Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Marsuru]

Glittering Cave

As Zack drew closer to the cave, the horde's screeches and cries mingled with something else. It sounded almost like music, dissolved and mangled by the solid rock of the cave, but becoming clearer the closer Zack got. He paused when he spotted Kiedis, unconsciously making a fist when he saw the little Teddiursa take care of a pack of wild pokémon with such ease. The rings of battered pokémon piled up around the bear weren't a good sign either.

'This should be good,' Zack said to himself. Kiedis turned and beckoned. Zack followed. An animal tinge of fear rattled inside as he passed through the stacks of bodies, but he quietened it down. Fear wasn't a bad thing if you wanted to survive, but Zack thought it was better off as a cheerleader than as a player. A major part of his training was learning to act despite danger, to do first, worry later. The creature was here somewhere.

Light didn't vanish once they were in the cave, not exactly. Where the rock was exposed to the sun, it seemed like any other rock Zack had ever seen. Once it touched shadow, things changed. Thousands of crystals, some tiny, others bigger than Zack's head, glimmered in the cave wall like stars. They seemed to glow with their own light, turning the black into blue.

The Teddiursa seems familiar, Zack thought as he followed. He frowned, then saw what was ahead, and frowned even more.

'Oh... God dammit.'  

[Jump Einatz]

"HEY! IT'S YOU!" Jump hollered when he saw Zack enter the mine's command control.

By now, most of the cave's occupants had made it out, leaving only a few to trickle on as fast as they could past Jump, Hexum, and the exhausted Team Flare grunts behind them leaning against each other for support while they caught their collective breath. The noise had driven all the Pokémon out, and as long it kept on playing they wouldn't want to return. Without their habitat, they'd be in that frenzy for a long time.

Jump made his way over to Zack, walking now that the ground was safe once more. "Glad you could come, errr, you!" he said, casually stepping over a half buried Carbink in the process. Within the span of a few hours he had forgotten Zack's name again, but he was 90% positive that it was Jack. Jump was proud to have become buddies with somebody else who had a four letter name starting with a J.

"Fashionably late isn't your thing, huh? Whatever, it's cool! The first one to show up is always the most memorable!" Jump circled around to toss an arm over Zack's shoulder. "Not too bad, right? The lighting in here is killer. Ignore the KO'ed Pokémon, we're gonna take care of that before everyone else gets here," he assured, gesturing to his Flare grunts who gave weak thumbs-ups in response.

"Now just picture this place just like this, only teeming with a mass of exuberant, friendly strangers dancing and chatting like no one's watching. Ideally most of them will be young women." He swept his hand out wide. "Boobs as far as the eye can see. How do you feel about Funkadelic?"  

[Marsuru]

Glittering Cave

Jump Einatz. Zack's eyes narrowed. Just what he needed.

'You haven't been outside for a while, have you?' he said, walking past Jump and looking around. Judging from the bodies of broken pokémon lying around the cave, Jump was at least vaguely aware of what was going on. He just didn't care. Zack spotted the Flare grunts standing off to the side. They weren't attacking, but why would they? The rampage outside was winning this siege for them. They were probably taking a break.

But why was Jump with them? Could he be a member of Team Flare? Zack stopped himself from grinning. No, no. That would be ridiculous. He stared at the sound system that trailed into the tunnels. But there was no way Jump could've set that up without their help, or at least their permission. Zack felt his neck bristle, and he turned his back away from Jump.

'So hey. I'm looking for a guy in a black cloak and white mask.' Zack glanced at the heaped up pokémon, 'And ideally stop whatever the ******** going on here. What is going on here?'

Ambrette Town

Unemployability is such a long, nasty word, Roy thought as he lounged on a free deck chair at Ambrette's southern coast. He had to be careful with the cash these days, so drank only tap water from a tall, round-bottomed glass, but it was cool and it was refreshing. It didn't get him drunk, which is what he really wanted, but drunk cost money.

Could always try being a league champ, he mused. It had been twenty years since the last time he tried that, and it hadn't ended well last time. Five weeks and six badges before he gave up and went home. Training was typically a young person's game, but if you were good enough, you could scrape a living out of it when you were older. Take a simple job guarding some rich Kalosian's mansion, which then gets robbed on your watch. Then the long, nasty word comes up and you're stuck on a beach trying to avoid getting sand in your tap water.

'C'est la vie,' Roy sighed to himself. At first he thought he imagined the rumbling, but after a few seconds he sat up and saw what was coming down Route 9. He nearly jumped out of his skin, absently kicking his glass over, the clear, cold liquid pooling on the sand and making it dark. But Roy was up and running, and he wasn't the only one.

