Pokemon Umbral Pierce's Sidequest: Revenge and Retribution

[Astral Harmony]

Ricewood Prepares For Battle

Jeanette looked thoughtful, then nodded. "Well, Faynoc didn't tell me to refrain from getting others involved, so I guess it couldn't hurt to let the agency know. Good idea, actually. I know some of them have some personal scores to settle themselves. Thank you for your advice."

After Pierce left, Jeanette summoned her most able assistant, Karen. "Get in touch with PATCA. Report my abducted daughter. Then-"

Suddenly, Jeanette's phone rang. Jeanette answered it, and was surprised at the timing of the call. "Understood. I'll be right there."

Jeanette walked very quickly and unlocked her desk. "Take this file to Rayleen and...wait one," Jeanette caught herself. She scribbled down the address to Millenium House on a purple Post-It Note and stuck it to the file. Then she handed the file to Karen. "Forget the call. Take this file to Rayleen. She knows what it is. Tell her that the address will take her to Millenium House. She'll take it from there. This shit ends tonight."
"At once, Professor." and shoom, that girl was out the door. Jeanette put out her cigarette and looked at White Avatar. "I've been dying for a field test," she breathed.

PATCA was going to know where to go very shortly. But Jeanette was going to be deep inside the compound long before they deployed.

-----

Pierce Arrives at Millenium House

Millenium House clearly didn't look like a house. It looked like some kind of bunker, with numerous electronic sliding doors which probably concealed large turrets and other nasty surprises. None of these hatches slid open for Pierce, which left him to focus his attention on Whitney who was standing just outside the main entrance.

Just what the hell was she doing here?

Then Pierce drew closer and knew that it wasn't Whitney. She was a sexy Gardevoir, for sure, but all the light green parts were stark black. Instead of short light-green hair, this Gardevoir has long black hair. Instead of a ballroom dress, she wore black denim hot pants that left some of her butt exposed. Her breasts were barely concealed under a black studded leather halter top and she wore black boots. She had changed her weapons loadout since the last time they fought, and carried a very painful looking rusty battle axe and a top-of-the-line submachinegun.

Aria landed. Gardenoir turned around. Gardenoir's eyes glowed for a brief instant. "Pierce Granger of the Pokemon Advanced Tactics and Counterterrorism Agency," Gardenoir said. So she dipped into his mind to identify him. "Lopunnish and I are here to free all the Pokemon that are being subjected to Reynold Faynoc's cruel experiments. There's one in particular we'd like to save located deep inside the underground facility. Goes by the name of Enmekki. I'm out here making sure that we have an escape route in case Lopunnish gets locked inside. And, well, that's my little story. I already read you mind and can see why you're here. I see no reason for us to fight since our objectives are so different, so let's just not get started on that."

And just like that, Gardenoir dismissed Pierce and turned back to face the compound. The main entrance then slowly opened. "Looks like you're expected, Granger." Gardenoir said. But Gardenoir made no move to enter Millenium House.

[Dracorion]

Great. Pokegeddon was at Millenium House. Like this wasn't going to be messy enough already. Last thing he needed was for them to shoot down another airship, or bring the whole place down.

As soon as they landed, Aria growled and sparked dangerously at Gardenoir, but Pierce returned her to her pokeball.

Gardenoir turned to face him, and her eyes glowed for an instant. "Pierce Granger of the Pokemon Advanced Tactics and Counterterrorism Agency," So she dipped into his mind to identify him. "Lopunnish and I are here to free all the Pokemon that are being subjected to Reynold Faynoc's cruel experiments. There's one in particular we'd like to save located deep inside the underground facility. Goes by the name of Enmekki. I'm out here making sure that we have an escape route in case Lopunnish gets locked inside. And, well, that's my little story. I already read you mind and can see why you're here. I see no reason for us to fight since our objectives are so different, so let's just not get started on that."

Pierce frowned.

