//------------------------------// // Chapter 57 – A Sound of Thunder // Story: Pokémon Eclipse // by moviemaster8510 //------------------------------// Zeraora stared at Sam, Alice, and their Pokémon, appearing both confused and insulted by their lack of movement. “Why do you continue staying still?” it asked. “I thought this was an Island Trial!” Starlight gulped, opening her mouth to speak. “Gi– Give them a break! We’ve never seen anything like you!” “I figure most humans haven’t. They should consider themselves honored to be sparring against me!” “But why?” Alice asked. “Why are we fighting you?” “You speak as though you are just another average human. I don’t reveal myself to average humans, Alice.” Both she and her brother gasped. “How did–” “Ever since those ponies traveling with you have arrived on Alola, I have been following your journey very closely…” _____________________________________________________ As Sam, Honedge, and Alice shielded Starlight from Tapu Koko with Fluttershy in hand, a small, nearly imperceptible array of sparks appeared behind the entrance to Kala’e Bay, Zeraora’s translucent face judging them before fading away. As Sam watched the Poké Ball he threw at Salandit jiggle on the cold, wet asphalt outside the motel, Zeraora watched safely out of sight behind him beneath the light of a streetlamp. Once the Poké Ball latched closed, Sam picked it up. Before Sam could turn back toward his motel room, Zeraora leapt back, disappearing behind the space where the lamp’s light didn’t touch it. As Sam and Alice made their way through Po Town, Zeraora knelt down, watching high from the top of the wall. He saw as the two made their way across the moat, and with its vision of them obscured, it vanished in a bright glow and subsequent zap of lightning. _____________________________________________________ “You two children have taken it upon yourselves to see these ponies return to their homes. As a consequence, you have been thrust into a conflict which not only threatens our world, but theirs as well.” “You don’t need to tell us this!” Sam shouted. “We’ve been traveling with them for nearly a whole week now!” “Then you should know how important their safety is, Sam!” Even with Zeraora’s prior explanation, Sam felt chills hearing his name spoken by it. “The power that resides within the leader of those after them is far more terrifying than any of you can comprehend! If you want any hope of facing that power and defeating it, you must defeat me first!” Zeraora’s body glowed before disappearing in a ball of plasma. Immediately, a second plasma blast appeared beside Noibat. “Plasma Fists!” Before it could even turn its head, Noibat’s body was met with Zeraora’s electrified claws slashing into it, throwing it into the side wall. “Noibat!” Alice screamed. As Zeraora followed through its swing, its body became awash with electricity that seeped onto the ground and spread out along the entire surface of the gym. Right as the ripple of sparks traveled beneath its allies, Zeraora teleported back to its spot at the center of the gym. Sophocles and the Equestrians were left speechless by Zeraora’s feat. “Damn…” Sam quickly went into his bag and sprayed Archen with a Max Potion. “What the hell was that?” Alice shouted. “It was my signature move,” he explained. “You should know from this point on that this battle will be unlike any other that you will face during your journey, and will hopefully be your hardest victory to achieve. Now, let us resume this fight!” The Togedemaru unfolded the spikes from its body and tucked itself forward, rolling along the ground toward Archen. Rapidly picking up speed, it bounced up and hit Archen in the chest, sending it sliding back. The Lanturn opened its mouth as a small orb of water formed before it. Archen held its breath and panted, restoring the breath that had been knocked out from it. With a shout, Lanturn caused the ball of water to explode a torrent’s worth of water at Sam’s Pokemon. “Archen!” he shouted. “Look out!” Focusing on the water blasting at it and not on its wounded chest, it leapt up high, the attack traveling beneath it. The water soared all the way to the back wall where it splashed off in both directions, threatening to wash into Sophocles and the Equestrians. “Gyah!” he screamed. “My computers!” Charging her horn, Starlight caught both streams of water in her magic and channeled all of it into a single spot, forming a perfect sphere. Brightening her magic further, the water crackled as it began to rapidly freeze all over. After a few moments, Starlight let go of the water ball, which, now a solid sphere of ice, fell to the floor with a hard bang. “Nice save, Starlight!” Fluttershy calmly cheered. “Now where are we going to put that?” Sophocles wondered. Starlight grimaced. “I’ll put someplace else after the battle. Just be thankful that I saved your machines.” “Yes, uh, thank you…” Zeraora looked upon the ice ball, marveling over the spectacle he had seen. “Incredible! Those