Trainers were rushing through Ambrette, mostly coming in from the north. Thanks to the slope of the town, you had a pretty good view of the north gate from the south coast, and Roy could see trainers flooding in to help deal with the horde. Good ol' pokémon trainers. Always looking to be the next Red.

Who was he kidding? He was there to do the exact same thing. Roy rounded a corner and found a police cordon blocking his path. The cops had strewn some cars across the road, as if the simple road block was all it would take to stop the pokémon from overrunning the town. They held their hands out, trying to look authoritative, if pale and nervous.

'Sorry, sir,' an important-looking police officer said, 'But we can't let you past.'
Roy glanced from the man to his handful of nervous officers, over to the horde, then back again. 'Are you serious?'
The cop paused. Then shouted, 'Let 'im past! Everyone be ready for a fight! Promotion to the last man or woman left standing!'

Roy wormed through the barricade while the cops hustled. Luxray wouldn't be any good for this fight; the horde seemed to be mostly ground types. Luckily, Roy had a solution for that. He hurried forward as the police lined Ambrette's eastern perimeter, and the initial influx of trainers from Route 8 rounded the corner. The horde was almost at the town, so Roy ran ahead, inadvertently leading the charge.

A Hippowdon roared at the front of the mass, spewing sand from its vents, making itself an obvious target. Roy pulled a pokéball from his belt. The trainers behind him shouted and cheered, charging into battle with an uproar rivalling the Route 9 pokémon. The roars reached fever pitch and the two forces collided. Roy lobbed Feraligatr into battle. The pokémon landed, strong and heavy, and met Hippowdon in the middle.

The Clash of Route 9 had begun.  

[Spinne Biss]

Lumiose City

The Poketch Company jacket hung over Grant's shoulders like a target for trainers everywhere. As he stood in front of the gym, a small gathering had already formed. Whenever trainers gathered around him they always wanted him to do something, or something out of him. Fame for beating him, money, to bully him out of the competition - any number of things.

The crowd before Grant wanted him gone, they just didn't know how to do it and that fed into their aggressiveness.

"Please excuse me!" came the shout of someone toward the back of the crowd.

The following exchange, as far as Grant heard it, was someone trying to get through, people telling her to come back later, and then the girl tumbling through the crowd as she pushed through.

Grant caught her as she stumbled into him and their eyes locked as she looked up at him. Her face was slightly bruised and she had a black eye, but otherwise she was cute.

"Sorry," she said as she pulled away.

"No, I'm sorry," Grant said as he turned to address the crowd. "Alright, guys, let's get this over with. All of you can use one Pokemon against just one of mine. If you win, I'll quit. If I win, you guys leave me alone forever."

He stepped aside to let the girl into the gym but she had stopped to watch him after he gave his proposal.

There were murmurs among the crowd, and then people began to accept. They gave Grant a bit of room as they began to call out their Pokemon. It was a nice variety.

"Good luck with the gym," Grant said to the girl as he released Raijin, his Pikachu.

"I'm in," the girl said and Grant turned to look at her. He felt disheartened to have another person suddenly against him. That was until she added, "but I want money instead." Greedy assholes were better than vindictive ones.

She moved over to the rest of the crowd and released an Abra. Grant smiled confidently as he stared down the crowd and tapped the button on his earpiece labeled '3'.

***

There were too many Pokemon, Helena thought as she stared down the sponsored trainer and his Pikachu.

She decided to play this cautiously. If the other trainers could win, then she'd get her money anyways. Sure enough, the ones that were confident in the numbers charged in.

It was too much to see all at once, but the two things that Helena was sure was one, the Pikachu got to the center of the group, and two, that the Discharge that followed was a calculated move Grant had plotted out when he'd made the offer to the mob of trainers.

"Loki," Helena said to the Abra, "he'd going to get between everyone. When he does, teleport toward him and then take him away from here."

Sure enough Pikachu came in, a glimmer of silver shining from the collar around his neck. The remaining Pokemon spread out as he charged in, not because they had intended to but because they were cautiously avoiding him.

Helena tensed as she prepared for it. The Pokemon behind the Pikachu weren't all defeated, but it would take them time to get back into the game, and it was unlikely that they would charge blindly in again.

One thing that Helena noticed as peculiar, from the Pokemon that moved to stop Pikachu from getting to the center, was that it seemed to dance between each of them. Each fluid movement she felt she could recognize from one video or another that she'd seen before.