Gardenoir turned back to face the compound. The main entrance then slowly opened. "Looks like you're expected, Granger." Gardenoir said. She didn't move. Neither did Pierce.

Slowly, Pierce pointed his Dragon Slave at her. "You know I got a bone to pick with you." He said angrily.

He couldn't take her.

He didn't care.

He still had to rescue Sam.

Fuck you, rational thought.

Pierce lowered his sword. "Stick around. I'll deal with you when I'm done." Without another word, he calmly stepped into the facility.

[Bard The 5th LW]

Charlotte in the past!

Charlotte gave a blank stare at Bretton and his blatant egotism. Really? He thins he is that manly.

"I just want to warn you," she said, really wanting to see the 'stud's' reaction to implications of his actions, "some times, the best thing to do when it comes to jail bait is wait. In your case, the wait is 8 years. Or longer if you think its worth trouble with the law."

"And no, this isn't an invitation to flirt with me instead," she added at the end. She just had a feeling that would be his next action.

CHARLOTTE SLIGHTLY LESS FAR IN THE PAST

"Your right in saying that I don't care for stories," Charlotte said in response to him, turning the camera off now. "You are also right in saying I have some grudges to follow through. But what you don't realize is that you are among them by virtue of living. If you aren't aware, this was my trophy room. You were supposed to be dead. Either way, you have piqued my interest."

At this point, Phantomere fell from his spot. He then got back up and began talking again. Charlotte listened intently. Most of it seemed like stuff she was willing to go through with, just one life not taken and some apples lost, but she was bothered by the major part of it.

"Invade my mind?" she asked, a rather displeased, almost angry, expression showing itself. That was not anything she wanted part of. "How about no? I don't trust that concept at all. I'm willing to handle it the mundane way, and I am sure you have tons of time on your hands, so you will as well. As for this little apple fetish you have there are some in the kitchen. We can talk in there."

[Astral Harmony]

Pierce Ventures Into the Millenium House

Gardenoir gave him a sweet wave like a housewife bidding her working husband farewell. "Okay, have a wonderful time, sweetie!" she said cheerfully as the large sliding door closed tightly, separating Pierce and Gardenoir by three feet of solid steel held shut by powerful hydraulics and sophisticated electronic locks.

Cunt.

The place was arranged like an auditorium. Twenty rows of forty seats faced the rear of the room, which was a higher level with nothing other than a single podium, a microphone, and a large whiteboard that had seen many months of use. It had been cleaned recently, so there was nothing to discover. Pierce noticed no less than three cameras in the room, and all of them were on him. Each had a red LED, which Pierce assumed meant that he failed at being sneaky. Oh well, it's not like he was trying.

The place must've been used for last minute briefings just before deployment. You know, to make sure that everyone was on the same page before they set out on their clandestine operations. The place was positively spotless and silent, which only made it more unsettling.

There was a large set of sliding doors that resembled the entrance to a large elevator. A control panel was affixed to the wall on the right side of it. The words "Executive Lockdown. Master Key Required." were displayed on the digital screen above the keypad. Pierce didn't have a key, so the shortcut wasn't accessible. Which left a small door at the far right corner of the room. There was a green LED that adjoined the keypad next to the door, which clued Pierce in that it was unlocked...and probably a one-way ticket. A quick glance at the door that closed behind him showed what he was expecting to see.

"Executive Lockdown. Master Key Required."

Lovely.

-----

SadBretton Is Sad

"Some times, the best thing to do when it comes to jail bait is wait. In your case, the wait is 8 years. Or longer if you think its worth trouble with the law." Charlotte warned Bretton.

"Eh, no worries. I heard Aster as much as everyone else did. But I make it a point to be nice and courteous to all ladies, regardless of their age."

Creepy.

