Season 5 Episode 12: Attrition
Spoiler:

“Holy fu-” Steven began to say as he took in the massive form in front of him. Lance however, who was the only person who was in the room five seconds earlier that remained, had already grabbed a Pokeball, sending out his Dragonite. Whilst Steven could see that Lance seemed rattled by their opponent, Lance had not hesitated, and he was a little ashamed that he had.

In front of them stood an eleven foot tall goliath, plated in red armour, and looking as if it weighed the same as a small car, that Steven only recognised from its large presence in Hoenn Mythology. Groudon.

“Aqua Tail!” Lance ordered, as Dragonite rushed forward, the moisture in the air condensing around its tail, encasing it, as Dragonite flipped in the air, attempting to slam its tail into Groudon.

“Fire Blast…” said a voice that was powerful, but completely calm. Steven fought the urge to try and locate the source of the voice, knowing it was likely hidden behind the massive form of Groudon, and instead grabbed a Pokeball off his belt, having a hunch of what would happen next.

Groudon roared as a violent torrent of flame erupted from its jaws, meeting the water encasing Dragonite’s tail, causing it to evaporate violently. Steven knew however it would do far more. Groudon was a Legendary Pokemon associated with blistering sunlight, causing immense drought, and despite Groudon not being a Fire Type Pokemon, the heat that seemed to radiate from it implied it may as well be. Dragonite roared out in pain, as Steven used the steam that had now covered the battlefield to send out his own Pokemon, obstructed from the enemy’s view. Metagross appeared in front of Steven, barely visible with its own colouring somewhat blending in to the steam

“Magnet Rise!” Steven ordered, knowing that being a Steel Type specialist made most of his Pokemon vulnerable to the Earthquake attack that Groudon’s trainer would likely order otherwise.

Lance had seen the speed Groudon had been able to follow orders and let off an attack, and knew that as fast as Dragonite was, off the mark Groudon would be quicker. Knowing this, Lance was already planning his next attack, wanting to give Dragonite every opportunity to land a hit.

“Dragon Rush!” Lance commanded. Despite Dragon Rush being less accurate than Dragonite’s other attacks, Dragonite was already in close quarters, all but negating that, whilst having a reasonable chance to make Groudon flinch.

Steven already knew how Groudon would respond.

“Protect.”

Groudon raised a protect barrier, blocking Dragonite’s attack, and Steven, having foreseen this, decided to make use of the very brief moment of reprieve of Groudon not attacking.

“Cosmic Power!” Steven instructed, making a split second choice. His initial thought was to use Iron Defence, which would double Metagross’ physical defence, but realised at the last second that despite Groudon appearing to be more of a physical attacker, its true strength was using Ground Type moves, which his Pokemon, still obscured by the steam, was now immune to. However, with the radiating, sun-like heat emanating from Groudon, a Fire Blast hitting Metagross would be devastating. Cosmic Power, however, would reinforce both Metagross’ physical and special defence, albeit not as much.

On the other side of the battlefield, Steven could see Lance ordering another attack from his Dragonite, and couldn’t help but see the similarity in how Chris battled. Both trainers, despite being a little impulsive, were still tactical, albeit, opting to go on the offensive more than anything else. And in any other battle, that may work. Against Groudon though, it would not be enough.

The steam dispersed, as Steven began moving towards Lance, however felt a presence in his mind, with a sense of alarm, before what felt like an invisible hand grabbed him by the back of the collar and pulled him. A split second later, jagged spikes erupted from the ground where he had almost stood.

“They’re trying to keep us separated…” Steven thought to himself, understanding exactly why. Lance would continue to attack, but without more intentional tactics, Dragonite would wipe itself out before Groudon fell. On the opposite side, Steven’s style of battling would be more beneficial in this match, however his severely disadvantaged team of Pokemon would not allow his tactics to achieve their full effect.

“Pull your thumb out of your a**, and help me!” Lance shouted to Steven, before ordering another attack of Dragonite.

“We need a plan!” Steven called back, as Groudon blocked another of Dragonite’s attacks.

“We have one! Knock it out before it kills us!” Lance yelled. “Now f**king do something useful!”

“And how’s that working out for you, dumba**?!” Steven shouted at Lance, frustrated at his former colleague’s brashness. He looked at the distance between himself and Lance, and could see that despite Groudon being able to stop him reaching Lance, it wasn’t going to be anywhere near as difficult to meet Lance halfway. The difficult part would be convincing the proud and stubborn former Champion to actually meet him halfway.

“I’m gonna try and buy you a second to get to me!” Steven called. “Don’t be an idiot, and make it count!”

Lance went to argue, knowing that whatever Steven said to him, would be heard by their opponent, and countered. However, he also knew that based on the display he and Steven had just given, Lance now had an advantage. Placing himself in the shoes of the enemy, he knew that Groudon’s trainer would be countering whatever Steven had Metagross do. Because in the eyes of his enemy, Lance could act one of two ways, either following Steven’s instructions, or ignoring them. Each possibility would require a different response. Meanwhile, Steven would not claim to be buying Lance a second to move, if he weren’t planning on following through. To do that would risk having Lance killed. Which meant that Groudon’s trainer would be choosing to respond either to Lance, who he could not predict with any certainty what he would do, or to Steven, who he actually had an idea of how Steven would act.

Lance knew that Groudon was the fastest attacker, followed by Dragonite, with Metagross being the slowest. And if Groudon’s trainer was planning on countering Metagross, Groudon would not be acting until Metagross had taken action, effectively buying Dragonite a free move. Lance considered what attack he could use, before having another thought.

“Metagross, Ice Punch!” Steven instructed, as Metagross used its telekinesis to launch itself forward into Groudon, freezing the air around one of its claws, in preparation to slam it into Groudon. Lance knew what Groudon’s next move was, and whilst he considered ordering a Dragon Rush, he knew the likelihood of it causing Groudon to flinch was too low. However, he had to give an order first, if he wanted Dragonite to his before Groudon did.

“Rain Dance!” Lance ordered, as he began to run towards Steven, and Steven moved towards Lance. A split second later, rain began to fall as he heard the voice of Groudon’s trainer give a command, which would now be far less effective.

