Snippet #2697799

Crimson gave Touko a nod and a thumbs up, letting her know he had her back if things got dicey. He didn't doubt her abilities as a trainer, however, and held complete confidence that she would do just fine on her own. After all, she was a former Champion for a reason.

As they made their way to the garden, Crimson couldn't help but feel a wave of apprehension roll through him. It was clear now that these dark clouds weren't spawned by the Psychic Rebellion. However, he kept having flashbacks to that fateful evening...the last time he'd been in a similar situation...

---

Dark clouds rolled over the island of Mohka as Crimson finally arrived in Bayside Town, the final stronghold of all Pokemon civilization, untouched by the Psychic Rebellion. There was no rain, as one would expect from such heavy clouds. Lightning, however, was not so hesitant. The thunder rolled as it did, setting an ominous tone to the surprisingly quiet Pokemon village the Chimchar was walking through. The Isle Defenders had already done their work and told everyone that didn't wish to fight and stand up for their way of life should bunker down in a safe spot until the battle was over. Either they all took up arms or the ones that didn't weren't coming out soon.

Crimson was still feeling the surge of energy coursing through him by way of the Fire Stone. He didn't know he could establish with his own element the same way the other elements he controlled had. The Power Bat seemed super charged in his hand, the pulsing of the hilt never felt so strong. He'd never been so prepared as he was now. He'd never felt so powerful before.

At the same time, he'd never felt so helpless. He knew he had to take down Neeko, Dr. Benson, and the Psychic Rebellion with them, but they carried such tremendous power. Neeko absorbing the Moon Stone gave the Nidoking his own extended energy supply. Not to mention they were in possession of the Master Blaster. The Psychic Rebellion prepared and became more powerful at the same time. Who knows what was to be expected from them when he arrived.

Could he really do it?

Crimson pushed the negative thoughts out of his head. He had to do this. For the Guild. For Mohka. For the future of the Pokemon World. He had to do this or die trying.

"Crimson."

A young, childish voice cut through his thoughts, making him turn towards the sound. A small Budew was standing at the door, looking at him with quivering eyes. The Chimchar stared back, unmoving.

"Are we going to lose?" the young Budew asked. Crimson stared down at the cobbled ground, a hard look set on his face. A determined look.

"I refuse to let that happen," he told the Budew. "I will make sure you live a long and prosperous life."

Crimson began walking again, towards the exit to the city and towards the field he knew the final fight was raging. He didn't need to hear the distant sounds of attacks being fired to know this. The Budew's voice stopped him.

"Promise?"

A tough question, despite being one word. Crimson closed his eyes and inhaled, trying to find some old age wisdom to respond with. Trying to deny to himself that he truly was scared and he didn't know if he would prevail in the end. Trying to think of something smart and correct to say that would express his wishes along with the reality of the situation. Instead, he opened his eyes and responded with this:

"I promise."

---

"Siena, on your six!"

The Sky Form Shaymin whirled around and ducked under the Water Pulse in the nick of time, retaliating with a Magical Leaf that was sure to hit. "Thanks!" she called out to Dee, who was on the back of Gambit as Team Vitality flew out further into the ocean.

The ocean brawls were spread out, yet the attacks that flew by seemed to take up the entire area. As the standard ocean Pokemon took to fighting for their lives against the darkened ones, the Crimson Guild gathered as many Flying-Types and Water-Types at the hand to aid in the fight. Team Vitality led the charge against the oncoming force. Many Crimson Guild teams gathered together and utilized what strategies and battle formations they had taken to developing over their time in the Crimson Guild. For many of them, this would be their first real conflict at such a grandeur scale.

As for Team Vitality, they were performing the “Leap Frog Offensive”. Formerly known as “Tactical Evasive Height Advantage Formation #3”, its name was changed by Gambit to “something more fun and memorable”. Despite Dee’s best efforts and after a thousand grumbles, she went along with it. The way it worked was this: Siena and Gambit stayed within close range of each other, firing range attacks and covering for Dee, who was bouncing from the back of one teammate to the back of the other and back again. All the while, the Dedenne kept a focus towards the ones who got close and was a much more evasive target because of it. The range of motion also gave them a lot of visual to take in, meaning there were less surprises. Callouts were a must in such a tactic, but it was working to perfection.

“Look! Out there!” Gambit was calling and pointing towards a couple of the boats that were leaving Anistar in hopes to escape the fighting taking place there. At the same time, dark forms could be seen in the water, beelining straight for them.

“We have to help them!” Siena took on a determined face as she began to rocket towards the ships, looking to aid them in their escape. Gambit flew close behind, Dee on his back. Many of the other teams were wound up at the moment, but a couple managed to follow right behind, ready to take on this threat.

---

By the time Crimson and Touko arrived in the garden, the action was kicking off. A flurry of Iron Wings awaited them, their number and radius measuring quite large on both scales. These darkened Pokemon worked in a coordinated effort, much more coordinated than what could be perceived as usual. Crimson deduced that either they had been training together for a long time or that they were under the influence of a hive mind…and considering there were no traces of this threat until today, he deemed the former highly unlikely.

As for Pert and Meryl, their efforts could only be described as…unorthodox. They may have been among the more recent members of TeaM PerSisTenCe, but they’d been training with each other much longer than Crimson and Tag had. As a result, they were much more effective together than they were apart, so much so that their energies radiated off each other in perfect harmony, their attacks just as coordinated as the invaders’, if not more. They managed to stay out of harm’s reach when the Iron Wings drifted lower and they took to attacking when the Gusts broke out. Rather than try to anchor themselves, they actually chose to take to the skies, using flying debris around them to stay in control of their bodies. Sometimes, they even used the other Pokemon in flight to steady themselves in mid-air.

