Vs Despot King, Orzo

[Flyg0n]

"B̸̫͐e̴̯̼͑͊h̸͇͊͒ŏ̸̫l̴̝̈̃d̶̢̬̿ ̸̹̎̀ȳ̷̡̰̀ơ̴͇͋ư̶̮̲̓r̴̹͒̚ ̸͇̐K̶̼͎̓͠ȋ̶̊͜n̵̩̐͆g̶͙̿"




Burning, golden light faded to reveal a massive figure that towered over all. Five rings, blazing with power, and two beings emerging from them, thrashing madly under Orzo's control.​

"Prepare yourselves!" Darkrai roared. He swept out a clawed hand and a shadowy barrier flickered to life around the group. A second later a energy beam from Rayquaza smashed into it. It held just until the beam dispersed, before cracking and falling away. The sky dragon roared and thrashed in the grip of the ring, screeching madly. Yvetal's blue gaze seemed almost sightless, dark aura rolling off its body. The air hummed and buzzed with energy.

Clink trembled at the sight of the being before them. Hoopa wilted, eyes wide and unseeing as he gazed upon his counterpart, fully unbound.

Darkrai stood protectively at the front of the group, arms still spread. "Focus! Hoopa, tell me what you can sense!" His voice came out sharp and quick, devoid of fear.

Hoopa blinked and collected themselves. "H-he's not at full strength yet and its taking all his energy to control those legendaries! I-I think we have a chance. If we destroy the rings we can free them, but we have to get past the legendaries themselves first."

Darkrai gazed upward, eyes burning with fury. "Clink, what of the legendaries?"

"They can't access their full power under Orzo's control," Clink called bravely. "We should be able to take them if we work together."

Despot King Orzo is commanding the legendaries! He has summoned Rayquaza, Lord of the Skies and Yveltal, Bringer of Death!

Rayquaza is charging up with Dragon-Type energy! He looks ready to target the whole group!

Orzo has formed a barrier around Yvetal!

Yveltal appears to be inactive!

Darkrai's voice echoed across the void. "Get ready to attack!"

 

[Sinderella]

"Enora, power up Hyper Voice."

With a nod, Enora's tendrils began to glow blue. The glow built and built, and with it came a tune. As the light spread out from under Enora's feet, passing by the other members of the group, and lighting up the new world with exquisite color, music filled void.

The song wasn't Odette's first choice, but Odile had insisted. She'd moved from Nicki Minaj and was now onto Lady Gaga, it seemed.

She looked at Kimiko one more time and exhaled. "Hyper voice does more damage with more singers."

With that, she took off toward the edge of the group.

"I stand here waiting for you to bang the gong," she sang as she jogged, being sure to stay within the barrier. For now, all she wanted was for Orzo to look at her. She didn't need a mic for her voice to carry; she was well versed in the art of projection.

"To crash the cri-tic saying 'is it right or is it wrong?'"

Enora ran with her, but Odile broke off into the opposite direction, a ridiculous grin plastered on her face.

As Odette skidded to a stop, she reached around to the side pocket of her backpack and withdrew her lancet. Enora began to sing with her. "If only fame had an I.V., baby could I bear?" they harmonized as Odette spun the pen-like object in her fingers. She then grasped it firmly and popped the cap off.

"Be-ing away from you, I found the vein, put it in," Odette held the device to her index finger and pricked it, "here."

As they moved into the bridge, Odile found her voice. But, she was now running toward Orzo.

"̴I̵ ̷live ̸f̶o̸r̴ the ̴a̵p̵p̸l̷a̴u̴s̴e̴,̷ ̷applause,̷ ̴a̸p̶p̵l̷a̷u̴s̵e̷.̶ ̴I ̴l̷i̸v̸e̴ for ̶t̵h̶e̵ ̵applause-̶p̴l̵a̴u̷s̴e̴,̵ ̴live ̴f̶o̶r̷ ̶the ̷a̶p̶p̵l̵a̶u̷s̷e̸-̵plause,̵ ̶l̸i̴v̶e̴ ̷for ̶t̴h̴e̵-̸"̸ they sang in unison. Odette held her hand up in front of her face as the bead of blood dripped down her finger, over her palm, and to her wrist. The stream was soon ignited in a maroon glimmer, one that matched the radiance now surrounding Odile.

"̶The ̵a̸p̶p̵l̶a̷u̴s̵e̷,̴ ̴applause,̶ ̷a̷p̵p̶l̵a̵u̷s̷e̶.̷"̵

A beam shot from Odette's blood, and upon making contact with Odile, she transformed back into her original massive shape and took to the air. She wasted no time in soaring around Orzo and the trapped legendaries, screeching the lyrics at the top of her lungs as a Taunting presence flowed out of her.

"̶G̸I̶V̸E̷ ̸M̸E̴ ̶T̷H̶E̴ ̵T̴H̴I̷N̵G̷ ̴T̶H̴A̴T̸ ̵I̸ ̵L̴O̴O̶O̸O̷O̷O̴O̴V̷E̴,̷ ̸I̸'̵L̵L̸ ̶T̵U̶R̷N̷ ̵T̵H̸E̶ ̷L̶I̷G̴H̴T̷S̴ ̴O̶U̵T̵,̸"̶ she shrieked as she soared passed Orzo's ear. "̸P̸U̴T̴ ̴Y̷O̴U̸R̷ ̴H̴A̸N̸D̵S̸ ̴U̸P̷,̸ ̸M̷A̴K̵E̵ ̷'̵E̵M̵ ̷T̴O̴O̵O̶U̴U̵U̵C̶H̶,̶ ̵T̴O̵O̴O̸U̵U̸U̶U̴U̵C̸H̷.̵"̷

They continued on through the song, and as Odile really got into the groove of her normal form, she really allowed herself to relish in the feeling of absolute anger that pulsated through their battleground. From Orzo, from Rayquaza, from Yveltal, from the friends she'd made along the way, from her vessel and other partner themselves.

It was delicious. It was fucking powerful.

"Fiery Wrath!" Odette commanded.

A dark flame ignited over Odile's brambles as she flew overhead her foe. Her eyes glowed with malice as she braced to attack.

"̷̼̽̆Â̴̧̛͖̲̪̚-̸͉̘̽̍̇͛͜P̵̘͗̄̔͘-̴͖̤̞͓̑P̴͔̥̮͗̊-̴̡̫͎͂̌̓̓L̸̞̇̇͘-̶̢̮͔̫̋̅̏́A̶̟̹̓̃͒̐-̸͉͇͉̔̚͝U̸̡̻͉͙͒̍͆͝-̴͎̎̾̎S̴̛͇̱̏̆̀-̸̯̱͕̟̀̉́̈́Ê̸͚̲͖͈.̸̛̹͉̝͕"̴̺̙̺̱̀

She dipped toward them, and let the wrathful fire of their unfortunate group go.

Odette watched the carnage as she stepped forward with Enora at her side. The sylveon was now ignited in a glow, and she looked damn proud of it.

The two wore smiles. They knew what they were doing.

