Sweat dripped down the back of Rei's neck.

Arceus stared down at him with an unreadable expression. Energy rippled off the deity like waves. Rei's instincts screamed at him to run and hide as if he were a cowering Wurmple being studied by a hungry Staraptor.

Rei was no Wurmple. He was a Luxray lurking in the shadows of the night, eyes seeing everything. Arceus was a fool if they thought they could intimidate him by their mere presence.

Something in Arceus' expression shifted, as if they sensed Rei's resolve and determination, and they reared up on their hind legs.

Rei tensed his muscles, ready for whatever attack Arceus was about to send out.

The fight was on.

He would do the same strategy he had employed with the Nobles: study their attacks, the length and amount, then counter with balms. When Arceus was distracted enough, he would release one of his Pokémon for a full on battle.

A ball of glowing energy appeared above Arceus' head, whirring with charged energy. Beams of light shot out, arcing to either side, zipping towards Rei before they converged into a single point.

The heat from the beams grazed his right arm as he avoided the strike. He barely got a chance at another dodge when more beams shot towards him.

Rei jumped side to side, focused on avoiding each and every beam strike. Mentally counted the seconds between the power up and release.

Six strikes with only half a second between power up and release. He could probably toss in a few balms between dodges. Would they hit their mark?

Arceus stomped a hoof to the ground before shifting stances and raising their head towards the sky. A circle of energy gathered around Arceus' feet then pulsed outwards.

Rei jumped over the pulse to avoid it. It didn't look like it would do any damage, but he still didn't want to get hit by it. Warmth radiated up from the soles of Rei's feet seconds after he landed. He glanced down to see a circle of light spreading out from where he stood.

Without wasting a second more, Rei leaped to the side just as a meteor collided with the ground where he had been standing. Shards of the meteor broke off, hitting the back of his right hand and side.

Rei hissed, shaking his hand as it burned before jumping again as another pulse was sent out. He kept up avoiding the pulse and the meteor strike. Six of them.

After the attack, Arceus remained still for several moments and Rei took that opportunity to toss some of the balms at the deity.

Arceus reared up, an orb of energy appearing above their head before releasing the beams of energy.

Rei leaped side to side, counting between each strike in his head. The edge of one of the beams sliced a cut into the side of Rei's leg, causing a spark of pain. Rei dropped to one knee and grimaced. He pressed a hand to the wound.

It wasn't deep. It stung worse than the bite of a Zorua, though. Any other person, perhaps, would have been rattled or intimidated by the sheer power Arceus displayed, but not Rei. He had been through worse.

Arceus raised their head, energy gathering around their hooves once more. They were not giving Rei a second to breathe.

Forcing himself to his feet, Rei leaped over the next energy pulse. The heat of the meteor warmed his back as he broke into a run, racing towards Arceus. If Arceus wanted to play rough, he would gladly play rough.

Arceus released another pulse. Rei jumped over it, close enough now to touch Arceus if he wanted. Instead, he dropped into a slide. Arceus stopped in their attack, twisting their head down to stare at Rei before raising a hoof, ready to strike him.

Rei threw another balm as he slid beneath Arceus' underbelly, hitting Arceus directly in the face.

Arceus' hoof came down, barely missing Rei’s neck as he slid past. Arceus snorted, shaking their head.

Turning onto his side and getting to one knee, Rei grabbed Ace's worn Poké Ball, momentarily rubbing his thumb over the ridged Apricorn top before tossing the ball. Ace had been with him through everything–from his first arrival in Hisui, his exile from Jubilife, and his final battle against Volo–and now Ace was going to help him take down the Alpha Pokémon.

"We got this, Ace!"

Ace roared as he was released, the sound echoing in the mystical space and reverberating off the glittering floor. He stomped the ground once with his front paws before rearing up onto his hind legs, pulling out the red and black seamitars from his armored forelegs.

Arceus, who had lowered their head to use their leg to rub the balm out of their eyes, glanced at the Hisuian Samurott. Ace’s bravado did not impress them. Straightening, Arceus raised their left leg and the eighteen Plates encircled them, rotating slowly. The speed of the Plates picked up until they were a blur before they abruptly stopped, one rising higher than the others. The Fist Plate.