powers of hers…” Alice looked over to her Noibat, who had just recovered from Zeraora’s attack, before turning to her brother. “Sam! We need to take out Lanturn first, then our Ground-types are all clear! Noibat, Super Fang!” Hearing her loud and clear, Noibat weaved around Zeraora and the Totem Vikavolt and caught the Lanturn along its left side, its brightly shining teeth clamping down hard. While the Lanturn bellowed out in agony, the Totem Vikavolt zipped around Zeraora and faced Lanturn and Noibat. With a swing of its lower body, it hurled a ball of sparks out of its abdomen. The attack crashed into Noibat, the volts running through it making it unable to fly away from the wall that its back collided into, weakly sliding down it. “No, Noibat!” Alice screamed. Bending into a lunge, Zeraora sprinted out at Archen. With its momentum, it was about to slide past its target, but managed to swing up on Archen, sending it flying high up into the air. Whizzing past Sam, he looked at it coming to a stop before looking at his airborne spark-coated Pokémon. “Archen!” Sam cried. Zeraora then looked to see Togedemaru rolling back out at Archen as it began to come down. It kept its eye on its ally as the Togedemaru bounded up, ready to collide with Archen. With its eyes shooting open on the Togedemaru, Archen twisted its body to let the attack fly around it, continuing its flips until it began to soar to the ground and swooped back up for more air. The Equestrians happily gasped at Archen’s survival, Lady barking in excitement. “Wow, he's strong!” Trixie exclaimed. “Nice one, Archen!” Starlight cried out. “Unbelievable…” Zeroara caught the Togedemaru in its hand before teleporting back to its spot in the gym. Zeraora rolled the Togedemaru back to its spot, the instantaneous transport it experienced making it wobble dizzily upon standing back on its feet. “You got this now!” Sam punched his fist in the air. “Now, hit ‘em all with Bulldoze!” Diving down, Archen gained speed and pulled up just above the ground. With some mud still leftover from its own Bulldoze attack, Archen created a massive wave that already began to spread wide enough to hit all four of its rival Pokémon. Noibat, spotting the wave getting near, flew up as fast and as hard as it could, letting out a laughing warble as it amply flew above the crest of the wave. Watching from above, the wave crashed into Zeraora, the Togedemaru, and the Lanturn, the Totem Vikavolt flying above it while keeping a careful eye on Noibat. Sam felt a mixture of regret and pride as he heard Zeraora’s cries ring out over the other two Pokémon as they were all swept away and then swamped over by the muddy wave, effectively making them disappear. However, as Archen flew back to its trainer, Sam was happy to hear it yip and yap in celebration. Zeraora quickly picked itself up from the mud and shook the rest off, vibrating so quickly that the remainder still clinging to its fur turned to dust. Hearing its allies pull themselves out, Zeraora faced Sam and Alice, frowning at Sam’s grin. “Pretty good, huh? Perhaps you’ll stop underestimating our Pokémon now!” “Don’t get cocky now!” Zeraora spat. “No Pokémon on either side has fallen yet, but I suspect that’s about to change with this! Lanturn!” Lanturn swam beside Zeraora and lit its entire body up in a web of sparks from its lure. Throwing its fins out, the electric web spread out, covering the entire gym and the Pokémon inside of it. With Archen and Noibat covered, their wings became useless to them, falling to the ground. As the sparks dissipated, Sam and Alice were frightened to find their immobile Pokémon lying on the ground. “Noibat, no…” Alice reached to her belt for its ball. “Fabulous work, buddy” Sam huffed, aiming his ball at Archen. Zeraora crossed his arms as Sam and Alice called their Pokémon back. The sparks from Lanturn’s Discharge floated around it before breaking apart into smooth wispy auras that were absorbed into its skin. Thorax gasped, the first to notice this. “Whoa, what did he just do?” “Electricity gives me strength,” it explained, examining its claws on its left paw. “It is the source of my power. It can only heal me, never hurt me.” “I see,” Alice huffed. “Then we really need to get rid of that Lanturn, pronto.” “Yeah.” Sam already had his next Poké Ball ready in his hand. “I agree. Go, Salazzle!” Sam threw the ball out, his fiery lizard leaping from it and landing on both its hind legs. Alice grabbed her next ball and threw it straight from her belt. “Go, Raichu!” Bursting out from the energy of the ball, Raichu swirled around the gym before setting itself in front of Alice. Zeraora surveyed both Pokémon, taking particular interest in Raichu. “Now they have speed on their side. However…” It then straightened its stance and hugged its arms over its chest. Throwing them out, its mouth opened wide, letting out a deafening roar whose sonic ripples were dark like shadows. The waves ran into Salazzle and Raichu, the latter