"I've overhead your theory, 'nostalgia's for geeks,'" Odette sang, shooting a look to Enora. She placed her hands on her hips and gestured to the enemy. "I guess sir, if you say so, some of us just like to read."

Enora's light intensified as it changed from the brilliant blue to a pristine pink. Her eyes blazed with a pink-hued luminance, and she dashed in front of Odette, back arched and tendrils flying.

As they sang together, the lyrics manifested in glittering floating words around them. Odette was clearly getting very into her performance, because she began to move with song, leaning weight onto one leg as she pointed up toward the letters.

ONE

SECOND
I'M

A


KOONS

FAN,


SUDDENLY

THE

KOONS

IS

ME...​

Odette pointed at Orzo. Enora fixed her eyes on him, and the letters broke up into projectiles and shot at him. They went on.
​

POP
CULTURE


WAS

IN

ART,

NOW

ART'S

IN

POP
CULTURE

AND

ME! ​

Odette pointed at Rayquaza, and Enora knew what to do. The lyrics once more broke up and shot at him. Even as Odette concentrated on her lyrics, her breathing and keeping Odile powered, she could still feel the intensity of Hyper Voice. Enora already had a mean singing voice, but with the power of it exacerbated by those singing along, it made it all the more better.

Odette shot quick looks at Kimiko, and even Violet and Hazel, thankful for their teamwork. She didn't stop singing though.

They were just getting started.

 

[Seren]

Kimiko flinched instinctively as rayquaza's attack struck Darkrai's barrier; she hadn't even seen the sky dragon before it attacked. Panic began to set in as she realized they'd miscalculated; no one planned for Orzo to summon help, despite being what hoopa were known for. In addition to the fact that they themselves were talking about summoning their own legends. An absurd, amateur mistake, but one they made collectively, which made her feel better about not picking up on it herself. She hoped it wouldn't prove costly. As Darkrai's barrier faded, she could see their assailant emerging from one of Orzo's rings. Rayquaza was intimidating... but not alone. Her eyes were drawn to the other legend Orzo had summoned.

Yveltal, in the flesh. The beast the cult had been trying to restore... alive, here, right now. Though some others began discussing a hasty strategy, Kimiko couldn't hear them, everything else in her mind pushed aside at the sight. She found she couldn't tear her gaze from the creature, her eyes wide with worry, practically frozen stiff in disbelief. She'd already seen the damage it could do before being revived. How much worse would it be when fully awake and in control? How easily could it just snatch a soul from someone? And what was that strange barrier around it? Was that just it's dark aura flaring up?

She must have been staring for too long, because she jumped when Olivia rubbed against her leg. Kimiko offered her best reassuring smile. Right... well, if nothing else, fighting this one would be valuable practice for whenever she got back home.

With her attention re-focused on the present, she noticed a blue glow nearby. And was that music in the air? She spun to find it coming from... Enora?

She looked at Kimiko one more time and exhaled. "Hyper voice does more damage with more singers."

Odette had noticed her worry, it seemed. Kimiko hadn't heard anything about how hyper voice worked, but she wasn't about to complain. She wasn't sure where the music was coming from, but the sound helped ease her nerves. "Oh, I know this one!" she said, mildly surprised. Apparently, people weren't the only things that existed between universes. She'd have preferred something she could sing by heart, but she knew it well enough once Odette started singing enough for her to remember the lyrics. She charged forwards after Odette, with Olivia right behind her. Lucy hesitated, unsure of what was happening - was this part of the plan? - but decided it was best to stay nearby.

When they reached Aggron's rock barrier and Enora picked up the song too, Kimiko joined in, projecting her voice best she could. "If only fame had an I.V., baby could I bear?"

As Odile began to change shape, Olivia started glowing a faint pink, settling herself in for the long fight ahead. Kimiko was somewhat surprised that she was able to pull off the calm mind amidst the threats they were staring down and the music coming from... wherever it was coming from, but there she was, eyes closed in focus and even mewling along, even though there wasn't a vanillite's chance in hell that she knew the lyrics.

Lucy, meanwhile, joined the several pokemon launching electric attacks towards one of the rings... aiming at the pikachu? There was a thick dark fog forming from somewhere, so maybe they were using his ability to direct the lightning and try to ensure they all hit; she hadn't been listening to that part. Still, it lined up with her original plan, anyway. With a quick breath, Kimiko paused her singing to issue her command, hand outstretched towards Orzo's rings; "Light 'em up!"

While Lucy Gray joined in the electrical assault, Kimiko turned to Olivia. Her espeon looked up and nodded, already knowing what was coming next.

"I guess sir, if you say so, some of us just like to read~" Kimiko continued singing with them, moving with the music and feeling much more relaxed now, too into their performance to be distracted by anything else. She was comfortable here, in her element, and this time she had a partner - several, in fact, as Violet and Hazel seemed to appear out of nowhere and were adding their voices, too - to share the stage with; she hadn't done this in a long time, and damn, she missed it. She was already so into it, she hadn't even had time to be nervous about singing in front of her new friends.

With another brief pause, she too pointed towards Orzo, then made a sweeping motion towards rayquaza as well; if their attack could hit both, all the better. Odile let loose a massive blast of dark fire, and the second she passed over Orzo and swung around, Kimiko took her shot. "All yours," was all she said, but it was clear; Olivia launched her dazzling gleam together with Enora's attack. The letter-shaped energy was a nice touch - Odette really knew her shit. It was a shame it took so long to get together; she would have liked to have come up with something flashy, too. She'd never considered performing with her pokemon before, much less as a battle tactic. Olivia seemed to be enjoying it, though.

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the electric attacks, rayquaza looked vulnerable... and yet it was still charging its attack. They'd launched quite a few of their own attacks at it, too... maybe they could bring it down before it fired? Another pause in the lyrics to take a breath, and Kimiko took the chance to attack again. "Lucy, freeze it!" she called out; her froslass understood immediately, charging and firing a frosty ice beam at the sky dragon. If nothing else, maybe it could help deflect some of the incoming blast.

 

[IFBench]

Coleane was confident they would win this. They had how many humans on their side? More than Orzo, definitely!

But Orzo was so tall! All they could attack was his legs!

Unless...

She had an idea.

She ran over towards the Weavile, taking as deep of a breath as she could with her massive lungs...

And she Roared, roared with all her breath, roared with all her might, roared with all her heart.

"GET HIM, HAZEL!"

And Hazel went flying, soaring, directly at Orzo's face.

...

Gen was terrified.

He'd scarcely battled before, and yet this? THIS terrifying monstrosity? With TWO terrifying legends at his side?!

...no.

He could do this. He could do this. They could do this.

He just had to trust in Coleane, in Wallace, in his friends, in everyone here, in himself.

But what could he do with all this fear, all this terror inside him?

...no, there was something he could do.

"Focus on that fear. Channel it through a blade, like your scalchop. Focus on that fear, and never let go of it. Make your enemies feel the same fear you do. That's how you use Fury Cutter."