While Pert chose the accuracy route, using Spark after Spark to try and dwell the numbers one at a time, Meryl was unleashing a powerful Shock Wave, one that would strike many opponents at once. Crimson took a glance back, knowing that ground reinforcements would be arriving very soon to help against the living vortex.

“Crimson!”

A green blur was darting across the bridge, heading straight towards the garden. Crimson didn’t even need to think twice about it to know that this was Tag.

“How far behind is everyone?” Crimson asked as Tag bounded within earshot.

“I gave them a headstart,” Tag replied, “So maybe a couple of minutes.” He took a moment to stare at the funnel of winged Pokemon circling around the Sundial, “So this is new.”

“I’d agree,” Crimson took a couple steps forward, analyzing the assault being brought on by Pert and Meryl, “But we’ve got plenty of help on the way. Sarik’s on his way from the PTA Island and he’s bringing the Sunrise Brigade with him. Not to mention the ground forces coming right behind you in a matter of moments.”

“You think Peggy has taken on a force like this?” Tag analyzed the Pokemon around them.

“Probably not, but there’s a first time for everything,” Crimson took a look back, seeing the rest of the Crimson Guild’s first responders charging through the streets of Anistar and making their way to the Sundial, “We should have the numbers to take these guys on, but there’s got to be a central source in the clouds above. That one,” the Chimchar pointed up towards the movement in the sky. It was so dark, it was nearly hard to make out. The purple accents gave away the Rayquaza, “I think if we can centralize the Sunrise Brigade towards that, we should-“

“Oh my…Arceus,” Tag was gaping, yet he wasn’t staring at the sky, “Crimson…the water…”

The Chimchar took a glance towards the ocean…and immediately froze in shock.

The ocean was red. Not reddish pink like the glow the Sundial gave off across the darkened city. Not dark blue or black, as the clouds above might suggest. Red. Clear and telling, despite the weather. Crimson immediately felt his body go numb, his heart pounding against his chest.

This was murder…

He slowly approached the edge of the garden, unable to tear his eyes away from the spectacle he was witnessing. He ignored the Gusts flying around him, surprisingly stable against them. Even in the choppy waters, dark masses were floating towards the surface…some even had the shape of a Staryu or Skrelp.

This was a blood bath…

Crimson thought he’d seen it all back on Mohka. The final battle against Neeko’s Psychic Rebellion had taken fighting to a new level…one that had involved the death of his best friend. But this…this was so much worse…worse than seeing the Turtwig’s lifeless body among the charred grass…worse than anything he could’ve conceived or imagined.

This was…genocide…

The white glow was surrounding Crimson…a white glow that had only appeared once before in his lifetime. It began to spread around him and eventually covered his entire form. The light in itself was way too bright to even look at…much brighter than the Sundial…much brighter than the white speck floating in the sky. Strangers would consider this some form of Mega Evolution. Ruulans who had met him and knew of his reputation would say he was shifting types. Only three individuals knew what was actually happening and only two had witnessed it the only other time he’d transformed in this way. Tag was gaping in awe at his best friend while Pert and Meryl had stopped their fighting.

There was a flash and then the light began to recede, bringing the city into its darkened state once more. However, there remained a bright beacon standing at the edge of the garden.

Everything Crimson was made of was here now. His white fur glowed with intensity. The fire on his tail end was the same color as his fur, burning brighter than ever, yet emitting no heat. But what was probably most telling was his eyes. His eyes held a golden iris, surprisingly steady and focused while also showing the emotional pain he was in…the trauma he had seen to elevate his power to this point. As for his power…it seemed to radiate out of his essence, taking up the entire atmosphere around him. Everyone in the garden would feel it, that overbearing weight of emerging coursing through the air and made the Chimchar its epicenter.

Crimson wasn’t going to stand for murder on any scale.

“Touko,” Crimson’s words rang heavy and clear. Touko would also discover that the PokeSpeak barrier was broken…at least for the moment. She would be able to understand every word the Chimchar spoke, “The Fireknaught are not the enemies. They only want to prevent them from taking the Sundial, just like us. They are allies. Work with them and focus your attention on the Sundial. Don’t let them take it. I will deal with Sithlok.”

And with that, Crimson began to levitate. His aura was suffocation, like anyone who took a breath in front of Crimson was breathing in pure power. Sithlok would get the luxury of that as Crimson rose up to the Rayquaza’s position. His eyes seemed to convey all the hurt that Sithlok brought with him when he decided to descend upon Anistar City, yet his face remained stoic. His movements remained calm…controlled. His voice remained steady, no signs of anger or hatred behind it. And his stance remained oddly lax, like he wasn’t putting forth any effort at all.

“Sithlok,” he said with a sage-like quality in his voice, “You have decided by your own temperament to reign judgement on this world. That is not something you have the rights to decide. Your actions today have hurt and ended innocent lives, both human and Pokemon alike. I will not let you continue this bloodshed. I ask that you please stop this. Show mercy to those that have done no evil.”

As he waited for a reply, his stance remained diplomatic. He did not take a defensive or offensive stance. He did not make any advancement. He did not threaten Sithlok. He didn’t even appear to want to fight. He wanted to end this as peacefully as possible.