CHAPTER 28 — Sparkle of the Past

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ARTWORK BY   Damodoko


An Eevee wearing an orange turban wandered through the vegetation of a jungle with giant trees; the Pokémon paused its journey to rest, leaning against one of the majestic trees, looking around, the Pokémon felt insignificant in the dense jungle, where not even the sun’s rays could pierce through the leaves. Eevee closed its eyes and placed a paw on the orange turban, pulling out a map and a compass; according to both, it would still take a long time to reach the big city. Sighing in frustration, it placed the tools back in the turban.
Eevee’s ears twitched, with eyes wide open, the Pokémon used Quick Attack, leaping from the tree just in time to dodge a Razor Leaf from a Lurantis Beserker disguised as a flower in the underbrush. Before venturing into the Calypso continent, the Normal Type Pokémon had studied its dangers Grass Type Pokémon were the most dangerous due to the water and nutrient-rich soil; the Lurantis Beserker spread her arms in an attempt to intimidate her opponent, but Eevee didn’t show any fear, seeming happy to encounter the Beserker:

— “It’s about time, I thought, not even a Beserker would attack me. I chose to walk to the city just to get this kind of action… BRING IT ON!” — Provoked the Pokémon with the orange turban, the Beserker then charged forward using the move X-Scissor.
— “Aww, don’t be like that, partner. Make my wait worth it.” — Complained Eevee, simultaneously using Quick Attack to dodge the blow, purposefully climbing onto the Lurantis’s head and kicking her with its hind legs, making the Beserker fall face-first to the ground.
— “Come on, come on, I know you’re better than that!” — Teased Eevee, laughing as it turned to face the Lurantis Beserker, who was still recovering from the kick and the abrupt fall.

Now impatient, realizing the Beserker wasn’t providing a fun challenge, the Pokémon with the turban decided to end it quickly, firing the move Swift at the Grass Type; however, a Signal Beam intercepted the Normal Type energy stars:

— “Hey, what’s going on here? Get your own battle!” — Protested Eevee, looking toward where the Bug Type move had come from, a Shinx wearing protective goggles leapt out from the underbrush, taking a battle stance in front of the turbaned Pokémon.
— “He-he, look at that, I can handle you and the Lurantis, but I’d rather you wait your turn to get beaten up.” — Teased Eevee, the Shinx remained in position in front of the turbaned Pokémon, and that’s when an Ampharos appeared from behind the Electric Type Pokémon, she wore a golden ring around her neck and held a staff with a mirror at the top, helping the Lurantis.

That Ampharos was familiar to the Normal Type Pokémon; curious, Eevee used Quick Attack, dashing past the goggled Shinx and stopping near the Pokémon with the staff. Finally recognizing the female, Eevee got very excited, though it didn’t understand why the Electric Type was helping a Lurantis Beserker:

— “You still haven’t noticed, have you Eevee? You’re near the Lurantis’s nest. She didn’t want to fight to prey on you, just to protect her offspring.” — Explained the Shinx, walking up to the turbaned Pokémon.

The Normal Type looked confused at the Pokémon with glasses, after sighing at Eevee’s confusion, the Shinx gestured with his head, pointing to several teary-eyed Fomantis crying for their mother. Embarrassed by the situation, the young turbaned Pokémon walked over to the Beserker and then lowered his head to the ground, bowing to apologize.
The Beserker Pokémon, in turn, didn’t seem to understand at first, but after the attentive care of the Ampharos, she no longer felt threatened; with everything resolved, the Grass Type Pokémon even received some fruit from the Network before disappearing into the forest with her children. Eevee, full of energy and excitement, wasted no time introducing himself as Nero Sakai, a wandering Pokémon in search of a legend; the Ampharos laughed softly, admiring the Pokémon’s enthusiasm:

— “Seriously, you shouldn’t be so careless attacking Beserkers and introducing yourself to strangers in the jungle. If you keep this up, you’ll end up as a nameless corpse in no time.” — Warned the Shinx grumpily, standing next to the turbaned Eevee. Nero simply smiled smugly at the Pokémon.
— “I already know who she is, and I’m no idiot… Silly? Maybe a little, but not an idiot. If they wanted to hurt me, that Signal Beam would’ve been aimed at me, not at protecting a Beserker. Am I right, or am I right?” — The arrogance oozing from every word of the Eevee was so over-the-top it came off as comical. The young Electric Type adjusted his glasses and laughed at the Normal Type.
— “Well, well, well, I see you’re getting along already… Kekeke, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Nero Sakai. My name is Amphy Morigan, but OBVIOOOUUUSLY, you already knew that… So, I want you to meet my dear son Beelzeby Morigan Yoshida. Isn’t he just a treasure?” — Said the Ampharos as she approached the two Pokémon.
— “I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT, YOU’RE THE LEGENDARY EXPLORER, WHOOAAAAAA, THAT’S AWESOME, THAT’S AWESOME, THAT’S AWESOME, I WANTED TO FIND A LEGEND AND I FOUND ONE SUPER FAST!” — Amphy blushed at Eevee’s words, but Beelzeby pretended to cough to get his mother’s attention.
— “Actually, I’m the one who found you. Anyway, what are you doing here?” — Asked the explorer, due to her high energy, the Ampharos unconsciously kept waving her staff side to side like she was giving a presentation.
— “Me? Well, I’m looking for a legendary Pokémon. Anyone, really, as long as it’s not one that stays in just one location. I don’t know, I wanted to prove I’m capable of a duty, and I figured this was the best way to prove it.” — Explained Nero, scratching his turban; Amphy responded with positive hums at each pause Nero made, while the Shinx…
— “By Arceus, not only is that vague, but it’s such a generic and silly goal it could’ve been recommended by a pharmacist.” — Beelzeby had no patience for such a cryptic and uninteresting conversation. His words felt like arrows to Nero’s chest, and the Eevee even lowered his head in frustration.
— “Kekeke, I agree it’s a ‘Whatever’ kind of reason, but hey, that doesn’t mean it’s bad… Hum mm… Look… Seems to me, it could lead to some fun adventures…” — Amphy’s words cheered Eevee up again, making him lift his head and stick his tongue out at the Shinx, who just laughed at his face, but, Beelzeby’s smile quickly vanished when he noticed his mother becoming too introspective.
— “How about we make a deal? We’re heading to Zabeli to meet my contact, if you enjoy walking with us, maybe we could… I don’t know… Be a team?” — Proposed the Ampharos with a sweet smile on her face.
— “YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!” — Both young Pokémon shouted at the same time, one very happy and the other very upset.