He took Veri's Dagger out of his bag, and ran towards Orzo. He leapt up, and as a pale green glow surrounded the dagger, he slashed against one of the behemoth's legs, again and again, holding onto that fear, holding on to it, never letting go, letting it power his moves, letting it drive him forward. Letting it become bravery.

 

[Hanafuda]

Seb was ready. He looked up at the monster behind everything. The one who manipulated Xavian and kidnapped the other Trainers. He who believed that bonds weakened; that being strong and purging the weak was the only correct path to follow in life. No individual, human nor Pokémon, would live a satisfied existence like that. He knew.

“You know, mister Golden King?” he said. “I would’ve been like you if I didn’t get the help I needed back then. Alone. Wandering the world, lost without a destination. Killing out of a misguided desire to save people from being burdened with my existence. But I’m glad things went the way they did for me. I wouldn’t have learned how to make it right otherwise. That’s what makes us human, right? We stumble upon roadblocks, figuratively and literally, but we can learn how to overcome them. Sometimes we need help, but we can let our pride get the better of us and we refuse to accept it.” He lowered his head and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, I tend to go into tangents a lot. I’m just saying the things I went through. But I’m sure you’re wondering about the point I wanna make.” He lifted his glasses and rubbed his face with one hand before glaring determinedly at Orzo. “The point is that we, as humans, aren’t perfect. Same with Pokémon. We make mistakes, things don’t go as we think, we do and say some weird things, even, but the unpredictability of life is what stops the world from being boring. That means you can’t expect anyone to bow down to you and do what you want them to do. Especially when you hate the world so much.” He stuck his legs together and extended his open hand forward. “You are not human, not in body nor in soul. Your crusade against our bonds ends today!”

"GET HIM, HAZEL!"

And Hazel went flying, soaring, directly at Orzo's face.

“Perfect.” Zack had been waiting for the chance to swoop in. He couldn’t risk being a target, so he was thankful that a distraction flew onto the bastard King’s face. He flew forward with one talon ready for a Thief attack. “Got anythin’ fancy to offer?”

 

[AbraPunk]

Wes glared up at Orzo.

In ancient Kalosian mythology, Hoopa was known to be a mischievous wish-granter, often twisting a wish to exploit whatever loopholes or alternate interpretations could be found. In a way, it was... almost like an evil version of Jirachi.

Gods, it's embarrassing I still know all this shit.

He shook his head lightly. This was not the time to get lost in those stupid old myths, because this shit that was happening right fucking now was real.

Go fuck yourself, you big yellow shitstain.

---

Merian glanced around, and he had a feeling he might not be the greatest for offense. Well, luckily, he had other options.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, feeling the energies of the other Pokémon around him. Two in particular stuck out at the moment: the Milotic and Gyarados. He sensed that they had the capacity to do great damage to at least one of the gods they were facing.

Merian flicked his tail, and two identical glowing spheres lifted out of his body and zoomed towards the two Water 'mon.

Merian used Helping Hand on Victoria!

Merian used Helping Hand on Gyarados!

---

Nico, meanwhile, was focusing all of his energy on nothing but offensive power.

The gem on his head lit up, glowing in a dazzling magenta, and two massive projectiles of pure Psychic energy, quite resembling purple fireballs, struck Rayquaza.

Nico used Psychic on Rayquaza!

Nico used Psychic on Rayquaza... again!

 

[Phoenixsong]

A stream of smoky wisps trailed behind Charizard as he flew, renewed with each irritated snort. He tried to tell himself that all the puffing was just exertion, just the effort of practically having to claw his way through this miasmatic sky, but deep down he knew the tightness in his chest was due just as much to apprehension. Something that was not at all improved by the presence of the passenger clinging to his back.

"I wish you hadn't come," he grumbled.

"Sheesh. Love you too, buddy."

"You know that's not what I meant." More smoke whisked past, accompanied by a low growl. They didn't have time for snark. He had to focus, to make sure that this counted. "It's not safe up here. They're going to attack me at some point."

"Not exactly a padded playpen down there, either," his human argued. "Can't outrun a draco meteor or whatever on these noodly little human legs. If I'm gonna get vaporized by some wannabe god regardless, what's the better way to go? Scrambling around on the ground like a headless chicken, or soaring gloriously through the skies of hell on the back of a fire-breathing dragon? If I've gotta die, at least let me die metal."

Blue glanced down at the other groups as they made their way toward their targets, distracted as the sound swelling up from below finally registered. "Or, uh, electro-dance-pop. Really? That's what we're going with? Eh. I'll take it over the chicken thing. Maybe not a glorious death, but a fabulous one, right?"

"You're not going to die!" Charizard's furious snarl cut him off. "You're only joking about it because inside you can't let go of the idea that it will happen! Stop. It won't." Blue would be fine. Charizard would protect him, him and everyone else, sear Orzo's face right off of his skull if he had to.

Blue sighed. "...Fine. You're right. I'm not going to die. I know you won't let that happen to me." The lackadaisical tone in his voice shifted into something else, something quiet and deliberate. "Which means, by definition, that you can't let it happen to yourself, either."

Charizard's head whipped round to stare at him, incredulous. "What does that even mean? You don't seriously think I intend to sacrifice myself or something ridiculous like that, do you?"

"No. What I mean is, that's more than close enough." Charizard felt the grip on his shoulder tighten; he pulled up sharply and backwinged hard, only just noticing how close to Orzo and his sparking, swirling, screaming rings they had come. How close he'd almost brought his friend. With an opponent this size and a battlefield this large, he had to get close and lay the smoke on thick—certainly if there was any chance it would stick around long enough for the weird pidgeot to have a shot at one of those rings—but...

"Maybe you're not trying to get yourself killed, but I'd appreciate it if you'd try harder to not get yourself killed. I need you." The grip tightened again, almost painful, before disappearing as Blue raised his hand to point toward their target. "Launch it from here and let the noivern's tailwind do the heavy lifting."

Charizard could indeed feel a stiff wind picking up behind him now. The sense of movement through the stale air alone was refreshing, bracing. He could ride that wind right down to their opponents and show them what a real blaze of glory looked like.

But Blue was right. They needed each other. They were protecting each other. Now wasn't the time to be reckless.

He took a deep breath, as deep as the now slightly-less-fetid atmosphere would allow, and exhaled. All the tiny curls of smoke flowed together into a single thick, black cloud, which rolled and tumbled through the air to blind and choke the so-called Golden King.

 

[Dragonfree]

Orzo was a giant golden monstrosity. Two other legendaries emerging from his rings, Rayquaza charging something. And people were... singing? What on Earth.

Quick shouts came together in a plan. They had to get Rayquaza before it could fire whatever it was preparing, first of all. "Spirit, Mean Look Rayquaza! Make sure it can't get away!"

Spirit nodded sharply and bounded toward the half-emerged sky dragon, eyes flashing. Keeping it from moving too far would leave it vulnerable, an easier target for the others.

"And then Curse!" she shouted after her. "On Orzo!"

