"Ryder? Hey?" Auster tried again as he knelt in front of his son, getting no response in return. Liepard cooed from her spot at her trainer's side, her head resting on his knee. Emma paced in the background bunnelby pacing along with his trainer.
"I hope they are okay?" Emma whispered as she heard the door open. Nappy came sprinting in panting, soot covering most of his body with Shady at his side, coated in a similar fashion.
"Where's?"
"Here." Izzy said as she walked into the building, just as exhausted as the two others. "I sent raichu, elekid and galvantula to help the others." Izzy informed as she looked at Ryder. Her eyes landing on the blood stained black hand death gripped in his hands. Izzy froze the tears rising in her eyes as she looked at Emma, begging that it wasn't true. Emma shook her head, her steps picking back up as she continued to pace. Other's around the center tended to their pokemon or themselves or just hiding out from the attack in general.
Most of the incident had settled, but that didn't mean it was safe to go back outside. In the background the live feed of the battle near the Sundial, but Emma pays it little mind. Izzy turns her attention to others focusing her mind on other things rather than the truth about what happened to their friend. She didn't want to know, but at the same time she knew she needed to know. Izzy moved into the center with her friends on her heels as they went to work helping Nurse Joy as best as they could.
Auster glanced at the television screen for a few moments, satisfied as he saw the gym leaders preparing for a battle. Another roar echoed through the building as Auster looked out the sliding glass doors. He could see Rayquaza fighting, fire and ice, spinning around the dragon as parts of buildings fell.
"Can you stop them?" A voice asked as Auster turned to look at Shady who had walked up beside him.
"No. Rayquaza isn't like a normal pokemon partner, if he believes that he is right, he will do it even without the input of a trainer. If he believes whatever Ryder commanded, I will never be able to stop him." Auster informed Shady as he looked at the previous champion, concern muddling his features.
"That's not a good sign." Shady stated as a figure came sprinting towards the center. Streaks of green hair came through the soot and dust covered hair as Jack sprinted forward, rampardos on his heels. He burst through the doors coughing harshly as Auster immediately was at the teens side.
"What happened?"
"The tower... it's on fire... so many buildings are on fire. They are fighting." Jack coughs covering his mouth as best he could. "The others are fighting... I got everyone out I could find."
"You did good, son." Auster stated as Jack fell to his knees, spitting soot out of his mouth. Ryder blinked at his friend before getting to his feet, pulling the red blanket from around his shoulders and draping it around Jacks.
"Ryder..." Jack whispered as he grabbed Ryder's right wrist not allowing the other to pull away. The black hat stared back at Jack as he looked up at his traveling partner seeing the falling tears. Slowly, Jack got to his feet as Emma came to a halt, her eyes locked on her two friends. "Hey it-" Jack didn't get the chance to finish as Ryder wrapped his arms around the green haired man. Jack embraced the shaking teen back as he felt the sobs rack the youngers body.
"I'm sorry." Jack whispered as Emma's tears started to fall. Jack opened his arm as Emma rushed to him and another pair of arms wrapped around them from the other side as he gazed down at Izzy as she clutched to her brother. An explosion sounded behind them as the group fell silent, the lights flickering out above them as people around the center screamed in fear.
"Ryder we have to stop him." Jack stated as Izzy sprinted outside, the tears still staining her skin.
"All of you thunderbolt!" Izzy screamed as the electric type ears perked up as raichu, galvantula and elekid obeyed their trainer. Electricity surged forward as it careened through the air, the other pokemon dodging the attack before it struck rayquaza. A roar escaped the legend as it shook itself and Izzy came to a halt behind her three partners.
"Fletchinder, razor wind!" Both fletchinder obeyed as they sent their streams of attacks forward.
"Absol, bisharp psycho cut." Jack yelled as he rushed out back into the city as his two dark types obeyed.
"Rampardos, ancient power. Sceptile leaf storm. Zoroark, Yveltal dark pulse." Jack shouted as the pokemon launched their attacks. Rayquaza roared in pain but didn't go down as the other legends kept up their assault.
"Articuno ice beam, infernape and houndoom flamethrower!" Flames flew upwards catching some of the sky high pokemon's skin before ice seared from above. Greninja leapt from the back of reshiram, ice forming on his hands as he struck rayquaza on the head. Rayquaza growled before knocking greninja away as he skidded past the three trainers crashing into the pavement below.