Despite the efforts of the others, Pikachu still managed to make it to the center and when he did he began to spin on his back. The crackle of electricity came and Helena called "now!"

***

Raijin was soaring through the air. It was a strange and sudden shift in perspective, but one he knew he'd have to adapt to quickly.

"Get back in sight," Grant said to him in a calm voice that he heard through his collar.

He caught the Abra that had teleported him into the sky as he fell and he twisted in the air to get a good look at the ground. Speeding toward him was the edge of a roof top, one he could use to slow his descent.

Raijin prepared to kick off of it but when the time came his foot slipped off of exploded debris.

The shock of the move that had come from above didn't hurt him much, it was just a slight but forgettable pain. Like a papercut with none of the lingering.

Raijin prepared himself for the hard landing when another Pokemon came at him. The Machoke's fist was tensed up and Raijin recognized the move as it began. The Power-Up-Punch flew at him intending to smash him into the wall of the building before he hit the ground, but Raijin was ready for it.

He twisted, smashing the Machoke's wrist with an Iron Tail as he spun in the air. The electricity built up in him for when he landed, and when Raijin faced Machoke he released the built up Thunder.

At this close of a distance, it was impossible for the fighting type to avoid it. He was engulfed in the blast and Raijin moved on. A quick glance up told him that the Abra had decided not to linger up there.

Raijin began to speed up when he was caught again by the Abra. This time he was teleported just slightly into the air as they flew back into the open area where the match had started. Raijin was headed right for the group of Pokemon but first and foremost, he had to take care of the Abra.

Raijin turned and shot the thunderbolt and it slammed in and through the Abra before he could escape. The Pokemon cried through electricly seized muscles and Raijin twisted into the crowd.

He twisted himself to push off of an incoming fist, throwing himself upward to the Pokemon's head. A second jump, with an added spin, slammed an Iron Tail into the Pokemon's head as Raijin flung himself into the air.

He twisted as he got into the match, facing and incoming psybeam and meeting it with a thunder bolt.

***

Loki lay at the corner of a building before the opening that was the remnants of what should have been an easy battle. The abra felt himself moving between consciousness and unconsciousness. It wasn't a new sensation. For a Pokemon that slept more than it was awake, it was wasn't a new sensation to travel between the two regularly.

It was normally seamless, with dreams and reality mixing together like a fog. Moments, fractions of events, reacting to things while asleep that caused him to wake up in places he didn't recognize.

If Loki were honest, the only things he did recognize were his trainer and his trainer's older brother. Otherwise it seemed as if each time Loki opened his eyes, it was to a brand new experience. The transitions were seamless comfortable. Except for this one, it was different.

Loki could feel himself holding on to staying awake. Some instinctual part of him that was becoming progressively more conscious as he clung to the feeling of it. It felt different, and Loki had always been open to these experiences as a part of his nature.

Loki grabbed on to the feeling with everything he had and made a mental push. As he did everything suddenly felt different. His body most of all, different, taller, some object in his hand that he immediately felt as familiar with as his trainer.

Loki opened his eyes to the chaos of the battle. To the Pikachu taking down the remnants of their attack force and he felt himself smile. For the first time, the Kadabra was awake.

***

Every single one of Raijin's moves were perfect. They were all expertly plotted out, and he could react to each command Grant gave through the earpiece. When Raijin missed his dodge and the Focus Blast slammed into him, Grant knew it was a big deal.

What made it worse was the immediate silence from his earpiece. Grant looked to the source and knew immediately what had happened.

First, the Kadabra had slightly off-set Raijin with a Confusion that neither of them had taken into account. Second, that Kadabra's let out Alpha Waves when they used their abilities, causing machines to malfunction.

"I'm never underestimating one of those again," Grant said to himself as Raijin pushed himself up and away from a Stone Edge, the tip just barely missing him.

***

Whatever happened next, Helena wasn't aware of it. One of the large displays that littered Lumiose, especially right next to another one or in giant rows of them across a series of buildings or walls, was playing the events of Route 9.

Helena had watched it throughout the fight, but hadn't given it too much thought. Interesting and tragic, but not something she could do anything about. She would never be caught dead thrusting herself into danger like that.

The next image changed her mind immediately. It wasn't the focus of the shot, but Helena recognized him in the backdrop.

Zack! Apparently he would charge into something like that.