She grabbed a Sitrus Berry from the stash they'd brought. Spirit burst into black fire as matching flames swirled around Orzo's form, then turned on her heel and returned to May's side, panting with exertion.

"You all right?" May held the berry out for her and Spirit scarfed it down.

The Ninetales nodded firmly before she turned back around to rejoin the fray. "We'll win."

This was a lot fewer Pokémon per trainer than May was used to in a legendary battle. But then again this was a whole different world, where there was supposedly a tangible power of friendship. And she was no beacon of that, but if it meant anything at all it would mean something with Spirit.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

As Darkrai's barrier fell away, the smell of ozone swept over the battlefield, and Steven's incredulity at seeing Orzo's true form wielding Rayquaza like a handheld bazooka was buried in adrenaline.

Trainers and pokemon leaped into action, some taking to the skies, some dashing forward, while others charged attacks. A thunderbolt was already sparking between Aggron's horns as he glared up at the beasts before them. He stomped a foot in the direction of Rayquaza, but froze at Steven's shout.

"Aggron, wait!" he called to his partner. "Retarget! Aim for Nine!"

Aggron blinked at where his trainer was pointing. "You want me to do what?!"

"Hit Nine with your thunderbolt! Trust him!"

Staring hard at where the little Pikachu was already glowing with electricity, Aggron shrugged and swung his horns level with nine. "Okay, hang onto your feathers. Here it comes!"

The bolt of lightning shot from his horns and struck Nine where it was immediately absorbed. The crackling, sparking energy that circled the strange Pikachu grew in intensity, and Aggron cracked a grin. "Whaddya know. Give 'em hell, little guy."

Neither he nor Steven flinched as the first bolt from Nine slammed into Rayquaza, electricity from an added thunder wave dancing around the ring that held it trapped. Steven's eyes went wide as he muttered to himself, "Wait, the rings... They're conductive..."

The air hummed as Nine began to charge again, and Aggron snarled in delight. "Alright, my turn," he said, the beginnings of a rock slide materializing over his head.

"Hang on," said Steven. "It's too far from where we are." His gaze swept left and right, at the trainers and the attacks being launched at Rayquaza and Orzo alike. "This won't be over so quickly. What did you promise Malachai? We'd take care of things on the ground, and right now we're sitting Duckletts. We need cover!"

Aggron peeked up at the sky where the Noivern was soaring, and nodded. "Right. Leave it to me!"

Aggron concentrated raising his claws high. The rock slide solidified into larger and larger chunks; slabs that were wide, slabs that were tall, slabs that were thick enough to withstand a charging Rhydon. With a roar he swung his arms down, and the rock slide followed, slamming into the ground in a wide semi-circle where they buried themselves deep.

Steven gave his partner a quick smile before ducking behind one of the slabs. Aggron hunkered low beside him, watching the air explode with electricity and ice and everything else they could throw at Orzo and the Legendaries. They'd get their turn. For now, though, making sure everyone made it until then was priority number one.

 

[HelloYellow17]

Oh shit oh gods oh shit—

There wasn’t enough time to process everything—one moment they were in the creepiest castle of all time, the next they were…in space? And there were legendary heads poking out of nowhere and holy hell that was an actual Rayquaza—

No time to question. Wes’s instincts kicked into overdrive and he snapped into battle mode. “Novo, get off a toxic on that ghost as soon as possible and then give yourself some distance. Neo, you too—get as close as you can, and then ally switch with someone who you think can hit hard. Both of you, shield yourselves and anyone around you as much as you can!”

For the tiniest second, both of them paused and glanced back at Wes. He barked another order. “Don’t worry about me, just go!”

They didn’t have to be told twice. Neo launched himself in the direction of their enemy, darting and weaving around their many allies, his brother close behind. At some point, the familiar scent and black cloud of a smokescreen rolled over them, and Neo barked out a thank you to whoever was responsible. Getting close to their target would be a breeze now.

Orzo was big. Big and scary and mean and scary. And yet, even now, the thrill of battle lit Neo up from the inside, coursing through his veins like lightning. Judging by the sound of Novo’s eager snarls, his brother was feeling it, too.

They had been waiting for this moment.

It didn’t take long for them to get within range. Novo pushed past Neo, mouth frothing with venom, a sickly sheen glinting off his coat. The Umbreon yowled, then fluffed out his coat until he was twice his size, hissing and spraying Orzo with spatters of toxic ooze.

Neo wrinkled his nose. Gross. Then he spotted his swapping target: that really cool Pikachu he’d met only briefly. And from the looks of it, he was charging up an awesome attack.

Neo alerted him with a yowl, then sprang to his brother’s side and barked at the giant ghost. “Over here, BORE-ZO!” Then, with a pop!, he vanished, swapping places with the super-cool Pikachu. (Maybe he could teach Neo how to look so cool all the time? He’d have to ask later.)

Neo flared up a Protect shield immediately, even before taking in his new position, and tried to be heard above the din, yowling to anybody who would listen. “Take cover next to me! I will protect you!”

Across the battlefield, he saw Novo scramble away from Orzo and do the same.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Laura took a breath, and pushed through into the conscious, deliberate battle-headspace she needed. Not at all like a League match, really. She couldn't afford to lose. There was an army of trainers and 'mon around her, and they faced off against goddamn Legends. There would be no sportsmanship today.

Malachai didn't even land next to her, he just swept low and grabbed her in his hindclaws – a stomach-tumbling moment later, and he'd thrown her onto his back. She gripped his ruff tight enough to whiten her knuckles, and focused on being her dragon's co-pilot. Pilots focused on flight. Co-pilots focused on weaponry.

<Leave the flying to me,> sent Malachai. <Keep your eyes and mind on the battle. I shall relay your commands to Sleet or your allies.>

No argument from her. They would be totally in sync – they had to be.

"Get a tailwind up!" she barked.

<At once,> came his reply, as his wingtips glowed and the air answered him.

Laura scanned the battlefield, and built a picture of it in her mind. Malachai pitched up, yawed to the right, and swept through the airspace in a wide arc, carried by a gale of his own making. Just had to keep it up, just had to look for the right way to strike...

"Sleet's gotta set up a sub, then hit Rayquaza with ice," she cried. "Tell her to wait 'til Ray opens his mouth!"

Malachai rolled, hard, and Laura's stomach rolled with him, as a beam from the dragon came almost close enough to clip his wing. Laura glanced up at the ground below, and thought she saw the inteleon flicker out of normal visibility as a vulgar decoy resembling her manifested in her place.

<Sent and received,> replied Malachai, in his usual self-assured cadence.

"Good!" Her eyes darted to Mal's wings, to the movement of their target, to the coming attacks of their allies. "There's an opening coming up! Wait for it...! Now, Malachai–"

Magenta energy brimmed in his jaws before she even gave the command, and her mouth stretched wide in a roar to mimic his. Totally in sync.

<Dragon pulse!>

<As you wish!>

Purple light and keening noise erupted from Malachai's mouth. Laura forgot how to blink.

"Hit, damn it!" she yelled, as if force of will would make the attack strike down a god. Maybe it could.