Nero accepted the offer immediately, Shinx was vehemently against it, but after thinking about his mother’s words, the Pokémon understood what she was looking for in that Eevee. Confident, Beelzeby just smiled smugly, assuming it was just another one of his mother’s pastimes and that this little “game” wouldn’t last.
It took sixteen hours of walking to reach the city of Zabeli, but thanks to the stories Amphy told along the way, Nero didn’t even notice the time passing. The three were stopped at the city wall by an Armorouge and a Ceruledge, who requested the Gadgets for identification; Eevee placed a paw on his turban to grab a paper ID, since he didn’t use a Gadget. However, as soon as the Ampharos showed hers, the two Fire Type Pokémon welcomed them and stepped aside.
Upon entering the city, the first thing Nero noticed was a giant blue tower with gray details in the city center, with a sort of large transparent globe on top that spun. Inside the globe, a few holographic screens were visible; but, due to the distance, Eevee couldn’t see what was being shown on them. Shinx noticed the curious look from the orange-turbaned Pokémon, Beelzeby then stood beside Nero and began speaking to catch the young one’s attention:

— “That’s a Nexus Tower. Thanks to it, Gadgets work on this continent. Every bit of information is sent there, and it distributes it to the devices of all Pokémon.” — Explained the Shinx, adjusting his protective goggles. At first, Eevee was impressed.
— “SO, NONE OF THE GADGET CONVERSATIONS ARE PRIVATE?!” — Nero shouted, realizing this crucial detail. However, Beelzeby tapped the Eevee’s back to calm him.
— “Yes, they are private, of course, unless you do something serious… Well, try to think with me: there are thousands of Pokémon using Gadgets right now. Do you think there’s a Pokémon monitoring each Pokémon on the continent?” — Shinx illustrated. Nero calmed down, understanding the logic.
— “DEARS, COME ON, MY FRIEND IS WAITING FOR ME!” — Called Amphy, already far ahead of the pair. The Pokémon looked at each other, smiling, then followed the Ampharos.

Since it was a new city for Eevee, the Pokémon observed everything in Zabeli. At least from where Nero looked, there wasn’t a single house in a natural environment. That is, all the houses were built from clay and cement, there were no trees or wooden houses and buildings. Also, all the Pokémon were using modern devices.
The three Pokémon arrived at the massive Nexus Tower and were approached by a Dedenne wearing a helmet, who sat in what looked like a bowl next to the large door. Apparently, the small Electric Type was the doorkeeper of the structure and spoke in a friendly manner with Amphy before informing her that the master was expecting her in the blue tower. Eevee’s jaw dropped, he even asked Beelzeby if he had heard that correctly, and with a smile, the Shinx confirmed it to his new ally, saying he’d better get used to situations like that.
Inside the tower, there was a hallway with a red carpet on the floor leading to the desk of a lone Malamar wearing glasses, typing on a holographic screen; on the walls, several Hail Orbs with reduced power were cooling the room, their weakened effect resembling more the move Snowscape than actual Hail. The continent of Calypso had a predominantly tropical climate, usually hot and humid, which made the inside of that tower refreshingly cool and comfortable, the Malamar repeated what the Dedenne had said and asked them to follow the black line on the red carpet.
However, Eevee couldn’t see any black line on the red carpet, Malamar then touched his screen, and the line instantly appeared, along with a door that had been hidden in the section, Ampharos thanked him for his attention and followed the indicated path with the other two Pokémon. Nero talked the whole way with Beelzeby, praising the entire tower, saying he had never seen anything like it, Shinx, curious, asked where Eevee was from, and he immediately said he came from Judicium.
Up to that moment, Beelzeby seemed to be lowering his guard around Nero, starting to enjoy the Eevee’s company; however, something in the Shinx’s expression changed upon hearing the name of the sacred kingdom. Beelzeby lowered his head and said he understood why Nero wasn’t used to so many modern human devices; after all, even though Judicium had a vast collection of human knowledge, it remained deeply connected to the sacred side of Pokémon, thus, the kingdom featured a more verdant and golden beauty and structure almost like a true mortal paradise.
Distracted by all the wonders he was seeing for the first time, Eevee didn’t pick up on the Shinx’s feelings, he patted the Electric Type Pokémon on the back and complimented how smart he was; Beelzeby blushed at the praise and thanked Nero for his kind words. Ampharos just listened to the conversation without engaging, giving a soft smile, seeing that the two Pokémon seemed to be bonding; when they arrived at the master’s chamber door, they were greeted by a Snow Vulpix wearing a collar with a golden bell, who was lying on top of a table next to the master’s door:

— “Miss Amphy, wow, you’re late this time, my big brother’s been waiting for you for quite a while. Hi, Beel, your sweet mom’s not giving you too much trouble, is she?” — Greeted the Snow Vulpix warmly, Ampharos chuckled while Shinx sighed in embarrassment.
— “Hey, who’s the Eevee with the funny turban? I’m Sakuya, nice to meet you!” — Sakuya introduced herself, leaping toward the Eevee. Nero, unfazed, simply smiled brightly and introduced himself to the female Pokémon.
— “You're so full of energy, I like that! But anyway, get going, Master Fearles is waiting for you!” — Said the Snow Vulpix, she then did a backflip and landed gracefully on the desk, summoning a holographic screen in front of her and opening the side door with a single touch.