“Fire Blast!”

Another jet of flame erupted from Groudon’s jaws, however with the heat Groudon had been emanating now mitigated by the rain that was also weakening fire attacks, the attack which would have all but knocked out Metagross, now barely seemed to affect it, despite the disadvantage that Metagross held.

“So what’s this plan of yours?” Lance asked as both Dragonite and Metagross attempted to retreat a little to regroup.

“Step one is getting us able to communicate,” Steven answered. “Step two is still under development…”

“For f**k’s sake…” Lance muttered.

“It’s fine,” Steven said, the gears in his head turning. “One step at a time…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

It hadn’t taken Cassandra and Jarena long to realise what had happened, however any chance of discussing how they would return to their own reality was cut short by their opponent wasting no time in attacking them.

“Volcanion, Fire Blast!”

Their attention was pulled immediately to the large maroon Pokemon that despite being quadrupedal, still was nearly six feet tall, which roared, releasing a blast of red hot flame. Without hesitation, Cassandra grabbed Jarena by the arm, pulling her close to herself, whilst raising her other hand, which glowed with a red light. When the Fire Blast attack seemed as if it should make contact, the red light of Cassandra’s hand exploded outwards, causing the immense Fire Type attack to disperse in a ring around them.

“I’m so glad you learnt this non-verbal Shadowcraft business…” Jarena muttered in shock, knowing that she had almost been cremated without even knowing what was happening. Cassandra nodded in agreement, knowing she could not have said the incantation quick enough, and simply was relying on instinct. “How’re we handling this?”

Cassandra considered sending out her Swanna, figuring that their opponent was a Fire Type. However, in her peripheral vision, she noticed something. Steam seeping out from the holes that lined the arch that grew off Volcanion’s back.

“Remember how Jon and I beat Rayquaza?” Cassandra asked, as she sent out Ace the Ampharos. “I’ll do what I did back then, and you do what Jon did. This thing is Fire and Water Type…”

“Come on already!” called out the voice of their opponent, who Cassandra, albeit cautiously, was only now taking in for the first time. Like Cassandra, she was tall, only an inch shorter than herself, with blonde hair, though hers fell halfway down her back, and had a subtle wave to it. “I don’t particularly feel like waiting all day for you two…”

“You weren’t waiting when you had that thing try to char-grill us!” Jarena shot back angrily, as their opponent simply grinned back at them. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

“Codename is Geyser,” the woman, who seemed to be a year or two older than Cassandra. “I was told to take the Legendary Pokemon of whoever I found myself facing here, but I guess I got lucky coming face to face with you two…”

“Why’s that?” Jarena asked.

“Because I don’t need to hold back…” Geyser answered. “Our next orders were to make sure there were no witnesses left, so I get to have as much fun as I want…”

“Jarena, get a Pokemon out…” Cassandra warned, knowing that all of this chatter would only provide Geyser and Volcanion with an opportunity to attack them, and this time, Cassandra may not be so lucky.

Jarena nodded, before opting to send out Jubilee the Bellossom. Cassandra at first cringed at the choice of Pokemon, knowing they were battling a Fire Type, however quickly corrected herself, as she realised just why Jarena had chosen this Pokemon. She nodded at her teammate, as Geyser simply took in the scene and laughed.

“Ampharos I understand, but you must really hate that Pokemon to send it out against Volcanion like-” Geyser began, before being cut off by Jarena.

“Stun Spore!”

Jubilee cried out, before launching a fine yellow powder towards Volcanion, who had not been expecting the battle to start yet, as Cassandra grinned.

“Volcanion!” Geyser called out. “Fire Blast!”

“Shock Wave!” Cassandra ordered, as Ace cried out in response, now faster than Volcanion, thanks to its Stun Spore paralysis. As Volcanion attempted to prepare a Fire Blast attack, it was interrupted by a highly accurate, albeit weaker bolt of lightning, which alongside the paralysis, prevented it from moving, buying Jubilee an opportunity to act.

Back when Cassandra and Jon battled Rayquaza, Cassandra’s role was to have the loaned Pokemon she borrowed from Jon interrupt Rayquaza and get in the way whenever it set its sights on Jon’s Pokemon, in order to take away its attention, and allow Jon’s Pokemon to subtly ramp up power. And even with the type disadvantage, Jarena had chosen the perfect Pokemon for a few reasons, though Cassandra already knew the first. Compared to Ace, Jubilee was less of a threat, being weak to Volcanion’s Fire Typing. When having to determine which opponent was a bigger threat, and by extension, needed her and Volcanion’s immediate attention, Geyser would pick Ampharos.

“Light Screen!” Cassandra ordered, as Ace cried out in response, creating a barrier that would help protect their team from special attacks for half a minute or so.

“Heat Wave!” Geyser ordered.

“Protect!” Jarena shouted.

Jets of hot air erupted from Volcanion’s body, creating a burning wind that rushed into both Ace and Jubilee, the former taking the hit, though not seeming too damaged by it, and the latter protecting itself with a barrier.

Cassandra grimaced, knowing that Jubilee would likely not be able to handle many of those attacks, and would struggle to ramp up power if this continued. Knowing she had to give Geyser a reason to focus more-so on Ace, she gave her next order.

“Charge Beam!” Cassandra commanded, as Ampharos let off a weaker electrical attack that struck Volcanion, and raised its own attack power. Geyser seemed to realise that Ampharos was going to get too powerful if left unchecked, and acted accordingly.

“Flamethrower!” Geyser commanded.

Jarena had a move planned, however realised that the timing would have an effect to Cassandra’s detriment. She considered it, however knew that it was Cassandra’s job to keep attention off her, and that if it helped them in the long haul, Cassandra would want her to do it.

“Sunny Day!” Jarena commanded. “Then Growth!”

