Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.
BGM: Polar Biome (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disk)
"You gotta lighten up, dude." Nyx said.
"Lighten up? I… have no idea what you're talking about. I'm in perfect lightening up!" Kieran said. "...Wait, that sounded better in my head."
"Yeah, no. We had a little investigator watch your fights and quite frankly, I gotta say… I'm quite disappointed."
"What, you're disappointed that you're not seeing greatness?"
"No, we're just disappointed that you're nothing more than a sore winner." Coco said. "Celebrating your "victories" when it was clearly shown you fight dirty and you're desperate to continue your winning streak when it's nothing more than a shameful display… hell, Mewtwo pretty much exposed you without even breaking a sweat. And don't get me started with that fight with my homegirl. That was just despicable."
Kieran's eyes widened. "How'd you know Mewtwo clobbered me?! I thought he wasn't going to tell anyone!"
"He didn't. We have our own ways~" Velvet smiled.
Kieran looked at Velvet in curiosity. "Are you-"
"No, I'm not a human/Lopunny hybrid. I got asked that… so many times here." Velvet said in exasperation.
Kieran sweatdropped. "Noted…"
"Regardless, your obsession with trying to fight Ren is… really concerning. From what I've heard, you lost to him a few times over this one Pokemon and your obsession with that was also concerning and it's boiled into someone that's not even yourself." Myra said. "Now, I know I haven't seen the whole thing in Kitakami, but it does paint a pretty picture when you hear the stories."
"Mmm…" Kieran folded his arms, stiffening and barely hiding a scowl the moment Ogerpon was mentioned. "I've shed that old life. He was weak… and I'm strong."
"Honestly, it seems to me you're just running from your past." Nyx said. "Lived a life of luxury, crawled your way to the top under some tyrannical ruling… and then your past shows up and, well, looking at how you're operating…"
"Who cares? If Ren wants to flaunt around that ogre, let him do it. I don't care." Kieran said coldly.
"...Your eye is twitching."
"Ugh! I don't have time for this!" Kieran walked off. "You guys are wasting valuable time…"
"Look, we're just worried about you."
"Worry about wasting your energy somewhere else. I don't have time for your "worried" crap." He said.
"Yeesh… what's his beef?" Coco wondered.
"No idea." Nyx shook her head. "Still, glad we had the little guy keep an eye on him."
"Smorg Smo!"
The Smorg came out of Myra's jacket and hopped on her shoulder. "Smo Smo Smorg!"
Myra giggled, petting him on the head. "Still… if he doesn't shape up, he's probably going to do something stupid that will… definitely require a Regen Shroom."
"A Regen… Shroom? What's that?" Nyx wondered.
"Oh, you don't know? You lived in the Mushroom Kingdom all your life and you haven't heard of it?"
"No… that's a new one for me."
"I can't say I blame you. Regen Shrooms are quite the rarity… they're not your average Mushroom. Instead of your usual red Mushrooms…"
She pulled one out.
"They're green."
"Whoa!" Coco exclaimed. "That's a 1-Up Mushroom!"
"A… 1-Up? Is that what you guys are calling them these days?" Myra wondered.
"Well, yeah, they basically revive you." Nyx said.
"Oh, you think it's a Mushroom that brings you back from the dead… well, depending on how long it's been since you've kicked it, I guess that would make sense."
"What do you mean?" Nyx asked.
"Regen, or… 1-Up's, as they're called now… they basically speed up the healing process and give you massive rejuvenation compared to a regular Super Mushroom. It can even save you from certain death… no matter how grave the wound is. It can still work if you actually die, but it has to be quick… there's an extremely short time frame, otherwise it won't work. You can definitely forget about it if they're a ghost or a skeleton. Although, I've heard a rumor that if you add magic to the Mushroom, it could potentially bring the dead back to life, but they'd just be a walking skeleton at that point."
Nyx folded her arms. "Hmm… that would explain why they didn't work on Summer, yet worked on Ruby and Ibuki."
Coco rubbed her chin. "Ruby held on from her dark counterpart's torment and Ibuki got turned into a shish kebob all in the same area. Meanwhile, Summer's been a ghost long before that…"
"I wonder…" Nyx looked at Myra. "Would a 1-Up Mushroom manage to bring a limb back, perchance?"
"Nah, it would just seal the wound up. You'd still be missing a part of you. Trust me, I've tried that on someone during an attack on the Mushroom Kingdom back in my time and it didn't bring back his foot. Poor guy was depressed for a long time…"
"Oh… I was hoping that would have fixed up Marnie."