The cross-like antlers encircling Arceus' abdomen changed from gold to orange. Fighting type.

Fair enough , Rei thought. Just because Arceus was going to try and attack with Ace's weaknesses didn't mean Rei was going to switch his Pokémon or not attack with all his might. Arceus chose the wrong type to change to.

"Hit him with an Aerial Ace!"

Swinging his swords down, Ace charged at Arceus with a cry, air encircling his blades. Sharpening and lengthening them. Leaping up, Ace crossed his swords above his head.

Ancient Power.

Arceus' voice echoed around the space, calm, overpowering, and terrifying at the same time.

Enormous boulders appeared around Arceus, their facades etched with the fossils of Pokemon long past, then launched towards Ace. Ace struck two of the boulders from the air with his blades.

A stray one collided against Ace’s side, knocking him to the ground. He hit the floor hard, the thud echoing louder than a waterfall’s roar.

Rei turned his attention to his fallen partner. The hit wasn’t strong enough to knock Ace out in one blow, surely. "Ace!"

Ace shook his head, pushing himself to his feet. Ace staggered then steadied himself, pulling out another seamitar. “Rott!”

Judgment .

Arceus reared up, energy gathering atop their head, forming into a ball. No longer gold but orange.

"Use Ceaseless Edge to defend yourself!" Rei ordered as Ace withdrew one of his seamitars.

Ace covered himself in water, crossing his blades in front of himself as Arceus unleashed the Judgment blast.

The heat from the attack burned the water protecting Ace, causing it to steam and boil.

Ace slid back, arms shaking from the strain of keeping the attack from hitting him. Ace closed his eyes, teeth gritted as Arceus kept up the assault, aiming to break through Ace's defenses.

The steam. That was it.

"Deflect the attack then use Hydro Pump!"

Tilting his seamitars, Ace managed to deflect the Judgment beams so they shot upwards, disappearing into the space above. Relieved of defending himself from Arceus' attack, Ace unleashed a blast of water.

As Rei predicted, Arceus countered with another Judgment attack. The two attacks collided, water and heat, to create a veil of steam between Arceus and Ace.

"Now, Razor Shell!"

Ace flung the seamitar in his paw towards the steam veil, causing it to dissipate as the blade cut through it.

Arceus' expression changed to surprise at the blade hurling towards it. They growled as the seamitar smacked them in the face, whirling in an arc back to Ace's outstretched paw.

"Great shot! Now--"

Judgment .

Arceus unleashed a Judgment blast, striking Ace and sending him skidding across the battlefield.

"Ace?" Rei called as Ace struggled to get back to his feet. "Can you keep going?"

Ace growled, staggering to his feet. He shook his head, steadying himself, and turned to face Arceus only to be blindsided by Ancient Power.

Rei returned Ace to his ball. "That was a good try. The others will take it from here."

Arceus stared at Rei impassively, waiting for his next move. The orange on their antlers faded and the Plates once again appeared around Arceus, rotating slowly.

Whatever Pokémon Rei chose, Arceus was bound to use the weakness of them. Actually...that gave Rei an idea.

Grabbing an Ultra Ball, Rei tossed it up. "Come out, Wisp!"

Wisp remained in their keystone for several moments after release before they popped out with a laugh, swaying side to side. Wisp was one of Rei’s more recent Pokémon he had obtained shortly before the fight atop Mt. Coronet. Wisp was childlike, mischievous and extremely protective of Rei. Wisp looked towards Rei, ready for battle.

The Plates around Arceus stopped spinning, landing on the Pixie Plate.

Wisp had no attacks that could counter a Fairy type, but Blaze did.

"Sorry, Wisp." Rei returned the Spiritomb to their ball, reaching for Blaze's Poké Ball with his other hand to release them. "Now, Iron tail!"

Blaze hit the ground running upon release, dropping to all fours to rush Arceus as his tail glowed silver.

