Knox: What's up bitches!

King: Back again and with a new chapter. This one took me forever because I wasn't sure where I would take the specific details, but I think I hit a fun idea. Someone among the comments picked up that each of the options for Jaune's first pokemon had a different origin and that if might change where Jaune started his journey. Well, you got it in one. But it was more than that. This Jaune was designed as being orphaned by an event (usually dependent on the region) and raised by a pokemon specific individual. And since Gible won, he was raised by a certain family in Sinnoh. But then, I had an idea. How to play with that and mix things up? See for yourself and I hope you enjoy as always.

Inspiration: Pokemon

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Everyone started to shuffle back into the theater group by group. Once everyone was back, Knox hopped up to his perch with his arms behind his back. "Welcome back everyone."

As they started to get into place, Ruby leaned toward her sister, "So… how do you think dad will take the whole both of us dating Jaune thing?"

Yang paused, now sure how to answer. She took the dive and asked to join the group, but never really thought about what it would mean to be dating the same guy her sister (and a few others) were. Then there was their father. Their dad had the occasional bouts of 'protective dad' mode and he's scared away at least two guys they knew in combat school. The idea that they were both into and willing to date the same guy at the same time would probably set him off. Most kids were scared of Tiger-Moms. They had a Dragon-Dad. Now that I think about it, we actually have both now. But Yang just let out a sigh and returned to her conversation, "Well, he'll have to live with it."

"Live with what?" Both girls jumped at the realization their father was behind them. "Going to tell me or do I have to guess?"

"Uh…" Ruby wasn't sure how to approach this. "It's kind of funny, see…"

Yang, however, was a blunt instrument as always, "I decided to join up with dating Jaune."

Tai was silent for a moment, looking to his youngest daughter, "That makes both of you, then. And you're both okay with that?"

"Yeah." Ruby fidgeted under her father's gaze, but remained resolute overall.

Tai let the air hang for a while before sighing and rubbing the back of his neck, "Guess it could've been worse."

"You're… not going protective dad mode?" Yang asked, confused by her father's response.

"Yeah, well, I could. But he's dating, what? Six girls now?"

"Seven." Ruby corrected.

"Point is, nothing I threaten him with or do could ever compare to what would happen to him if he screws up." He paused a moment before his features turned sharp, "But if he does fuck up, I'll still be there to put him in the dirt."

"Dad!" They both cried out, causing a few to turn to them, but the moment passed soon enough.

The sound of clapping got everyone's attention again toward King at the front of the room. "Alright everyone, we're going to get back into things. We've decided to return to the world of Pokemon."

"Poke-what now?" Saphron asked.

"Pocket Monsters, or Pokemon. They're a group of creatures of various sizes and powers with elemental skills. They fight alongside a human Trainer to grow their skills and evolve into new forms. In this particular version, Jaune is the top trainer in the Remnant Region, its Champion. For those that were there, this takes place about a week and a half after Ruby's defeat. With a quick info-dump style opening from one of the traveling companions." With a snap of his fingers, and everyone's interest, the new world began.

The scene opened to a book sitting on a wooden table. The cover read [Historical Sinnoh: Legends and Tales from Hisui]. A hand reached down and opened the book to a page as the camera faded to show the page in question in full. All the while, Blake's voice could be heard narrating the tale.

"Once, long ago, a man's obsession nearly brought ruin to the region of Hisui. He was said to have been defeated by a young champion from a distant land. The man, influenced both by his obsessions and the dark whispers of the Exiled One. Upon their defeat, the man fell into remorse and left to act in penance."

Each beat of the story had a different picture to accompany it. From a man standing opposite a young figure, a draconic creature cloaked in darkness, and a man broken and fallen to his knees.

"In his pilgrimage of atonement, he met someone able to love him and whom he loved in return. However, the man was still haunted by his past. At the birth of his firstborn son, he found the boy silent. The new father went to the village's doctor in the hopes to answer this strange phenomenon. He was told, 'I am sorry, but your child will not live to see the autumn.' The boy would die by the end of the month."

"Oh my gosh…" Saphron brought her hands to her mouth in shock, covering her from any kind of outburst. It was something that wracked many in the group. The death of a baby who was practically just born was a harsh thing to think about.

But the world, and by extension Blake's narration, continued regardless.

"The man told his wife the news and she was wrought with grief. But she accepted the truth and wanted to live with what time she had. But the man saw this as a sign. He told his wife of a plan, one last hope."

The page turned again to show a ruins sight with broken pillars with the man standing among its center with his child wrapped up and resting in his arms.

"He took the child to the Temple of Sinnoh, the place he once risked the very world in. He held his child before the world, unable to look upward toward him. And he cried out to the figure of his old obsession. 'Arceus! Great divine! I come to you not as I was, but as a father of a child destined to die. If this is my sentence for my crimes, I accept my punishment. But I ask you not to condemn my child! If it is my crimes that have put him in this state, then save his life and take my own! Please! Whatever it takes, I shall do! Just save his life."