Jubilee cried out in glee, as a small orb of condensed sunlight materialised in the sky, and Volcanion let off a Flamethrower attack, now empowered by this, which struck Ampharos. Cassandra watched as her Pokemon became significantly dizzier on his feet, though understood what Jarena was planning. Bellossom were a Pokemon that thrived in sunlight, both due to its Chlorophyll ability which would double its speed and reaction time, and its use of the move Growth, which in sunlight like this, would double its attack power both physically and for special moves. Between Chlorophyll and Volcanion’s own loss of speed due to Stun Spore paralysing it, Jarena had managed to empower Jubilee tremendously in only two moves. Cassandra couldn’t help but grin. Despite Jarena not setting her sights on competing like she did, Cassandra knew she’d be silly to not consider Jarena a threat should they battle themselves.

“Baton Pass!” Jarena commanded, as Cassandra cringed, thinking Jarena had an edge she was giving up by swapping so early. However, when Jarena’s next Pokemon emerged, Cassandra realised she needed to give her friend more credit. Ruckus the Plusle emerged onto the battlefield, and both trainers knew that its attack power, both physically and for special attacks, had increased further, with both Pokemon having the Plus ability which would increase the entering Pokemon’s power if its partner shared it, or had Minus. “Now Ruckus, Shock Wave!”

“Rain Dance!” Cassandra ordered, knowing that from this point the harsh sunlight would only serve to benefit Volcanion, whilst rain would allow Ruckus to really let loose. The orb of sunlight disappeared as rain began to fall out of nowhere.

“Steam Eruption!” Geyser ordered, however Volcanion struggled to move after the heavy attack, as Jarena grinned.

“Ruckus, hit it with Thunder…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

“Look out!”

Abbee flinched as another heavy bolt of lightning struck an invisible barrier that Victini had erected just in time to block it. She tried to give another command, however her opponent, a young woman who was ironically named Paragon, ordered the large black dragon that she commanded to make another attack, not against Victini, but Abbee herself.

“Zekrom, Thunderbolt again!”


The battle had been going for thirty seconds or so, however Victini hadn’t even been able to launch an attack, Paragon having been ready for them and calling for Zekrom to attack Abbee, and it taking all he could muster to prevent any of the attacks from landing. There was half a battlefield’s distance between them, and whilst Victini could quite easily land a Searing Shot, he would not have time to protect Abbee from the next attack that Paragon would order, and with Zekrom being a Dragon Type that resists Fire Type moves, it would not be worth the risk.

Despite knowing Victini was her only chance at not being struck and killed by the Thunderbolt attack, Abbee still attempted to run, figuring that if she stayed in the same place, Zekrom would simply be able to move towards her, or have an easier time aiming, both of those possibilities allowing it to use a heavier hitting albeit less accurate move that Victini may not be able to completely hold off.

“We need a plan…” Abbee muttered as she ran to put more distance between herself and Zekrom, and Victini, who sat on her shoulder, holding on for dear life, deflected the bolt with another telekinetic barrier. The deflected bolt launched into the stands, striking a row of plastic, fold-down seats, and melting them instantly. “But we can’t even try and attack without this thing killing me…”

“Fusion Bolt!” Paragon called out. She barely stood above five feet tall, though was not as slim as Abbee was. Her hair was ash blonde, reminding Abbee of Brianna Levine, who she encountered the summer before, though her hair seemed to clash with her dark brown eyes.

“Abbee, don’t move,” Victini said, causing Abbee to halt to a stop, despite every instinct telling her to run faster than she had ever run before. Victini knew he could disperse this one, however needed to focus. “On my mark, run for it…”

Abbee nodded, as Victini, instead of using a telekinetic barrier, used Protect instead.

i“Go!”

The instruction had been telepathic, as Victini had not wanted to risk Abbee not hearing him over the sound of the attack striking. As she ran, she remembered what she knew about Fusion Bolt.

”Victini, are you listening?” Abbee thought intently as Victini blocked another attack.

”Always…”

”You were taught Fusion Bolt, and the other one, weren’t you?” Back in Unova?” Abbee asked, as she tried to remember when Elesa had flown in an expert in Sinnoh Mythology from Castalia University to teach Victini the moves used by the Pokemon of Unova Mythology. She figured she could communicate quicker using thoughts, especially if Victini were privy to her own memories.

”Fusion Flare?” Victini asked as it blocked another Thunderbolt attack.

”Remember what we were told?” Abbee asked. ”Fusion Flare increases in power if it’s used in response to Fusion Bolt and vice-versa!”

“Abbee, it makes no difference if I can’t make an attack without you being fried!” Victini replied verbally, telepathy using too much of his focus and now unnecessary. “Besides, this thing is slow, and even if I intentionally let it attack first, after that, it will just play defensively if I don’t go in for the hit straight away!”

“We can work out details when we get there!” Abbee retorted, as she looked around. “Let’s deal with the immediate problem first…”

She watched as another bolt of lightning was launched towards her, which Victini blocked again, and had a flashback to watching Regieleki neutralise Deoxys’ Zap Cannon when it rampaged three years prior. For a second she wondered if Victini could pull off the same trick, but remembered Justin saying that it was unique to Regieleki’s physiology.

”Electricity flows through the path of least resistance, and Regieleki can change the resistance of its body,” Justin had explained years earlier. ”So if its own electrical attack meets that of an opponent, and it raises its own resistance high enough, both attacks will be attracted to the other Pokemon…”

As she remembered this, she remembered watching Jon’s match against Ethan Caldwell on the S.S. Wishmaker, when unbeknownst to her at the time, Jon was trying to discredit himself in order to take the fall for the cheating allegations.

“Victini, I have an idea on how to not get hit by these electric attacks,” Abbee thought, knowing the Pokemon, despite choosing to answer verbally, was listening. ”But I’ll still be susceptible to other attacks, so you need to be ready to give it hell, and not give it the chance to target me…”

“What do I need to do?” Victini asked.

”When I give the signal, rush it with a V-Create, and don’t look back, even if you think I’ve been hit…”

Victini was silent for a moment, before begrudgingly answering.

“Okay…”

Victini blocked another two bolts, as Abbee ran intentionally towards the back corner of the arena.

“Shock Wave!” Paragon ordered, and Abbee knew this was her only chance.

“Now!” Abbee yelled out, as she threw Victini, thankful for his small stature, as hard as she could towards Zekrom, before diving past one of the large vertical steel beams that supported the roof of the stadium above them.

