amongst ourselves, but I'm a tad curious when Hibiki will be getting here." Echo commented. Almost as if on cue, the three felt the building shake a little, earning a sigh from Echo as she got up and walked to the window.

"Ah, I think it was the feeling of 500,000 Pokedollars leaving my wallet." Sigma said in a playful tone as he sighed.

"We'll talk about that in a bit." Echo said as she looked out the window. As soon as she did, she immediately rushed to her bag and packed her things. "Smoke is coming from the direction of the Desert Terra Dome, we have to go now." Echo told the two in a rushed voice. Cherry and Sigma nodded before quickly getting what they needed and rushing out of the hotel. Around the same time, a pair of people, a man and teenage girl, had seen the smoke as well and were looking at it as Echo's group ran past them.

"Hey isn't that…?" the man asked.

"It was, come on we have to help them big bro." the girl said before sprinting after Echo. The man held out a hand to stop her, before sighing and rushing to catch up to her.

Desert Tera Dome, Present day…

As Adagio and Hibiki entered the dome, they passed several people running out of the dome. "Well at least people are smart about this." Hibiki told Adagio. Adagio nodded as they walked forward and continued on into the main part of the dome, both putting on goggles so they wouldn't be bothered by any sandstorms. When they emerged, they found that there was indeed a sandstorm along with a good amount of panicking people and Pokemon.

"Help me get these people to safety." Adagio said. Hibiki nodded and walked towards a group of people, calming them down and pointing them towards the exit. Thinking about the Pokemon, she let out Skuld and told her to get the panicking pokemon to safety. After a few minutes of evacuating, Hibiki and Adagio met up again with Skuld close by making sure everyone was evacuated.

"Evacuation seems to be done, now we just need to figure out what caused the explosion. I'm going to kick myself for saying this, but I hope it's something simple." Hibiki said as she looked around. As she did so, they heard a massive boom in the distance and turned just in time to see a Garchomp slinging in the sand a good distance away, making the three duck down to avoid being seen. The Garchomp got up before roaring as Hibiki saw a pitch black aura flare up around him, earning a sigh from Hibiki, before a Heidreigon came into view and the Garchomp rushed forward, chasing after its prey. "...Oh me and big mouth." Hibiki said as she stood up.

"Ok, so a rampaging Garchomp and Heidreigon fighting each other, one or both of which are Shadow Pokemon judging by that sigh you made." Adagio commented.

"That would be the case. Ho boy, this is going to be a thing." Hibiki agreed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You know you should probably leave this to me right? You don't have to catch them right now." Adagio offered.

"True, but I wouldn't feel right leaving them to you even if they seem to be fighting each other." Hibiki responded as Skuld nodded in agreement. Adagio sighed as she paused for a moment before stepping in front of Hibiki.

"All right then, but the second it seems like too much for you to handle, get out of here and leave it to me." Adagio said, putting a hand on Hibiki's head. Hibiki simply nodded as the three of them continued forward through the sandstorm to find where those Pokemon ended up. Eventually, the two came across two seemingly unconscious Noise Grunts, one male and one female in the sand, the girl having a Flygon next to them barely conscious. "Oh that's not good." Adagio said as she quickly ran up to one of the grunts.

"Did those Pokemon do this to them?" Hibiki asked as she and Skuld checked on the Flygon.

"Yeah… they did." the female grunt said as she slowly managed to get up to her knees.

"Easy now." Adagio said as she helped the grunt to her feet.

"I'm fine, managed to evade most of the damage, though that's mainly because of Break drawing them away. We would be dead without her doing that." the grunt said as she dusted themselves off.

"Break is here? What exactly were you planning to do here anyway?" Adagio questioned.

"Honestly, just cause some trouble and nothing more, like we were ordered to. It's not our fault those weird Pokeballs that Nel gave to Break suddenly activated and let out those monsters." the grunt explained. Adagio was a bit surprised by that answer, Hibiki also listening in, before another roar was heard as a clash happened.

"Get yourself and your friend out of here now, leave this to us. I would put you under arrest, but I am being nice this time." Adagio ordered in an authoritative tone. The grunt simply nodded without a word and motioned for her Flygon, who was now in better shape thanks to Hibiki, to come as she grabbed her friend. The three then flew off towards the exit to the dome, leaving Adagio, Hibiki, and Skuld alone again.