crying louder as it found it harder to resist the force. “Crap,” Alice hissed, “it knows Snarl? No matter! Raichu! Hit Lanturn with Wild Charge!” “Salazzle,” Sam commanded, “help him take it out with Sludge Bomb!” Salazzle cleared its throat and spat a glob of purplish phlegm out at the Lanturn, striking it in the face. As the Lanturn tried wiping the gunk from its eyes, Raichu sped off at it, and with a well-aimed twist, the center of the bottom of its board hit it directly in the side of the head, sparks bursting off the impact. The plates on the Lanturn’s stomach appeared to short, and with its lack of energy, it fell straight to the ground, rolling to a limp stop. Zeraora huffed, dismayed over the loss of an ally. “Alright!” Starlight cheered. “That’s one down!” “And even if they lose one for each one they take down, they’ll easily win this!” The others stared at Discord, slightly disturbed by his morbid remark. “What? I’m not the optimist in your circle of friends!” Zeraora turned back to Salazzle and the returning Raichu, its teeth bared in anger. “We’ll now fight you with his spirit in our hearts! Togedemaru! Vikavolt!” Both Pokémon ran on either of Zeraora’s sides, the Togedemaru rolling off at Salazzle while the Totem Vikavolt faced Raichu. The Togedemaru bashed into Salazzle’s gut as the Totem Vikavolt tilted its body to flap its wings at Raichu, the winds and green sonic pulses ringing harshly in its ears. “One more should do it…” Zeraora threw its arms out once again and roared, its black soundwaves mixing in alongside the Totem Vikavolt’s. Salazzle, still recovering from the Togedemaru’s Rollout attack, groaned hoarsely through the Snarl. Raichu, on the other, hand let out a loud, final scream before the rest of its breath trailed off along with its strength. Alice could only watch as Raichu leaned to the side before falling off its tail, which also came down with it to the ground. “God dammit!” Sam huffed. “We’re hardly able to get as much as a single hit on these guys! Still, my Pokémon’s still standing. Salazzle! Hit the Totem Vikavolt with Flamethrower!” Salazzle’s back flared up as its mouth glowed a hot red and yellow. As it breathed out its fiery plume, the Totem Vikavolt flicked and twisted one of its wing casings, Sam and Alice seeing an ovular ridged reddish-brown berry fall from it. “And it’s got an Occa Berry too?” Alice shouted. Hopping back, the Totem Vikavolt picked the berry up in its pincers and chopped it into a coarse jam that he let fall down into its mouth. With the fires approaching, the Totem Vikavolt’s exoskeleton appeared to turn metallic and shiny, and once Salazzle’s attack reached it, its fortified body withstood the scorching heat of the flames. Sam breathed through his bared teeth. “Son of a–” The Togedemaru slammed into Salazzle again, forcing it to end its attack. As it arched its body up and gasped for air, Vikavolt emerged from the residual flames and swung its abdomen out to launch another Spark attack. With Salazzle still too preoccupied on the pain in its chest, the attack hit it dead on, and with the painful pop and crackle of the electricity pelting its skin, Salazzle succumbed and fell over to its side as well. Sam and Alice both returned Salazzle and Raichu into their balls at the same time. “If what Discord says is true,” he said, “then we can’t afford to lose any more Pokémon without taking out another one of theirs anymore.” “Right. Who’s next on your roster?” He detached a ball from his belt. “He certainly isn’t the fastest, but I don’t want to send Doublade out quite yet.” “You’re going to send Drampa out now?” “I’m not letting Zeraora’s Snarl kill it, and I’m definitely not having Lurantis face off against that Vikavolt.” With a careful meditation, Alice nodded to her brother. “Okay then. I understand.” Facing Zeraora and the two remaining Pokémon, Alice pulled a ball from her belt and tossed it out. “Go, Lycanroc!” Sam threw his ball too. “You’re up, Drampa!” At once, both balls opened up and streamed white energy onto the ground, forming into Alice’s wolf and Sam’s dragon Pokémon. “Come on, guys,” Fluttershy whispered. “You can do this!” Alice and the Totem Vikavolt locked eyes, the latter almost daring it to make a move. Sam and Drampa also seemed concerned with their staredown. “Alice,” he said to her, “what are you doing?” Alice then turned back to look at Zeraora, who closed its fists in preparation for Alice’s oncoming attack. “Lycanroc, hit Zeraora with Accelerock!” Zeraora crouched into a lunge, electric plasma beginning to fling off of its body. Lycanroc also prepared to bound, the fragments of dust and dirt floating off the ground. At the same time, both vanished, and in an instant, both appeared in the middle, arms reeled back and ready to strike. With equal speeds, the two Pokémon punched each other in the fists, the exertion of energy on both sides creating a shockwave that knocked the Pokémon and trainers in the gym away by a couple of feet. Finally, the blast