When Helena took her eyes away from the television she realized that the battle was over. She tapped Loki's ball, not even taking the time to notice his evolution, and turned toward the Pokemon center. She wasn't sure how quickly they could get Loki up and ready for move, but she needed it to happen fast.

"That was a nice," the trainer trailed off as he watched Helena step past him and head toward the center. She noticed that much and hoped it would be the end of whatever conversation he wanted to make - she didn't have time for it.

Helena was about to do something stupid, dangerous and crazy, and then she was going to punch Zack.  

[Jump Einatz]

Glittering Cave

"Black cloak, white mask?" Jump fiddled with his Holocaster and showed Zack a picture. "Like this? Cause I haven't seen anybody like that. Why do I even have this picture?"

Jump walked over to one of the stationary mine carts. It was rusty, out of use for years, and it's wheels squeaked defiantly when Jump tried to shove it. "So me and my crew were setting up the music for the party and my boss was like 'Nah son, we're looking for Legendary Pokémon here'. Turns out whatever is sleeping down there doesn't like Funkadelic...actually, maybe they really like Funkadelic. Either way, next thing I knew Pokémon were coming this way and that, and now my party's been postponed."

He turned around, attempting to get the cart moving by pushing with his back. "I gotta get down there to stop this bullshit. Wanna help me out?"

Kiedis and Hexum didn't lift a finger to push the cart. They liked to watch Jump struggle.  

[Marsuru]

Glittering Cave

The picture Jump had for whatever reason was actually pretty close. The creature had more of a hooded cloak than a leather jacket, and the mask was less defined, but otherwise it wasn't far off. Zack glanced at the dark cave walls with its glowing bright gems. The creature could be standing in this very room and have perfect camouflage. When it murdered Gabriel Leroux, it looked right at Zack. Would it recognise him?

Jump was struggling with the cart, which gave Zack a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. He smirked, walked over and swiftly kicked the mine cart out of its rust. He found a sudden, fast jolt to be more effective than merely pushing. Jump was blathering on about his party, but his choice of wording seemed suspect.

This idiot probably is with Flare after all, Zack thought with a sense of disappointment. At least he's harmless. Except for probably starting this whole mess in the first place. God, what an idiot.

'I'm choosing to trust you know your way around this place,' Zack said, hopping into the cart as it gradually built up momentum. Judging by the piles of beat up pokémon, Jump's pokémon were strong, at least. He could use them to end the rampage and maybe trap the creature. Then afterwords, Hazard could knock them out with Hypnosis, and the police would have a bad guy in custody.

It'd be almost too easy.  

[Jump Einatz]

Battle Chateau

Amongst the nosy passerby that tried to listen to Jullien and Elizabeth’s conversation was none other than Salieri, still masquerading as a student. Using Jace’s card key at the entrance was simple enough, and there were enough people wearing similar sponsorship jackets that she didn’t stick out. It was a matter of time before someone figured out she didn’t belong, but before that happened she needed to keep up appearances long enough to find just one PC in the building. According to Mia, that was all she needed.

The interior of the Chateau was just as extravagant and over the top as she had pictured it, though she had also imagined seeing slaves or some Satan worship on the side. The foyer was also connected to the school and dorms in the Chateau, and Salieri had planned to head there to draw less attention.

She would’ve been there by now had she not been stopped in her tracks by a silent rage after walking right past Jullien Nostrad and Siebold. She knew they didn’t even notice her, yet her legs would not move her forward in the presence of her sworn enemy. Slowly, she looked over her shoulder as Jullien greeted Elizabeth, barely restraining her violent feelings from bubbling to the surface.

He and Arnaud were friends once, she reminded herself, clenching her fists. What gives him the right…to live here, like THIS? Her mission was to get in an get out, but she couldn’t help following behind Jullien and Elizabeth at a distance.

“Beep boooop can’t let you keep going, Sal” Ivan chirped. “You need to plug me into-”

Salieri flicked her Pokédex into mute and kept her head low as she followed. Ivan’s rare good advice was lost on her ears as long as she had the opportunity to keep her enemies close. The opportunity didn’t last long, as Jullien and Elizabeth entered his study. She eyed the locking mechanism, noticing Jace’s card key would be incompatible. She put her ear to the door, but it was soundproof. Maybe he left the window open or something…no, no Salieri, you have to find a PC. Levi can’t distract forever.

She turned down the corridor and kept walking, carefully avoiding eye contact with anybody. Nobles were supposed to be uptight and vain, but the students she heard all seemed fairly normal. Some of them even lamented all their school work and responsibilities, like the Gotengo kids. It was eerily familiar.

