While he couldn't speak out loud, he still silently thought to himself: "I fight to protect my friends, and I won't betray them even if I'd get your power!"
Then, he signed to his Togepi once again. "Attack again and use Tackle."
The power of Meloetta's song retreated just a little, as though driven back by Volo's conviction. Togepi leapt forward again, scattering kricketune and salandit like bowling pins. The way to Meloetta was once again open.
Joey was already getting tired of the overwhelming feeling that the music was casting. It was better to do something on your own than being told to do it. He lashed out, springing desperately into action by pushing himself forward with an Aqua Jet, wrist blades ready to cut Meloetta down. If this freak wasn't gonna let him drop the beat, he was gonna teach them a lesson.
Joey's Aqua Jet let him blast through the crowd of pokémon surrounding Meloetta; though a graveler and wigglytuff stepped in to try and block his path, the force of the watery attack knocked them aside. Joey alighted near the base of Meloetta's fountain, within easy striking distance of the legend.
Power...? What would power do me now? What would perfection do me now? Allow me to hurt people all over again?
Robbed of words by Meloetta's magic, he opted to shake his head. Then, realizing seconds counted, he let fly another fiery blast - even if attacking someone when they were down made him feel an awful lot like his old self.
Ichiro's conviction drove back the force of Meloetta's corrosive song, at least for the moment. This time his attack struck square on, bathing Meloetta in flame. Meloetta snapped back to full alertness, the last of their drowsiness gone up in smoke, but being awake probably wasn't much comfort to someone on fire.
You... How dare... the legend seethed, swatting and patting at the flames that had taken root in their dress. They raised their voice to an incredible shriek, the words blaring so loud they carried physical force.
GET AWAY FROM ME!!
The shockwaves of the Hyper Voice attack cleaved through the air, threatening the nearest combatants--Volo, Ichiro, and Joey.
Fennel clutched his ears and shook his head. He couldn't take from someone who was clearly not in their right mind... and besides, what guarantee was there that she'd follow through?
Without his voice, he didn't have a good way to reach her up on the fountain... but the Ralts did!
Fennel held up his right paw, his silvery aura leaking out in curly wisps. He leapt up as high as he could and tried to coerce his aura into a beam aimed straight at Luni. At this distance, most of it would probably dissipate before reaching her, but perhaps it would still give her enough strength to buy her a few extra moments?
The pressure of Meloetta's song eased on Fennel as he resisted its temptation, at least for now. The power of his Helping Hand flowed outwards towards Luni...
A soothing voice called out to Rachel. Of course I don't... She fidgeted. Being alone sucks. It's boring, it hurts, it's terrible that I don't have anyone to talk to outside of my Pokémon.
The girl shook her head with a grunt, steeling her expression. But that doesn't mean I'm desperate enough to abandon your other friends' cry for help. Maybe once this is over, we could be friends but right now, I have a job to do.
Rachel clicked her tongue. Almost.
Confusion! Teleport when you find an opening, Luni and then continue using Hypnosis!
...and reached the ralts even as the power of Meloetta's song seemed to pull back just a bit, muffled by Rachel's conviction. Meloetta was extinguishing the last of the fire Ichiro had sent their way. Tired by their opponents' attacks and the strain of controlling the other pokémon, they succumbed easily to Luni's Helping Hand-boosted Hypnosis.
The psychic connection made Rachel stumble a bit but she recovered quickly. I... I'm not sure. Luni and I have never really done something like this on such a massive scale before... but we can certainly try.
Luni! Rachel cried out.
"Got it! Trying now!"
Luni could feel her awareness expanding, rippling outward to encompass more and more of the team with the power of Helping Hand to bolster it. At te same time, her grip on her Hypnosis was weakening. Draw everyone into her psychic network, or keep the legend asleep--she wasn't strong enough to do both at once!
"To help you!" the boy mouths without hesitation, unknowingly echoing the initial cry. He also adds some gestures - raising two fingers, making a picking up motion, and pointing to express the point further. How many times did someone tell him he was going to fail? This wouldn't be the last time he proved them wrong! If it came down to it, he didn't mind humiliating himself! With this, Nori begins to clap rhythmically. He may not be able to speak, but he can still make noise!
---
The Demon grins, digging her claws in to avoid being blasted back too far. It wouldn't be very fun if this was easy! That stung, but only a bit. Just as she thought, this was the biggest and probably only threat. She even had her doubts about that god if they had to hide twice over. She could probably jump up that statue. But if no one else was going to handle the small fry, she didn't mind.
She does something unconventional: she picks up one of the unconscious Pokemon in her jaws and flings it at the Armarouge. Sidestepped or not, she goes in for a leaping Poison Jab aimed to knock it down. If it hits, she backflips into a Body Slam. If it misses, she spinning Double Kicks to sweep the legs. Either way, she continues attacking basically everything enemy in sight with considerable strength and skill, keeping one eye on anything big.
The sound of Nori's clapping cut through even the oppressive power of Meloetta's song. It rang out, steady and regular amidst the chaos of the fighting. And as Meloetta's music began to falter and collapse as they gave in to sleep, it remained even as the rest of the garden descended into silence.
An unconscious chatot bounced off Armarouge's chest plate, dealing little damage but giving Demon an opening to knock the fire-type down with Poison Jab. The armarouge burst into flames, scalding her back, but a Body Slam was enough to finish it off. For the moment, the fight seemed to have gone out of the garden's other pokémon. The way to Meloetta was clear, and the legend themself sound asleep.