 

[Chibi Pika]

The last time Jade had seen Rayquaza was when it had fallen prey to the Rockets' trap. Its free will stolen, its power turned against them. Needing to use the horrifying power of the Primals to fend it off.

But that was another time, in another world, far away.

Right, so... fighting Legendaries without her patron. No problem. Jade could handle this.

...She didn't believe that for a second, but there was no going back now.

It was more like being on the Rebellion than any of their recent missions. A vastly stronger enemy, nothing but numbers and synergy on their side. Had to make it count. She didn't have her team, she only had Nine.

"I could probably stun Rayquaza, but I don't want to run out of power so early," Nine said sharply, keeping his gaze on the Legendaries.

Jade nodded. "We need to get you some power, then."

Out of all the Pokemon here, someone had to have electric moves. Her eyes scanned the crowd--she wished she'd trained with more of them, got to know what all of them could do--and then locked onto Aggron. Steven's Aggron. Jade hesitated for just a moment, then shook her head--this was no time to feel self-conscious about asking a champion for help.

"H-hey!" Jade called out, waving to him. "My Pikachu--he'll be way, way stronger if he gets a Lightningrod boost!"

The steel-type's horns lit up with sparks, and a bolt fired, striking him dead-on. Strings of lightning coursed through his feathers--too much power for him to hold, no reason not to let it loose.

The Pikachu threw his arms to the side, power building until it was just at the breaking point. And then out of nowhere, a psychic flash--he vanished?! No, he'd been teleported to the front line, right in front of Rayquaza! The emerald serpent didn't so much as glance at him, not with all the other combatants to worry about.

Jade held her breath when the lightning struck. Maybe it was too much to hope that they could strike down a full legend, but dammit this had to count for something.

 

[Flyg0n]

Team Resolution begins their counter attack. Victoria Safeguarded the Team! Malachai is generating a Tailwind! Powered by the Tailwind, a Smokescreen is veiling the team and blinding the enemy!

"Kaióga, Álfa tis Thálassa, please, for my whole life, I have knelt before your mighty waves. Now grant me the strength to continue, to save my friends, old and new."

A shining sphere of light formed in front of Wallace and a shimmering form of Manaphy appeared. Time seemed to slow. She lowered her head and pressed it lightly against Wallace's for a moment. "I hear your prayers, Wallace. And I shall answer them."

She floated up and turned to face Orzo. Her face deepened with anger and she raised her arms to the sky. "Behold the wrath of the sea!"

Water, so much water surged up from the ground itself, consuming Orzo, swirling all around him and swallowing him as it battered him endlessly. The whirpool continued to rage as Manaphy slumped for a moment, winded. "That is all I can do for now. You must continue to fight on, Wallace. Be brave. The might of the sea rests within you." She brushed a fin against his cheek before slowly fading away.

Team Resolution attacked Orzo and Rayquaza!

Orzo was cursed, badly poisoned, sieged by a whirlpool and stunned!

The combined power of Nine's powered-up Thunderbolt and a burst of team attacks dealt catastrophic damage to Rayquaza, defeating him. He retreated through the ring!

The electric attacks caused Orzo to drop the ring! Orzo was damaged... But he's still standing strong.

The shield guarding Yveltal is cracked! They appear to be waking...

Darkrai reclaimed the ring for Team Resolution! Hoopa is gathering their strength to try and use it...

Egged on by Taunts, Orzo generates a Signal Beam and fires at the whole team! He attempts to target Neo and Novo, but they are protected!

Aggron's Rock Slide reduced the damage to the rest of the party severely!

The beam missed the rest of the team thanks to the Smokescreen!

Team Resolution sprang into action, casting attacks swiftly and moving as a unit. A powerful gust of wind gave a supernatural speed to everyone, and carried a cloud of smoke directly into the opposing side, blinding them. Orzo roared in rage as a full-scale assault came down on him and Rayquaza. Electricity arced, ice filled the skies and bursts of dragon fire lit the air. Along with extremely irritating singing from a certain group of humans and pokemon.

Rayquza fell under the barage first, then Orzo staggered from the blows, poison seeping into his body. His red eyes seemed to burn with hate as their stupid song continued. With a sharp crack, sparks surged across his ring and body, until one of his rings slipped from his grasp. A dark aura surrounded it, yanking it back before it could be recovered. Orzo's enraged roar morphed into a diabolical laugh. His rings began to pulse with power.

"S̵̝̄̒i̴̪̼͌̾n̶̬͔̰̅̍͗g̴̠̮̈ ̷͖͇̊a̴͕̓̾͛l̴̡͍̺̑͒l̸̨̰̑͜ ̵̹͋y̵̦̋o̵͍͐́͌ṷ̶͎̹̓ ̴͋̊̀ͅẁ̴̘̝ā̸̠̜͌͠n̷̥͐͆́t̸̠̀͘.̵̰̔͋͠.I̸̧̤͖̝̼̭̐̽͊̂ ̴̛̫̘̙͑̎̃̏͗̀ͅw̶̬̫̘̺͖̝̯̉̅i̷̢̠̤̭̎̇̄̑̀l̴̹͋̓̍̇͌̉̕l̵̩̗̜̥͌̓͆͑̊̎͝ ̴̧͕̜̘̯̱͇̔̆̉͋͗ǹ̷͎̖͔̞̂ȍ̷̮͆̍̚͠t̴̯̖͔̹̯̙̠̽̄̐̑ ̵̗̻͓͔̙̘̚ͅb̶͇͇̜͖̘̏̔̔̈͌ḙ̶̙͆͊̌̍͜ ̴͉͉̭̞̜͉̾̽̉͘͜s̸̼͚̝̖͌̆̍͜͝ô̵͉̩̯͌ ̷̧̌͘͝ḛ̷̗͙͎͚̅͊̃̈́̕͜͠a̴̜̱̜̙̬̘̐s̵̺̙͈̖͌ͅi̷̛̠̬̭̞͒̄͛͑̾͗l̶̗͕̮͚̱̮̗̓̂̆̾y̸̫̮͖̘̻͂̿̓͠ ̷͎̠̼̱͖̐p̴̢̪͈̥̂̇̽ͅu̶̟͑̀t̵̡̛͉͇̠͓̃̋̉̀ ̸̡̙͕̦̯̰̓̍͋͊͜͝d̷͖̤͖̹̈́͐̈́̄͘o̸͕͙̅̽͝͝w̸̙̉n̸̖͚̘̗͎̙͖̈̈.̸̯̣̩̱̎̊͠ ̷̛͈̭̔͛̎͠͝"

Filled with rage, Orzo summons forth the great Dragon of Ideals, Zekrom and the Titan of Earth, Primal Groudon! Zekrom is charging up electricity!

Groudon is generating a drought, causing the field to dry up and sapping the strength of Team Resolution! Water and Ice types will take extra damage if the drought persists, and water and ice-type moves will become ineffective!

