The world crashed back in with a violence that stole the breath from Elias's lungs.
The serenity of space shattered into the cacophony of a dying world. He gasped, his body jolting as if he'd been dropped from a great height. The first sensation was the sting of smoke and ozone in his throat. The second was the heat—a blistering, dry wind scouring his skin. The third was the sound—the massive footsteps of Corodity, the roar of flames, the shrieks of corrupted pokemon, and the desperate cries of battle.
He was on his knees on the ground, Anne's arms still wrapped tightly around his torso from behind.
The landscape around the ruined Mala's Spine was a scar on the world. Fires raged unchecked across the hills and forests. The sky was a bruised palette of smoke and unnatural, swirling purplish twilight cast by Corodity's towering form.
And Corodity… it had grown. It was now twice the size it had been upon its awakening, a mountain of malice that blotted out the horizon. Each step it took now triggered earthquakes, and the prickly vines that wreathed its body lashed out indiscriminately, pulverizing rock and spearing the earth.
Scattered around its massive feet, like broken toys, were the forms of John, Viktor, and the rest of the Xycle Eastern Sector operatives.
High above, two figures danced a deadly ballet amidst the smoke. Caesar, on his Noivern, weaved and dove, launching sonic attacks that seemed to do little more than annoy the behemoth. Giovanni, on his Charizard, was firing powerful beams of flames, trying to find a weakness, to corral the beast, but it was like trying to lasso a hurricane.
On the ground closer to Elias, a more immediate battle raged. Rein, Ellen, and Faith fought back-to-back, fighting pokemon twisted by Corodity's emanating aura.
Krookodile, Alpha Scraggy, and Staravia formed a protective triangle around the three trainers, fighting with ferocity. But for every pokemon they beaten, more seemed to emerge from the smoky haze, their eyes glowing with the same mindless fury.
A short distance away, Makarell had recalled his grievously injured Charizard. In its place stood a Hitmonlee, its legs a blur as it executed rapid spin-kicks, holding a line against a trio of corrupted Arbok. Makarell himself looked barely conscious, slumped against a boulder, but his hand was raised, directing his pokemon with weak gestures.
"Elias...?" Anne's voice was a hoarse whisper in his ear, her arms tightening. "Are you... back?"
Elias placed his hands over Anne's where they locked around his stomach.
"I'm here." He said, his voice rough but clear. He turned his head slightly, his gray eyes meeting hers, seeing the fear, the exhaustion, and the unwavering resolve there. "Thank you."
He gave her hands a final squeeze, then gently pried them loose. He pushed himself to his feet, his legs trembling only for a moment before solidifying. He stood tall amidst the devastation, his white hair whipping in the chaotic wind.
He looked at Corodity that had tried to use him, that had echoed the darkest parts of his own pain. He looked at the friends being overwhelmed. He looked at the defeated Xycle forces. He looked at the two men in the sky, fighting a battle they could not win alone.
"We need to help." He said, more to himself than anyone.
He was about to move when a new sound cut through the hellish din.
It started as a low hum, vibrating up through the soles of his boots. Then it grew—a chorus of powerful engines, rising in pitch and volume, cutting through the roar of fire and beast.
All across the battlefield, heads turned upward. Caesar and Giovanni broke off their attacks, looking skyward. Rein glanced up, shielding his eyes from falling embers. Even the corrupted pokemon seemed to hesitate, their gazes lifting.
From the southern horizon, a formation appeared. Not one aircraft, but many. Sleek, advanced League gunships in gleaming white and blue, their hulls marked with the insignia of the Adele Pokemon League. They flew in a precise, formidable wedge, moving with an authority that spoke of overwhelming force.
And standing atop the lead gunship, at the very tip of the spear, were figures.
Eight of them, arrayed in a line. The Gym Leaders of the Adele Region, called from their cities to face a threat that endangered all.
Kieve Lock of Talroc City, his expression hard, his Alpha Machamp standing beside him.
Leon Crav of Maribell Town, his Gyrados coiling in the air above him.
Paul Norman of Felspar Town, a massive Snorlax beside him.
Darien Bolt of Metrolink City, a Manectric crackling with electricity at his feet.
Lilith Black of Draga City, a massive Dragapult beside her.
Rusty Flint of Scrapyard City, a massive Steelix beside him.