As she entered the school’s main building, the corridors looked less grand and individualized. Gone were the fancy pottery and portraits lining the halls, replaced by a beige paint jobs and rows of lockers. Windows were on one side, showing off the perfectly trimmed lawn where students had outdoor lessons in the drizzle. They didn’t look like snobs to her. They looked happy.

At last she saw a row of PC booths used for video calls near the cafeteria, which severely outclassed the cafeterias in every Pokémon center she’d been to in terms of size and grandeur. Probably in food quality too, though that wouldn’t be too difficult. Salieri scanned the halls, seeing she was more or less alone, and plugged Ivan’s USB cord into one of the PCs.

Seconds later, a large smiley face reminiscent of Moze’s sun emblem appeared on screen, accompanied with a bar signaling the program loading. This must be Mia’s hacking program…she said it wasn’t automatic, I still have to search. The program loaded fully, and a search bar sat in the middle of the screen. Salieri hesitated, not sure what to do next. After yesterday’s disaster at the Parfum Palace, she half expected not to get this far. The first things she typed in, to test out the search, was ‘Jullien Nostrad’.

Files windows popped up all over the screen, some showing news highlights of Jullien’s more notable public appearances and some showing more personal information such as profiles with stats. There were hundreds of them, and Salieri didn’t have time to look carefully, but most of the information was common knowledge. Let’s get to the real deal…Mozart Soledad. She typed in the name.

The search came up blank.

Salieri stared at the screen, brow furrowed. She changed the spelling. Still nothing. She took out the ‘Mozart’. Nothing. “Is this a joke?” she muttered to herself. The bandanna girl stood up, pinching her brow. Finally, she entered in her next search term: Nicolette Nostrad.

The screen crackled, static like an out of order TV. It startled Sal, who took a step back. Within the static was a noise on repeat that she could barely make it, and on screen it almost looked like the static was forming a human face. She leaned in closer, trying to hear, and just barely she could make out what sounded like a deep, electronically distorted women's voice on repeat.

“Brace yourself, brace yourself, brace yourself, brace yourself--“

In big, shining red letters, the words ‘SHOOTING STAR’ flashed on the screen of the PC. A disturbance in the ambient noise of the corridor caused Salieri to look up. One by one, the PCs next to her clicked on and showed the same screen.

She gulped. “Oh come on.”  

[Jump Einatz]

Glittering Cave

As Zack helped Jump unlodge the cart, Hexum adjusted his glasses and scanned the trainer up and down. The Aura lobes on the back of his head stood up, catching Kiedis's eye. [S'matter?] the Hibernator Pokémon asked. Hexum didn't respond.

The cart coasted forward at a slow crawl, heading steadily towards a decline where it would pick up speed into the depths of the tunnels. With a grin, Jump hopped into the cart. "Of course you can trust me! I trusted you to change out of your pajamas before coming to this party, didn't I? And look at you now! Is that an original Viro von Silver, by the way? I wasn't going to ask, but that cross stitching is so him. It's like seeing a person wear a sweet dream."

He held out his hand to help Zack on while looking at his two Pokémon. "Hey, I need one of you to come with me."

Kiedis was about to answer the call when Hexum stepped forward. "I'll come," he asserted, jogging forward and jumping into the cart alongside his trainer. The little bear crossed his arms with a pout, though the Flare Grunts were relieved to have Kiedis's power at their side. Hexum usually liked to stay behind whenever Jump was about to do something dangerous. What caused him to change his mind?

There's no one to fight here anymore...maybe I can change the music, at least.  

[Marsuru]

The mine cart sped along the tracks, its wheels clanging every revolution. As they went deeper into the cave system, the roar of rampaging pokémon became a distant, muffled groan that loosened dirt from above. The air turned into a cold chill, and the darkness ahead was pocked by a spiral of glowing gemstones. Zack almost felt awkward being in the cart with another guy. The Lucario squeezed in next to them didn't exactly make things easier, nor did Jump's comment about his suit. He wished Esme was here instead.

'Er, yeah,' Zack said, brushing some floor off his lapel. He hadn't had the thing two minutes and it was already looking a little abused. 'It looks okay, I guess.'

Soon the tunnel gave way and the cave expanded. One wall vanished entirely, as did the floor beneath the tracks, which were now suspended on enormous scaffolding. Zack looked out onto the gorge, which expanded infinitely in the darkness. The wind became even colder than before, hitting heavily and rushing in Zack's ears. The trainer glanced at Hexum, sure that the pokémon was giving him dark looks, but the cavelight was too intermittent and flickering while they travelled on the tracks, so he couldn't be sure.