Arceus appeared too stunned by the switch to counter Blaze's Iron Tail, a super effective strike on Fairy types.

Blaze leaped up, whirling head over heels so his tail smacked into Arceus' forehead.

Arceus staggered back as Blaze landed on his feet.

"Great hit, Blaze!"

"Ty!" Blaze turned to Rei expectantly, ghostly flames ringing the back of his neck flickering.

Reaching into his pocket, Rei pulled out a small red square and tossed it to Blaze. Blaze was extremely food motivated, so Rei had found a way to make berries into portable treats that wouldn't go bad. The easiest way was to dehydrate the berries and add in some Combee honey or rock salt. Squares were easier to carry around and after some trial and error, Rei had found the perfect way to make them without them crumbling in his satchel.

Blaze's favorite treat was made from Cheri berries and rock salt.

As Blaze ate his treat, Arceus took a step forward, straightening. The Plates encircled them once more and spun until they landed on the Rock Plate.

Rei grinned. Before Arceus could consider an attack, Rei returned Blaze and released Wisp.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Wisp, Icy Wind!"

Wisp giggled in excitement, form flaring rapidly before they unleashed a frigid tempest.

Arceus shrieked as the blast of cold wind struck them, shaking their head and staggering back. They dropped to one knee, chest heaving.

Now's my chance , Rei thought, returning Wisp to their ball. He grabbed a balm in each hand and threw them at Arceus.

He managed to get in a few more balms before Arceus raised their head and got back to their feet. Energy gathered around Arceus, causing the hair on the back of Rei's neck to raise. He tensed, preparing for the energy beams or the pulse meteor attack, but instead of doing either of those, Arceus vanished from sight.

Had Arceus fled? No. They were still nearby, but where....?

A crack like shattering glass sounded directly behind Rei.

He turned to see spiderweb cracks in front of him that soon exploded outward, Arceus emerging from them in all their glory. They rammed into Rei full force, knocking him onto his back and sending him skidding across the arena.

Rei managed to stop himself, turning onto his stomach. He attempted to get back to his feet only to stumble and fall. His vision blurred as he struggled to catch his breath. Each breath burned as his ribs protested.

Rei pulled Akari with him, dragging her from the camp and down towards Sacred Plaza.

"Come on, I want to show you something."

"We really shouldn't leave without telling Laventon..." Akari said, looking over her shoulder at the rapidly from sight.

"Kaa.” Pikachu, perched on his usual spot on Akari’s left shoulder, didn’t seem too concerned about the situation. His ears remained upright, twitching at the slightest noise, ready to alert them to any potential threats.

The Pokémon that typically haunted the ruins just outside the summit camp were gone, returned to their dens for a good night’s sleep, as the gloam of the day’s end blanketed the land. In their place, crepuscular Pokémon emerged, out hunting or defending their territory.

Rei wasn’t concerned about the drifting Drifloon or the cackling Gastly. This time of day was the perfect opportunity to show Akari what he had been studying the past few weeks.

"It's okay!" Rei grinned at Akari. She wasn't entirely resisting him pulling her along. If she was, he wouldn't push it. "You have me to defend you from the wild Pokémon."

“Pika!” Pikachu said, offended that he was being left out as a potential defender against wild Pokémon.

Akari's expression was hesitant, but she nodded. "All right."

Rei took her to the edge of the Sacred Plaza, right before the deteriorated stairs that lead to the main area. He knelt by a bush, pulling Akari with him.

"What--"

"Shh." Rei put a finger to his mouth before parting the branches. "Look."

Akari peeked over the bush to see what Rei was so keen on showing to her.

Laying in the sun was a Luxray and four Shinx. The red sclera and enormous size gave away that the Luxray was an Alpha. The Shinx appeared young, too young to be alone. Two of the Shinx were play fighting, growling and nipping at each other. Tiny sparks crackled off their fur, harmless to each other. Right out of the egg, the Shinx could harness a bit of their electrical powers, enough to frighten off humans. The shocks did little to deter larger predators like the Gliscor that glided down on silent wings or the snickering Zoroark which roamed from Alabaster Icelands in search of better hunting grounds.

