Only Amber, Zane, Fayiz and Bianka remained in the dormitory. Lumir arrived with Trip.
'The Grand Master no longer trusts me. However, he does trust Trip, or simply doesn't care what he does... so, whoever chooses to take on the Grand Master... you should go to wait at the office now, before he hears of his enemies storming The Under and changes his mind about giving Trip free reign.'
'I'll go.'
Amber stood. 'He won't hurt me.'
'No!' Fayiz insisted, 'He's out of his mind, Amber! At least let us go with you!'
'OK. Fine. We'll all go. But let me battle him. It's not that he won't want to hurt me... he won't want to harm his grandchild.'
'What if he loses control of Keldeo?'
'I doubt he will,' Lumir said, 'But I share your brother's concerns about your child if nothing else, Amber. You could be inadvertently hurt.'
Fayiz wasn't convinced. 'And what about Wyatt? He hasn't handed Cobalion over yet.'
'He's on our side,' Trip assured him, 'He wants to get rid of that Cobalion. Trust me. He's more likely to hurt himself than anyone else. Actually, as soon as our allies get here, someone needs to get him to hospital. He's full-on suicidal.'
Fastening her helmet, Amber pushed past him. 'Take us to this office, then. Hurry up.'
'Amber...'
'I'm not listening.'
She walked behind Trip with Fayiz. An alarm blared. A voice Amber didn't recognise crept from speakers.
'Take your positions! The intruders are here!'
They began to run. Lumir took the elevator up to join Cipher's enemies. People glanced up as Trip marched by with a group of unfamiliar Peons, but they'd all received orders to defend. They were too flustered to question Lyndon's son. As soon as they were out of sight in the corridor, deserted by the Admins whose offices could no longer be occupied, Amber sent out Charizard. Trip unlocked the door to Lyndon's office. He turned the handle. Something blocked it. They assumed it was furniture, but they couldn't hear the voice giving orders on the speakers anymore... it came from the office. Fayiz glanced at Trip.
'You sure he wants to hand over that Cobalion...?'
'Wyatt!'
Trip frantically knocked. 'It's me!'
'...What do you want?'
'Why are you in there?!'
'Grand Master's orders...'
'Our allies are here, Wyatt! You don't need to obey him anymore!'
'He's right... we're all better off dead.'
'That's Cobalion speaking!'
'No... you don't understand.'
The door abruptly opened. Wyatt's Metagross stood aside. Trip stared directly into his eyes as wild as Lyndon's.
'Dude, I know it's been really hard for you handling that Cobalion... finding out the organisation you poured your heart and soul into wasn't what you thought it was... but come on. There's hope. There's always hope.'
'I know you mean well, Trip... but you're naive and you can't... I can't let anyone get in the way of what's best for us.'
Trip jumped when someone elbowed past him. Amber glared.
'I don't care who you are. I can't let you go ahead with something that can't be reversed. Something you'd regret yourself if you lived to see it. Trip's right. That's your Shadow Pokémon talking. I can feel it, too. But we don't have time to talk this out. Let's go, Charizard!'
Charizard roared Flamethrower at Metagross before it could move. It shook off the flames. Wyatt sent out his Alolan Raichu. Amber sent out Lurantis. Raichu's Thunderbolt zapped Charizard. Metagross crashed into it with Zen Headbutt. With sheer determination, Charizard summoned all its energy to scorch Metagross again. It was too strong. Lurantis weakened Raichu, slashing at it with X-Scissor, but it hung on to zap Charizard unconscious. Metagross slammed into Lurantis instead. X-Scissor knocked Raichu out. Wyatt sent out his first-ever Pokémon, Gallade. Amber sent out Dragonite. Gallade used Swords Dance. Dragonite flew up to the ceiling. Lurantis dodged Meteor Mash to slash open Gallade's skin with Leaf Blade. It battered Lurantis in return with Close Combat. Lurantis fainted.
Amber felt her friends watching her, knowing they thought her out of her depth. She couldn't let that get to her. She believed she could win because she believed good would always triumph over evil... and Wyatt wasn't evil. Dragonite hurtled down at Gallade. It fell to its knees. It wasn't pain that made it hesitate... it was its reluctance to battle. Wyatt's Pokémon didn't want to fight for Cipher. They wanted to help him. She had to exploit that. Metagross was sluggish. Meteor Mash crashed past Dragonite. Amber sent out Espeon. Gallade's legs folded as it was blinded by Dazzling Gleam. It fainted.
Dragonite's flaming fist flew at Metagross. It was weakened more by Charizard's Flamethrowers than it showed. It collapsed. Wyatt sent out Delphox and his own Espeon. It was faster than Amber's. Dazzling Gleam knocked Dragonite out. Amber's Espeon hurled Shadow Ball at Delphox. It winced, but stood, shooting a stream of fire back. Amber sent out Empoleon. The opposing Espeon tripped it up in Grass Knot. Then it glanced back at Wyatt. While its head was turned, it was pelted by Shadow Ball. It fainted. Empoleon blasted Delphox with Scald. It toppled over. That was good... of course it was good... but Amber knew what Wyatt's last Pokémon was and she knew both Empoleon and Sandslash were weak to it. He sent out Cobalion.
'Wyatt...'