threw Zeraora and Lycanrock away in an invisible explosion. While Zeraora nimbly rolled back to its feet, Lycanroc was flung hard inside the lab and slid to a stop at the hooves of the horrified Equestrians. “No, Lycanroc!” Starlight cried, Lady whining in response. Trixie looked out towards Zeraora. “Did he at least do any damage?” Closer from his vantage, Sam could see that while Zeraora was visibly hurt, it wasn’t nearly enough. “Drampa! Hit Vikavolt with Extrasensory!” As Drampa readied itself, Togedemaru charged for another Rollout attempt. Bouncing up, it shot out at Drampa’s head, and as it closed its eyes, Drampa pushed its neck in and tilted its head back, forming a loop that the Togedemaru flew straight through the middle of. “GOOOOOAL!” Sophocles and the other Equestrians turned to see Pinkie Pie beaming at her exclamation, Rainbow Dash rubbing her ears with her hooves. Meanwhile, Drampa threw its head forward and with a harsh magenta twinkle in its eyes, a dark-red bolt of lightning crashed into the Vikavolt and further showered it in a similarly colored aura. “Pinkie Pie?” Starlight wondered. “Rainbow Dash? What are you two doing here?” “And how’d you get in?” Sophocles added. “I would have heard the door open.” “You all looked pretty into it when we came in,” Pinkie Pie explained, “so we kept quiet so we wouldn’t mess with Sam and Alice’s flow, but I just couldn’t resist when that little mousey thing jumped through the dragon’s neck! Too funny!” As Pinkie Pie snorted in laughter, the Totem Vikavolt flapped its wings hard, the vibrations of its buzzing breaking through the aura and hitting Drampa, forcing it to end its attack. At that moment, Alice brought her fainted Lycanroc into its Poké Ball, returning the Equestrians’ attention to the battle. “Oh, man!” Rainbow Dash spoke. “How are they doing?” “Oh, you know,” Discord answered with canned nonchalance, “they only lost half their Pokémon and only took out one of theirs, so other than that, it’s going great!” “Shut up, Discord!” Alice put her ball back and took out another. “For your information, we’re doing just fine. If we have to whittle them down bit by bit, that’s our business… and business is good! Let’s go, Mimikyu!” Tossing her ball out, Mimikyu hopped out from the ball once it burst open, Zeraora sneering over it looking directly at it. Rainbow Dash’s lip curled in disgust. “Ugh, that thing is–” “–adorable!” Fluttershy loudly sighed. Looking back at the pegasi, Mimikyu rocked its head back and forth, barking like a happy puppy at their compliments before returning its attention to Zeraora. As Fluttershy pressed her front hooves together and held them to her face, enraptured by its cuteness, Rainbow Dash felt safe to shudder. “Thankfully…” Zeraora let out another booming Snarl. The shadowy ripples hit Drampa and Mimikyu, the pulsations knocking its disguise’s head back. Starlight gasped, knowing what was coming. “Everyone, cover your ears!” Everyone except Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie complied, confusing them. “Hey,” Pinkie Pie wondered. “Why are we all–” Incensed over its ruined disguise, Mimikyu shrieked, filling the room with high-pitched, blood-curdling noises. Immediately Rainbow Dash pressed her hooves to the sides of her head as hard as she could while Pinkie Pie, amazed by the sound’s volume, reached around and put on a pair of sunglasses as her mane blew back, keeping her mouth hung open. Once Mimikyu calmed down enough to stop crying, Alice put her hands off her ears. “Big mistake,” she tauntingly said. “Mimikyu, hit Zeraora with Shadow Claw!” Mimikyu ran out and hopped high up, its shadow arm sliding out from beneath its disguise. On its way down, Mimikyu slashed down onto Zeraora’s head, the fingers grabbing its fur and throwing it down to the ground. Rainbow Dash’s mouth shot open as Zeraora’s head bounced off the floor as its body rolled to its side. “Holy cow! At least it’s cool!” Zeraora, still weak from the last hit, looked back as the Togedemaru flared up with electricity before running at Drampa. Leaping up and flying towards its chest like a bright, yellow comet, the Togedemaru crashed hard into Drampa, showering it with sparks and knocking it to its side. “Whoa!” Trixie shouted. “That little thing did that?” Zeraora smiled, happy for its allies’ willpower. “Yes, that’s it…” Reaching into the fur behind its back, Zeraora pulled out a golden-yellow fruit with a plump, red bottom and devoured it. Swallowing it, Zeraora’s breathing quickened as it more energetically hopped onto all fours before rolling up into a straight stance. “And an Iapapa Berry?” Sam breathed. “This is just becoming unfair. Drampa, use Dragon Breath on Vikavolt!” Drampa pulled its head back as it breathed in while the Totem Vikavolt charged up its abdomen. At the same time, Drampa thrust its head forward and breathed blue fires from its mouth as the Totem Vikavolt swung its abdomen out to launch a ball of sparks at its target. The Dragon Breath