Every single parent in that room felt the man's pain. As well as the man's resolve. If their children were threatened, they would do everything in their powers to keep them safe. Anything they could do to help their children would be worth any pain they endured.

"It is said, the weight in the man's hands suddenly shifted. He looked up to find his child gone and a plate resting on his hands. He brought the item to his face and found it to read…"

The next page's image was the plate with a strange, almost ancient writing style.

"[I have heard your request. Know that your sins are grave, and your punishment must be equal in measure. For your resolve, I shall accept your request. But know of this, though he shall live, you shall never see of him again. I shall spirit him to a land and time where his life shall be spared. But your penance is yet served. You shall act as defender of Hisui. Your descendants shall follow in kind as its champions. Remember this, and return to your homes in the knowledge of my words.]"

"Jeez." No one was entirely sure who said it given the low volume and light air of the theater. But it was hard to disagree.

"It's said the man would return to his family with the Plate and his tale. Though many would find it suspicious, the Plate was revealed to be genuine and unlike any other material. He would go on to act in accordance with his penance. But no one is certain what had happened to his child."

The scene changed again to show Blake as she closed the book in her hands. Opposite her at a booth table were Ruby and Weiss. They were all dressed in their Pokemon-world styles and a few of the pokemon could be seen out the window next to them. The info-dumps before didn't happen because they were far enough away.

"That's pretty crazy." Ruby responded once Blake's story had ended.

"That's a word for it." Weiss just had a skeptical tone.

"HEY!" The voice of Yang rang out to the side as she ran up to the group in a disheveled state, a humongous grin on her face.

"What the heck was she doing?" Harriet tapped her foot on the ground at a rapid speed, still not used to sitting around for so long.

Ruby popped up from her seat in excitement. "Did you find it?"

"Sure did!" Yang pulled a pokeball from her belt and it popped open with the energy stream falling onto the table.

The monster that appeared from the energy looked like a yellow bird-like creature with clouds for wings and two protrusions arching outward from the top of its head. A sudden flash of sparkles flew off the pokemon before disappearing.

Then the usual pokedex run appeared. "Swablu, the Cotton Bird Pokemon. A Normal and Flying type. Swablu will find it difficult to relax if its environment is too dirty. Its cotton-like wings wrap around its body when not in flight." However, the picture showed a blue version of the creature before a line ran down to show the yellow one. "Alternative coloration recorded."

"Alternative coloration?" Penny asked.

"A rare phenomenon sometimes referred to as 'Shiny Pokemon' because of the sparkles when they appear. The odds of ever seeing one can be 1 in 4000 if you're lucky. People can go their entire lives and never see one."

"So Yang getting one is pretty cool!" Ruby cheered.

"More than you know." King let out a light grumble.

Causing Knox to chuckle and go on to explain, "He's just jealous. Yang is what some people call a 'Shiny Hunter.' She specializes in finding and catching Shiny Pokemon. She has about, what? Seven now?"

"Yep…"

"With like… two you want~?" Knox's grin practically radiated sheer smug energy.

"Yes." King grit his teeth but also made it clear the point was over.

The scene returned to the group as normal. Ruby looked over the new addition with sparkling eyes. "Oh my gosh! He's so cute."

"Right?" Yang had the proudest grin. It was her seventh shiny catch and a huge moment. "He's a great little guy." The pokemon hopped up onto her head and seemed to turn into a cotton-like hat.

Nora instantly gushed, "That's so cute!"

As the group chuckled, a notification went off on Ruby's Roto-phone (with a red case). It floated up toward her with a pseudo-chant, "Please notice! Remember to sign up for the Patch Tournament Event happening today!"

"What the heck is that thing?" Ruby asked.

"A Roto-Phone." King explained, "It's a communication device bonded with a pokemon called Rotom." King snapped his fingers and a hologram of Rotom appeared. "It's a pokemon known to fuse into various technologies. This particular type of Rotom bonds with the phone and forms a symbiotic union to have a permanent tech piece and be cared for without battling like the other Rotoms that are more happy to do so."

Ruby grinned and tapped the screen. "Already did."

Yang smirked and lightly punched her sister's shoulder, "Back at it, huh?"

"Yep. After the championship, I figured my team could use a palette cleanser. And a tournament for fun sounded like a good idea."

"Well, here's hoping you kick butt." Yang gave her sister a thumbs up with the Swablu spreading its wings like a cheer.

Velvet now followed the same reaction set as Nora, "That's just adorable~!"

"Here's hoping." Ruby let the Roto-phone return to its case and she started to make her way outside. "Still, it might be a good idea to make sure the team is up for it."