One Shinx was batting at the Luxray's tail as it flicked, enticing the kit to continue going after it. The Luxray had deep patience with her kit’s tiny claws and teeth biting into her tail when it was caught. Instead of reprimanding the kit, the Luxray merely moved her tail to another position, continuing the catch-and-release game.

The last kit was being groomed by the Luxray, eyes closed in contentment as the rough tongue washed under their chin.

"Wow, that's..."

"Isn't it neat?" Rei asked, keeping his tone low. He couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice of his discovery. "It would be so great if we could show everyone else that not all Alpha are out to get us! They’re just like any other Pokémon, but larger!"

Akari stared at Rei with a mix of concern and fear.

"What...? What’s wrong?"

"I like what you showed me, Rei, I do," Akari said quickly, holding up her hands. Rei could tell from her expression alone that she had read his thoughts on her not liking what she saw. "I just...this is only one Alpha, Rei. With kits. Of course she's going to be different around them than with humans."

Rei sighed, shoulders dropping. He knew he was the odd one out. Fallen from the sky, behaviors that made him seem less human and more Pokémon. More wild. He had thought Akari was one of the few who understood him outside of Warden Ingo, but sometimes he wondered if she truly did.

The Luxray raised its head sharply, sniffing the air before climbing to its paws. The kits automatically scampered to hide behind a ruined pillar, peeking around it as their mother approached a bush.

"Rei..." Akari reached a hand towards Rei. She stopped when a shadow fell over them, eyes widening at the sight of the Luxray staring at them, red eyes blazing. "Rei!"

“Kaaa!” Pikachu shrieked, ears flattened against his head. His fur bristled as he bared his teeth at the Luxray.

Rei growled, holding an arm out in front of Akari and he backed away from the enraged Luxray.

The Luxray roared, electricity sparking around its fur. Ozone thickened in the air.

Rei grabbed the Heavy Ball that held the Alpha Magnemite he had caught a few days prior. It wouldn't be able to withstand the hit well, but it would be long enough for him and Akari to book it back to camp.

Howling, the Luxray unleashed a blast of lightning.

The Thunder attack hit the hand holding the Heavy Ball, racing down Rei's arm and electrifying every single nerve ending.

Rei screamed as he dropped to the ground from the attack. His vision blurred, breath coming out in painful spasms as the electricity disrupted his normal heart rhythm.

Rei was vaguely aware of Akari by his side, shaking him. Her screams pierced the ringing in his ears. "Rei, get up. Rei!"

He put her in danger all because he wanted to show her something.

"Pikachu, stop, you're going to get hurt!"

His vision was too blurry to fully see what Akari was doing, but he could only imagine Pikachu was attempting to defend them both even though he would be hopelessly overwhelmed against such an opponent.

I'm...

Rei's breath slowed as his vision and the noise of Pikachu's cries and the Luxray's snarls faded.

"REI!"

Rei's eyes snapped open and he took in a sharp, shaky breath. He didn't even realize he had blacked out from the attack.

The ground beneath him vibrated, a gentle humming that reminded Rei of the vibrations before an earthquake.

Rei raised his head to see Arceus with their head lifted high. Red light spread out from their hooves, blanketing the entire field, leaving no space to avoid it. The energy beginning to gather vibrated the ground, tingling Rei’s palms and up his arms.

Rei blinked, blurred vision returning to normal. He zeroed in on a small section of ground beneath Arceus that wasn’t coated in crimson. A blind spot. Perhaps a zone safe from whatever Arceus was about to unleash.

Gritting his teeth, Rei pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the faint aching in his chest with every breath.

Come on, Rei, move it.

Getting onto his hands and knees, Rei pushed himself forward, forcing himself into a run. The vibrating beneath his feet got stronger with every step.

Rei leaped forward, sliding between Arceus' legs. There was an explosion of energy behind him. Turning onto his back, Rei threw a balm at Arceus' belly in retaliation.

Arceus lowered their head to look between their legs at Rei. Lasers shot towards Rei, who rolled out from beneath Arceus, out of the way of the attack. He hopped to his feet and hurled one more balm as Arceus turned to face him.

