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The Gates of Aluzon - Fire Nation, Koria

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Alex lost track of how long the fighting in the harbor continued after he descended and unleashed his armored team, but by the time it finally stopped, the sun was setting, turning the sky around them blood red. It was a costly victory, and without Ash's Lugia, it would've very likely turned into a rout. The Earth Nation officially claimed the capital of the Fire Nation, and the Gates of Aluzon were given to the Water Tribes, to fortify and hold.

Of Jimen and Ozai, there was no sign, and while many were initially heartbroken at losing their Avatar so early, both Alex and Ash were able to confirm, by way of their teachers, that Avatar Jimen was not yet dead, nor had he lost to Ozai. The price of stopping Ozai simply meant he'd have to be away, for a time in the Spirit World guarding Vaatu's prison from any more would-be jailbreakers. At least until the convergence of planets ended. During the fighting, Alex had reunited with Akos, and the two had used the effectiveness of water and ground typing to put out many fires, and firebenders.

Now that things were calm again, Alex, Akos, and Ash looked out over the war-scarred harbor. "I'm glad you showed up when you did, Ash." Akos was saying. "We would've been completely defeated without you and your Lugia." The Lugia in question had since departed again to his home, this time simply by Teleporting.

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Ash looked out over the harbor and frowned. His Pikachu, still on his shoulder, was as ash-covered and grimy as he was. "Yea…right, you're uh…you're welcome."

Akos suggested they go and celebrate, but seeing Ash wasn't in the mood, Alex bid him to go on ahead of them, and joined the World Champion by the edge of the building the Fire Nation had built to oversee things going on in the harbor, on both sides of the gates. "Is this the first time you've seen a war like this?"

Ash was quiet for a long moment, before he answered. "Well…I've seen battles…violent conflicts, but this is…"

"Slaughter." Alex answered, and both Ash and his electric mouse stared at him, eyes wide. "Call it what it is. This is Humanity, doing what Humanity does best. Killing each other. For all our lauded brainpower, our culture, our peaceful societies, this is what it always comes back to. The hate. The killing. The smell." Alex sighed, heavily. "If I could stop it, I would…but I know better. I'll see many more sights like this before my days are done." That grim admission of reality brought a fresh pang of sadness. Being what he was, keeping Astrum in a region like Koria, even after the fighting was over, was cruel to him. He was back at the ranch now meeting his brothers, but his Luxury Ball had a permanent place on his dragonskin cloak, and always would.

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"You do what you can to end it, with the power you have." Came the comforting tones of the Pikachu who recognized a human in despair. He placed a tiny paw on Alex's face. "There's much more to being alive, than this."

Alex nodded, eyes closed, as he felt the tiny hand. "You're right, little friend. But…" He turned back to the carnage. "We can be better. We can be so much better." He looked back at the Pikachu then. "A large part of that is thanks to Pokémon. Sights like this would be a lot more common, if we still had to live without you guys." He gave the adorable electric type a head scratch then, until his tail started twitching.

The silence stretched on then, as the sun faded, and the night took over. Campfires lit the harbor below, and the sounds of drunk, merrymaking soldiers filled the air. "What will you do now?" Ash finally asked, breaking the silence.

Alex couldn't help but stifle a yawn as he imagined his near future. "Go home. Sleep for a month. This is the second conflict I've had to wrap up…I never got much of a rest after the Arceans invaded. Hopefully things can stay peaceful long enough for Festivus at least."

"And after Festivus ends?" Ash pressed, and Alex finally realized what he was asking.

"After that…I head to Albion. Galar first, of course. The Queen up there needs to be stopped, and my Gallade should be the one to stop her. I was intending to bring a few of my Scales of Balance along. And Cynthia. Would you care to join us, Ash? I know you had a few old friends to catch up with."

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Ash nodded. "That I do…I may fly by at some point, just to make sure Cynthia is okay…but you're right. I have things to do, and then, a World Tournament to prepare for. I'll be leaving tonight."

Alex had a feeling by 'tonight' he meant imminently, so he turned to face the man, and offered a hand. "Then when next we meet…we'll have to have a Battle."

Ash took the hand, and smirked. His electric mouse mirrored his expression. "If you want to Battle me, Redwood, you'll need to make it through the Superior Sixteen. Good luck with that."

"Oh, I'll make it through…" Alex said, giving the hand a squeeze of affirmation before releasing it. "In the Finals, then. Until we meet again, World Champion."

Ash nodded, turned towards the Temple of the Mind Sage in the east, and then Teleported himself and his partner away with a bamf.

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While Ash had managed to get away without much ceremony, Akos had no intention of letting Alex return so suddenly as well. He insisted the Dragon Emperor properly and officially visit the Northern Water Tribe, where Akos, as their Chief, intended to officially unite their people, and make a declaration of friendship with the Dragon Empire. After a brief Holocall with Haley, who was apparently now in charge of covering his whereabouts for Tao, she agreed to bookend his 'eastern tour' by sharing the ceremony Akos intended to have on the news.

The Earth Kingdom officially pledged Koria's loyalty back to the Eousian Empire, and later that same day, Chief Akos declared that the Water Tribes would aid the Earth Nation in rebuilding Koria, and renewing their fight against the Imperium of Man. For Alex's part, he publicly emphasized the Original Dragon's fondness for Koria, and pledged only to help them rebuild from the damage and terror the Imperium's oppressive rule had caused.

Akos was garbed much like how Alex had seen him in his Future Sight of the man, though he lacked age lines on his face, the Lycanroc tribal headdress was the same, as was the ornate blue and Liepard-fur lined garment he wore for the ceremony. "Now that our western friends have pledged their humanitarian aid, I suggest we end the Dragon Emperor's tour of Koria with one final Challenge!" He looked into the floating Rotom Drone then, and grinned, fully enjoying the fact more eyes than he could count were upon him. "Some of you may not be aware, but like the Trainer he is at heart, Alex Redwood has been challenging our region's Gym Leaders on his visit. Not surprisingly, he's managed to beat seven of them."

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Akos's face fell, then. "Leader Pokku was, unfortunately, one of the many casualties in the recent conflict in the Fire Nation that saw Koria's freedom returned. Because of that…you will Battle with me! What do you say, Challenger?"

Alex, who had by that point been sitting in his armor, minus his helmet, and comfortably plopped on a cushion beside Yue's, rose at Akos's words, smirked, and let his aura shield flare to life. The deep blue outlined his form, and ten Pokéballs began floating behind him in a slowly rotating circle. "Chief Akos…I accept your Challenge and will gladly take your Tribe's Badge. Consider this your first examination for legitimacy by the Pokémon League. I won't speak for them, but…they'd be hard pressed to find a better bar with which to measure you, I think."

Akos chuckled and gestured to an open space nearby. The two men took their places on opposing sides of the snowfield that had hosted the ceremony uniting the tribes. Being just outside the ornate water palace of Agna Qel'a, the space usually hosted the guests who couldn't fit inside the palace. Akos had instead used it as a public space to unite the north and the south, while promising to keep them culturally diverse at the same time. The northern tribe would provide aid and benders, but the southerners would rebuild their half of the Water Nation on their own terms. They could finally expand, now that they didn't have to defend Wolf Cove. Together, Akos and Alex waterbended a Pokémon battlefield into shape, and Akos drew first. "I've been waiting for this. With a bit of training, and some of that weird 'Experience Candy' you westerners seem so fond of, we should be evenly matched with your team! Prove it, Tuhan!"

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Alex's eyes widened as he sensed the Lucario, but seeing her form made him stare. Akos had told him of Ara's untimely demise, and while Alex had tried apologizing for not being there, the Chief of the waterbenders had stopped him. Alex had done what he'd come to Koria to do, and in doing so, helped free an entire region. Lucario normally evolved through friendship, in the sunlight, Tuhan had apparently evolved in the moonlight, after a tragic loss.

Alex gestured with one hand, and Canis's Pokéball went sailing forward. Akos grinned as he saw the low-key aura hound appear, and stare down his opponent. His eyes were wide, and Tuhan barked at him, challenging him with insults. Canis was calm though, and he used Calm Mind as he fell into his dragon style stance, giving her the first move.

Akos pointed at Canis and gave the order. "Aura Fist!" With speed that startled Canis, Tuhan was suddenly in his face. With his special defense newly raised, Canis simply smirked, dodging the angry fists of the Night Form Lucario as he bobbed and weaved. His physical defense had also been honed, and thanks to the boost, he could read her punches and dodge them with his own speed.

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Then, came the counter. "Max Aura." Alex said calmly, his crossed arms visible under the long black cloak and looking far too confident. Canis's 'hair' flared out, and Tuhan had time only to watch as the somewhat more experienced Lucario's charged aura pulsed through his body, and then rapidly centered on his paws. As they erupted with a sudden and overpowering flood of aura, Tuhan had time to raise her paws, and try to block. To her credit, she held for a few seconds, before being blown back in front of Akos.

Being a dark and steel type, the quadruple effective fighting typed hit almost OHKOed her, but she hung on for her Trainer, and for her pride. "Aura Bone." Alex said, and in a mirror of Tuhan's opening attack, Canis moved too fast for the eye to follow, landed in front of her, and brought his bone-shaped aura weapon down across her shaggy chest. Canis backflipped into the air then, and landed before Alex, once more falling into his dragon stance. "Perfectly done, Canis. Now return." With a flourish and a nod, Canis dematerialized his weapon, and let the beam of his Pokéball floating behind his Trainer recall him to his comfortable extradimensional space. Alex turned his hat backwards then and smirked at Akos. "You're getting my best now, Akos. A Gym Leader needs to be ready to be swept, at any time. Show him, Terra!"

The titanic earth tortoise appeared with a green flash, snorted in the frigid air, and roared at Akos. The new Water Tribe chieftain had to hold onto his Lycanroc shaped helm as the force of the challenging roar washed over him and sent snow shuddering across the field. An aura shield of green flashed from his Meadow Plate as the noise faded. Akos stared, fully smiling as he realized he was finally seeing his friend's full strength. His starter.

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"I think we might be outclassed…but that won't stop us! Go! Pado!" The Empoleon appeared with a roar of his own, though he did seem intimidated as he took in the look in Terra's eye. "Don't worry bud! We've got this!" Akos raised his Splash Plate shard, and Pado connected to it the way Alex and Arbor had shown them. "Mega Evolve!"

Alex took in the altered water and ice type, from his sharp dry-ice fins to the icy crown on his head, and the expanded 'tuxedo' on his body. Terra glanced at Alex, but he shook his head. "We'll battle as is. Have to keep it at least a little fair! Seed Bomb!"

"Slash through them with Liquidation!" Akos ordered. Alex just smirked. Pado's display of swordsmanship, such as it was, was flawless. The problem came from cutting the explosive grass energy in half. Normally Terra's attacks were too thick to be cut, but it seemed Mega Empoleon's dry ice wings were more than capable of slicing the dense grass energy. The water penguin's smirk faded however, as it realized their mistake, and the bisected Seed Bombs exploded.

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"Terra! Another round of Seed Bombs!" More grassy spheres of super effective damage rained down on the Empoleon from the central Ash tree atop the earth tortoise's shell, and when the snow cleared, Pado was unconscious.