"What kind of tournament is it, anyway?" Blake asked as she stood up to join her along with the rest of the group.

"It's a three pokemon team bracket tournament. The number of participants won't be very high, since it's Patch, but it's probably best to be ready for anything."

"I'd be surprised if anyone else even tries." Yang had a proud grin on her face, "After all, a champion candidate is taking part."

Ruby rolled her eyes and took out one of the pokeballs at her belt. She expanded it and looked at her reflection in the red surface. She couldn't help but smile in anticipation for what was to come. But it also meant that she wasn't watching where she was going and ran into someone, knocking her back a bit.

This caused many in the audience to chuckle at the event and how often that seemed to happen to her.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Ruby quickly apologized and backed up a step. "I got distracted and wasn't watching where I was going."

The woman she ran into just gave a light chuckle. She was dressed in a black coat similar to Jaune's with black pants, shirt, and shoes. Her blonde hair was long and hung down past her knees but curled upward at various sections with her hanging down over the upper left side of her face. Ornaments resembling a Lucario's dread-like protrusions hung on either side of her head. She also had a grey, tear-drop-shaped pendant hanging from her neck. "It's perfectly fine. I've had similar moments myself."

The rest of the gang joined behind her, so Ruby decided to be polite, "I'm Ruby and these are my friends Weiss, Blake, and my sister Yang. Again, I'm sorry for running into you."

"I'm Cynthia. And I'll admit to spacing out for a moment there, so it's not your fault." She then noticed the swablu flying up behind Yang, "Oh my goodness! He's so cute."

Yang just beamed, "Right?!"

The swablu flew around Cynthia, who chuckled as its cottony wings brushed against her cheek, "He's quite spirited too." It flew back to Yang as Cynthia continued, "You're very lucky to have found him."

"Don't I know it." Yang pet the pokemon's head as it landed on her shoulder. "So, what brings you down to Patch?"

"I heard there was a festival going on. I had to convince my little brother to stop by and check it out. You see, I'm not from the Remnant Region, so I wanted to get a sense of what it was like from the grassroots."

"So, she's going to participate against Ruby in the tournament?" Blake asked.

Causing Knox to snicker, "Better hope not."

"What?" Ruby responded, a little offended, "Why?"

But Knox proceeded to shut up and not respond further.

Ruby was interested upon hearing her response, "You're here for the tournament?"

Cynthia waved off the idea. "No, no. At least not in any official way. I'm on vacation, so I'd like to enjoy myself rather than join a competition. Though it does sound fun." She tapped her cheek in thought, reconsidering her plans.

"Well, why not have a small battle here? One on one." Ruby offered.

"Don't you need to be ready for the tournament?" Blake tried to remind her friend.

"It'll be fine." Ruby responded, "The tournament is three on three. We can just have a one on one match. You know, get the blood pumping."

"I like the idea." Cynthia grinned. "I accept your challenge."

Blake just sighed, "I don't know why I bother."

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, "I know that pain too well."

"Hey!" Ruby cried out in exaggerated, joking hurt.

The two separated in a large arena to the side of the building the team just walked out from. Ruby took out a ball from her belt and expanded the ball as Cynthia did the same. They both reared back and called out at the same time, "Go! Florges/Spiritomb!"

The camera first focused on Ruby's pokemon. A floating creature resembling a bouquet of red flowers with a body, arms, and a pair of large leaves stretching out to either side of the lower section where legs would end.

Dex: "Florges (Red), the Garden Pokemon. A Fairy Type. This Pokemon is often sought after for its skill in creating beautiful gardens. Defiling their gardens will often result in swift and harsh retaliation, no matter how much you beg for mercy."

"I'm sorry, what was that last part?" Marrow asked.

The other pokemon to appear looked like just a strange totem before a purple, ghostly wisp rose up from a crack in the stone. It soon formed into a swirling vortex as a face popped up in its center. The face and a series of balls spinning in the vortex were a bright green. It seemed to laugh as its information started.

Dex: "Spiritomb, the Forbidden Pokemon. A Ghost and Dark type. It is said this pokemon was formed by the combined maliciousness of 108 evil spirits being sealed away into an odd keystone."

"I'm sorry. What?!" Emerald just lost any idea that this could make sense.

Tyrian, however, "Ooh! That sound like my kind of creature~"

Blake, who was standing at the center side, was acting as official. "Begin!"

Cynthia was the first to act, "Use Shadow Ball!"

Spiritomb opened its mouth and a ball of ghostly energy formed before shooting out toward its opponent. The Florges dipped to the side and avoided the attack and flew in close and fast.

Ruby called out, "Now Dazzling Gleam!"

The garden pokemon swung around and held its arms out as its body began to glow. After a moment, the light grew harsh and exploded outward. The spiritomb jolted before being slammed by the light before exploding in a sparkling gleam.