passed over the Spark attack, and at once, both attacks hit both Pokémon, felling them to the ground. “Drampa!” Sam stepped forward toward his Pokémon, hoping to see some signs of movement. “Drampa are you…” With a whine heard by Sam and Alice, the Totem Vikavolt got back onto its legs while Drampa laid its tired head down, too weak to pick it back up. Sam breathed out as he gently patted Drampa’s back. “Once again, buddy, great job out there.” Sophocles watched forlornly as Sam returned his Drampa back to its ball and put it back on his belt. “They only have two Pokémon left each. If they want to turn this battle around, they better get to it!” “It’s alright, Sophocles,” Starlight said. “Sam hasn’t even sent his Doublade out yet, and Alice still has a Ground-type Pokémon on her. They’re just using a “best-for-last” strategy.” “Best-for…” Fluttershy seemed unnerved by the terminology. “I don’t see how Alice could see Noibat as her worst!” “For this battle, it probably was. Either way, this is definitely going to be where the fight gets interesting.” “It wasn’t interesting before?” Thorax responded. Starlight stayed silent, his point made. The Equestrians all watched as Sam detached his next ball from his belt. “Alright,” he quietly said, prepping his Pokémon inside, “I didn’t want to send you out until he was gone, but it looks like your time is now. Go, Doublade!” Tossing his ball out, Sam’s dual-sword Pokémon twirled about before it crossed its blades together, the eyes in each pommel gazing into Zeraora. “Wait,” Trixie wondered aloud, “his Pokémon is a pair of swords?!” “Not just any pair of swords,” Rainbow Dash bragged. “The strongest, loyalist, alive-inist swords ever!” Pinkie Pie hopped up, excited by what Sam’s ace Pokémon would bring. “So there’s the other Kalosian Pokémon…” Throwing its arms down to the sides, bolts of lightning shot out before its paws and arms went ablaze with plasma. “Shit, here it comes…” Hearing its trainer worry, Doublade strengthened its defensive formation. Shining brightly, Zeraora disappeared in an electric flicker before appearing in front of Mimikyu, taking Alice, and even it off guard. Zeraora sliced downwards on Mimikyu, the force of the swing and the plasma shooting out from its paws producing a shockwave along the ground that knocked Alice back and away toward the lab. “Whoa!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Not cool!” “Alice!” cried Fluttershy. Screaming as she was thrown further away from her helpless Pokémon, she heard a zap behind her that seemed to safely and gently catch her and put her back onto her feet. Sophocles and the Equestrians were all stunned to see Zeraora’s rescue unfold within a matter of moments. By the time Alice got her bearings, Zeraora warped itself back to its original spot, staring at her and monitoring her well-being. “Mimikyu!” Running back to her spot, she was just barely relieved to see her Mimikyu straightening itself out as best it could. “I apologize for getting you caught up in that,” Zeraora said, “but I can’t allow a Pokémon that strong to continue facing us for much longer.” “Well, you’re going to have to get used to it.” Alice pointed her finger at Zeraora. “Mimikyu, use Shadow Claw on…” She then shifted her finger to its left. “…Togedemaru!” “What?” Zeraora looked to its ally just as Mimikyu came running over with its dark arm raised up from out under its disguise. Reaching out to help it, it was far too late as Mimikyu delivered a hard, blunt slap into the Togedemaru’s face, rolling it toward the side wall. “That’s it!” Sam detached his Firium Z from his Z-Ring and replaced it with his Fightinium Z, squeezing his fists as he was ready to prepare the ritual. “Let’s see you protect yourselves from this!” The Totem Vikavolt, sensing the danger from Sam’s oncoming strategy, launched a quick Spark attack at Honedge, the electric cluster striking Doublade in the center of its cross, breaking its formation apart. Even from their spot, they could see Hondege’s blades jittering as it struggled to hold it back together. “What’s going on?” Thorax wondered. “Is it frozen?” “Not frozen.” Sophocles shook his head. “It appears it’s paralyzed.” “What’s that mean then?” “It means Sam may not have a turn.” Starlight continued looking ahead, squinting in concentration. “Come on, guys. Come on, Doublade!” Sam kept his fists closed, ready for his next move. “Alright, buddy, I know it’s rough, but we can do this!” With a metallic shout, Doublade nodded once. He then crossed his arms before his face, Doublade finally able to hold its swords up as Sam’s Z-Ring shone to life. Putting them back down and crossing them out, Doublade was able to mimic Sam’s movements without fail. Sam then widened his stance and punched out into the air several times, Doublade jabbing its swords forward in time with its trainer. With one final punch and jab from both trainer and Pokémon, Sam’s Z-Energy exploded out from his back and flowed into his Pokémon, causing Doublade to