The three Pokémon proceeded into the room, Sakuya exchanged glances with Beelzeby, giving him a playful wink, the Shinx, however, turned his face away, embarrassed; as soon as they all entered the master’s chamber, the door automatically shut behind them, leaving everything in complete darkness.
Then, several light-blue holographic screens began to appear out of nowhere, lighting up the room, the screens floated toward the front of the three Pokémon, forming a kind of panoramic display. The entire room was soon illuminated by the exterior light revealing that the Pokémon had reached the top of the tower without even realizing it, in front of the large digital window sat a Zoroark wearing a white coat with golden details, feet up on his desk, casually shuffling a deck of cards in his claws:

— “Greetings, greetings, I’ve been expecting you…” — The Zoroark said in a sinister tone. Amphy just laughed, placing a paw over her mouth to stifle it.
— “Kekekekekaka, oh come on, Fearles, we don’t have time for your dramatic intros. We’re already running late. Nero, this is Fearles, he’s one of the seven masters of the Lacustre base, actually the newest one. And Fearles, this is Nero Sakai, I found him in the forest, and he’s my new protected.” — Said Ampharos, introducing the two Pokémon. She already knew Fearles had a flair for grand, theatrical entrances.
— “Your buzzkill… I wanted to leave a lasting impression on the young Eevee, but now I just sound like a Mr. Mime, Nhehehe… Fiiiiiine, let’s get to the point, then; What did you find in the dungeon I sent you to?” — Asked the Zoroark, still shuffling his cards, his sinister tone vanished, replaced by a warm, friendly voice, it was like Nero was speaking with an uncle or godfather.
— “Master Fearles, it’s just as you feared. All the Luminous Water from the dungeon has been corrupted, and this time they dried out the source entirely, the aquifer no longer shows any trace of that wondrous water.” — Replied Amphy with a serious and worried tone, Fearles let out a murmur of irritation.
— “Once again, no clue who’s behind the attempt to drain our continent’s most precious resource… Unfortunately, this case isn’t isolated. From the intel I’ve received, all the continents are suffering from unknown internal attacks; someone’s trying to undermine the power of the emperors.” — Declared the Zoroark, standing from his desk and gazing out his window, Eevee’s ears twitched something didn’t add up.
— “Sorry to interrupt, but… before coming to this continent, I was told Calypso was isolated, didn’t interact with other continents, and was ruled by Fire Type Pokémon. In the short time I’ve been here, I’ve only seen Fire Types at the main gate, and now I find out there’s a vast communications network? How?” — Questioned Nero, Fearles just laughed, turning to face the three Pokémon, but the Electric Type Pokémon stepped in first.
— “You weren’t lied to, the continent WAS like that. However, His Imperial Majesty Koji Flamey is weakened… In fact, he’s no longer in any condition to govern his empire, the next Flamey closest in the line of succession took over discreetly. The new Empress is named Lencia Flamey.” — Explained Ampharos without looking at the small Eevee, instead fiddling with the golden ring around her neck.
— “Thaaaaat’s right! Lencia has been Empress for three months now, and many things have changed thanks to her. I, for instance, used to live in the gutter, but the former master of this base tried to challenge me and lost. Lencia saw my worth and let me take over this position, I owe a lot to Her Imperial Majesty. Without her, my sister, my daughter, and I wouldn’t have what we have now. I’ll do whatever I can to repay her trust.” — Stated the Zoroark while sitting back down at his desk, the way both of them spoke about the Empress was quite different one seemed wary, the other praised her lavishly.
The conversation shifted tone after Nero’s question, both the Zoroark and the Ampharos began expressing their political views, which in a way helped explain why Calypso was going through so many changes.
According to Amphy, Lencia was still an inexperienced Charmeleon who only knew what the books in Argules Palace told her; She still had much to learn before she could truly lead an empire, opening the borders and embracing other Network was a good thing, but the way Lencia had done it was creating many problems. Another change Amphy disapproved of was the new constitutional law of the strongest; she understood that the purpose of the law was to end the supremacy of the Fire Type Pokémon, who had become far too comfortable in their social status, but the law was hurting many other Pokémon.
Fearles then took the floor, stating that without the law of the strongest, they wouldn’t even be having that conversation; the law declared that the most physically or intellectually powerful Pokémon would earn the greatest rights and be valued for bringing pride and prosperity to the continent, while the weaker ones would be downgraded and devalued for being who they were. The Zoroark himself had been challenged by the former master of that base and defeated him easily in his own game, that’s how he rose to his current position, all thanks to his own merit and with the support of the new Empress.
However, the law did not allow him to settle in like the Fire type Pokémon did, it was always necessary to prove himself to remain where he was, and if he had been unable to take the position of master, the former one would return. Fearles leaned on the table, making a virtual screen appear by touching it; suddenly, several holographic Pokémon heads appeared there. The Zoroark boasted about having convinced the empress of the need for knowledge, and for that, he had modified the tower to monitor suspicious activities across the entire continent and neutralize likely threats:
— “Isn’t this wrong? Watching your own citizens, thinking they’re plotting against you, and what about everyone’s privacy!” — Asked Nero with a fierce look; Fearles, smiling, snapped his claws, changing the large window behind him into a massive screen showing several Metagross outside the tower manipulating various holographic panels.
— “This would be wrong if I didn’t take some precautions, the entire continent's citizens know we do this, and they approve, the Metagross act under the command of the Porygon and Porygon2, who, in turn, act under the command of the Porygon-Z. There is always one Pokémon watching the other here to prevent discrimination or injustice.” — Replied Fearles, showing on his screen that he watched every Pokémon inside that tower, with eyes on every corner, even beyond the wall.
— “Our administration aims to protect all the citizens through the individual, and in this sense, the privacy of a Pokémon does not surpass the collective, if you're doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear. And even I must report to the master of the central Lacustrine base, I do nothing without being on his radar.” — Added Fearles while snapping his claws once again, bringing back the view of the city, the Eevee still seemed disturbed by something else.
— “How are you sure you won’t be betrayed; how can you be so certain this process won’t be corrupted and used for the wrong cause?” — Asked Nero, the Zoroark merely smiled.
— “I am sure because I know everything that happens here, my eyes see everything, and my claws control everything… Everyone knows what I’m capable of… Believe me, little Pokémon, I know no one in this city would dare go against me and the system I created for our dear empress.” — Asserted Fearles, once again demonstrating his threatening aura; the Eevee and the Shinx were truly intimidated by the Pokémon, whereas the Ampharos remained calm, knowing him well.