"Ok, this just got more complicated." HIbiki said as they continued walking.

"I'll say, what would Nel gain by doing this?" Adagio pondered.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling that Neo Cypher might be trying to frame her. It is entirely possible that she did this willingly, but this will be something that we look into later. Right now, we have a much bigger problem to deal with." Hibiki said. Adagio simply nodded as the group continued forward towards where the roars came from, Skuld feeling a bit nervous about what they were about to face. Eventually, the two trainers found Garchomp and Hydreigon at the bottom of a cliff, fighting in a manmade colosseum of rocks.

"Is that Break?" Hibiki asked, noticing two figures on the edge of the cliff. As the two got closer, they saw a girl with headphones and a Team Noise outfit looking nervously at the two battling Pokemon with a Excadrill.

"Break!" Adagio called out. Break turned and looked a bit nervous when she saw Adagio walking up to her, with her Excadrill taking a defensive stance.

"Miss Adagio! To what do I owe the pleasure of you coming here?" Break asked as innocently as possible.

"You know exactly why we're here, Break. Given what I heard from your grunts though, you are in the clear if you help us and explain what happened." Adagio explained as they walked up.

"More than happy to, but we may need to hold the explanations for after we take care of these two." Break said.

"Fair enough, what have they been doing? Just fighting with each other ever since they came out?" Hibiki asked as they joined Break in looking at them.

"Yep, ever since they broke out of their balls. If I had to pick one that has more of an advantage here, it would be the Hydreigon as it seems to be fiercer and on the offensive more." Blast responded.

"Yeah that makes sense, especially since this Garchomp seems to be getting thrown around." Adagio said. As Blast was about to make a comment, the Garchomp grabbed Hydreigon by the tail and tossed it into the wall below the trainers. The vibrations caused the part of the cliff that Adagio, Hibiki, and Break were on to crumble and break, causing the trainers and Pokemon to fall down into the arena. The Hydreigon took no notice of this and immediately went back to attacking the Garchomp.

"Ok, this just got a lot more dangerous." Hibiki said in a low voice.

"And two rampaging Dragon Pokemon didn't clue you into that? That shadowy aura around them really doesn't make them less intimidating." Break responded in a terrified tone. Adagio simply nodded in silence before pausing and thinking about what Break had just said.

"You can see auras around them?" Adagio asked in a serious tone.

"Yeah, can't the two of you?" Break questioned, in a panicked tone. Hibiki quickly looked back at the two Pokemon, noting the auras that were visible on her display, before lifting her goggles and staring in shock as she saw the same auras clear as day.

"Oh no." Hibiki said in a terrified tone. Break was quiet for a moment before remembering something Nel had told her about Shadow Pokemon and immediately feeling her blood turn cold.

"...Change of plans then. Seeing as what you said is true, we can't let these two rampage for much longer. This is incredibly stupid, but it needs to be done." Adagio told the two trainers.

"Do I have to help out?" Break asked nervously.

"Help Hibiki take down one of them and I will personally see that you get off with just an interview at IPP Headquarters." Adagio said. Break paused for a moment before nodding in agreement to the terms as her Excadrill walked up to her, staring at the two monsters in front of them. "Good, then like I'll focus on the Hydreigon while you two try to take down the Garchomp. Remember that these two are more than likely going to attack you, so be ready to dodge if you need to." Adagio ordered as she got out an Ultra Ball.

"...Ok, I guess we're doing this." Hibiki said as she got up with Break right behind her. Skuld and Excadrill both looked at each other before sighing and walking up to their respective trainers. Adagio nodded and called out her Kingambit before heading walking forward and pointing at two shadow Pokemon.

"Metal Sound!" Kingambit nodded and let out a mighty roar as a wave of sound passed over the two Pokemon, alerting them to the human's presence.

"Use Dig on the Garchomp." Excadrill nodded as he dug into the ground and moved towards the Garchomp before coming up and hitting its mark, knocking the Garchomp back a bit.

"Skuld, follow it up with Steel Wing." Skuld quickly flew towards the Garchomp and got a hit in that looked like it didn't do anything, but did manage to catch his attention. As Hydreigon looked at his former combatant before looking back at Kingambit who simply motioned for Hydreigon to come and fight. Hydreigon roared and immediately dashed toward Kingambit, the two clashing for a moment before stepping back and observing each other.