Amber glared at Trip, but he continued regardless. 'Come on. You don't want to do this.'
'Empoleon! Scald! Espeon! Psychic!'
The attacks battered Cobalion before it received any commands. It leapt back at them of its own accord. Espeon's skull was slammed against the door jam. It was unconscious, but Cobalion kept kicking, preparing to slash with its razor-sharp horns.
'Wyatt!'
Amber returned Espeon. Cobalion sliced through the wall instead.
'Go, Sandslash! Empoleon! Protect!'
She threw her first Ultra Ball. Cobalion leapt free. It hit Empoleon's invisible barrier, rolling back past Wyatt into the desk. The Snag Machine was charged. Amber threw another Ball before waiting for her turn. It rocked. Once, twice, three times... then Cobalion escaped. Empoleon fired a jet of water to blast it back. Wyatt was barely present. All awareness faded from his eyes. It was no longer a Pokémon battle but a fight to keep Cobalion back until one of those Ultra Balls clicked. Zane offered a Master Ball. Amber refused. She revived Dragonite to paralyse Cobalion with Thunder Wave. Three of her Pokémon were in battle now. The floor rocked. Cobalion missed Dragonite to hit a shattering cabinet. A Peon who wandered in, concerned by the ruckus, fled screaming. As Sandslash wrestled with Cobalion in between breaking free of Ultra Balls, Trip stepped past Empoleon to address his distant friend.
'Hey, buddy. This will all be over soon and next year, you can take the Gym Challenge again. And we'll be friends forever. You're gonna come see me play football, right?'
Wyatt said nothing. His wide eyes stared blankly past Amber. There was a flicker of distress. Then nothing. It was like staring into a void. Ultra Balls sailed over his head. Trip nudged him out of the room into the corridor. He tried to prise Cobalion's Poké Ball from his friend's tensed fingers, but he clung on too tight. Amber leapt from charging Cobalion's path. Empoleon waddled in front of her. She threw an Ultra Ball. Wyatt tried to speak. He couldn't. Then he fainted. The Ball clicked.
Cobalion was caught.
Before she even registered what was happening, let alone how she felt about it, Amber's legs folded. Trip caught her. She was heavier than he remembered. Fayiz and Zane stepped over Wyatt to help.
'I didn't... really... properly catch it...'
'But you did, Amber.'
Fayiz smiled. He knew as well as she did that coming from him, she might believe it.
'You did it. That's all that matters. And you did do it properly... because even if you win through sheer determination... that's part of being a Trainer, too. How many Trainers have failed because they didn't care or believe in their Pokémon?'
Maybe it was inappropriate, but Amber laughed. 'Oh, shut it. You sound like Professor Oak.'
'Let's get you out of here.'
'But I have to battle Lyndon!'
Adjusting to her new weight, Trip picked her up before she could argue. 'There is no way you're battling him.'
'But...'
'We don't just need to get you out – we need to get Cobalion to the Purify Chamber.'
His Ampharos hoisted Wyatt onto its shoulders. 'I'm sorry to leave you guys to clean up my family's mess, but...'
'Do what you need to do.'
Zane switched on Michael's old Snag Machine. 'I'll be just fine.'
***
The last Cipher Peon was arrested in Phenac City. Homes were damaged. People and Pokémon were injured. Still, with the remnants of Cipher now trapped in The Under, emergency services had clear access without fear; for after darkening each river flowing from Mt. Battle at the source, Lyndon returned, dodging the International Police's attacks to descend into the Pyrite Chasm.
Anabel disarmed Rui and escorted her safely to an ambulance. She led the attack on Coren's labs. There was nothing more for Pierre to hack. He joined his colleagues. His Chesnaught and Metagross pounded away at the heavy door of the Shadow Colosseum. Looker handcuffed defeated Peons and scientists. The ex-evil team Grunts took on the weakest Peons. Not all of them won, but they kept them away from the stronger Trainers taking on the most competent Peons and Commanders. Cassia and Seth returned with their Snag Machines for the Shadow Pokémon. Trip also returned, chasing Amber who refused to remain at the Pokémon HQ Lab, though she grudgingly handed over her Snag Machine. From the roof of the Poké Mart, Amber identified Shadow Pokémon. Trip aimed Quick Balls. With his flawless aim and the element of surprise, they almost always clicked immediately.
The Shadow Colosseum's door was down. Coren was inside. Pierre prepared to battle him, but he didn't move. He merely smirked.
'There's no point in battling. I can't win... and there's no longer any need to stall you. Fufufu... arrest as many of us as you will. Snag all our Shadow Pokémon. It's too late. There's no stopping our plan now!'
Anabel grimaced as her eyes swept across the vast, scratched floor. It was empty. Anything Coren was working on was gone.
'I take it there's also no point in asking you where your work has been taken?'
'Of course not.'
Pierre seized his laptop. There was nothing left on it. Retrieving the data would take time... time they didn't have. Metal shrieked. He glanced up. A thin, falling sheet protected the ceiling. Anabel surveyed Coren. His limbs tensed. The sheet was hiding something. She instructed Pierre to handcuff him as she climbed onto Latios to remove it. It revealed a gaping hole. Far above was daylight. Anabel summoned officers, led by Bob, to follow the tunnel in search of Coren's absent work... but they found nothing.