Leo patted Diana as she settled down from her training, the great Tyranitar shuffling her feet and pressing her forehead into his hand like an overgrown puppy as she ended her martial forms. An overgrown puppy that could shoot lasers and levitate, if only for a few seconds and a few inches at a time. Still, in the past few days since the Ultra Beast attack – of whom they had seen neither hide nor hair from – she had steadily increased the duration she could levitate and the height she could reach. Leo wasn't sure why that was the case, but he had his theories. It could in part be because of her early evolution. It could be because the Tapu Koko feather in his backpack had given her that last sliver of energy she needed for evolution. It could even be because of her desire to fly and touch the clouds – he vaguely remembered a pokedex entry for Salamence saying that the reason they grew wings was due to their intense desire to fly in their pre-evolutions, so maybe Diana had a similar influence on her own evolution? Who knew. As far as Leo was aware, that was the question pokemon scientists had been asking themselves since the dawn of time.
Everyone had their theories. Everyone knew the basics. But the outliers were what threw even the true professors off, and made them question the pre-determined "rules."
What he did know was that because she did have a unique evolution; he was almost positive she was thinner and more aerodynamic than the average Tyranitar, despite being taller, he had to make observations and compare them to the data he had in the pokedex. Not only would Professor Oak kill him if he didn't, but he also wanted to make sure Diana was ok and that her early evolution didn't have any bad side-effects. So far he hadn't picked up on anything, but she was still getting reacquainted with her limbs and that was taking longer than was typical for the species. He, once again, chalked that up to her early evolution though. Tyranitar could move their limbs while in the Pupitar phase, once said limbs were formed within the cocoon, and Diana didn't really have that time. Still, Leo thought as Diana pushed her head into his chest, nearly knocking him over, she seemed to be doing absolutely fine.
"That's enough girl," Leo said with a chuckle, gently pushing the giant rock-monster away. "You've been incorrigible ever since your evolution. No more pats for you, I need to give the others some love too. Zuko and Xena are feeling jealous," he gently chided. Diana pulled her head away, a guilty rumble reverberating in her throat as she looked over to where Zuko was napping and Xena was very pointedly not looking at them, instead watching Aerith as the little Happiny polished her white stone.
"I need to finish my thoughts on Spiritomb, too," Leo muttered, rubbing the stone in his pocket. The ghost had been dormant ever since Froslass had split from it – she had refused a name, even the name of the woman she had once been, and thus Leo would continue to call her Froslass – and while that didn't overtly concern him, it did bring up a few questions.
For example; he'd repeatedly tried to enter the mindscape again, with Froslass' help even, and failed every time. Currently his working theory was that the mindscape had been unique to Spiritomb itself, as a sort of way for his mind to rationalize and visualize the ghost's hive-mind, as well as the esoteric concept that was the soul. Either way, it seemed to him that the mindscape was something tied to Spiritomb specifically, rather than a unique ability that he had access to. Not that the mindscape was really useful for anything other than things involving Spiritomb…or in visualizing his soul. But that didn't feel as…important to him. It was hard to describe.
But Spiritomb and Diana weren't the only ones who had grown since their time in this world, and since he hadn't seen any evidence of the ultra beasts around since the night Diana evolved, he finally felt like he had enough room to really start to catalogue everything that was going on. Well, not just that, but since he was feeling back up to a hundred percent now he felt up to actually trying to see it.
Link was working on his connection to fairy energy, and had grown by leaps and bounds. Leo was fairly certain they were close to inventing a new move, one that involved swords and the fairy type, but as for now dazzling gleam was all but mastered and he was close to creating a fully Fairy Blade, without using leaf blade as a base to channel the energy through. Santiago was sharpening his mind – his psychic power, while vast, was slowly being honed to a finer degree so he could use it as both spear and hammer. Most impressive, however, were his improvements with his water abilities. From where Leo stood beneath the shade of the jungle, Diana by his side, he could see Santiago on the beach practicing hydro pump.
It was a solid upgrade from water pulse, and was giving him a bit more power behind his water attacks that water pulse wasn't giving him. Right now he could score great lines in the sand with his attack, but he could only use it a few times and it wasn't as powerful as it could be. Meanwhile, Zuko had been working on his electric attacks, and Xena was…well, she was working on a lot of things; from close-combat to the ranged dragon breath. The only one who wasn't actively expanding her repertoire was Froslass, and that's because she was still getting used to being her own pokemon again.