"Regardless, Ruby and Ibuki were definitely the lucky ones." Myra said, putting it away. "I usually have one on me just in case if my magic isn't enough."
Suddenly, Nyx's Pokeball opened up as Moltres let out a screech.
"Whoa! What's gotten into you, bud?" Nyx wondered as Moltres flew off toward Kieran.
"He seems to be interested in Kieran." Velvet said.
"I wonder why?" Myra wondered.
Nyx folded her arms. "Well, Galarian Moltres is the avatar of Wrath, and given how… Kieran's been acting as of late…" Her voice trailed off as her eyes widened. "Oh gods, it's worse than I thought!"
Yagami, switch out my clothes for my Stealth Gear! She telepathically said to her.
What's up? Yagami replied back.
We just ran into Kieran… Moltres seems to be highly interested in him due to his vengeful warpath against Ren.
Oh dear… hang on just a sec!
Immediately, Nyx's clothing changed into her stealth gear.
Thanks, sis!
No prob!
Nyx clenched her fists. "Kieran, we need to have a longer conversation…" She said as she took off, leaving the three behind.
"Hmm…" Myra scratched her cheek. "Hope she can knock some sense into him."
"It's Nyx. She can handle it." Coco said.
"Right."
"Slow?"
"Hmm?" Myra turned her head to see a Galarian Slowpoke wandering toward her in curiosity.
"Oh, a Slowpoke!" Velvet said.
"Oh. My. Darkness." Myra knelt down and picked up the Slowpoke. "You are just the chubbiest, dopiest lil' guy I've ever seen in my life… and I love it!" She gushed, setting him down.
"Slow! Slow!" The Slowpoke smiled as Myra knelt down to pet him again.
"I've never seen anyone get so gushy over a Slowpoke…" Coco chuckled.
"First time for everything." Velvet giggled.
"By the way, where's Iris? I haven't seen her in a while." Myra said.
"Last time I've seen her, she went hiking with Rantaro." Coco responded.
Pause BGM
Meanwhile, in the Canyon Biome…
BGM: Canyon Biome (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disk)
"Hmm?" Iris turned her head as she noticed a set of blocks that caught her attention.
"What's up?" Rantaro asked.
Iris approached the set. "This set of blocks is… different."
"How so? We've seen them all over the place."
"Yeah, but this one's more… pinker." She said, gently poking it out of curiosity.
"Hey, you're right. That one definitely looks pink." Rantaro mused. "Strange…"
"Not to mention it's… gelatinous?"
At that moment, the pink block transformed into a Ditto.
"Ditto!"
"Oooooh!" Iris lightly smacked her head. "Should've thought about it sooner." She said as the Ditto wandered off.
Rantaro chuckled. "I'll be honest, I didn't think of it either."
Near the top of the Canyon Biome…
"Agiiiaaaa!" Koraidon cried in triumph as he and Cian made the top of the mountain.
"Nice view from up here!" Cian smiled, getting off of Koraidon as he looked around. "Man, I'd have to get Aless and bring her up here. She'd definitely like it."
"Agia?" Koraidon turned his head to see something before nudging Cian.
"Hmm? What is it?" Cian wondered, turning his head to see a Kleavor. "What the…?" He wondered as he curiously pulled out his Pokedex and scanned it.
"Kleavor, the Axe Pokemon and the evolved form of Scyther. Using a Black Augerite, Scyther can evolve into this once-extinct Pokemon from the Hisui Region. One should take caution in angering Kleavor. It is known to cut down the thickest of trees with one swing of its blade. Anyone who is caught in Kleavor's wrath will meet a grisly end."
"...Aless was right." Cian whispered and then sighed. "Oh, I'm never gonna hear the end of that." He said as he pulled out a Quick Ball, and with a smirk, he threw the Quick Ball toward the unsuspecting Kleavor.
"Klea?" Kleavor turned around, only to get bopped on the head with the Quick Ball and then was quickly pulled into it.
One shake.
Two shakes.
Three shakes.
Click!
"Sweet! Can't wait to show her." Cian said, picking it up and then turned around.
"Yo!"
"Gyah!" Cian yelped, jumping back in surprise. "Z-Zinnia! I… I didn't hear you come up!"
"I have my ways~" Zinnia said, casually recalling her Altaria.
"Clearly…"
End BGM
"Plus, I… wanted to talk to you about something. Once all is said and done and you get a bit older… what do you plan on doing?"