Heather Shade of Bargo Town, a Chandelure casting an eerie glow.
Aida Lou of Gran Gard Town, a formidable Chesnaught standing guard.
And behind them, on the wider deck of the gunship, stood four more silhouettes. Their auras were different—denser, more refined, speaking of a tier of power beyond even the Gym Leaders.
The Elite Four of the Adele Region.
Paloma Nogate, the Top Stratagem, her mirrored shades reflecting the inferno below, a smile on her lips.
Gracia Brown, the Mistress of Darkness, her expression serene but her eyes sharp.
Ragnar Rokee, the Hotrod, arms crossed over his chest.
Ren Archie seeming almost bored as he adjusted the cuff of his suit.
The League had finally arrived in full force.
The air itself seemed to curdle as the disparate forces of the Adele Region converged. The silence that had held for a heartbeat shattered as the Gym Leaders acted as one.
"Gym Leaders! Stand your ground!" Kieve Lock's voice boomed.
He activated a Dynamax Band on his wrist. His Alpha Machamp, already a monument of muscle, roared as raw, crimson energy erupted from the band and the pokeball engulfed it.
He threw the now, large pokeball in the air, releasing Machamp, swelled to an even more impossible size, its arms glowing with molten energy as it towered into the clouds, matching Corodity's terrifying scale.
Beside him, Leon Crav's cape billowed.
"Gyarados, Mega Evolve!" His Gyarados was encased in a sphere of surging water, emerging with a sleek, armored body and fins that hummed with draconic power.
Paul Norman roared a laugh as his Snorlax grew into a literal mountain, a forest of moss and berries sprouting from its belly—Gigantamax Snorlax created its own gravity.
Darien Bolt and Rusty Flint triggered their stones simultaneously; Mega Manectric became a jagged bolt of yellow lightning, while Mega Steelix shimmered like a diamond drill, orbiting shards of metal humming with magnetic force.
Heather Shade's Chandelure flared into a violet Mega form, its flames licking the sky, while Aida Lou's Chesnaught grew massive spiked shields on its arms as it achieved Mega Evolution.
High above, Lilith Black pointed a finger towards Corodity. Her Dragapult vanished into a red-tinted rift, reappearing as a dynamax phantom, its Dreepy-missiles glowing like miniature missiles.
"Max Phantasm!"
The Dragapult launched its Dreepy-missiles, trailed by ghostly wails that shook the very ground. They phased through Corodity's outer vines, detonating deep within its wooden muscle, turning the beast's own shadow against it.
"Elias!" Caesar's Noivern dived low, pulling up just feet from them. His brother's face was smeared with soot, but his eyes were wide with relief. "Get your friends to the gunships! The League is going to level this entire mountain range!"
Elias reached for his belt, his fingers finding only two pokeballs. With two distinct clicks, he recalled his Staravia, and Alpha Scraggy. The exhausted pokemon vanished into beams of red light, returning to the safety of their capsules. Krookodile, however, stood beside him.
He was about to speak, to tell the others to retreat, when Rein stepped forward, his boots crunching on the scorched earth.
"We're not running!" Rein barked, his voice raw but defiant. He looked back at Elias, then at Ellen and Faith, who were already reaching for their own pokeballs. "We've bled too much for this mountain to let the League take the credit. If they're leveling this place, they're doing it with us standing on it!"
"What are you talking about, Rein?" Elle asked, her eyes widened in surprise.
"We're going to die here." Faith added, recalling her Glaceon.
"You cowards leave. I don't care about dying." Rein replied. "I'm going to make a name for myself here."
The Gigantamax Machamp's fists, glowing with the energy of a G-Max Chi Strike, came down like twin meteors on the ground in front of it. A massive fissure, hundreds of feet deep and wide, ripped open between Corodity and the ridge where Elias and the others stood, creating a temporary chasm.
At the same time, Mega Gyarados unleashed a concentrated Hyper Beam. It cut a canyon through the burning forest to the east, diverting a river of magma and creating a steaming moat.
Gigantamax Snorlax used G-Max Replenish. A wave of revitalizing energy washed over the fallen Xycle operatives near the beast's feet. John groaned, pushing himself up on an elbow.
"Damn... that beast really got me... baby."
Mega Steelix burrowed, vanishing into the earth. The ground rumbled ominously.