"I'm tired of waiting, girl," Leo said finally, patting Diana's side. She rumbled out an agreement, eyeing the large jungle tree next to her as if she was considering eating it. She had the same curiosity as when she'd been a Larvitar, after all. She had to taste everything. "We just need a final check on the boat, and then we're crossing the ocean. We've tested the engine, we've triple-checked the motor – what little I remember about engines, anyway – and it all looks good. We haven't seen the ultra beasts in days. We won't gain anything by waiting around too long," he said decisively. A crunching sound was his answer, Diana leaning forward and biting through a tree-branch, only to spit out the wooden shards and whine, looking at Leo plaintively. He sighed.
"I can't even count how many times he has told you that wood won't taste good," Santiago said, his training finished as he ambled up to them, breathing heavily. Diana whined and ran a hand along her tongue, brushing off more splinters before bending down and eating a mouthful of soil to wash away the taste. Judging by her expression she did not enjoy the texture, but she swallowed anyway. Leo shook his head in amusement. "When will we leave?"
"I was thinking tomorrow at the latest." Leo said with finality.
"That soon?" he asked.
"Yes. We've done everything we could, and there is nothing more to prepare for," Leo said.
"…you're sure?" Santiago asked, slowly, and Leo nodded. "You are far more…decisive than before,"
"Yes, I think I am," Leo agreed, touching his chest. He could feel his aura there – though it wasn't a foreign feeling. It was like becoming aware of his own breathing, something he did naturally, but now thought of consciously. It was weird, and more in-depth than that, but that was the closest feeling he could prescribe to it. Being aware of it now meant he could start to understand what it did in more detail. And he was only scratching the surface. "We've wasted enough time. Can you imagine what Victoria will do when we come back, if we tell her how much time we wasted?"
Santiago seemed to ponder that for a moment, then shuddered. Leo nodded in agreement; just thinking about what Prince, Victoria's Persian, would do to him was enough to send a shiver down his spine.
So they got to work. The rest of the day was spent in quiet preparation, checking and re-checking that everything was in order. And that the boat, a white thing with blue stripes down the side, cleaned of moss and muck by Leo and his team, was pushed into the water by Diana. Everything was ready.
But in the early morning light of the next day, when Leo slid out of the little shelter he had made along the beach and stood up, looking towards the ocean, he found that his plans for the day were entirely derailed. The fact that a Nihilego was peacefully floating over the boat had everything to do with it – though not for the reasons one might expect. For one it was just sitting there peacefully, facing his direction – despite the massive jellyfish not having an actual face – with its two foremost tentacles wrapped around its back almost as if it was clasping its hands together.
Of course, Leo felt no fear towards a single Nihilego. They were not as powerful as he had feared – much like most of the other ultra-beasts he'd fought for that matter. They were not legendaries. Extra-dimensional beings with foreign abilities, yes. But they were not legendaries.
They paled in the face of something like Articuno, whose power did not so much as radiate from it as simply exist, letting all know that it was Winter, for all that entailed – even Celebi had more of a presence than the ultra beasts; that of something ancient and timeless. Ultra beasts were just…foreign. Strange. Unknown, not unknowable.
But what really caught his attention about this creature was that it was wearing a hat. A battered, once-white Aether Foundation hat, with the trident-like golden logo stitched onto the front.
"Uh," he said, eloquently stating his surprise. The Nihilego seemed to spot him and casually waved one tentacle in greeting. And then his team took notice of the threat.
Diana roared, startling Pikipek from the trees, her deep boom joined by the rattling warcry of Xena as she leapt to her feet, claws bared and teeth pulled back into a snarl. Link leapt in front of Leo, a leaf-blade half drawn as Santiago took up position behind him, crown gem flashing with pink light. Aerith put a little hand on Leo's pants leg and gripped a small rock in her other, eyeing the beast warily. Only Froslass was missing, and Leo felt her absence sharply.
He squinted and spotted a flash of white just behind the Nihilego – too soft to be the ultra-beast's weird skin – and he knew where his ghost was.
"Stand down!" Leo barked, squaring his shoulders and clasping his hands behind his back. Santiago turned to look at him in confusion, but his team made no further movement to attack. With a grunt Leo bent and scooped up Aerith, who chattered at him softly while keeping an eye on the Nihilego. Absently he bounced her on his hip, trying to soothe the worried normal-type, and stared at the ultra-beast unsure of what to say next. Thankfully the Nihilego solved that issue for him by letting out a long, low cry that sounded like a pitiful attempt at imitating a Pidgeotto's cry.