Despite Shock Wave having a reputation of never missing, Abbee knew that electricity would always act like electricity, and like Justin described, follow the path of least resistance. And whilst any Electric Type attack was powerful enough to travel through the air, despite it not being a good conductor, if given a better path, it would take it. The attack, which seemed as if it should glide past the beam and strike Abbee, slid off course striking the beam, and electrifying it. As Abbee hit the ground, she was worried for a brief second that the electricity may still find her, given her own body would be a better conductor than the ground beneath her, she realised she was safe. Whilst outside the door of the stadium was pure blackness, gravity in this copy seemed no different, and if the roof was not collapsing down on them, the instance they were in must have copied enough of the ground beneath them that the beams could support the weight of the roof, and she knew that to support that weight, those beams would be going deep beneath her.

In the same moment, Victini reached the peak of his arc, and repositioned himself to be facing Zekrom.

“Time to fight me, a**hole!” Victini shouted, as his crown erupted into flames, and he rocketed into the Legendary Pokemon. Victini collided with the large, black Legendary Pokemon’s forehead, stunning it for a second, as Victini’s own speed and defences fell as a result. However, Abbee could see from where she climbed to her feet behind the pole that had saved her from electrocution, that Victini had bought himself an opportunity, surprising Zekrom with the attack it was not expecting.

“Guard Swap!” Abbee commanded, as Victini breathed a sigh of relief, knowing Abbee had not been hit. Victini’s own reduced defences were switched with Zekrom’s, bringing Victini’s resilience to its original state, whilst Zekrom’s own were weakened.

“Fusion Bolt!” Paragon ordered angrily, as Zekrom launched the powerful attack at Victini, which struck home, knocking Victini back. Victini hit the ground, however as he slid back, managed to jump back to his feet.

“Fusion Flare!” Abbee ordered, as Victini cried out, materialising a giant orb of itself, larger than Abbee had ever seen from the Pokemon, before launching it at Zekrom, who was thrown back, only regaining its balance at the last moment.

”Your fight is with me!” Victini roared telepathically to all present. ”And you’ve really gotten on my nerves…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

“It’s poetic that it’s you I’m facing…”

In front of Justin stood a young man, similar in age to himself, with light brown hair that had been buzzed down to a fine fuzz. His dark green eyes stared intently at Justin, though there didn’t seem to be any hostility or resentment in them, but instead determination. Justin could tell that this man saw Justin as nothing more than a job to complete, something he wasn’t sure was more or less worrying than obvious malicious intent.

“You can call me Vigour,” the man said. “But everyone knows who you are, Justin…”

“Don’t remind me,” Justin retorted as he groaned. “I don’t know why I, of all people, seem to get this sort of attention…”

Vigour grinned, and Justin wondered whether this was all for show, or whether, had they not been on opposite sides of this battle, they may have actually gotten along well. Justin knew that Vigour was from Blackstone, and given the blackness outside the stadium door, Justin figured Palkia was the reason for everyone disappearing, and Vigour appearing here.

“So tell me, why is it poetic?” Justin asked.

“We were told to take the Legendary Pokemon of whoever we found ourselves facing in our instance, and wipe them out,” Vigour answered. “And if you’re here, it means that the Pokemon I will be taking is the brother of my own…”

Before Justin could ask, Vigour casually threw forward a Pokeball. Whilst Justin still unlatched Regieleki’s Pokeball, there was no malicious intent in the throw. More like Vigour simply wanted to show Justin something. When the light disappeared, Justin knew exactly why.

Between them standing at nearly seven feet tall was a Pokemon Justin had never seen in the flesh, but remembered seeing a statue of, at the same place he caught Regieleki. The other undiscovered Legendary Titan. Regidrago, the Titan of Dragons.

“You caught that in Galar?” Justin asked in shock. “How?”

When at the ruins himself four years earlier, Justin had made a choice between Regidrago and Regieleki, choosing the Pokemon who would theoretically suit his style of battling at the time well. Their hypothesis was that they would only be able to animate one of the two statues, and it was proven correct, as after Regieleki was captured, the statue of Regidrago could not be activated. Or so they thought.

“It wasn’t magic that prevented Regidrago from being activated after Regieleki was captured,” Vigour answered. “It was a mechanical system, well designed and hidden from view. A researcher in Pokemon Mythology wouldn’t have been able to identify the components, and even if she did, the laws of physics wouldn’t allow those hidden components to be shifted back the way they were. But some laws of physics don’t apply to us…”

“Palkia?”

Vigour nodded with a grin.

“So I was told to take the Legendary Pokemon of whoever I faced and leave no witnesses. But you seem like a smart guy, so I’ll give you another option…”

“And that is?” Justin asked, almost amused. Vigour grinned.

“Join us. Blackstone want Regieleki, sure, but even if I were to take it by force, and finish you off, nobody at Blackstone could make the same use of Regieleki that you do…” Vigour explained. “I know some of my comrades wouldn’t want to see the big picture, but I do, and Blackstone would be better off instead recruiting who we can from your little band of friends, and only fighting who we have to. Granted, I know Jon would never cooperate with us. He is too far in Steven’s pocket. But you…”

“And why would I join Blackstone?”

“Firstly, we could make Justin Collins disappear. You could have a quiet life outside of the spotlight, other than a handful of jobs a year that you’ll get called on. You’d be reimbursed generously. Enough to retire by the time you’re forty,” Vigour answered, sounding more excited at the prospect. “And you’d actually be able to make a difference in the world…”

“Not a good difference,” Justin retorted.

“That’s subjective…” Vigour answered. “The people don’t know what’s good for them. Why else would they intentionally divide into nations and regions, represented by one-percenters who argue and bicker with each other over nonsense whilst people are murdered and starving…”

“So what, your goal is to have the biggest stick, so you can beat everyone into submission?” Justin said. “You said yourself that me and my friends are going to be killed by Blackstone should everything go to plan on your end. Isn’t it a bit rich to talk about people being murdered when those are your methods?”

“A small price to pay for the power to make the world a better place…” Vigour answered, as Justin sent out Regieleki.

“No deal,” Justin stated with a sense of finality. “And I can tell you this much, if you can’t take Regieleki from me, your comrades stand no chance against the others…”

Vigour’s expression hardened, before nodding solemnly.