"It's a gentlemen's job to defend women and children, particularly those who don't like fighting. It's a silly ideal that my father instilled in me which actually helped him land his wife, and even though I seem to be surrounded by a lot of badass babes and asskicking adolescents all the time since I joined the Thirteen Eevee Threat long ago, I still wanna hold true to his beliefs. It's just my weird sense of honor."

"And no, this isn't an invitation to flirt with me instead," Charlotte told him.

"I'm still gunna," Bretton said childishly, then stood up. "But obviously we should get to know each other better. You'll have to forgive my foolish ego and pride, but I'm one of those guys who goes after the things that are not offered to him."

And like that, Bretton headed off to the agency's gym, mostly likely to pump more iron and get a good look at his body through the mirrors that adorned every wall.

-----

Chibi-Phantomere's Tutorial

"Right on! To the kitchen! Ah...not that I'm ordering you or anything."

In the kitchen, Chibi-Phantomere scrambled onto the counter. "Honestly, I know how you may feel about me. After all, we were enemies once and it seems like you really enjoy killing your enemies. But unfortunately, overcoming your lack of trust in me is going to be the major barrier. Since you don't feel like trusting me with your mind, then we'll do some practical training."

"At my current strength, I can only possess small objects and interact with them. And sure, it sounds pathetic to possess things like teddy bears, but I can also possess stuff a little more terrifying, like grenades. I could soon have access to better powers, but I'll need to feed on soul energy. I can get this from the enemies you kill. So, if you take me with you, I'll consume the souls of your enemies and grow to gain greater powers. Then I can assist you in better ways."

Chibi-Phantomere looked thoughtful. "Oh, and I can do this!"

Then he touched Charlotte's elbow. Charlotte reflexively swiped at Chibi-Phantomere, knocking him off of the countertop and onto the floor. "Right. I deserved that. You have a very good backhand. But for right now, pay attention to your arm."

Charlotte saw that the forearm that Chibi-Phantomere touched was now transparent and an icky-looking purple soup creeped along it. It was a little disturbing to see her muscles, veins, arteries and bones. "Ghost Reach," Chibi-Phantomere named it. "You can reach through solid obstacles, grab an object, ghost it, and then pull it back through the obstacle to you. It has to be a small object like a key just like when I possess something, but maybe it will help you out. If you give me that arm, I'll remove the Ghost Reach from it. Otherwise, people will see that and get a little suspicious."

Now that Chibi-Phantomere had recovered his powers back from Charlotte, that ended the tutorial. "And then there's one final power. You won't be able to see it until a very opportune point during pitched battle, so I'll explain it to you at that time. But it's probably the best ability I've got, even better than Possession and Ghost Reach."

[DanteFalcon]

Matthias entered a small room in his apartment, a computer humming quietly on the desk. He sat at it, leaving a great deal of water nearby breathing deeply, nearing a meditative state.Pokeshift. Porygon Z.

His body changed as normal to it's streamlined state as he reached toward his computer, hands seeming to break down upon contact with the main computer bank, immediately kicking it into high gear and working at a fervent pace, working his way into the PATCA database, working into low security files first and ignoring most, searching for particular words and combinations. Despite his fervent pace he made sure to take precautions, changing his IP frequently and masking that he ever looked at a file to make it appear as normal as possible. Looking through every file would take forever. But 1 person per day would eventually lead him to an answer. Even if he didn't like the answer.

That was a laugh. If he found a traitor he wouldn't like it. If he searched through everyone and didn't find a traitor he wouldn't like it either. Odd. Usually he preferred win win scenarios.

[Astral Harmony]

Matthias found a treasure trove of interesting files. And by interesting, it was more like things he didn't know about but weren't about anything scandelous...

He found Antonio Shevenston's file quickly. Little was known about him by the members of the Watchmen, so Matthias decided to do a thorough checkup on him.
Antonio Shevenston's file was impressive. Police Force. PATCA. Prideguard. His file mirrored Irene Crosswald in a lot of ways, with a little more tragedy on Shevenston's side. A terrorist bombing at his own house robbed him of his legs and eventually his left arm, but he managed to save his wife and two daughters. Clearly, his motivations for fighting and leading PATCA was all about preventing incidents like that again. There were dozens of awards and commendations.

