Pokemon Gijinka: The Fallen God [IC / PG-16 / Complete]

[Cheshire Toon 139]

Susanoo of the Flame; she was better at it now, a threat with it, but she hadn’t mastered the ability. That much was clear from her lapse in concentration. Luckily, she was naturally resistant to the Aurora Beam’s effects, so the icy sensation was more of a minor inconvenience than an actual threat. 

 

Cloyster hit the ground and sprang forward to attack. Brooke let the arm of the fiery avatar extinguish; all down her left were burns and scorch marks from the Susanoo. From her peripherals, she could see Denku rapidly approaching with his jets. An idea suddenly struck her. “Denku, head’s up!” The telltale red aura of a Fighting-type encompassed her form as she tapped into hidden strength. 

 

She clasped her hands together, then suddenly, she just barely ducked underneath the Cloyster’s attack, slid forward and smashed her clasped hands together into the bottom of the Cloyster’s chin. Her strength was enough to launch her opponent into the air. “Game point!” 

 

The Volleyball Technique!

[reparoni 161]

Graveyard of Lost Souls Team Karaoke

Lok wasn't able to get Raphael off of Nine, but was able to strike him enough to cause him to shriek. However, he wouldn't have time to really take in what he had just done, as he saw the disciple turn towards him. Lok dived behind one of the nearby tombstones as the barrage of Shadow Balls flew at him, entering a cradle position to try and not get hit by any of them. He winced as he felt two of the Shadow Balls grazed his leg, only getting up once he could hear the Shadow Balls no longer flying through the air.

As Lok got up, he saw that Raphael was back on Nine's case, swinging wildly at him. Again, he wasn't sure if Nine could handle him on his own, but a thought crossed his mind. Lok raised his arm and, frustratingly, couldn't muster up another Hex. Instead, his hand crackled as he fired off a Thunderbolt towards Raphael. Maybe the two of them could keep bouncing the ghost's attention between the two, at least long enough for Gwen to be able to help them.

 

---

 

Temple of Time and Space Team Showdown

As Bastiodon's metal shined, he gave out another taunt. Now Scarlet was getting really angry, adrenaline from her rage amping her up as she went in for another Bullet Punch. This time, however, she swung her arm wildly, her vision starting to become as red as she was as she slammed right into the armor once again. She was so enraged that she didn't see the Dragon Pulse that was coming her way, causing her to tumble back from the attack. This wasn't going to stop her, however, this bastard was going to pay!

She let out a savage growl. "I'LL CRUSH YOU!" She shouted, darting back in towards him and wildly firing off a series of punches and kicks, with the occasional slams thrown in for good measure. She didn't even seem to register that a good portion of her attacks were completely whiffing, blinded by her rage. Bastiodon simply scoffed, not phased by the useless flailing. With another motion, he fired off a Dragon Pulse once again, sending Scarlet flying back. She didn't even seem to notice that she was just hit, stumbling back before rushing towards him again in a blind fury.

She almost didn't stop when Isole hit him with a Blizzard, her arms wildly swinging around and slamming her pincer on her face. Scarlet reeled back from the impact of her own fist as she heard Taiga shout. "Scarlet!  Give that sucker all you got!  I don't wanna hear any excuses!" Taiga's words rang in her head, or maybe it was her ears ringing from the impact of her own fist. Either way, something in her head clicked as she felt her vision coming back to her. She turned up, seeing the Bastiodon block Taiga's attack with a Protect. Scarlet grit her teeth, before dashing towards Bastiodon again. This time, she put all of her power into aiming a Bullet Punch right at Bastiodon's face.

Bastiodon didn't have much time to react, although he was able to block the strike wit his shield. Which now had a rather nasty crack where Scarlet's fist was. Scarlet grinned as Bastiodon was in momentary shock, although he quickly shifted to a cocky expression. "So all that and you can just barely crack my armor?" He said, scoffing. "I truly am the immovable object!" Scarlet growled, before taking a deep breath. She wasn't going to let herself lose it again. As she opened her eyes, she saw Isole nail Bastiodon with a Thunderbolt, sending the fossil stumbling back towards the corner.

"Let's see how much talk you've got when I smash that jaw of yours!" Scarlet said, diving right back in for an uppercut aimed right at his jaw. Bastiodon seemed caught off-guard by this, being sent reeling back towards the ropes. "Awfully quiet there." She remarked, opening her pincer and going in for a Bug Bite. Bastiodon simple scowled, going in to block the attack once again. This time, however, he was shocked as Scarlet's pincers clamped down on it, shredding a part of it. Scarlet wasted no time, dropping the chunk of metal in her hand and firing off another Bug Bite towards his shield. And again, she tore another piece of it off. She raised her arm, ready to go in again for another piece.

[LordCowCow 839]

Team Alola, On the Road to Adarid City

"Right, right, definitely nuts." Zapdos said, shaking her head.

"but it'll help you at least."

Zapdos gave Keanu a sly smile and took the berries from his hand. Lingering for a moment as she looked him over. She popped a couple in her mouth and nodded. "Good stuff. Thanks for that, dude." she groaned and got to her feet and made her way towards Articuno. Holding one of the berries electricity crackled around her hand and she crushed the berry in her hand. Holding it over the other girl's mouth and opening it she dripped the juice into the Ice type's mouth.

The woman let out a slight whimper as her eyes fluttered. It seemed she was slowly coming to.

Zapdos looked back at Keanu. "Wish I had something to thank y-." She paused and snapped her finger. "I got it."

Holding out her hand Keanu would see a greenish-yellow stone with a lightning bolt shape etched into it. "If you wanna get stronger this thing can help."

---

Team Mac, Cave Part Two

"This isn't all at all!"

Zekrom grunted as Ari slammed into his side. "That's right, keep going, you three are doing perfect!" He called out. Though he didn't seem so stunned that he didn't notice Kazo's divebomb. "Nice try, good form!" He said as he swung his fist at Kazo's head. He winced slightly as the attack met his fist but he still sent Kazo flying to the side.

Mac came charging back in her fist charged up with electricity. But as Zekrom turned to her and fired off another Fusion Bolt she jumped to the side and, placing her hands on the ground, sent out a shot of mud at Zekrom, striking him in the face.

The Legend stumbled back as he tried to wipe away the muck. "Fighting dirty, but guess that's only fair, smart!" He said.

Mac awkwardly rubbed at her neck. "Um, could you stop praising? It's....distracting."

---

Team Neo Not Dark, Under The Sea

"Attacking a kid...that's a coward's way out."

"I'm attackin you, stupid broad." The Huntail said. Though anything that he was about to say to follow up was cut off as he was struck by the fairy attack. Dropping to the ground he seemed to be struggling to get back up. But he watched Easter closely. His hand twitching and glowing with a dark energy.

And then he got hit with a Water Gun to the face, coming from Dora. "Dammit! I'm trying to...ah, forget it." He called out and dove for Easter once more, jaw opening wide in an all too familiar motion for the Sylveon today.

Meanwhile the Cloyster let out a shout as they were launched upwards. The shout continued until they reached the top of the bubble where Denku's Dark Pulse hit her and knocked her body out of the bubble. Where she floated, unconscious, in the water.

Suddenly the Dragalge, thought down, got to one knee. "I won't go down so easily!" He called out and prepared to fire a Dragon Pulse into Denku's back.

But he stopped. His body surrounded by a purple aura. His eyes looked around wildly and settled on Manaphy. She was still in the middle of the bubble, crouching over Phione, but there was a glow in her eyes.

Then the Dragalge was struck by an invisible blow and launched out of the bubble as well.

She then proceeded to lift the Carvanha's bodies and sent them out as well, before looking towards Easter, who was still dealing with the Huntail.

---

Team Karaoke, Graveyard of Lost Souls

Unfortunately for Gwen while the two others were keeping most of Raphael's attention the Shadow Ball headed her way still hit her. She was startled, not paying attention, as the ghostly energy passed through her and almost dropped her.

It was hard for her to keep her thoughts straight. She had to focus. The power was surging through her now. She needed to release this power on someone...no, not someone, Raphael. He was standing there. She just had to focus, focus, and attack.

The Banette, recovering from being hit by the Thunderbolt, finally cleared up from his confusion. "Ha..haha...ahahahaha! That was fun, but I think it's time to end this don't you?" He grinned wide at Gwen. "I see you, naughty girl." And then he surged forward with both claws extended, tongue hanging out, bloodlust in his eyes.

---

Team Showdown, Temple of Time and Space

The Bastiodon was struggling to recover. Every time he did Scarlet would attack his shield again and, while only parts were being broken, stun him again.

Though, from what Isole could tell, Scarlet was still under effect of confusion, for she wasn't going in for the finisher.