A chime then rang on the Zoroark's table, calling him; the Pokémon answered the call, it was Sakuya, reminding him of other matters needing his attention, Fearles understood the message and thanked the Snow Vulpix for always being so attentive:

— “That’s it for now, the party’s over… Yeah, you heard my dear sister, unfortunately our conversation must end here.” — Said the Zoroark, visibly annoyed, as if he was enjoying the company of the three Pokémon.
— “Master, if I may, we’d like one last piece of information. Do you know where we could locate a legendary Pokémon on this continent? But not just any legendary, we’re looking for a wandering Pokémon.” — Asked Beelzeby, trying to be as respectful as possible, Nero felt embarrassed hearing that, as he had forgotten their mission because of the conversation.
— “A wandering legendary, huh? Nhehehe, I wouldn’t expect less from you, Amphy; looking to prove your strength against a legend of that caliber?” — Praised Fearles while pondering the question. The master then made a holographic screen appear and began to browse through it.
— “Unfortunately, Legendary Pokémon are on the thin line between Network and Beserker. So even though they are intelligent and communicate like any Network, they have habits resembling the Beserkers.” — Explained the Zoroark. The Pokémon then let out a slight grunt of discontent.
— “Humph, just as I imagined, legendaries don’t use Gadgets or similar devices. That’s why I can’t locate them like I would a registered Network. But I’ve just sent a request to my best Porygon-Z, he’ll assist you from here, I wish you luck.” — Said Fearles, the Pokémon then got up from his chair and walked over to Ampharos, he took the female’s paw and kissed it, asking her to come back and see him soon.

Amphy let out a soft laugh, saying she’d think about the master’s proposal, the Zoroark looked at the other two Pokémon and waved at them, the Eevee now saw the Dark Type Pokémon as a superhero, excited by the gesture, while the Shinx saw him as just another one of his promiscuous mother’s lovers, showing indifference to the wave.
As they left the master’s room, Sakuya confirmed having received the master’s request, making a yellow line appear over the red carpet, the Snow Vulpix then told them to follow her to reach the Porygon’s room, saying goodbye to all of them, being especially affectionate with Beelzeby, who was visibly shy around the female. On the way to the indicated location, Nero said he envied the attention the Shinx received from the Ice Type, as she was very pretty, the Shinx deflected, telling the Eevee to focus on his own business:

— “Smooth Ditto, and hey… Thanks, Beelzeby. I got so distracted with all this spying stuff that I forgot to ask anything about the legendaries.” — Nero thanked Beelzeby, patting the Shinx’s back a few times. The latter just sighed, looking at the Pokémon.
— “You need to be more focused, this kind of behavior is only holding you back; I’ve only known you for a few hours, and in that time, you almost fought an innocent Beserker and nearly missed out on extracting valuable information from the most important Pokémon on the continent.” — Warned Beelzeby not arrogantly, but with genuine concern, the Eevee blushed and averted his gaze.
— “Yeah, you’re right… But hey, I’m happy! It seems like, even though we haven’t known each other long, you already seem to like me more.” — Replied Nero, looking toward the yellow trail, the Shinx sighed, turning his attention back to his mother, who walked just ahead of the duo.
— “Your goal is so vague, but at the same time, it’s complex. I’d say we’ll be together for a long time; I won’t spend that time suffering like a condemned soul, it’s better to make your goal easier and improve how we get along.” — Explained Beelzeby, the Eevee perked his ears up, excited by the explanation, astonished at how mature his new friend was.
— “You know, Beel, I’ve been thinking about everything Fearles and miss Amphy talked about. She hasn’t found any clues about who’s harming the waters, and Fearles doesn’t either…” — Nero reflected, pausing briefly to analyze those two pieces of information, the Electric Type Pokémon was visibly bothered by the Normal Type, using the nickname Sakuya gave him.
— “Whoever is behind this isn’t using the Gadgets and knows the local customs well enough to know where the empire’s treasures are, in addition to knowing how the investigations are conducted, thus staying under the radar… Could it be someone from within doing this?” — Questioned the Eevee. Ampharos and Shinx exchanged glances, having already come to the same conclusion, after all, this wasn’t the first incident.

Amphy stopped walking for a moment and crouched down to get closer to Nero, she said that after that last conversation, she felt that Fearles had come to the same conclusion and would possibly change the focus of the investigations from then on, however, those were internal matters of the empire, and the Ampharos warned the Eevee not to go around saying those things in public.
Years passed after that day; Nero officially joined Amphy’s exploration team called Gigabolt, together, they traveled the world, adventuring and encountering all types of Network and Beserker. The Eevee grew a lot, becoming increasingly sharp without losing his carefree side, Nero’s taste for battles grew greatly, even earning him fame for it, wearing a red leather jacket made from a Beserker Krookodile he had killed with his own strength:

— “Come on Beel, you just evolved, I know you’re better than this!” — Teased the Eevee, wiping his jacket stained with ice shards from Beelzeby’s Ice Fang, which couldn’t hit his ally directly since Nero dodged it with his Quick Attack.

The Shinx had also grown a lot during that period, even evolving into a Luxio and discarding his glasses, Beelzeby no longer looked down on the Eevee, and both had built such a strong bond that they treated each other like brothers, even introducing themselves as such; however, they had a healthy rivalry, always battling when the opportunity arose:

— “Damn, arrf, arrf, arrf, you’re pretty fast, but…” — Complained the panting Luxio, having given up on chasing Nero, Beelzeby then used Ice Fang to break off a chunk of the ground with his fangs, freezing the debris, and with a spin, hurled it toward the Eevee.
— “I STILL HAVE MY TRICKS!” — Added the confident Luxio, Nero smiled and dodged with his eyes closed.
— “Hehehe, come on, you think a silly trick like that would…!” — Mocked the Eevee, abruptly stopping when he realized it was just a ploy for Beelzeby to get close to him.