Recalling his starter, Akos was frowning. "Let's try someone more defense heavy. Alumin!" A Duraludon popped onto the field, and the two Pokémon shared a roar.

"Earthquake!" Alex ordered, while Akos called for Iron Defense. As the earth rose to swallow and pummel the steely dragon, its defensive buff was not enough to stop the OHKO. Akos stared in disbelief, and Alex chuckled. "I think that's enough, Terra. Very well done." He'd known his starter had also gotten stronger, mainly by absorbing the light of the sun for the better part of the summer, but Alex was starting to realize many of his A Team had reached a new level of some sort. It was something he needed to investigate when they were finally home.

Both Trainers recalled their partners, and Alex 'threw' first. "I wanted to keep my newer team members a secret, but…in the interest of fairness, I'll use the lowest level among them. Adamanteus!"

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The Steelix appeared with a flash and turned his large head towards his Trainer. Alex chuckled. "It's true, my friend. If you want experience, you need to Battle more!" The smirk widened, then becoming a little sinister in aspect. "Let's show them what you're made of." Steel typed energy began resonating between them.

"Hawky! Go!" Akos said, thinking the flier would be able to dodge if he stayed in the air. As Alex and Adamanteus ascended to a power beyond evolution, Akos gave the first command. "Stay high, Hawky! They can't get you up there! Then use Flamethrower!"

Alex was still smirking far too confidently for Akos, as he gave a command to the Mega Steelix before him. "Dig." The titanic steel snake dove into the icy ground with ease then, as the flames baked the field and missed their target.

Akos laughed. "You'll never hit him with a ground Move!"

"Who said I was going to hit?" Alex said as he let his eyes fall to the hole in the ground. "Adamanteus! Once you're up there, use Rock Slide." Akos blinked, processing the words, before his train of thought was derailed by the shadow from the massive form of Adamanteus, soaring high into the sky with the force of his Dig. The Mega Steelix came all but eye-level with the Talonflame, and then pulsed with rock typed energy.

"Dodge with Flame Charge!" Akos ordered desperately from below.

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The trained fire falcon, more of a messenger than a battler, did his best to dodge and make his attack land, but found himself pummeled by the quadruply effective hit. The fact it was critical didn't matter for it would've KOed the fire falcon either way, but Adamanteus glanced at his Trainer anyway for approval as he landed and absorbed the recoil harmlessly. Hawky hit the ground as well, a moment later, clearly unconscious.

Akos recalled him, and murmured at the ball, before putting it back on his belt. He'd been confident he could take down at least one of Alex's team, but that Torterra had him outclassed. The Steelix was also quite strong, and his Mega Form only enhanced that strength further. Akos threw another Pokéball, and what came out of it was a Marowak, very similar in appearance to those found in Alola. Its fire was, to Alex's senses, quite cold though. Aside from that, the only marked differences were on the skull, in the form of different patterns on the bony forehead and cheekbones, atop a generally stockier body, sporting the same telltale limb length typically attributed to the Alolan biome.

"Jeonsa! Cold Fire Bone!" The Marowak nodded, and Alex realized that, compared to the rest of Akos's team, aside from Pado really, this one was much better trained, which meant Akos had likely inherited his Pokéball. It masterfully threw the burning bonemerang at Adamanteus, who weaved out of the way of its first pass, and the second. He wasn't expecting the third pass as the possessed bone seemed unnaturally determined to hit, but Alex helped him dodge it. "Dig, now!"

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The Mega Steelix again bore into the earth, but Akos smirked. "Follow it! The Cold Fire cannot be dodged!"

Alex just shook his head, chuckling. "Who said we were dodging."

As Akos felt the ground shudder, he realized the Steelix was going fast, fast enough to launch its bulk twenty feet in the air. Again. If it hit his Marowak, Alex would gain another W. Remembering how the earthbenders had fought, he took a page from them, and noticed Jeonsa staring at him, and slowly nodding. "Earthquake!"

With just his fist, the elder Marowak hammered the snow-covered field, just as Adamanteus reached the top layer of the area. On his own initiative, he used the energy from the Dig to shield himself and coil up among the quaking earth. It didn't stop the damage entirely, but the Mega Steelix rose from the rubble, grinning as darkly as his Trainer had. Then, came their answer to the attack. "Earthquake!"

Jeonsa had no such defense against the attack, and fell to it, but not before he clenched one of his fists. Adamanteus gave a victorious roar, and then flinched, as the fiery bonemerang made contact. Returning to his Trainer, Adamanteus received a Max Potion as the final hit had almost knocked him out and would have if he wasn't so sturdy. Akos readied to call out who he had left. The silence grew, as Akos stared at the rest of his team, and then shook his head. "You've beaten six of my Pokémon in a row, Alex. It's clear we're…not ready for you. Yet. But someday, we will be."

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Alex nodded. "There's no shame in understanding when you have no chance, and not subjecting your friends to the pain of a losing Battle. I've had to do that a few times myself, and it's never fun. Meet us at the World Championships…if you can reach us." He'd walked across the field as he spoke, and his Steelix let his Mega Form fade, with the battle being over. Jeonsa joined them, holding an arm, but one that evidently still worked as it was clutching his bone weapon. He nodded at the Steelix, who nodded in return. It was rare for a fire type to try to match him in terms of ground attacks, but the Steelix respected the attempt.

The Chieftain and the Emperor clasped arms. "I hope you found Koria as endearing as your Dragon did, Emperor Redwood." Akos said, genuinely seeming happy, and yet sad, as he knew what was coming.

"I…" Alex glanced around again, and fixed his hat as he did. "I'll be honest…I enjoyed every minute. When next I visit, hopefully I won't be as tired. If you or the others need me, you know how to reach me. Train hard, Chieftain of the Water Tribes."

"I will." Akos said, reluctantly letting his friend's hand go.

"Until next time, then." Alex said, stepping back, bowing fist to palm towards the other Water Tribe nobles, and nodding a final time at Akos, before he vanished.

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Somewhere in Mewsia - Fornia Region

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Jessica Gladstone had finally wrapped up her own efforts for Tao, namely, keeping the subjugated populace of Fornia from rising up and murdering the Scale representatives in their midst. More than a few holdout cells of terrorists equipped with power staves and Pokémon had tested the Dragon Empire's reach, and they had been swiftly and brutally put down by Jess and her own Scales. Among such people, she reached a level of notoriety not unlike Alex's, and dealing with them was quite exhausting, as she hadn't rested after the conflict either. Many Scales hadn't, for there was much to do and integrating a region like Fornia and its satellites was not a small job. Courthouses needed to be built to legally try the Crusaders produced by each city for the crimes they'd committed. Infrastructure had to be upgraded. Nearby resources had to be managed. It was a time-consuming series of tasks, and even with Tao handling most of that, the Scales had more than enough to do.

Many of them were looking forward to the start of Festivus, but as Jess fought off tiredness and boring paperwork, she suddenly sat up straight, as she sensed a powerful psychic presence coming directly towards her, like a meteor. It took a second to recognize who it was, and she sighed, as she knew once again Alex had increased his power. With a bamf, he appeared in her office, armored up and covered mostly by the leathery dragonskin cloak. He offered her a hand up as he took in her face, and he kissed her once she took it and stood. Dreams were nice, but he would always prefer reality. "You're with me now, gorgeous." He smirked. "I have one loose end to tie up…and then I thought we might find somewhere in Kalos to kick off the Festivus season."

"Festivus is still a few days away, Alex…" She said, entwining their hands together. She could delegate the paperwork to someone else. "But I won't say no to a Kalos shopping spree. I could use some new clothes. Where are we heading first?"

"Indius." Alex said, holding her close. He breathed deep, enjoying her scent, as she and her psychic sight took in her lover. There was something different. In terms of power, he hadn't really expanded, but it did seem more…potent, somehow. As if his aura now had a permanent boost, a denseness, not unlike a Totem Pokémon's. Not able to resist her charms, Alex planted another one on her lips, enjoyed the smile, that brought to her tired face, and then Teleported them to Canalave City, in Sinnoh. From there, it was a relatively short flight to Indius.

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Somewhere Above Naya Delhi - Indius Region, Eous

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Shruikan had made the rather lengthy trip from Japan to Indius in only two hours, but within those two hours, Jess had managed to fall asleep, despite the pressure of the wind hitting them. The fact that she'd essentially curled in under Alex's cloak also helped, that and the fact that his natural body temperature had always run hot, but in recent years, had grown hotter. The rest of the armor was away, and he'd grabbed a shower in Canalave's Pokémon Center, as well as a few items. He had many valuable items he'd picked up from Koria, but he had a hunch the museums in Unova would pay more for them.

As they flew over the Indius region, Alex noted several biomes, and many large cities. Linked as his sight was with the Copperajah, he relied on things that seemed familiar to it, before bringing Shruikan in closer. Eventually, just south of what looked from the air like a verdant flood plain, the Copperajah's mind pinged with familiarity, particularly, as Alex took in the sight of what seemed to him like a large, red, fortified palatial complex.

Flying lower revealed aerial guards atop Noivern, who directed them to the front of the complex if they had any inquiries, and though they eyed Shruikan with what seemed like suspicion, neither of the bat wyverns attacked the black Mega Salamence, or his riders. Alex nudged Jess awake as they landed, and with a yawn she emerged from the leathery black cocoon of warmth and glanced around. Above them, atop the red walled edge of the complex, flapped the flag of Indius in orange, white, and green, and below that, the flag of those allied with the Empire of Eous, which was a fiery stylized phoenix and dragon circling around a gold and black Pokéball, on a white background.

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Once Shruikan had an Aspear Berry for the cold, Alex recalled him to rest, and then brought out the ball of the Copperajah. "Alright, my friend. We're here. Naya Delhi. Any of this look familiar?"

The steel typed elephant looked around rapidly, seeming confused, and Alex could feel his mind fighting to remember. Then, suddenly, he raised his trunk, and released a trumpeting roar that echoed loudly through his massive metallic body. Jess covered her ears, but Alex listened intently. Answering calls came from both within the fort, and behind them, in the city surrounding this crimson fort. Not that surprising, as Copperajah was fairly common in Indius. Then, from above, came an answer from someone who recognized that particular Copperajah's call, and dive bombed the two humans beside it in the street outside the fort. "Get away from him, thieves! Fafnir, Boomburst!"

Jess, who was still groggy, barely had time to look up, but Alex had been ready for shenanigans. He leapt away from the first Boomburst with Jess, and when another followed, the Copperajah blocked with his trunk, and stood defensively in front of those who'd helped free him of the Shadow, if not all of its effects.

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As the Noivern, Fafnir, came down for a landing, his rider hopped off. Hearing her shout, and seeing the Copperajah, other Noivern riders descended swiftly, Pokéballs raised at Alex and Jess. Alex moved in front of his sleepy redhead, one arm outstretched before her, the other on the Copperajah's side, as he didn't want it going into a rampage here. "Easy, my friend." He said, before turning his intense eyes on the female rider. Her hair was as red as his lover's, but curlier. Her eyes were as blue and intense as his own, and her sense of fashion was clearly from Italia not to mention leagues more 'in style' than his own fashion sense. It seemed she had also adopted hints of Indius fashion, namely in the light, breathable clothes around her arms and legs that sat somewhere between scantily clad and dressed like nobility. He also spied some rather cool tattoos on the woman's body.