Matthias was curious about Pokegeddon. There was so little information that they were all caught unawares...and suffered greatly for it. There was a lot of unhappy information in the folder. It listed a team of twelve in all. Gardenoir, Lopunnish, Seacalibur, Altarisect, Frosqueen, Pegidash, Mawchomp, Waiyama, Hitmontri, Toxiviper, Ludilossom, and Regina. Regina's file freaked Matthias out. The girl was apparently beyond anything a Pokemon Trainer or Breeder could ever be. She was able to carry and use up to eighteen Pokemon.
The other members of Pokegeddon were described as being Grudge Meisters, a combination of Deva and Overblade. Each one had twenty ranks of power in comparison to the five ranks that Matthias and the other main Watchmen had. Defeating them wasn't foreseeable in the near future. It seemed that Pokegeddon's goal was to free Pokemon throughout the world. That would mean terrorizing the hell out of Pokemon Trainers the world over. And with twelve badasses, it was possible. Matthias looked over the files of the Pokegeddon members they didn't encounter yet.

Mawchomp was a Steel and Dragon type who apparently combined Mawile and Garchomp.
Waiyama was a dual type of Fighting and Water who combined the very large Hariyama and the even bigger Wailord. The picture of Waiyama was clearly an aerial view.
Hitmontri combined Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, and Hitmontop. Reputed to never be able to be hit due to some kind of absolute perception.
Toxiviper was the Poison and Fighting combination of Toxicroak and Seviper. The venom that resulted from that combination would be quite fatal.
Ludilossom was the Grass and Water combination of Ludicolo and Bellossom. It's believed that this chick is completely unable to stop dancing.

Matthias moved on to find out more about Ruin Pokemon. Ever since the incident at the bank, solid and up-to-date information was being gathered on them. To Matthias's surprise, they seemed to be changing on the fly. The Ruin type was recently reported to only be super weak to Dragon type moves instead of the ultra weakness they possessed when first encountered. And it seemed like all of them were changing to gain different moves and even become dual types. What kind of Ruin Pokemon would be waiting for them when they next did battle with those freaks?

Matthias found a file about Reynold Faynoc and the Harbingers of Ascension. The major design of the cult seems to be achieving a level of power closer to god through applications of proto-science and the DNA of legendary and Ruin type Pokemon, of which both are currently described in the file as having "usually unfortunate results". Faynoc is considered armed, dangerous, and well-funded. It hasn't been proven, but rumors seem to speculate that it's Vladier Burkmont of the Prideguard who has been funneling more money that Matthias can imagine into Faynoc's own reserves, allowing the man to continue his bizarre and in many ways cruel research. But not anymore. If the battle in Prime Square was any indication, then Burkmont was intent to capture Faynoc and coerce him into producing more satisfactory results by means of torture.

Intrigued, Matthias continued on to look up Burkmont and the Prideguard. Until he achieved the lofty rank of Prideguard General, Vladier Burkmont was an honest, motivated, and hard-working man. That's what the official records would tell everyone. However, a lot of his promotions and achievements seem to stem from such acts as blackmail, threats of violence, and commiting illegal acts for corrupt superiors. Over the years, Burkmont has sort of been funneling good people out of the Prideguard and bad people into it, turning the Honmyr Prideguard into his own personal army. It was obvious that he has designs on world domination. The file even goes as far as to link several women as daughters to Burkmont. The general has blackmailed and raped a number of prominent women.