Cornered, Nero tried to use Quick Attack to escape but was caught by the tail with the Psychic Fang move from the Electric Type, who slammed the Eevee to the ground and then hurled him upward, that move made Nero feel like his rear had been pierced by countless needles, and he also heard buzzing due to hitting his head on the ground when the Luxio tossed him. It took a moment for the Eevee to realize he was airborne and about to fall into Beelzeby’s mouth.
Looking at his opponent, Nero saw he was using Fire Fang and used Copycat to imitate the Luxio’s move, the two attacks collided, violently throwing the jacketed Eevee and dragging the Luxio across the ground. However, Beelzeby was wearing a kind of wristband on his paws that helped absorb the friction from the ground and the impact of attacks, this way, the Electric Type Pokémon remained standing even after being dragged across the arena where they were fighting.
The Luxio smiled at the damage caused to Nero, but suddenly, his skin started to burn, and his sweat caught fire, that was the Burn effect, a consequence of being hit by Fire Fang; the Eevee, in turn, used the move Wish intending to heal before landing, they exchanged glances. Nero gave a confident smile while Beelzeby looked bothered by suffering from Burn, Luxio then gave a growl, showing his fangs and activating the Thunder Fang move; Eevee merely took a defensive stance, but after licking his lips excitedly at the moment, he charged forward with Quick Attack:

— “LEEEET’S GOOOO!!” — Shouted both Pokémon as they ran toward each other, the two moves colliding in an explosion of energy that separated them.

The two Pokémon looked exhausted, their powers were so evenly matched that it was rare for one to overpower the other, that’s how they usually fought, not just to train, but also for fun; a shiny female Eevee wearing a light blue flannel on her tail entered the arena:

— “NERO, BEELZEBY!! WE DETECTED MOVEMENT FROM A LEGENDARY POKÉMON, SAKUYA ASKED ME TO COME WARN YOU!!” — Yelled the Eevee, interrupting the fight. That shiny Eevee was named Lory, an abandoned orphan recently adopted by Sakuya and Fearles.
— “Hey Lory, would you happen to know which legendary the base detected?” — Asked Nero, approaching the Eevee, Lory froze for a moment, unable to respond, she apologized and then pulled out her Gadget, stored beneath the fur under her head.

The shiny Eevee had trouble remembering some things, a reflection of the activity still being new to her, Beelzeby took the opportunity to grab a damp towel with Luminous nearby, as he wiped away his sweat, the effect of the miraculous water activated, curing him of the Burn effect.
Due to the Zoroark’s summons, the Gigabolt team returned to the Calypso continent, the problem with the sabotage of the Luminous water had worsened significantly, various Dominator teams were called across the entire continent to invade dungeons and try to locate sources of the water. At that moment, Amphy and other Explorer team leaders were speaking with Fearles to find a less invasive solution to the problem, after all, the Dominator teams greatly disturbed the natural order, which could lead to other problems.
After drying himself off, the Electric Type noticed his brother’s lovestruck look toward the Eevee, wanting to mess with Nero and prevent an evolution into Vaporeon from drooling too much, Beelzeby tossed his sweaty towel into the face of the smitten Pokémon. Nero laughed at the Luxio’s joke, taking the chance to finish drying off; Lory finally found her notes and informed the pair of Pokémon that Raikou was attacking Dominator teams in the surrounding areas, they contacted the Zabeli base and requested that Pokémon be dispatched to drive the legendary off.
The Pokémon thanked Lory for her work, both accepting the mission and asking the Shiny Eevee to send them the coordinates so they could leave as soon as possible, however, noting their condition, Lory said they should rest before heading into such a risky mission. Nero then asked if the Shiny Eevee would be interested in examining them before the mission, Lory smiled warmly and said she could examine them, the truth was that the Shiny Eevee had more experience as a medic than as a messenger, but, since she wasn’t yet certified, she couldn’t officially practice.
The red-jacketed Eevee advanced toward Lory so she could tend to him, however, the light-blue flannel-wearing Eevee walked past the Normal Type to treat Beelzeby first, noticing that he had burn marks caused by a status move. Nero turned his head, staring in disbelief at his brother, Lory took the Luxio’s paw and began examining him, her back turned to the Eevee, Beelzeby noticed the jealous look and wiggled his eyebrows to tease his brother.
Sometime after the Shiny Eevee’s examination, the two brothers entered the forest, following the coordinates given by the Snow Vulpix, unfortunately, the Ampharos leader of their team couldn’t accompany them because her meeting with the masters had not yet concluded. Ever cautious, the Luxio monitored the trail they followed, using the techniques taught by Amphy. Feeling confident, Beelzeby began the conversation:

— “Raikou… that’s not a good sign…” — Grumbled the Luxio, Nero looked around, appearing frustrated.
— “All these problems are connected, some Pokémon is compromising the Luminous water reserves, which started the supply crisis. Because of that, Lencia still using Koji as a front sending Explorers to find new sources and Dominators to seize them…” — Explained the Eevee, until Beelzeby cut him off.
— “The Dominators are destroying mysterious dungeons, home to various Beserker Pokémon, thus corrupting the ecosystem to the point where a legendary Pokémon can sense it and comes to intervene. Yeah, we came to the same conclusion…” — Added the Luxio, they both stopped walking, Beelzeby grabbed his Gadget, which was strapped to one of his wristbands, to check their location again.