So with a long sigh the girl floated over to the side. Getting in an angle that wouldn't get Scarlet caught up in it as well she raised both hands and launched a Thunderbolt at the Bastiodon's face.

The Gijinka jerked and, shield still in Scarlet's grip, slumped over.

It took a bit to get him out of said grip but once they did the Bastidon was dragged off as well.

The king clapped their hands slowly. "You're rather fierce combatants, I like it!" they nodded, smiling wide. "Let's see if you can handle this though, the last pair, and the strongest."

After this two more Gijinka came into the ring. One was somewhat birdlike, with a long, whipping, tail, wide wings, and a scaly face. The other was tall, seven feet in height, with a massive shell on his back that hunched him over slightly.

The flying Gijinka, Archeops, flipped backwards onto the ropes and used them to propel herself forward at Scarlet, aiming to hit the Scizor with her wing.

The other one, Carracosta, stayed back. But those who were looking would be able to see a strange, ghostly, aura radiating from him.

[Sethera 290]

With Ari and Kazo both attacking Zekrom at once, hopefully one of the two would hit. It was probably too much to ask that both of them would hit, but if they did then that'd be even better. Thankfully, the Litleo actually managed to hit, though he didn't draw much more than a grunt from the legendary. Which was...not surprising, but still. If only I were stronger.

"That's right, keep going, you three are doing perfect!" Zekrom, on the other hand, seemed to think he was doing pretty well. As he turned to attack Kazo, sending him flying to the side, Mac came in with her own combo of attacks, causing Zekrom to praise them again. Ari wasn't sure how to feel about this, their opponent praising them instead of trashtalking them, but...it felt good. Mac seemed to be uncomfortable with it though.

"Better than trashtalking!" Ari said as he raced forward, choosing to use a different attack this time: Return. He felt like, he had grown strong enough that maybe, he could actually use this move right.

--

"I'm attackin you, stupid broad." The Huntail said, though his following words were cut off by the Moonblast

"Yes, but you were originally attacking--" Easter found his own words cut off by his surprise at seeing Dora's Water Gun hit the other gijinka in the face. He seemed rather frustrated by that, diving forward, jaws opening wide in an annoyingly familiar move.

"Oh, not this again," the Sylveon sighed, choosing to draw on his more physical repertoire of moves. Basic attacks. Crouching down, he jumped up, extending his leg to kick the gijinka in the side of the face. Watching the man crash into the bottom of the bubble, like a true gentleman, he waited for the gijinka to look up. And see the Moonblast he had finished charging while the other recovered.

"Say goodnight," he grinned.

A minute later, Easter had just finished throwing the Huntail's prone form outside the bubble to join the rest of the trash. "Oh, you got one thing wrong," he called out. "I'm not a broad. And I'm not broad at all, either. I'd say I'm rather thin, actually." He turned to the others, still bleeding from a dozen places, creating a ghastly figure. "All in a day's work, hmm?"

--

It was amusing listening to Zapdos call Randy crazy, and honestly, he probably would have agreed a while back. Actually I might still agree with this.

The legendary herself seemed pretty chill. His type of wahine, if it weren't for the fact, that, well, she was a legendary. That was aiming a bit above his level. Or more than a bit. Still, it wasn't the time to think about that kind of stuff anyway. The gijinka approached her fellow legendary, crushing the berries to a pulp in her hand and dripping the juice into the other's mouth. Thankfully, this seemed to do the trick, as her eyes fluttered open with a slight whimper.

Zapdos looked back at Keanu. "Wish I had something to thank y-." She paused and snapped her finger. "I got it." She held her hand out. In it was a greenish-yellow stone with a lightning bolt shape etched into it. "If you wanna get stronger this thing can help."

Keanu stared down at the stone with mixed feelings. For so long, he had fought against the idea that Pikachu had to evolve if they wanted to get anywhere. "Pikachu can't surf," he'd been told over and over. "You should just evolve if you want to surf." But he had found a mentor in Puka, and learned to surf without relying on evolution. Not to mention, as a Pikachu, I'll still be growing, learning new moves, growing faster and faster. But as a Raichu, that's it. You reach your peak and then stop.

Before, he would never have even considered evolving. Now, however. Now, he had people he had to protect, and evolving...it might just give him the edge he needed. I used to think speed was the end all, be all, but now I understand what Kai meant earlier. You can run forever, and live, but is that truly living? I don't think so, not anymore. He smiled. I don't need to run away anymore.

"Yeah, this will definitely make me stronger," he said, stretching out his hand and grasping the stone and sending Zapdos a smile and a wink. "Thank you very much."

BGM

As soon as the Pikachu touched the stone, he began to glow. Brighter and brighter, so bright it was hard to watch. At the center of it all, Keanu wasn't quite sure how he felt. It reminded him of the last time he evolved. His body ached all over, and as the light faded he realized he had changed. The ground was a little further away than it was before, and his feet felt a little heavier on the ground. As he stood there in thought he felt something unfamiliar brush against his back. Turning around, the gijinka saw that his tail, which was formerly more like a some sort of serrated flag than anything else, had changed as well. It started as a long, whip-like cord ending in a giant lightning bolt shape. The balance felt off, and it seemed to take twice, no three times the effort to move it around. How in the Tapu did any Raichu handle lugging around such big tails?

Immediately afterward, there was a sort of...flicker in his mind? That was the best way to describe it. As if he had glimpsed an idea, an answer, to this very question. Except as soon as he focused on that idea, the thought slipped away like a fish. Groaning, the Pikachu--no, Raichu now, looked himself over. There were a lot of emotions running through his head, such as shock, awe, slight disappointment at how heavy his tail was, and some nostalgia. The last time he had seen a Raichu was...his mother. Now, it felt like he was living for her, becoming a fighter just like her, and evolving, just like her. Though he knew he wasn't. He wasn't anybody but himself, after all.

"Auē," he said shortly, revealing nothing of the churning feelings beneath. "Wow. Huh, I evolved. Pretty neat." He ran a hand through his hair, pausing when he realized even his hair felt different. The spikes were still there, but there were also a pair of soft, bouncy curls as well. This will take a while to get used to.

Edited November 24, 2019 by Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd

[yui 573]

Location: Road to Adarid (Team Alola)
Inventory: Good Rod, Antidote, Kasib Berry

"Auē. Wow. Huh, I evolved. Pretty neat."

"Pretty neat," Nani echoed, looking over the newly-transformed Keanu. First Marie, now Keanu... Nani couldn't help but wonder what an evolved Mimikyu might look like, theoretically. She had a few different ideas, but ultimately, none of them mattered. They'd still wear the same old costumes anyway, so it wasn't like a change in appearance would be noticed by anyone anyway. Still, a new form. Surely Keanu would be stronger now. Already that was a good sign, but what else came with the change, she wondered.

"Do you feel any different?" she asked. That was a good starting point.

[Skaia 578]

Nine was still trying to catch his breath, more of a futile effort than anything else as that continued to be slowly robbed away from him. All the same, as he was still in a frenzy after being struck by the lightning, the disciple seemed to come back to his senses. At least as much as he could with his general disposition. As such, he seemed to notice that Gwen was focusing herself, causing Nine to grimace as the man went to go strike at her. Knowing that she was far less equipped to fight someone at close range than he was, she also didn't even seem to notice that she was being attacked, meaning that if Raphael closed the distance...well, it was not something he wanted to think about. 

Knowing he needed to intercept him before that happened, Nine took a deep breath before starting to run after the Banette. There was no way he could actually catch up with the man, both because his legs were starting to truly feel the burn as well as that Raphael was just faster than him, and as such he did his best to strike at him from a range. Sending out a dark pulse at the man's side, the Banette stopped himself, extending a claw out to rip through his dark pulse. Nine cursed a bit at the ease with which he continued to pierce through his attacks, but didn't stop there. As Raphael went to continue his charge, he soon bounded upward in order to avoid Nine sending a wave of flame at him. Turning around, to face him, the Disciple sent out a shadow ball towards him. "You really can't get enough of me can you?"

Nine smirked a bit at the man, though his voice still lacked any degree of jovialness as he joked, "what can I say?" Firing a dark pulse at the shadow ball, Nine hopped to the side opposite of where he had hit the ball, parrying it and avoiding it. "We're two peas in a pod." 

The disciple shook his head. "You're far too weak." Extending a claw out, he leaped towards Nine, going to slash at him yet again. 

Nine was in no position to dodge, nor was he really in a position to take hits. He wasn't in much of a position to do anything other than keep the Banette distracted. So, he took solace in at least being able to do that. However, without much energy to move and definitely not the speed to avoid it, Nine simply tried to parry the attack to help minimize the damage from it. "And you really need to get a new insult." As he jeered at the man, Nine sent yet another flamethrower at the arm with the claw, attempting to help push it back any bit he could. 