“In that case, you leave me no choice…” Vigour said quietly, before giving his first order. “Dragon Energy!”

Justin knew that even if Vigour spoke first, as long as he was quick enough after, Regieleki would strike first. He was thankful for the intentional design of the Legendary Titans. He knew that the three represented in Hoenn Mythology, Regirock, Regice and Registeel, had meticulously even defensive capabilities, Regirock in physical defence, Regice in special defence, and Registeel the average of both. And as strong as Regirock was in physical defence, and Regice was in special defence, Regieleki excelled in speed. Because of this, Justin knew that unless Dragon Energy was a move like Extreme Speed which would always strike first, Regieleki would be quicker.

What this also meant was that Regidrago’s strength was in one of four areas. It was either as strong of a physical attacker as Regirock was a physical defender, as strong a special attacker as Regice was a special defender, a mix of both like Registeel, or had incredible constitution. And considering Dragon Type Pokemon’s strength usually lies in their ability to resist attacks, Justin figured he knew which of these fit Regidrago best.

“Protect!” Justin ordered, not knowing how strong Dragon Energy would be, or if it had any other effects. He had never heard of the move before, and didn’t want to risk it being a harder hitting attack than Regieleki could take.

Justin was glad he did. From the central part of Regidrago’s body, erupted a beam far stronger even than the Draco Meteor that Lance had his Dragonite use to break out of prison the summer before. He was shocked to see that unlike Draco Meteor, which weakened the user, and was treated as a last resort, Regidrago didn’t seem to have any detriment to itself. Justin figured that Regidrago had an equivalent of Regieleki’s Transistor ability, which increased the attack power of any Electric Type attack by a factor of fifty percent. However, even a Zap Cannon empowered by Transistor would not be that powerful…

“Agility!” Justin ordered. “Then Substitute!”

Doubling its already immense speed, Regieleki bought time to make another move, though Justin knew that he needed more time to figure out what made Regidrago tick before he committed to going on the offensive, if that even was his best course of action.

Regieleki vanished, being replaced with a stuffed toy version of itself, which Regidrago, after a quick order from Vigour, dismissed with a Dragon Breath attack. Regieleki reappeared on the other side of the battlefield, ready for its next order.

Justin wondered if Regidrago’s ability was more effective than Regieleki’s but dismissed the idea. Both Pokemon were created equal. Different, yes, but equal. Changing tack, Justin began instead trying to remember if any of Regieleki’s moves in the opening round of a match could be that powerful, and realised there was only one.

Electro Ball had the capacity to be as strong as Dragon Energy, but that was because its power scaled based on the difference in speed between the user and the target. If Regieleki were four times as fast as its opponent, Electroball would hit just as hard, and be just as accurate. Which implied that Dragon Energy would be similar, in that its sheer power scaled based off something else.

Justin knew it couldn’t be based on attributes of the Pokemon, as in terms of attack power, both Pokemon seemed equally ranked, and if their attack were equal, and the other three Legendary Titans had varying defence, Regieleki and Regidrago’s defence should be close to matching as well. Whilst Gyro Ball, a Steel Type move, had the opposite effect of Electro Ball, scaling up in power based on how much slower the user is than the target, and Regidrago was definitely slower than Regieleki, it was not slow enough to warrant an attack like that.

“Lock On!” Justin commanded. “Then Zap Cannon!”

Justin had a theory that Regidrago’s constitution was as incredible as Regieleki’s speed, and if Dragon Energy were to scale off anything, it would be that constitution that makes Regidrago so formidable. And based on the fact that both Pokemon were at peak condition when Regidrago made the opening move, Regieleki’s own health likely had no effect. Effectively, Dragon Energy seemed like a Dragon Type version of Eruption.

In the time it would take Regidrago to make one move, Regieleki was fast enough to make two. The first, to hone in on Regidrago and guarantee the next move would hit. The next being one of Regieleki’s most powerful, hindered only by its lack of accuracy.

A large bolt of lightning rocketed across the field, striking Regidrago. Whilst that attack would normally be enough to knock out any Pokemon, Regidrago’s Dragon Typing resisted the attack, which in addition to its huge reserves of energy, barely staggered the Pokemon. It did, however, leave Regidrago paralyzed.

“Dragon Energy!” Vigour called out, as Regidrago let off another beam, this one far weaker than the first, however still incredibly powerful, throwing Regieleki back. The Pokemon quickly regained its footing, however Justin knew that this battle was still stacked against him. Regidrago looked as if it could take another two Zap Cannons, maybe even more before it fell. Whilst Regieleki was more worn down after that single Dragon Energy hit than Justin had seen in a long time. Even a Twister attack, a Dragon Type move that was relatively weak, used mostly for causing the target to flinch, or hitting airborne targets, would knock it out should it land.

”Play it safe, and take your time…” Justin thought to himself, as he planned Regieleki’s next move. ”Don’t do anything reckless…”

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

“Really?”

Violet and Willow spun around at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, realising that everyone else was gone. Willow cursed under her breath at the fact that her reagent pouch had been left in the lodge from when she and the Diamond Ladies had used Shadowcraft to try and bring Chris back from the cusp of death. She instead placed a hand by her belt, unsure of which Pokemon she should send out. Violet had the same thought.

Their opponent was a woman in her early thirties with very curly, fair hair and blue eyes. Her expression, as well as the tone in the single word she had said, indicated one prevailing emotion. Boredom.

“Can I help you?” Violet asked, though her tone indicative of just how much she wanted to help this woman. “Who are you?”

“Codename Guardian,” the woman said as she withdrew a Pokeball, not seeming enthusiastic about the whole ordeal. “And I don’t think you can do much to help me. I’ve drawn the short straw as it is…”

Guardian tossed her Pokeball forward, revealing a medium sized quadrupedal Pokemon that seemed to be composed of cloud and dirt. Despite having lived at the Academy for a year, and seeing all manner of Pokemon both in person, owned by visiting trainers, and in match replays for analysis, neither had seen this Pokemon before, and given what they knew of Blackstone, that likely meant it was Legendary.