Then, Alex blinked. "It took me far longer than it should have to recognize you, Isabella Fondacaro…Champion of Italia. I am Alex Redwood, Champion of Unova's Victory League. Do you know this Copperajah? I found him corrupted by Shadow and have been trying to get him home ever since, but his memory has…gaps."

As he spoke, the redhead peered at him, and then glanced at her bat dragon. "Stand down, Fafnir." She ordered, and the rather large Noivern relaxed its stance. The Copperajah relaxed too, as the landed dragon spoke to it in Pokéspeech, asking the same thing his Trainer did. Italia's Champion cautiously approached the wary metal elephant. "Arjun…is that you?"

Alex blinked and looked at the metal elephant. "Arjun? Is that your name, my friend?"

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Arjun, for his part, had widened his eyes on hearing the name both in Pokéspeech and the Common tongue. "Yes…I…"

"Arjun!" A new, male voice came, and Isabella let out a noise between a sigh and a chuckle. Upon hearing the mental message she'd sent, he had, of course, come flying onto the scene as well, as fast as Ajagar would carry him.

Alex only had an instant to take in the new arrival, for he was riding a Dragapult, who fired both his Trainer and a pair of yeet-seeking Dreepy missiles towards himself and Jess. At that same instant, a powerful psychic presence from the Indius native soaring at the Copperajah severed the brief psychic connection Alex had to his mind. He let it happen though, for as the metal elephant saw the man's face, his memories clicked, as he remembered his Trainer and finally broke through the last of the shadowy blocks on his memory with the power of friendship.

Alex swatted the Dreepy away as they screeched towards him, shouting a word that to his ears sounded like 'dakka' and bounced off his aura shield. He swatted not hard enough to hurt them, but enough that their momentum was stalled, and they had to return to their Dragapult at their much slower base speed. Still in attack mode, Ajagar readied another pair of yeet-seeking missiles, at which point Shruikan popped out, eager for a battle. He roared at the floating draconic missile platform, and it tried to roar back, until it met the ferocious Salamence's eyes, and lost its nerve. Seeing his Trainer was occupied, the Dragapult waited for another attack command. The redhead with the Noivern just stared, along with her partner, in awe at the black Salamence, and Shruikan nonchalantly stretched his wings higher and shifted his body, as he took a stance ready for battle. Like the Dragapult though, he waited on his Trainer.

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The Indius man clinging to his metal elephant as the trunk lifted to hug him in return was clothed in what to Alex's eyes seemed almost like some sort of dress, but for men, and not completely enclosed around his waist. It was orange, and the man's green and white pants seemed very similar in style to his own, in that they were roomy and looked comfortable. He correctly assumed the garment was some sort of local style, and he wondered if incorporating the region's colors into one's outfit was a thing the people here did often.

After a solid three minutes of bro hug, the Copperajah twisted its trunk and sent his Trainer sliding down to the ground. Once there, Alex spied a knitted green cap with an orange band around its base atop his head. "Arjun told me what you did for him. I'm sorry we attacked you." He bowed, stiffly, formally, and low. "You saved one of my oldest friends from the Darkness. We will never forget this, Unova Champion."

Alex glanced at Jess, who he had since given context about their little side trip, and then he fixed his eyes back on the man, and again, he realized he should've recognized him much sooner. After what both he and Isabella had done in Leon's Champion-only Galar Challenge, the Tournament of Champions, that he'd held not long after Alex had become Champion himself, and then gone off to train in the Swamp. Apparently, Alex had gotten an invite, but had missed it, due to a lack of Pokénet access. The Champions of Polska, a region south of Germania also under Imperium rule, and of Romani, a region with ties that went back to Italia, with whom they shared a sea border and a dark history, had been Sikandar and Isabella's opponents. He'd heard some Mukery had gone on in the final stages of the Champion's run through the Galar region, but that wasn't unheard of for Leon's tournaments. In the end, or so he'd read, the fan's favorites had triumphed over whatever scheme the Polska and Romani Champions had been up to.

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What that scheme had been, had not been disclosed and it seemed Leon himself had buried that story from even the intrepid Gabby and Ty, who'd written the summary of the tournament themselves. The only hint they'd dropped was that there was strong evidence the Imperium of Man had been up to their old tricks of interference and subtle coercion.

"Please, there's no need, Champion Sikandar. I merely did what I hope other Trainers would do for my partners if such a fate befell them." Alex said, and as his words registered, Sikandar rose. The longer he was this close to Alex, the more he sensed the Indius Champion was, in many respects, a powerful psychic. Maybe even one strong enough to beat him were they to test said powers against each other. In terms of aura, Alex would've ranked him above Meelo, albeit not by much.

"There is every need, my new western friend!" Sikandar said, beaming. "You…don't know the significance of what you've done. Arjun was and is a symbol of Indius. Every Champion of our region has tamed and Battled alongside a pachyderm of our region. Copperajah, Rhyperior, and Hippowdon, are just a few examples. There's more, though. Arjun is…special." Sikandar patted his friend then, and Alex blinked, as his perception shifted. Not much changed in the metallic elephant, except now, the veins of copper in his skin were a brilliant gold. "We put a Fairy glamor on him, most of the time, otherwise criminals would constantly try to steal him. Humans do truly depraved things to Copperajah with gold instead of copper."

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Alex shook his head. "That's only common in the parts of Old Africa that the Imperium controls. Like Lorule. The people of Indius are very protective of their metal friends, at least from what my Granduncle told me."

Sikandar's face fell. "You would think we would be…but we're not. Whether it's Indius, Cape Imperium, Lorule, or even modern Galar, there will always be Humans with enough greed to blind them to the torture they subject Copperajah to, just to get their gold. Copperajah like Arjun are typically kept captive, as the gold will eventually return with enough food and care, but…they don't live very long lives. Some, have even chosen suicide, over such an existence." Arjun made a sad noise, and Sikandar nodded, stroking the large trunk as he too remembered. "I found him as a Cufant, when my Master disbanded such an operation…his mother…didn't make it. But we did learn that he's part of a line of gold-bearing Copperajah that extends into Indius's history during the Dark Times. Unlike most uniquely colored Pokémon, his offspring are more likely to be gold than copper."

Alex glanced around then, namely back towards the city, and noted some people were approaching the area that had been targeted by the Noivern riders with moves. Bracing himself, Alex drew his Pixie Plate shard, and reapplied the copper coloring to Arjun. His hand visibly smoked, as the fairy energy burned his palm, but he ignored it, and applied the perception shifting aura anyway. He hadn't even sensed it before, and he made the same effort to make it undetectable now. Sikandar started to say something about them being able to do that themselves, but Alex cut him off, flexing his hand as Jess healed it. "I will keep his secret…and we're about to have company. So, Indius Champion…what say you to a Battle? Would your people like that?"

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At the word 'battle', the sadness in Sikandar's eyes vanished, replaced with a fire Alex was familiar with. One that stoked his own fiery gaze to life as well. "Yes…but we should make it a Double Battle." His arm went around Isabella's waist, and though she looked less than enthused about the public display of affection, Gabby and Ty had also confirmed that they were, in fact, an item. Honestly, that had been the main focus of their post-tournament synopsis, and Alex had skipped over most of it due to a lack of interest. The only noteworthy part had been the pair's admittedly impressive teamwork throughout the challenge. From the word 'go' they'd been a strong example of how well two Trainers could work together. "I want to see which couple Battles better together." Sikandar finished confidently. Isabella sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

At that point, Jess spoke up, taking Alex's oversized and now unburnt hand in hers. "We Battle pretty well. I hope you two can give us a challenge." At her words, Isabella looked at her, and both Alex and Sikandar smirked, as they saw the fire burning in the eyes of the ladies as well.

"Fine." Isabella said, after looking Jess over and re-evaluating a few of her initial misconceptions. She'd heard of Redwood, but his lover and partner had significantly less written about her. Isabella had paid about as much attention to Jess's love life as Alex had to hers, and for similar reasons, but seeing them in the flesh made her realize they were both strong, even if Jessica Gladstone hadn't focused on traveling through and beating multiple Leagues in multiple regions. "But not tonight." Isabella added, as she deflated the men's excitement with her tone. Jess nodded in agreement as the Italia Champion continued. "It's late, I'm tired, and these two seem like they've had a long journey. Tomorrow, at…dusk. The Red Fort has a stadium we can open to the public." Sikandar was about to protest, as such a famed battle arena hadn't been used in a number of decades, but Isabella cut him off. "It's just going to waste as it is, and it will help with our own problems. People will pay for the experience, if not the chance to see four Champion level Trainers duke it out."

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"At dusk, then." Alex said, nodding.

Sikandar glanced meaningfully at Isabella then, and Alex sensed the psychic undercurrent of telepathic speech, though he didn't pry into it. She shook her head, and then the Indius Champion spoke again, offering what looked like a gold card to Alex, stamped with an engraved version of the Pokémon League's symbol. "This will let you get into the sights around Indius, as well as free hotel service. I recommend Mount Anant, near the city of Beharma to the south. It's where the Sacred Stone of Indius is kept. I have a feeling you'll want to see it." The pair hopped on their respective dragons then, and Sikandar gave him a two fingered wave. "Later, Redwood."

Seeing Sikandar fly off on his Dragapult made the crowd murmur, as they realized who was riding it. Before they could realize who the Champions of Indius and Italia had been speaking with, Alex and Jess hopped on their Charizard. They decided to have dinner in Beharma, and a quick map check confirmed it was south, almost at the southern tip of Indius, but a relatively short trip for their fire lizards.

From the moment they came within sight of Mount Anant, Alex sensed something within the mountain, near or at its peak. All through dinner he found himself staring at it, despite the fact that Jess was looking fine in the local clothing options. She'd gone with fiery colors, and bangles on each arm with the colors of the rainbow. Like every outfit he'd seen her in, it made his pulse race, and his thoughts turn lewd, but even those desires were nulled, as the mountain drew him back to stare at it.

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Finally, Jess said something. "You seem distracted. And your mind keeps turning blank."

Alex looked back to her and nodded. "I…am exhausted. There's…something about that mountain that's…hmm. I can't even explain it." He already knew he needed to do more research. His granduncle had given him a very vague rundown of his own time in Indius, and now that he thought about it, the old man had avoided the topic like an expert politician, changing the topic to something else with verbal trickery, or the quirks of old age. His free time would only come after he left her in her subtly desired but much anticipated pleasure coma. He fully intended to sleep in when he finally went to sleep.

"We can go there tomorrow." Jess said, eyeing the mountain. The last time features of the landscape had called to her lover, he'd disappeared with an old man for two weeks, and came back wielding a new power she still didn't completely grok. A voice that could split the sky, and a crown that still mystified her. She looked back at him then, and noticed that under the hair, which was reaching Roman Emperor length with its curly volume, he was thinner again. When their food arrived, he all but lost his table manners, though he didn't quite go full anime protagonist. Once he'd eaten several meaty chunks of what he'd ordered, Jess spoke again. "Did you…ever find out about solving our Mega Evolution problem? The cases Eric mentioned…he mentioned them to me, as well. They're becoming more common."