"Kingambit, use Rock Tomb!" Kingambit put its hand in the ground before lifting a rock and tossing it at the Hydreigon. Hydreigon dodged out of the way before launching a blast of dragonnic energy towards Kingambit.

"Protect and follow it up with Shadow Claw!" Kingambit put a barrier around himself before using the resulting smokescreen to get up close and slashed at Hydreigon with his attack. Hydreigon flinched a bit before his eyes went wide with anger and his shadow aura flared up. "Ho boy." Adagio said to herself. The Hydreigon quickly dashed forward and tackled Kingambit, knocking him back before turning towards Adagio with a ferocious look in its eyes as it charged towards her.

"Kingambit!" Kingambit quickly stepped in front of the Hydreigon and held it back, the two locking eyes as Kingambit tossed the Hydreigon away from them. "I had heard Shadow Pokemon were vicious towards humans, but that is something else." Adagio said to herself. Adagio gave a quick glance about the arena before looking at Hibiki and Break fighting the Garchomp. "How are you two doing?" Adagio called out.

"Managing for now, you'll know if we need help." Hibiki responded. Adagio nodded as she turned her focus back to Hydreigon, who roared as they charged at Kingambit.

"You know some help would be nice." Break told Hibiki in an annoyed tone.

"Oh right, Skuld, take to the sky and use Aerial Ace." Skuld nodded and jumped before attacking Garchomp, staying in the sky so they wouldn't take damage. In response, Garchomp turned to Excadril and charged at him with a wild look in it's eyes.

"Excadrill, dodge and Rock Slide." Excadrill obliged as it dodged the Garchomp at it before putting one of its drills into the ground as he lobbed a barrage of rocks at the Garchomp. Garchomp dodged out of the way before turning to the sky in time to see Skuld diving down and striking it with another Aerial Ace.

"Nice job Skuld, keep your distance and focus on distracting him." Skuld nodded as she dodged a rock that was thrown at her, making the Garchomp a tad more furious. Garchomp then roared as its shadow aura flared and opened its mouth before launching a volley of small balls of shadow that started to home in on Skuld. "Of course he would start using Shadow Moves. Skuld, Protect!" Skuld stopped and hovered as she put up a barrier that blocked the attack, but did cause her to start moving towards the ground.

"Excadrill, use Poison Jab!" Excadrill quickly ran up to Garchomp as it was attacking Skuld before delivering several quick jabs to Garchomp's side. Garchomp glared at Excadrill, not being very damaged, before kneeling as it felt the effect of poison kick in. "All right." Break cheered. Garchomp immediately glared at Break before roaring and stomping his foot into the ground, causing an violent Earthquake that damaged Excadrill and caused Break to fall on her butt.

"Skuld, a distraction with Shadow Ball!" Skuld nodded before launching a ball of shadow at Garchomp, which he quickly slapped away before looking at Excadrill and charging at his target. Garchomp quickly dove into the ground as he dug under towards Excadrill, who braced for impact only to feel Garchomp go past him. Realizing what Garchomp's target was, Excadrill quickly ran in front of Break and used Protect to form a barrier around the two as Garchomp emerged from the ground and slammed into it. Break yelped as she scrambled to get behind her Excadril who was struggling to hold the barrier, which was cracking under the force of Garchomp's attack.

"Hibiki, some help would be nice!" Break yelled out of fear. Hibiki nodded from the side and looked around for something to use to distract the Garchomp before looking up to Skuld. Skuld nodded before diving down at Garchomp and slashing at its back with her sword while Hibiki ran up to the attacking Pokemon. Garchomp, now a tad annoyed at Skuld's constant attacks, eased up slightly to slap her away with her tail and sent Skuld into the wall. Taking the opportunity, Hibiki grabbed Garchomp's Tail and pulled with all her might, managing to catch Garchomp off guard as Break got away. "You crazy you know that right?" Break said.

"Yep!" Hibiki said, letting go of Garcomps tail and running away. Garchomp quickly turned to Hibiki and glared for a second before charging at her. Thinking quickly, Hibiki paused for a moment before running back and sliding under the Garchomp as it tried to bite her. Hibiki then got up and grabbed on the back of the Garchomp, holding on for dear life as Garchomp tried to buck her off.

