[Downloading data… complete. Initialising combat plan… Goal: Protect Velda, release her from this unknown world. Optimal solution: defeat golurk and drifblim]
Jarvis instantly came to a conclusion on what would be the best possible plan in their current situation with his Download ability. Only golurk and drifblim are capable of learning and using Phantom Force among the four opposing ghosts. Defeat them, and Velda should be able to return to their original world.
[Initiating attack]
Jarvis determinedly positioned himself between his trainer and those nasty ghosts. He had not been idle when he was hiding in Velda's xtransceiver and observing the entire battle, patiently waiting for the best opportunity to put down the man who tried to kill her. Be it Nasty Plot, Defense Curl, Sharpen, Agility; he had already empowered himself with various boosts before making his appearance. He's ready to battle.
[Calculating success rate of defeating drifblim and golurk… 68 percent and 42 percent respectively… Target acquired: Drifblim. Target: locked]
With a mechanical whirr, Jarvis locked drifblim in sight with Lock-On as a huge surge of ghostly energy coalesced in front of him. While pairing Zap Cannon together with Lock-On had always been his preference, the presence of a golurk had dissuaded him otherwise. If golurk had somehow bodily blocked his Zap Cannon and abused its ground type immunity then his plan would have gone to waste.
So, Shadow Ball it shall be.
[Analysing drifblim's movements, calculating trajectory and speed…Shadow Ball, fire]
Jarvis hurled the Shadow Ball upon his mental command, the power packed behind it greatly boosted by his repeated usage of Nasty Plot before he appeared for battle. That is not an attack any of the opposing ghosts would want to be on the receiving end of. In that case, either they choose to take it using their best defences, or they will choose to evade it.
However, Lock-On had already been used and the presence of golurk's No Guard ability made it close to impossible for anyone to evade any attack. Drifblim will be hit, assuming that nobody else puts themselves in harm's way for drifblim's sake.
Drifblim tried to escape, only to quickly realise that it is a futile effort to do so as the Shadow Ball seemed to be able to change direction on its own accord. It quickly chose to destroy the Shadow Ball with its own Shadow Ball before the attack could find its mark. However, Jarvis had already taken that possibility into account.
[Chances of drifblim trying to escape, 11.52 percent… Chances of drifblim choosing to endure the hit, 2.27 percent… Chances of drifblim choosing to destroy Shadow Ball before it hits… 86.21 percent… Analysing data and preparing countermeasures…]
With an analytical gleam in his eyes, Jarvis swiftly activated Double Team to hide himself in a sea of illusionary clones, confusing the other three ghosts and preventing them from seeking him out at a moment's notice. A powerful blast of Dark Pulse was suddenly fired at drifblim in the next instant, who was still trying to destroy the Shadow Ball Jarvis had fired previously.
Jarvis' Dark Pulse found its mark. The drifblim was so preoccupied in trying to defend itself from the Shadow Ball that it wasn't expecting Jarvis to weave in another attack almost instantaneously. Jarvis didn't dare to stay for long, his calculations had already predicted what would come next. Golurk's massive fist came into view as the automaton pokemon reappeared before Jarvis with a burst of speed.
[Calculating chances of escape… 0 percent, golurk's No Guard ability made that impossible. Calculating optimal solution…]
A burst of psychic energy was released from Jarvis as he invoked Telekinesis, forcefully raising the golurk up into the air before its fist could crash into him. Like this, golurk's attack had been perfectly mitigated.
"Jarvis, from your right!"
Jarvis unleashed a Discharge to meet chandelure's Heat Wave. Cofagrigus swiftly locked Discharge out of usage through Disable but that's fine, Jarvis still has other tricks hidden away. He patiently waited for an opportunity as cofagrigus and chandelure charged at him, calculating the perfect time for his next move.
[Calculating trajectory… Gravity, activate]
Jarvis promptly dropped the golurk he had originally forcefully levitated in the air through Gravity, causing the heavy ghost type to crash atop chandelure and cofagrigus. Jarvis was pleased to see that chandelure's Flame Body ability had subconsciously activated upon the perceived threat, burning golurk the moment the huge pokemon came crashing down on it. That was part of his original calculations, a promising probability of 74.59 percent.
Golurk quickly recovered, still more than capable of participating in this battle. Drifblim's howl could also be heard as the blimp pokemon initiated a salvo with Spit Up, forcing Jarvis to quickly destroy the attack before it could connect. Golurk's No Guard ability really is a threat that must be swiftly removed.
The four ghosts split into two teams. Golurk and chandelure remained to keep him in place while cofagrigus and drifblim attempted to charge straight at Velda directly. They are trying to avoid him while getting to his trainer at the same time by making use of their numerical advantage.
[Running simulations, calculating probabilities… chances of Velda surviving long enough for me to reach her… 0.42 percent. Alternative solutions available…]
Decision made, Jarvis made a mad dash towards the very opposite end of the area that they were trapped in, far away from his trainer and far away from the scene of battle. His repeated use of Agility had boosted his speed to unimaginable heights, allowing him to quickly cover distances in the blink of an eye. His illogical choice of action stumped his opponents for a brief moment but they quickly ignored him in favour of trying to kill Velda who was now seemingly defenceless. Jarvis managed to catch a glimpse of his trainer as he made his "escape". Like their foes, she was also surprised at his action, but the shocked expression on her face quickly smoothened out thereafter, telling him that she had chosen to put her full faith in him.
He will not fail his trainer.
[Calculating distance travelled, estimating time needed to activate Ally Switch, estimating time left before Velda gets injured… Zap Cannon, preparing to fire… Ally Switch, activate]
Jarvis found himself pulled through the fabric of space and time in an instant with a bright glow, swapping the positions of him and his trainer just right before drifblim could swallow Velda into its body. Instead of finding a nice juicy human to prey on it suddenly found itself in close proximity with an expressionless porygon-z, a buzzing Zap Cannon primed and ready to fire.
[Proceeding to obliterate the enemy. Zap Cannon, fire]
Drifblim found itself eradicated with a huge electrical discharge before it could even comprehend just what had happened, its body disappearing into wisps of smoke. Jarvis braced himself through the pain that he suffered from drifblim's Aftermath ability, already taking this possibility into consideration when he came up with this plan.
[Warning! Body suffered damage that resulted in loss of up to 30 percent of bodily function… Warning! Attack incoming, analysing attack… Dynamic Punch. Attacker: golurk. Finding solution… Substitute]
Left with no other choice, Jarvis chose to block golurk's Dynamic Punch by having a Substitute to take its place at the price of inflicting self-harm. However, a warm glow began to envelop his body as he activated Recover, his body swiftly repairing itself as the status conditions of his body started to turn from red to green in his analytical mind.