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Alex gave her a tired smirk. "Oh, I figured that out…more or less…the trick will be making it accessible to everyone…or, rather, everyone who can handle that level of power. Lux." His Rotom, possessing his Holodex currently, floated out of his bag, which was by his feet, with Jess's. "Do they have Mega Stones in Indius? Specifically Key Stones."

Lux scanned, and scanned, and then scanned some more, his eyes furrowing as he searched and learned. "They do…or rather…just the Key Stones. They're considered sacred, and using them in Battle is typically frowned upon, in Indius. That Sikandar guy is making them more popular though, apparently. I'll keep these articles up; you'll want to read them yourself I think." He thanked the ghost, who floated back into his bag, and unbothered by the eyes the display drew, he kept eating, too tired to care right then what strangers thought of him.

"I don't get it." Jess said, also ignoring the looks. "How will Key Stones help without a Mega Stone as well?"

"So far I've managed to make Plates and Plate shards react to each other and cause Mega Evolution as a result, and while it's better than our first method…it still feels…incomplete. Like there's one more step we need to take before that will work for people who, y'know, Don't have psychic powers. Whatever we replace the current method with needs to be just as accessible, or it won't catch on. Hopefully even the criminal element won't chance ruining their Pokémon with repeated incorrect Mega Evolutions."

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The rest of the dinner passed quickly, and several hours later, when a waxing orange crescent hung over Indius, Alex Redwood was still awake, along with Nox since Lux was sleeping, reading up on the general lore of Eous, and then Indius in particular. Apparently, a Pokémon known to the locals of Eous as Kilin (kee-lin) once defended their great lands from invasion by the first Legion of the Imperator's Thunder Warriors, and their Prime Archon. Nineteen other Legions had followed in those Dark Times, as chaos and confusion broke empires in the wake of the passing of modern history's most influential figure, Arceus's Holder. The Imperium of Man conquered most of the inhabited world, namely the Mediterra Mountains, parts of Europa, and then Old Africa, all the way to its 'horn'. Where Kilin appeared, the Legion's advances were halted. In Indius, as well as Gekorn, Sekunga, and Heilong (the three regions closest to the Imperium/Varangian border from east to west) the Prime Archons were halted, and one of the genetically modified giants, Roboute Guilliman (Row-boot Gill-e-man), had outright refused to attack such a kind, and in his recorded words, 'holy' creature.

Though the Imperator hadn't been thrilled that his sons refused to simply kill the creature, he had established hard borders with the then fractured and shifting kingdoms of Eous, and through his Legions had kept the chaos of the Dark Times from further affecting the parts of the world under his sway. Apparently, all of Eous, even Indius, had been unable to escape the tumult of the Dark Times, and the Shadow wielding sorcerers they'd created in the image of the madman who had been chosen to succeed Arceus's Holder, and failed spectacularly. From what Alex read, the majority of the peoples from across Eous had gathered at the mountain where the Legendary Pokémon made its home, Mount Ho, which sat directly in the center of Eous. After much praying, apparently, the Kilin had again appeared to the people, and offered them a path to righteous and peaceful rule, if they stayed true to it.

The Qilin had then divided itself into seven different and yet similar beings, also called Kilin, and each took the first letter of the name of the region they would guard as a part of their individual names, which were Kilini, Kiling, Kilins, Kilinh, Kilind, and Kilinho. The leader, and presumed original, still going by the bestowed name of Kilin, remained on Mount Ho, and named itself the lord of the centermost province. There was much arguing in the following days over which borders would end where, but with the Kilin's help, humanity managed to create eight kingdoms on the supercontinent, within which many regions were contained. Indius was unique, in that their claimed lands all quite quickly came to simply be regarded as 'Indius'. Koria was also one such kingdom that became generalized as a single region, but Eous recognized it as having four primary and separate cultures. While the Avatar of Raava had been around not long before Qilin first appeared, it was at this meeting that Kilin, the Kilin's 'offspring', and the Avatar of Raava had all agreed to keep and include Koria as part of Eous.

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With peace reigning and the Imperium held at a hard border, each aspect of Qilin bestowed a powerful stone upon the human they chose to be king or queen of their new kingdom. As promised, guided by the wisdom of Qilin and blessed by the power within the stones, Eous entered a golden age, and began to prosper. Unfortunately, like every other period of peace humanity had ever experienced, it came to an end in blood, fire, and tears. Though the chosen rulers were granted 'immortality' by their Qilin aspect, they could still be slain by potent disease, weapons, or a Pokémon move like Hyper Beam. This immortality was soon found, within fifty or so years, to also be conditional. For the rulers who abused their power, their people soon found that their Kilin became sick and weak, and their lands became plagued by famine, rot, and drought for as long as the incompetent rule continued.

The people of Eous then learned, when the first of these so-called immortals died soon after their Kilin, that the aspect of Kilin would be reborn on Mount Ho under the prime Kilin's watchful eye, and in time, it would grow and choose the next ruler who, hopefully, would do better than their predecessor. Feeling exhausted, Alex skipped over the various descriptions of Eous's Sacred Stones and learned that all but Koria possessed one. Apparently the first High King of Eous had united the disparate regions, wore each of their stones on a belt he'd forged with his own hands, and used their combined power to repel the Imperator himself when he'd decided to resume trying to conquer Eous. After that failure, though the site called it a stalemate, the Imperator had turned his focus on conquering the violent people of Varangia, which had taken a rather long time, as they'd only recently subjugated that area in the modern era. Indius's stone in particular caught his eye then.

In Indius, the legends recorded on the Pokénet indicated that Kilini had bestowed upon the region a brilliantly shining stone, compared to the other six, that shone with every color of the rainbow, and naturally radiated a great power. Pilgrims with true hearts that visited the stone were said to be given a portion of its Infinite power. Evidently each of the stones had powers associated with them. Some healed the sick, some detected poison by shifting color. Others inspired wisdom or courage, or could calm one's mind in the midst of turmoil. Many, when paired together, amplified the other's effects on the person holding them. Indius in particular had, under the rule of its king of the age, wielded great power. A power that only Kalos had ever truly weaponized, but in Eous, the idea of a fourth, and stronger evolutionary stage for Pokémon was unique to Indius for many years, and it wasn't until the human's kingdoms were technologically connected again that the other Eousian kingdoms began to allow Pokémon Trainers to freely use battle boost gimmicks in regulated competitions. Some Eousian regions still forbade things like Mega Evolution and Dynamaxing.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

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In those days Indius tried their hand at playing conqueror, first in Ryugu, the island of pirates off Old Africa's eastern coast, and then later in the Hoenn region, where they had apparently hoped to take the entire island of Japan. However, according to the lore, they were soundly beaten, and the Infinity Stone was taken and hidden away by the locals of the era. By that point, several other stones had also been taken from their home regions, but Indius's was, according to the Pokénet, never returned.

Looking at the clock and seeing the night was aging, he heard Jess mumble in her sleep, as his spot was likely cold by now. Lux had one last tab set aside for him, but this one was more juicy, and more importantly, more recent. Apparently, several decades ago, researchers in Indius sensed the Infinity Stone's resurgence in Hoenn. However, thanks to local broadcasting networks outside of Rustboro City, they soon realized it was caught in a clash between three titans of the ancient world, Rayquaza, Groudon and Kyogre. Though they looked different, Indius's scientists attributed that to the stone's power, which had elevated Legendary Pokémon before.

When the cleverly titled 'giant rock' was suddenly snatched right in front of Mega Rayquaza, they knew someone, somewhere had absconded with it. By the time Indius discovered where it had been taken and attempted to infiltrate Kalos and reclaim the stone, it was apparently used in a plot by Lysandre Labs, in Lysandre's first attempt to destroy the world to keep it beautiful. After that incident, settled by the local Gym Leaders and a newly crowned Champion Alain, the stone was reported destroyed, at least in the western world, but in Indius, it reappeared for the first time in centuries, back in its home of Mount Anant. Naturally, the Pokémon League of Indius made efforts to contain its radiation so that if Kyogre swam by the tip of Indius, it wouldn't try breaking the mountain to acquire the stone.

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Coming up with a different moniker for it than 'Giant Rock' or 'Megalith' was not difficult, and to all outside observers, the Infinity Stone was back where it belonged. Indius flourished again, despite the fact that the harmony of modern humans and Pokémon in the region had made it one of the more beloved destinations for tourism, the sun seemed warmer, the berries seemed sweeter, and most importantly, the Pokémon were happier. Apparently every Copperajah in the region had trumpeted when it returned, though the source Lux found claimed other Pokémon species had been heard calling out at the same time as well. Copperajah had, perhaps, simply been the loudest. The final nugget of info Alex absorbed was the fact that the egg of Kilini had apparently appeared on Mount Ho back then as well, where it was growing to maturity. Looking at the date of the article, Alex wondered if the Kilin was old enough to find a ruler yet. Only the aspects of Kilin could pick a ruler, and according to the legend, they would only bow before the true ruler, one who was 'chosen' by the will of Arceus itself.

Finally giving in to sleep, Alex let Nox begin his nightly Pokénet trolling campaign, and slept well into the afternoon the next day, despite Jess and all her attempts to wake him up. When he'd kept snoozing through her slight shaking of his massive frame by way of Psychic, she'd eventually given in, let him sleep, and fed their Pokémon. Naturally, about twenty minutes after that, he finally woke up, and found the room in a state of mess that was unlike Jess to make. With a yawn he rose, showered, shaved, dressed, and then activated his cloak, at which point one of his balls was chirping. He knew who it was.

Figuring Indius would be a good region for Astrum compared to Koria, and based on what he'd read last night, he called the golden feathered fairy bird out, where it settled first on his head, frowned, as he realized it was no longer overgrown, and he no longer really fit, and then landed on his Trainer's shoulder instead, where he received scritches.

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He found Jess idly scrolling on her Holoceiver with Lux floating beside her, as their Pokémon played, trained, or generally chilled in the hotel's outdoor area. A few battle enthusiasts, likely tourists from the States, seemed to recognize their teams, likely confirming they were legitimate by Jess's team being with them. When Alex appeared on the balcony overlooking the yard enclosed within the building, he called down, and his Pokémon greeted him with a 'good morning'. He heard the other guests and staff moving about the facility murmuring, and when he leapt down from the balcony only to land with a brief psychic flash to kill his inertia, that confirmed it for everyone. "Sounds like we've been discovered." He said, smirking at Jess as the clicking of Rotom Phone cameras filled the air. "Shall we see the sights, before heading north again?"

Leaping up at the suggestion, she agreed, and in short order the two were flying over Beharma on their fire lizards, heading for the sacred mountain. At this point in the day, the line literally trailed all the way up to the summit, and Alex grimaced. They showed Sikandar's ticket to the guards, and after confirming that the Champion had indeed lent it to them, as well as their own identities, they were discreetly brought to the top of the mountain and filtered into the crowd. Most who came here were Trainers seeking a Key Stone, followed by a mix of tourists and pilgrims. Alex and Jess were placed in line by the uniformed and black sunglass wearing Trainers in what seemed like military fatigues. Not one of them lacked the flag of Indius on their shoulder, and Alex rightly assumed they were here to make sure their region's precious treasure didn't vanish again.