"̶̨͓̭̣̰̜̮͂͒̈́Ȳ̴͇̘ỏ̸̫̠̲͛͆̓̂͆ư̶̞̟̤̯͕͆̋͌̽̿ ̸̤̫̦̞̌͂̄̚͝w̵̺̖͈̪̬̃̓͌͑̒̀̍̉͝ī̸̛̟̺̝̱̜̞̥͍͗l̵̨̲͑̀l̷̘̞̜͕͈̗̭͐̈́̔͆̔̈́ ̴̠̞̰̪͖̄̉͋̇̎̽͝n̸̤̼̳͗̓͂̊͌̆̕ơ̷̡̡͎̤͈̠͙̜͔̈́͋t̵̡͇̭̳͎̠̀̒ͅ ̵̡͍̣̲̦̥̌̽̀̈́́ṗ̵̢̰̻̦̠̻͎͖̝͑̈̓̕r̵̲̠͎̝͍͓͉̘͛̾͑̍͋͜ͅe̸̡̯̅̌͆͂̾̿̀̈́͋̈́v̶̩̝̪̦̹͍͕̔a̷̧͈̱̳̲̐̌̀͆͂̈́̆͌̊̇i̷̳̦̯̩̗̱̭͌͑̌̊̀̿̿̉̕͜͜͠ľ̷͉̖̘̱͇͇͍͚͎͖̀̕!̵̡̻͕̖̹̙͉̑̾̂̋̓̒"̶̧͉͕̇̊̓̀̓​

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

They'd downed Rayquaza. Laura cycled it in her head over and over, as if it would seem more real. They'd downed–

<Yes, yes, I know. There are new gods to fight. Shape up, dull girl.>

Laura scowled, but there would be time to bicker later. Right now, the light and heat were growing by the second, and an electric shiver put her hair on end – more Legendaries, and the powers they held.

"Sleet can do fuck-all in these conditions... She's gotta hit Groudon with shadow ball, repeatedly!"

Malachai rolled upside-down and performed a hard half-loop – a perfect (and terrifying) split-S manoeuvre – and came back around to approach from a new angle. Laura couldn't make out Sleet in the chaos with Groudon's desolate light blinding her, but she could hear the familiar low howl and feel the tugging impact of triple shadow balls impacting nearby.

<Sent and received.>

"Warn me before you fly inverted, Mal!"

<No. Give me real orders.>

"Fine! Strengthen your tailwind, then hit Zekrom with your best dragon pulse!"

Malachai grunted an affirmative, and his energy surged in response to her command. The airspace filled once again with directed airflow, and Laura braced herself for greater speed. Dragonfire leapt from Malachai's jaws, but he swept past the other dragon before the projectile even struck Zekrom.

"Yes!"

<Again, Laura?>

Yes, of course— Wait, no. No, she had to keep aware of the rest of the party.

"Stand by, Mal. Someone might need us."

<Very well.>

Malachai made a barrel roll and a turn, and looped around, and Laura clung on tight, peering down at an ever-messier battlefield...

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Aggron stood to his full height, the crumbled remnants of his rock slide tumbling from his back. Beneath him, Steven was alright, unharmed. Heat beat down on them, hotter than any Hoenn summer. Was it remnants of the attack they weathered? Aggron caught sight of Steven's wide-eyed stare at something just over his shoulder. He turned to look, and realized it was definitely not.

Rayquaza was gone, and in its stead stood another legend. Straight from the mural they'd unearthed in Granite Cave, larger than life.


"By the gods, it is real," breathed Steven. At his side, Aggron hunkered low in the heat. They'd both seen the scenes of destruction painted in that ancient mural. Rayquaza had gone down easier than they'd thought, but even a fraction of the power from Primal Groudon was enough to scorch half of Hoenn to ashes. And with Rayquaza gone, there was nothing to temper the beast's power.


"Just Groudon is enough to deal with," Aggron rumbled, blue eyes roving from legend to legend; three of them now. "We take one out and two more replace it. Metagross is the one who's good with numbers, but even I can see that's not good."


"It's certainly not..." Steven said grimly, surveying the battlefield. Groudon's drought was wreaking havoc on their team. Hazel, Victoria, and even Laura's Inteleon were looking weary in the withering sun. They had to take more of the Legendaries out lest their powers overwhelm them, but that was easier said than done. Especially with-- "That shield around the Kalos Legendary. That's a problem."


Aggron squinted up at the dormant creature. "Wait... Look! It's cracked. Was that from our attacks?"


"Maybe," said Steven, "but it held. And if it holds again, we could have four Legendaries on our hands very soon."


Aggron turned to his trainer and clenched his fist. "Then I say we smash it for good."


Steven regarded his partner with a curious look. "What were you thinking? So far all of our ranged attacks have barely put a dent in it."


"I was thinking something a bit more up close and personal," said Aggron with a smirk. "I just gotta get up there somehow."

Steven turned to follow Aggron's gaze when a gust of wind swept over the pair.


Aggron's smirk cracked into a grin. He swung his snout skyward and shouted up to the massive Noivern tearing through the heavens. "Oi, Malachai! Think you can give me a lift?" The wicked gleam of an iron head danced across his helm. "I've got a wake up call with that Yveltal's name written all over it."

 

[Chibi Pika]

In a hail of lightning and ice and fairy song and a half-dozen other things, Rayquaza was down, slipping limply from the ring's hold before spiraling away. Jade braced herself for the inevitable counterattack, throwing a hurried glance around for something or someone to duck behind. But the attack didn't come... Orzo was blinded by smoke and struggling against wisps of ghostly energy.

The relief hit like a tidal wave. They'd actually taken down a legend without taking any damage in return. Maybe they could do this after all.

That good feeling couldn't last.

More rings, more legends pulled through them. A huge black dragon with a roar like thunder. And then Groudon... but not like it should have been. The twisted, nightmarish version of it that had melted Sootopolis with its mere presence. Jade froze, staring up at the magma glowing through its skin and those piercing eyes like rubies, her brain stuck in a loop of oh god it's going to set the air on fire and we're going to die just from standing too close.

But then the heat wave came and it was... sweltering, draining, but not deadly. Jade blinked, taking a few seconds to process the fact that they weren't dead yet, they had a chance while Groudon was fighting its bonds.

Nine was clinging to one of the golden rings for dear life. He fired more lighting at Orzo, but each blast was shorter than the last, until it was more sparks than anything. He'd really let loose on Rayquaza. Needed more power.

...Wait. This was perfect. That other legend, the black dragon. It was gearing up for a lightning blast! Nine could absorb it, power up and protect everyone at the same time!

"The dragon!" Jade yelled, frantically pointing toward it.

The Pikachu pried one eye open, squinting at her through the stifling heat. Then he took a flying leap and landed on the dragon's head.

Good, that would get him the energy he needed. Now the only problem was Groudon. The water-types in their midst were suffering. Ice attacks fired at the black dragon were melting into nothing. And Jade couldn't help envisioning what would happen if Groudon's full power broke free as the very air lit up and skin caught fire and--

No. No, they needed to take Groudon down as soon as possible. The heat was already making it hard to think but there had to be something. None of their water strikes were enough. If only Manaphy's blessing had come a bit later...