Harriet gave a playful wince with a smirk, "Who knew flowers could hit so hard?"

Cynthia's spiritomb spun around for a moment before its energy retracted into the keystone before flowing back out to normal. Cynthia, herself, smirked, "That's rather impressive. You've trained your Florges well. However, we're far from done. Now, let's put a timer on this. Will-o-wisp!"

The green orbs floating about the pokemon began to spin faster and faster until it let out a roar and they flew off toward Florges. Florges watched as they surrounded the flower pokemon before slamming down onto it and forcing it to cry out. It took no immediate damage from the attack, but each time it tried to move flames would flare up and cause it to cringe in pain. The Burn effect will cause Florges to slowly lose its stamina the longer the fight goes on.

Cinder couldn't help but feel like it was an interesting concept. She wasn't sure about the specifics, and didn't like that it seemed to have limitations, but the thought counted. Sort of.

Ruby growled. Even if it isn't much, it'll be a problem long term. Except… Then she formed a smirk. "Florges! Draining kiss!"

Florges brought its hands to its mouth before seeming to blow a kiss. A pink heart flew forward before hitting Spiritomb dead on and exploding in sparkles. The stars that formed flew back to Florges and she seemed to perk up again.

Cynthia kept smiling, however. "Well, that plan is out. Can't have to draining yourself off of Spiritomb. So… Shadow Ball!"

Another ball of energy formed before shooting out toward Florges. This time, however, her burn flared up and the ball slammed into her torso and sent her flying backward. As she tried to right herself she recoiled to see the ghostly pokemon flying above her with its malicious grin seeming to spread even wider.

"Gah!" Ruby recoiled in kind, "That's just creepy!"

Tyrian, however, disagreed, "I like it."

Back at her position, Cynthia raised her hand toward the scene and called out, "Shadow Ball!"

Another ball formed before expanding outward and down toward Florges, planting her into the ground and exploding to kick up dust from the ground.

"Damn that's cool though!" Yang cheered, but felt bad, recoiling when she caught Ruby's glare.

Florges started to pick itself off the ground slowly. After one more flare of her Burn, she was back upright and appearing determined.

Cynthia's grin seemed to turn slightly into admiration. She's quite determined. More than that, I can tell there's a great amount of trust between them. Not to mention the endurance on display. This girl and her pokemon aren't just good. She has what it takes to become a champion. She seemed to pause a moment before a realization hit her. "Wait, hold on! You said your name was Ruby. Would that be Ruby Rose?"

This seemed to surprise the younger girl, who just blinked in surprise for a moment. "Uh… yeah."

Cynthia clapped her hands together and seemed to get more excited, "Wonderful! I heard about your battle with Jaune and I was hoping to get the chance to meet you. And getting the chance to battle you by sheer happenstance is a nice change of pace. After this battle, what do you say I treat you and your friends to some of the festival food."

"Oh. Uh… sure. That's nice of you."

"Not as nice as you think." Cynthia raised her hand toward her Spiritomb again before snapping her finger. It proceeded to roar and spin about, like it was charging an attack.

Ruby could tell something was coming, and called out to her pokemon, "Florges! Moonblast!"

As Florges reared back and formed a moon-like power in her hands, Cynthia smirked. "Sucker Punch."

The scene came to a sudden stop as it showed Spiritomb slam its keystone into Florges' gut. After a slight pause, the fairy type was sent flying into the ground in front of Ruby. It wasn't very effective, being a dark type attack, but the compounded damage from the Burn and two shadow balls finally caught up to her. This caused Blake to call out, "Florges is unable to battle. Spiritomb is the winner."

Ruby groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Just once I'd like to win."

"To be fair," Knox attempted to comfort her, "you had the worst opponents to see on screen. You are in the… what? Top ten of all the trainers in your region?"

King paused before counting them out to himself. After a moment, he answered, "She is officially recognized as the eighth position."

"Eighth?" Yang raised an eyebrow. "She pushed Jaune into a corner and he had to use what is basically a god to beat her."

"He had a what?!" Saphron suddenly burst out.

But Yang continued as normal, "How is she only number eight?"

"Officially, is the important word here. Besides, the top five are the Champion and the Elite Four. Between Ruby and the top five are Raven and Qrow."

Ruby nodded, "Yeah, that makes sense."

Qrow let out a light sigh, but grinned, "Don't sell yourself short kid. Give it time."

As Ruby returned Florges to her ball, she let out a sigh. "Well, hopefully we got that out of the way before the tournament."

"Sorry about that." Cynthia returned her Spiritomb to its own ball and she turned to Ruby. "You have serious potential. It's no wonder Jaune spoke so highly of you."

"He does?" Ruby seemed surprised, but then picked up what exactly was said, "You know Jaune?"

Cynthia nodded, "Yep. He's the little brother I mentioned."