go aflame with a bright yellow aura. “Z-Power,” Zeraora whispered in awe, “from the very Z-Ring entrusted to you by the guardian of Melemele Island.” “Yep!” Sam pointed his finger with his hand looking as if he was holding an invisible sword. “And this next attack is finally going to take another one of you down.” Zeraora put up its fists. “Then do your worst, Sam. I’m ready for you.” “I’m sure you are. Doublade!” Sam threw his arms out, Doublade spreading out in synch with its trainer’s position. “Attack Togedemaru with All-Out Pummeling!” Zeraora gasped, looking back to see the Togedemaru just getting itself up from the Shadow Claw it was hit with. With Sam hugging its arms in, Doublade did the same. The Togedemaru squeaked with fear as it noticed Doublade’s oncoming attack directed at it. Swinging both his arms out, Sam allowed Doublade to furiously slash the air, a barrage of brown fist and feet-shaped auras shooting out with each swing of its swords. The Togedemaru quickly rolled face down and let its spikes come out. To Zeraora’s relief, the auras that made contact with each spike popped out of existence while the Togedemaru didn’t move an inch. “It’s not working!” Discord pressed both of his cheeks in anxiety. “Someone should tell him its not working!” “It’s not over yet!” Starlight told him. “Just watch.” With the last unsuccessful phantom fist popping against the spikes, Sam raised his arms over his head and held them behind his back. Doublade swung its swords back as it rocketed out at the still defensive Togedemaru, awaiting Sam’s motions as it got closer. “Not even that will protect you!” Sam shouted, swinging both arms down in a cross. “Doublade, now!” Doublade swung down with its blades trailing with bright brown, hitting the upper corners of the Togedemaru’s body. A small bit of plasma raced across the Togedemaru’s back before the area around them blasted in a cloud of dirt and light. “Togedemaru!” Zeraora cried. Doublade came racing back out from the dust cloud and retook its stance before Sam, its arms once again weak and jittery. Sam could also note the slightly jagged spots where its blades hit the spikes. “Nice one, Doublade.” Sam’s compliment was replied to with a pleasant ring from Doublade’s blades as it ran them together. Once the dust cloud cleared, Zeraora let out a disappointed sigh to see the Togedemaru on its back with its eyes facing in different directions, disoriented and not able to move a muscle. “Alright!” Rainbow Dash flew up and punched and kicked the air. “Two down, two left!” Zeraora turned back to face Mimikyu and Doublade, scowling hard enough to show its entire rows of teeth. With a thrust of its body and head, Zeraora let out an even louder roar, the sonic ripples caused by the Snarl thicker and blacker than before. Mimkyu was thrown back instantly by them, its disguise slightly deflating as the presence within lost the will to battle. Doublade continued holding on, though Sam could see that it would not last much longer. “It’s okay, you got this! Hit Vikavolt with Shadow Sneak!” Doublade performed a dual-chop along the floor, breaking a path from the Snarl waves for its shadow to race across the floor and get beneath Vikavolt before it blasted up, taking the Totem Vikavolt with it. “Damn you!” Zeraora growled. With its abdomen charging, the Totem Vikavolt hurled a final spark attack down onto Doublade, the hit finally weakening it to the point where its swords clattered to the ground and laid still. With the air clear, Sam, Alice, and Zeraora were now allowed an opportunity to breathe. “And now it’s down to a final two-on-two!” Pinkie Pie cheered. “Oh, I’m so excited!” Alice and Sam called back their fainted Pokémon into their Poké Balls. After putting them back onto their belts they each brought out their last one, holding them out before looking at each other. “This is where it gets easy, right?” Alice asked. Sam smirked. “You tell me. You’re the one with the Ground-type.” Facing forward again, they both tossed their balls out into the battlefield. “Go get ‘em, Mudbray!” “Let’s do this, Lurantis!” Both balls popped open, Alice’s mud donkey and Sam’s floral insect taking the field, each letting out a final cry in preparation for the end of the battle. Zeraora bent down to prepare to lunge. “No. I won’t let you win so easily!” As lightning raced across its body, Alice punched the air out. “Mudbray, block it!” As Mudbray hopped up on its forelegs, tucking its head in, Zeraora vanished and reappeared before the donkey, already moving its fist to punch. Mudbray fell back down as Zeraora’s fist collided with its head. A disc of wind shot out at the point of impact, Zeraora surprised to see neither it nor Mudbray had managed to break either’s ground. “Atta girl!” Alice shouted. “Now, hit him with Bulldoze!” With a whinny, Mudbray galloped forward, pushing Zeraora with it. The wave of mud coming from its charge shot straight up into Zeraora’s chin and threw it back. “Vikavo–” Its warning cries were silenced as the wave crashed into it and buried it. The Totem Vikavolt was still prepared as it began to fly up over the wave where the wave threatened to hit it. “Lurantis, hurry!” Sam shouted. “Take Vikavolt out with X-Scissor!” Lurantis ran forward at the wave, going faster than it. Just as the wave passed underneath the Totem Vikavolt, Lurantis ran up the wall and flipped back off of it, facing its foes unguarded backside. The Totem Vikavolt only had enough time to turn halfway around before Lurantis slashed both its scythes into it. With the attack clipping into its wing, the Totem Vikavolt was thrown down to the ground where it came to a tired stop, attempting to pick itself back onto its legs before it collapsed, finally going unconscious. Landing on its feet, Lurantis hopped back to Sam, staring proudly at the Pokémon it had defeated. “Okay,” Sam breathed. “I guess this is easy now.” Alice was too focused on Mudbray, who continued standing a few feet away from where Zeraora struggled to break free from the dried mud. “Mudbray? Are you o–” Throwing its head up, Mudbray let out an echoing whinny as its body shone brightly and swirled with a green, bubbly energy. “OH!” Alice shouted. “Oh my god!” “What’s it doing?” Trixie threw her head back and forth, hoping someone would answer her. “Is this good? What is this?” “It’s evolving!” Fluttershy shouted. “Mudbray’s evolving!” Lady let out a long squeal, mesmerized by the sight. “Unbelieveable…” Sophocles whispered almost inaudibly. Sam, Alice, and the half-buried Zeraora continued watching in near disbelief as Mudbray’s body grew nearly three times its size, the muscles in its legs and neck bulking up in considerable size. It’s snout, once cute and round, stretched out into a firmer shape as its hooves broadened out and flattened. The hairs on its tail grew out at the base while the ends widened out, forming a shape similar to its own hooves. Finally, as its ears became a bit smaller and pointier, its mane grew higher up as three thick dreadlocks formed on both sides of it. Mudbray’s body then became a bright white before the light shattered off of it, revealing a new Pokémon standing in its place. It’s coat was a solid brown, and its hooves and snout, as well as the ends of its locks, tail, and the tops of its mane, were all a bright reddish orange. “No way!” Thorax gasped. “What did it just turn into?” Alice already had her Pokédex out, which began to read its information. “Mudsdale, the Draft Horse Pokémon. Its heavy, mud-covered kicks are its best means of attack, and it can reduce large trucks to scrap without breaking a sweat.” “Wow…” Alice let her arm drop to the side as Mudsdale looked back to its trainer, assuring her of its being alright. By now, Zeraora had freed itself from the mud and vibrated the rest off its fur. “It doesn’t matter that your Pokémon’s evolved! Chances are she won’t survive another Close Combat!” Alice didn’t appear threatened in the least. “And heaven forbid she does, I’m certain you won’t survive her next attack.” Zeraora’s entire body flared up with plasma. “We’ll just have to see then!” Without warping, Zeraora ran out at Mudsdale and leapt up. With a shout, it balled its paw and moved to punch. Right before the attack could connect, Lurantis leapt in between them and blocked Zeraora’s paw with the side of its left scythe. “Lurantis!” Sam shouted. “No,” Zeraroa huffed in distress. Lurantis also managed to reach up and over and slice at Zeraora’s face with a Leaf Blade before it was knocked back by the punch, Zeraora also falling back and rolling to the floor. Alice pumped her arm before pointing straight out. “Mudsdale, you got this now! Finish off Zeraora with High Horsepower!” Zeraora came up to its feet to see Mudsdale already close to it and turning around to buck. Too tired to try and avoid it, Zeraora could only cover its face with its arms just as Mudsdale’s back hooves collided with them, sending it flying hard over the open door to the hallway. With its back slamming against the wall, the lights around the room flickered as the infrastructure stressed to maintain itself. Peeling off the indent its body left, Zeraora, its eyes half-closed tumbled forward to the floor, and just before its body could hit, its body was covered in Starlight’s magic and hovered just above the ground. Turning it over, Starlight placed Zeraora down into a seated position, looking down as he panted. Sam and Alice stayed silent as Zeraora got back to its feet with a limp in its right leg. Finally looking up to the two trainers, his mouth opened up to speak. “I… I yield. You have defeated me.” Sophocles, snapping back into attention, regained a serious composure. “Uh… Zeraora has announced his surrender. This means that Sam and Alice have completed my trial!” The Equestrians all cheered and hollered, stamping their hooves or kicking them out in celebration. “Holy cow, that was awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Fluttershy hugged on to Starlight