Collectively his team blinked in surprise, shock ripping through them. Leo felt lost as he looked at Santiago and raised an eyebrow.
"Um. He said 'Greetings and salutations, human! My name is Mohn. I apologize for the way my associates treated you before, but I assure you it is a misunderstanding. May we have a little chat? I promise I will explain everything,'" Santiago said. Ok, what? Leo thought, not missing the name-drop. Mohn was Lusamine's husband – the one who had fallen through an ultra-wormhole. And now his curiosity was well and truly piqued. He worried his lip a bit and looked up at Diana before shrugging. Aw, what the hell. Call me arrogant, but I've got a Tyranitar on my side now. Let's see what it has to say. Besides, I'm tired of fighting these guys.
----------------------------------------
Leo rubbed his hands together as the Nihilego told its story, Santiago translating as he lounged in the sand beside him. It may have looked like he was relaxed, but Leo knew he was anything but – laying sidewise in the sand as he was, head propped up on one paw with half-lidded eyes, Leo knew the Slowking was keeping a psychic eye on their surroundings all while translating the conversation. A perk of being a psychic type, that multi-tasking ability.
Which was great, because Leo was positively enthralled.
He'd always wondered what happened to this world.
In Alola, at least, a land abandoned by humanity – whose scattered remnants still held out in pockets in other regions – it started with the Sundering. By the time the ultra-beasts had arrived, much of the region had been destroyed so all this information was what Mohn-Nihilego had learned from the local pokemon or from magazines it had found. Prior to this event, humanity had been as it always had been. Pokemon worked together with people to become stronger, they forged bonds, people fought and played – and of course there were those who did ill. No one was quite sure what caused the Sundering. One day everything was fine. The next, many people just…stopped, having lost the will to carry on. People laid down in the streets and refused to move. Some perished outright. Others milled about seemingly lost. Only the strongest of heart and mind survived unchanged, though they described the event as something akin to having a hammer strike against their soul.
Their pokemon described it as someone taking a knife and raking it across the bond between them and their trainer, as if trying to sever it.
The skies darkened on that day, radiating outward from the north-west like a wall of shadow. Sensing a disturbance, the Legendary Tapus raced across the ocean towards the source of the darkness, never to be seen again. All they left behind were feathers and Z-crystals as tokens to remember them by; vestiges of their power.
For three long months the skies remained dark, but that was not the worst of it. For then came the distortions. Fractures in space and time, holes cleaved in the fabric of the universe leaving paths to foreign worlds, ran rampant. And thus came the ultra-beast hordes. Dazed and confused they flooded into Alola unchecked, lashing out against all who crossed their paths out of fear for the foreign world. That is when Mohn-Nihilego first arrived. And in their panic, they fought against the leaders of Alola and those humans who remained. It was a time of war and bloodshed, in which people perished in droves and humanity teetered on the brink of collapse.
Then the sun returned, in a flash of brilliant golden light, and with it the space-time fractures began to heal. The ultra-beasts eventually calmed, growing used to the foreign world. The remaining humans gladly accepted the ultra-beasts newfound peace, for fear of their race's extinction, but the damage had been done. Very few people remained, and those that did were scarred from all the fighting. It had been a true apocalypse; and the survivors, led by the Alolan Kahuhas who lived, left this land in search of survivors and their guardian deities. They had not been seen since, and it had been twenty years since that day.
Leo nodded along with the story as the Mohn-Nihilego launched into the next part of the tale, and the part he was most confused about – why this Nihilego called itself Mohn, Lusamine's long-lost husband. It was actually pretty simple, in some respects. One of the things Nihilego fed off of were memories, and this particular Nihilego had absorbed the memories of Mohn.
"It's actually a fascinating subject. I – or, well, the original Mohn – had so many theories after I absorbed the memories," Santiago translated, his tone of voice lacking any of the enthusiasm the Nihilego seemed to have as it waved its tentacles in the air, floating back and forth as if pacing. "We devour memories of humans who pass by our section of ultra-space, where we lived originally. Why is that? I theorize it's a sort of defense mechanism. Something about the nature of ultra space makes it hard on the human mind – so long as you are not travelling with one of the great Legendaries to protect you – and we eat those memories. Obviously that is not the only function Nihilego have, but considering we inhabit those strange spaces between worlds that are most dangerous for humans and pokemon alike, I cannot imagine it is an accident."