A purple glow surrounded Arceus, eerie orbs of energy appearing above their head.

Rei threw more balms at Arceus, backing away as he did so to give himself some space.

Whatever attack Arceus had planned was disrupted by the balms, and the deity shook their head briefly before locking eyes with Rei.

They raised a leg.

Rei lowered himself slightly, prepared to dodge beams of light even before Arceus formed the ball of energy. A stray beam hit him in the side, startling him out of his steady dodging.

The sixth beam came as a flash out of the corner of his eyes.

Rei turned his head to see the beam coming straight towards him too quickly to react. He slid one foot to the side out of instinct, preparing himself to dodge, before he froze at the sharp burning sensation in his chest.

Rei reached a hand to touch his chest. His fingertips touched air where his sternum should have been. Taking in a shaky breath, Rei glanced down to see a gaping, starburst wound in his chest. The wound had been cauterized by the heat of the beams, leaving no blood.

Rei took in a sharp breath as his brain and heart caught up to the fact that he had a huge wound in chest, separating his spine from the rest of his body. His legs caved beneath him and Rei crumpled to the ground.

The ground beneath him was cool, but at the same time Rei couldn't feel it. Every part of his upper body was on fire. Every breath burned.

The thought I'm so sick of this went through Rei's brain as his breath slowed and his vision faded.

Get up .

Arceus' voice broke through the faint buzzing starting in Rei's ears.

Shakily, his body struggling to adjust, Rei slid one arm to his side so he could push himself to his hands and knees. Pressing a hand to chest, Rei sat back to gather his thoughts. He kept his hand pressed against his sternum, grounding himself to the feel of the leathery scar beneath his palm and the rattling breath in his ribs. His heartbeat was slowly returning to normal, the still air in Arceus' domain tasting sweeter than it should have on the back of his tongue.

Arceus stared at Rei silently, giving him far more time than he deserved after that deadly attack.

Rei breathed in deep, lungs and ribs aching faintly as they continued to recover. He spat a glob of coagulated blood on the ground before pushing himself to his feet.

Arceus raised their head, eyeing Rei as he steadied himself. They shifted a hoof to the side.

Rei leaped to the side to avoid the pulse of energy and the meteor that came afterwards, tossing a balm at Arceus between each dodge.

After the final dodge, Rei raised his arm to throw another balm, only to pause when Arceus vanished. He glanced from one side to the next before turning around when he heard the familiar crackle of glass.

Moments later, Arceus broke through the space where they were hiding, aiming to barrel into Rei once again, but Rei was ready for the attack this time.

He dodged to the side and tossed a balm as he landed, hitting Arceus in the haunch.

Arceus turned around, a blue aura surrounding them. Moments later, they split into three. Orbs appeared above their heads and a film of warm blue light coated the floor.

One of the three Arceus had to be a fake. Throwing a balm at one of the Arceus, they disappeared, leaving two.

Rei bolted to another one as the floor hummed dangerously. He threw a balm at the second Arceus and it vanished. Rei locked his attention on the final Arceus.

There!

Rei hurled several balms at the real Arceus, each strike causing the orbs of energy above their head to vanish.

Arceus staggered when the final orb disappeared, shaking their head.

"Now I got you...Artemis, let's get this finished!" Rei tossed up a Poké Ball, releasing Artemis.

Artemis flapped her wings once as she landed in front of Rei. Artemis turned her head slightly to eye Rei from under the ring of head feathers. 

Artemis was one of the calmer ones between Blaze and Ace. Ever since she had been a Rowlet, she loved roosting on his shoulder. Once after evolving, she had attempted to perch on him only to discover that her new size and weight caused her trainer to collapse. After that, she seemed to only perch on him when he was cold, treating him like an egg that needed incubating.

Rei gave a single nod and Artemis turned her attention back to Arceus.

Arceus used their Plates to shift their type to the Flying type.

Rei withdrew Artemis and released Orre. "Thunder!"