From their place in line, they learned the reason that drove Trainers to come here. Despite Plate shards being popularized, they'd also become rather expensive, and suddenly collectors of such things became overnight billionaires thanks to those who wished to have them for a member of their party. After that, using their shard was as simple as visiting New Tork City, which being the largest city on the planet, was not that hard to get to. In New Tork, one could easily find a fellow Trainer to tap their Plate crystal, and 'awaken' it. A recent rumor had the Pokénet buzzing about being able to use Key Stones as a Plate shard replacement.

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As they watched, one Trainer after another approached the Infinity Stone, and raised their hand. About three out of every five got a Key Stone manifested in their palm, with those who were denied usually turning to anger when they were refused. Many tried to leap at the Infinity Stone anyway, and all who did so ended up being slammed hard, in the stomach, and sent flying into a nearby wall that seemed to have collapsed and been rebuilt several times, likely from being hit by so many humans.

The Medicham responsible for this display of martial prowess was in its Mega Form and seemed to blink as it eyed Alex and Jess. Alex had no doubt he sensed their psychic power, so he gave a greeting, psychically, and without words. The Medicham's eyes widened, and it nodded. "Raise up your hand, Humans." It said, pointing at the Infinity Stone for emphasis.

As Alex looked into the multicolored crystal, and properly stared into its rainbow depths, he blinked, as something stared back at him. He briefly wondered if it was another Arceus clone, but it didn't feel that way. Whatever it was, he knew it was the source of these Key Stones and their distribution. His hand didn't flinch as he received a Key Stone, and Jess also made no sudden moves, not wanting to drop the precious gift. They smoldered in their hands like a pair of coals, and without warning, both of their aura shields pulsed, and the flaring wavy energy surrounding the fresh Key Stones became blue tinted and scarlet tinted respectively. The tint did not fade, as the energy did, and Alex glanced at the Medicham.

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"Umm. Is that…supposed to happen?" Alex asked as he admired the light blue color.

Having heard a human he could understand perfectly before, the Medicham's eyes widened as he realized that, apparently, there was more than one human capable of speaking in a manner Pokémon could completely understand. He didn't have green hair either, and really looked nothing like the soft featured Trainer who'd first spoken to him. They did however, ask the same question, for similar events had occurred upon them getting their Key Stone. "It has attuned to your aura." The Medicham said slowly, and as Alex nodded, he continued. "Only you will be able to use them now, and it will be easier."

"I'd like to try something, if you'll let me." Alex said to the Mega Medicham. The Pokémon squinted at him, and Alex didn't try hiding his thoughts, rather, he showed the guardian of the stone exactly what he intended, and why. After a moment, the Pokémon nodded. Alex addressed the Infinity Stone then, and fished out his spare set of Plate shards, the ones he wasn't using anyway. Jess filled in what he was missing until he had one of each type. Psychically, he tried speaking to the entity he'd seen within the crystal.

"If I'm right…you're Kilini, the ancient Guardian of Indius. I offer these shards of the Alpha's Plates, one for each type, and in return, I'd like you to awaken others like them, across the planet. As many as possible."

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Through her connection to the Infinity Stone, Indius's aspect of Kilin contemplated the human's offer. And its implications. While she was part of Kilin, this new incarnation of Kilini, whose egg had grown on and hatched from a uniquely special tree under the original Kilin's protection, was also her own being and a separate entity from the Kilini who had come before her, not at all unlike Arceus, and his clones. As Kilini pondered the human's offer, the original Kilin came up beside her, and nuzzled the latest incarnation of their own self. "Is that Human the one? His aura is quite strong."

Kilini shook her head. Only the Kilin could choose the ruler of an Eousian kingdom, and that choice was, according to Kilin, preordained. An aspect of Kilin would only kneel to their fated ruler, and it was this sign that told the people that the ruler in question was the right choice for the throne. Indius was unlike the other kingdoms though. They had achieved harmony on their own, had a government of their own, and Kilini was under the assumption that the people didn't want or need her anymore. This was why she'd remained so long with Kilin on Mount Ho, in the center of Eous.

"He is not the one. But…his offer may greatly help my people. And the world."

"It may," Came the calm, neutral gendered tones of Kilin in return, "Or, it could spell disaster. With every shard awakened, those with evil hearts will have a much easier time achieving Mega Evolution."

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Kilini's brow furrowed. "But that power requires a bond. The Human tamers draw out the power from within their beloved partners through their connection with each other."

"There have been Humans who have forced Pokémon into that state before, young one." Kilin answered. "Those Pokémon suffered greatly, before they were freed by those with kinder hearts. The choice is yours, and once you make it, you should return to Indius. You'll never find the Ruler by staying here all your life."

"Perhaps you are right. Perhaps it is time I saw Indius myself." Kilini said, as she closed her eyes and focused. Only an instant had passed, from Alex's point of view. "I accept your offer." Kilini finally answered. "In return, you must do all you can to ensure they are not used for evil."

"On my word as Dragon Emperor, and Tamer of the Original Dragon, I swear I will do all that I can."

Kilini's eye widened at the proclamation, and that cemented her decision. A Tamer as strong as the Dragon Emperor would be enough of a force for proper usage of Infinity Energy, enough to counteract those with dark hearts and intentions. If any could find a balance, it was this human. The Original Dragon had once traveled through Eous, and everywhere he had gone, he'd left behind sage wisdom that aided their region. Farming techniques. Martial arts. Cultural dances. He'd even apparently guided quite a few couples together, and among them had been an actual Ruler of one of Eous's provinces. That relationship continued to this very day, as the Kilin could also make the family of their chosen Ruler immortal as well, though there were limits to that gift.

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With the accord made, the Infinity Stone pulsed with power, emanating a wave of Infinity Energy that spread from Indius, across the entire planet. While the Infinity Stone was rather tall in this state, it suddenly shrank in size, as a beautiful creature emerged from within its depths. She had horns like a spring Sawsbuck, and hooves that also seemed reminiscent of the Season Pokémon. The similarities ended there though. Her body was covered with scales that were orange in color, though they had a faint green shimmer to them when she moved. The underside of her neck and stomach were white, and her lengthy tail seemed akin to Tao's, in his base form with its tuft of green fur at the end, the same color as the mane that flowed down the back of her neck. There was a murmur through the crowd as she appeared. In place of the Infinity Stone was now a much smaller rainbow colored sphere. The shards of each type sank into the sphere then, and again, it pulsed with power.

"It is done." Came the feminine tones of Kilini. "The shards of the Alpha's Plates have been awakened, as promised. I will hold you to your word, Alexander Redwood."

Not surprised that Kilini was aware of his name, Alex bowed low to the Kilin. "Neither I nor your people will forget. If I were you, I would encourage them to keep the same promise as myself. Even without a ruler, your people will listen to your words."

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Kilini seemed to ponder this for a moment, and nodded. "I may just do that. Wield your Key Stone well, Dragon Emperor." With that, Kilini glanced at the Mega Medicham and nodded once as she left the Infinity Stone in his six capable hands, before leaping into the air, and galloping away through the sky. Naturally, one of the Trainers in the line spiraling down the mountain tried throwing a Pokéball at the gleaming orange Pokémon, but as it came near Kilini, it was disassembled into its base components. Not even a Master Ball could interfere with the divine mandate of the Kilin.

Alex and Jess departed through one of the mountain temple's small meditation chambers, turned shameless gift shop, and came upon the way down from the mountain. One was a path with an equally large line of gawking tourists taking selfies, the other was a takeoff area for those competent enough to ride a flying Pokémon.

As Alex called out Shruikan and scritched under his jaw, Jess smirked at him. "You know, you keep stirring up every region you visit. Reuniting Tao. Freeing Fornia. Slaying Alduin. Helping to reunite Rio's Guardian. Defending Alola from an alternate Ghetsis. Whatever you did in Koria, I'm betting it helped them achieve their freedom. Now you've returned one of Indius's ancient Guardians to them. This is a pattern."

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Alex smirked back at her as she wrapped her arms around him and sat behind him on Shruikan. "I didn't significantly alter Sinnoh. I've been there twice. Same with Kalos."

Jess chuckled. "You're technically the King of Kalos. Give it time and I'm sure you'll influence both it and Sinnoh too, in time. In fact, empowering Plate shards around the world will likely change many regions. What made you ask Kilini to do that?

"Our Mega Evolution problem. This way, even criminals can potentially achieve that power without hurting their Pokémon. Now…I just need to show them all how it's done." He glanced back at his redhead with obvious love in his eyes. "Starting with you, gorgeous."

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Her eyes mirrored the emotion in his, as she smiled back at him. "It's been a while since you've given me a private lesson."

He winked at her and then urged Shruikan into the air. "This one won't be private…but once we're alone again I'll show you how to…Stimulate your body's energy network. For now, let's teach our new friends how to use this new method of Mega Evolution. And maybe the rest of the world, while we're at it."

Flying back to the palatial complex didn't take long thanks to Shruikan's speed, and in a matter of minutes, Alex and Jess were guided to the building Sikandar and Isabella were having lunch in. Once they sat, Sikandar asked how the visit to Mount Anant went, and the dark brown toned man smirked as Alex and Jess relayed what happened.

"I had a feeling you'd set something in motion, Dragon Emperor. I've followed your Battling career with great interest, and everywhere you travel you seem to set things in motion for the better." The man said confidently, as Jess nudged her lover in the ribs. "I've been trying to get Kilini to return to us, but it seems offering her Plate shards was the right move. I am even further in your debt."

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Alex waved his words away. "Feed us lunch and implement my idea for our Battle. I'll consider us even then, my new friend." Sikandar gestured for him to elaborate, and the guards brought them some genuine Indius curry as Alex explained what was happening with Mega Forms.

Isabella cut in halfway through. "We know of this problem as well. Your role in kick starting this disaster is why I didn't want you staying with us…but it seems I misjudged things. You've managed to right this wrong, so…" She glanced at Sikandar and then gave the Unovans her best attempt at a genuine smile. "We will help you." The attempt at smiling faded back to resting Rattata face then. "What's the plan?"

"Our Battle. Nothing draws eyes in this world of ours like a contest between Champions. Especially two pairs of involved Champions. I think we acknowledge the situation beforehand, explain how important this is, and then show the people how it's done. As far as the Battle goes, we'll all start with a Mega Pokémon, and repeat the process as needed. Three partners each sound good?"

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"In that case," Isabella answered, "We should practice beforehand. I don't want to look foolish on national TV."

Jess nodded in agreement. "He hasn't shown me yet, either. Practice is a good idea."

Once the four Champions finished eating, Sikandar brought them out to a large, ancient style Pokémon battle stadium. The field was dusty and poorly maintained, and the stands were covered with white sheets, with many rows simply missing chairs completely. Alex frowned as he looked around. "We should uh…clean this place up, before we go live."