"He's rambling," Leo noted as Santiago fell silent, watching Nihilego pace back and forth while letting out those low, keening cries with relative consistency. Eventually Santiago picked up the conversation again, though, though Leo kind of wished he'd heard the rambling.
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"This is where the man named Mohn comes in. He fell through a hole in the sky a few years ago, and I happened to be the one who ended up tasting his memories. Through him I learned about other worlds, and became aware of myself as a being, not just a thing. He only stayed for a short time – a few months at most before falling back to his world – but that time was very educational for us. After all, that is how we discovered ultra-wormholes and a method to escape back to our own worlds. This is not our home, and we desire to return. Unfortunately we did not know how to communicate with you. That combined with the fact that many of the ultra beasts have few good experiences with humans, caused me to send a few of my much tamer brethren after you. I do apologize for the miscommunication. I am entirely at fault and, in hindsight, it was not the most human-like gesture," Santiago translated.
"But that does sound like a Pokemon solution to problems. Everything can be solved with a good fistfight." Leo reasoned, scratching his chin. Mohn-Nihilego bobbed up and down in agreement while Leo eyed the pokemon. He had a decent understanding of the situation now. Somewhat. "So do you have a way to get me back to my world?" he asked. Mohn-Nihilego warbled, and Santiago cocked his head to the side.
"Not without losing your memories." Santiago translated. "Leo, I think the rule is that you have to travel with a legendary in order to not lose your memories."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Are you the ones who keep attacking Alola in the other world? Why are you so fixated on Lusamine – is it because of your memories?" Leo asked, keeping his tone civil and expression neutral. Mohn-Nihilego bobbed its head again, and Zuko let out an uncharacteristic growl.
"I do not have a lot of pull with the other ultra-beasts outside of a select few of my own species. We accidentally incited the Buzzwole and Pheromosa into attacking you a few days ago which, again, I apologize for. Try not to use Z-moves by the way, they incense us. Regardless, what we all agree on is that we wish to return to our respective homeworlds; Lusamine is the leading researcher on ultra wormholes and mapping out ultra-space. Thus, she is the most likely beyond the unreachable legendaries to be able to help is. Mohn's memories do push me in that direction as well, though. Your world is the one world we are consistently able to connect to, that is close enough to this one we know what to expect. It is almost a…mirror of your world. My best guess, anyway," Mohn-Nihilego reasoned, and Leo rubbed his face.
This was getting complicated.
"So let me sum this up. You've been attacking my world because you're trying to get home, and think Lusamine has figured out how. You've been attacking me because I came through a portal, though you haven't really told me your interest in me yet. You ate Lusamine's husband's memories, and that's how you know all this and act more human than pokemon. And now…?" He asked, trailing off leadingly. Nothing about this situation made him happy, but Nihilego was potentially extending a hand – tentacle? – of peace, and he didn't want to turn it away. Not fearing an attack around every corner would be nice.
"Ah, yes, I do prattle on sometimes. Sorry, we require your aid," Mohn-Nihilego said, and didn't elaborate. Santiago narrowed his eyes, glanced at Leo, then looked back at Nihilego.
"Who's we?" Leo asked, his eyes wandering up to where Froslass had reappeared above Nihilego, giggling to herself and freezing the top of the ultra-beast's hat.
"My comrades, and the remaining Totems," Nihilego said simply, and Leo paused. He tilted his head to the side and scratched his cheek in confusion. Santiago blinked in surprise, then furrowed his own brows, lifting himself up into a sitting position and turning to properly face Mohn-Nihilego.
"The remaining Totems?" Santiago questioned. Leo just frowned as the Nihilego engaged in a quick conversation with Santiago through a series of quick, quiet chirps and warbles. Leo himself just frowned and ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully. He didn't trust this pokemon. Like, at all. But his team hadn't noticed any foul play yet, and no one had noticed any other ultra beasts coming to attack either. So he would at least hear out the request.
"He says there are three remaining Totem pokemon, not including the Blissey you promoted. In fact, he says Blissey is the one who turned him onto your trail," Santiago said, and Leo jerked in surprise. "And that they need your help in anointing other Totems…wait, that's not right," Santiago muttered to himself a bit and talked to Mohn-Nihilego once more before scratching his chin and shaking his head. "I can't make sense of what's being said here. It's not translating to human right." He grumbled. A thought occurred to Leo then and he turned around, reaching inside of his pack and rummaging about for a second before finding what he was looking for.