Marie nodded at Zapdos as she mentioned Randy being nuts. That being said, she couldn't help but agree with the sentiment that they were too weak to stop the Lucario now, and Marie didn't know how she would ever get that strong. Regardless, even if she had to go through all of it again, she didn't want to simply sit by and watch people die in front of her without her being able to do anything about it. Her thoughts on the matter were soon interrupted as she watched what happened next between Keanu and Zapdos. Watching the legend hand off the stone, the girl marveled in awe as he evolved right before their eyes. The girl let out a, "whoa," as she looked at Keanu's new form, having only one thought on her mind that she soon blurted out. "You're tan."

Trying to sort her thoughts on this, the girl then looked over to see that the other legend was now starting to wake up. Marie felt awkward just standing over the woman without anything to give her or help her with, but still did so anyway. "Are you feeling better now?" 

[Mr. Hyde 204]

Team Showdown - Temple of Time and Space

The ending of the round was pathetic at best, with that all talk lug being taken out by a mere thunderbolt.  Scarlet's constant wailing on the Bastiodon was pitiful at best.  She crossed her arms as the king spoke again, announcing the final round.  

"Sheesh.  I thought this lame excuse of a test would never end."  The next two to enter the ring were another winged, albeit this time, feathered, gijinka and one with a large shell straddling his back.  The Arcehops launched himself at Scarlet, taking Taiga's attention away from the other for a split second.  After she returned her gaze back towards the Carracosta, she noticed that they seemed to be mumbling something, whilst a strange aura emanated from them.  "That can't be good."  She grumbled to herself.  She wanted to help Scarlet this time around, but she couldn't let that guy do whatever he pleased.  "Isole, back up Scarlet this time.  The sooner we beat that feathered freak down, the sooner we can take down this guy."  She gave the ice-type a thumbs up.  "I'll hold 'em off the best I can for now."  Taiga dashed towards her target, using the same tactic she had in the very beginning.  "The bigger the shell, the harder it is for you to get up!"  She roared, as she went for a sliding tackle aimed for Carracosta's ankles.  As she slid, a roaring surge of water soon followed her own foot's trail.  

Carracosta responded by launching himself at her faster than she could react, their entire body covered in a geyser of water.  His carapace slammed into her body, sending her flying back against the boundary of the ring.  It took a minute for her to recover, but she slung her arms across the ropes to pull herself up.  She wiped a bit of spittle from her lips, as all this fighting seemed to be catching up with her. 

"Fufu.  You would've been mincemeat if I fought you in the first round.  Just a lucky hit is all."  She stumbled back to her feet, and rolled her shoulder.  She spat at the ground, before rising on a giant pillar of water.  "Playtime's over pal.  I'm gonna smoke you right here and now, so I can get out of this whacky place!"  She roared, as she hopped off the top of her geyser, grabbing it midway.  She used her momentum to spin the water in a wheel, launching it at the Carracosta with a huge toss.  They were pushed back, but not nearly as far as Taiga was hoping.  She grit her teeth, as the other Gijinka casually lumbered over towards her, with their claws extended.  

"You gotta be kidding me...you wouldn't even catch a Macargo with that attack, let alone Taiga the Terrible!"  She waited for the Gijinka to approach closer, before her teeth glistened with ice.  She launched a pair of spectral, icy fangs towards her slow attacker.  

 

[reparoni 161]

Graveyard of Lost Souls Team Karaoke

As Lok's Thunderbolt struck Raphael, he saw the confusion start to wear off. Lok grimaced, before taking a deep breath. He started to create Double Team clones of him starter appearing around him as he saw Raphael and Nine both dash towards Gwen. Nine had done a good job of catching his attention again - now Lok had to distract him further once more.

Lok aimed his arm towards Raphael, pointing his finger towards him. The clones mimicked his movements, but only the real one fired off the Hex towards the distracted foe. "C'mon now!" He called out, shrugging his shoulders as he tried to keep a cool head. "Don't c-count me out of this!" He chuckled nervously, anxious to see what Raphael's response would be.

 

---

 

Temple of Time and Space Team Showdown

"Huh?" Scarlet seemed visibly confused as the last remaining traces of confusion faded. She didn't remember going for the finishing blow, and yet Bastiodon was down. Scarlet let go of Bastiodon, shaking her head. She didn't have time to contemplate what had just happened, however, as the next batch of enemies came in. This time, a bird-like one and a hulking turtle man. The Archeops wasted no time, immediately jumping right towards her. Scarlet raised her fists, blocking the wing with her pincer. She winced as she was sent stumbling back, before fluttering her own wings and diving towards the Archeops with a Bullet Punch.

The Archeops didn't move. Instead, she gave a grin as she raised her wings. Suddenly, a barrier appeared right in front of Scarlet, who crashed into it. The barrier shattered as she lost all of her momentum. Archeops then dove towards her, a pair of dark jaws appearing to clamp down on Scarlet's arm. She let out a scream, although she quickly raised her other arm and clamped down on her assailant with a Bug Bite of her own.

Archeops winced as the cold steel clamped down on her arm, before glaring at Scarlet. With what sounded like a roar, she let out a dragonic breath right at Scarlet's face in an attempt to get the bug to let go. The Scizor, gritting her teeth, only doubled down on her attack as she clamped down harder. "Stupid... bug." Archeops muttered, before using her wings to lift herself off the ground. With an impressive display of Acrobatics, the Archeops managed to twist her body in a way where she got a solid kick right at Scarlet's side.

"Guh!" Scarlet shouted, stumbling back as she let go, utterly blindsided. She had to flutter her wings to keep steady as she got her footing back. As she slowed down, she noticed that Isole was standing there, waiting for her change to help with her. An idea came to her mind, as he focused on the Archeops. She darted forwards swiftly, aiming a Bullet Punch right at her foe's face. The Archeops smirked again, ready to use Quick Guard to block the attack once again. However, as soon as Archeops wings rose, Scarlet wasted no time. "Isole, now!"

The barrier came up, stopping Scarlet in her track once again. At the same time, Isole struck Archeops with a Thunderbolt, causing her to stumble backwards. Scarlet pumped her fist. "Nice shot, girl!" Scarlet said, turning her attention back to Archeops. She noticed that the bird seemed smaller before, and her composure was notably broken. In fact, it was so broken she seemed to be vibrating, as the Archeops got blurrier and blurrier as she moved side to side, using Double Team. Scarlet wasted no time, diving in to strike with another Bug Bite.

She managed to hit the Archeops, although just barely, as she was greeted by a wing to her face. Scarlet stumbled back a bit, losing her grip, before growling. "Hold still!" She shouted, diving right back in without hesitation. This time, she managed to grab the bird, much to Archeops shock. In response, the bird fired off another Dragon Breath. Scarlet let out a roar in pain, but did not let go. Raising her other arm, she clamped down with another Bug Bite, trying to hold her still. "Isole, fire!" She shouted, turning herself and Archeops towards Isole. "Don't worry about hitting me, just attack!" She braced herself in case Isole missed.

Isole seemed hesitant at first, before firing off a Thunderbolt towards the two. The bolt missed the moving target, striking Scarlet in the shoulder. She winced, gritting her teeth as she clamped down harder on Archeops as a way to cope with the pain. The second Thunderbolt, luckily, landed its mark as it struck the Archeops, who was still trying to get the stupid bug off of her. However, she was too weak to escape. "Let's finish this!" Scarlet shouted, taking a deep breath as she lifted Archeops off of her feet. In one swift motion, she suplexed the bird, letting go when her body hit the floor.

 

 

[Saikazo 241]

"That's right, keep going, you three are doing perfect!" Zekrom called out. Kazo had to admit, it was weird, but also felt kinda nice getting so much praise from someone, let alone a legend. "Nice try, good form!" He said as he swung his fist at Kazo's head. The force of the attack sent Kazo flying to the side, although it didn't hurt as much as it could have. Mac went on the offensive, avoiding Zekrom's attack while throwing mud into his face. "Fighting dirty, but guess that's only fair, smart!" He said.

 "Um, could you stop praising? It's....distracting." Mac asked.

"Better than trashtalking!" Ari piped up before going for his attack.

"Agreed," Kazo called out before taking a big breath, the biggest one he had ever taken. He needed to keep making a good impression. When he took in all the air he could, he released his Dragon Breath attack, hoping to hit the legend from a distance.