Yang couldn't help but snicker. "Yeah, that seems to check out."

Saphron just had to give a motion that accepted the possibility for this world. They definitely seemed similar enough.

"Sheesh." Yang crossed her arms and she grinned at the scene, "Does being strong trainers run in the family?"

Cynthia chuckled, "It does seem that way at times."

Suddenly, one of the pokeballs at Blake's hip popped open to reveal a purple and yellow feline pokemon with a tail that hooked back upward like a sickle. Pink marks adorned its face like a mask. It looked to either side, as if searching.

Dex: "Liepard, the Cruel Pokemon. A Dark Type. This Pokemon can sneak up on targets without seemingly making any sound. It often attacks faster than its target can react."

This caused Yang to chuckle, "Sounds like Blake."

Blake wanted to respond to that, but couldn't. She wasn't wrong.

Cynthia noticed the Pokemon's movements, "Is that normal?"

"It's not a good sign." Blake moved and kneeled down next to her charge, "What are you picking up?"

Liepard looked around before her sightline snapped to the forward-right. Her pupils shrunk and she made it clear she was pointing in that direction.

"Somethings wrong." Blake looked up in the same direction and gave her pokemon a pet on her head. "Let's go."

With that, they started to run off in the direction in question. They ran through a treeline and found three figures in armored robes with masks covering the upper half of their faces. They were huddled around a device of some kind.

Blake couldn't contain a low growl, "White Fang."

"So they're a thing in this one?" Yang asked no one in particular.

King nodded, "Indeed. Even if there aren't any Faunas, it doesn't mean that a White Fang won't appear in some form."

One of the grunts looked toward them and spit in annoyance, "Damn brats." He pulled a pokeball from his belt and sent it flying forward to reveal his pokemon. It was revealed to be a black and grey canine pokemon that let out a roar to intimidate anything around it.

Dex: "Mightyena, the Bite Pokemon. A Dark Type. It chases prey in packs of up to ten members. It will adhere to the orders of skilled trainers without question."

"So, a loyal dog? Hyena?" Yang asked, and took a glance to Blake. Said Faunas was ducking behind her chair with an annoyed glare at the pokemon. "Well, she's not hiding behind her dad, so hyena." She laughed, but Blake used the theater's magic to create an apple and tossed it at her head.

Ruby stepped forward and pulled a pokeball from her belt, "Go! Pangoro!"

The pokemon that appeared was a taller panda on two legs with fur resembling dark pants and a coat. He had a plant shoot in its mouth with two leaves. He had its arms crossed when he was released before noticing his opponent. He smirked and uncrossed his arms before slamming his fists together, ready for a fight.

Dex: "Pangoro, the Daunting Pokemon. A Fighting and Dark Type. Pangoro are the types to communicate with others through combat. Some become aggressive protectors of weaker and bullied pokemon."

"Aw, that's so cool!" Ruby was elated to have such a cool pokemon at her side.

The grunt just gave an annoyed growl before swinging his arm forward with the command, "Use Thunder Fang!"

The Mightyena opened his jaw and electricity crackled out before lightning formed around its teeth. It leapt forward and charged his opponent, the lightning forming a massive set of teeth beyond the pokemon and ready to chomp down on the pokemon before them.

But Ruby called out a retaliation, "Brick Break!"

Pangoro raised his arm and it started to glow before it slammed down just as his opponent leapt in. The attack connected to the hyena's head and sent him downward and into the dirt, his lightning-fueled biting attack exploding uselessly outward.

"Holy crap!" Yang was beaming in excitement, punching the air in front of her, "Kick butt and show those jerks whose boss!"

With the Mightyena out cold, the grunt returned the canine to his ball in frustration, "Damn it. Keep them back!" He moved behind the other two as he started to work on the machine faster.

The other two released their pokemon in unison, "GO! Luxray/Malamar!"

The first to appear was a dark furred lion with blue sections and yellow along its legs and a yellow star at the end of its tail. Its eyes were a bright red and yellow and looked like it was ready to kill at a moment's notice.

Dex: "Luxray, the Gleam Eyes Pokemon. An Electric Type. Its eyes are capable of seeing through objects with ease. It uses this trait to protect itself from danger and hunt prey."

The other was an upside down squid-like being of purple, pink, and white. Its pink beak formed a smirk as it shuddered in anticipation as its eyes narrowed. It radiated this aura of maliciousness and a desire to cause pain.

Dex: "Looking into this pokemon's eyes is said to cause a hypnotic trance in the observer, placing them under this pokemon's control."

There was a light pause before Ilia spoke up, "Yikes."

"No kidding." Nora felt a shudder run up her spine. That sounded like a problem waiting to happen.

Seeing two on one, Yang stepped forward with a ball, blue with yellow lightning strikes, expanding in her hands, "Let's go!"