Suddenly, the pair heard a loud explosion that shook the ground and trees, several nearby Beserkers fled in panic, charging toward the brothers; Nero reacted by using Quick Attack, hitting the Electric Type Pokémon in the belly and carrying him up to a tree.
Beelzeby let out a groan of pain and clutched his stomach but thanked the Eevee, it was much better to feel that discomfort than to be trampled by panicked Beserkers below them. The Luxio’s ears began to twitch along with his tail; Beelzeby pointed toward the direction of the explosion, saying he could feel a large surge of electrical energy coming from that direction.
Nero immediately advanced after his brother’s warning, stating he would go ahead to secure the area, the Luxio protested in vain, after all, the red-jacketed Pokémon was already gone. Nero leapt through the tree branches toward the indicated location, but just as he was about to land on one, it was struck by a bolt of electricity, breaking it and sending the Eevee plummeting toward the ground.
Thanks to Nero’s skills and ingenuity, the Eevee managed to use a Quick Attack on a tree trunk, bouncing between them until he landed safely, another lightning strike came toward Nero, but he managed to dodge it. The Eevee could see other bolts hitting random points in the forest, that type of move seemed to be the result of Discharge, but the reach of that move was insane, far greater than any Nero had seen before.
Upon arriving at the location, he saw a Lopunny with a purple veil tied around her waist, the Normal Type Pokémon looked badly injured, behind her stood a Brionne with two silver bracelets and a Raichu with a scar across one eye. Before Nero could do anything, the Lopunny was hit by the Discharge move, letting out a roar of pain, however, the Pokémon with the purple veil seemed to be enjoying the sensation of pain caused by the move.
Her body then began to glow yellow, and a sort of wall of the same color appeared in front of her, this wall absorbed the Electric Type move and redirected it indiscriminately, one of those bolts even went toward the Eevee, who dodged it, another was going to hit the Brionne. However, the lightning veered and struck the Raichu instead, The Water Pokémon then slammed his tail on the ground, releasing glowing water, when the water touched the Lopunny, it instantly healed her, then, another Discharge was released, and the process repeated, with the Normal Type always mocking and her teammates laughing confidently.
Nero understood the plan, Raichu had the Lightning Rod ability, redirecting all the Discharge bolts to himself, Lopunny intentionally stood in front of him, letting herself be hit and using the power of the legendary Pokémon against him through the Mirror Coat move, finally, Brionne used Life Dew to make sure the Lopunny didn’t faint:

— “It’s just a matter of time. If this keeps up, he’ll collapse from exhaustion. STAY STRONG, MIRAI!” — Encouraged the Raichu. Another Discharge came toward the trio, and the Normal Type opened her arms wide to take the hit.
— “ARRRRRHHH, no… ARR, don’t worry Larker, I’m enjoying this delicious shock coursing through my body, owwwwnnfff!” — Replied Mirai, who genuinely seemed to enjoy taking the attack.
— “It’s scary how much energy this bastard has… If it weren’t for the Leppa Berries in my bag, I’d already be out of strength to keep using Life Dew. I wish we could use a faster method.” — Complained the Brionne, biting another Leppa Berry in preparation to restore the veiled Lopunny.

Larker told Aldo the Brionne to stop complaining and keep doing what he needed to do, reminding the Water Type Pokémon that they didn’t stand a chance against the legendary in direct combat.
Analyzing the situation, the Eevee thought the trio’s plan was clever, however, legendary Pokémon weren’t dumb, there had to be some reason Raikou continued using Discharge even after seeing how ineffective it was against Mirror Coat. Nero figured it would be a waste of time to speak with the team, so, carefully, the Eevee snuck through the underbrush, trying to conceal his presence in order to get as close to Raikou as possible.
When he finally managed to get a view of the legendary, Nero also saw several other Pokémon collapsed nearby, every time Raikou used Discharge, he consequently struck those fallen Pokémon as well; the bigger problem was when Lopunny redirected the attack, the Discharge amplified by Mirror Coat only harmed the Dominators, while the bolts that hit Raikou didn’t bother the Pokémon at all. Acting fast, Nero used Swift on the legendary Pokémon to stop it from using Discharge, but, the Eevee’s move didn’t even reach Raikou due to the sheer power of the Electric Type’s attack.
Nero’s attempt to protect his allies backfired, the reckless act caught the legendary’s attention, and it responded by using Thunder, Eevee dodged using Quick Attack running away from the opponent, because of his attitude, Mirai and her teammates thought they had scared Raikou off due to the sudden end of the attack. A short time later, a Croconaw in a black jacket arrived, accompanied by a Houndour wearing a red cap, they apologized for the delay, explaining they had taken longer because of the multiple electric discharges affecting all the Dominators they had to take care of themselves and other allies struck along the way.
Larker puffed out his chest to talk about all his team’s contributions, the Croconaw, realizing the trio’s recklessness had caused all those electric discharges and the casualties that followed, became furious; but, trying to remain calm, the black-jacketed Pokémon spoke a bit more with the Raichu. Meanwhile, the Houndour thoroughly scanned the area with his sight and smell, the Fire Type then observed the spots where the Discharge bolts had struck most often and their pattern, thus tracing the direction from which the legendary Pokémon was releasing the move:

— “Lúcios, Raikou is in that direction, there may be more fallen Network… Should we proceed?” — Asked the red-capped Houndour, Croconaw pulled an orb from one of the many pockets of his jacket and tossed it to Larker, who caught it with difficulty.
— “That’s an Escape Orb, return to base and recover, Trevor and I will take it from here.” — Said Lúcios with a proud tone, Raichu was irritated by the Croconaw’s tone and ran to stand in front of Lúcios.
— “What did you say? Who do you think you are to give me orders?! We’ve been handling Raikou just fine up until now, without us, you two don’t stand a chance!” — Shouted Larker, standing on tiptoe to try to intimidate the black-jacketed Pokémon, Raichu was so furious that the scar over his eye glowed yellow like his electricity, and his cheeks sparked.

Coldly, Lúcios used Ice Punch on Larker’s belly, incapacitating him, Lopunny and Brionne, seeing this, rushed in to attack the Croconaw. However, the Houndour used Roar, making the pair back off a few steps in fear, taking advantage of Mirai and Aldo’s terror, Lúcios pulled another Escape Orb from his black jacket, activated it, and threw it at the Pokémon, transporting them to base safely. At that moment, the Raichu on the ground grabbed the Croconaw’s leg:

— “I swear… UUurf… you Black Pulse team bastards will pay for this… I’ll kill you both… Urrkk.” — Threatened Larker, squeezing Lúcios’s leg, the Water Type’s punch had been strong enough to leave the Raichu unable to do more than that from the pain.
— “Do you want more scars that badly?” — Mocked the Croconaw, then locked Larker’s head between both legs and squeezed tightly.