The sooner he got this over with, the better.  

[Jump Einatz]

((Got permission for this))

"It looks pretty great, is what it looks like." Jump looked out to the gorge, where he started to see other tracks with carts suspended over the blackness, running in different directions on different levels. The other side of the gorge wall, now coming into view, was checkered with holes leading into tunnels where the suspension ended and the solid ground began again.

A piercing, sharp noise that sounded vaguely like rocks grinding together bellowed from below. "An immense collective Aura is below us," Hexum noted. "Diancie must be down there somewhere."

"These loop around a bunch, I think. Check that one out." Jump pointed at a cart they were approaching. "It's going down, we'll get there faster." He pulled the level for the brake, slowing them down til they reached a stop. Their cart pulled up to a parallel track, only a few feet from the next cart.

The Flare Admin put a foot on the edge, preparing to jump ship. "I have no idea what's down there, but it's probably strong. So maybe you should take care of that suit." The last part sounded vaguely threatening. It was hard to tell since the wavering light was casting a shadow on his eyes. Hexum nodded in agreement at Jump, Jump nodded back, and Hexum chopped at the side of Zack's skull, knocking him out and to the cart's floor.

Mouth gaping open, Jump did a double take. "DUDE! What the ******** was THAT!?"

Hexum looked down at Zack, then back to Jump. "I thought you were cool with this."
"Whyyyy! Would I be cool with this?"
"I read his emotions with my Aura. He was going to betray us." Hexum was becoming flustered. "I thought you knew!"
"No! I had no idea!"
"I nodded at you, you nodded back!"
"...about the suit! I was nodding about the suit!"
"Well, okay, can we go? We need to go."

Jump shook his head, then looked down at Zack. Hexum sensed that Jump was disappointed, not in the Lucario but in the trainer. The Flare Admin hopped into the next cart, Hexum followed, and it started rolling. "I should've known you didn't care about the suit."
" 'Thanks Hexum' would've been fine."  

[Marsuru]

The Clash of Route 9

'Fight harder! Push them back!'

Feraligatr took another blow to the head and stumbled. Helioptile and Sandile latched onto his limbs, biting and clawing and tearing at his scales. Each one was an afterthought, but the numbers were insane. For every pokémon he smashed, three more took its place. The other trainers and their pokémon were lost at his sides, their attacks levelling into the crowd. Fire and lightning flew, rock exploded, deafening booms married with fast sprays of dust and debris. Feraligatr fell back a step, the smaller pokémon swinging painfully from his limbs, and his maw opened wide. He launched a concentrated blast of Hydro Pump through the horde, cutting it in half.

By the time the water type ripped a Helioptile from his forearm, the horde had regenerated, marching forward in an endless mass.

---

Route 9 was carnage. Roy stood on a higher platform alongside other trainers, each fervently shouting commands. A Charizard soared the skies, laying down intense blasts of fire at whole groups of pokémon at a time. A Fletchinder struggled to carry unconscious cops to safety, its wings flapping like a Beedrill's. Below, he saw younger trainers getting overrun, their inexperienced pokémon no match for the sheer numbers facing them. He grabbed a youngster and heaved him onto the plateau right before a Hippopotas charged through.

'T-thanks,' the kid spluttered before turning back in horror, desperately scanning the scene for his pokémon. Roy worried that the force defending Ambrette Town were mostly like the young boy; too powerless to hold out for very long. They had impressive numbers, but that wouldn't matter if they had no stamina. If the experienced trainers had to split their attention between battling and bailing out the weaker trainers, their whole force could collapse.

More Route 9 pokémon went by, swamping the ground below the plateau. The trainers were slowing the pokémon down, but they weren't stopping them. The closer the pokémon got to Ambrette Town, the more trainers were forced to fall back or take safe harbour on a raised platform. Feraligatr thrashed at the head of the group. The pokémon rarely went past waist high for him, and with each swing of his fists, he sent more flying through the air, but it never stopped.

Something crackled and exploded to Roy's left. He glanced over, and saw pokémon overrun one of the teleport blockers installed by the police. The barrier shimmered then died, and the air looked clearer where it had been. He looked toward the caves at the end of the route. No pokémon were running towards it, only away. Roy frowned. Were they fleeing the caves? Or had something over there stirred them into this frenzy?

