Last time we left our heroes, the Triumvirate unleashed a power that nearly killed Kopi. Fortunately, he managed to survive, unfortunately, though his opponents might not share the same fate.

With so many unknown factors in play right now, it seems that I've got to focus on only the certainties. Whatever this is, I can't make this a war of attrition. My power may be building up fast, but I can't keep it for long; right now, I think I can only use 10%. This means I need to do exactly what those bastards did to Taylor and take out all 3 of the trainers in one fell swoop! Using Ziggy's blazing speed, I rebounded off the trees, gaining speed by the second as my focus grew all the faster! Right now, rage was my only fuel, these bastards came after Taylor because of me but I'm going to make sure they hurt far worse! In a minute's time I came after my unsuspecting prey at over a 100 mph! But even in my rage I saw Flash's sly, sickening smile.

What happened next was probably the fastest transformation of my career as in one split second I transformed into Golett in the wake of a quaking Thunder attack! Thousands of volts made my recoil but hold strong as I'm left in a sizzling kneel in the wake and awe of my 3 opponents. I've seen subtle commands before but what just happened is on a whole nother level. Reacting that fast from my angle, all without me noticing a single command or nearby Pokemon is downright impossible, unless the power of Dark Evolution is more than just superficial.

"You know for a talking Pokemon; you sure are dumb. Either that or arrogant for thinking that we would attack the trainer, without being able to defend ourselves," he said in a distorted, spiteful voice.

At that moment, my emotions took over, transforming back into a Ditto to speak.

"Funny, because all things considered you're far more arrogant than me," I said in a cocky facade.

"And why in Distortion would you say that?" Flash said in a humoring tone.

"I told you before that you'll never be above me, never to show yourself again. And yet you somehow think some fancy toy is somehow going to make all the difference. If you think all that can match up to what I am, then you 3 have no right to talk with no power to back it up."

"We have every right! This world gave us nothing, so we worked to take everything. And if the strong make the rules, then I promise you to freak this route will be you and the girl's tomb!!!"

At that moment Ebon's Honchrow dove in with vengeful fury alight with the power of a vicious Sky Attack! In that instant my power rose 20% as I jumped back to instinctively transform into it guarding effectively with a dark pulse of my own! Despite my offensive defense the explosion pierced through just enough to push me back. But my will was far stronger as I swooped back in with a powerful steel wing of my own! However before I could close in a nearby swift attack found its way between us! Using my wings as a shield I withstood the attack that sent through the air! From there I engaged in aerial battle for the ages as I intercepted each attack with! Every explosion still stung like a Kangaskhan as if their very aura was toxic. What's worse is that the combined blowback sent me spiraling straight towards Flash's Luxray! I tried to use my steel wing to attack, but the move lost all of its luster by then. Luxray in response bit down hard into my left wind, as he threw me straight into ground and pinned me there!

Before I could even fight back Luxray unleashed a powerful scary face that stopped me cold! With the dark aura the power of the move was so petrifying I almost didn't even notice Typhlosion's oncoming flame wheel! But this definitely wasn't any ordinary attack,all I could see was a wave of wild flames that burned and rotted away every tree in sight. And it was through that fiery image I saw the true depth of my challenge. This Dark Evolution may have given them range and power but their true power was all their own. Once again their cooperation made them so tight I didn't even see them all as 3 beings anymore, just a giant chimera bidding for my destruction! And in awe of such power I realize that I needed to get them far far away from everyone else. In motion I disengaged my transformation at just the right moment as both of us were divided in a sea of flame! The fire sent me up high in the sky clinging to a burnt piece of wood for dear life!

In the midst of such a struggle I finally thought I could get away, until I felt Luxray's piercing eyes on my soul. In response I instinctively transformed into Ziggy, ricocheting all across the flown debris form a volley of heavenly haymakers! Amidst all of the destruction I managed to take a hard tumble in my true form. I wasn't even sure I had a heart but if I did it was certainly pumping hard. Every time I fought knowing every Pokemon had a weakness, but this beast covers each of its limitations so well it hurts. Worse yet that damn aura of theirs makes recovering my remaining power almost impossible. But as soon as doubt started to creep in Leonard's words started reappearing.

"Failure is not an option; another step in my infinite evolution."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Apex's shadow will never fall under me again. No one is ever going to say what I'm capable of, not even myself! And if I can truly become anything, I can do anything, including this. They may be one beast, but I've beaten all of them once before, and I can sure as Distortion does it again, all I have to do is just be a step faster! And to do that, I needed to wait for the right moment, which means relying on my one last ace in the hole: Camouflage! Realizing that I had stumbled upon the fringes of Route 207, I walked into a small yet rocky valley and transformed into the texture and color of the top hill. As the minutes passed by, I collected more and more of my power.

"30% 35% 40%."

At that moment, I saw another swift attack hovering in midair; even seeing the attack again almost made me flinch, but I held my ground until the move past me up. Through that, I gave a big mental sigh of relief, realizing that without any general idea of where I am (courtesy of Luxray), never miss moves can fail. However, the true threat came in the form of their actual appearance. And now that I saw all of them at a slower pace, I could see their true terror for all it's worth. Even without any real force, their very presence decayed the soft soil into a dead white patch as they all twitched with destructive anticipation. Whatever this power, maybe I know this, this power is unholy and needs to be stopped at all costs.