Sikandar casually waved his words away, not seeming worried. "Our staff will see to it. They'll be eager to restore this ancient arena. We haven't used it since last we had a Ruler, but now that Kilini has returned at last…fate will see us with a new Ruler before too long. The Kilin cannot help themselves. They're drawn to and seek out their Tamer on instinct, once they decide to leave Mount Ho."

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Alex nodded and then stood before the other three. "In Koria I learned how to manipulate the energy in my body's network. It's this energy that we subconsciously use to activate Key Stones. Our Auras flow from this network. Lux."

As he'd done with Akos, Alex had Lux pull up the video footage of Kalosian Trainers and their respective stones. "As you can see, a Key Stone reacts to a Mega Stone by forming four or more streams of energy between them. This energy reacts to the combination of flash-crystallized Pokémon life energy, or Infinity Energy as we call it, and the crystallized Human energy in the Key Stone, drawing out the latent power of our Pokémon. On their own, Plates of Arceus produce Infinity Energy and filter it through a specific type of energy. Grass, water, fire, etcetera. My first method used typed Infinity Energy to catapult a Pokémon to their Mega Form by simply pumping it into them. While shards and Plates of the same type can also react to each other and bring out this power, I don't believe it's stable enough to entirely avoid the negative side effects of repeated Mega Form usage. My Sceptile and Lucario both used this method often in Koria, and upon having samples of their DNA scanned by my brother, the newest Professor Redwood, he found the same degeneration of their genes, albeit at a slower rate. I believe Key Stones are the…erm, key, to safely using the infinite power in Arceus's Plates to achieve Mega Forms unseen in Kalos or Hoenn. Hand your chosen partner a Plate or a shard of one, and we will begin."

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They called out their partners then, and Alex was glad they all seemed to essentially be on the same page. He'd brought out Terra, Jess had Serpi, Sikandar called on an Infernape he'd named Bandar, and Isabella brought out an Ampharos called Genoa. All but Isabella had their starter out. She was secretly more interested in seeing if this alternate method of Mega Evolution would result in a different form change.

Alex went first, as he demonstrated. "All right Terra! Mega Evolve!" He held up the deep blue Key Stone, and it flared with power. Terra's Meadow Plate reacted to it, and with rapid speed, he assumed his Mega Form with a green flash and a roar. His aura sent a wave through the dusty stadium field, and he nodded at his Trainer. "It worked! I did not feel pain either."

"That's good." Alex said, patting his massive earth tortoise. He turned to the others then. "Seems like this method works. Your turn."

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The men paired off with their women then, and Sikandar went next. His Key Stone had a fiery orange tinge to it, and the Mega Infernape that Bandar became looked identical to Kuzon's, albeit with a smaller white beard. His aura also sent a pulse through the ground, and he and Terra eyed each other, as they realized they were all but evenly matched in terms of strength.

Alex was more focused on Jess, but as she gave the command to ascend, Serpi's Meadow Plate, affixed to the back of her neck, reacted as well. Her Mega Form was similar to Hilbert and Rosa's Serperior, but to Alex's eyes she seemed more refined, and her leaves were more curly, almost too proper, for battle. At least, until one saw the fierce draconic gleam in her sharp eyes.

Isabella similarly had no issue ascending her partner, though she did seem slightly disappointed that Genoa hadn't taken a new form. Once they finished, the humans reconvened. Alex addressed their Pokémon first. "How is everyone feeling? Any pain? Uncomfortable feelings?" They answered with a unanimous 'Nope!', and Alex nodded. "Seems like everyone is doing well." He told the others. Sikandar and Isabella shared a look as the Unovan Champion addressed their partners as though he understood their words, as Alex continued speaking. "If you'll all keep your forms…let me call up my brother. Make sure there's no degradation."

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Lux hopped out then, and in short order, the younger Redwood's face appeared on the screen. "Ahh, hello brother. I assume you have a new method of Mega Evolution for me to verify?"

"I do." Alex answered. "I have four Pokémon here who have Mega Evolved through a new method I've been trying. I need you to make sure their genes are intact."

Eric sighed. "At this point I'm almost convinced there's no way to harness that power for every Pokémon safely. But I'll take a look. Lux, activate your scanner if you please." The Rotom beeped an affirmation, and proceeded to scan all four specimens. Eric looked over the data skeptically, at first, but the more he read, the wider his eyes became. "I…I think you've only gone and done it…genes are showing stability, and the Infinity Energy is being regulated perfectly. I concede brother. You've won our wager. I'll need a full description of how you've managed thi- oh. Thank you, Lux. I'll look this over and disseminate this to the scientific community."

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With that, the connection was ended, and the four Pokémon let their Mega Forms drop. "Well done, everyone. If we each do that three times in our Battle, I think most Trainers will understand the concept. And now that the Plates and shards have awakened, hopefully everyone will be able to acquire their own Key Stone. I'll have our scientists see if they can't synthesize some."

At hearing Alex's words, Sikandar frowned. "Key Stones are sacred, Alex. They're sacred gifts from Kilini, and even in other regions, one cannot simply find one lying on the ground."

Alex arched a brow at the man. "And yet, many Trainers today still have them. Many of your own people on Mount Anant were there to get one. I suppose we could direct them to the mountain, but it's already crowded as is, and I'd rather not dissuade the people going there on pilgrimages. Besides, Team Flare was rumored to have fabricated a few of their own, and Lysander's partners had no issues reaching their Mega Forms. If anything, we'd find a way to synthesize them with Infinity Energy. I doubt using anything else would work. Is that so different from how nature does it?"

Still frowning, Sikandar sighed. "I don't think synthesizing them is a good idea. You should ask Professor Sycamore where he found his. As I recall he handed out a few, no? He may know where to look, in Kalos. And don't worry about directing more tourism to Indius, that isn't a bad thing."

Alex just shrugged. "I'll ask, next time I'm in Kalos. In the meantime, for our Battle, we can just tell them of Mount Anant in Beharma. Any competent Trainer should be able to make their way there, and the distance along with long lines will probably dissuade anyone who shouldn't possess one."

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With the basics for their battle agreed upon, Sikandar and Isabella showed the Unovans the other numerous sights of Naya Delhi, most of which seemed to be old ruins, or ancient monuments from Old Earth's era of humanity. The streets were alive with people and Pokémon, though there were cracks in the facade. Like every city, there seemed to be a thriving shady element in the dark corners and hidden rooms, and after one especially jolly Chimchar stole Alex and Jess's wallets, they were more careful on the colorful Indius streets. Alex ended up catching the Chimchar, promising a life of combat and competition instead of stealing for incompetent humans, something he seemed quite grateful for.

It took three days, but during those days, Alex got some much needed rest in Naya Delhi's finest beds, and at noon on the third day, Sikandar and Isabella came on the TV as Alex and Jess were having lunch alone, at which point they openly challenged the Unovans. They rode Shruikan over, and seeing the stadium restored, Alex barely recognized it. The people had indeed jumped at the opportunity to restore a beloved landmark of their city, and he hoped they continued to use it once this upcoming match was through. The stands had freshly painted red chairs and not one of them was empty. The field had been cleaned up, given fresh dirt and sand, and then hardened to be capable of supporting a battle between titans. Alex also noted several energy barrier projectors, like those in Galar that kept their many fans safe from the Gigantamaxed attacks used in that region most often.

Alex had Shruikan circle the stadium thrice, and by the second pass, noted quite a few black and white hats sporting Tao's symbol. It was nice to know the crowd wasn't entirely against them. Alex recalled his dragon as they landed on their side of the field, and an older Indius native who was sporting more salt than pepper in his hair and beard sent his voice booming across the field as the four Champion tier Trainers brought out their balls.

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"Ladies and gentlemen! Proud citizens of Indius! For the first time in centuries, your Champion, Sikandar Jiyoshi, brings you a challenge at the Red Stadium!" The ref's Talonflame circled the stadium not unlike Shruikan had, as the roars of approval from the crowd upped in volume. "For this auspicious match, we've given each Trainer a microphone, as according to the Champion, our friends from Unova have some important information to disseminate in the heat of this intense Battle! But first! Introductions!"

He flew over to Sikandar's side then, and the Indius Champion called out his Infernape, Bandar, once more. The crowd roared with deafening volume again, and the proud fire ape beat his chest, and made gestures for them to increase the noise. There was no question as to who the favorite in this match was. "First up, it's your own Champions of Indius! Sikandar and Bandar!" The Talonflame hovered over Isabella then, and there were significantly more whistles and whoops from the crowd. Even in Indius, it seemed humanity never changed when it saw a pretty female. "Battling alongside Sikandar is his lovely girlfriend, Isabella Fondacaro, Champion of the Italia region!" Alex glanced around, and noted a not insignificant number of flags and merch from Italia among the crowd as well. Isabella herself seemed less than enthused about being labeled Sikandar's girlfriend first and Champion second, but she brought out her Ampharos anyway. Her eyes were burning for a battle.

The Talonflame came over to their side then, and the announcer shamelessly read from a small paper, likely some notes he'd taken on who would be battling. "Next up, is Jessica Gladstone, interim Champion of the newly liberated Fornia region!" Jess gave the whooping crowd a small wave, and then called out her Altaria, rather than her Serperior. Then the fiery falcon hovered over Alex. "Last, but by no means least, battling alongside Jessica is her boyfriend Alexander Redwood, Dragon Emperor and Champion of Unova's Victory League!" This time the cheers were almost as loud as Sikandar's, and Alex took a second to take them all in. He realized he'd missed stadium battles, as the roar of the crowd rolled through his body.

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The referee nodded at him then, "Champion Sikandar says you have something to share with the world, Dragon Emperor." He gestured then, indicating he could begin. Alex had stuck with his usual black and white robe/martial art pants combo for this match, but as he addressed the crowd, he summoned his dragonskin cape from within his belt, and it manifested, flowing down from the dragonebone shoulder armor and covering most of his frame with a flash of light.

"People of Indius, Italia, Unova, and all regions across the world, lend me your ears. Some of you may be aware of a growing crisis in our societies. Some of you may also know my role in starting said crisis. The newly discovered method of using Infinity Energy from Plates and shards of those Plates for Mega Evolution is not safe for our partners. My own brother, Professor Redwood, confirmed that too much usage leads to serious but not irreparable degradation of a Pokémon's DNA. Since almost the moment the Arceans were crushed, I have been traveling tirelessly, searching for a method by which we might correctly harness the power of Infinity Energy, without endangering our beloved Pokémon. I am pleased to announce I have found a method, confirmed by the science, that avoids this grim byproduct of wielding Infinity Energy. As with the Kalos method, a Key Stone is required, but if your bond to your Pokémon is strong enough, the Key Stone will resonate with either a Plate, or a shard of one, and catapult your partner to its Mega Form. As of a few days ago…most Plate shards should also be capable of this without needing to be awakened. My fellow Champions and I shall demonstrate, as we engage in this friendly Battle!"