Ambrette Town was untouched for now, but the horde was only a couple dozen feet away. They approached steadily. Despite their wild thrashing and screams, the pokémon moved at a standard pace. Ambrette Town would look perfect until the moment the horde hit, then it'd be destroyed block by block until all that was left was smoking rubble.

Glittering Cave - The Track

Zack slid against the inside of the cart as it chugged into the darkness. His head throbbed where Hexum had bashed it, and he could feel his cheek stabbing, gums missing their tooth. He fished it out of his pocket and opened his bag, retrieving a last bottle of Potion. Zack undid the cap, then reached carefully into his mouth. He counted to three, then jammed the tooth back into its hole, gums screaming like they'd been subjected to a blowtorch.

He vaguely hoped that he'd put the tooth in the right way, then swigged the Potion. It went into his stomach like fire, but within seconds the pain in his gum faded, and his head stopped ringing. The Potion was toxic to humans, and he'd pay for it later, but if he didn't clear his head, he doubted there would be a later. He tentatively tugged on the tooth, but it didn't move, so Zack breathed a sigh of relief.

The cart was coming to a wall covered with holes. He had to catch up to Jump. That idiot was more dangerous than he seemed, and Zack had just about enough of being made a fool of today. First Alexander mocked him, then Kelly humiliated him, now he was getting sucker punched by a bespectacled Lucario. The cart went downhill and shot into the tunnels, where light turned heavy and blue from the glowing wall-bound gems.

Zack pulled his notebook out of his bag and flicked through the pages, reading by gemlight. What had Jump said? That they were looking for a legendary pokémon? He was sure he'd spent time writing down every major myth and legend he could gather, or at least their basic principles. It took a little searching, but eventually he found a couple dozen pages dedicated to the subject. Zack was silent as he read, the only sound being the clanking of the rail tracks as they shot through tunnels and around bends.

It didn't take him long to find it. A passage on legendaries and their ties to nature. It seemed there were more than a few legendary pokémon that seemed to act as deities for normal pokémon. The surrounding pokémon protect the legendary while it gathers its strength, and the legendary repays them with some benevolent gesture. Returning life to a dead forest, purifying water, protecting their land. It was a delicate, well-documented cycle. Whatever Team Flare was up to must have disrupted it. The servant pokémon hadn't taken it well.

Zack snapped his book shut and put it away. The creature had to wait. Team Flare was the new priority.

'Serene,' Zack said, calling on his Kirlia. The psychic pokémon materialised on the floor of the cart looking worried, but Zack paid her no mind. The plan was simple.

---

'HEY a*****e!' Zack roared as he materialised in a flash of light that'd be blinding in the dank cave. If Serene timed her Teleport right, they would reappear, cart and all, racing on the tracks just behind Jump and Hexum. Zack put one foot on the lip of his cart and bounded over, flying from one cart to the next and aiming to plant an airborne punch in the side of Jump's face. With any luck, Jump would be too startled by the sudden flash of light to put up a proper defence, while Serene blasted at Hexum with a Confusion, aiming to put his aura-sensing nodes out of commission.

Serene's psychic powers were emphatic. She could sense when others were nearby and read their emotions, and she used her power to track Jump and Hexum down. They were clearly going to obstacles, Zack thought, so it was best to take them out now before they could alert the rest of Team Flare. And he really wanted revenge for that tooth.  

[Jump Einatz]

The surrounding Aura suddenly shifted as Zack and Serene warped behind Jump and Hexum's cart. Hexum, reacting first, spun Jump around to face their foes. Jump barely had time to say "Whoa!" before he was on the counter attack, his leg whipping up to parry Zack's incoming fist away with the bottom of his shoe as he stumbled back on his other leg.

Hexum ducked inside of the cart, and the telekinetic burst brushed above the tips of his ears, rocking the transport as it passed. He doubted Serene would blast at the cart's side as long as Zack was inside, but below the side guard he couldn't attack either.

When he stood up again, he pounced into Serene's cart. The spikes on the back of hands extended and straightened out into blades at least as long as his forearm. Hexum brought one of the Metal Claws to his side to defend himself if necessary, and jabbed one of them Serene's foot to pin her to the cart.

"You don't deserve to wear that suit!" Jump yelled as snapped another leg up, twisting with his backwards momentum to plant his heel into Zack's stomach with a spin kick. Jump's fighting style was flashy and required a lot of room to move for maximum efficiency. Cramped spaces were harder to work with.

He didn't notice that their carts were about to take a dip downwards before entering another tunnel across the gorge.  