Wait. That wasn't the only water blessing they had.

Jade whirled around, struggling to pinpoint a single figure amidst the crowd of trainers and Pokemon. There! The scruffy trainer with the Mightyena, the one who'd gone through the same challenge as her at the lake.

"H-hey!" she called out to him. "You remember what Keldeo said, right?"

---

Nine clung to the black dragon's head, mind racing as he struggled to process what had just happened. He could feel the electrical current coursing through its scales. He'd reached for it just like he had so many times, but it... didn't work. He reached again, but there was just nothing. And then, with a sickly dread, he realized he couldn't feel his own power either.

His lightning was gone. Not just drained, gone. The pain was gone too, but that didn't matter, not when he needed his lightning

That thing. It had taken his power, ruined him.

Blinding anger, filling his head. Buzzing where thoughts should have been. Nine's body lit up with something else, some other energy--Fairy?--and he found himself lashing out at the dragon's face in a frenzy, striking repeatedly, anything his paws and tail could reach.

Give it back!!

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Oi, Malachai! Think you can give me a lift? I've got a wake up call with that Yveltal's name written all over it."

Malachai's ears twitched and angled down, and his great body shifted underneath Laura as he came around in another wide loop.

<Aggron is requesting an airlift, my master. He intends to shatter that barrier.>

Laura frowned, then grinned, then shook her head in disbelief.

"Can you do it?"

Malachai chuckled. <If you command it... Yes. I can do it.>

Laura took a long breath, fully expecting some entirely unreasonable aerial manoeuvres the second she replied.

"Do it, Mal."

<Hmph!>

Malachai grunted with exertion, and swooped through the airspace between ranged attacks between their allies and the yoked Legends. Another hard turn, and he came up behind Aggron, shedding speed but whipping up a tremendous airflow along his flight path. That got Aggron's attention.

<Lift's here,> shot the noivern, apparently concentrating so hard on flying that he spared little energy for telepathy.

Malachai made a frighteningly deliberate collision with Aggron – hindclaws hooked under arms, wings beat against the earth's pull with enough force to stagger bystanders, and the tailwind airflow erupted from below. The aerodynamics were hideous, and Malachai let out a low keening from the effort, but Aggron swung up and into a flight path directed precisely towards Yveltal's shield.

<Brace yourself,> snapped the dragon, as he climbed higher than Yveltal's altitude... and let go.

For a moment, it seemed absurd to think this could have worked, with Aggron sailing on an arc that couldn't possibly reach the target. Then Malachai drew a sharp breath, and all noise dulled as he took sole sovereignty over sound.

"Use boomburst—!" cried Laura, unable to hear herself past the sonic disruption in the air, but knowing he'd hear her all the same, and that being in sync could make the difference.

The noivern titan roared, the attack impacted, and Aggron was blasted through the air like a ballistic projectile.

Aggron made contact with the shield, energy and dust swirling so that Laura couldn't see the result. The boomburst continued for interminable seconds, pressing against Laura's inner ear even with Malachai's exacting control of the attack protecting her from the worst of it. At last, Malachai's mouth clacked shut, and he panted heavily, hovering in the air.

"You okay, Mal?" asked Laura, barely able to make out her own words.

Malachai looked over his shoulder at her with the wildest expression she'd ever seen on him, one of ferocious joy and manic pride.

<I am magnificent,> he sent.

She couldn't disagree.

 

[Hanafuda]

As soon as Zack had finished his first round of attacks, he made a U-Turn around the King. He looked down and saw his smaller friend before diving towards him and snatching him up with his talons.

“Wha—Hey, what’re you doing!?” Jack asked in bewilderment.

“Savin’ ya from gettin’ yourself killed,” the Mega-Pidgeot replied with a stern look. “I’m a hero, after all. It’s what I gotta do.”

“I can do this! I can prove to you I’m strong!”

“Don’t let that voice get to your head, Jack-o. Whatever it said, it tried to single us out one by one. Guess you were the only one who fell for it. Shame on ya, man.”

“Oh, you—” Jack suddenly became speechless after having a thought. “Wait. Was I being reckless?”

“You didn’t listen to anythin’ else at all?” Zack shook his head in disbelief. “Geez, talk about tunnel vision.”

“I guess the roles got flipped.” The Farfetch’d closed his eyes in shame. “And here I thought I was supposed to be the rational one. And now look what happened. I let my own weaknesses get the better of me.”

“That’s why we’re here for ya, dude. To cover for your bad stuff. Now let’s do this the right way.”

Once the birds landed back with their Trainer, Seb gave them a thumbs-up. “Nice work. Now, what next?” He looked back at the action in front of him. He noticed Aggron being dropped like a wrecking ball onto Yveltal’s shield in amazement. “Woah, that’s a nice way to work together. I like it.”

“It doesn’t get better than this,” Zack said with a smile.

Wait. Yveltal? Seb took off his glasses and gazed with worry at the dark bird. “Oh no. Why didn’t I notice that there were other Legends here? And of all of them, why did it have to be the reaper of Kalos?”

“Speaking of the others, we have our own problems to worry about.” Zack pointed at Zekrom. He looked worried as well, but he still stood defiant. “Seb, buddy, I know ya like your element games, so how ‘bout ya guess what’s gonna happen?”

Seb looked at where his Mega-Pidgeot was pointing at. He gasped. He put his glasses back on. “That’s Zekrom, right? I remember there were forums talking about his electric powers. Stuff about powering up cities. So he’s Electric-type, right? And you guys are Flying-types, so…”

Seb’s next words came out rapidly as he panicked.

“WeneedtogetridofhimrealfastbeforeyouandVictoriagetzapped!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about dealin’ with him quick enough. I mean, you gave me attacks that are good for fightin’ Psychics, not Dragons.”

“Well, we just have to hope the others can handle it,” Jack muttered loud enough. He was staring at his leek contemplatively. “We can deal with Orzo just fine.”

“Well, then we gotta get that damage rolling!” Seb pointed at the King. “Zack, go for the eyes and reach for the skies!”

“Likin’ the sweet rhyme, buddy!” Zack kicked up two Sand Attacks in a row before jumping high and flapping his wings for a double jump. He dove down with a talon stretched out, ready to kick Orzo on the face. “Hey, is it just me or am I goin’ faster than before?”

Meanwhile, Jack focused his Fury Cutters onto the King. His only hope at the moment was that he wouldn’t run out of stamina.

 

[Negrek]

Mightyena practically flew across the cracked and pitted rock that made up Orzo's realm. She'd never been in such a huge battle as this before, never faced such titanic foes. But even the snarling sky-dragon, nearly as big as Steelix and screaming fury, hadn't been able to touch him. One round of attacks and it was down. Mightyena barked laughter and galloped towards the rings that were now shimmering power, drawing new pokémon into the battle.