"Yep, definitely like her grandmother. Adagio, we have a problem!" Break said as Break made sure Excadrill was ok. Adagio turned to see what was going on before sighing at the sight of what Hibiki was doing.

"Ok…guess I should finish up here and make it quick." Adagio said as she looked back at Hydreigon. Hydreigon roared as it became cloaked in shadow energy and charging at Kingambit, who was looking battered. "Endure it and stop him." Kingambit nodded as he stood still and held his hands out as Hydreigon crashed into him, pushing Kingambit back due to the force. Hydreigon kept charging and pushing Kingambit back, who had an incredibly pained look on his face, until Kingambit managed to stop the charging Pokemon.

"Reversal!" Kingambit opened his eyes wide before grabbing Hydreigon by the neck and starting to spin him around. Eventually, Kingambit let Hydreigon go and was flung into one of the colosseum walls, causing a big chunk of the wall to and burying it under the resulting rubble. Kingambit then grunted as he fell to one knee and panted out of exhaustion, clearly not in a state to continue fighting.

"You did good Kingambit, get your rest." Adagio told her partner. Kingambit nodded as he returned to his Pokeball, Adagio giving a quick smile as she picked out another of her team members and ran towards Break. As she ran, Garchomp was getting incredibly frustrated with Hibiki desperately holding on to its back, so he decided to finally do something. Garchomp roared before it's shadow aura flared and it stomped the ground, causing dark cracks to form in the ground,

"Oh boy." Hibiki said as she looked at the cracks. After a few seconds, the cracks exploded with shadow energy, causing a large explosion that forced Adagio and Break to get down to avoid the majority of the blast. Hibiki, being on the back of Garchomp, wasn't able to hold on being in the center of the blast and attempted to get off, but was thrown off and landed on her back behind Garchomp as the explosion faded.

"Hibiki!" Adagio and Break called out as they saw her fall on the ground. Garchomp turned around as Hibiki looked up at the vicious Pokemon, who had a sadistic grin on his face as he looked at her. Garchomp lunged at Hibiki, who was still getting up, when Skuld dove in front of HIbiki and put up a Protect around them.

"Thanks Skuld." HIbiki said as she got up. Skuld nodded as she kept holding Garchomp back, her barrier cracking very rapidly under the force of Garchomp's attacks. As the barrier was about to break, Excadrill came in and tackled Garchomp away from Skuld, followed by Adagio's Stageon.

"Are you ok Hibiki?" Adagio asked as she ran and helped her up.

"I'm fine, just a bit shaken." Hibiki said, cracking her back. When she turned to face Adagio, she was met by a slap from her before being pulled into a hug.

"You worry us with your recklessness, you know that?" Adagio told Hibiki in a relieved tone.

"...Yeah, comes with the family I guess. Sorry." Hibiki responded in a bashful tone, rubbing the back of her head.

"Trust me, I know you can handle yourself, so don't think I'm lecturing you on that. Just try to think of your friends and team before you do that stuff again." Adagio said before dashing to help Break fight the Garchomp. Hibiki was about to join her when she saw Skuld fly over to her and give her a hug, one which Hibiki returned in confusion before she realized something.

"You're worried about me, aren't you?" Hibiki asked Skuld. Skuld simply nodded in response, making Hibiki sigh before giving a smile. "I guess that stunt was a little extra, even for me. Still, I am happy that you're worrying about me. It means that I'm getting through to your heart." Hibiki said. Skuld blushed before she landed on the ground and turned towards Garchomp, Hibiki walking next to her and sprayed her with a Super Potion. "One last thing Skuld, thanks for giving me a shot as your trainer. I may not be the best or brightest, but I'm very happy to have saved you back then." Hibiki told Skuld.

"If you two are done talking, we could use the help!" Break yelled as she ducked behind a rock. Hibiki and SKuld looked at each other before nodding as Skuld took flight and flew towards Garchomp, her body starting to glow white as it did so. Garchomp was fending off Stageon and Excadrill when it noticed Skuld plying towards him and put up a Protect, with Skuld's sword clashing against the barrier.