First, there was Irene Crosswald. The result from that was daughter Rayleen Crosswald.
Secondly, there was Sakuya Kazetsubaki, which lead to the birth of Mio Kazetsubaki.
A woman named Angela Hornsbury was another victim. Matthias remembered the name Alice from the battle in Prime Square. From what Rayleen said, Alice was a mole in the Prideguard. Chances were that Burkmont doesn't even know about his actual family ties with Alice. The file indicated that Angela was currently diceased. Well, here's hoping she gets better soon.
Rayne Ashlikhend is the current guildmaster for the Vorpal Frenzy mercenaries. Discord was the fruit of Burkmont's labors in that area.

The file went to say that there are other possible familial links, but there's nothing conclusive. Matthias idly wondered how many damn daughters Burkmont even had, then his urge to mate made him envy Burkmont. He had seen Irene and Sakuya before and both of them were top-of-the-line MILFs. He'd never seen Alice, but he did see Discord, and considering Discord's great body, it was clear that Rayne had to be a bombshell herself.
Curious and still capable of retaining his form as electronic data, Matthias accessed files on Sakuya and Mio Kazetsubaki. Information on Mio was almost non-existent. The little girl seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth after reaching ten. Matthias knew that Mio vanished because she entered Faynoc's cult. But there was tons of data on Sakuya.

Sakuya Kazetsubaki is the thirty-seventh heir to the imperial throne of Hiroshiho Empire, which was established here in Honmyr and ruled for a great many centuries. Matthias learned that several generations of ineffectual and even terrible emperors led to revolt. One brutal civil war later and Honmyr went from an Empire to a Republic. Sakuya, a powerful, wise, and charismatic empress, stirred up her loyalists and tried to reclaim Honmyr back from the President. This was civil war number two, and Sakuya kinda sorta got her ass kicked. The reason why was a handful of names, the majority of them already known to Matthias. Antonio Shevenston, Irene Crosswald, Vladier Burkmont, and one name that caught Matthias's attention.

Matthias looked up the name "Wingblade" and hit paydirt. Apparently, during the second civil war, there was a woman noted for wielding a large blade that had two angel wings emerging from it. According to the file, she was in and out of the worst battles during that war, making decisive attacks and leaving just as quickly as she entered the fight. She was very fast and deadly with her winged sword. The photography in the file was inconclusive, despite Matthias's abilities to sharpen digital images to near perfection.
Frustrated, he looked up related searches and found a match. Ancient history. Sixteen hundred years ago. The woman called Gaea who struck down the Ruin Pokemon invasion with the Infinity Crush called Tri-Scar. The mural depicted Gaea as being a beautiful woman with a winged sword. The wings actually emerged from the blade itself, and Gaea flew as though those wings were her own.

Matthias was intriged. It was more proof that Gaea was no legend recalled by forgetful Ruin Generals. And the match of Gaea and Wingblade were unmistakeable. Gaea was still alive, and apparently still quite able to kick lots of ass.
But that wasn't all. Matthias knew that Gaea was also someone else. Someone he had seen. An agent? But the details in both the murals and the civil war file only provided the barest of details. Damn it! He was so close and maybe if he could just see her face, he'd instantly recognize her.

[Dracorion]

Pierce made sure to flip Gardenoir the bird before the door closed behind him.

Cunt.

As soon as the entrace closed, Pierce's hangover seemed to redouble it's efforts, pissed at being ignored ever since he heard about Horace.

Pierce walked through the auditorium. He noticed the cameras watching him but paid them no mind. He made his way to the double doors that seemed to be an elevator. The panel next to them seemed to indicate they were locked, but damned if that was going to stop him.

He pressed his ear against the door and knocked. Damn, solid. For elevator doors, they were thick. Adamantitar wouldn't be able to break them down, and Blaziken couldn't blast a hole in them. He looked at the panel. Nah, using Aria would just permanently lock the thing from the outside.

He considered having Blaziken weld the doors shut, to keep anyone from escaping through the elevator.