Still not realizing my presence the 3 Pokemon started cackling about where I was, questioning my whereabouts, cackling over the ways they would tear me apart. The threats kept going until Luxray broke it up, taking the lead and unleashing his move. Before I knew it the entire route seemingly got bathed in the harsh white light of Flash! I tried to keep still but with their toxic blight the move seared through my eyelids and made me twitch in response. Luxray didn't waste any time what's so ever as in a second I felt another precognitive chill. This chill saved me as I was able to once again avoid another Thunder from on high even then though the blast was powerful enough to blow me back towards my opponent.

I swear I could hear steel like tendons clench as Luxray pounced with all their might. But by then it was already too late, because I had already taken the next step in my infinite evolution! Before he could even make another swipe I had already jumped towards the side as I continued to slide down the steep hill of mud and rock. In anger Luxray pursued me with violent intent, but in our deadly dance he failed to hit me a single time. By that moment Typhlosion and Honchrow stepped in with a respective flamethrower and dark pulse. Noticing Luxray's resolute face I knew very well what was to come next. As soon as he put up his protective barrier I launched off it myself, avoiding the explosion by a hair! However no sooner than I entered back in the air Honchrow came steamrolling in with another steel wing!

In the wake of it, all I could do was brace it with my full force! The blow was powerful that it nearly sent me throttling back but with determination, held on to his wings! From there, we engaged in a bitter mid air tug of war that ended up with me losing as I'm thrown into the side of a nearby rock pillar! My aching and tired body commanded me to stop here; my senses were pushing me even harder! In one fell swoop, I flipped over and braced myself for my abrupt landing! Once I made contact with the pillar, time seemed to slow down all around me with my senses more electrified than ever!

"50%."

From there I vaulted off the pillar so hard it almost broke. In wake of this speed Honchkrow could do nothing but be in awe as I decked him in the face! The blow was so powerful it sent him spiraling straight down towards his allies, but I wouldn't give him the chance to recover. In seconds I transformed my head into that of a Typhlosion and delivered the mother of all flamethrowers! A beam of violent flames erupted from my mouth and had me rocketing back towards the earlier pillar! Honchkrow in subtle desperation flipped back at just the right time! Still the flames were too much for them as Luxray was forced to use protection as the updraft sent Honchkrow spiraling up and the other Typhlosion back. Once I made it back to pillar though I fully transformed into Typhlosion as I rolled back down with a fast flame wheel!

Gravity made my descent all the faster as I headed straight towards Luxray! Using my speed I transformed just at the right time, into a Luxray and rammed him full force with my own protection. And just like before my barrier broke through! And as his best defense shattered I saw Flash's composure follow suit through my own gold eyes! Taking his shock for all it's worth my lightened up senses and proactive predictions combined together, turning my freeflow into a full-on fast flow! In a second I unfurled my tail outwards and transformed from there to create a barrage of steel wings towards Luxray's face.

Each blow was more powerful than the last but even with my newfound strength Flash still tried to respond. In anger he tried lunging after me but I had already taken a step back, instead focusing the transformation on my foot towards my left talon to grow in size and uppercut with a Typhlosion fist!

As Flash was sent back Igna's Typhlosion got back up and in rage used the swirling flames to fuel one last desperate Flame wheel! But that all meant nothing in response to my power as I simply used a Defense curl to hold her in place, using her own momentum to throw her straight into Ebon's Honchkrow! Per my calculations all 3 thrown Pokemon lined themselves perfectly, as I transformed one last time to perform a critical thunder attack that shook the heavens! I didn't even bother looking back at my battered opponents as I once again looked towards the real threat! As I flew across the field I saw nothing but destruction, carnage that in some way was my doing, devastation echoed my purpose all the more.

Once again, rage-filled my very being as I boosted my broken body straight towards my opposition. As soon as I returned to normal, only to see my three opponents return to normal was completely exhausted. Ignoring the other 2, I headed straight towards Flash, taking his body and throwing him straight into a tree trunk! Pain reverberated across his body as I stared at him with the cold eyes of a predator.

"You told me that the strong make the rule, so here's my declaration. From here on out this war that you have will involve me and me along. And if you tell me where you got that ungodly power of yours and maybe just maybe I won't take what's left of your pitiful life."

Whatever answer I could get was far too mumbled for my liking as instead I heard something far more worrying. In a second I looked through his clothes and saw a ringing walkie talkie. Using my nonexistent hands I picked up the device. However before I could even respond a heavy voice spoke over.

"I almost thought that it wasn't true but it seems that fortune favors the cautious in this case. It's a pleasure to finally meet you once again Kopi. I'm glad to see you're as strong as ever. But in an effort to not repeat myself, let's make things clear, this feud of ours is far from over and we will meet again Kopi and I will personally remind you who is at the Apex."

Before I could even answer back the walkie talkie short-circuited itself, leaving me all alone with nothing but the world I hold dear in ruin.

Even after a hard battle, it seems Kopi's past is about to catch up to him one way or another! Stay tuned because this tale of events will continue as the journey continues ever forward!