"That light…" Adagio said to herself. As the glow grew brighter, Skuld grew taller, her wings became bigger and another pair appeared, and her sword grew longer as she flew into the sky. When the glow faded, Skuld now looked like a valkyrie about the height of Gardevoir, with 4 wings, a long broadsword and shield in her right and left hands respectively, a helmet with wings, a chest plate, armored skirt, and boots. "She did it again." Adagio said, a smile on her face.

"So you did evolve again. … All right Skuld, let's show this Garchomp what you're made of." Skuld nodded in response to that before pointing her sword at Garchomp and flying towards Garchomp, who looked very done with this fight. Garchomp roared as he prepared to slash at Skuld, but she gracefully dodged and flew right up to Garchomp before dealing a strong slash to it.

"Skuld, dodge and use Swords Dance." Skuld did as she was told, dodging a tail swipe from Garchomp as she sharpened her blade. Garchomp then roared as he charged towards Hibiki, attempting to elicit a response from Skuld.

"Stageon, use Sticky Web." From behind Garchomp, a white web fell over him and stopped him in his tracks. He turned and looked at Adagio's Stageon who simply gave a smile before dashing to her trainer's side. Before Garchomp could respond, Skuld landed in front of him as she encased her sword in a red light and slashing at him, causing Garchomp to scream in pain as he felt a burn. Garchomp, incredibly fed up with the attacks, roared and flared his shadow aura, causing Skuld the fly to Hibiki's side. The shadow Aura engulfed Garchomp before he looked at Hibiki and Skuld with glowing red eyes and charging at the two.

"I say we finish this, don't you agree Skuld?" Hibiki asked. Skuld nodded as she stepped in front of Hibiki, putting her sword in her sheath and putting one of her hands on it. Skuld closed her eyes as Garchomp closed the distance, hearing the footfalls of the charging Pokemon. "Skuld, Sacred Sword!" Skuld opened her eyes and drew her sword, which was glowing a brilliant white, before slashing at Garchomp, who screamed in pain as it slid to a stop in front of Hibiki. Hibiki quickly got out a Snag Ball and let it fall on Garchomp, who was absorbed as it shook three times and clicked.

"And that is Checkmate." Adagio said with a smile.

Hibiki breathed out as put the Snag Ball away before walking up to the now evolved Skuld and hugging her. "I know I shouldn't be surprised by you evolving into a Valkenshi, but I am and I'm very happy for did an amazing job Skuld, I'm incredibly proud of you. " Hibiki told her. Skuld nodded and gave a smile before she felt her legs give out as she slumped forward in Hibiki's arms. "That being said, you should rest. You've more than earned it." Hibiki said, returning Skuld to her Pokeball.

"Thank god that is over, thought that we were going to die." Break said as she hugged her Excadrill tightly. Excadrill simply patted Break on the head while Adagio walked up to Hibiki with Stageon beside her and stood there for a moment before Adagio slapped the young trainer.

"...I very much deserve that." Hibiki said, rubbing her cheek.

"Apologies, I just needed to get it out. Speaking of getting out, any idea how we get out of this pit?" Adagio commented. Hibiki began looking around for a way out and noticed a small staircase formed from the rubble.

"Think that will work?" Hibiki questioned as she began walking towards it.

"Yep, that will work fine." Adagio said as she and Break followed. When Hibiki got up to it, she put her body on one of the stones to test the stability before ascending the staircase. As she got out, she noted that the sandstorm had settled down and sighed as she stretched.

"Biki!" Hibiki heard someone call out. She looked in the direction of the voice and saw Echo running up to her before pulling her into a hug. "Thank god you're alright, I was worried when we heard that explosion." Echo said in relief as she hugged her sister.

"Good to see you too Echo. Where are Cherry and Sigma?" Hibiki asked, returning the hug.

"Sigma is back by the entrance, making sure the people and Pokemon are alright. As for Cherry, she is helping the engineers make sure all the systems are up and running." Echo said. Hibiki nodded as both Adagio and Break got out of the pit, with their Pokemon following them.

"Oh hey Echo, you just missed a fight." Adagio said as she dusted herself off and returned Stageon to his Pokeball, Break doing the same with Excadrill.

"You fought whatever caused that explosion?" Echo questioned, looking at Hibiki with a concerned look on her face.

