Roaring Moon resembled the late-blooming modern Pokémon Salamence in some respects, but the ferocity it exuded far outstripped even that notoriously violent dragon.
Anything it fixed on would face a primeval, suffocating pressure.
An ordinary expedition team might break and scatter in terror the moment they met Roaring Moon. Fortunately, Lucas and Larry were bold and seasoned. Unfazed by the aura, they exchanged a look and reached the same decision:
Team up and bring Roaring Moon down!
Serperior and Oricorio couldn't match Roaring Moon's aerial maneuverability. To avoid drawing other Paradox Pokémon with the commotion, they had to finish this fast!
"Braviary—you're the best choice for this one."
"Mimikyu—your turn!"
With Serperior and Oricorio guarding their flanks, Lucas and Larry sent out their second Pokémon.
Braviary let out a defiant battle cry and, unafraid of the predator's glare, shot into the night sky.
Clinging to Braviary's feathers, Mimikyu's shadowy claws gripped tight; the eye on its rag-doll belly stared at Roaring Moon.
Anything that threatened Lucas was its enemy.
Lucas crouched, pulled a Mimikium Z from his pack, and set it in his Z-Ring. He shouted to Larry, "Larry, have Braviary get close to Roaring Moon—pin it so it can't dodge. Leave the finishing blow to me and Mimikyu!"
Larry loosened the tie around his neck—the one he used to spur himself to work harder—and nodded. "Got it. Brave Bird!"
"Keee-aaah!"
As a warrior of the skies, Braviary never lacked the courage to face the strong.
Roaring Moon snarled and fired a blue-violet Dragon Pulse. Braviary's body erupted with bright white flames of aura; wreathed in the silhouette of a divine bird, it beat its wings. Even in the charge-up, thanks to relentless training, it slipped past the onrushing Dragon Pulse by mere inches.
Then, with a triumphant cry, it closed on Roaring Moon mid–high-G maneuvers.
Realizing Braviary could keep up with its movements, a flicker of surprise crossed Roaring Moon's blood-red eyes. Verdant light flared around its claws—an instant later, twin Dragon Claws formed, and the air itself thrummed.
Drawing on countless hunts' worth of experience, Roaring Moon slashed where Braviary's path had to pass!
A glint flashed in Braviary's eyes. Even at high speed, it forced a brutal twist—like a flawless aerial acrobatic display—once again missing the cleaving claws by a hair, then pivoted and slammed into Roaring Moon's unguarded back!
The impact detonated with surging flight energy. Roaring Moon roared in pain and dropped a good distance before righting itself to fly again.
In those brief exchanges, Larry's flying-type mastery shone. Braviary's techniques were exquisite, putting Roaring Moon in its palm within two turns.
But Paradox Pokémon weren't just fearsome because even ordinary Gym Leaders struggled against them—their vitality was so rampant that, if they escaped Area Zero, they could wreck Paldea's ecological balance.
The pain in its back only made Roaring Moon's eyes burn brighter. It glared hatefully at Braviary. That big hit had merely hurt—it was nowhere near defeat.
Larry frowned. This Roaring Moon was among the nastier, stronger Area Zero monsters he knew of.
He had to force it down step by step, keep it near the ground, and make sure Lucas could use that one trump card to decide the fight.
Larry called out, "Oricorio—Air Slash to throw off its line! Braviary—pin it with Body Slam!"
Lucas wasn't idle either. He had Serperior prep Frenzy Plant to bind Roaring Moon for a few seconds the moment Braviary forced it low. Eyes fixed on the sky, he waited for the perfect timing.
Above—
Fueled by rage, Roaring Moon locked onto Braviary with murderous intent. Azure dragonfire—dragon energy as fuel—wrapped its body. With predator's pride—teaching Braviary who the hunter truly was—it dove like a red-and-blue meteor.
Dragon Rush!
Braviary still leaned on its superb flight skills, dodging Roaring Moon's furious lunges by razor-thin margins. The apex hunter had never imagined it would be toyed with like this.
The crimson in its eyes overflowed. Scarlet light swallowed Roaring Moon, sending its stats surging sky-high—at the cost of its reason as it became a rampaging, blood-stained crescent.
It ignored Oricorio's dense Air Slashes below and lunged at Braviary in a frenzy.
Braviary seized its one chance to grapple. Muscles bunched; a faint red aura coursed over its body—Bulk Up's effect.
It was to ensure it could force Roaring Moon down.
Blinding white light flashed over Braviary's broad frame. No more evasive finesse—the sky's warrior now showed the valor worthy of its name.
Its talons met Roaring Moon's Dragon Claws head-on. Ignoring the dragon's teeth sunk into its right leg, Braviary exploded with full strength, driving Roaring Moon downward like a thousand-pound boulder.
The instant Roaring Moon dropped to a certain height, Lucas snapped, "Frenzy Plant!"
Serperior raised its head; thick roots burst from the ground and wrapped Roaring Moon tight in the blink of an eye.
Bound, Roaring Moon loosed an earth-shaking roar that echoed through the crater, and its massive body began to thrash with all the force of Outrage.
Feeling the brute strength of its berserk state, Serperior hissed an urgent prompt.
Lucas nodded hard—he was more than ready. As Larry stared in shock, the light from Lucas's Z-Ring blazed to the limit. "Let's Snuggle Forever!"
Four-times effective Z-Move—let's see you tank this, Roaring Moon!
Battered from its clash and descent, Braviary fell away, and Mimikyu sprang high from behind it. The tiny body blazed with Z-Power; the rag doll swelled into a massive net that dropped over Roaring Moon!
Ignoring Roaring Moon's violent struggle, Mimikyu, shrouded in brilliant fairy light and pink smoke, devoure it in a relentless pummeling. Over nearly a minute of sustained blows, Roaring Moon's thrashing weakened… and finally ceased.
When Mimikyu drifted out of the crater it had punched into the ground, Roaring Moon lay there unconscious and covered in wounds.
Lucas flicked an Ultra Ball. It traced a clean arc through the air and drew Roaring Moon inside.