[Marsuru]

Zack was knocked a little off balance when his first blow was parried, knocking his guard open for a second. He was lucky that Jump was so flashy, giving him time to recover. Kicks were easy to deal with at close range. The foot was like a wrecking ball, all its momentum and power gathered into the end, while the rest had relatively little. So as soon as Jump reared back for his second hit, Zack smirked from behind his fist, and stepped up close to the other trainer.

If Jump was going for a kick, the rest of his leg wouldn't do much good, and Zack could safely absorb the blow. He'd make to grab Jump by his shirt to hold him in place, then jab him in the face a couple times before going for a gut punch. If it worked, he'd have Jump dazed and winded, and would drop him to the floor, ready to be finished off by a swift kick to the head.

Serene had more trouble. She was already nervous and apprehensive about the fight. Knowing that her opponent was stronger and more experienced put her on edge. That jumpiness saved her from getting pinned. She leapt back, landing on the lip of the cart and losing her balance for a second. Earlier on, she'd trained without Zack's guidance against wild pokémon, so she wasn't completely out of her depth, but the thought that Hexum was far from wild screamed in her ear.

The cart tipped. Serene clutched the edge while kneeling to it. Her horns glowed, and she split into multiple parts using Double Team. Now there were two Serenes per corner of the cart. She had no doubt that Hexum could detect the real her with his aura abilities, but sensing would take him a second. The real Serene levelled a Confusion at him from his left side, while the others lit up the tunnel with harmless imitations of the psychic blast.

If Hexum didn't catch her, and her Confusion went through, Serene decided to follow it up with Magical Leaf. Not very effective, but she'd aim for the leaves to hit from all sides, hopefully lending to Hexum's confusion. If she could make him vulnerable, she had a chance to win.  

[Jump Einatz]

All Jump could do to dodge the first punch in such a short time was turn back his head. Zack’s fist burst in and connected with his cheek, sending his little brain rattling. He glimpsed Zack rearing back for another, and brought up his arms to defend against the second. I had no clue this guy was so intense. Not his first fist fight at all. Now I’m gonna have bruise! This party is a disaster! Unless--.

To escape Zack’s grab, Jump cartwheeled in place before the third punch came as the cart went down the ramp. He jerked his whole torso, twisting down as he dropped his hands to the floor. His legs swung up forcefully like a pendulum for a double kick to Zack’s face. If Jump could complete the move he’d be right side up again, standing on one leg with the other knee drawn up and ready to snap kick at Zack again.

At the same time, Hexum was having trouble of his own. By the time his Aura locked onto the real Serene, her Confusion would be launched. As soon as the Double Team was engaged, Hexum was falling back on Jump’s simple battle philosophy: retain momentum.

He dropped to one knee and formed a bone shaped staff out of bright blue Aura. The Bone Rush twirled in his paw above him, covering the radius of the cart multiple times in the span of a moment. Its motion seemed instantaneous, a blue disc rather than a staff.

The Confusion was partially dispersed when swiped by the staff, halving the damage done to Hexum and giving him a trajectory as he spun his weapon. If the Bone Rush could connect, Hexum would shift his stance and level the rest of the multiple hits as straight jabs to the Kirilia’s stomach.  

[Marsuru]

Jump broke free of Zack's grip and the trainer grunted in surprise. He kept himself in line, focused on the general flow of Jump's movements and anticipating the two kicks. He bowed back, keeping his stance rock solid, letting Jump's feet glance his shoulder. It hurt, but nothing compared to getting kicked in the face. By the time Jump was in position for the snap kick, Zack was ready, swinging his shoulders sideways to dramatically reduce the size of Jump's target, letting the foot sail past his chest.

Once the leg was lashed out, Zack made a grab for Jump's ankle. If it worked, he'd grin. 'You're making this too easy!' And punch Jump's unprotected balls with his free fist.

Serene nearly froze with panic when Hexum vanished. As her Confusion made contact, it was destroyed, and the bone staff smacked the Kirlia in the chest. She would've been knocked clear of the cart were she not already grasping hold. The two mine carts shot out over the gorge once again, rattling along the ancient scaffold, nothing below but a pitch black void.

The first hit should have forced Serene to stay still and take Hexum's follow up lest she fly clear of the cart, but instead she teleported. And teleported the cart with her. It reappeared, leaving Hexum behind, now in front of Zack and Jump's cart. The Kirlia breathed heavily, recovering her balance and staying sharp for Hexum, certain that he'd find a way back into the fight.