“See, I was hoping to at least have some fun, but I got the the worst pick,” Guardian continued. “The weakest battler of the witches, who happens to just have two Legendary Pokemon, and a glorified Furret…”

Violet’s temper flared at Guardian’s words, however she knew that her and Willow were in a dangerous situation. Alongside Jarena, Violet’s training was the least intense with the exception of Willow, who was not at the Academy to become a better battler, but more so to protect it on a Shadowcraft front. Whilst Violet and Jarena both wanted to improve as battlers, they didn’t want to compete at the level Cassandra did, instead viewing the skill as useful to their own ambitions, neither of which would place them in front of Legendary Pokemon, or so they thought…

Realistically, this was the second time since returning from Alola that Violet and Willow found themselves in a serious fight, the first being when Delilah attacked the Academy. And on that night, they had been paired with Abbee and Chris respectively, who handled the heavy lifting of Pokemon battling, leaving Violet and Willow, as well as Cassandra and Jarena, to focus on defending from Shadowcraft. Now however, Shadowcraft was not their safest option.

Knowing little about their enemy, Willow opted to send out Marshadow, who held far less weaknesses than Latias, and was more offensively suited. Violet, seeing that the opposing Pokemon was likely partly Ground Type, sent out Azura the Milotic.

“Ice Beam!” Violet ordered, as Azura let out a shrill cry, before a beam of white-blue light erupted from its forehead.

“Shadow Punch!” Willow called out to Marshadow, who began making its way into range of the opposing Pokemon.

“Landorus! Protect!” Guardian ordered. Landorus roared as a barrier appeared in front of it, blocking both attacks. Willow however knew that Marshadow would be the fastest of the three Pokemon.

“Sucker Punch!”

Marshadow seemed to vanish, a split second later reappearing in melee range of Landorus, striking it, however Landorus seemed to brush off the attack, instead, focusing its gaze on Azura.

“Fissure!”

Violet’s eyes widened, knowing this move, although inaccurate, if it struck, would knock the Milotic out in a single hit.

“Prote-” Violet began but was cut off by a loud crack, as the ground beneath Azura exploded, knocking the Pokemon out cold. Violet quickly withdrew Azura, before considering her options. Both trainers knew how Fissure worked. Its base accuracy was low, more likely to miss than hit. However, the stronger the user is than the target, the higher that accuracy became. And whilst the difference in strength between Azura and Landorus likely contributed significantly, Willow didn’t want to risk her best battler getting caught up in another one hit knock out.

“Marshadow, fall back!” Willow ordered, as Guardian called for Landorus to use Swords Dance.

Finally, Violet settled on a Pokemon. Whilst Landorus was definitely a Ground Type, she had a hunch it may be a Flying Type as well, considering Guardian made knocking out Azura the first priority, especially after seeing her use Ice Beam. That, and Guardian didn’t seem too concerned by Marshadow, despite it being a Legendary Pokemon itself, though Violet knew that could just be that Guardian didn’t view either Violet herself or Willow as a threat.

“Go Kano!”

The Pokeball exploded in front of Violet, revealing a Dusknoir.

“Marshadow! Shadow Ball!” Willow ordered, as Guardian set her sights on Violet’s Pokemon again.

“Landorus! Block!”

Violet swore under her breath as she understood exactly why Guardian had chosen to do that. If everyone who had been in the stadium before was now in an instance such as this, and she and Willow had been placed in an instance together, that meant that there were at most, twelve Blackstone members, assuming one is not in an instance and moving to take the unguarded Dialga egg. If there had been thirteen or more, she and Willow would have been split up and made easier targets, and as far as Violet knew, there was every chance that others had been paired up like herself and Willow, should there be fewer than twelve members of Blackstone present. And whilst in the long run this would benefit them, in the here and now, this was concerning.

Lance had indicated that he knew of Blackstone having seven Legendary Pokemon for sure, with the potential for there to be many more. The fact they were in this copy of the stadium confirmed Palkia among them, and Landorus was not one of the seven mentioned explicitly by Lance. Whilst Palkia and Landorus could be the two Lance didn’t know for sure, at the same time, they could be in addition. All this told Violet that mathematically speaking, there was a real chance that Guardian had another Legendary Pokemon at her disposal.

Violet had sent out Kano, figuring the Ghost Type Pokemon could use Curse, before being withdrawn and replaced by a Pokemon that could stall for time while Marshadow and the curse wore down Landorus, such as Violet’s Mienshao, Indigo. Then, once Landorus was unconscious, Violet could bring back Kano to use the same trick on any further Pokemon. By ordering Landorus to use Block, Guardian prevent Violet from using the same potential tactic on multiple Pokemon.

Violet considered her options. To use Curse anyway, and bring down Landorus, knowing that Dusknoir would likely go down with it, marking a third of her team unconscious, with no guarantee she could beat whatever came next. Or to stall.

At first stalling seemed like a terrible option, however she knew that with Giratina, Jon would not be held by an instance. Even if she and Willow won, and there was no guarantee that would happen, they would be trapped in this instance until someone, be it Jon with Giratina, or the trainer of Palkia, let them out. That was the only way they would leave. But if they could stall, and hold out until that happens, they might have a better chance at surviving that long.

“Double Team!” Violet ordered Dusknoir, before calling out to Willow. “We don’t need to win! We just need to not lose!”

Willow nodded, understanding completely. Between the pair of them, both with Ghost Pokemon, they could drag this out for a really long time…

************************************************** ************************************************** *****

“Dragon Claw Giratina!” Jon ordered. Giratina rushed forward towards Palkia, snarling, as Jon witnessed for the first time, what had been making it so difficult for Chris’ Charizard to land a hit. Had Jon not known about Palkia’s spatial abilities, it would have made no sense, as Giratina seemed to be moving forward at high speed, however getting no closer as the space between the Pokemon infinitely grew. It was only a second before Giratina knew how to combat this, before Jon even gave the order, and shifted the gravitational pull of the area containing both of them. To Jon, nothing had changed, given gravity seemed normal for himself, Chris, and Scope, the trainer who commanded Palkia. However, Giratina had shifted the intensity, as well as the direction of the gravity between itself and Palkia, causing Palkia to fall towards Giratina, growing in speed as it was pulled further and faster by gravity.