The Raichu was too weak to break free, Lúcios then used Aqua Jet launching himself upward while holding Larker by the neck, he performed two backward spins and slammed the Raichu against the ground, only to then drop to his knees onto Larker’s chest. That sequence of blows was too much for the scar-eyed Raichu to endure, and he fainted in the process, Lúcios then activated the Escape Orb, stepped off of Larker, and sent him back to base in safety:

— “Bro, Lúcios, I don’t know… Maybe we should’ve just gotten rid of the Brionne and the Lopunny, Larker’s ability could’ve been really useful for us.” — Complained Trevor as the Croconaw approached him.
— “Nah, I got pissed when he bragged about that idiotic plan, because of him, not only were we delayed, but we also had to help a bunch of morons hit by Discharge powered up by Mirror Coat. If he stayed here, I’d make sure he didn’t leave alive.” — Stated Lúcios with disdain, walking ahead, Houndour grinned, adjusting his red cap, and followed his partner.
— “Hehe, I love your gentle way of doing things… So… HEY! After we beat Raikou and collect the reward, feel like going to the brothel? I need a little affection, if you know what I mean…” — Asked Trevor with a mischievous look, Croconaw accepted the proposal, smiling as he imagined that after defeating that legendary, they’d have it made.

Farther and farther from the duo, Nero kept running, still using his Quick Attack, being chased by Raikou, who used the same move, but the Legendary was trying to strike the Eevee, who, being small and agile, managed to dodge the attacks and maintain his pace.
Nero finally stopped running when he reached a stream too wide to jump across as Raikou arrived at the same place, his fur stood on end, and the Pokémon began circling one another, waiting to see who would strike first. The red-jacketed Eevee could only smile, his life’s goal had finally come true, facing a powerful Legendary Pokémon with a chance to battle only thrilled Nero even more:

— “LET’S GOOO!!” — Shouted the Eevee before using Swift, Raikou used Charge in response.

Due to the electric energy the legendary Pokémon gathered at that moment, Nero’s energy stars dissipated before reaching him, Raikou’s eyes then glowed yellow, and from the sky, a powerful bolt struck the Eevee’s body, making him scream in pain,
the Electric Type energy was so strong that when the move exploded, it created a deep crater. Raikou walked to the crater, and it didn’t take long for Nero to climb out of it, injured but still standing, with a smile on his face, the Legendary Pokémon sensed the Eevee’s enthusiasm and responded with another Thunder, which Nero dodged using his Quick Attack.
The Eevee continued to use Swift on Raikou, and the legendary’s response was the same, using Charge to defend against the weak move and then launching Thunder at his opponent. The Normal Type’s intent was to find a blind spot and exploit it to deal damage to Raikou; however, the legendary didn’t even look at him, Charge defense was too strong for Eevee to penetrate, and the Thunders would hit Nero if not for his Quick Attacks, which weren’t unlimited.
A new strategy came to Eevee’s mind; the Pokémon used Swift again against Raikou, and the legendary, already beginning to lose interest, used Charge to dissipate the stars and then fired a Thunder at Nero. But this time, instead of using Quick Attack, the Eevee used Copycat, perfectly copying Raikou’s Charge move, that allowed Nero to shield himself from Thunder and boosted his resistance; perplexed by the Eevee’s reckless action, the legendary Pokémon finally let his guard down.
Nero used Copycat once more, this time mimicking Thunder to strike Raikou, however, knowing the legendary would absorb the move, the Pokémon instead aimed at a large tree, causing it to topple toward Raikou. The legendary dodged it easily, but in doing so, got struck in the face by Eevee’s Quick Attack, Nero used the impact to leap into the air, springboarding off Raikou’s face, and launched multiple Swifts mid-jump that hit the legendary Pokémon critically.
The impact from the Normal Type energy stars kicked up a cloud of dust; worried, and knowing that wasn’t enough to take down a Pokémon of Raikou’s caliber, the Eevee kept a close eye on the smoke. But the Legendary Pokémon surprised Nero by appearing behind him. The Normal Type tried to dodge, but was pinned down by Raikou’s front paws as it used Discharge, injuring the Eevee who writhed beneath the legendary’s weight.
At that moment, Raikou heard a roar that made him stop attacking in terror, it was the Roar move, used by red-capped Houndour; furious, the legendary Pokémon stomped hard on Eevee and, through sheer willpower, canceled the effect of the move. However, that gave the Croconaw in the black jacket enough time to emerge from the nearby stream and hurl a giant boulder toward the legendary, but using a Quick Attack, the Electric Type Pokémon kicked the rock with its hind legs, launching it back at Lúcios.
Smiling, the Croconaw activated a light blue aura that made his muscles visibly bulk up, Lúcios caught the boulder midair and hurled it back with great force, he had used the move Strength to enhance his throw. Raikou dodged the boulder, but it veered toward the Eevee, who was still recovering from Discharge, in a brave act, Trevor jumped in front of the Normal Type and used Snarl, letting out a sonic scream so dense that the red, black, and purple sound waves were visible.
The Dark Type move not only split the rock but launched its fragments toward the legendary, affecting it with both debris and the attack, confident, the Croconaw charged Raikou using Ice Punch, the Legendary, however, was enraged by the black-jacketed Pokémon’s audacity. But before he could react, the Houndour used Smog to block the legendary’s vision with a cloud of toxic purple smoke, Lúcios having partnered with Trevor for a long time, knew how to handle his ally’s moves and entered the smoke fearlessly, landing multiple Ice Punches on Raikou:

— “DAMN IT, NERO!” — Yelled Beelzeby, managing to locate his brother, however, the Eevee was still down, struggling to stand, Luxio was about to grab a Revive Seed from his gear, but Nero stopped him by grabbing his paw.
— “Arrrg, no, urrrfff, I… arg, I want to prove myself to Raikou!” — Said the Eevee while using Wish, finally gathering enough energy to stand with the help of Beelzeby, who offered support with his paw.