"I actually plan on being a History Professor for the history of Paldea. I want to help preserve and help prove to the world that Paradox Pokemon exist with my book and… maybe perhaps get the research stations all working again. Of course, I'll balance my life and work out and avoid the mistakes that Sada and Turo did."
"Whoa… you planned all that out far in advance?"
"You kidding? It was my dream to be a professor when I was younger. Digging up all the ancient artifacts from Galar inspired me. Heck, back when I was living in Galar, I was planning on moving back to my old hometown and help Professor Magnolia out until she passed the torch to me… and then that derailed when Aless got a modeling gig opportunity in Paldea, but the dream never died."
Zinnia giggled. "Well, if you did go back to Galar, you're gonna have to wait in line. Sonia's running the show and she's got Hop as her assistant, and I bet when she retires, Hop's gonna be the captain on deck. You just want to be first in line and decided "Hey, wait a minute, the Paldean professors are dead. Sign me up!". Someone's too eager~" She teased.
Cian laughed. "I wouldn't do that to Arven. Not like that."
"Good, because I would've clobbered you if you did that." Zinnia giggled with a grin.
"Right… so uh, is there another reason why you wanted to talk to me?"
BGM: Kairi III (Kingdom Hearts)
Zinnia blushed. "Well… um… the thing is, I've… never been really interested in falling in love with someone since I was more into my Lorekeeper business. But… then I met you. And the more I hung out with the geekiest guy in the universe who has a ton of respect for Legendaries, the more… the more I started to feel for you. I didn't get it at first, but… I started to realize that I've… fallen for you."
Her face then turned red and looked away.
"Shit, that was too forward… um… look, I'd understand if you weren't into me but I just wanted to get that off my che-"
"I felt the same way about you."
"Wait, what?" Zinnia turned back to Cian who was blushing.
"Your Lorekeeping motivated me to get stronger and helped free the Treasures of Ruin from their imprisonment. It's because of you that I want to help preserve the history of Legendary Pokemon."
"I… I've been kinda lonely in the Lorekeeping… and before you say anything, yeah, I have friends in Hoenn, but to be honest, I have no idea where May, Brendan and Wally even are. And Steven is more interested in rocks, so it kinda gets dull…"
"Well, it's never a dull moment around me."
Zinnia giggled. "Yeah… obviously…"
Both of them stared at each other, blushing like crazy. It wasn't until Rayquaza came out of his Master Ball and gave Zinnia a little nudge. And by little nudge, I mean he smacked her in the back with his tail to get her to move.
"Wah-mmmph!"
Both of their eyes widened as their lips met, not to mention they both fell with her on top of him as they both wrapped their arms around each other and closed their eyes.
"Rrrrr…" Rayquaza growled, giving them a sly smirk and a head nod in approval.
Zinnia broke the kiss and gave Rayquaza a playful glare. "Smooth move, Ray Ray." She said as Rayquaza let out a small chuckle as Zinnia pulled him back in. "Sooo… you wanna go find my sister-in-law?"
"Of cour-... sister-in-law?! We're not even marr-"
"I know. I just wanted to see your reaction~"
Cian facepalmed while chuckling. "Walked right into that one…"
End BGM
Meanwhile, back with Ren…
BGM: Coastal Biome (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disk)
"So… Ishi the Alolan Geodude and Marshal the Galarian Slowpoke." Jaune said aloud as they were walking. "Not bad, honestly."
Ren nodded. "Yeah."
"Hey!" Nora ran over to them. "Sorry about disappearing. I was busy fixing Magnhild's hammer."
"Tinka Tink~!"
Ren smiled. "It seems blacksmithing's going well."
"Yeah!"
"Hold on… Nora blacksmithing and she's not exploding something?" Jaune asked.
"Come on, this place is amazing. I don't want to ruin the integrity of this place."
"Oh! Well, good for-"
"I'll do explosive blacksmithing back home where I can really go all out~!"
"There it is." Pyrrha chuckled while Jaune facepalmed.
"I had to speak too soon…"
"So, did I miss anything?" Nora asked.
"I already knocked out three of the Elite Four and now I'm on my way to Drayton."
"What?! Already?! Shoot, I don't wanna miss the ending!"
Ren chuckled. "I was wondering if you'd notice."
"Oh hush!" Nora rolled her eyes as they entered the Polar Biome.
End BGM
BGM: Polar Biome
"Lapras Lap!" A Lapras swam over to them.
"Hey there. Can you get us to Drayton?" Ren asked.