There were less cheers than before, as his words registered in the people's ears. Many had wondered why the new Dragon Emperor had seemingly vanished until recently popping up in Koria. Now, the world had yet another excuse for his presence both there, and in Indius. Alex called out Terra then, and the cheers ramped up significantly as the titanic earth tortoise roared a challenge, specifically at Bandar, who answered by thumping his chest proudly. "Key Stones are hard to find," Alex continued, as roughly twenty Pokéballs began floating behind him in a slow rotating circle, "But it is possible for Trainers who are deemed worthy to acquire one on Mount Anant, in the city of Beharma, in the southernmost part of fair Indius. Now…with that explanation finished…let us begin!"

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Alex glanced at Jess, who nodded, and then at Sikandar and Isabella, who nodded as well. As one, they raised their Key Stones, and shouted, "Mega Evolve!" Four separate pulses of power blasted dust across the field as each summoned Pokémon attained their Mega Form with rapid speed, once the resonating between Trainer and Pokémon occurred. Once that happened, Isabella and Sikandar were first to strike. "Thunder Wave!" "Rocket Punch!" A wave of electricity roared across the field from Mega Ampharos, and right behind it was Bandar, aiming his super effective punch right at Terra.

Jess countered first. "Land on Terra, and then block with Cotton Guard!" Terra's ground typing ignored the Thunder Wave, and as the Mega Altaria's fluff shield engulfed the earth tortoise, Bandar went sailing into it, his fiery fist extinguishing as it got sucked into the cottony down. Then, it was Alex's turn. He gave a smirk to the crowd, and then pointed at Bandar and Genoa. "Earthquake!" The crowd erupted with cheers, as many were rightly convinced that was the Unovan Champion's signature move by this point. As they cheered, Terra felt his attack power rise, and from under the cottony shield, the earth shattered, rolling Bandar over as it rippled across the terrain to also hit the Mega Ampharos.

Isabella countered next. "Cotton Guard!" As the super effective Earthquake hit, the Mega Ampharos's wool took most of the impact, but as the dust from the hit cleared, Alex and Jess remained fresh and untouched, while Sikandar and Isabella were both under half health. They were tempted to use items, but they also knew another Earthquake was likely coming. Sikandar nodded at Isabella, and then turned up the heat. "Bandar! Burn away their shield with Flare Blitz!"

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Jess waited until the flaming ape engulfed itself in fire, and then launched at her. Once it was close, she countered. "Now Melodi! Moonblast!" The Mega Altaria raised her fluffy wings, and summoned forth a pure beam of fairy typed power that collided with the Flare Blitz. Despite the super effectiveness, and not injuring himself with recoil, Bandar almost fainted under the sheer power of the fairy move, but held on for his Trainer. He could feel how badly Sikandar wanted to win against that Torterra, and had they been one on one, it might well have been a very different battle.

Then once more, it was Alex's turn to counter, and once more, he did so with the move that was doubly effective against both of their opponents. "Once more, Terra! Earthquake!" Seeing the rolling wave of ground power coming towards him again, Bandar refused to give up. He glanced back at his Trainer, and raised a burning fist. Sikandar nodded, and shouted, "Rocket Punch!" The Mega Infernape lived up to its reputation of incredible speed then, leaping over the rolling, shifting earth and finally reaching Terra. His fiery fist finally connected with the earth tortoise's face but didn't do nearly as much damage as he'd hoped. This was because Mega Torterra's Thick Fat blocked ice, and also halved fire damage as well. Being part ground type also helped.

As Terra took the hit, he shifted with it, and then jerked his head back to where it had been before the strike. Part of the Earthquake smashed into Bandar in the form of a suddenly jutting rock, sending him flying out of the cloud of dust and flame, and into the wall of the stadium with a harsh boom. Isabella wasn't done though. "Genoa, into the air! Then Dazzling Gleam!" With Bandar KOed, she could hit both opponents at once, and the shining Mega Ampharos did so, as she became a living lighthouse of fairy typed energy. The attack hit Melodi harder than it hit Terra, and then it was Sikandar's turn to counter.

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The Indius Champion recalled his starter, and murmured to his ball, before drawing another Pokéball, one that was noticeably older in design, and still had a crank. "Fakir! Aid me!" A Medicham appeared on the field then, and Sikandar raised his Mega Stone. "Mega Evolve!" From the Mind Plate shard in the center of the three dots on Medicham's 'turban', energy radiated outwards, and connected with Sikandar's Mega Stone. Fakir joined the others in his Mega Form, and Alex's eyes widened, as he sensed a power on par with Arthur's. "Jess, watch out for the-" But Sikandar already shouted the move that would balance the scales. "Ice Punch!"

One second, the immensely powerful psychic yogi was just in front of Sikandar, and then in the next moment, it was in the air, hovering between Melodi and Terra. Three arms struck the Altaria, and three struck Terra. Melodi fainted, as she flew backwards off of Terra's Ash tree, but the earth tortoise held on, tanky as he was. Even with his ability, the ice move had hit home, and Alex attributed that to its Pure Power, which enhanced the Mega Medicham's attack power. He also noted he'd struck an energy point on Terra's body with his three arms and had done the same to Melodi. Before Terra could so much as counter, the six-armed psychic fighter was back where he'd started from, balancing on a single foot, honing his energy for the next strike.

"Delphi!" Jess said, summoning her Delphox. "Mega Evolve!" As the fiery fox appeared, from the tip of her Redwood staff, lines of energy harmonized with Jess's Key Stone, catapulting her to her Mega Form as well. Her crimson fur formed into a classic witch-shaped hat, whose pointed tip was on fire. The fur by her ears was longer, and also on fire at the edges, and the furry 'sleeves' of the Mega Delphox's arms also had a similar flaming effect. Her dark crimson fur covered the rest of her body like a robe, and on the lower portion of that 'robe' were twin patches of lighter red fur that looked like flames. The staff was also now much longer in length, as fire emanated from the tip of it. "Now, use Shadow Ball!" Delphi leveled the staff at Fakir and launched the ball of condensed ghost energy that started small and fast, and grew larger and slower as it approached its target.

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For his part, Alex wanted to make that relatively slow-moving ghost attack harder to dodge, so mentally, he instructed Terra to focus the impending Earthquake on Genoa, while making the field around Fakir harder to traverse. "Earthquake!" He shouted for a third time, and for a third time, the entire stadium rumbled. Genoa, who was landing from her jumping gleam attack, found herself overwhelmed by the rapid flood of breaking earth, and her Mega Form dropped amidst the shifting rocks. Isabella recalled her, as Sikandar shouted at Fakir. "Dodge and redirect the Shadow Ball!" Easily leaping between the less focused sea of shifting rocks, Fakir's ephemeral arms grabbed the Shadow Ball, and shifted it directly downwards, where it impacted on the shattered ground. "Now use Ice Punch!" Once more, before Terra could even blink, six arms struck six different energy points, and while not all of them got through his Thick Fat, enough of them did. He collapsed to the ground with a grunt, as the Mega Form faded, and Alex stared Fakir down as the Mega Medicham met his gaze with emotionless intensity, and then bamfed back to his Trainer's side of the field.

Alex and Isabella summoned their next partners then, with Isabella going first, as Genoa had fainted before Terra. "Go! Sirena! Mega Evolve!" Her choice was a rather lovely Milotic, and as she gave the command, Alex noted that, apparently, the Milotic had not mega evolved before. It was a bold choice, using a Pokémon unfamiliar with their Mega Form, but given that it was a Milotic, Isabella was likely counting on her being strong enough to compensate for lack of experience. Once the resonating energy faded, the Milotic had become a water and dragon type. Her lengthy eyebrows had become prismatic and scaled like her tail, a small pair of equally prismatic fins sprouted from her mid-lower body. A silvery blue pearl now adorned her head spike, and her tail had grown wider, shifting in color as it moved. Twin faint lines of equally prismatic energy trailed from the tips of the tail fin, and the newly ascended Pokémon roared, a beautiful but intimidating sound.

For his part, Alex knew exactly who he needed to shut down Fakir. Without moving his hands, he psychically chucked Arthur's ball forward, and raised his Key Stone. "Arthur! Mega Evolve!" Strands of energy emanated from the Gallade's heart piece as he appeared, and in seconds, his dashing Mega Form took shape. Alex could vaguely hear the play-by-play in the background, but he was too focused on the match to pay attention to commentary. With how absurdly fast Mega Gallade was, Alex's turn was up next, and he sent his psychic knight straight at Fakir. "Get under his guard, Arthur, then Shadow Punch!"

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Fakir only had time to widen his eyes, before Arthur was in his face. He dodged the six arms with ease born from experience, and landed a critical uppercut on the Mega Medicham, knocking him on his backside before Sikandar. Slightly more irritated, Fakir hopped back onto a single foot from the prone position, but Arthur had already danced away, and raised his own guard. Seeing the boys were duking it out, Isabella took full advantage of her powerful typing, and focused on the fiery fox witch. "Use Hydro Pump!"

Jess countered, more than ready for water types. "Delphi, use Control Water, and redirect it!" As the high-powered blast of water came from Sirena, Delphi twirled her staff, and managed to send it hurtling back to its source. Sirena took the hit, though it did negligible damage. Isabella, frowned at the display, but rightly assumed there was a limit to how much water Mega Delphox could control at once.

Meanwhile, it was Fakir's turn to counter. "Aerial Ace!" Sikandar ordered, and Alex countered in the same breath. "Block with flying energy in your arms, then use Shadow Punch!" Fakir came at Arthur with six arms glowing with flying typed energy, but the Gallade expertly parried them, and no matter how Fakir shifted his pattern of strikes, the Gallade seemed capable of reading and predicting them. They clashed for a full thirty seconds, before Arthur's eyes widened, as he found his opening. He made Fakir overcommit with all six arms trying to land the Aerial Ace, at which point he bamfed behind the Mega Medicham, and reverse stabbed him with the edges of his ghostly glowing sword arms. Fakir's Mega Form faded, and Arthur leapt back before Alex, flourishing his 'cape' as he did so. The crowd ate it up.

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Isabella meanwhile was implementing her plan, just in time to catch Arthur in it as well. "Sirena! Drown them with Surf!" Sikandar recalled Fakir before he was washed away in the oncoming flood Sirena summoned, and this time, Jess knew Control Water would not be enough.

As Sikandar readied his next Pokémon, Alex and Arthur were free to help. Jess looked at Alex and the pair nodded. "Light Screen, Delphi!" "Arthur, reinforce her with Protect!" The Mega Gallade leapt in front of Delphi then, blocking most of the damaging water, while Delphi's own barrier kept most of it away from them. Isabella looked less than thrilled that her attack had essentially been rendered null, and she looked at Sikandar, who was in the process of choosing his next partner. Finally, he made his pick.

"Go! Ajagar!" Sikandar's visage turned a bit menacing then, as he grinned. A ghost type could turn everything around. "Mega Evolve!" As the Infinity Energy resonated and remade Ajagar, Alex realized he'd never seen a Mega Dragapult, and judging by the announcer's current excitement, neither had most of Indius. Ajagar's arms folded into its body, and extended, becoming a pair of sharp wings. Another pair of horns jutted down from his head, giving it a vague X shape. In the crux of that X, was a new structure that filled in the gap between the top horns and the bottom ones, and within it, Alex spied quite a few more Dreepy eyes, burning for violence, and Mega Dakka. "Phantom Force!" Sikandar ordered, and the newly ascended Mega Dragapult faded into invisibility.