---

Denku was a bit surprised by Brooke's combo. She had set the enemy up like a volleyball and spiked it right into his Dark Pulse. He had to admit... that was pretty cool. He landed on the ground, skidding to a stop near the edge of the bubble. It seemed Manaphy was the clean up crew, as she had used her powers to toss away all the bodies. That was handy, to say the least.

"All in a day's work, hmm?"

"If this was work, then we should be getting paid overtime," Denku quipped back as he fell over on his butt, taking some deep breaths. "You sure you shouldn't be taking care of those cuts? You look like crap right now,"

[Chaos Sonic 442]



"If we meet him again, I'll help too. Can't leave you bruddahs to struggle through by yourselves. You'd never make it,"

This made Randy quite shocked, to say the least. Out of all the ones on this team, save Marie, Keanu was always the hesitant one of the group. Sure, Marie had her "No Fighting" thing going on for a good portion of the time, but after the Moltres incident and then the Mowloo incident, it almost seemed like she began to slack off on that. But Keanu...he was always the one that wanted to stay out of the fight as long as possible, unless he himself was in the crossfire.

But hearing him say this, it made the Incineroar smile. Truth be told, he felt like his own fighting personality had begun to rub off on the others, but he couldn't tell if that was a good thing or bad thing.

"If you wanna get stronger this thing can help."
"Yeah, this will definitely make me stronger. Thank you very much."

And straight from one surprise to another, Zapdos gave Keanu a Thunderstone in which he evolved almost as quickly as he grasped it. Now looking at a bit tanner Keanu, who stood as an Alolan Raichu, Randy only gave a hearty chuckle, shaking his head. "Won't lie Keanu, I honestly thought you wouldn't have done that...but, hey, the new look suits ya." he said, moving slightly again towards the others, whilst Marie began to see if Articuno was alright. Her bedside manner is still going strong, from the looks of it...

[LordCowCow 839]

Team Mac, Cave Part Two

"Better than trashtalking!"

Mac wasn't so sure. She almost felt bad hitting this guy. It was much easier when they were jerks. She was rewarded with her hesitation as Zekrom fired off a massive blue bolt towards her. Thanks to the mud his aim wasn't as good as it should be and she could side-step the attack. Still, even the heat from the attack was intense, and it reminded her again that this was a Legend they were facing.

Zekrom managed to clear out his eyes as Ari came charging in. The boy could feel something surge within him as he used his attack. Memories of the encounters they had so far. And so, with that in his heart, he slammed into Zekrom...and the Legend took a step back.

The first since the fight started. Even the Legend seemed surprised by this.

He didn't have a chance to say anything as he was struck on one side by Kazo's Dragonbreath, and the other by Mac's Quick Attack.

With a laugh he grabbed Mac by the arm and swung her at Ari. "Not bad, for some kids!" Zekrom said.

"But why don't I show you something truly powerful."

The Dragon raised both of his arms. Above him, high in the sky, a glowing purple meteor formed, surrounded by an energy in the shape of a serpent's jaw, which came crashing towards Kazo.

"Kazo, look out, you can't take that thing head on!" Mac shouted in warning.

---

Team Neo Not Dark, Under The Sea

"All in a day's work, hmm?"

Dora was staring at Easter. "You have a lot of owies?" She said, sounding concerned.

"You sure you shouldn't be taking care of those cuts? You look like crap right now,"

"And a bath! We have water allll around!" Dora chimed in, nudging Easter and pointing off into the water. Where the unconscious attackers were floating. "Hm...maybe later. When we're back on...uh....where are we going again?"

Manaphy finally stood up. The Psychic energy fading from around her. "I....thank you." She said. "I didn't know, even out here, there were so many who would attack us. I have been mistaken in thinking it was safe." She looked over to Phione, who, somehow, had fallen asleep during this, and seemed to come to some conclusion.

"I have decided to go to the surface with you....if you're okay with that. I can make the trip much faster. There's...somewhere I have to go."

---

Soon later, once everyone was ready, Manaphy placed her hands on the bottom of the bubble. Like Dora and Phione before her. Except this time, when the bubble moved, it traveled far faster than before. With the sea slipping by in a blur. To which Dora cheered and pointed out before getting dizzy and falling over.

On the surface, The S.S. Showdown was floating in the water, waiting for them still.

Manaphy took some time to be convinced it was fine as a platform was lowered for them to climb onto.

Up top Captain greeted them with arms wide open. "Welcome back, my lovelies. And Denku." He inclined his head towards the Pupitar. "I see you've brought with you some more guests. Manaphy I presume, charmed." He bowed to the woman.

"Erm...why do you have Rayquaza's ship?" she asked. To which Captain winced.

"I, well, borrowed it you see. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that you're safe and sound."

"I need to see Rayquaza. Can you take me to him? I need somewhere safe for Phione."

Captain hesitated then nodded. "I suppose I can't turn down a lady such as yourself." To the others he said "I hope you don't mind a bit of a detour. You'll be with us for a bit longer. We just got a new batch of, er, loot, recently. Feel free to dig around see if something catches your eye."

---

Team Alola, On the Road to Adarid City

"Are you feeling better now?" 

Articuno took a few moments centering herself with her eyes closed. Then, letting out a breath, she opened her eyes and got to her feet with Zapdos's help. "I wouldn't say I feel good. But better, yes, that's accurate." Her tone was pained but calm.

"It was foolish of you to challenge someone like that. Someone of his power level shouldn't logically exist. Fighting that is..." She stopped herself and coughed. "That is, thank you."

Zapdos laughed. "Probably the best you'll get outta her. Good to see you're still a stick in the mud even on death's doorstep."

"And good to see you're as irresponsible as u-" Articuno's words were cut off as she winced. "In any case, we should go. Now more than ever the three of us should be together."

Zapdos nodded. "No doubt about that."

The two would stick around for a bit more, gathering their strength, before each forming a pair of wings and taking flight.

---

Team Karaoke, Graveyard of Lost Souls

"And you really need to get a new insult."

Raphael giggled at this and spun out of the way of the Flamethrower attack. As he did he fired off a close range Shadow Ball at Nine.

He then paused, tilted his head, and turned. While he turned his Shadow Claw extended and he met Lok's Hex with his own attack. Causing a strange, inward, explosion. "Oh look. More of you. I guess just means I'll have to tear through them all."

The Banette then took off. Charging at one of the clones and ripping through it before bouncing off his heels and running through another. "They don't even bleed, how boring!"

He then glanced at Lok's direction, and smiled. "Oh, maybe this one." His claws extended more but before he took a step Kayla came from above and dragged claws of her own down Raphael's back.

As the Banette turned and swung at her she jumped backwards. Firing off Water Shurikens as she did. "I'm really getting sick of you all." Raphael said in a sing-song voice. Then he frowned and turned swiftly towards Gwen.

The girl was glowing. dark aura leaking out of her body in a visible blanket around her. She raised her hands and a large, distorted, symbol in the shape of an eye appeared above her. Then Raphael felt incredible pain as the Hex shocked his body.

He collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach, and his body spasmed for a moment until he ceased moving.

All was silent for a moment.

And then he began to laugh. Louder, and louder, until the laughter filled the area. Echoed off the tombstones. Seemed to come from all directions.

His body was wrapped in ghostly figures and he was lifted up into the air. Phantoms swirled around him yet his grinning face was clearly visible through it.

BGM

"You forget your place." He said. His voice raised to be heard above the moans and groans of the spirits surrounding him. "This is my world. Years and years of work. All my power. Gathered in one place. I cannot be stopped here. Not by a god and surely not by you. This is where you die and add to my power. Be happy knowing the end of your life means mine becomes even more grand."

Skeletal hands and arms erupted from the soil around the group. Grasping at them. Trying to pull them under. All the while Raphael laughed, in the air, surrounded by the souls of the dead.

However something seemed out of place.

Off in the distance. A strange, yellow, glow, could be seen.

Kayla stepped in its direction and Raphael turned towards her immediately. A Shadow Ball came from his wall of souls and struck her. Exploding on her body and throwing her to the ground.

---

Team Showdown, Temple of Time and Space

Isole refused to look directly at Scarlet as she finished off the Archeops. "Good work..." she said, feeling shame at having hit her own ally. Her attention was drawn back towards the other opponent as she heard a low growl from that direction.

Taiga's attack clamped down on the Carracosta and halted his attack mid-swipe. He looked Taiga in the eye with an unflinching gaze. "You may be fast...but far too weak." He said. Then, opening his own mouth, a similar pair of jaws, this one made of dark energy, clamped down hard onto Taiga in turn.

While the others were watching this someone came and dragged off the Archeops, who seemed still conscious but so stunned they were unable to move on their own, out of the ring. A low squawk was heard as they hit the floor outside of the ring.