"Ignore the damn bird, just kill the girl!"
The opposing trainer's crazed shout reminded the remaining ghosts what they were really here for. The golurk immediately launched himself at mach speed towards Velda's direction as Jarvis instantly tried to find a solution to this unforeseen development. Cofagrigus wasn't allowing him to spare the time to think, however, as its shadowy arms continuously attempted to trap Jarvis and bring him into its coffin to devour him alive.
[Calculating probability of success using Ally Switch… 10.76 percent]
The odds that he calculated were not promising. Ally Switch will not have the same intended effect once again, because cofagrigus and chandelure are keeping a close eye on him and he has now lost the element of surprise. The moment he swapped Velda's and his position once again cofagrigus and chandelure will waste no time tearing into her, but if he left things as it is golurk will eventually reach and kill her.
This is one of such times that he found himself helpless even when equipped with the smartness of artificial intelligence.
"Jarvis, don't worry about me! Focus on resolving your own problems first!"
The words that Velda shouted at him from afar eased his worry only just a little. Knowing that there really is no other option left but to turn this unfavourable situation around through brute force, he made his resolve.
[Electroweb]
A web of electricity ensnared chandelure and cofagrigus when they least expected it, allowing Jarvis to give them the slip. He immediately flew towards Velda's direction, trying his best to use his speed to reach her before golurk did. Golurk was already close enough to reach her, raising its large fist above its head before swinging it down violently to smash her into unrecognisable paste.
A green shield of Protect sprouted out in the nick of time as Velda accurately timed the release of Joy from her pokeball, the clefairy determinedly protecting their trainer in whatever short time she had remaining before golurk ejected her out of this world as well using Phantom Force. True enough, that was what golurk did, using Phantom Force thereafter to swiftly force Joy out of this plane and back to their original one. Golurk turned its attention back to Velda and this time, threw a punch at her with alarming speed.
Joy only bought him a few seconds of time, but it was enough.
Jarvis bodily crashed into golurk with an Aerial Ace, forcefully pushing the enormous ghost type away from Velda before its punch could connect to its target. The effects of Sharpen also showed through the increased damage that golurk received from him, its armour heavily dented at the area which Jarvis' Aerial Ace found its mark. Jarvis quickly followed up with another Shadow Ball but his calculations told him that it wouldn't be enough. He doesn't have the power required to put this unbelievably powerful ghost down for good.
Jarvis decided to quickly retreat, carrying its trainer by grabbing onto Velda's waist with its stubby arms like a pair of chopsticks before swiftly flying away from the battle through Magnet Rise. His body dimly glowed as he activated Recover once again. He needs some time to come up with a new plan to return Velda back to their original plane safe and sound. Taking four powerful ghosts by himself is still quite a tall order for someone like him who never took a shine to pokemon battles.
"Jarvis, we still have companions to rely upon, even if it's for a short while."
Velda's words reminded Jarvis that they actually have some form of backup. Just like how Velda had called upon Joy at the very last moment to block golurk's punch, she still had a few more others stored within their pokeballs which she had not yet released. Jarvis did a quick mental count of who's left. Flamel, Bigblue, Toothless, Lily, Chill… Each of them are powerful fighters in their own way. If they played their cards right, they might just be able to turn this around.
"I tried reaching out to Dolly and Wacky using my ability. I have no idea if they can reach us, but I think they managed to sense me calling out to them. Dolly can use Phantom Force, she might just be able to find us."
Jarvis' mind started to run countless diagnostics and simulations after receiving the information, taking into account the strengths and traits of his fellow team members in order to come up with the optimal solution.
Maybe… things might work out after all.
"That… That little bitch!"
Chandelure watched on as its trainer continued to swear and curse profusely at the culprit who put a hole through his left shoulder. It had already cauterised the wound for him such that his life is not in immediate danger, but that doesn't mean that his injuries weren't serious. It would advise its trainer to just forgo this hunt to seek medical help but anger had clouded its trainer's mind. He's hell bent on killing the weird bird pokemon and its trainer.
His thirst for vengeance aside, it's not everyday they come across another ghost inclined Ability Holder, just like their trainer is.
"I will fucking kill her. No, I should just fuck her before killing her. How dare she…" Chandelure's trainer continued to curse and swear as they combed the place together. Drifblim had been defeated earlier, its body disintegrated into wisps of smoke, so it's just golurk, cofagrigus, and it now. It would take about a day or two before drifblim would reform its body and return.
Golurk's mastery of Phantom Force allowed them and their trainer to easily stay here in this parallel world without any sense of discomfort. The same cannot be said for the human girl who they are now hunting. At the very least, she must be starting to feel some form of discomfort as this parallel world gradually tries to reject their existence. It is possible to trap an unwilling victim in this parallel world through Phantom Force for prolonged periods of time, but even golurk cannot forcefully trap a prey within here forever. This world will eject any and all living beings out of here eventually, this is the law of this parallel plane. This is why they have to seek and hunt the girl down before that happens. Any smart person will not allow themselves to be trapped here a second time.
They soon found themselves at the entrance of a narrow corridor following the route which they saw the human girl and the porygon-z fleeing towards before they disappeared. The place is narrow enough such that only one pokemon or one person can fit through at any one time once they enter.
"That sly bitch…" Chandelure heard its trainer mutter hatefully under his breath when he realised why their prey had chosen to flee in this direction. Their numerical advantage would be naturally neutralised in such a terrain, forcing them to fight one on one.
In that case, their only option left would be to force her out of hiding.
"Burn the place down."
Chandelure unleashed a raging torrent of flames upon receiving its order. Whatever damage inflicted upon the terrain in this parallel world will not be reflected in their original world once the effect of Phantom Force ends, which is why they had no hesitation whatsoever in inflicting collateral damage on their surrounding environment. The underground basement will still remain standing once they exit from this world and return to their original one as if nothing had happened.
An equally raging wall of water rose to engulf chandelure's flames, resulting in the production of a large veil of mist upon the contact of fire and water. Golurk was immediately on alert, trying to identify the mysterious new foe in order to send it out of here through Phantom Force.
A deep bellow was heard before something big and blue shot itself towards them at breakneck speed, forcing them to scatter formation to prevent themselves from getting smashed. A powerful and furious looking swampert stood in the middle of their scattered formation, its small orange eyes locked onto golurk's large frame.
Waters rose as the swampert wasted no time in hurling itself at golurk with a masterful use of Waterfall, leaving golurk no time to react to the attack. The impact of the blow sent golurk crashing into the nearby wall with a violent tremble. Chandelure released sparks of ghostly flames using Will-O-Wisp but the swampert easily protected itself by surrounding its body with the swirling currents of Whirlpool. The swampert's eyes glowed as its prying gaze shone and swept across all of them, the gaze so scrutinising that chandelure felt as if its very being was stripped bare and exposed. That was Foresight, a move that removed their immunity from normal type moves.
"Just get that swampert out of here!"
Golurk finally recovered enough to unleash another Phantom Force but swampert had long since anticipated being on the receiving end of it. The greenish shield of Protect easily prevented it from being prematurely ejected from this parallel world as it launched itself at golurk with a powerful Take Down at the same time, the inertia of the charge allowing the swampert to sail through the air while maintaining the concentration needed to continuously surround itself with Protect. Swampert's charge sent golurk crashing into the wall a second time, the effect of Foresight now showing itself as swampert's Take Down now managed to inflict a huge blow on golurk.
Golurk, now enraged, retaliated with a Dynamic Punch. The swampert easily rose a wall of hardened earth with a stomp of its foot to stop that blow. The Whirlpool that previously surrounded its body made a reappearance and rapidly expanded like a growing trap, catching a surprised chandelure and cofagrigus into the violet vortex. Chandelure instantly evaporated the waters with a powerful Flame Burst, working with golurk to take the swampert out.
Chandelure used a Pain Split before inflicting further harm with Energy Ball, dealing a powerful blow on the swampert. The swampert simply smacked an Endeavour in return, pulling chandelure into the same circumstances as it is currently in. That's fine, chandelure's only purpose was to distract the swampert such that it could not defend itself from golurk's Phantom Force. It's their victory once they ejected the swampert out of here.
Golurk unleashed another Phantom Force and the swampert did disappear, just not in the way they intended it to happen. The swampert was recalled back into its pokeball at the very last second as an equally angry lapras reappeared in its stead, already putting up a shield of Protect that rendered Phantom Force useless. The lapras sucked in a breath before unleashing a harsh Blizzard that swept them all away, the large amount of moisture left behind by the excessive use of water type moves by that swampert from earlier quickening the freezing process.
"Cofagrigus, just find the girl and kill her already!"
Cofagrigus attempted to sink into the safety of the shadows to carry on with its search upon receiving its trainer's command, only to be promptly interrupted by lapras' Confuse Ray which forced it out of its hiding spot. Lapras sang out a mournful cry as a gripping sense of doom weighed down on them. Perish Song is starting to tick down to its last second.
"Chandelure, Taunt! Golurk, Phantom Force! Get it out of here!"
With Taunt, lapras is now unable to use Protect to defend itself from golurk's Phantom Force. Lapras did not panic, but merely sucked in another breath before unleashing a powerful Sheer Cold that froze golurk in its tracks before it could eject lapras from here, taking it out in an unexpected turn of events by taking advantage of golurk's No Guard ability to ensure that the move never misses. With golurk's defeat and drifblim gone, there's no longer anybody capable of forcefully ejecting anybody else out of here until they overstayed their welcome in this parallel world.
Chill smirked, her usual playful demeanour nowhere to be seen. Everything had happened in accordance to Jarvis' calculations.
'Now then, LET'S PLAY!'
Chill violently made the entire place tremble with a huge burst of Hydro Pump, the huge volume of water washing the nasty chandelure far and away and giving space for Lily to come out for battle as Vel and Jarvis continue to keep themselves hidden. Lily's tentacles easily snared the cofagrigus as she instantly worked on sucking its energy dry with Giga Drain. Now, it's their turn. They had taken ownership of this unknown domain for their own.
Cofagrigus howled and screamed in defiance as it rained down vicious attacks of all types on Lily. Joke's on it, Lily is the best among them at using recovery moves, easily healing her injuries faster than cofagrigus can inflict them. The space around them started to crack and from the look in the eyes of the opposing trainer who tried to kill theirs, he wasn't expecting this either. This is not his handiwork.
A new enemy?
To Chill's surprise, it was Dolly. She had somehow managed to forcefully barge into this weird and muted world through her own power in a frenzied and enraged shriek. She wasn't alone, she had brought along company in the form of an equally crazed Wacky and a few other ghosts that also managed to hitch a ride into this plane.
'KILL 'EM!'
Dolly's howl of vengeance was directed at the remaining chandelure and cofagrigus. Wacky and the other ghosts began their assault, viciously attacking their fellow ghost types and not allowing them the opportunity to even take a breather. Chill thought that this would finally end this battle until the opposing trainer suddenly recalled all of his pokemon before quickly sending them out once again.
Oh, that's right, Perish Song.
Chill felt herself being recalled as well before being sent out once again almost immediately, cancelling the effects of Perish Song that she previously used. Velda had also made her appearance now that Dolly had managed to rejoin them with her own use of Phantom Force, so there's no longer any reason to be afraid of their foe.
"You damn bitch, you are really full of surprises. Just how many pokemon do you have?" The man grunted out in pain as his left arm hangs limply by his side thanks to the hole Jarvis had put into him previously, the mask previously covering the lower half of his face already ripped off from the violent vortex of water earlier. Even when the situation was now turned against him he didn't seem to be bothered about it.
"I recognise you, you are Emil Bonser," Chill heard Velda replying in return. That name is foreign to Chill, but not so to Dolly and Wacky who were usually by her side almost all the time. It was one of the names of the Ability Holders that the weird doctor told her, one of the case studies that like their trainer, was also born with a ghost inclined ability.
"You know me?"
"Only on paper. You killed Bernard Havel, another person like us. You have an ability to steal people's lifeforce, Bernard had an ability similar to the Insomnia ability, that's all I knew."
The man's smile started to grow larger and larger to the point that it's sickening to look at. He chuckled, and it wasn't long before he started to laugh like a madman. When he finally calmed himself down the glint in his eyes only looked more insane.
"Why do you kill him?"
"Why can't I kill him?" Emil questioned in return. "We are ghost inclined Ability Holders. From the very moment we are born we are destined to be each other's prey."
The girl kept silent. When Emil realised that the girl wasn't following, he immediately understood. The hilarity of it all only made him laugh even louder in madness.
"Oh come on, you didn't know? What being a ghost inclined Ability Holder really meant? Oh it's fine, let me demonstrate it for you. Chandelure, burn them down! Overheat!"
The scorching hot flames of Overheat succeeded in forcing the girl and her pokemon from backing off as Emil quickly revived his golurk with a Revive. Golurk was sent out for battle once more. It's not in the best shape, but it's enough.
Emil's gaze landed on the small handful of ghosts that followed the banette here. They are obviously much weaker than the girl's other pokemon that she had used thus far. Not only that, they are ghost types too.
They are nourishment for his pokemon.
"You know what to do."
Golurk invoked Phantom Force once again. This time, instead of trapping or ejecting their prey in or out of this world, it used this move to quickly close the gap in between it and the weaker ghosts. Golurk's large hands easily caught the ghosts in a death grip and immediately retreated, cofagrigus and chandelure assisting to cover its escape. The girl's banette and gengar screamed vengeance as they tried to rescue their brethren but it was for naught. Soon, they will be his pokemon's nourishment too.
With a powerful crush of its fists, Golurk killed the handful of ghosts that it had caught and began to consume their essence together with chandelure. Cofagrigus diligently stood guard to allow them to have their meals undisturbed. It was with great satisfaction that Emil observed the girl's shocked expression as his ghosts devoured hers. Had she not seen this before? This is what ghosts truly are.
"What? Why do you look so surprised? Never seen this before?" Emil kept up his taunt, never one to shy away from mind games. "Judging from how your banette and gengar fought you should have studied ghost types in detail, so you should know about Professor Birch's famous theory of ghosts and their origins."
"The Parallel World theory. That ghosts are otherworldly beings not from this world and came to ours through an unknown method, a place that they refer to as the Chaos," she replied through gritted teeth and clenched fists as their battle took a temporary pause when the horrifying scene of ghosts devouring ghosts made its appearance. Emil felt a large grin adorning his face as he heard her say that. It's been a long time since he met another ghost inclined Ability Holder with not only the skills to match him as a trainer, but also the knowledge that very few would choose to learn.
He licked his lips in anticipation. She will make such a fine meal.
"That theory is true, Phantom Force is proof that such a world can exist. In my personal opinion, Phantom Force is one method to enter such a world. Just look, this place is our proof," Emil spread his remaining usable arm outwards to gesture to their surroundings. "But the Chaos is a place of stagnation and ghosts do not love to stagnate. They cannot get stronger there through the usual means of training and honing their skills, which is why they choose to make the trip here into our world. However, there's an exception to this norm to allow ghosts to grow stronger and even possibly achieve evolution in the Chaos, a method that's available once ghosts embrace their true nature."
Golurk and chandelure finished their meals at that very moment. The injuries which they previously sported had healed and their power had also grown. Now, they will be able to match the girl's pokemon as their equal.
"Devour. It's through devouring their own kind that ghosts achieve the impossible and get stronger within the Chaos. They gain and accumulate power through devouring each other, that is what ghosts truly are. It made sense in retrospect, didn't it? Why ghost type moves are super effective on ghost types itself? It is because they are born to be each other's nemesis. In the natural order of the world, they either become the hunter or the hunted."
Emil spared a quick glance at the girl's banette and gengar.
"I cannot wait to see just how much more powerful my ghosts will be once they consume yours. That gengar of yours… This was how it evolved into its final evolution, huh? I can see it from its eyes, this is a ghost who received power through devouring its own kind. You will be able to differentiate such ghosts from the others once you have seen enough of such things happening."
'Wacky, this…'
'Yeah, it's all true, what you gonna do about it?' Wacky was clean in his admission when Lily hesitantly asked. 'The Chaos was not exactly the nicest place to be and I stood out too much with my colouring. A ghost had to do what he had to do in order to survive, okay?'
"The more Ability Holders use their abilities, the more they resemble pokemon…" Velda's pokemon heard her whispering the words she heard from her doctor that day during their discussion about Ability Holders and their abilities. "If this is how ghosts gained their power in their natural habitat, the same applies to us too? People with ghost inclined abilities? This was why you murdered Bernard? Because he's a ghost inclined Ability Holder that caught your attention?"
"That's… right!" Emil answered with maniacal glee. "Don't you want to see what a true ghost inclined Ability Holder can do? Let me let you in on another secret. When a ghost inclined Ability Holder kills another, the loser's abilities are automatically consumed by the victor! This is how our abilities truly work, it's very true nature! This is the fate of us ghost-inclined Ability Holders the moment we were born with our gifts! Kill or be killed, eat or be eaten! It's euphorical! The feeling of ecstasy after you finally devoured their ability and assimilated it as your own, I cannot even begin to put it into words! And you, you damn bitch, will make a damn fine meal!"
He always did have the bad habit of playing with his food. If he didn't, his left shoulder wouldn't be in such a state now but playtime's over, it's time to feast. His body would naturally heal itself once he had his meal.
"Cofagrigus, shroud us."
Cofagrigus shrouded their presence with Ominous Wind just as Emil said that, the miasma of the ghostly fog enveloping the entire area which they were in. Visibility has drastically dropped but that will not hinder Emil in the slightest. People like them who were born with ghost-inclined abilities are really too rare, but he had still managed to hunt and "devour" several ghost-inclined Ability Holders in his life. His reason for joining Team Plasma in the first place was because it provides him a better avenue to locate fellow ghost-inclined Ability Holders for him to feast on.
One of such abilities he attained through devouring was night vision, allowing him to easily see through the darkness of the fog that cofagrigus conjured. He swiftly activated the next ability he robbed from another victim, the ability to reduce his presence like how most ghost types are naturally capable of doing, as he and his ghost types finally made their move.
Golurk had thrown itself into the fray, its massive size making a good distraction to allow him and cofagrigus to lurk around in the darkness. He spotted the banette locking golurk with Imprison, disallowing it to use Phantom Force any further. That's okay, he's not planning to eject any of the girl's pokemon out to begin with. Now, he wants nothing but to feast on the girl right before her pokemon's very eyes. This will be his revenge, this will be his victory.
Just in case, he did a quick survey of the area which they were now in. They are currently at the entrance of the narrow corridor. It's somewhat spacious, but not spacious enough for the girl to continue to release more pokemon if she still had them hidden in her pokeballs. That's good enough for him.
He lunged at the girl when he spotted the perfect opportunity, activating the ability which he was born with, the ability to steal the lifeforce of people and pokemon in his surroundings. By the time the girl's pokemon had realised that he had somehow sneaked past them he already had his hands on her.
His pokemon may not be able to match hers in firepower, but he's the better one at assassination work.
"Don't be afraid, you will continue to live within me! We will be together, for eternity!" Emil declared in crazed glee as he whipped out the dagger he always brought along and slashed at the girl's neck without delay. The girl's pokemon tried to defend their trainer but cofagrigus and golurk were standing in their way, not allowing them to interrupt his feast. Emil watched almost in slow motion as the blade of his dagger was about to land on the girl's smooth and unblemished neck. Just a little more, just a little more and-
What the bloody hell?
He felt a crushing sense of pain brutally flinging him aside as if he had been steamrolled over. When his swimming vision finally stabilised itself he saw a rapidash standing right in front of the girl that wasn't there before, the flames on its body burning strong in fury. This is the culprit that had rammed him away from the girl and made him break nearly every single bone of his body.
This is ridiculous! Just how many pokemon does she have?!
"You asked me how many pokemon I have? I have seventeen," the girl breathed heavily in exhaustion, her perspiration rolling down her face as their long battle finally started to draw to a close. "You make a very good assassin, Emil, but I had encountered a much better one. I guess I will have to thank that prick later, he taught me a very valuable lesson about why my pokeballs must be within reach at all times. Flamel, Overheat."
Emil watched as the rapidash breathed in before unleashing white hot flames from its mouth, the fire washing over him as he screamed in agony. This… This cannot be! He is the hunter, the predator! He will not lose to a damn little bitch!
"GOLURK!"
He saw his golurk trying to save him but the girl's cradily prevented that from happening with Constrict. Cofagrigus was held up by the oddly coloured gengar while chandelure was barely managing to survive the lapras' assault. Nobody will be coming to his aid anytime soon.
Nobody will be saving him. He's going to die.
His mind started to understand the implications of what would happen if nothing was done soon. Already, his skin is starting to char and flake away, his flesh swiftly turning black and exposed to the cold air. He screamed, vengeance and fury fueling him as he made a hateful lunge towards the girl, his body still burning and it's just a matter of time before his body fell apart. He tried activating every single ability he had stolen thus far: stealing of lifeforce, insomnia, night vision, reduced presence, ability sensory; but none of it is of any use to him right now. None of it is going to put out the flames consuming his body or will it be useful to save his life.
But if he has to die here, then he will bring the girl down with him.
The rapidash loyally stood in his way, the horn on its head pointed low in his direction as it made a stab in his direction. Maybe it was because the human body finally accessed its full potential under the threat of certain death, but Emil felt faster and lighter than ever before. He activated his lifeforce stealing ability at full blast which resulted in the sudden loss of strength from the rapidash. The sudden strange sensation of exhaustion made the rapidash stumble briefly in confusion, allowing Emil to slip past the rapidash and violently push the girl down onto the ground.
"DIE! DIE DIE DIE!"
He squeezed out every ounce of his strength in desperation, choking the girl's neck with his bare hands. If he can kill her before he dies then there's still a chance that he can survive this. His experience in consuming ghost inclined abilities of his victims had made him learn a long time ago that his wounds would always heal right after a feast. It's the same thing he observed when his ghosts feasted on other ghosts. Once he feasts on the girl, the injuries and the burns on his body will heal and they will no longer be fatal. He will live, while the girl will die.
He was so preoccupied and fixated on choking the girl to death that he didn't notice the girl's free hand fumbling around for an object lying on the floor not far away from her as she struggled defiantly. It's something that he had dropped when the rapidash had rammed him aside earlier. She finally grabbed onto its handle just before she blacked out from the lack of oxygen, and by the time Emil realised that she made a last desperate attempt to protect herself it was already too late. The sharp blade of his dagger had stabbed itself into his neck, causing a huge spray of blood to spurt from the wound.
He stumbled backwards, his hands trying to cover his neck while he looked on at the girl in disbelief, still unable to accept that this is his loss. The girl seemed shocked too, simply staring at him with wide eyes and still holding his dagger in front of her in a tight grip, her hands visibly trembling. His blood had sprayed over her as well during that stab, splattering over her in a shower of crimson.
"You…"
He tried speaking, but the gaping hole in his neck made that next to impossible. Even when the rapidash finally recovered enough to ram him away from its trainer once again his face was still contorted in a mixture of anger, disbelief, and vengeance.
How… How was he defeated, killed by a little girl? This was supposed to be his victory. He was always the hunter.
Then, he smiled. No, death is not the end for ghost inclined Ability Holders like them. The girl would learn very soon, what it means to take the life of their fellow kin. He will continue to live on within her as her own ability automatically worked to consume his. Such is the curse of their kind, the fate that they are subjected to the moment they were born with such accursed abilities they never asked for.
His body shook with laughter even if no sound was emitted from his mouth. His body was charred beyond recognition and he's barely managing to remain standing, but he made sure that she could read the last words he told her through how his lips had moved.
"I will always be there, inside your mind."
It was a strange feeling, how he felt as if an invisible hand ruthlessly tearing a piece of him away, the feeling of the loss of something important that made him whole. Was this the same feeling his prey felt when he devoured them? No wonder they always cried and screamed so pathetically in their last moments before they breathed their last.
Hunt or be hunted, eat or be eaten… Guess this is the end for him now. Death will be the start of his next adventure.
And as he fell, he found himself reflecting on the kind of life he had led.
If there's a next life, maybe this time, he prayed, may he be born as a normal human being. The fate he was forced to subject to for being born as an Ability Holder is just…
… tragic.
Flamel let out a soft sigh of relief after seeing that Velda was safe. He wasn't expecting that man to be able to sap his strength away, allowing him the opportunity to nearly kill Velda. This is his fault and he's relieved that his trainer was still alive and well at the end. He should have been more careful around other hostile Ability Holders and be more wary of the unexpected things that they could do.
He gently walked up to his trainer, who was still sitting on the floor in shock. Her eyes were wide and unfocused, cold sweat was breaking out from her body, her trembling hands still holding onto the bloodied dagger that she had used to kill the man in her last bid to protect herself. Flamel could understand the shock Velda was feeling. She had ordered them to kill before, but it's an entirely different story to personally commit the deed with her own hands.
'It's fine now,' he lowered his head and gently nudged at his trainer in encouragement even if he knew that she wouldn't be able to understand his words. His contact with her broke her out of her stupor as her hands finally lost the strength to hold onto the dagger, letting the weapon drop onto the floor in a dull clank.
"I… I… This…"
'He had it coming, there's no need to feel sorry for him,' he let out a soft whinny to distract his trainer from the shock she was feeling for personally taking a life with her own two hands for the very first time. He glanced at the battle ahead. It's about to come to an end. Chandelure had been defeated by Chill, Dolly's vicious attacks had pierced fatal holes into golurk's large body as the golurk wobbled and fell, never to stand up again. At the same time, Flamel witnessed how Wacky brutally tore the cofagrigus apart with his bare hands with an insane laughter, his jaws opening impossibly wide as he consumed the dead cofagrigus with a single gulp.
Then, to Flamel's disbelief, the power exuded by Wacky felt a lot more oppressive right after he swallowed the cofagrigus. It felt very evil, very suffocating, very sinister, and the wounds that Wacky suffered in this battle began to rapidly heal at a visible rate before their very eyes.
So it's true, ghosts do consume each other to gain strength.
Dolly had been in an uncontrollable rage after seeing how her friends were being eaten by the golurk and chandelure earlier. She was screaming incoherently, shrieking for vengeance the entire time she was doing battle with the golurk. Flamel had never seen the playful ghost acting out in this manner before. He had known Dolly for a long time and she had always been a mischievous prankster, not a bloodthirsty monster.
Even so, Flamel said nothing as Dolly tore into the golurk's dissipating corpse to vent her rage. The zip over her mouth which she never opened finally opened itself, and Flamel watched on as she viciously took a chunk out of the golurk's corpse and devoured it. One bite turned into two, two bites turned into three, and in just a matter of seconds Dolly had somehow devoured the golurk entirely into her small body. Similar to what he felt from Wacky there was an obvious increase in power being exuded from Dolly, the same sinister power that can only be felt from ghost types.
'Dolly, get a hold of yourself!'
Lily's concerned words were met with a maddening shriek from Dolly. This is bad, it seems that Dolly had really gone insane from her rage. It didn't seem like she recognised them at all.
'Leave her alone and she won't attack you. This is normal for ghosts who consume others for the first time. It was the same for me too,' Wacky dissuaded them from taking further action with an unconcerned grunt, having seen such a scene happening too many times when he was still in the Chaos. Instead, he floated over to his trainer with a slight frown on his face.
He's not the brightest in the team but he's not totally stupid. He had understood a little of what Velda and the weird ghost guy had said about ghost inclined abilities in their conversation, especially about the part where the more Ability Holders use their abilities, the more they resemble pokemon. Velda is a ghost inclined Ability Holder, she had just killed a person with her own hands, does that mean…
This is now Wacky's greatest concern, far beyond the care he held for Dolly's uncontrollable mad tantrum. For ghosts, devouring their own brethren would mean absorbing their power, their strength, their "essence", but what about humans with ghost inclined Ability Holders? They are not pokemon, they are humans, so what would it mean for a human to "devour" another?
Would something happen to Velda?
'Hey, you alright? You still owe me a lifetime of pecha berries, so don't go dying on me now, aye? It will be a pain to find another trainer who can provide me the same benefits,' Wacky waved his stubby arm in front of Velda to catch her attention. She's still reeling in from the shock of ending the life of a fellow human being, but is coherent enough to notice him.
"I… I'm fine," she shook her head and accepted his assistance to pull her back up on her feet. They watched on as Dolly began to indiscriminately fire her attacks at the empty space in front of her. Guess the prankster had really gone mad from the sudden increase in power.
"Dolly. Dolly!" Velda tried calling out to Dolly but Wacky pulled her back, shaking his head at her to convey that now is not a good time to approach Dolly. She's now in a state where she is unable to differentiate friends from foe. This is entirely normal, it will pass eventually, this is a phase that all ghosts will have to experience the moment they choose to devour their own kind.
Cracks began to grow in the muted world around them. With golurk dead, there's nothing left to anchor them within this parallel plane. They were soon ejected back to their original world. Colours began to fill the world, sounds returned, the damages which they wrought upon their surroundings in the parallel plane vanished and the oxygen in the air became plentiful once more.
"Dolly, return."
Wacky watched as Velda made the call to return the crazed Dolly back into her pokeball before she could cause more damage to their surroundings and bring the entire place down on them. Well, that is another way to deal with the situation.
'Should we get moving?' Wacky asked as he walked on ahead. He's feeling a little cold for some reason. That's weird, didn't the winter season in Unova just pass not too long ago?
"Yes, let's meet up with Hulk and Ness-"
Wacky looked back when he heard Velda's words suddenly cutting itself off. His trainer wobbled, clutching her head with a hand as if in pain before unceremoniously collapsing onto the floor altogether. That alarmed everyone.
'Vel, Vel!'
Velda writhed uncontrollably from where she was lying on the ground, her hands clutching onto her throat and retching as if trying to puke something out. She's obviously in pain but from what, nobody had a clue.
'Her medicine, her medicine! Where is it?!'
'It should be in her pocket, get her to keep still! I cannot take it out when she struggles like this!'
Lily's tentacles immediately wrapped around their trainer's limbs to force her to keep still, allowing Wacky to fish out the little weird contraption that he had seen Looker use on Velda before. If he recalls his facts correctly, this thing is called the inhaler. He still remembered how Looker did it for Velda and so he imitated the exact same actions Looker took, forcing Velda to take in whatever the inhaler will spray into her mouth.
Funnily enough, it had the very opposite effect he was expecting. Velda thrashed about even more violently instead of calming down, her mouth wide open in a scream but with no noise emitted from her throat. Nobody had any idea just what was going on or how to help her.
'Wacky, what did you do?!'
'How'd I know?! I did the exact same thing Looker did for her back then!'
'Uh, guys? I… I'm… feeling a little… weak…'
'Lily? Lily!'
Lily suddenly slumped over almost as if someone had used a Giga Drain on her instead. Her hold over Velda loosened and Velda continued to thrash about uncontrollably in pain, her mouth still opened in a silent scream. Jarvis tried to force Velda to cease struggling by locking her in place with Psychic just in case she accidentally hurt herself but for some reason, the psychic energy would forcefully dissipate after a short while. Repeated attempts from the weird floating bird all yield the same results.
'We cannot let her continue to thrash about like this! She will hurt herself!' Flamel cried out when he noticed how Velda's fingernails were digging into her skin so deep that it was drawing blood. Wacky, on the other hand, remained still, his not-very-bright mind suddenly making the connection as he looked at Lily wilting from the sudden loss in strength, then at the burnt corpse of the man who was their enemy.
Could it be…?
Everything suddenly seemed so clear to him. The others may not realise it since they are not ghosts, but he is one. If the information he heard from the snippets of conversations between Velda and that man was true, then this can be explained.
'Everybody keep your distance! I will take care of her, you guys just- KEEP YOUR DAMN DISTANCE YOU STUPID LAPRAS! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!'
If his guess was right, if Velda could now really absorb the lifeforce of anyone coming close to her, then having them getting close to her will only make things worse. He's the only one who can safely approach her now because as a ghost type he has no lifeforce to speak of. He's simply a mass of chaotic energy given sentience.
'But Vel-'
'I don't have time to explain! But if my guess is correct she had devoured the other human's ability! It's like how Dolly was acting earlier!' Wacky quickly ran through on what he knew as he swiftly locked Velda in place with a Disable, the only move he could think of right now that could have the effect of immobilising his trainer without hurting her. After a quick pause, he decided to try using Pain Split on her.
And Giratina damn it, it really was painful to share her pain. It's like every fibre of his being was pricked by a thousand needles.
'AHHHH!'
'Wacky!'
'I'M FINE I'M FINE- oh who am I kidding I'M NOT FINE I'M NOT FINE! THIS IS TOO PAINFUL!' Wacky yelled in pain as he forced himself to maintain the concentration needed to hold Velda with Disable so that she could not continue to hurt herself in her uncontrollable struggle. On the bright side, it seemed that the pain that Velda felt had lessened because her struggles had ceased considerably, even if the expression on her face was plain to them that she's still feeling a lot of pain.
She better reward him with ten huge sacks of pecha berries after this.
'ENDURE THIS VEL! YOU ARE BETTER THAN THIS! I DID NOT FOLLOW A WEAK HUMAN AS MY TRAINER!' Wacky yelled out, knowing that she was still conscious enough to vaguely understand what was going on around her. Honestly, even he wasn't sure who he's saying these words for. He's not even clear if he's saying all these words to distract him or her from the pain, but his words seemed to have some effect.
Rena and co finally managed to find and rejoin them. They were also very alarmed once they saw Velda's state but Flamel and the rest who were present were quick to fill them in. Finally, some backup.
Wacky linked his fate with Velda with Destiny Bond with a sinister glow of his eyes. He's simply winging it as it goes at this point because this is unknown territory for him too, but somebody has to do something. There needs to be a powerful ghost keeping Velda safe and as the most powerful ghost remaining after Dolly became incapacitated from her temporary bout of madness, this responsibility now lies on him.
'PECHA BERRY, HEAL ME! FULL POWER! HURRY!'
Joy instantly fired a Heal Pulse at Wacky. It was a blind guess, but Wacky knew that his gamble paid off when Velda's wounds began to close just like his wounds were under Joy's Heal Pulse and how her struggles had started to lessen. A human could not withstand the full blast of a pokemon's Heal Pulse as it would be too potent, but pokemon can. With Destiny Bond linking them together, whatever happens to one party will happen to the other. In this state, it doesn't matter how, but if he's being healed so will Velda.
Why would he need to do this, others might ask. It's clear to Wacky that something is hurting Velda from the inside and so something must be done such that this self-inflicted injury would not reach a fatal threshold. That's why Joy's Heal Pulse is needed. However, Heal Pulse is usually too potent to be used on a human body directly and might cause the human in question to die from an overload in healing power unless the pokemon in question is a skilled user of it, which he knows Joy is not. Hence, his idea of doing the necessary healing in such a roundabout way.
And as for just what is hurting Velda from the inside… If his guess was right, that piece of charred corpse lying right there had devoured more than one ability because he had displayed the usage of more than one ability in their battle. Therein lies the problem.
For ghost types, the stronger the ghost they devoured, the greater the power they would receive. Even so, ghosts would carefully choose their prey before devouring them. If their bodies were too weak, devouring a ghost that's too powerful for them to handle will only cause their bodies to implode from an overload of power and lead to their deaths. If a similar logic applies to ghost-inclined humans…
Wacky shuddered and quickly erased the imaginary images of Velda's body imploding from his mind. He had no idea how Velda had "devoured" the man's abilities without her meaning to and frankly, that's not important right now. The important thing is that Velda's body is too weak to handle the strain of having so many abilities shoved into her at once. What's happening to her was literally the definition of eating more than you can chew. Her body is unable to withstand the strain. This is why she's in pain, this is why she's struggling, this is why her subconscious action looked as if she was trying to puke something out in rejection. She was forced to devour the man's abilities without her consent. Maybe this is a special something between ghost inclined humans, Wacky doesn't really know.
If Velda's body could not handle the increase in power, then things are simple. He will share her burden through Destiny Bond and lessen her load with Pain Split. Meanwhile, with Joy healing him and his Destiny Bond reflecting the same outcome on Velda, this would help make sure that she stays uninjured. Like this, Velda will be fine… Probably.
'PAIN SPLIT! PAIN SPLIT PAIN SPLIT PAIN SPLIT- AHHHH! PAIN SPLIT PAIN SPLIT PAIN SPLIT- AHHHHH!'
Wacky repeatedly casted Pain Split and would scream incoherently in pain with every use of Pain Split to lessen Velda's pain. Joy didn't dare to let up on her Heal Pulse without Wacky's explicit command despite the extreme lethargy she was feeling for casting Heal Pulse for such a long period of time. It seemed like an eternity, but Velda finally ceased struggling and slumped over in unconsciousness. Wacky easily caught her with his shaking arms, his body still trembling all over as if he was still being pricked by a million poisonous needles and that's saying something because he's the poison type here.
By Giratina's name, he's not going to do this a second time ever again.
'Someone… catch… her…'
Wacky fell forward and Rena quickly caught Velda with her psychic grasp before she hit the floor. Wacky simply melted back into Velda's shadow, too exhausted to be able to continue. He will leave their trainer to his friends from here onwards. He had done his part.
'Good job Wacky,' Fuzzy patted at the shadow Wacky had slinked into but Wacky was simply too tired to even make a reply. Ness and Hulk also returned at this very moment.
'Ness? Hulk? Didn't Vel send you off to escort the humans off?'
'We entrusted them to a team of humans we bumped into along the way, so we returned. Took a while to find you guys,' Hulk grunted out and took over the job of carrying their unconscious trainer in his large and gentle arms. He's the best candidate for the job due to his physique and actually having proper arms to do so.
'What happened?' Ness asked in concern when she saw their unconscious trainer.
'Long story, we'll talk about that later. Let's go, Vel cannot continue battling any longer.'
'If there's nobody in this place anymore, should I just blast a way out?' Kratos asked.
'Might as well.'
'No, don't!' Kel hissed vehemently, her furs standing on end. 'It's dangerous out there!'
'What do you mean dangerous? Everywhere's dangerous right now.'
'I DON'T KNOW! BUT THE CALAMITY I SENSED IS STILL AROUND!' Kel shouted back anxiously. 'If we go out there something is bound to happen! We will put Vel in danger!'
'Now that you mention it, don't you guys feel a little cold in here?' Lily asked, slowly regaining the strength that was unknowingly sapped away by Velda previously.
'You too? I thought it was my imagination. Unova's weather can be so weird sometimes, I miss Hoenn already,' Snap added.
'It's really starting to get a little cold now that you guys talked about it,' Fuzzy shivered a little as he puffed up his fur, scampering to hitch a ride on Flamel's back and envelop himself with the warmth of his flames. Flamel had also purposefully stood next to Hulk in an attempt to use his own body heat to warm Velda up, knowing that their trainer's body does not react well to the cold.
'So we continue to wait here? Seriously?'
'At least it's safe here,' Kel gestured to their empty surroundings. The now empty underground basement of the enemy base had ironically become the safest spot in this area.
'This is not normal, it must be an ice type.'
Miraculously, Archer actually spoke. The breath that was exhaled from his mouth formed a white mist that could only usually be seen during the winter season and it further emphasised his point.
'An ice type strong enough to make us feel cold even when we are hiding so deep underground? That is not good news,' Fuzzy shuddered, but whether his shudder was from the cold or the idea of such a powerful pokemon existing is unknown. 'Rena? Tell us that you can sense something.'
'I cannot, not with Darktycin covering the place. My senses cannot reach out beyond the basement,' Rena shook her head. 'If it already is so cold in here then it will only be colder outside. Kel is right, we should stay here until somebody comes to pick us up, Mistress' body cannot be subjected to such a low temperature.'
A violent tremor suddenly shook the base once, much to their scare. That tremor then came back again, and again, and again, until the entire base was violently shaking to the point that some of them were unable to stand properly on their feet.
'Uh, guys?! I don't think this is a matter of whether we should choose to continue to hide here or to go outside. I don't think we are given a choice here!'
'Shut up Fuzzy! Tell us something we don't already know!'
'KEEEL!'
'Group up! Don't get separated from each other!' Flamel reminded everyone as he heated himself up even further when the cold started to seep in at an alarming rate. If even he, a fire type, is feeling cold, then whatever ice types out there is an existence that none of them can afford to belittle or take on alone. In this situation, there is safety in numbers.
'Where's Toothless?!'
'Still stuck in his pokeball! Talk about that later!' Ness replied as she moved the surrounding earth to cover them all in a protective globe of hardened earth. 'Kratos, Snap! A little help here!'
'Don't order me around! I'm the King here!' Kratos snapped back in reply but he still moved the sands as requested, reinforcing Ness' handiwork as the entire place began to rapidly collapse on itself. A rush of cold air started to wash over them, freezing the exterior of their earthen defences in the blink of an eye and forcing the ground types to repeatedly reinforce their earthen construct to prevent it from shattering from the brittleness of the cold.
'What kind of ice type is this?! It's making the earth brittle without even meaning to attack us!'
'Less talk, more work! Focus on getting out alive first!'
'We have no choice but to go up!'
'I'm on it!'
With a determined roar, Kratos mentally commanded the earth to push them up before they were buried underneath tons of frozen rubble. Rena began pulsing a large amount of psychic energy, acting as their eyes and ears with her psychic abilities to allow them to navigate through the earth.
Fortunately, they did not run into any hostile enemies on their way up. Once they reached the surface Kratos opened his earthen shield just a crack to see just what was going on outside, dying to know just what kind of ice type had made their lives so difficult without even meaning to.
'What the-'
The stronghold that they were supposed to raid had thoroughly collapsed. Everything in their sights were frozen into an unmerciless white and it's not just the surrounding area here. Titanic chunks of ice dotted the area far ahead and they recognised that's where Opelucid City is located. The high rise buildings were also frozen, roads were frozen, just… everything was frozen.
'What in tarnation is this?' Even Kratos cannot help but feel a little afraid at the scene in front of him. Freezing an entire city as big as Opelucid is not something that even a horde of highly trained ice types should be capable of. Even he would not be able to put up much of a fight against whatever had done this to an entire city.
Whatever pokemon that caused this must possess an unimaginable amount of power, enough to probably compete with mythicals or even legendaries.
'Hey, up there.'
Ness pointed upwards towards the sky, and everybody spotted the huge flying ship looking thing floating just above the city.
'Is that the thing that… you know?'
'It could be. Kel?'
'It is. That's the source of the calamity I was sensing,' Kel confirmed with an uncontrollable shiver running down her spine. Just looking at the ship was enough to make her feel an impending sense of doom and make her instincts scream at her to flee. She doesn't like this one single bit.
'Then we should stay far and away from it. Screw this whole save the world gig, Vel comes first,' Hulk suggested and no objections were raised. Kratos quickly commanded the earth to rise and ferry them away from the city in the very opposite direction of where the flying ship currently was at.
'Of course, things always have to take a turn for the worse. We just have the worst luck,' Fuzzy cannot help but lament when they ran into a large group of Team Plasma that were on their way to overrun Opelucid City. The irritating Plasmas were already charging at them with their pokemon as they spoke.
Great, just their luck.
'Hulk, stay out of the fight. Just make sure you protect Vel and keep her warm,' Flamel took charge of the situation as the flames on his body burst out in determination. Hulk gave a wordless grunt in answer, but the way his hold over their unconscious trainer tightened just that little bit more was all the assurance they needed that he would do his part.
'Someone get Toothless out of his pokeball, and Bigblue too. Joy, heal Bigblue,' Flamel instructed as Kratos charged into the fray together with Snap, easily throwing the Plasmas in disarray from the amount of destruction that they were unleashing. Toothless announced his appearance with a deafening roar, the intense heat emitted from his body starting to melt the surrounding ice. Bigblue's wounds started to heal rapidly when he emerged by immediately invoking Rest, and Joy swiftly woke him up with Aromatherapy the moment he had recovered enough of his strength. Now, he's able to join in the fight as well.
'Our goal shouldn't be to fight, but to escape. There's no telling if more Plasmas would appear,' Flamel informed the team as Toothless scorched their enemies with a Flamethrower, taking flight into the air to provide them some aerial support.
'So, break through their ranks, and then find a way to escape?'
'Sounds like a workable plan. Kratos, are you hearing this?' Bigblue shouted so that the resident brute in their team could hear them.
'That's my plan all along! Who do you think you are, ordering a King around?!'
'I'm the one who taught you your rock type techniques, you ungrateful brute,' Bigblue retorted as he summoned a wave of rock spikes with Stone Edge, successfully impaling a small group of Plasmas and their pokemon. 'Hurry, guys! If whatever froze the city decides to come at us we are all done for!'
'Yeah, what are we waiting for? The next summer? Let's get to it!' Fuzzy urged as he quickly summoned the rain clouds with Rain Dance, calling upon the thunder to strike down at him and give him his much needed boost to take on such a large number of foes through utilising his Volt Absorb ability.
Their trainer might be out of the count but they still have plenty of fight left in them. Their trainer had taught them to be able to fight their battles even without her around. They are capable of protecting her and breaking through their enemy's ranks to escape. Their enemies would have to first step across their cold dead bodies to get to her.
If these fools think that they could get their hands on their trainer, then they are in for a very nasty surprise.