The pokemon that appeared was Loppuny. However, unlike Jaune's, the cream-colored sections were a bright pink. The pokemon did a little spin before she did a little pose, revealing a small necklace with a round stone. As Yang swung her hand around, she revealed a glove with a similar stone. As both began to glow, the Lopunny began to glow and be surrounded by a round stone. When it shattered open, the Lopunny revealed she had changed. She now seemed to have black markings resembling torn leggings, her ears were seemingly tied into two long ponytails, and her pink fur rounded out like training gear.

Coco clapped her hands once, shouting, "Velvet. I have a new outfit idea."

Velvet felt a shiver run up her spine. That was a dangerous thing to hear from Coco.

As Mega Lopunny, the pokemon had become part fighting type.

Weiss tapped her chair in thought, having a realization. "If I'm right, that was a poor call."

"How so?" Yang was confused why this cool transformation was a bad idea.

"If I'm correct, I believe psychic typing would have advantage over fighting types."

"Oh!" Ruby called out, "Like 'mind over matter' kind of thing."

"Exactly."

King nodded to confirm, "You are correct. To be fair, however, Fighting types are strong against Dark types."

One of the grunts laughed,"Dumb brat! Malamar, use Psycho Cut!"

The squid-like monster raised her tentacle and slammed it downward toward Lopunny, creating a wave of psychic energy that flew forward. However, Pangoro got between the two and tanked the hit, taking no damage thanks to being a dark type as well.

This allowed Yang to call retaliation, "Use Play Rough!"

Lopunny lowered her stance before charging forward and jumping up and over Malamar. When she landed, it almost looked like she was playing around, only for each movement to result in a strike of some kind. Each strike was also accompanied by a pink heart. The Fairy type move partnered with Mega Lopunny's increased physical attack resulted in a super effective beatdown that knocked the squid down with a standing split-kick. When Malamar landed, the Lopunny returned to her waiting pose. She scoffed and kicked the Malamar like a soccer ball into the stunned trainer.

Yang jumped up with a shout, "Booyah! That's what I'm talking about!"

As the Luxray watched in shock, Pangoro was immediately in range as Ruby called out, "Earthquake!" The thuggish panda raised a foot and stomped down hard enough to crack the earth beneath him and sent Luxray flying. The lion flew up and landed on his trainer, knocked out from the damage.

Seeing the situation, the last goon was freaking out and moving faster to complete the device, only for Blake's Liepard to jump him and knock him away. She lets out a growl as he's quickly surrounded by the three remaining figures. "Not yet." He grabbed a ball from his belt and threw it up. It snapped open and revealed it was empty, but the distraction allowed him to sneak back to the device and slam in one last component. The machine roared to life and created a barrier around the last goon. He started to laugh as he placed his hands against the shield, "Too late now, brats! Witness as the Fang unleashes our greatest plan yet!"

The world began to distort above the shielded machine as though it was being twisted and warped in ways the air shouldn't. After a moment, it seemed to crack apart before shattering to reveal a dark void of nothingness. A pair of red eyes opened and began to glow.

"W-what the heck that?" Ruby felt unease at what she was seeing. It was impossible to ignore the feeling of dread it seemed to cause.

Everyone felt similarly, but Salem felt a certain kinship. It was hard to explain, but it was there.

The creature started to move through the portal, seemingly taking form from the darkness within. It was a massive grey, red, black, and yellow monster. It was serpentine in nature but had six legs that stomped onto the ground by the machine. A pair of black wings, with a set of three red spikes on each, stretched out from its back. They moved and morphed around like a wave of dark energy, becoming like claws before returning to its winged forms. It let out a roar that pierced the world. All sense of light and hope seemed to shake from its very presence.

Dex: "Giratina, the Renegade Pokemon. A Dragon and Ghost type. This pokemon is said to have been banished by Arceus for its violent nature. Old stories seem divided. Older myths call it an irredeemable monster. Meanwhile, newer tales seem to suggest it became an unseen protector of the Sinnoh region."

The Renegade Pokemon seemed to look around before looking down at the machine that summoned it. Its pupil shrank before it roared again. Its wings rose up before slamming down on the barrier.

"So much for a secret weapon." Harriet smirked with a sense of smug satisfaction. Guys like that grunt really got on her nerves.

However, a feedback event flew off the shield and slammed back up into Giratina. The ghost dragon recoiled in pain as an electric chain flew from the top of the dome and around its neck. As it shook itself to try to free itself, a wave of electricity flew through the chain and shocked the pokemon. The pain and surprise caused it to prepare a ball of shadow energy before sending it flying at the group. The ball flew at Pangoro and slammed into the bruiser hard enough to send him backward despite his advantage against ghost type attacks.

"That thing must hit like a truck." Roman watched the panda get laid out, but couldn't help but think what that must do given apparently mitigated damage.

Meanwhile, Cinder felt that, in another life, she'd have sympathized with the beast and hated the man behind the shield. Something about shock collars made her uneasy. However, as a near psychotic arsonist, she didn't feel that quite as much.

"Dang it!" Yang shouted and held up her pokeball, "Lopunny, return!" A red light shot out from the ball and re-digitized the pokemon to safety. Her normal / fighting type would have next to no ability to fight the ghostly dragon.

As the legendary roared, the goon laughed. "That's right! Show them what happens if they get in our way!"

"My, my." Cynthia walked up from behind Ruby and Yang with a grin on her face. "To think I'd see you again Giratina."

The dragon looked down toward the new face and seemed to focus on her.

"You've seen it before?" Ruby asked.

"Yes. During an incident a few years ago. I wasn't sure what to expect when it happened. But looking back, it saved Sinnoh from a madman's plans. As Champion of the Sinnoh Region, I am obligated to return the favor."

"Wait, hold on." Ruby blinked in surprise.

And the other Ruby had a similar reaction, "Champion?"

Cynthia pulled a pokeball from her set and held it out, "For now, we need to tire Giratina out and we can fix this. This feels like a four person job."

Yang looked to the set, noticing Weiss and Blake were nowhere to be seen. "Wait, but where are…?"

"So this is where you went." A new voice rang out behind them. The group turned to see Jaune walking up to the scene with a small paper platter of festival food, funnel cake sticks in this case. He walked up and handed the snack to Cynthia, who took one of the powdered cake sticks and took a happy bite from the snack. "Sorry I'm late. The line was longer than I expected." He was now dressed in a white leather jacket with its zipper open to show a golden yellow shirt. He had a pair of dark green pants and black boots. He looked up toward the legendary and his expression grew more sorrowful. "Now, let's get things started."

"Aww, here we go!" Nora cried out in excitement.

Cynthia tossed the ball and it opened to revealed a large oval-shaped being with large wings and small feet. Three points stuck out from the back of its head as well. Its body was primarily white with small red and blue designs, including at the ends of two of its spikes. He flew up with a twirl before striking a sort of pose.

Dex: "Togekiss, the Jubilee Pokemon. A Flying and Fairy Type. Known as the Bringer of Blessings, this pokemon has been shown as good luck charms since ancient times."

Jaune took out his own pokeball and threw it, "Let's go!" The pokemon that appeared looked like a bipedal shark-dragon. His body was dark purple with a red chest and golden accents on his face and lower chest. His arms had blade-like wings jutting out to either side of its body and a large fin on its back. His tail had a set of fins jutting out both upward and downward. There were a series of spikes on his arms and legs as well as sections on his head like a hammerhead shark for good measure. The shark-dragon lowered his body and let out a roar in challenge.

Dex: "Garchomp, the Mach Pokemon. A Dragon and Ground Type. This Pokemon's wings and arms formed into something resembling scythes. It can fly at the speed of sound in low altitudes, allowing it to cleave through trees with these scythes."

Yang was instantly having fun seeing that, "Holy crap that looks so cool!"

"Strong too." Mercury tapped his foot on the ground, waiting to see where this goes.

Giratina seemed to scrutinize the two and their pokemon. There seemed to be a moment of thought in its head, as if it recognized something, before it was shocked again. As it recoiled, it shouted out in pained fury.

As Yang heard that, she became angrier and angrier, "Those jerks will pay for that. But first," she pulled out a pokeball (a dark green and black ball) and threw it forward to join their raid. The pokemon that appeared looked like a black fox-like creature with very long and wild dark blue hair with a yellow bead tying it down near the end.

Dex: "Zoroark, the Illusion Fox Pokemon. A Dark Type. This pokemon is capable of creating mass illusions. It hides its dens in an attempt to protect its young and will attack any threats with force, both illusory and physical." After that, there was a light ping followed by, "Alternate coloration recorded."

They could see King's eye twitch.

And Harriet had to open her big mouth. "Something about that one in particular?"

Knox snickered before he answered, "It's his favorite and a shiny. The thing he's been trying to find for years at this point, across generations. His luck's not the best these days."

King turned to glare at Knox from across the theater, "Shut up."

With the squad set up, a Raid Battle was set to begin. And it truly kicked off when Giratina was shocked again and caused it to swing its wing upward. It started to glow with a green energy resembling a dragon's claws before slamming down toward the group.

Cynthia called out to her pokemon, "Togekiss! Intercept it!" The fairy type swung up to block the attack and tanked the claw-like energy with no damage thanks to its immunity to dragon moves.

This opened an opportunity for Yang, "Night Daze!" Her Zoroark gathered dark energy around her claws before slamming it down onto the ground and surging it outward toward the legendary. The dark move was super effective and dealt significant damage, coupled with clouding its vision.