Even though Luxio had arrived, the Houndour didn’t stop releasing Smog, Trevor kept his mouth open, emitting the toxic smoke, Nero and Beelzeby, more accustomed to Electric Type energy, felt a disturbance, they both looked up through the smoke and saw a frightening black cloud. But, before they could say anything, the cloud released a powerful Thunder that hit the Croconaw, flinging him toward the Houndour and striking both allies, the pair were dragged several meters by the electric blast before crashing into a jungle tree and exploding from the move’s energy:

— “Shit…” — Mumbled the Luxio, stunned and scared, looking in the direction where the Dominator team had been thrown.
— “FOCUS, BEEL!” — Alerted the Eevee, the red-jacketed Pokémon had his fur standing on end and never took his eyes off Raikou, who, thanks to the Thunder, had cleared away the purple Smog.

In the blink of an eye, the Legendary lunged using Quick Attack toward the Gigabolt team, however, Beelzeby not looking directly at Raikou wasn’t a mistake, it was a strategy; by using his natural ability known as Intimidate, the Legendary Pokémon was startled and halted his move:

— “We’re not going to win alone… WE NEED THE OTHER TWO! Beel, Electric Type moves don’t affect him, LET’S GOOOO!” — Shouted Nero, separating from Luxio.
— “Got it, I’M ON IT, LET’S GOOOO!” — Roared Beelzeby in response to his brother, activating Psychic Fang and charging toward Raikou.

While his brother distracted the Legendary Pokémon, the Eevee ran over to Lúcios and Trevor, who were injured and burned from the impact of the move, but at least the Croconaw was still conscious:

— “Wow, you’re tough as nails, that Thunder would’ve knocked out even a Snorlax…” — Praised Nero, Lúcios could barely move; even though he was conscious, he was heavily affected by the blow.
— “Don’t worry. You helped me earlier, it’s time I repay the favor.” — Said the Eevee as he used Wish, The Croconaw, now feeling better, got to his feet.
— “Thanks for the help, I’ll use one of my Reviver Seeds on my partner and assist you in the fight.” — Swore Lúcios respectfully, the Pokémon turned his back to the Normal Type and reached into his black jacket, looking for the item.
— “Hehehe, no need to be so formal! Let’s just go make that legendary suck wind, LET’S DO THIS!” — Shouted Nero, running off using Quick Attack to get back into the action quickly.

Upon arriving at the scene, Eevee saw his brother using Thunder Fang to bite down on the lightning from Raikou’s Discharge, even though Luxio was facing a move that wasn’t effective against him, he struggled greatly to hold his ground, Nero used Swift on the Legendary Pokémon, and even though the move didn’t even come close to hitting him, the resulting explosions caused Raikou to cancel the Discharge:

— “Damn it, Nero, he’s not messing around… Whatever the Dominators did was really serious…” — Whispered Beelzeby, spitting out blood right after, Luxio’s strategy had severely injured his teeth and gums.
— “Doesn’t matter now, we got a calm Raikou down with brute force, and fast!” — Replied the Eevee in a low voice, both knew the Legendary wasn’t interested in dialogue, and if they didn’t stop him, he might attack innocent Network members.

Nero charged in with a Quick Attack. Without concern, Raikou used Charge, letting his electric energy shield him from the impact; however, the Eevee suddenly pulled back, not completing the attack, the Legendary didn’t understand the Normal Type’s idea, and just then, Raikou noticed Beelzeby getting too close with Ice Fang active.
Canceling Charge, the Legendary tried to dodge with Quick Attack, only to be struck in the back of the neck by Nero’s Quick Attack, the impact sent him straight into Luxio’s attack, biting into Raikou’s neck. Roaring in pain and now furious, the Legendary tried to use Discharge to get rid of Luxio, but suddenly a bit into something that had been tossed directly into his mouth, Raikou was now completely paralyzed:

— “GIVE IT EVERYTHING YOU’VE GOT WHILE HE’S DOWN, THE STUN SEED WON’T LAST LONG!” — Shouted Lúcios while fumbling in his black jacket, Croconaw then pulled a Violent Seed from his pocket and tossed it into the air, with a leap, Trevor caught it in his jaws and bulked up noticeably.
— “BURN, YOU BASTARD!” — Roared the angry Houndour, launching an Incinerate at the paralyzed Legendary, Beelzeby, still biting Raikou’s neck, released just in time to escape the attack.
— “HEY, YOU SON OF A DITTO, WATCH IT!” — Barked the irritated Luxio, Lúcios ran to his side and offered him a Violent Seed.

Beelzeby seemed hesitant to accept it, but, just as he was about to grab the item with his paw, Nero snatched the Violent Seed from Croconaw’s hand, Eevee bulked up from the boost and, using his newfound strength, activated Quick Attack; he entered the dome of fire created by Incinerate and emerged on the other side, dragging Raikou along until they crashed into a tree:

— “HOLY CRAP, YOUR EEVEE FRIEND IS CRAZY!” — Exclaimed the Croconaw while handing another Violent Seed to Luxio, and this time, the Luxio ate the item and charged toward the Legendary using Psychic Fang.
— “GO, LÚCIOS! CRACK THAT SCUMBAG! DON’T WORRY! I’LL MAKE SURE HE STAYS PUT!” — Yelled Trevor as he turned his red cap backward, Lúcios smiled, amused by how much Raikou had pissed off his partner.
— “Alright, Trevor, give us cover, the first punch will be for you…” — Said the Croconaw, cracking his knuckles before charging in with Strength.
— “YANK A TOOTH OUT FOR ME!” — Demanded the Houndour, shaking with rage.

Nero made quick, short jumps with Quick Attack, hitting various parts of Raikou’s body, Beelzeby alternated between Psychic Fang and Fire Fang, biting especially at the Legendary’s legs to hinder his movement, and finally, Lúcios, using Strength, landed multiple punches straight to Raikou’s face.
When the effect of the Stun Seed wore off, Raikou prepared to use Discharge, however, Trevor was watching closely and used Roar, preventing any defensive attempt from the Legendary. Realizing that even with the boost, his Quick Attack was still too weak, Eevee used Copycat to mimic Lúcios’s Strength move.
The combination of Black Pulse’s Dominators and Gigabolt’s Explorers did the unthinkable, Raikou, unable to remain on his feet any longer, finally closed his eyes and collapsed unconscious onto the ground. The four Pokémon were so winded that they couldn’t even celebrate the feat, instead standing in silence, admiring what might have been the greatest accomplishment of both teams.