Knowing what was happening, Palkia continued to grow the space between them, however Giratina retaliated by attacking with a Dragon Pulse, causing Palkia to lose concentration. Jon didn’t realise how intense Giratina’s change to gravity was, until Palkia stopped expanding the space at the same rate, and was pulled violently towards Giratina, who then struck it with the aforementioned Dragon Claw attack.

“Spatial Rend!” Scope ordered, as Palkia let out a roar, and the space surrounding it seemed to tear for a moment.

“Shadow Force!” Jon commanded, as Giratina slipped into non-existence just in time to avoid the hit. For a moment there was silence, before Giratina reappeared behind Palkia, ready to launch a brutal attack, and whilst Palkia attempted to expand the space, Giratina shifted the gravity of the pair at the same time, causing the overall effect of both adjustments to be nothing at all. Giratina roared as the six appendages from its back tore across Palkia, causing it to shriek in pain.

Chris watched, as Palkia turned to face Giratina, now unable to see Jon or himself, and Scope being blocked from sight by the pair of duelling Legendary Pokemon. He knew he wouldn’t get any other opportunity better than this, and only hoped he understood what Jon had meant with his veiled message. If Chris had misunderstood, the consequences could be disastrous…

“This time next year, you might be Indigo Champion… And sometimes, being Champion, means you have to make difficult decisions for the greater good…” Jon had said. “If Blackstone have both Dialga and Palkia, they would practically become gods. Today we have a chance to make sure that can never happen…”

Chris launched the Pokeball that Jon had handed him minutes earlier, additionally hoping he was right in his guess of which Pokemon it contained, and timed his command for the exact moment the light appeared when the Pokeball opened.

“Put it down Rayquaza!” Chris shouted. “Show no mercy!”

“Scary Face!” Jon ordered Giratina. “Don’t let it get away!”

Giratina snarled at Palkia, who was about to turn back around as Scope yelled out desperate commands. The attack worked, slowing Palkia to half its speed, and whilst Palkia was attempting to prevent Rayquaza from closing the distance, Giratina shifted the gravity again, causing Palkia to fall towards Rayquaza.

Rayquaza seemed to catch Palkia around the long neck by its tail, and wrap itself around it, before tensing. Palkia scrambled to try and remove Rayquaza, who would crush its neck before any possibility of choking it out, however was struck by another Dragon Claw attack by Giratina.

Both Chris and Jon struggled to watch, as a loud, audible crack filled the air, and Palkia’s body went limp. Rayquaza dropped Palkia, who fell to the ground with a crash, before flying into the air above it, and using Draco Meteor, hitting Palkia in the head, and finishing the job.

Jon blinked, and found himself surrounded by familiar faces, some relaxed, others worried, and amidst them, many Pokemon. Lance and Steven looked as if they were about to collapse, as did their Dragonite and Metagross respectively. Justin did collapse, falling backwards, as Regieleki, who had been strafing at high speeds, seemed to realise the threat was gone, and slow down. Jon himself quickly grabbed Giratina’s Pokeball, and got Rayquaza’s off Chris to call both Pokemon back.

“Thank God…” Violet said weakly, as she took in her surroundings, thankful she and Willow had made the right choice. Abbee stood shaking, as Victini rushed towards her to jump into her arms.

Jon felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Dylan looking intently at him.

“What happened?” Dylan asked. “Did someone beat Palkia?”

“Of course they did,” Charlotte said with a grin. “I knew we would…”

“I wish I shared your level of confidence…” Cassandra laughed weakly, before looking around, as everyone began returning their Pokemon. “So who beat Palkia?”

All went silent, as that seemed to be the question on everyone’s mind.

“Chris and I did…” Jon said solemnly. “We killed it…”

Cassandra’s eyes widened, causing Jon to continue.

“We know that another Palkia egg will appear at those ruins, and as soon as we are done here, Steven and I will make sure it is protected,” Jon said. “But if we settled for knocking it out, and then lost Dialga, then we’d be screwed either way-”

“I know Jon,” Cassandra said with a sigh. “It’s not ideal that you had to kill it, but we can’t risk them having both. And now, they can’t split us up again…”

“We can’t be complacent…”

Jon was surprised that the comment came from Lance. He turned to face Lance, nodding in agreement.

“If they pulled off this little stunt, they must have been close. Not far off the island, if not on it,” Lance continued. “Every second we have before they show up again is one we need to use…”

“If anyone has a Pokemon with Heal Pulse, get it out now…” Jon said. “We won’t have time for a full heal, so this will need to do. Any Pokemon you just used, get them out too. Justin, go find whatever items you can…”

Justin nodded, as Dylan grabbed the whiteboard that stood on the edge of the battlefield. He wheeled it over, before grabbing a marker, and beginning to write.

Shackle:
-Entei

Jon realised what Dylan was doing, and was thankful for Dylan’s level-headedness.

“You battled Entei?” Jarena asked, having grown up in Ecruteak City, and knowing that Entei, along with Raikou and Suicune were associated with the burnt tower there.

“I beat Entei…” Dylan corrected, allowing himself a slight grin.

“Everyone, write down whatever you remember from your battles. Names, Pokemon, anything…” Jon ordered, as those present began rushing the whiteboard, before Jon turned to Latios, who was helping with healing the Pokemon who had just battled. “Latios, patrol the skies, and let me know the moment anything with a pulse gets in range…”

It was a few minutes later, when the whiteboard was more full that all present, including Justin who had returned with some battle items to restore Pokemon, understood the extent of their foe.

Shackle:
-Entei: Fire Type. Knows Stone Edge, Flare Blitz, Fire Blast, Heat Wave and Laser Focus. Beaten by Dylan (Walrein)

Mech:
-Genesect: Steel and Bug Type. Knows Techno Blast (Water Type, but looks as if it can change), Metal Claw, X-Scissor and Iron Defence. Ability that increases Attack Power. Beaten by Charlotte (Magmortar)
-One more unconfirmed.

