Chapter 15: Is It Over?
"I won't lose anyone else to you!"
Timothy burst forward, red and purple energies twisting and intertwining in the surrounding space, forming into small orbs that shimmered with raw power.
"Take this! Shadow Ball!"
Timothy cried out, the surrounding space nearly tearing as the orbs rocketed towards the sinister Banette.
"BAHH!" Banette's enraged cry pierced the air, its malevolent eyes glaring at the incoming assault.
Just before it could finish off Gunne, it was interrupted by a pesky attack.
With a disdainful glance, Banette erected a layer of shimmering energy onto its hands like a barrier. Effortlessly, it swatted the orbs away with a flick of its wrist.
Repelled, they shot off into the distance and—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A chain reaction of explosions sounded off, kicking up a storm of dust and rocking the surroundings, leaving behind a burning smell.
Within the mess, a series of craters had been left in the aftermath.
The minor distraction gave Gunne enough time to leap from the ground and distance himself from the immediate danger.
Gunne looked over the area and luckily, despite his partners being in dangerous situations, they were all okay at the moment.
"Gunne!" Timothy's worried voice cut through the chaos as he rushed to his side.
"We're alive," Gunne heaved a sigh of relief, his eyes cautiously looking over the over fifty Shuppet encircling them. "The longer this battle goes on, the worse off we are."
Thinking back to earlier, he remembered Banette would release a mass of energy uncontrollably upon unzippering its mouth.
'If we force its zipper open, then maybe, just maybe, we can force all of its energy out! That's our only way to survive. If anyone else gets hit by one of its attacks...' Gunne felt his body shiver at the thought, 'Only I can regenerate, and even I have my own limits. Prolonging a fight will only get us killed!"
"Timothy, if I can get to Banette's zipper, I think we can win."
"Un," Timothy nodded, "I have all these strange thoughts coursing through my mind right now and I don't understand much of what I can do... but I might have something that can help!"
Closing his eyes, Timothy's hands gleamed a faint glow of vibrant red and purple energies.
"Maybe if I focus all of my energy into a single point, like this! Dark pulse!" A dreadful darkness encompassed his hands, and with a roar, a beam of energy shot towards Banette.
"Bah?" Banette's countenance flickered with caution as it dodged the attack.
But that brief moment gave Gunne an opening.
"Timothy! Keep that up as long as you can!"
"Okay! Be careful!"
Sprinting towards Banette, he hastily created a substitute of himself, explosions sounding off constantly, the area filled with a thick dust.
The dark cloud of Shuppet were momentarily deceived in those conditions, lunging towards the fake, allowing Gunne to zigzag past them.
The air around him crackled with tension as he agilely broke through the encircling swarm, sliding across the ground and using Double Team a couple times for good measure.
'This is our only chance,' Gunne thought, his heart pounding as he rapidly closed in on Banette. Seeing the zipper that stood prominently on Banette's mouth, feelings of hope swelled in his chest.
BOOM!
Timothy fired off Dark Pulse after Dark Pulse, each one forcing Banette to dodge and weave, its focus split between attacking and evading.
***
Amidst the chaos, a smaller horde of Shuppet broke through the melee, surrounding Jenny and her Pokémon.
Jenny spun around, her eyes widening as she saw the Shuppet closing in fast.
Before she could react, Growlithe dashed forward with a fierce growl, jaws snapping down on one of the ghostly Pokémon.
The ghostly Pokémon struggled and wailed, unable to escape Growlithe's vice-like grip as it thrashed and tried to retaliate
Shaking its head violently, Growlithe tore into the Shuppet's body before throwing it to the side.
Unleashing a ferocious roar, Growlithe circled back to Jenny's side, eyes locking onto those threatening his trainer.
Clenching her hands into fists, Jenny steadied her nerves, "I can't hide in fear when everyone else is risking their lives! Growlithe, use Flame Wheel and force them to separate!"
"Grrr-Ruff!"
Growlithe crouched down and erupted into flames, bursting forward into an explosion.