Ruby saw this and called out to her panda pokemon, "Quickly! Payback!" Pangoro's body seemed to surge with energy before he flew forward and punched the legendary in the jaw. The attack did extra damage as response to the damage taken from the earlier attack. It was enough to push the legendary renegade backward from the force.

This gave Jaune his own opportunity, with a twist. "Cynthia! Let's go!"

"Right!"

They both pointed toward the Renegade and called out to their pokemon, "Dazzling Gleam! / Dragon Claw!"

Togekiss twirled upward with a glowing shine that flew off the pokemon like a series of star shaped missiles. The camera tracked the shining effects to show Jaune's Garchomp running between the stars with glowing wings. As they got closer, Giratina tried to intercept with a Shadow Ball. The ball slammed down into the Gleam, causing both attacks to erupt into a purple and pink explosion of sparkles and eerie wind. From the smoke, Garchomp leapt up with reared back claws, slamming both into Giratina's face.

"H-holy shit!" Yang was having way too much fun this time. "That was freaking awesome!"

"And a rather smart strategy." Port tapped his chair in thought. "Though risky. If they weren't careful or powerful enough, the attack could have gone through the Gleaming attack and struck this Garchomp."

"Not very likely." Knox chuckled, "Cynthia is about as good as it gets. Her pokemon are top tier among her class. They knew what they were doing."

The grunt, meanwhile, slammed his fists onto his dome shield. "No! Fucking fight back you overgrown worm!"

"And he doesn't even have the decency to treat it even remotely nicely." Ilia growled, seeing too many parallels with old SDC overseers from when her parents worked in the mines.

Then, suddenly, the shield seemed to glitch for a moment. He looked around, confused, "The hell? What was that?" Then, he turned around to see the cause.

Floating up behind the shield was what looked like a flying saucer with a set of magnets floating around the under section of the body. It looked like it had three eyes, two to the extreme sides of the body with a center eye on the larger section. A pair of screws jutted out from what could be called shoulders and a yellow antenna stuck up from the center of its body.

Dex: "Magnezone, the Magnet Area Pokemon. An Electric and Steel type. This pokemon seems to send and receive unknown magnetic signals from space."

The magnets as its 'hands' struck the barrier and electricity shot from its antenna and into the screws before flowing into the magnets. The resulting powersurge caused the energy shield to burst like a bubble and leave the grunt open. This allowed the camera to show a wire wrapped around the third magnet and connected to a laptop in Blake's hands. Next to her was Weiss with a smirk on her face.

"I was wondering where they went." Mercury saw the plan's points play out in his head and couldn't ignore how solid the plan was when you got right to it.

The grunt seemed to get pissed and grabbed at a pokeball on his belt, only to come to a stark realization. As a shadow loomed over him, he slowly looked upward to see the Dark Renegade glaring down at him. He watched its mouth open and form a ball of ghostly energy. "Uh oh." It was all he could get out before it shot forward and impacted against the machine, causing it to explode. The grunt was tossed away into the pile of his teammates.

"I'm surprised he got off so easily." Sienna remarked. "If someone did that to me, they'd be in much worse shape by the time I was done."

"But it makes sense." Tai replied to his now girlfriend. "Think about it like this. You have a shock collar and the one behind it has a moment of weakness. You can knock down the guy, sure, but removing the collar frees you in case of failsafes."

"That's fair."

Giratina, now truly free from its binding, let out a distorted roar of triumph. Everyone around it was tense, but seemed happy for it. Only for it to turn back to Cynthia and Jaune. This time, it roared directly at them before it lowered its head and looked them in the eyes, as best it could when its eyes were as large as a person. The camera moved to its point of view and showed a man in a blue jumpsuit with a white and gold apron and black boots. He looked like a man who traveled around a lot and perhaps sold wares to passersby. His eyes were wide and looking up to the legend before his shadow darkened and his face turned to a wide grin. The scene fell away and they could see the two again. There were clear similarities between them and the man. But Giratina turned to focus on Jaune. There was an ominous feeling in the air to the legend. Then, it knew exactly what that feeling was. Him. And to make it worse, the legend could feel a piece of its creator among the young man. Giratina stood back up tall and turned to the broken reality by the machine. It lifted off the ground and moved through the portal, becoming more serpentine with six tendril-like wings from its back. The tendrils all seemed to slam into the air around the portal before dragging reality back together, returning to its isolated prison until it is needed once more.

As the scene calmed once more, they heard Cynthia call out, "Well that was interesting." And the camera went black to end the viewing.

"That was insane!" Nora was bouncing in her chair at the sheer hype she got to see on screen.

"But what was the point of the story at the beginning?" Harriet tapped her heel on the ground, something of a tick for her body when she was feeling antsy. She really didn't like just sitting around, even if she just got back to her seat.

King just shrugged, "Who knows? Maybe something for another appearance." He said nothing else, and just let everything move on.