Lapras nodded and turned around as the five of them hopped on Lapras' shell as she swam off, soon accompanied by a few Piplup, Oshawott and Dewgong.
"So, I've been thinking…" Nora spoke up.
"About what?" Jaune asked.
"About where Ren and I will stay once we graduate from Beacon. We've actually talked about it on our way here to Unova. I know you two want to live in the Mushroom Kingdom together, but for us it's a bit… different."
"Right. Where do you want to live?" Pyrrha wondered.
"Either the Mushroom Kingdom or Kitakami." Ren said.
"Kitakami?" Jaune asked as he and Pyrrha looked at each other before turning back to the couple. "Why that place?"
"Well, we liked how quiet, peaceful and how beautiful Kitakami was… not to mention that it reminded us of our old home." Nora explained.
"Kuroyuri? Yeah, I can see it." Jaune nodded.
"I want to see Kuroyuri for myself… the remains of it anyway." Pyrrha said. "Maybe find the Grimm responsible for destroying your old lives."
"Hmm…" Ren closed his eyes. "Right."
"Well, Mushroom Kingdom or Kitakami, you got our support no matter what." Jaune smiled with Pyrrha nodding.
"Aw, thanks guys. Even if we did move to another world, we're still JNPR no matter what~!" Nora smiled, roping Pyrrha and Jaune into a hug.
The Lapras stopped at the other side of the lake as they hopped off. "Thanks for the ride."
"Lap!" Lapras turned around and swam off as the group walked around the ice mountain, where they would see someone snowboarding down the mountain with some Piplup sliding down on their stomachs.
"Wait, is that…?" Jaune wondered as the snowboarder did a few tricks before stopping at the bottom and skidding to a halt, kicking up some snow as the group approached.
"Hmm? Oh hey!" The snowboarder took off the mask, revealing to be Jinx herself. "You guys cooling off?"
"Since when were you a snowboarder?" Ren asked.
"Saw the ice mountain and thought "That looks like I can snowboard off of it", so I crafted my own snowboard and started shredding it. Apparently it started to rain at one point and some random thunderbolt knocked down that pink dog thing over there-" She pointed toward an Audino patching up a Snubbull. "-But that didn't slow me down a bit."
Nora grinned. "Atta girl!" She said, fist bumping Jinx.
"So, you beat Kiki yet?" Jinx asked.
"Not yet. I still have to face Drayton." Ren responded.
"You rang?" Drayton approached. "...Oh hey, you're shredding the mountain?" He asked and gave Jinx a once over. "...Without snow gear aside from the mask?"
"What, this is supposed to be cold? I've been through colder temps."
Drayton chuckled. "Nice. You probably saw Kieran fightin' earlier."
"Oh, that was Kieran's doing?"
"Yeah, dude was fighting the supermodel fashionista. Saw the whole thing." Drayton shook his head, looking at Ren with a disappointed look. "Hope you're ready for him… cause that ain't Kieran anymore."
"I've been hearing that he fights dirty from what Kotoko said earlier…" Nora said. "Man, Ruby and Gloria oughta put him in his place."
"They probably don't want to get their Pokemon severely hurt." Ren said. "...Not that I blame them."
"Something's changed in him… and believe me, I've wanted to smack him in the head for the longest time." Drayton said.
"What stopped you?" Nora asked.
"Eh, didn't feel like it… and, well, Lacey kept holding me back."
"I see…" Nora's demeanor changed for a few moments, looking like she was ready to bop him on the head herself just to get him to stop. She took a deep breath to recompose herself. "Well, I hope someone knocks some sense into him."
Jinx looked at her with concern. "...Girl, you okay?"
"Just peachy~"
Uh oh… JPR and Jinx thought in unison.
"So… what do you want me to do before we battle?" Ren asked.
"Ah, it's simple. You fight three of my guys… BUT, you have to fight them with the Pokemon you've caught in the terrarium. Mix things up a little, ya know? Once you've done that… then you can take me on with your normal team."
"I see…" Ren mused. "...I'll be right back."
He walked away with JNP following him.
"So, guess we need to train them up." Pyrrha said.
"Yup."
"Oooh, this smells like a montage coming up~!" Nora grinned as they all stared at her. "Oh gosh, I've been hanging around Ibuki and Deadpool too long…"
Ren chuckled. "Well… let's get started."
BGM: Road To a Hero (Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD ReMix)
"Poni Pon Pon!" Ogerpon cried, doing a handstand as Gyro went upside down.
"Inkay Ink!"