The Shuppet were forced back in all directions, some even crying out as they caught fire, burning incessantly.
Nearby, Gunne's Aron noticed the danger and with a metallic rumble, it charged into the fray. Its sturdy body glew briefly as it used Harden to fortify itself, its head reflecting as it used Iron Head, forcing a foe back.
"A-An!" crying out, its red eyes flickering.
Aron: °Д° I... I also help!
"Ruff!" Growlithe nodded to it, the two deciding to take action together.
Despite never having trained together, their movements gradually synchronized as they worked in tandem. The new experience of fighting in tumultuous surroundings only served to forge an even stronger synergy between the two.
Aron's Iron Head gleamed with a metallic sheen as it targeted the Shuppet with precision strikes, while Growlithe's fiery attacks and powerful Crunch kept their opponents on a constant defense, picking a couple off per attack.
***
"Tch. Even so, how am I supposed to reach its mouth from down here? If Timothy can land an attack and make it fall, there may be a chance. But its so agile, maybe if we could catch it by surprise—"
"Ruff!" Riolu's abrupt bark drew Gunne's attention. The small Pokémon's wary, dirty figure appeared before him, eyes full of determination as he looked at Gunne's left arm that had mostly repaired itself by now.
"Ruff ruff!" Riolu jumped up and down, waving his hands in a clear signal. He barked sternly, and appeared to be saying he could get high enough.
"..." Gunne hesitated, unsure, fear gnawing at him at the thought of putting Riolu in further danger.
"You... You could get hurt...."
Riolu: (•̀ᴗ•́) I-I think I can do it! (or so his gaze seemed to say.)
"Alright, I trust you, Riolu. But stay safe, please." Gunne relented with a sigh, knowing there was no other option.
Taking a deep breath, he shouted, "Riolu, use High Jump Kick to boost yourself into the air! And return to us safely!"
"Ruff!"
With a powerful bend of his legs, Riolu launched himself into the air. Time seemed to slow as he soared towards Banette, with a courage that seemed uncharacteristic of such a small body.
Banette, distracted by Timothy's relentless assault, didn't notice the swift approach.
Flashing in front of Banette, Riolu grabbed onto its zipper with both hands. With a fierce yank, he pulled it down.
"Bah? BAHHHHH!" Banette cried out in shock, its hands frantically reaching for Riolu.
Just then, a shrill screech followed from Zubat, using Astonish to stun the agitated Banette, followed by a flurry of three dark pulses from Timothy, assaulting its back.
Banette's screams intensified, its eyes nearly bursting in pain.
Expelling a continuous mass of dark, grudge-filled energy, hundreds of Shuppet were formed. But without Banette to lead them, they scurried off in different directions, fleeing from sight.
"Bahhh...." it cried out softly, its eyelids losing strength, shutting.
Banette's figure grew weaker as its energy was drained. Its form shrunk, changing shape until it reverted into a Shuppet, collapsing to the ground—unmoving.
"Grrr," Riolu landed in front of Gunne, crouching with one paw behind his back and the other raised forward, growling at the motionless enemy.
Looking around the village, all of the fog seemed to evaporate swiftly.
Overhead, the bright blue sky greeted, alongside the sun's warm rays of comforting sunshine.
By now, everyone had regrouped, letting out collective sighs of relief.
"Is everything okay?" Jenny held Gunne by his shoulder in concern, "Does it hurt?"
"Ah? Don't worry about me, I'm okay!" he laughed bashfully, leaning against her for support, his battered body overcome with fatigue.
"Zu!" "Ar-Aron!" "Ruff!"
His companions cheered, despite their exhaustion.
Seeing his companions were all okay, the pain he faced was nothing.
"It looks like it's all over," he said looking at the Shuppet that lay faint on the ground.
"Mm. I never expected to run into such a frightening situation," Jenny nodded. "I also never knew a pokémon could devolve. I wonder if any of the research institutions know about this?"
— New chapter is coming soon — Write a review
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone