Mawile held the Intrepid Sword. Its golden glow formed a stark contrast to her villainous appearance in her Mega Form. However, it was that contrast which gave her a deadlier appearance.
"Who do you wanna fight?"
Dante asked, idly rolling the remote control ball between his front paws.
"I want to fight all of them!"
"Huh?"
The balls almost slipped past Dante's paws. After hurriedly catching and stabilizing it, he looked back at Mawile with raised eyebrows.
"All of them!? That's crazy, sister Mawile!"
"Yeah! Even I could barely beat one after so many tries!"
Ninetales and Eevee hurriedly dissuaded. Especially Ninetales. She could already guess that the reason her sister Mawile was doing this was to impress Dad again.
Mawile ignored them. Her eyes remained on Dante, who had a pensive expression.
"Hmm, it's not like you can't try. You sure you want to do this?"
"Yup!"
"Good luck then."
Dante nodded and didn't say anything more to stop her. He used the orb and commanded the four Regis to enter a battle-ready stance.
"Dan, how about a good luck kiss?"
"Hah! Tell you what. If you win against them on your first try, I'll promise you a second date."
"That's a deal then!"
Standing on the sidelines, Victini who had been silently watching everything paused. He placed his hands across his chest, feeling the energy in his body suddenly recover at three times the normal speed.
He traced the source to the humming Mega Mawile. At this time, she had a silly grin across her face while standing against the four Legendary. She was muttering something under her breath that was too quiet for him to hear.
Victini wondered. First Eevee, and now Mawile. What is up with the female Pokemon of this team?
"Go, sis! Show them how it's done!"
"Sister Mawile! You can do this!"
Riolu and the others cheered. However, Mawile didn't even turn her attention to them. Her eyes kept glancing back and forth at the Regis, her mind running at a supersonic speed.
Mawile took a deep breath. First step, if she wants to increase her chances of winning, she couldn't allow them to boost their stats.
The battle began. At the first moment, a slightly dark energy was emitted from Mawile's body and she Taunted the four Regis.
"Four Legendaries bullying a single girl? You bring shame to your status!"
Regirock, Regice, and Registeel didn't react to her provocation. Their bodies shone as they boosted their defenses. Unlike Eevee, they had already fought with Mawile before. Thus, they knew about the strength of the cream colored Pokemon.
Only Regidrago, with its low defenses, twitched in annoyance. Standing at the far back, it started to condense a familiar, crimson orb of energy. However, as it was about to fire at Mawile, a large rock whizzed through the air.
It headed straight towards Regidrago, forcing the dragon golem to hurriedly turn the energy beam to obliterate said stone.
"Only one, huh. I need to tread more carefully."
Mawile muttered, the tone of her voice devoid of emotion. Gone was her usual brash nature. At this moment, all her focus was about achieving the path to victory she had envisioned.
She rushed forward with the sword. At the same time, the two maws on her head constantly flung stones at Regidrago to stop it from firing at her.
Although the Dragon Energy it released wouldn't pose any harm due to her Fairy and Steel typing, the power behind it would disrupt her movement. That would give the other Regis more and more time to boost their stats.
She couldn't allow that!
She was 5 meters away when the other three Regis finally stopped boosting their defense.
Regirock and Registeel stepped forward to engage her in a melee combat. Meanwhile, Regice let loose an Ice Beam.
Mawile narrowed her eyes.
With impeccable timing, she slashed at the incoming ice beam, causing it to split into two.
However, because of her actions, she was forced to plant her foot on the sand and stop moving. And this moment was seized by Regirock and Registeel.
Regirock stomped, causing ripples of Ground-type energy to head in her direction. Meanwhile, Registeel's body expanded and became covered with red Fighting-type energy. It jumped up high, intending to Body Press her.
At this instant, time stopped for Mawile. Her pupils shrunk to the size of a needle. Attacks were coming from above and below, along with the energy beams from afar. Her speed won't allow her to dodge them all.
In a moment, her body instinctively moved the best course of action possible to minimize the damage.
She first stomped on the floor, releasing a similarly powerful Ground-type energy and neutralizing Regirock's attack. Then, using that momentum, she jumped upwards and dodged the incoming Ice Beam and Dragon Beam.
Now, she only needs to deal with Registeel.
She slashed at the falling steel golem with all her strength. The two jaws on her head, covered with Fighting-type energy, also struck it.
But Registeel remained unfazed. Although it hadn't been able to fully boost its defense, it still increased by 50%. Facing Mawile whose attacks were only boosted a few times, it only felt a slight itch from her attacks.
Seeing as it was about to crash on her, Mawile used her two jaws to clamp on it and maintain a certain distance between them. At the same time, she continued slashing at Registeel.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
With each slash, the power in her body constantly increases. She could already feel her attack affecting this lump of steel before her more and more. Unfortunately, before she could fully neutralize it, her time ran out.
BOOOOM!!!
The two crashed on the sand. Mawile was pressed under the gigantic body of Registeel, her fate unknown.
"Sister Mawile!"
Ninetales shouted in concern. She knew she should've stopped her from doing such a reckless challenge!
"Don't worry. She's fine."
Dante said while glancing at the team menu. Seeing the 1 HP remaining beside her name, he raised an eyebrow in surprise.
With the way she kept attacking at the end, she shouldn't have any time to employ Protect or Endure. Though he doubted she'd be able to withstand Registeel's attack even if she used those moves.
Registeel used Body Press, a Fighting-type move in which the power is based on the user's Defense. And after using Iron Defense, the steel golem's defense had reached a value of 216.
For Mawile to survive with 1 HP, it must be the result of her staving off Registeel's attack power when she kept hitting it with the sword.
The Intrepid Sword increases her attack by 10% every time she strikes an opponent, capable of reaching up to 200%. And although she hadn't reached the maximum limit yet, she was close.