[Sethera 290]

As Ari ran forward he felt his heart surge with strength. It felt as if, for a single moment, everybody that he'd met, had fun with, and laughed with, were at his side. And the two most important people, the two fighting beside him right now, they were here too. Smiling, he raced forward and knocked into Zekrom, forcing him to take a step back. At the same time, Mac and Kazo attacked, and for one moment, it felt like they might win this. Without the other holding back.

But then Zekrom laughed and swung Mac over at him. Of course, it would never be that easy. He was a legendary, after all.

The Litleo wasn't fast enough to get out of the way, and he wasn't sure that'd be so good anyway. He'd probably be a lot softer than the hard ground. Grunting as the Helioptile slammed into him, the fire type pushed her off with a "Get up; you're heavy!"

But Mac was more worried about the large glowing rock that the dragon type was going to use on Kazo. Not sure what to do, Ari frantically fired off a couple Embers at it, hoping it'd do something, maybe knock it off course or burn it away.

--

"You have a lot of owies?"

"If this was work, then we should be getting paid overtime," Denku quipped back as he fell over on his butt, taking some deep breaths. "You sure you shouldn't be taking care of those cuts? You look like crap right now."

"And a bath! We have water allll around!" Dora chimed in, nudging Easter and pointing off into the water. She seemed to reconsider it though at the sight of the floating, unconscious bodies.

Easter snorted with some amusement. "Never let it be said that you mince your words, Denku." He managed to say the name this time with a straight face. The fairy type then looked over at Dora and rubbed her head before conceding. "I suppose I should heal up...I'll save the bath for later though." He'd had enough of salt water for a lifetime. Were it up to him, he'd just sit there and bleed. He'd been hurt worse than this before, and honestly, he didn't mind it that much. The pain helped make him feel more alive than he would otherwise. Still, he wasn't too keen on scaring Dora with how he looked. Not long after, his body would glow as the Wish took effect. While it didn't entirely heal him, it did manage to close up many of the wounds, and the bleeding had finally stopped.

Manaphy rose and thanked them, offering to take them to the surface. Easter gave her a short bow of thanks. "We would love to have you along. Our ship is waiting for us on the surface." Oddly enough, he didn't feel any desire to fight Manaphy or Phione, even though at least one would definitely count as a legendary. They remind me a little of Brooke, the queen, and Dora. He had never been too keen on fighting children, but before, he wouldn't have let that stop him if they were powerful. Perhaps I've changed, just a little bit. He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Once at the surface, Captain greeted them with his usual charm, and it was clear where Easter had gotten his habit of bowing to people. He and Manaphy then had a short conversation which culminated in them apparently going to meet the Rayquaza. He had heard a little of the gijinka from Captain, and he was eager to see how he'd fare against them. The blood that had temporarily cooled in the Sylveon's veins began to fire up again. "Rayquaza, hmm?" he smiled. "I wonder just how strong the sky dragon is. Strong enough to make a good fight, I'd say." However, glancing at the two children nearby, he stopped himself from saying anything more, instead, changing the subject to the loot. "I guess I'll go 'dig around,' then. I am a pirate, after all," he winked at Captain before glancing at the others. "You coming with?"

--

"Pretty neat. Do you feel any different?" the Terror asked. She was already terrifying before, but now, something in Keanu screamed out a warning about her. And not just her. Randy too. Actually, Randy even more so. Something in his mind told him that he was no good. Or at least, unreadable. Odd, that. It'd never really mattered before whether he could read anybody. Gijinka were gijinka, after all. Everybody was different, and he'd had little trouble getting along with most folks, anyway.

"Yeah, I do actually," the Pikachu--no, Raichu, winced. "Feels weird. I think part of that is I'm shaped a little differently now. My tail's heavier," he struggled to lift it, managing to wave it around a little before giving up. "And there's something else...dunno what though," he shook his head. Fighting to get his instincts, which were telling him to get away, under control, the Raichu focused on Marie's words. "Tan...?" he muttered, and then glanced at himself. "Oh yeah, huh." He was a few shades darker than he used to be.

Randy gave a hearty chuckle, shaking his head. "Won't lie Keanu, I honestly thought you wouldn't have done that...but, hey, the new look suits ya." he said, moving slightly again towards the others.

"Heh, thanks. I didn't think I would either, to be honest," the Raichu chuckled, ignoring the slight discomfort at the edge of his mind. Randy seemed a little...scarier, now, or just more mysterious? Wait, how is Randy, of all gijinka, mysterious? he berated himself. He's even more readable than a giant sign with flaming letters. He wandered over to where the others were. The cold beauty had woken up, and, just like someone else he knew, she started to scold them before remembering that she should probably be thanking them instead.

"In any case, we should go. Now more than ever the three of us should be together."

"No doubt about that."

"You two take care, all right?" Keanu said, before turning to one in particular, sending her a smile. "And Zapdos...thanks again."

Watching them leave till they were no more than dots in the sky, he shook his head and turned to the others. "Onwards, then?"

Edited November 25, 2019 by Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd

[Skaia 578]

As Nine's attack was dodged, the Houndoom saw yet another shadow ball coming at him. Swiftly as he had done before, the boy fired off a dark pulse to help him parry the attack as he moved to the side to dodge it. Getting ready for any counter attack Raphael was preparing, Nine stood his ground waiting only to then see the man get blasted with a large amount of dark energy. Looking to see Gwen, practically radiating with dark energy, as the one who had fired it Nine was both impressed and worried about the woman. While he wanted to go check in with her, his attention was arrested by the disciple of Giratina. 

The ghost had been beaten and on the ground, and though they seemed to have been making headway into defeating him, it was clear that they were not going to be able to get off that easily. As the man began to showcase the full might of his power to them, Nine grimaced as hands started to jut out from the ground and grab at all of them and air around Raphael himself seemed to howl and churn with souls. Seeing that the disciple was still raring to go, Nine wasn't quite sure how much more he could do against him. He didn't know how much of what he said was showboating and how much was true, but the fact was that he was starting to feel the burn course through his body more and more, and things looked like they'd only be more difficult from here on out. 

However, as Nine was beginning to feel the dread of it all set in, he noticed behind Raphael was a light at the end of the tunnel. He wasn't quite sure if it was as metaphorical as it was literal, but with the disciples hasty attack towards Kayla, it was just about all he could bank on. Igniting his arms, the Houndoom sent them towards the ground, batting away the arms that were grabbing at him as he looked towards Raphael. A clear intensity in his eyes, as he looked between the disciple and the sun behind him. Their destination was clear. Their method was simple. All that mattered was being able to do it. 

"Kayla!" Nine fired off a dark pulse at the hands grasping at the Accelgor to free her. "Sorry to ask so much of you, but if you can, we'll need all the runners we can get." Looking to the Rotom he said, "Lok, I'll go with you and cover for you. Gwen," he called back to ghost behind him. "You're probably the strongest of us right now, so cover for us. But, keep yourself safe too." Staring back to Raphael, Nine merely shouted, "alright team, let's make this our last spurt!" With that, Nine waited for Lok to start moving before he would follow after him. 

Marie couldn't help but feel a bit  of pride well up in her as the legend thanked her for her bravery in standing up to Lucario. Smiling with satisfaction, Marie simply told the legend, "even if it was foolish, if I saw someone passing by in that situation, I'd want them to save me. So, it's only natural to stand up for others that want to be saved too!" As the legends sprouted their wings and took flight, Marie simply waved them off saying, "it was nice meeting you both. Say hi to Moltres for me. Hope I see you all again!" After waving until they went out of view, Marie turned to Keanu and nodded at his suggestion. "Let's!" 

[Chaos Sonic 442]



"And good to see you're as irresponsible as u-...In any case, we should go. Now more than ever the three of us should be together."
"No doubt about that."

Randy watched as Zapdos and Articuno flew off, most likely to not only find Moltres and reunite, but also go to where Rayquaza called them. He watched them fly and get further and further away, until they resembled nothing but normal avian gijinka. He began to sigh greatly, still feeling quite sore from the whole ordeal with the Lucario. Allie was one thing...but this one...this one might've been even on a higher level than the Tyranitar.

"...g-give it to me straight, brah...I-I can't even beat you...right now...can I?"
"No, you can't."

Those words to him, spoken by the Lucario...he could still hear them play over and over. If Randy couldn't beat him like he was right this moment, then he'd have to get stronger...smarter. He closed his eyes and exhaled, recalling the way the Lucario moved...namely what he could see. But that was his problem...he could barely see him. Even with Extreme Speed, it shouldn't have been that difficult to follow him with his eyes.