"Hup!" Ren got in his hands, doing a handstand himself as he did a few push ups before deciding to do it with one hand.
"...HOW?!" Carmine could only say in disbelief.
"Oooh, that's my man~!" Nora whistled.
"Pona… Pon!" Ogerpon tried to do it with one arm too, only she somersaulted instead. "Pon-ooomph!" She shook her head before giggling.
"I think you can find plenty of Galarica in the water over there." Sonia pointed toward some jagged rocks. "That's what I've been hearing anyway."
"Well, it's a start." Ren said, taking off his shirt, unaware that his shirtless body was making some female Blueberry students go heart eyed for him.
"Hey! HEY! Back off! I found him first!" Nora said, getting between them as Ren dove into the water with Marshal on his back. Ogerpon cannonballed into the water and swam alongside them as some Seadra glared at them, only to back off the moment they saw Ogerpon, who was completely oblivious to them.
"Sloooow."
"Ah, here we are."
"Geoooduuuude!" Ishi pounded away at Basalt, who occasionally swung at the Geodude to get him to block.
"Come on, keep blocking!" Ren encouraged.
"Keep swinging!" Mahiru cheered as Perrin took a few pictures.
"Yeah, keep at it, Dudunsparce! Make that Nincada sweat!" Nemona cheered as they both went underground.
"Duduuuun!"
"Nincaaaa!"
Both of them slammed into each other, causing a small earthquake within the Savanna that woke up a few Fennekin. Both of them burst out of the ground as they clashed again.
"Smeargle Smear…?" A Smeargle mused in curiosity.
"Ah, I've been looking all over for one of you."
Smeargle turned toward Bowser, his arms folded.
"I think you would be a nice gift for Junior."
"Smear…?"
"That should do it!" Pyrrha said, making the Galarica Cuff for Marshal and putting it on his leg.
However, he wasn't evolving.
"...Huh, this is anti-climactic, isn't it?" Jaune asked.
"Do we have enough Galarica?" Sonia wondered.
"Pretty sure I grabbed twenty." Ren said.
Carmine's eye twitched. "Okay. Now he's just showing off." She said, seeing that Ren was doing it with one finger.
"Oh, he is~" Nora gushed, blushing like crazy with hearts over her eyes.
"Inkay Ink!" Gyro smiled while upside down as Ogerpon looked at Ren in awe.
"Mmph… wish I could do that…" Kotoko grumbled, folding her arms.
A lot of KO'd Joltik, Galvantula, Plusle and Minun scattered all over the Chargestone Caverns, including a Beldum and a few Klink.
"I think you went a bit overboard." Dipper said as Mabel poked a KO'd Joltik.
"I… probably did." Ren said, scratching his head as his Nincada was raring to go a few more rounds.
"Hey Ren, I found another one for ya! You up for fightin' an Eelektross?" Nemona asked, holding one in her arms that was electrocuting her that made her hair stand up.
Ren sweatdropped. "I'd be more worried about you handling that Pokemon…"
"Gravaaaa!" Ishi cried.
"So I just gotta trade him?" Ren wondered.
"Yeah, that's pretty much how it goes." Hiyoko nodded as Ren recalled Ishi and then switched around with Hiyoko before she handed him back and then he sent out Ishi again, who was now an Alolan Golem.
"Goleeeem!"
"Interesting…"
"Oh, how I wish trading was that simple in the games… oh, wait, I have two DS's, 3DS's and two Switch's. I'm pretty much set~" Hiyoko giggled.
Ren scanned his new Pokemon.
"Ninjask, the Ninja Pokemon and the evolved form on Nincada. Its cry leaves a lasting headache if heard for too long. It moves so quickly that it is almost invisible. This Pokémon is so quick, it is said to be able to avoid any attack. It loves to feed on tree sap."
At that moment, a Pokeball opened up on his hip as a Shedinja popped out.
"Sheeed."
"What the… where did THAT come from?!" Nora wondered as Ren scanned it.
"Shedinja, the Shed Pokemon and the evolved form of Nincada. A most peculiar Pokémon that somehow appears in a Poké Ball when a Nincada evolves. A strange Pokémon—it flies without moving its wings, has a hollow shell for a body, and does not breathe."
"What's this hole in the back…?" Nora wondered as she looked into it.
"Whoa!" Nemona dove and tackled Nora to the ground. "What, are you cray-cray?! It's said someone's spirit leaves their body if they look into Shedinja's crack!"
"Wait, are you serious?!"