Ryder stood frozen as his friends left him in the center, his heart not wanting him to go. His legs not letting him follow after like his head screamed at him to do. He could stop him, he could end the attack on the city yet he couldn't move. When greninja fell, breaking up bits of asphalt in his wake, did he force himself to move. Liepard immediately at his side as Auster sprinted out after his son.
"Greninja." Ryder fell beside his starter, his hands ghosting the pokemon body as it huffed against the bruises and cuts on its skin. Auster's lucario sprinted past them, it's own scars and bruises evident as it rushed into the pokemon center, carrying an injured weavile in its arms. A roar escaped the dragon above as falling debris came careening downwards and Ryder froze.
"Help us!" Auster ordered as sylveon came out of her pokeball, her ribbons moving closer to her mouth as she gave her disarming voice as it broke the debris to pieces. Ryder stared at the ribbon pokemon for a few moments before he slowly pushed himself to his feet. He tightened the grip on the broken necklace in his hands as he started forward, liepard following after, his father set to work aiding greninja.
"What have we done?" Ryder whispered as he looked around at the destruction. His attention rose to his friends as they gave their commands still fighting a losing battle but that didn't stop them. He felt ribbons as they wrapped around his right arm as liepard moved forward. Her side pressed against his as he ran his fingers through her coarse fur.
"Silvally..." Ryder whimpered as the synthetic pokemon turned its head towards its trainer. The towering pokemon moves to him, leafeon following after the normal type.
"RAYQUAZA!" Ryder screamed, his voice echoing upwards against the destruction and fighting. A roar escaped his dragon, as reshiram threw the mega off balance her claws ripping into his back. A blast of a hyper beam knocked the vast white pokemon off, before a shadow ball slammed into his face. Ryder's grip tightened on the key stone in his hand as liepard rushed forward, sprinting past the fighting pokemon below. Sliding under some debris she charged into the closest building, pieces of it crumbled around her. Liepard charged higher and higher up the building, disappearing from sight as Ryder felt his heart racing.
Liepard burst on the roof of the building, as she sprinted towards the fighting legends. Lunala roared as she swooped downwards, Moon gripping the legend's back tightly. The ghost pokemon flew low as liepard jumped on the legends back, sliding behind Moon as the Alola champion soared upwards. They swung around mewtwo as the psychic legend brought up a shield, protecting lunala from an incoming dragon pulse. Lunala soared above reshiram as liepard jumped, landing on the white dragon's back before sliding down towards rayquaza who was attacking mewtwo.
"Lie!" Liepard roared as reshiram came to a halt, her wings beating keeping her aloft. Rayquaza growled as he stopped his attention rising up to the dragon above him. Slowly, he rose upwards towards the dark type as liepard crawled up to Reshiram's head, perching herself there. The sky high pokemon came to a halt a low growl rumbling from its throat as Ryder shouted for the dragon once again. Rayquaza's attention snapped to its trainer as it blinked and liepard jumped to him, landing squarely on his head. Mewtwo huffed as he landed on a stable building mew floating around his shoulders.
"What have you done?" Ryder asked as rayquaza gave a growl in response before looking about him finally noticing the destruction. The glowing tendrils around the dragon's body almost dimmed as he soared downwards towards his trainer, the mega slowly fading from his system. The streams disappeared as the glowing stopped as rayquaza returned to his original self as he loomed above Ryder.
"It's okay..." Ryder whispered as he held back his own tears and reached his right hand upwards. "It's okay..." Rayquaza stared at his trainer for a few moments before lowering himself further until his nose was pressed against Ryder's hand. Emma watched the two as houndoom walked up beside his mega leaving him as he returned to himself. Fletchinder landed on her shoulder as infernape let the flames on his head go low. Izzy crashed against galvantula as raichu and elekid rushed to their trainer's side, tears streaming down her face. Jack huffed as Yveltal landed behind him, the legends shadow overtaking him as the purple haired zoroark rubbed his head against his trainer's leg. A flurry of footsteps sounded as Allie sprinted from the pokemon center rushing to Jack her arms wrapping around his shoulders as he held her back.
Gladion was silent as he brushed some of the dust from his jacket, as lycanroc puffed beside his trainer. Moon leapt off of lunala's back scooping up mimikyu in a single action cradling the fairy type to her chest, as she moved to her fiance burying her face into his chest.
Auster helped greninja to his feet as the water type pushed himself away from the former champion moving to his own trainer. Lucario moved to Auster's side as vaporeon gave a small call from the champions feet. He took a deep breath, his eyes turning to the dark sky, as traces of light started to break through the clouds.
"We'll be okay." Ryder whispered.
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Whoa we are so close to the end.