"Does it have something to do with this?" Leo asked suddenly, turning and pulling out the feather of Tapu Koko and showing it to Mohn-Nihilego. He had himself fully prepared for a hostile reaction from the ultra-beast, but instead all he received was an excited wiggle of the pokemon's head.
"Yes," Santiago translated. "That. We need your help with two things, the second of which is in regards to that feather. Or in regards to the other Totem pokemon. We need you to travel to each of their shrines, gather what they left, and take them to…the Throne? In order to call them back. A few years back they got a visitor from another region – a travelling pokemon, something called an Eon? – that said they were gathering mementos of the legendaries. This world is hurt, but not dead, and they need all the help they can get to get it back on its feet." He explained, cocking his head to the side. Leo did the same, scratching his chin. Wait…the Throne? And legendaries? Was that Mount Coronet? That's the…arguable throne of Arceus, right?
"Mount Coronet?" Leo asked, and Nihilego bobbed its head in affirmation. Leo narrowed his eyes and scratched his chin. He was going there anyways…and they just want him to take the feathers of Tapus there? What in the world was going on here? "What's in it for you? Why go to all this effort? I'm very confused, if I'm being bluntly honest," he said.
"That brings it back to the first task. Our greatest desire, to return to our homes, can only be granted by the return of the legendary pokemon. The only way to do that is to take their treasures to the Throne and physically call them back – something about it acting as a homing beacon or something? I'm not fully understanding it. I'm not even sure they know where the Tapus actually went – ah! The first task is also in regards to a legendary pokemon. Well, in regards to the only true legendary among the ultra-beasts; Guzzlord." Santiago said, and Leo frowned. The only true legendary? Weren't all ultra beasts legendary pokemon…?
Or, wait, that was just based on stats. And based on stats alone, weren't Tyranitar stronger than Articuno? Yet back in the silver mountains, Diana's dad Tyrus had been constantly fighting Articuno and never once won. Seems like I was right, then. Ultra beasts may be powerful, but they're not "legendary" pokemon. Based on what I remember from the games, in their home planets ultra beasts are relatively common. I'm certain that it's their alien nature that makes it difficult for us to handle them, as well as these ones having been veterans of a war against all of Alola. If Guzzlord is legendary, then, and is truly the endless glutton the games and anime made it out to be, what is it's purpose?
All legendary pokemon have a purpose, even if it's not expressly clear. Articuno seems to be winter. Celebi time travel, the Tapu pokémon are guardians against extra-dimensional incursion, and Lunala has something to do with inter-dimensional travel. So what is Guzzlord? There was one frozen in a block of nevermeltice in the Silver Mountains and it was powerful enough to harm Articuno – still not sure if it was a flock of Articuno or just one, I've heard too many conflicting reports on that – so clearly it's legendary level.
"What is it you need me to do?" Leo asked.
"Capture it or send it home?" Santiago repeated, cocking his head to the side. "…you want us to fight a legendary pokemon? Well, it wouldn't be the first time," he said with a shrug. Diana and Xena, both of whom had been sitting on the beach a few yards away and listening intently, perked up at the idea. Xena in particular flexed her claws and grinned ferally.
"I'm sorry, what?" Leo asked, the only one who was reasonably concerned about the idea. Fighting a legendary? Really?
"What are you surprised about? It's nothing we haven't done before," Santiago said, completely relaxed. "Besides, he said he and the other Totem pokemon will be helping. Even Blissey." Leo blinked and opened his mouth to protest, but Santiago interrupted him. "I want you to stop and think about what you've done. Not just us, your teammates, but you. Who have you personally picked a fight with?"
Leo spluttered, face turning red at the accusation and eyes narrowing, but unable to counter Santiago's point. Off the top of his head he had, alone, and with no chance of winning; wrestled with a literal wrestle dragon multiple times, gotten into fights with fighting types, fought a bunch of smugglers and won, and even battled Tapu Koko without a second's hesitation. He frowned, scrunching his nose and glaring at Santiago in annoyance.
"I hate that you're right," he grumbled.