Ruin:
-Yveltal: Dark and Flying Type. Knows Phantom Force. Beaten by Jon (Zoroark)

Scope:
-Had Palkia. (Beaten by Chris and Jon. Mega Charizard X, Giratina and Rayquaza)

*Unknown*
-Groudon: Ground Type with Ability akin to harsh sunlight. Knows Fire Blast, Flamethrower, Bulldoze. Assume Earthquake, Sunny Day, maybe Solar Beam. (Held off by Steven and Lance. Not beaten)

Geyser:
-Volcanion: Suspected Fire and Water Type. Knows Fire Blast, Heat Wave, Flamethrower and Steam Eruption (didn’t see attack happen). (Held off by Cass and Jarena. Not beaten)

Paragon (Nasty B***h):
-Zekrom: Dragon and Electric Type. Knows all common Electric attacks and Fusion Bolt (Zap Cannon on steroids). Almost beaten by Victini. It was on the ropes.

*Leader*:
Was not in instances. Likely closest member.

Guardian:
-Landorus: Ground and Suspected Flying Type. Knows Block, Fissure (watch out), Protect, Earthquake, Swords Dance, Hammer Arm, Stone Edge, Extrasensory. Held off by Violet and Willow. Not Beaten.
-Suspected second Pokemon.

Vigour:
-Has Regidrago. Dragon Type. Average speed, mediocre defences, above average attack, huge amounts of energy. Has ability that increases attack power of Dragon Type moves by 50%. Held off by Justin. Not beaten. Knows the following moves:
-Dragon Energy (scales with Regidrago’s health. Dragon Type variant of Eruption and just as strong at full health)
-Dragon Breath
-Focus Energy
-Hyper Beam
-Dragon Dance


“I gotta say Justin, I’m glad you paid this much attention…” Jon said weakly as he looked over the list. This did concern him. Abbee and Justin were both exceptional trainers on their own, and they couldn’t beat their opponents by themselves, using their own Legendary Pokemon. Even Lance and Steven working together only managed to hold off Groudon. And had Jon and Chris not finished Palkia when they did, chances are this would have been far worse.

“We need a plan…” Steven said as he looked over the information in front of him, equally concerned. “Their leader has at least one Legendary Pokemon, and I’m guessing a lot of them were like Mech, having a second they didn’t get to use. We could be dealing with fifteen or more Legendary Pokemon…”

As those present gathered round, Dylan’s eyes flicking back every few seconds to the projector screen that showed the CCTV footage, Jon began considering their best bet.

“Their plan to divide and conquer was a good one, and had I not had Giratina with me, they would have succeeded. I don’t think we should prepare for them to do anything different when they assault this place. They will try and separate us, and come in from different directions…” Jon explained. “The difference is now, if one of us beats one of them, we aren’t stuck twiddling our thumbs. We can actually go and help each other out…”

On an empty corner of the whiteboard, Jon had drawn a very rough birds eye view of the property. As he thought it over, he drew two rings both with the stadium in the centre. One a little larger than the stadium itself, and one even larger, covering more of the property.

“We divide into three teams. One team takes this outer ring and tries to prevent whoever they can from passing. They won’t be able to stop all of them, but if they can stop most of them, it means those in the middle ring can hold them back…” Jon explained.

“And the third team? Charlotte asked, though Lance was the one to answer.

“They remain in here and are the last line of defence…” Lance explained, to which Jon nodded.

“If we all stayed in here they’d just swarm us and it would be pandemonium. This way we can prevent too many from coming in at once…” Jon agreed. “Let’s say we have three of them arrive at the outer ring, and come across Steven…”

Jon pointed to a section on the outer ring, before continuing.

“Even if Steven is not letting them pass, they won’t have all three waste their time trying to take him down. Not when the egg could hatch at any moment, and they lose their opportunity,” Jon explained. “No, they’d leave one to deal with Steven, and let the other two go further in. Then they come to the middle ring, and find themselves up against Cass. Same thing. Which means that when they get here, we are only holding off one of the original three…”

“So our primary objective isn’t to prevent anyone from passing…” Justin murmured, to which Jon nodded.

“It’s to prevent everyone from passing,” Jon agreed.

“And now we know how many people they’ve got…” Violet added. “If they had more than the 10 on the board they wouldn’t have let some of us be paired up…”

“Exactly,” Jon said. “Latios will be in the sky the entire time, keeping track of who is here. For those on the outer ring, once Latios confirms that everyone still putting up a fight is inside, you can move to support the others…”

“So who is in what ring?” Chris asked. Jon took a moment to think it over.

“Chris, Dylan, Steven and Lance make up the outer ring,” Jon explained. “Violet, Jarena, Abbee and Justin stay here. Myself, Cassandra, Willow and Charlotte make up the middle ring.”

“No…”

Those present were shocked when Dylan was the one to protest.

“Dylan, I know you can handle being first line of def-” Jon began.

“Not that…” Dylan answered. “I’m fine being first line. But you’re not going in the middle ring. You’re staying in here…”

“Am I now?” Jon asked, surprised at Dylan’s assertiveness.

“You are.”

“And why is that?”

“Because you could still have a seizure at any moment…” Dylan said, causing Jon to go quiet. “I know the medication has been working, but we don’t know that something might happen, or the stress of it all, or whatever, won’t cause you to have one. If you have one outside and nobody is able to help you, you might be killed, or Blackstone will get past…”

“Dylan, I’m not an invalid-”

“Do you really want to risk Dialga over your pride?” Dylan asked.

“Jon, I hate to admit it, but he’s right…” Steven said quietly. “We don’t know what will happen, and if things go south, you’re best suited to being in here…”

Jon sighed, before Abbee spoke up.

“I’ll take the middle ring position,” Abbee offered, though Jon shook his head, before looking at Justin.

“Can you take it?”

Justin nodded slowly, as Victini, who sat on Abbee’s shoulder, cried out indignantly.

“What, do you think I can’t handle the middle ring?” Victini asked angrily, as Jon shook his head.

“I know you can handle it,” Jon answered. “I also know you would bring about the end of the world before you let anything happen to Abbee, which is the sort of determination I want protecting the egg…”

Victini went quiet, though the silence was short lived, broken by a message in the minds of all present.

”Multiple consciousnesses incoming. We’ve got company…”