Ren looked into Shedinja. "Really… immune to everything but your weakness…" He rubbed his chin. "So, If I were to Terastalize you into a new type…"
"...Dios mio, your Shedinja will be unstoppable!" Nemona exclaimed in shock.
"I'll call you Shade."
"Shedin."
"Kaaaaaay!" Gyro cried, started to glow after he was upside down for long enough.
"Aha." Ren flipped himself over as Gyro was now a Malamar.
"Mala."
"Malamar, the Overturning Pokemon and the evolved form of Inkay. Its hypnotic powers are dangerously strong. Anyone who falls under Malamar's control loses their memories surrounding the event. It flashes the luminescent spots on its body to hypnotize its opponents, gaining total control over them."
"Mmph…" Nora grimaced at the thought.
"Mala Mar~" Gyro patted Ogerpon on the head with a friendly smile.
"Poni~!"
"Maybe this one's different." Carmine said.
"Hmm…" Jaune put the Galarica Cuff on his head. "...No, that won't work."
"Try the tail." Weiss suggested as Jaune did so, but it didn't work.
"His hind leg?" Meryl asked as Jaune put it around him. "...His other hind leg?"
"I'm running out of legs here!" Jaune complained as he put it on the other foreleg.
"I wonder if we're down a Galarica…" Sonia said.
"Either that or this Slowpoke's a dud." Jaune sighed as Marshal made his way to the water, when suddenly, a Shellder launched up and clamped down on the Slowpork's leg, causing him to evolve into Galarian Slowbro.
"Sloooowbrooooo."
Jaune blinked before facepalming. "Shellder… DUH!"
Ren chuckled. "Alright, let's go."
End BGM
Three trainers beaten up later…
"Wow! You really put them through the wringer." Drayton chuckled as the trainers walked off, each congratulating Ren and giving him a high five.
"Yeah, sure did." Ren nodded.
Drayton smirked. "Now, you ready to face the almighty Dragon tamer himself?"
Ren nodded. "Yeah."
"You got this, Ren!" Carmine called out to him.
"Go dude go!" Nemona cheered as well.
Drayton pulled out two Pokeballs. "Let's make some magic!" He said, tossing them in the air.
BGM: Battle! Gym Leader (Pokemon Black 2/White 2)
"Dragoooo!"
"Fly!"
Powerful Dragon Lord - Drayton
Ren sent out Gyro and Ishi.
"Goleeeem!" Ishi cried, unleashing Stone Edge on the field. Flygon turned his attention toward the Golem and started to use Earthquake, but Gyro used Hypnosis on Flygon before he could connect the Earthquake.
"Goooon…" Flygon grew drowsy and fell asleep as the Malamar went to face the Flygon while Ishi had his eyes set on Dragonite, who used Tailwind and then flew in with a Thunder Punch but Ishi had his railgun at the ready and fired a Rock Blast, smacking the Dragonite away as she was hit three times.
"Drago…" Dragonite shook it off as she used Ice Spinner but the Golem held on strong and used Stone Edge right as the Dragonite advanced. "NIIIIITE!" She cried as she nearly fell to the ground while Gyro kept using Foul Play to knock the sleepy Flygon down in defeat, then Gyro used Foul Play on Dragonite when she wasn't looking.
"Oooof…" Drayton winced as he recalled both Pokemon. "Not bad… but…!" He sent out two more Pokemon, Haxorus and Kingdra.
"Hmm…" Ren narrowed his eyes as he switched out Gyro and then sent out Shade.
"Shedinja!"
Oh boy… Drayton thought, knowing how well it's going to go for him but smirked anyway. "Heh, this should be interesting!"
Kingdra unleashed a Rain Dance onto the field before using Ice Beam on Ishi, who countered with Rock Blast, all the while Haxorus tried everything on Shade, but to her dismay, nothing worked out.
"Haxor Hax Hax!"
"Sheeeed." Shade used Confuse Ray on her.
"Hax… Haaaax…" Haxorus groaned.
"Get it together, Haxorus!"
Shedinja floated over to Haxorus. "Shed Shed Inja In Inja Shed."
"Haxor…?"
Both of them turned toward the Kingdra.
"Shed Shedin."
"HAAAAAAAX!" Haxorus roared with rage.
"Ack! Haxorus, don't listen to him!"
It was too late as Haxorus lunged at the unsuspecting Kingdra, the former using Dragon Dance and then using Breaking Swipe on the Kingdra. "Draaaa!" Kingdra cried in surprise.