Mightyena didn't know what the huge red lizard was supposed to be, exactly, except for something fiery. She could feel that from here. Now there were three opponents for them to face, and the huge bird was waking up, too. She didn't want to see what would happen if they managed to actually strike some of their team. But maybe there was some way to turn them against each other...

Mightyena glanced around. Not many pokémon near, but there--an eevee! Another eevee! Mightyena didn't think she'd met that one yet, but they would do great. She bounded over. "Hey, hello!" she called. "I have an idea! Let's see if we can get the fire-lizard to attack Orzo! Come on!"

She bolted towards the molten pokémon, darkness gathering around her teeth. It was beyond a relief to have the energy answer her call again. She jumped at the lizard's leg, its armor scalding hot under her paws, and bit down as hard as she could, hoping to draw its attention. Maybe with the eevee's help, it would be enough.

The piercing cold of the dark energy drove back the heat of the lizard's lava, and Mightyena's teeth sank deep into its armor, opening glowing fissures. After a moment she had to leap back, her paw-pads blistering, and then she took off, racing towards Orzo. "Hey, lazybones!" she yelled back at the lizard, darkness leaking into her words. "Is that the best you've got? A few embers and a rock or two. Boooooring!" She let out a huge, exaggerated yawn, positioning herself squarely in front of one of Orzo's legs. "Come on, is that all you've got? At least try to make this interesting!"

---​

Nate tried to keep up with the battle, but he was nowhere near as fast as Mightyena--not nearly as fast as almost any of the pokémon, save the ponderous aggron and the gyarados and milotic slithering, fish out of water and now drooping in the baking heat. It was all he could do to keep Mightyena in sight and call out strategies he doubted she heard. She looked like she was having the time of her life out there. For now. Nate thought of the massive signal beam that had cut through the smoke and the chaos of the fight, evaporating boulders and missing the pokémon by a hair's breadth. If she got hit by something like that...

He was crouched behind one of the remaining boulders, trying to figure out how he could break for the far side of the field without getting stepped on by the groudon that was spilling lava from every orifice. It was like they were in some cheesy disaster movie or something, up against rampaging pokémon the size of skyscrapers. It was a miracle he could hear anything at all above the pokémon's roars and the hiss of the lava, much less one voice amidst the clamor. But there was someone out there calling his name, someone...

Nate turned. It was the girl with the bird pikachu. And what was she saying... about Keldeo? Right. Mightyena had told him Keldeo would help. And just how were they supposed to, like, summon the guy? "Uhh, Keldeo? You there?" he said, feeling extremely stupid as somewhere nearby Aggron bellowed, foghorn-loud, his voice booming even above the battle's cacophony. Just how the hell was this supposed to work?

Right. Courage or some shit. Nate drew himself up and puffed out his chest. "Keldeo! I call on your aid!"

God, that was so stupid. He hoped nobody'd heard that except maybe Keldeo.

And to his shock, the air around him glowed a brilliant blue. A glance over at the girl with the pikachu, and yeah, same with her. Maybe she'd done something that made Keldeo take notice? A second later the horse-like pokémon appeared between them, snorting and tossing his head.

Nate figured Keldeo would figure out what was going on in a second. "Hey, you said you wanted to fight, right?" Nate yelled at him. "Well, how about you cut a few pieces out of that big guy right there?" He pointed at the groudon, which was roaring and fountaining lava in all directions.

Keldeo turned, and for a second Nate thought he saw something flicker in the legends' eyes. Some hesitation, maybe. But when he turned back to Nate his bearing was as confident as ever. "Very well. Will you accompany me into battle?"

"Uh, accompany?" Nate watched uneasily as Keldeo sidled up to him, then dropped to one knee. Oh, no. "You mean you want me to ride you to ride you now?"

"Is it not true that a Pokémon fights better with a human by their side?" Keldeo asked, and Nate was sure that was a smirk. That was definitely a smirk on Keldeo's long snout. Fuck.

He considered the groudon for a moment, the heat he could feel from all the way over here, the claws he was pretty sure were longer than his entire body. Well, fuck. Courage, was that it? Goddammit. He supposed if he was going to get turned into a little pile of ash anyway, he might as well go out in style. "Yeah, sure, bring it the fuck on," he said, and swung his leg over Keldeo's back. He wrapped his arms around Keldeo's neck nervously as the legend bore up under him. How the hell was he supposed to hang on? It hadn't gone so great the last time...

Keldeo trotted over to the pikachu girl and bowed before her, too. "And you? Will you join me in battle?"

 

[ShiniGojira]

Legendaries.

A battle with legendaries.

The sheer thought of it should have made her heart bleed with excitement but with their current situation, it brought nothing but disgust and hatred at the Pokémon who had summoned them.

Orzo, that dreaded beast, whose power seemed to have risen–no, skyrocketed to a level where even legendaries could be controlled.

And to think someone with that kind of power would waste it on petty revenge.

Tch. Evie glared at the fallen dragon, its body convulsing as sparks of electricity came from its doused body. Two rings came to power, hovering over them as two newcomers came out to take its place.

The first thing she'd felt when the beings came to be was the scorching heat, it was as if the room was going to outright burst into flames.

She glanced behind her, releasing a sigh as she saw June hiding behind some debris and thankfully, safe from the heat. With that worry out of the way, she turned her attention back to the battle as a Mightyena, the one belonging to that 'Mitch/Nate' person, spoke to her.

Mightyena glanced around. Not many pokémon near, but there--an eevee! Another eevee! Mightyena didn't think she'd met that one yet, but they would do great. She bounded over. "Hey, hello!" she called. "I have an idea! Let's see if we can get the fire-lizard to attack Orzo! Come on!"

She bolted towards the molten pokémon, darkness gathering around her teeth. It was beyond a relief to have the energy answer her call again. She jumped at the lizard's leg, its armor scalding hot under her paws, and bit down as hard as she could, hoping to draw its attention. Maybe with the eevee's help, it would be enough.

The piercing cold of the dark energy drove back the heat of the lizard's lava, and Mightyena's teeth sank deep into its armor, opening glowing fissures. After a moment she had to leap back, her paw-pads blistering, and then she took off, racing towards Orzo. "Hey, lazybones!" she yelled back at the lizard, darkness leaking into her words. "Is that the best you've got? A few embers and a rock or two. Boooooring!" She let out a huge, exaggerated yawn, positioning herself squarely in front of one of Orzo's legs. "Come on, is that all you've got? At least try to make this interesting!"

Evie raised a brow at Mightyena's enthusiasm as she rushed Groudon with a jaw full of dark energy.

A smirk crept onto her muzzle as her body glowed with an intense white before she bursted forward in a flashy display of speed. Following Mightyena's lead, she charged into the legendary's armored skin with her body before launching herself at its face, smacking it with a face-full of tail. "Hey, dumbass! Is that the best you got? I've felt flames worse than your scrawny ass."

Groudon swiped at her but she was faster, dodging with little effort, she rushed Orzo, circling around him before tackling him squarely in the back, pushing him slightly forward.

She leapt back a moment later, conjuring a protective dome over herself and anyone nearby.