...Speed training, maybe? Find a way to increase my speed that way I can match him on that wavelength...raw power won't do it. he thought, slowly opening his eyes. Work on my speed...and then if I can get close enough, perhaps overwhelm him with Malicious Moonsault, similar to how it happened against Allie...could work.

"Onwards, then?"
"Let's!"

The Incineroar paused his thoughts, looking at Keanu and Marie before smiling. Sure, now Keanu was a Raichu and currently acting weird towards him...then again that wasn't anything new. Regardless, he gave out a small chuckle and nodded. "...yeah, let's keep going. Maybe we can find some place to get some rest and food...both of which I believe we all need."

[reparoni 161]

Graveyard of Lost Souls Team Karaoke

Lok was shocked when Raphael swatted away the Hex, panicking when the attention was back on him. He watched in horror as he brutalized two of his clones, imagining what would happen to him if those deadly claws got on him. As Lok's eyes met Raphael's he froze in place, realizing that he had found him out. Fortunately, he was saved at the last minute by Kayla. He fell on his knees, clutching his racing heart in the sheer shock of what just happened. He crawled backwards as he saw Gwen's Hex strike the slayer.

Slowly, he picked himself up as the spirits swirled around the Banette. He couldn't believe that there was still more - he wasn't sure if they were going to make it. He didn't have much time to ponder this, however, as he had to quickly react to the skeletal arms coming at him. Lok fired off a Thunderbolt to break one that was grabbing his leg and started levitating above the ground in an attempt to avoid the arms.

Something that caught his eye was the shining light off in the distance. Kayla was struck almost immediately as she went towards the light. Lok turned to Nine, who seemed to have some sort of plan. He seemed to want to run towards the light. Lok shuddered at the thought, remembering what just happened to Kayla and, more importantly, what happened to his clones. Still, it wasn't like they had much better options right now - he doubted that they could take him with this presumingly empowered form. He clenched his fist, shaking his head. "Somehow I don't think he'll care much about whoever's attacking him with that... stuff... around him." He said, turning towards the light. "If we all run towards the light, at least one of us should make it... I think. He can't deal with all of us..." He said nervously, getting into a running stance. "...I hope." He let out a heavy sigh. No matter what they did, it was probably better than just standing around waiting to die. On Nine's call, he broke into a sprint, which quickly became Lok gliding as fast as he could towards the light, making sure to hover as high as he could in an attempt to avoid the arms.

 

---

 

Temple of Time and Space Team Showdown

Scarlet was happy, having dealt with her opponent, although there wasn't much time to rest. She turned towards Carracosta, who was currently chomping down on Taiga. She grit her teeth, rushing in to punch the dragonic fossil off of her friend. As she slammed her fist onto his head, she was surprised as he seemed to barely budge, although he did let go of Taiga. His attention was now on the angry bug in front of him. Scarlet growled, diving in for another Bullet Punch. Carracosta stood there, tanking the hit as he slammed down a Dragon Claw right back at Scarlet.

She staggered back from the attack, wincing in pain. "Well... aren't you a tough one." She remarked dryly, picking herself up. Carracosta didn't respond, instead tucking his head down as he jet forwards towards her. Confidently, Scarlet stepped forwards a bit, out stretching her arms and Bug Biting the rushing fossil's shoulders in an attempt to stop him. While she did manage to stop him, it didn't take long for him to break out of her grip, causing her to stumble back once more. "Very tough..." She said, a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

 

[Mr. Hyde 204]

Team Showdown - Temple of Time and Space

"You may be fast...but far too weak."

"Wuzzat?!"  Taiga grit her teeth as the Carracosta chomped down on Taiga's entire body.  She tried to muscle her way out of the situation, but the attack was almost like a vice grip on her entire body.  "Yer gonna regret this, shell head!"  She spat.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Scarlet on her way.  She had become victorious over the bird brain, and was now distracting her opponent with meager punches and bites.  With the Gijinka distracted, she was released from his spectral jaws.  She crashed to the ground, breathing heavily.  "He's gonna regret that!"  Taiga propped herself back up, and started swinging her arm in a circle.  Water began to follow the trail of her arm, whipping and splashing around her.  The swirling circle of water grew larger and larger, as her whirling motion began to pick up more speed, collecting more water into the ring.  Taiga's feet stepped off rather slowly at first, as if she was off balance, but then picked up with vigor.  

"Here's the big one!"  Taiga roared, launching a punch filled with the momentum of a tidal wave.  "Isole!  A lil' assistance?!"  She pleaded, as her roaring fist drilled through the air.  "Chrome dome!  Go crazy!  I wanna see you rain down some bullet hell!"

Edited November 25, 2019 by Mr. Hyde

[Saikazo 241]

"Kazo, look out, you can't take that thing head on!" That almost felt like a laughable understatement. A large meteor was now in the sky, all wrapped by a dragon looking down at him. Was this the strongest Dragon move, Draco Meteor? It had to be, there was no way it wasn't.

And it was coming straight at him. Ari fired off some Embers at it, but it didn't seem to do anything to it. Kazo wanted to be brave, to stand his ground, and fight back with a giant beam, stopping the meteor in its tracks like some great hero.

He wasn't some great hero though.

He wanted to live.

Kazo took a step back, before breaking into a run, doing his best to get out of the blast range of the massive attack. He could feel the force of the attack as it connected with the ground, the shockwave from the attack knocking him off of his feet and crashing into the ground.

"Ow, ow, ow...," Kazo muttered as he tried to get back onto his feet, seeing the effect the attack had on the ground, which was shattered beyond belief. He couldn't even imagine what such an attack would do to him if he let it hit. He sighed and stood back up, ready to fight. There was no way Zekrom could do such an attack twice in a row, right?

 

---

 

"Never let it be said that you mince your words, Denku." Easter commented, to which Denku chuckled. 

"Damn straight," Denku answered. "Life's too short to beat around the bush," Especially when it came to his own. It didn't matter though. All he wanted to do right now was rest. However, Manphany's voice called out, making Denku force himself to sit up to listen to her.

"I....thank you." She said. "I didn't know, even out here, there were so many who would attack us. I have been mistaken in thinking it was safe." She looked over to Phione before continuing. "I have decided to go to the surface with you....if you're okay with that. I can make the trip much faster. There's...somewhere I have to go."

And away they went. Manaphy could control the bubble super well, and they soon made it back to the to the S.S. Showdown. After a bit of convincing, they climbed back aboard, where the Captain greeted them with arms wide open.

"Welcome back, my lovelies. And Denku." He inclined his head towards the Pupitar, to which Denku just gave an acknowledging nod. "I see you've brought with you some more guests. Manaphy I presume, charmed." He bowed to the woman.

"Erm...why do you have Rayquaza's ship?" she asked.The Captain winced, causing Denku to blink. Well, there must be a story behind that.

"I, well, borrowed it you see. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that you're safe and sound."

"... He borrowed without permission, didn't he?" Denku muttered.

"I need to see Rayquaza. Can you take me to him? I need somewhere safe for Phione."

"I suppose I can't turn down a lady such as yourself." To the others he said "I hope you don't mind a bit of a detour. You'll be with us for a bit longer. We just got a new batch of, er, loot, recently. Feel free to dig around see if something catches your eye."

"Another detour, huh? Well, I suppose going to a place full of legends maybe helpful to me," One of them might know where Kazo was, right? Right.

"I guess I'll go 'dig around,' then. I am a pirate, after all," Easter winked at Captain before glancing at the others. "You coming with?"

"Sure. Maybe we'll find something useful," Denku stated with a shrug. It was worth a shot.

Edited November 25, 2019 by Saikazo

[Cheshire Toon 139]

And so—with the help of Manaphy—they returned to the ship their journey had started from; the massive S.S. Showdown, with her lecherous captain waiting to greet them. Brooke could barely focus on whatever he was saying to the rest. 

The Emboar was exhausted. Emotionally and physically: back-to-back fights, the stress of Dora’s princess status and everything that came with it, not to mention the gnawing in her stomach that she still couldn’t pin down the source of. Anxiety, yes, but what was she anxious about? It just… It just feels like we’re all rushing toward something, something bigger than we are. Plus everything has to change soon… We can’t keep traveling together much longer. She had gotten attached to their little ragtag group and it hadn’t hit her until Easter had mentioned splitting up. They went together like fire and oil, they attracted trouble all the time, but through it all they were good people. Reliable. Something she hadn’t had much of in her life.

That didn’t matter though. They had lives to live. Denku was sick, and searching for his lost brother, and Easter… he was a fighter. The way his eyes lit up whenever they had to fight, practically exuding an aura of giddiness—it was creepy, but it was also who he was. It would be selfish of her to keep them from who they were. 

"I guess I'll go 'dig around,' then. I am a pirate, after all," Brooke looked up to find Easter staring at them. "You coming with?" he asked. Denku was quick to assure that he was, and though she was insanely tired, Brooke didn’t turn him down either.

“Lead the way, Mr. Pirate. Maybe we can find the kiddos something cool while we’re looking.” Brooke said, following behind. 

She reflected on their journey as she chased after them. 

BGM

Life wasn’t fair. All things had to end. She had learned that a hundred times from the streets of Deku. But it had taken this little ragtag group of trouble-magnets to teach her something much more important; that it was important to live in the moment, regardless of what the future may bring, and so she planned to do just that. 
 

 

[LordCowCow 839]

Team Mac, Cave Part Two

"Get up; you're heavy!"

Mac rolled off the side. "That's pretty rude you know. I'm not heavy you're just too skinny." She grumbled as she got back to her feet.

Though her minor concerns were nothing in the face of what Kazo just experienced. A crater was formed in the ground as Zekrom's attack went off. Even though they weren't the targets both Ari and Mac felt some of the shockwave of the impact.

Zekrom stretched his arms out and squeezed his shoulder blades. "Ah, I missed, too bad. Still a bit stiff from all that time as a statue I guess."

He then punched his fists together and smiled. "Just means I got to work out the kinks."

Raising his arms he launched a large blue bolt of electricity towards Kazo. As soon as he did he moved. Having been mostly stationary during the fight Mac was surprised to see him move so swiftly towards her and Ari. The two young Gijinka were near each other as both of Zekrom's fists became enveloped in a swirling ball of electricity. Once he neared them he thrust his arms forward to strike them both with one hand.

Mac leapt to the side to avoid the strike, feeling the heat of the lightning on her face, and hurled herself at Zekrom in retaliation. She struck him in the stomach but the Legend seemed unfazed. Bringing an elbow down on her head for her troubles.

She didn't fall down completely but her knees buckled and she fell onto her knees in front of the Legend.

Hoping Ari would be fine she pushed back up to her feet to swing her leg at Zekrom's own.

---

Team Karaoke, Graveyard of Lost Souls

"You're probably the strongest of us right now, so cover for us. But, keep yourself safe too."

Gwen's head was swimming. She only barely registered what Nine had said. "Alright." She said, her voice coming out distorted. She just had to attack Raphael, right? She could do that. Her focus wasn't so far gone to prevent from something as simple as that.

"If we all run towards the light, at least one of us should make it... I think. He can't deal with all of us..."

As the group moved, above them, Raphael's cackle could be heard. "Wishful thinking, little lamb, but you're not going anywhere. None of you are."

He started to move lower as Nine, Lok, and Kayla started to sprint towards the light, whatever it was.

Gwen was also moving forward, albeit at a slower pace. The hands that grasped at her were met with a Mystical Fire attack. Raphael landed behind Nine and grabbed the young man by the back of the neck, reaching through the spectral barrier around him. He gripped down tightly and flung his arm sideways. Throwing Nine into a nearby gravestone.

He then went towards Kayla and extended his arm. The spirits around him flowed through the arm and wrapped around Kayla. She let out a surprised squeak and shot a beam out at it which allowed her to slip away momentarily. However Raphael then struck her in the back with a Shadow Ball.

He started towards Lok when a barrage of leaves struck the specters surrounding him. He craned his neck bad and saw Gwen floating towards him with hate in her eyes.

A wide grin broke out on his face, one that almost seemed to split his mouth open wider than it should be, and his claws extended. "Impatient, impatient, but okay, you next."

---

Team Showdown, Temple of Time and Space

"Very tough..."

"Your attacks can't break my armor." He said confidently as his body emitted the same ghostly aura as before, strengthening himself farther.

"Tch, armor doesn't stop me...But..." Isole hesitated. If she attacked surely he would go for her. And she was still injured from the previous attacks she took. She doubted she could handle another from someone with such high attack power.

The solution came in the form of a cocky shark girl.

"Here's the big one!"

She saw the Carracosta turn towards Taiga only to take a punch to the face from Scarlet. Dragging his attention back to the Scizor as he swiped down at her with a mighty Dragon Claw.

In that moment Taiga launched her attack. Isole fired off her Thunderbolt and the attacks met just before hitting the Carracosta. Taiga's attack, which usually would be physically offensive, was charged with Isole's own and skipped past the Carracosta's defenses to blast him up and out of the ring entirely. Crashing into the far wall he slid down to the ground, unconscious.

A few seconds past and then the king's clapping could be heard. A slow clap that grew louder as the Tyrantrum rose up from his throne and stepped towards the group. "I admit it. I'm impressed."

The Tyrantrum smiled at the three and then a savage look flashed in their eyes. They crouched down and jumped into the air and landed in the ring with a loud thud. "After something like that how could I resist joining in? Come on now, you three, I'm sure you have more gas left in the tank. Your final opponent is me!"

BGM

With a mighty roar the king stood to their full, eight foot, height. Spreading their arms wide they said. "Let's see what you've got!"

[Saikazo 241]

Kazo looked on at the destruction that Zekrom had caused. It was by far the most powerful attack he had ever seen. "Ah, I missed, too bad. Still a bit stiff from all that time as a statue I guess." Zekrom then punched his fists together and smiled. "Just means I got to work out the kinks." And with that, Zekrom fired a bolt of lightning at the young dragon.

Kazo moved to dodge the attack, but he wasn't quite fast enough, and the attack grazed his side. He couldn't believe the odd feeling he felt. It was somewhat painful, and his muscles were clenching. Was this what it felt like when normal people were hit by electricity? He grabbed his side, letting his body adjust slightly as the legendary went to attack Mac and Ari.

As Mac aimed at one of Zekrom's legs, Kazo rushed up, using Slash on Zekrom's other leg. Hopefully, the two of them working together could topple Zekrom, even if only for a few moments.

 

[Skaia 578]

As the gang began their sprint forward, Nine wasn't all that surprised to see that Raphael had immediately started to make his move to bring them down. It didn't take much time for the Banette to catch up with them, and when he did Nine could do nothing but feel a sudden jolt as his entire forward momentum was stopped, being yanked back by Raphael. As the disciple proceeded to toss him away from his path, launching the Houndoom into a gravestone. Being momentarily winded, Nine sat there for a brief moment, only able to watch as Rahapel as well went to strike at Kayla. Picking himself back up, Nine started to recollect his breath as he looked to his opponent, who was now charging Gwen. Looking to the opposite side of Gwen, Nine saw that Lok was still moving forward the sun. 

With that in mind, Nine was definitely not feeling like running anymore. His body was sore, his legs were less than willing to go back into a full sprint and the curse was still wreaking havoc within. As a result, he was more or less banking on whatever Lok found to be what they needed to turn the tides. And to make that easier for both himself, and to currently keep Gwen from being shredded by the ghost's claws, Nine ignited his arms. Sending out a flamethrower, the fire struck against the wall of souls and though it managed to creep beyond his barrier, the souls had seemed to absorb most of the attack. As a the disciple's claws had ended up veering away from Gwen, though his arm had still struck her, his attention now seemed turned towards Nine. Though weak as he was, Nine simply brought up his hand and gestured for Raphael to come at him. The disciple, smiling at this challenge seemed to oblige as he extended his shadowy claws and leaped towards him. 

Thinking fast, Nine jumped up onto the tombstone behind him, his eyes going wide with pain as he realized just how tired his legs actually were at this point. As such, his foot wasn't the best as Raphael swung at the area where Nine was. Destroying the tombstone with his claw,  Raphael brought out his other shadow claw, stabbing forward at Nine as he began to fall forward. Flinging out a dark pulse into the man's claw, the attack didn't really seem to do much to slow down Raphael, and more so just managed to push Nine out of the way of the attack. As he tumbled onto the ground, he was greeted with a shadow ball immediately tracking towards him. Summoning yet another jet of flame, Nine struck at the shadow ball but was clearly overpowered as the ball struck into him, causing him to tumble back even further. Trying  to get back to his feet as Raphael extended both of his claws, getting ready to charge at Nine again. Trying to get to his feet, Nine was stopped by the hand shooting out from the ground, grabbing at him to hold him still. 

As he struggled against the binds of the corpse hands, he suddenly felt them slack as mystical flames had blasted into them. Now free, Nine rolled to the side to avoid the first claw, which had struck into the earth where he was, and looked to the second claw to counter it. However, as he looked away, the first hand then dragged across the ground, grabbing Nine by the foot and tossing him yet again into a gravestone. Being winded once more, Nine slowly got back to his feet as he continued to stare down his opponent. 

[Sethera 290]

"That's pretty rude you know. I'm not heavy you're just too skinny."