Orre buzzed, magnets spinning as they concentrated their electricity to a point in front of their eye. A metallic taste began to fill the air, raising the hair on Rei's arms.

Orre had been his first Alpha Pokémon and he was a tough one to beat. Orre was the reason Rei had thought that other Alpha weren't as mean as everyone thought. Even as a Magnemite, Orre had considered themselves a lap Pokémon, attempting on more than one occasion to snuggle with Rei as they had seen Ace and Blaze do as a Dewott and Quilava. They were not a lap Pokémon.

Orre screeched, unleashing an orb of electricity above themselves, creating a thunderstorm that rumbled and crackled ominously before unleashing a bolt of lightning straight to Arceus.

Arceus was wise to Rei's strategy and responded with Ancient Power, shooting it straight up so it collided with the lightning bolt.

Pieces of rock rained down, clinking on the ethereal floor as dust spread out between Arceus and Orre.

Arceus shifted their type to Ground and powered up a Judgment attack.

Perfect , Rei thought as he ordered, "Swift!"

Orre pointed their magnets towards Arceus, releasing a flurry of glittering stars.

Arceus shot beams of orange lights towards the stars, striking each one, trying to fend them off.

While Arceus was distracted with the Swift attack, Rei withdrew Orre and released Artemis once more.

"Leaf Blade!"

Artemis charged towards Arceus as several stray stars struck them in the face, temporarily blinding them. She spread out both her wings to her side, the primaries glowing and sharpening to the length of a sword.

Arceus had no time to counter attack as Artemis's blades cut across their chest. They howled and staggered back.

"Now hit them with a Triple Arrow!"

Artemis leaped back to give herself some space, pulling out several quills from her wings and aiming them at Arceus.

Arceus made a sound akin to a vicious growl as the Plates swirled around them in a furious circle. They struck Artemis with a flurry of frozen lasers as their type changed to Ice.

Artemis shrieked, reeling back from the effective hit. Her arrows clinked against the ground as they slipped from her grasp.

Rei grit his teeth. Arceus' counter attack had been faster than he had anticipated. It wouldn't do good to keep Artemis out with Arceus as an Ice type. "Good job."

Rei returned Artemis to her Poké Ball then pulled out a Feather Ball. "Aurora, your turn."

Arceus stared down at the little shiny Ralts that was released as if questioning why Rei would bring such a weak Pokémon to the fight.

"Mystical Fire."

Aurora grinned beneath her helmet before raising her arms above her head with a cry.

Aurora was the only reason Rei had beaten Volo's team easily. Despite being in her first stage form, Aurora was powerful, with an arsenal of  moves up her little sleeves.

Aurora swung down her arms, unleashing a ring of purple fire towards Arceus.

Arceus responded with Ancient Power, sending the rocks towards the oncoming flames. The burning fire broke through the rocks, incinerating them, and struck Arceus.

"Now finish them off with Double Team and Aura Sphere!"

"Raaalts!"

Aurora crafted copies of herself, surrounding Arceus. All of the Aurora began charging up their Aura Sphere attack, blue orbs of pure energy forming between their hands.

The Plates surrounded Arceus as they decided to change their type, but Aurora's Aura Sphere struck them before they had a chance.

Arceus dropped to one knee.

“Raaa!” Aurora punched her little hands together, walking closer to Arceus, prepared for more fighting.

"Wait."

Aurora stopped, looking at Rei with a curious noise.

"I think they're done."

Arceus exhaled, their breath coming out in a misty plume, raising their head. I commend thee.

Rei returned Aurora who made a disappointed noise at how fast the battle had been finished.

Arceus straightened, gazing at Rei with an expression of pride. Your skill at battles is beyond what I have seen among the other humans.

"I did as you asked," Rei said. He wasn't in the mood for beating around the bush or to have false praise laid on him, especially by Arceus. "I sought all Pokémon, I stopped Volo from destroying the world. I'd like to go home now."

Arceus remained silent for several moments. An aura of sadness or regret radiated off them.

I apologize if I somehow misled you, young one, but I'm afraid that there is no way for you to return to your current time.