"Gole!" Ishi smirked, proceeding to unleash Discharge on the both of them for good measure, with Shade being completely unaffected. Kingdra turned toward Haxorus, giving her a glare.
"Kingdra King!" Kingdra used Ice Beam on Haxorus, who responded with another Breaking Swipe.
"...Golem Gol?" Ishi raised an eyebrow, turning toward Shade. "Golem Gol Gol?"
"Shedinja Shed." (Let them fight.)
"Not what I expected to happen." Ren said.
"Oh, so now I know how to cream Drayton if I fight him… good to know~" Carmine giggled.
"Come on, knock each other out!" Nemona cheered.
"This is… embarrassingly entertaining." Weiss said, feeling sorta bad for the two Pokemon while trying to contain her laughter.
"KIIIIING!"
"HAXOOOOOR!"
Both Pokemon struck each other, nearly knocking each other out as Shade turned toward Ishi. "Shed Shed."
"Gol!" Ishi proceeded to use Discharge to finish the two off.
"Aw man… not how I envisioned this battle to go…" Drayton rubbed the back of his head before smirking.
End BGM
He recalled the two Pokemon and then sent out his last two.
"Sceptile!"
"Archaaaa!"
"...Wait, what in the world…?!" Weiss said in surprise as she pulled out her scroll to scan it.
"Archaludon, the Alloy Pokemon and the evolved form of Duraludon. It gathers static electricity from its surroundings. The beams it launches when down on all fours are tremendously powerful. It digs holes on mountains, searching for food. It's so durable that being caught in a cave-in won't faze it."
"I didn't know Duraludon evolves!"
"Yeah, the evolution is a recent discovery." Carmine said as Kotoko immediately took a picture of Archaludon and sent it to Iono.
"So, Duraludon can evolve."
"WTH?! That's news to me! ...Hang on, I gotta send this to Raihan. He's not gonna believe it!"
"Okay… I'm definitely gonna show that to Ironwood later." Weiss said.
"Why not now?" Meryl asked.
"...Good point." Weiss snapped a picture and sent it to him.
"FYI, something to consider…"
"I'll wait for his reaction."
Ren recalled both of his Pokemon as he sent out Tekka and Sandy Shocks.
Drayton chuckled. "I ain't done yet… not by a long shot!" He said, pulling back his sleeve to reveal a Mega Ring. "Now…" He tapped it with a smirk. "LET'S GET WILD!"
BGM: Battle Mode Battle 3 (Pokemon Colosseum)
"ScepTIIIIILE!" Sceptile cried as Drayton then Terastalized his Archaludon.
"ARCHAAAA!"
"You two ready?" Ren asked.
"Jask!"
"Magne!"
"Then let's do it."
Tekka quickly used a few "hand" signals, using Double Team to distract Sceptile while Sandy Shocks focused on Archaludon with Zap Cannon, as the latter started to charge up an attack.
Sceptile quickly used Leaf Storm to do away with the clones as he then jumped in with Acrobatics on him, but "Tekka" disappeared as the real one flew in with an X-Scissor, making him stumble.
With a growl, Sceptile turned around and responded in kind with an X-Scissor, but Tekka swiftly avoided it and used Swords Dance before using Fury Cutter.
"Ludoooooon!" Archaludon flattened itself and used Electro Shock on Sandy Shocks, who immediately started to glimmer and shine, as the Electro Shock was absorbed into him, and while it didn't do any damage, Sandy Shocks unleashed Mirror Move and sent it back, slamming into Archaludon. "Archaaaa!"
"Toooon!" Sandy Shocks cried, unleashing Earth Power in retalation.
Sceptile swiftly used Leaf Storm again, but was interrupted with Tekka used X-Scissor, making him fall on one knee. With a growl, Sceptile let out a battle cry as Tekka quickly used Double Team again, creating a dome of Ninjask to surround him.
…All the while the real Ninjask flew over to Archaludon to help out Sandy Shocks, using a combination of Swords Dance and X-Scissor on him. Archaludon turned to face Tekka and used Dragon Pulse, but he moved out of the way as it headed toward Sceptile, who did away with a few Ninjask clones and got struck with the Dragon Pulse.
"TIIIIILEEEEE!" Sceptile cried as he fell in defeat.
"Archa?!" Archaludon yelped as Sandy Shocks proceeded to use Earth Power and then was finished off with Fury Cutter, knocking down the Terastalized Dragon/Steel Pokemon in defeat.