as Lady grabbed both of them in its feelers. “And when Mudbray evolved, I just…” Fluttershy let out another squeal as she hugged her friends tighter. Sam and Alice focused on Zeraora as he passed Mudsdale and approached the two of them. “You two kids are truly something special–” Zeraora yelped as it lost its balance, Sam catching him and slinging his right arm around his waist for support. “Thank you.” “No problem. You’re pretty amazing too, but I’m sure you already knew that.” Zeraora chuckled. “I’m certain now that you two are fit to help save this world from what’s ahead.” “That’s assuring and all,” Alice said, “but I think it’s safe to say that we’re all a bit worse for wear after that battle. Come on, let’s go get patched up.” With Sam helping Zeraora walk, Alice and Mudsdale followed the two out of the gym to make their way to their friends in the lab. Sophocles sprayed Zeraora’s leg with the remainder of the Full Restore as it sat on a cot at the end of a spacious hospital room. Sam, Alice, the Equestrians, along with the Vikavolt, the Togedemaru, and the Lanturn all watching it recover. Sophocles backed away as Zeraora flexed its toes, satisfied with the pops and cracks that it felt coming from them. “Feeling better?” Alice asked. Hopping off the cot, Zeraora was pleased to find that it could walk normally without any pain whatsoever. “Perfect. Once again, I thank you for such an intense battle and wish all of you the best of luck in your journeys.” “You’re very welcome,” Sam said, with a bow of his head, “and thank you yourself.” “Say, Zeraora,” Rainbow Dash wondered. “This isn’t the last we’re going to be seeing of you right? I mean, we can really count on someone like you to help us if we need, right?” “Of course, Rainbow Dash. When and if the time comes, I will proudly fight by all of your sides. But for right now, I must be off myself.” As he passed the Vikavolt, Togedemaru, and Lanturn, he respectfully pet them on the heads as he made his way to the other end of the room, plasma already beginning to dance of its body as it stretched off in various directions. “Farewell, my friends…” With his body turning to light, a small explosion scattered the electricity off, going into the lights in the ceiling and the holes of the outlets in the walls until there was no trace of it being there. Pinkie Pie sniffed as she wiped a tear from her eye. “I’m going to miss him!” “Uh, Pinkie?” Discord said. “Need I remind you that you only knew him for a few minutes?” “And what a few minutes that was!” Sophocles then made his way to the door, and as he put his hand on the knob, he turned to everyone left inside. “If you guys could just follow me, there are a few things I need to give you before you leave.” Sophocles stood before Sam and Alice in the observatory lobby as he held both hands out, a Z-Crystal in each one. The crystal Sam took was bright yellow with a black, jagged lightning bolt icon in its center. Alice’s was more golden in color with an icon that looked like the tail of her Raichu. “As you can see, I gave you both a different Z-Crystal. Sam, I gave you the standard Electrium Z that I give to anyone else who completes my trial. Alice, seeing as how you have an Alolan Raichu on your side, I saw fit to give you Alolraichium Z, which will allow you to activate its own special Z-Move, Stoked Sparksurfer.” Sam stretched his lips out. “Well gee, when you put it like that, it’s like mine’s not that special.” “However, they are both activated the same way, like so…” Sophocles crossed his arms at his chest before putting them back down and crossing them back out. He then twisted his body to the right and reached his both arms right as far as he could. Twisting back to the left, he reached down to the left with his right arm and up to the right with his left before bending his knees and bending his wrists in so his arms could form a faint lightning bolt formation. “You got it?” he asked. “I think so,” Alice replied. “Okay, good. I have one last thing.” Crouching down and reaching behind him, he handed Sam and Alice three metal plates each very much like the ones the Lanturn wore on its stomach. “If you decide to catch any Water-type Pokémon on the rest of your journey, you can put those on it so they can still swim around even when they’re nowhere near water.” “That’s very cool. Thank you very much again, Sophocles.” “Yes, thank you for taking the time for us,” Sam said. “Oh, please!” He rubbed the back of his head with a slightly embarrassed smile. “It’s your time I’ve been taking, now please, return to your friends, and have a safe journey!” “We hopefully will,” Starlight said. “Goodbye!” The Equestrians all walked toward the exit to the observatory, each one waving and saying their farewells as Sophocles waved them off back. Sam and Alice were the last to leave, and as they passed through the sliding glass doors, their only focus was the Pokémon Center where they could only hope they didn’t keep their other friends waiting long.