No, that would just clutter the hallways, which seemed to be how he was going to get through the facility. Though he didn't like Gardenoir very much, or trust her, he didn't think she'd let the people who subjected the pokemon she was trying to save through horrible experiements go. And Jeanette was sure to get a call from Faynoc soon, and she'd bring PATCA.

Sighing, Pierce headed for a door in the far right corner of the room. This one was open, but he had a feeling...

He stepped through.

Yep, the door locked behind him.

He only took a few steps before his head split open, and he fell to his knees.


---------------------
The little boy stood outside the kitchen, his Larvitar beside him, neither of them making a sound as they listened.

"... they were found in their tent. Their bodies... umm..."

The took a minute to stifle her sobs. "Please... go on." She said, her voice breaking.

The officer obliged. "The bodies were... severely mutilated and dismembered. It was hard to identify them, but the woman was wearing this."

The officer held up a plastic bag. Inside was a silver pendant. The image of an angel shone in the light that filtered through the window.

The girl broke down right then. The officer grabbed her, and pulled up a chair for her to sit down. "That was... that was mom's..."

"The leading theory is that it was a few Ursaring. Two or more. Why they would is indeterminate. The tent wasn't anywhere near Ursaring country." The officer hesitated, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Miss... we'd like you to come down to the morgue and try to identify them."

"I... of course." She wiped her tears on her sleeve. "What- what are we going to do now?"

The boy stepped into the room, and the girl and the officer shifted their attention to him. His eyes were watery, but he didn't cry. He wouldn't let himself cry. He ran to the girl and hugged her tightly. "Don't worry Sam. I'll protect you, I promise."

Outside, there was a bright light, and Pupitar stood in the hallway.
---------------------


Back in the present, Pierce stood up slowly. The pain in his head subsided, though it was still there.

Now that... that's not a hangover.

[Astral Harmony]

This new room that Pierce found himself in was a lounge. Couches, televisions, vending machines, all that nonsense. Even insane cultists had to relax as well.

Then the door directly across the room flew open and in came two of the most beautiful women Pierce had ever laid his unworthy eyes on.
"Pierce! One side!"
Pierce barely had time to acknowledge Shizuka and Chizuru before he dove to his right just the muzzle flashes began. What the hell was Shizuka doing here? And Chizuru probably should've been at PATCA by now.

The gunfire stopped. Shizuka stabbed his daikatana through the door's control panel, sealing the door shut. Chizuru ran up to Pierce while Shizuka stepped away from the door and deployed Ho-Oh and Allegion, the Bug/Electric Legendary.
"Mr. Pierce! Have the others arrived already?"
"Kirie and Mika are fast, but not that fast. And it takes time for PATCA to mobilize. I get the feeling he was summoned here."

Sparks started to show on the other side of the door. Shizuka bounced back towards Pierce and Chizuru as the latter deployed Giratina.
"No time for discussions. Here they come!"

There were six foes, but a Pokemon Trainer brought it up to a total of eight foes in all.

-----
Begin Mission!
- Watcmen Formation: [Allegion] [Shizuka] [Ho-Oh] [Pierce's Pokemon 1] [Pierce's Pokemon 2] [Chizuru] [Giratina]
- Enemy Formation: [Millenium Battlebot (600%)] [HoA Acolyte (400%)] [HoA Tinkerer (400%)] [Heracross (250%)] [Drifblim (250%] [HoA Healer (400%)] [HoA Acolyte (400%)] [Millenium Battlebot (600%)]
- Important Note: Enemy Morale Integrity Value is at 50%.
- BGM: Stand For Something by Skindred

HoA Acolyte (Slayer/Enforcer)
- Slayer Attacks: Kris Slash (Steel) / Assassin Dart (Ghost) / Powder Bomb (100% Flinch, Acc -1) / Flash Stab (Dark) / Firebomb (Fire)
- Slayer Defenses: Steel, Ghost, Dark, Fire -50% / Flinch, Bleed, Burn Immunity / Physical Counter 100%
- Signature Technique: Sacrifical Lamb ~ 0 RPs, Self Targeted, 50% Transform. If failed, Death is afflicted. The cultist takes out a syringe and injects himself or herself. More successful during Low Morale and Overwhelming Tide.