"It was two rampaging Shadow Pokemon, we'll talk about how they got here later. One was a Garchom, which I managed to catch, and the other was a Hydreigon, which I still need to catch." HIbiki said before walking back to the edge of the pit. As she pulled out another Snag Ball, she peered over the edge and was about to throw it before she stopped in her tracks as she noticed that the rubble was moved.

"Is something wrong?" Break asked as Hibiki began to look around.

"Adagio, that pile of rubble was where Hydreigon was left, right?" HIbiki asked in an alerted tone.

"Yeah it was right-" Adagio said as she felt her blood go cold.

"... Dodge!" Hibiki yelled out as she jumped away. Adagio, Break, and Echo did the same as a blast of energy came from above and exploded in the center of where the group was. Hibiki looked at the direction the blast came from and saw Hydreigon flying in the sky, looking very exhausted and furious.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me, it's still up despite that Reversal?" Adagio said as she attempted to get up, only to feel her knees give out and fall face first into the sand. Break and Echo were able to get up, but were terrified as they saw the looming figure of Hydreigon.

"Apparently it did. That being said, I just need to catch it and we should… be…" Hibiki as she attempted to get up before passing out and falling on her back.

"Biki!" Echo called out as she ran to her sister. She attempted to shake Hibiki awake, but to no avail as Hydreigon roared and prepared another attack. Break quickly ran to Adagio and helped her up and just as the Hydreigon was about to launch the attack, a ball of light slammed into Hydreigon and knocked it out of the sky before a Pokeball came in and snagged Hydreigon, capturing it. Echo stared confused at the Pokeball as it fell down before feeling someone hug her from behind.

"Thank goodness Echo!" a female voice said. Echo turned around to see a young girl in her mid-teens with white skin, sky blue eyes, and pigtailed blue hair wearing a white scientist outfit with a plus and minus pattern, a black shirt with a white pokeball in the center, dark red leggings, and light blue boots.

"Jovi?" Echo asked as she returned the hug.

"Yep, that's me." Jovi said with a smile on her face.

"Who is that?" Blake asked Adagio in a quiet voice.

"If I remember correctly, that would be Jovi. The assistant and Sister of Professor Michael, who happens to be visiting from the Orre Region." Adagio explained.

"What are you doing here? I thought you and your brother would be at the IPP Headquarters waiting for us." Echo asked.

"We were, but then I heard the explosion and saw you run over here so I convinced my brother to come and help." Jovi responded as she kneeled beside Hibiki. After a few more shakes, Hibiki's eyes fluttered open as she stared into the sky for a few moments before quickly sitting up and looking around.

"Easy sis, the Hydreigon is already taken care of." Echo told Hibiki in a calming tone.

"Really? Did you take care of it?" Hibiki questioned, still calming down.

"That would be me actually." a male voice spoke up. The group looked at where the voice came from and saw a man with his Gardevoir kneeling down and picking up the Snag Ball he had thrown. The man was in his late twenties with white skin, auburn eyes, and light red hair, wearing a lab coat with a gray Snag Machine on his left arm, a yellow shirt, blue pants, and black shoes.

"Professor Michael I assume?" Adagio asked.

"That would be me, a pleasure to meet you all." Michael said as he walked up and held a hand out to Hibiki. Hibiki grabbed it and was helped to her feet slowly, before making sure she could properly keep her balance.

"Same here, thanks for the help with that Hydreigon." Hibiki said, a relieved smile on her face.

"It's no problem, I was more than happy to help." Michael said, rubbing the back of his head.

"We should get back to Alaria City and debrief everything. You two should go on ahead and let Looker know we'll be after we make sure everything here is settled." Echo told Jovi and Michael as she supported Hibiki.

"That sounds good for us." Jovi said as she smiled. Michael simply nodded in response as the two of them all began to walk away, Michael returning Gardevoir to his Pokeball. As they walked to the exit to the Dome, Michael got out the Pokeball that he had used to catch the Shadow Hydreigon before clutching it a bit hard, which Jovi noticed.

"Feeling somewhat responsible for this?" Jovi asked quietly.

"A tad, but I feel more guilty for letting these kids handle this." Michael said in a tired tone.

"Well, let's see how they're doing on this side. Maybe that will give you some peace of mind." Jovi said with a confident tone. Michael simply nodded as they exited the dome and headed back to Alaria City.