Mega Manectric became a living storm, zipping across the sky in a Volt Switch pattern. It created a crackling, electrified net in the air above Corodity, harrying the beast, forcing its attention upwards.
Mega Chandelure's flames licked out to Will-O-Wisp, setting haunting fires on specific thorn clusters on Corodity's limbs.
Dynamax Dragapult's phasing missiles continued their ghostly bombardment from within.
And Mega Chesnaught stood on the gunship's deck, ready to intercept any retaliation.
It was a breathtaking display of overwhelming force.
From the deck, the Elite Four watched, their own partners poised but not yet engaged.
Corodity, enraged and confused by the tactical assault rather than a straightforward brawl, roared. It tried to step forward, but the fissure created by Machamp forced it to stumble. It swung a vine-laden limb at the buzzing Mega Manectric, but the electric pokemon was already gone, leaving only ozone in its wake. It roared in frustration, its head whipping everywhere until its gaze landed on Elias.
In that gaze was a recognition deeper than rage—a searing, possessive hatred for the vessel that had been wrenched from its grasp. The psychic command that had once flowed through him had been severed, but the taint of their connection remained, a psychic scar that pulsed like a beacon in the beast's awareness.
Amidst the League's assault, a single, whip-like vine, thinner and darker than the others, shot out from the chaos. It moved with precision, slipping from every attack, as if the beast had poured a fraction of its focused malice into this one strike.
It happened too fast for anyone to react.
Elias only saw a blur of obsidian. There was no sound, only a sickening, wet thump as the vine, punched clean through his left forearm, just below the elbow.
"AGHHHH!!" A white-hot lance of agony came out from his voice. He gasped, staggering back, his right hand instinctively flying to clutch at the wound.
But the pain was immediately overshadowed by something worse.
A deep, malevolent cold exploded from the point of impact. A vivid, pulsating purple aura, identical to the fire in Corodity's eyes, erupted from the embedded vine and began racing up his arm through his veins. It crawled beneath his skin, turning the flesh a sickly, luminous violet as it spread. The scar on his chest from the previous connection flared with sympathetic agony.
He could feel it. The will of Corodity, not as a psychic command, but as a physical infection. A desperate, clawing attempt to re-establish the link, to reclaim its puppet, to burrow into his nervous system and burn out everything that was Elias.
"ELIAS!" Anne's scream was raw terror.
He looked at his arm, at the purple corruption snaking towards his shoulder. His gaze snapped to Krookodile, who was staring at the corrupted arm with a low, warning growl, its body tensed but confused, waiting for a command.
"Krookodile...!" Elias's voice was a ragged gasp, strained with pain but utterly devoid of hesitation. He met his partner's eyes, pouring every ounce of his will, his trust, and his desperate need into the look. He raised his right arm, pointing a trembling finger at his own left, at the junction just above where the purple aura was climbing past his elbow. "My arm. Slice it off. Now."
The command hung in the air, monstrous in its simplicity.
Anne's hands flew to her mouth, a choked sob escaping. Rein stared, his defiance forgotten, replaced by pure horror. Ellen looked, and Faith stepped forward.
Krookodile froze. Its eyes, usually so full of fierce loyalty, were wide with confusion and a dawning, terrible understanding. It looked from the corrupted arm to Elias's face, to the order in his eyes.
The purple glow in Elias's arm intensified, the cold burning sensation shooting up towards his shoulder.
That movement broke Krookodile's paralysis.
With a roar that was equal parts anguish and fury, Krookodile moved.
It was a blur of crimson motion.
There was a sound—a clean, awful shunk of severing flesh and bone, drowned out instantly by Elias's strangled scream.
His left arm, from just above the elbow, fell to the scorched earth with a dull thud. The thorned vine, still embedded in the severed limb, writhed for a moment before turning to brittle, black ash.
Elias stumbled, his vision swimming, but he forced himself to stay upright, clamping his right hand over the gushing stump, applying pressure through a blinding haze of pain.
The purple aura that had been climbing his arm winked out instantly, severed at the source. The cold, invasive presence vanished, leaving only the brutal, physical trauma.
Krookodile stood rigid, its claw dripping, a low, continuous whine of distress rumbling in its chest.
It had obeyed.
It had saved its trainer.
And the cost was etched in the blood on its claw and the agony on Elias's face.