Ari would've said something back were it not for the giant meteor hurtling down toward Kazo. Thankfully, the Gabite was fast enough to get out of the way before he got squashed, though the shockwave was still enough to bowl him over.

The legendary didn't seem too disappointed that he had missed, punching his fists together with a smile. Though there was something about what he said that had Ari a little confused. "Statue?"

Maybe he shouldn't have said anything, as the dragon, right after firing a bolt of electricity at Kazo, turned their way, thrusting his arms forward to strike at both him and Mac.

The Helioptile was fast enough to avoid it, hurling herself at Zekrom's stomach and getting an elbow to the head as retaliation. She got up soon afterward though, swinging her leg down at one of the other's legs. From the other side, Kazo rushed up to use a Slash on the opposite limb.

Ari, meanwhile, had been too slow. He wasn't nearly as fast as Mac, so the strike had caught him right in the side. Bowling head over heels, he eventually managed to pick himself up off the ground, eyes spinning, before shaking his head. He would fight too! Charging forward toward Zekrom, he aimed right for the stomach. With the three of them attacking at once, it might be enough to Take this legendary Down.

[Mr. Hyde 204]

Team Showdown - Temple of Time and Space

Taiga and Isole's combo attack slammed into the Carracosta hard enough to send him across the room, slamming him into the wall.  Taiga's arm was trembling from the sheer force of the attack she had performed.  As it still was stuck out in front of her, she collapsed to her knees.  She was breathing raggedly, but a few laughs managed to slip through the gaps in her teeth.

"Fu...fu...we managed to get through the gauntlet huh?"  She gave Isole and Scarlet a thumbs up with her arm that was still stuck out, turning her fist upwards and jutting her thumb out.  "That was a good showdown if I'd ever seen one."  

"I admit it. I'm impressed."

Taiga looked towards the past king, who clapped slowly.  The man then flashed a look in his eye that made Taiga frown.  She knew that look all too well.  The Tyrantrum threw themselves into the ring with might, slamming on the mat, and sending a wave across their footing that sent Taiga into the air.  She managed to get back to her shaky feet, but stumbled back onto her tail fin.  She blew the hair that hung in her face with a puff of air, her face not even entertaining the idea of going another round in this stupid arena.  

"After something like that how could I resist joining in? Come on now, you three, I'm sure you have more gas left in the tank. Your final opponent is me!"  With a mighty roar the king stood to their full, eight foot, height. Spreading their arms wide they said. "Let's see what you've got!"

"You've gotta be kidding, right?"  She looked towards the other too, almost begging.  "Right?"  

[reparoni 161]

Graveyard of Lost Souls Team Karaoke

Lok tried his best to ignore the attacks that all of his friends were receiving, focusing on getting to whatever was at the end of this tunnel. However, the sounds of attacks being made and pain being felt behind him definitely didn't put him at ease at all. Still, he had to press on forwards, even with the knowledge that he could attacked at any moment. He took a glance over his shoulder, and nearly screamed when his eyes locked with the Slayer's. Luckily Gwen struck him with magical leaves, bringing the attention away from Lok. "Thank you..." He muttered under his breath, turning back towards the light. As he ran, he used Double Team once more, although this time he was only able to make two other clones.

As he got closer, he noticed that the light was coming from... a gravestone? "Oh!" He said, in realization. This must be the little tomb that he was talking about earlier. Lok clenched his fist, lightning starting to crackle in it. He was ready to blast it, however, he noticed something else behind the gravestone. It was the spirit of a middle-aged women, her face wrapped in a veil. Lok slowed down, walking towards the stone as the crackling lightning in his palm sizzled. "Who... who are you?" He asked, confused as he slowly kept walking up to the stone.

 

---

 

Temple of Time and Space Team Showdown

Scarlet was already dashing in when Taiga called upon her air. The turtle seemed to be distracted by Taiga's shout and didn't notice the bug come in with a swift Bullet Punch across the jaw. As expected, however, he took it with relative ease and launched a Dragon Claw right on her. The Scizor brought up her arm to block the attack, ready to go in with another punch. However, as she blocked the attack, her friends had made their move. The combination of Taiga's roaring waves and Isole's shocking bolts was enough to blast their foe out of the ring. "Good job team!" Scarlet said, breathing heavily, as she turned to the others.

Unfortunately there wasn't much time to celebrate, as now the king himself was stepping into the ring. "This is it..." She said calmly, taking in a deep breath. She was starting to tire, but she knew she had enough fight in her to defeat the king. She turned to Taiga, who seemed irritated and exhausted. "No giving up now - this is the final stretch!" She said, turning to Isole. "We can do this - together."

Taking the lead, Scarlet dashed towards the king, ducking down and going for a quick rib shot with a Bullet Punch.

[LordCowCow 839]

Team Mac, Cave Part Two

Struck on both legs, Zekrom was too focused on the others that he didn't notice how fast Ari was coming in. The cub slammed into the much larger Legendary. He grunted and fell backwards.

Mac felt a surge of excitement as she watched him fall. They did it! The knocked down a Legend!

Though it seemed she was counting her eggs before they hatched. As Zekrom fell he twisted his body and pulled a fist back. Electricity crackling he slammed it down as he fell and the area exploded with bolts of lightning arcing all over. Mac had to dive between several of them but even then was still hit by one. Spinning her around with the force it hit her arm.

When she stopped spinning she saw Zekrom was getting to his feet. And laughing.

"Ahhh that was a good one! Come on, let me see what you can do together! You're a team right? Let's see that teamwork!" He adjusted his stance and crouched a bit, ready to grapple with anyone who came close.

Mac let out a deep breath and started to Charge up. This was it, they had to really let him have it! "Okay, you want to see what we got, well don't cry when we knock you out!"

---

Team Karaoke, Graveyard of Lost Souls

Raphael had a crazed look on his face. More crazed than usual. His eyes were wide, his tongue hanging out, and his gaze flicked back and forth constantly. "Mother always said not to play with my food." He growled. "Well, that didn't go well for her, but maybe she had a point." He then tensed up and turned towards Lok. "GET OVER HERE!" He shouted. The specters that surrounded him surged out from him. Into a grotesque chain of ghostly faces which stretched out towards Lok.

And struck Kayla instead. The girl had popped out from behind a tombstone and was wrapped in the projectile instead. Raphael gave an annoyed look and started throwing her back and forth. Slamming her into the ground again and again.

Even as Gwen activated another Hex he didn't stop his assault. Though he did look back at her. "I think that's enough." He said, launching a Shadow Ball at the girl. The attack moved faster than it had before and Gwen barely had time to summon a Mystical Fire to try and defend against the attack.

---

Meanwhile, the ghost was staring at Lok. Her face didn't give much expression, and he could barely see her eyes, but there was something sad about her. He could see the veil move slightly, and it looked like she was trying to say something. However it was soon apparent she couldn't get a word out.

Without warning she lunged forward and her hand passed through Lok's body.

As it did he got a flash of visions.

The woman being shouted at by a man while a small boy hid in the corner, covering his ears.

The woman looking on in fear. Doing nothing as the man shook the boy, a bit older now, violently.

The woman screaming as the boy, now almost an adult, and clearly resembling Raphael, tore into the man again and again. Blood spraying as he did.

Then the young man turned towards the woman. Murderous eyes alight with a disturbing delight as he advanced on her. The man still alive, twitching, unable to move as the boy took a step towards the woman.

And then Lok was back in the present. With the woman looking away, ashamed, and unable to look at the Rotom. She floated back again and placed her ghostly hands atop of the gravestone.

---

Team Showdown, Temple of Time and Space

"You've gotta be kidding, right? Right?"  

"If he is then I'm not laughing." Isole said flatly.

Was this really happening? Everything else had been crazy, sure, but this? Fighting THEM? The King of Adarid. While not a Legendary they were a legend of their own right. The one who formed the kingdom that would become the region. They had fought powerful foes before, likely more powerful, but this was something else. This was fighting history itself.

She was impressed at how readily Scarlet went in. And evidently so was the king. They winced as Scarlet's attack hit their rock-solid skin. "Good, getting the jump on me, I like it!" He reared his head back and slammed it down onto Scarlet's, a crushing blow that, were it not for Scarlet's steel-like body, could have easily cracked her skull.

With a roar the king spun around and caught Scarlet with his tail, launching her to the side of the ring.

"Alright, how about you then?" they shouted towards Taiga before starting towards her.

Isole shook her head. She realized she had been slowly moving backwards this whole time. Watching the king charge towards Taiga however she found herself floating forward. Putting herself in front of Taiga as she fired off a Thunderbolt at the incoming Tyrantrum.