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Realizing as Sikandar had just how much an invisible ghost dragon could shift the battle, Jess went next, right before Arthur. "Track it with Future Sight, Delphi!"

Seeing she had things handled, Alex started working on their other problem. "Arthur! Thunder Punch!" The Mega Gallade struck Sirena before she could so much as dodge, but Isabella was ready with her counter. "Dazzling Gleam!" The prismatic scales flashed in Arthur's face, as the fairy energy hit him hard, but not hard enough. Not nearly hard enough. "Thunder Punch Barrage!" Alex ordered, "Take her down, and don't let her attack again!" After dodging twice, Sirena then let herself get hit, again, and shivered, as paralysis overcame her. Isabella only smirked, though. The Mega Milotic flashed, as her Marvel Scale kicked in, and raised her defenses, and after that she began blocking the Thunder Punches with ease using her tail.

Back on her side of the field, Jess and Delphi waited for the Phantom Force to strike. Little did they know, upon seeing he was being tracked, Sikandar had Ajagar shift his target. "Now!" Sikandar shouted, and Isabella nodded. "Sirena, Wrap him up!" The Mega Milotic did as ordered, snaring the Gallade with her serpentine body, as the Dragapult rematerialized, and brought its ghostly tail around to strike at Arthur's head.

"Teleport!" Alex shouted, and the instant before the hit, Arthur was back on his starting position, panting, but still ready to go. Being a ghost attack, he hadn't completely avoided the damage, but he had dodged a critical strike on his head, at least. "Our turn." Alex said, nodding at Jess. "Arthur, Protect her!" The Gallade nodded, and once more crossed his arms as he leapt in front of the fiery psychic fox.

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"Delphi! It's time! Condense your Shadow Ball, and the fire energy!" Jess said, holding up a Flame Plate shard. Fire aspected Infinity Energy was drawn in by Delphi, as she began powering her Taijitu move at the tip of her staff, which was aiming at Ajagar.

"Don't let them charge it Ajagar!" Sikandar shouted, recognizing what they were using before Isabella did. "Unleash your payload!" He smirked at the crowd then. "When Mega Dragapult uses all of its Dragon Darts…it becomes akin to a physical damage Draco Meteor!" As if to demonstrate, Ajagar pointed his head directly up, and fired. A literal horde of screeching Dreepy missiles fired into the sky, each one burning with dragon energy as they went up, and up…and then arced back down with, to Alex's ears, various cries of 'Dakkaaaa!'

"They're still Ghost Types, Arthur! Shadow Punch!" Arthur nodded, and with his heightened speed, began bamfing around the area, slashing through the yeet seeking missiles trying to strike at Delphi. Delphi, for her part, finally finished condensing and combining the energy for the dual typed attack and launched it.

"Hydro Pump!" Isabella shouted, and as Delphi focused on making sure she hit Ajagar, who seemed temporarily stunned as he floated slightly sideways above the ground after discharging his payload, the sphere of dual-balanced energies fired, right as the high-powered water attack, slightly weakened by her Light Screen, smashed into Delphi. The fiery fox held on though, unwilling to make her Trainer worry.

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Jess's eyes became shiny as she saw her partner was still standing, and one didn't have to be psychic to see how proud she was of how far her little Fennekin had come. "Finish her, Delphi! Hex!" Though the paralysis raised Sirena's defense, that did nothing to mitigate the special ghost attack, and several things happened at once as a result. The Hex landed, fainting Sirena. A stray Dreepy, partnering with his brothers, made Arthur think he'd slashed through all of them, at which point the clustered Dreeps split apart, letting their final brother impact with a dakkonic explosion of energy on Delphi's position. That wasn't the only explosion though, and the field shook as the Taijitu move made contact with Ajagar.

Three Pokémon fainted at once, losing their Mega Forms, and the crowd collectively lost their minds, as did the announcer. "HOLY ARCEUS, IT'S A TRIPLE KNOCKOUT!" The last man standing, Arthur, landed by Delphi, and apologized for missing a missile. All four Champions were panting, and as they glanced at each other, all four grinned. "Miss Gladstone, and Champion Fondacaro are both down to one Pokémon folks, and Champion Sikandar has been blown out of this white-hot Battle completely by a dual Typed power Move! Things do not look good for the home team!"

"Arthur, use Recover." Alex said, as the girls readied their last picks, but the Gallade shook his head. "That would put me over four Moves. I can still Battle!" His arms burned to life, and Alex chuckled. The entire stadium heard him as he said, "You're right, bud, that Would put you over four Moves. Honorable to a fault, though it's my bad for not counting." The crowd ate up his noble spirit began chanting the Gallade's name as the girls brought out their final partners, and the Gallade raised a sword arm in response to the chants, bringing them to a fever pitch. Like Terra, he felt his stats boost from the hype, but being a psychic type, and a Gallade, he felt it far more intensely.

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Jess called her partner of choice out first. "Let's go! Hera!" Her Heracross appeared with a flex, and Alex noted she was much burlier than the last time he'd seen her. Jess gave the command, and the fighting bug ascended to her Mega Form, fist bumped the Gallade, and then stared Isabella down.

"Fafnir!" Isabella finally said, after taking typing into account. "Let's win this!" She didn't expect to win, since Alex could still counter her with his last pick, but she was determined to take this round. The Mega Noivern brought back bad memories for Arthur as he remembered the last one they'd faced, though unlike the Hand of Death, Isabella hadn't infused hers with Shadow. That didn't stop the field from turning noticeably darker as the dragon's fangs elongated, it gained a second pair of wings, and its mane of fur became larger and more jagged. Fins sprouted from its tail for additional flight control, and the shriek it let off as it finished made everyone who heard it wince. Given Fafnir's speed, higher even than Arthur's, Isabella went first. "Into the air, Fafnir! Double Team, and don't stop moving!" Isabella smirked at Alex then. "We're playing by World Tournament rules, no? Don't restrict your Gallade."

Alex chuckled. "I'm not what's restricting him. Arthur!" The Gallade side eyed him. "Will your honor allow us to change out one elemental Punch for another?" Arthur looked at his sword arms, sighed, and then nodded. "Right. Then we switch Electric for Ice and keep everything else the same." He looked at Jess, then. "Would you mind breaking the clones?"

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Jess smirked as well. "Hera! Pin Missile Barrage!" The Mega Heracross responded immediately, leveling her twin arm cannons upwards at the sky full of Mega Noivern. One by one, they began shooting through the clones.

"Alright Arthur…watch for the real one…then Teleport into an Ice Punch!" Arthur nodded, readying his fists, but before he could strike, Isabella took her own move.

"Double Team again! Then all of you use Hurricane!" The Mega Noivern began moving in a circle then, screeching as they summoned the power of the air itself. Pin Missiles went astray, and Arthur lost track of what he thought might've been the real one. He could just start punching, but he only intended to use as much power as Thunder Punch had had left, and not a single punch more. He'd only agreed to switching typings because the base damage was the same.

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"Hera, fly up and blow it apart with Focus Blast! Condense it as much as possible!" Jess ordered, and Hera flew upwards, getting caught in the rapidly spinning weather formation as she began empowering her attack. For Arthur's part, Alex was subtly trying to help him find the real Fafnir. The Hurricane caught him as well, and Alex finally had to order him to start striking.

"Alright Arthur! Basic strikes as you Teleport around. Save your ice." As Arthur got pulled inwards and upwards, he bamfed, roundhouse kicked through a clone, and then repeated that process with startling speed, all while managing to dodge the brutal edges of the Hurricane. Hera was not so nimble, but she tanked the quadruple effective attack as she empowered and then finally launched her Focus Blast.

The attack was sucked up by the Hurricane along with Hera, and she took both attacks as it exploded. Focus Blast also took out quite a few clones, and in the hazy aftermath of the move collision, Arthur bamfed and made basic strikes through the remaining clones with impressive speed as Hera's fainted form crashed to the ground and was recalled. When there was only one clone left, he bamfed above it, and came down like a perfectly vertical ice comet.

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His eyes narrowed as the last visible Fafnir also turned out to be a clone. "Now, Fafnir! Boomburst!"

"Teleport and pummel it with Ice Punch!" Arthur had to gauge where the Boomburst ended and did so successfully. He caught Fafnir on his jaw and followed up with an Ice Punch to the gut. He set his body lined up with Fafnir's then, and rotated in the air, bringing a foot down on his left wing and back, sending him towards the ground. Fafnir wasn't done though, as he twisted in the air, and caught Arthur in a wing-hug. "Boomburst!" Isabella shouted, though she knew who would likely come out the winner.

The two Pokémon crashed into the ground, and the resulting dust cloud took far too long to settle. There was the now familiar sound of a Mega Form losing cohesion, and as the dust settled, a lone Mega Gallade stood, one foot on the fainted dragon, sword arm raised while the other hung limp. Alex was glad Arthur was still standing, as winning with the technicality of being the only one with a Pokémon left was not the kind of win he wanted. The crowd erupted, eating up every bit of Arthur's display of coolness, and his Trainer was there to catch him as he heard the announcer, who was also losing his mind, call the win for them, and let his lithe frame go limp. Alex treated his arm, and then tossed a Max Revive into Fafnir's mouth.

The bat dragon rose slowly, and Alex examined his wings as Isabella and Sikandar rushed over. "No breaks." He said, glancing at the redheaded Champion, and she sighed in relief.

"He's broken a wing before…every time he hits the ground, I worry."

Arthur chimed in then. "He used me to break his fall…unfortunately, it broke on my Ice Punch. The Gallade smiled then, looked tired, spent, and satisfied. "That…was a good Battle."

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Alex chuckled, "Yes…yes it was. Rest, brother." He recalled the victorious Gallade, and then stood beside the two favored Champions of Indius.

Sikandar spoke then, arms wide, as he addressed his crowd. "What a match! The win goes to our new friends from Unova!" He gestured at Alex then, and by that point Jess had trotted over as well, once Hera had her own heals.

Alex bowed Unovan style to the crowd, and then offered a hand to Sikandar. "I have a feeling a one on one, with either of you, would go quite differently. I hope we get to see that play out at the World Tournament."

Sikandar grasped his arm, eyes burning already at the thought. "Count on it."

The crowd cheered again, and with that friendly contest settled, and their information disseminated, Alex and Jess decided to forgo Kalos for the moment and return home. Partly because they were tired, but also because Festivus was set to start in several days as winter approached and fall ended. The Dragon Empire's first non war time holiday celebration should have its leaders there to kick it off properly, they decided. They returned to their top floor room in New Tork, one Jess seemed to have on permanent rent at this point, and once they'd fed their partners, themselves, and gone through their usual nightly rituals, Alex slept for two whole days straight. He awoke in the early morning of the third day, blinking as he realized the date on his Holodex was off by more than it should've been. His team had gotten used to this though, for they knew how tired their Trainer was, and they had Arthur and Jess to get them food and cover their needs. He made himself presentable and readied for the start of the month-long holiday.