"I know I'm right. Also, he says that Guzzlord is eating everything, even the atmosphere, and if we don't stop him the world will truly fall to ruin," Santiago said, and Leo blanched. Wasn't it a theme to find Guzzlord in a ruined world? He's pretty sure there's an episode in the anime about Ash fighting a Guzzlord with a ranger or something in a ruined world…
"Well shit. Where is Guzzlord now?" Leo asked. Santiago listened for a minute, then nodded.
"Ula'ula island. The Totem there is keeping it contained in a blizzard, slowing the dragon's intake of, well, everything, but he can only do so much. We have maybe eight months before the dragon can move freely again." Santiago said, then nodded. "I believe him. His mind is alien, but truth and lies are similar no matter the species. Some of what he said isn't entirely true to what he believes, but what he just said is truth."
"You believe him?" Leo asked, and Santiago nodded. "Guys?" he asked, turning to the rest of his team. Xena flexed her claws and bared her teeth, Diana yawned while staring at the sky, Zuko seemed to sigh as he laid next to Xena on the beach, Froslass continued to mess with Mohn-Nihilego's head, building a snowcastle atop the hat now, Link idly played with his leafy kilt, determination shining in his eyes, and Aerith…Aerith was busy digging holes in the sand with a little plastic shovel. Leo stared at her a moment, a smile crawling its way to his face, and couldn't help but sigh.
Blissey gave Aerith to him in hopes he could guide her to a better world. How could he leave this one without doing something to make a difference? But first…
"What do you expect me to be able to do that you could not?" he asked. "Why don't you just capture it in a pokeball?" Nihilego buzzed, and Santiago translated.
"It won't stay in for us. Not even ultra-balls? Nor do we truly have the power to defeat it – wild pokemon are not like trained pokemon. Trained pokemon will all fight to the very end. Us ultra beasts may flee, and I cannot command them. If the Old One has taught me anything, it is that we need a human's help. All pokemon know is fight until it is defeated – but even if we defeat Guzzlord, we cannot do anything about it. It will wake up, and continue to consume. Even with Kartana's help we cannot get it to go through an ultra wormhole, though the sword's aid is spotty at best," it said. Leo rubbed his chin and stood.
Does it not know about beast balls? That would make things much simpler. Considering Mohn disappeared before the creation of beast balls it makes sense though. I wonder if Aether Paradise is still standing…
With a jerk Leo realized something. He wasn't even considering not helping out – he wanted to give aid to these creatures. Even if they had been antagonizing him since before coming here, Santiago's word was good enough to give tentative trust to the beast. It wasn't smart. It wasn't wise. In fact it could very well be considered stupid.
He just didn't care.
"Well damn, seems I already made my decision. Fine, I'll trust you tentatively. We'll check out the situation, but if we sense any kind of foul play you will be the first one to die, got it?" Leo said, not a hint of a threatening tone reaching his voice. It was a simple statement of fact that hid the seriousness of his statement. His fists clenched unconsciously as he turned to face the Nihilego, who had stilled. "Do you understand?" he demanded, freezing the 'mon in place. It was silent for but a moment before bobbing up and down in acknowledgement.
Carefully and quietly the Nihilego rose into the air, motioning for Leo to follow and clasping its tentacles behind its back. It drifted slowly to the ocean, hovering over the waves lapping gently against the beach. Off on the horizon a flock of Pelipper and Wingull flew, cawing loudly as they sought fish as nothing but flashes of white against the clear blue sky.
The sea began to tremble, water roiling as from the depths of the ocean came a truly massive creature. A flat, rounded, brown carapace covered head the size of a bus emerged first, water spilling from the edges as the beast lifted itself out of the water, the massive, scythe-like arms native to the water-dwelling species rising out of the ocean with it. By the time the Kabutobs had risen to its full height, carapace glinting in the sunlight as it shook itself off, it easily stood over twenty feet tall. Power radiated from the beast unlike anything Leo had seen before – this was a Totem Pokemon, of that there was no doubt.
It warbled out a cry, its voice booming over the beach and rumbling through Leo's chest, scraping its scythes against each other as it rolled its neck and cast an unimpressed gaze over Leo's team.
Xena roared out a warcry in response, not in challenge, but just to let it know that she was here, too. Link stepped forward and immediately levelled a leaf blade at the totem, eager for a fight against a fellow swordsman, while Diana rose up to her full height and said nothing – though that was partly because she was chewing on a boulder the size of Leo, greatly enjoying crunching through the hard stone. Though judging by the rumbling of her vents she was not wholly relaxed.