End BGM
"Well… shoot." Drayton put his hands behind his head. "Ya got me."
Ren walked up to him while everyone was cheering. "No hard feelings?"
"Nah. It's cool." Drayton chuckled, fist bumping Ren. "By the way, catch."
He tossed a Z-Ring over to Ren alongside a Crystal.
"It's Snorlium Z. Figured you'd want to use it for the big guy."
"Oh. Neat."
"Now… whenever you're ready, go and knock the king off of his throne."
"Right."
Meanwhile…
Kieran watched from a screen. "...So he fought all of those weaklings. Tch, good. I'll expose him from the fraud that he truly is… and then I'll prove that I'm stronger than him."
He smirked. "But first, I need some last minute training."
He would spot Umber lounging around in the Coastal Biome, sitting and chatting with Yagami.
"Ah, he'll do." He smirked, a dark aura surrounding him, unaware of Moltres above him.
"And so I said to Guzma that he's stupid for even considering-"
Umber shifted his eyes, seeing Kieran approach them.
"Oh hey… you're edgier than last time I saw you. Trying to out edge Gladion?"
"Hang on a sec, babe… something's different about him that's making us uneasy." Yagami whispered.
You see the Moltres too? He telepathically asked.
Yagami nodded.
Wonder what Nyx is planning… Umber wondered.
"Hey. You. Me. Battle. Right now." Kieran said.
Umber raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"
"Of course." Kieran flashed a slasher smile that made Yagami shudder. "I want to make sure the Alolan Champion is primed and ready~"
Umber glanced over at Yagami. You're freaked out?
Usually, horror doesn't bother us but something about this slasher smile…
Umber turned to Kieran, smirking. "Sure, I was bored anyway. And for the record, I'm the first and only champion of Alola."
"Who cares? Let's get this over with. I already creamed one champion… I can do it again!"
BGM: The Corrupted (Kingdom Hearts III)
Umber called out Veron and Sprite while Kieran sent out Dragonite and Politoed, the latter unaware that Nyx was peeking her head out of a bush and watched it unfold.
The battle commenced as Drizzle was activated as Politoed used Ice Beam and Dragonite used Thunder, but Umber's Pokemon dodged the attack as Veron used Leaf Blade on Politoed, but he used Psychic to hold him at bay.
However, before Dragonite could wail into him, Sprite used Moonblast to knock down the Dragonite while Veron powered through and used Spirit Shackle before Sprite used Psyshock to finish off the Dragonite before it recovered.
A shadow was cast over Kieran as he flashed his smile again. "I'm just getting started, Alolan Champion! For you see, I'm the strongest there is! I'm stronger… STRONGER!"
"Delusionally stronger…" Umber snarked with an eye roll as Kieran switched Dragonite out for Porygon-Z.
"Hahahahaha! You know what to do!" Kieran smirked cockily, as his dark aura got stronger and was enough to make Yagami's blood run cold, making her hug herself.
Umber tilted his head with a raised eyebrow. This guy's marbles had left him since he was born…
Porygon-Z unleashed Hyper Beam directly at Sprite, but Veron got in the way and took the full brunt of it as Sprite jumped in and used Psyshock on Politoed to get rid of him.
"Hahaha!" Kieran laughed as he switched him out for Grimmsnarl. "You'll see… you'll see!"
Umber let out a sigh, shaking his head. "Aight, I've seen enough." He recalled his Pokemon.
End BGM
"Wait, huh?" Kieran snapped out of his power drunken stupor. "What are you-"
"I could have easily flattened you, but it's not my place to knock you off of whatever pedestal you're on. You might want to get that checked out."
He took Yagami's hand and walked off with her, the latter hugging him tightly and burying her head in his shoulder.
"You're giving up? You're just gonna stop right then and there just like what I did to that Fashionistic champion?!"
"If she stopped the fight just like I did, then you were a waste of her time." Umber waved it off, leaving Kieran by himself.
"...Coward."
Kieran chuckled. "No matter… I'll just heal up my Pokemon and then crush Ren."
"Wait, Kieran!"
Kieran turned his head slightly. "You again?" He asked boredly, seeing Nyx approaching him. "What do you want?"
"Stopping you from making a huge mistake."
A gal who was consumed in her revenge and now she's trying to stop someone else from going off the deep end. Thanks Cody, for the suggestion!
Ibuki: Ya know, if Archaludon was part of Gen 8... what would a G-Max Archaludon look like?
Deadpool: Probably... the Golden Gate Bridge or another famous bridge.
I can see it.