HoA Tinkerer (Slayer/Engineer)
- Slayer Attacks: Beatstick (Fighting) / Taser Rod (Electric) / Cryo Bomb (Ice) / Acid Bomb (Almighty, DEF Down 50%)
- Slayer Defenses: Fight, Elec, Ice -50% / Para, Freeze Immunity / Special Counter 100%
- Signature Technique: Construct Killdoll - 25 RPs, Constructs a Killdoll automaton. Almighty-type damage. High criticals. Attacks twice per turn. All attacks against them have half accuracy.

HoA Healer (Slayer/Medic)
- Slayer Attacks: Violet Syringe (Poison, 100% BadPois) / Red Syringe (Psychic, 100% Confuse) / Depressant (100% Apathy) / Relaxant (100% Exhaustion)
- Slayer Defenses: Fire, Poison -100% / Flinch, Critical, Death Immunity
- Signature Technique: Clinical Relief - 50 RPs, Total Healing, adds regeneration, and renders unit immune from status effects and debuffs until death.

Millenium Battlebot (Slayer/Mechanical)
- Attacks: Minigun Burst (Steel) / Rocket Salvo (Fire) / Focused Beam (100 Pwr, Almighty) / Fist Launcher (Fighting) / Hurl Object (Rock)
- Defenses: Normal -100% / Rock, Steel, Dark, Fighting -50% / Mech Status Immunity
- Signature Technique: Crushing Coaster ~ 70 RPs, Single Target, Severe Damage, 100% Confuse.

Heracross (Bug/Fighting) [HoA Trainer 1 of 6]
- Moves: Megahorn / Close Combat / Brick Break / Take Down
- Ability: Swarm

Drifblim (Ghost/Flying) [HoA Trainer 1 of 6]
- Moves: Shadow Ball / Explosion / Ominous Wind / Fly
- Ability: Aftermath

One of the acolytes swore. "Damn it all! First that black ops Lopunny chick, and now this?!"
"Knock it off," the trainer told his comrade. "At least we didn't have to fight that Lopunny. I hear she managed to defeat a dozen of us all by herself. She didn't even have any Pokemon."
"For real? Dayumn. I guess I shouldn't be complaining after all."

"Their morale should be quite poor," Shizuka said. "You all soundly defeated them in Prime Square. But just remember that the non-living don't have morale issues, like those Millenium Battlebots. They'll still fight strong even during an Overwhelming Tide. Anyways, let's get on with this."

[Dracorion]

Gah, what the hell was that? A splitting headache and being forced to relive images from his past? Could Horace have something to do with it? But then, how could he?

The only thing he was sure about was that he was being led by Horace like a rat in a maze. But he knew Horace couldn't resist waiting for him at the finish line.

Pierce moved forward, and ended up in a lounge used by the Harbingers. Then Chizuru and Shizuka burst in through the door on the other side.
"Pierce! One side!"

He dove to the right as the bullets flew past where his head had been a split second ago. Recovering quickly, he jumped to his feet and saw Shizuka put her katana into the panel, locking the door.

But that didn't stop the Harbingers, and Pierce was in no mood to play. He released Dialga and Palkia from their pokeballs.

"Now, listen here." He told the Harbingers. "I'm extremely pissed right now, and much less willing to suffer fools like you. Fortunately for you, I don't have a lot of time to waste. So, you get one chance. Run away now and I won't have to feed you to Palkia and Dialga here." All the legendaries probably weren't helping matters for the Harbingers.

"So." Pierce addressed Shizuka and Chizuru now. "What are you two doing here?"