Santiago just sighed and shook his head, looking at Leo helplessly while Froslass appeared over his shoulder, staring at the Kabutops curiously.
For a moment nothing moved, and Leo cocked his head to the side, then bowed to the great beast formally as a sign of respect. Kabutops screeched in response, the sound leaving no doubt in Leo's mind as to its anger. He angled his head up to stare at the pokemon unimpressed as it marched across the sand towards him. Link leapt in the way, a substitute shield already summoned and a battlecry halfway out of his mouth before Leo cut him off.
"I do not care about your rage. I am doing this out of the kindness of my heart," he announced, straightening up. Kabutops hesitated. Honestly Leo didn't understand what Kabutops was angry about. He didn't understand a lot of things, and he was, quite frankly, pissed the hell off about this entire situation. All he wanted was to go home. "And in the hope that once this is done, you all will help me get across the ocean and to Mount Coronet, where I can return home. I am not of this world, and thus I truly have nothing to do with its problems and its collapse. Yet here I am. And damn my bleeding heart, I don't think I can abandon you after Blissey helped me. But try me again and see what I do," he snapped, curling his lips in a snarl and stepping forward as if to fight Kabutops himself.
"I am Leo Angelico. Foreigner to this world and the one I came from; traveler of dimensions. I have stood before Articuno, been saved by Lunala twice, and received the wisdom of Celebi. Trainer of legacies; legacies of champions down to the hope of a simple Slowpoke herd. I am not of this world nor any you know. Yet I am here, listening to you, offering you aid, so you had better damn well treat me with the same respect I offer to you," he snapped, tilting his head up to stare Kabutops in the eyes. The beast stared at him for a moment, then let out a low crooning sound that sounded suspiciously amused before turning and rumbling at the Nihilego.
"He says 'Seems we were sent a spark of moonfire, not a guiding light.'" Santiago translated. Leo frowned, not sure whether or not to count that as an insult. In fact, he wasn't sure what the hell that meant in the first place. Moon might be a reference to Lunala? He filed that thought away for later and simply raised an eyebrow, watching the Totem Kabutops as it turned back to the sea. It waved one clawed hand to the boat Leo had been preparing to travel in, then jerked its head in a motion to follow it out to sea.
He only hesitated for a few seconds before recalling half of his team. Only Aerith, Santiago, Link, and Froslass remained outside of their pokeballs, the rest either too big to fit on the boat or ineffective at sea. It was a simple command and Leo was half tempted to ask it to say please; but that was petty, and he was not petty. Besides, pokemon did not abide by the rules of man; pokemon were creatures who fought each other for fun, almost universally so. Combat was not so much a decision as a way of life. Almost as necessary as breathing, for some pokemon.
Leo chuckled to himself, a thought occurring to him. Maybe that was why he liked the pokemon world so much. It was a world of warriors. Or, more specifically, it was a world that truly nurtured the warrior spirit inside of him. Something that his old world, his first world, never had. Maybe it was only just occurring to him. Maybe he had been blind to it. But the pokemon world – or worlds, in this case – were worlds of heroes. Of people who were more than willing to toss their lives aside for the greater good. That was what the Nihilego's story had told him; even Alola was full of people willing to toss aside their lives to combat the greater evil. Whatever had caused the collapse of this world could not be allowed to fester, and as such, the warriors had promptly packed up their things and gone in search of it.
How could he do anything less?
How could Leo spit in the face of such bravery?
He wouldn't. He couldn't.
As he took his first step towards the boat he felt his aura flare, rising up within him like a roaring flame that burst from his skin and filled his limbs with heat. It was almost as if he could feel the fallen heroes of Alola pushing him along – it was not a weight on his shoulders, but an encouraging shove that said to him "go. Show them your mettle." And it occurred to him that this was not a broken world, like he had been told and believed.
Whatever great evil, whatever great destructive force had driven this world to the brink had been defeated. It was not a dying world, but a redeemed one. A world that shouted "we will not go quietly into that good night!" It was a world to be rebuilt. A surge of excited pride lanced through Leo's veins as he approached the boat, tied up to the shore against a rotten log as it was.
He was not a hero of this world, but damn it if he wouldn't help it get back on its feet. Maybe being sent here was an accident. But, while he was here…
He would leave his mark, for himself and his team, even if it was a mark only he would see. It wasn't a matter of personal pride. It was a matter of soul.
It was time to go kick the ass of a legendary pokemon. After some preparation, of course.