Before she fell, her attack had reached 242!
"hnnnggGGRRHHA!"
A low growl was heard on the battlefield. Registeel's body, which was lying flat on the ground, suddenly flew upwards.
No, it didn't flew. It was thrown away.
It crashed against the dungeon walls, burying its body beneath the rubble.
And at the bottom of the pit where Registeel came from, Mawile staggered upright. Her body was marred with countless injuries, and she was struggling to even stand.
Her chest constantly heaved as she dragged her body above the pit.
"I. Must. Win."
She repeatedly whispered these words under her breath. She headed towards the Regis, her sword scraping across the sand.
"BEEP! OPPONENT DETECTED TO HAVE MASSIVE INCREASE IN ATTACK! CHANGE IN STRATEGY ADVISED!"
Registeel said as it stood up from the rubble. Its body was covered with countless scratches and dents. Among them, there was a particularly deep gash near one of its eyes, along with two massive dents.
"AFFIRMATIVE! OPPONENT OBSERVED TO HAVE A LOW ENERGY SIGNAL! INITIATING LONG-RANGE BOMBARDMENT!"
Mawile stopped. In front of her eyes, massive boulders, along with energy beams of ice, dragon, and steel, headed her way.
If she was in her prime, with her current attack boosts, she could easily deal with all of them.
But now…
Mawile grimaced. Her left hand had already lost all its feeling. Pain was also radiating all over her body, and the added strain from the attack increase consumed her body more.
It was only her willpower that still allowed her to move. She knew. She only had one more chance to attack with all her strength before her body collapsed.
At this point, she began to wonder what was the purpose of even forcing herself. She and Dan already promised to have their first date. With that as a breakthrough, she could easily ask him to take her on a second, third, or even more!
That's right. She didn't need to defeat these Legendaries to achieve that. Maybe even Dan himself didn't believe she could win. He only humored her wish, just as he always does.
Yes. There's no need to force herself anymore. She should just disperse the Regis' attacks and collapse. With Dan's personality, he would still smile and tell her she did a really great job- preferably while holding her weak body in his arms.
…
No. She doesn't want that!
"Back at my home dungeon, I always wanted to go outside and see what the wider world looks like."
Mawile lifted her head. Her eyes regained their luster, once again shining with endless determination.
"I tried escaping many times, but somehow or another, it always ended in failure."
Since her body would collapse after making one attack, then that leaves her with only one course of action. Instead of worrying about what ifs, she'd worry about how to release the most powerful attack- one that would knock down all the Regis!
"Although I attributed it to misfortune, I knew. Deep inside, it was because I was scared. Scared of the outside. About the dangers Gramps repeatedly warned us about."
Her right hand tightly clenched around the sword Dan gave. All around, her body shone with pink and silver light.
"But then I saw Dan. Because of him, I found the courage to take the final step. And with him, I saw wonders of the outside world I wouldn't have otherwise experienced. Gained strength that would be impossible for me to reach alone."
She anchored her body to the ground with her two jaws to maintain a stable center of gravity.
"And all he wants from me is to lend him my strength."
Mawile mobilized all her energy towards the sword. The air around her hummed with power as she readied to swing it.
"At that moment, I made a vow. Even if Dan is up against the world, I'll fight alongside him. I'll grow so strong that he can always trust me to have his back. And if I can't even defeat four Legendaries, then how could I achieve something like that!!"
Mawile said as she stared at the incoming rocks and energy beams. She only had one goal. To slice the attacks before her, as well as the Regis in the distance.
10 meters…
5 meters…
3 meters…
As she watched them get closer and closer, Mawile unknowingly fell into a trance. Memories about a four-legged Pokemon holding a familiar golden sword in its mouth appeared in her mind.
She traveled across the lands, fighting against gigantic Pokemon. Her movements were graceful, swift, and captivating. But above all else, they were deadly.
She defeated her opponents with just a single strike of her sword. And among all her moves, one in particular stands out. She called it…
"Behemoth Blade."
Mawile muttered. Her body subconsciously adjusted its posture. Her knees slightly bent, and she held the sword perpendicular to her body.
Said sword in her hand also vibrated. Its blade turned a fiery blue, transforming to become longer and wider. From a sleek longsword, it became something more of a gigantic claymore.
Then, Mawile swung. And everything in front of her was torn asunder.
—
It was another peaceful day in Treasure Town. The resident Pokemon idled about, shopping for groceries or exchanging gossip with their friends.
Suddenly, everyone was startled as the ground violently shook. Wares fell from the shelves, houses cracked, and some unprepared Pokemon stumbled and fell. The lucky Flying types just hovered in the air until the shaking subsided.
"Has a Legendary awakened? That's the most powerful earthquake we've had in a long time!"
"My house! I just finished building that!"
"Cheer up, Granbull. It didn't look that good, anyway. This must be a sign for you to rebuild it."
The Pokemon chatted lightheartedly. They helped the store owners find their goods that had scattered on the ground, as well as treat those that had been mildly injured.
As for the recent earthquake? They didn't dwell too much on it. It was a natural disaster. With everyone's effort, just one day would be enough to repair all the damages done to everyone's property.
But the personnel of Wigglytuff's guild knew differently. Dugtrio, who was deep underground at the time, reported his findings to Chatot.
"What?! The continent is cut in half?!!"
A/N: Huh, funny thing. While I was looking at Zacian's pokedex entry, I found something amusing. To quote the entry about Zacian: "This Pokémon has slumbered for many years. Some say it's Zamazenta's elder sister—others say the two Pokémon are rivals."
Now, I intended from the beginning to have Mawile and Riolu hold the sword and shield due to their same typing as Zacian and Zamazenta. But I didn't expect them to have more similarities with the Legendary duo.