---------------------
Pierce: Uses Signature Sequence "Solidarity Counter" on HoA Acolyte A, HoA Tinkerer, Heracross, Drifblim, HoA Healer, HoA Acolyte B, splits the RP cost with Chizuru, resulting in 25 RPs apiece. Dialga uses STAB super-effective Dragon Pulse on HoA Acolyte A (+20% damage thanks to Adamant Orb). Palkia uses STAB super-effective Spacial Rend on HoA Acolyte A (+20% damage thanks to Lustrous Orb).
Shizuka: Uses Signature Technique Applesauce on Millenium Battlebot A. Allegion uses STAB Thunder Crush on Millenium Battlebot B and HoA Acolyte B. Ho-Oh uses Thunder on Millenium Battlebot B.
Chizuru: Super-effective Assassin Strike on HoA Tinkerer. Giratina uses STAB super-effective Dragon Claw on HoA Acolyte B (+20% damage thanks to Griseous Orb).

[Allegion] [Shizuka] [Ho-Oh] [Palkia] [Dialga] [Chizuru] [Giratina]

[Astral Harmony]

Granger's Phase (Turn 1)
- Pierce: Uses LoveTech "Solidarity Counter". HoA Acolyte A -221%/179% (Forfeit). HoA Tinkerer -32%/368% (Forfeit). Heracross -43%/207% (Forfeit). Drifblim -45%/205% (Forfeit). HoA Healer -29%/371% (Forfeit). HoA Acolyte B -30%/370% (Forfeit). Pierce's Rage is 35. Chizuru's Rage is 25.
- Shizuka: Millenium Battlebot A -467%/133%. Millenium Battlebot B -198%/402% (Overload). HoA Acolyte B -92%/278%. Shizuka's Rage is 10.
- Chizuru: HoA Tinkerer -109%/259% (Poison). HoA Acolyte B -91%/187%. Chizuru's Rage is 40.
- Enemy MIV: Fallen to 39%. Entering Low Morale.

"I'm surprised you didn't destroy that robot in one hit," Chizuru said.
"I don't know where its most vital circuits are located, and it is very durable." Shizuka said disappointedly.

"We put a lot of damage into them," Chizuru observed. "If we use that technique again, we can cripple these people and finish them off before they can even attack."
"It won't always work," Shizuka warned her. "Remember that even imbeciles learn from their mistakes. Put some turns between using the same techniques. If you use the same techniques, they'll find a way around it and you'll end up getting hurt and wasting your Rage to boot."

Chizuru frowned. "Seems like I still have a lot to learn about combat."
"At least you're learning when faced against a clearly inferior enemy formation."

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Harbingers of Ascension Phase (Turn 1)
- Millenium Battlebot A: Ho-Oh -49%/51% (Att -1). Millenium Battlebot's Rage is 60.
- Millenium Battlebot B (Overload): HoA Acolyte B -117%/60%.
- Watchmen MIV: Fallen to 98%.

"That's all they can do, thanks to the love you two share for each other," Shizuka said with a smile.
"Oh, I dunno about that," Chizuru said with her red face in her hands.

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End of Turn Phase (Turn 1)
- Status Damage: HoA Tinkerer -40%/219%.
- Granger's Formation Update: [Allegion] [Shizuka] [Ho-Oh (51%, Att -1)] [Palkia] [Dialga] [Chizuru] [Giratina]
- Harbingers of Ascension Formation Update: [Millenium Battlebot A (133%)] [HoA Acolyte A (179%)] [HoA Tinkerer (219%)] [Heracross (207%)] [Drifblim (205%] [HoA Healer (371%)] [HoA Acolyte B (60%)] [Millenium Battlebot B (402%)]
- Chizuru: Generates 1 Sitrus Berry.

"I found something," Chizuru said happily, picking up a fruit that vaguely resembled a lemon. Pierce knew it to be a Sitrus Berry, which restored a Pokemon's health by a fourth and was consumed automatically when that Pokemon's health was reduced by half.