Gavin honors only half of Valerio Dachev's request.

He arrives at the summit of Mt. Pyre with Lugia's pokeball resting heavy in his hand, but the legendary is not his sole company. He is ever wary even of his allies, and a full team of Pokemon are clipped to his belt.

The eyes are the first thing Gavin notices.

An involuntary chill runs down his spine as he recognizes the thing that had helped Lugia, Moltres, and the golden Nihilego in the battle against Necrozma. Is he its avatar? Valerio's report hadn't said.

Gavin stops some distance away, eyes narrow behind his glasses. "Your new friend."

He tosses Lugia's ball high in the air, and the night's shadows seem darker in the corrupted legendary's presence. Its eyes, too, are ruby chips that glower not at Gavin, but at Valerio and the looming creature in the sky.

[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon lugia"]

Lugia is larger than Lunala, but their sizes do not matter as they blend with the darkness. Valerio returns the strong gaze of Lugia, trying to get accustomed at the comfort that his pokemon's shade provides.

“Yeah, it seems like it.”

But when it comes to friendship, there should be a mutual agreement that they are both on equal terms. The thing is, Lunala chooses him to be their friend.

“I named him Voldemort. I don't know, it sounds cool.”

Perhaps, it is because of the moonblast's power that Valerio's then-swablu channeled to help fend off the rampaging Necrozma. While the creature seems benevolent, it seems to manifest a great amount of power extracted from lunar energy, displayed by its obvious affinity towards the celestial body.

The redhead pauses, gauging Gavin's reaction with the presence of the creature. Its ethereal form is becoming more vivid as moonlight beams into its direction, illuminating the golden rings that adorned its body.

“Well, don't you have something to say?”

BATTLE: Cillian Quinn

"Congratulations?"

He isn't sure how to feel about the moonlit creature; its power unsettles him in the same way Lugia's had, in the beginning. It was unknown, and thus a threat until proven otherwise. Gavin doesn't like to feel threatened.

Valerio Dachev, however, is Rocket... which means this unknown power is on their side.

"So you called me out here in the middle of the night for a battle, I take it?" Lugia, too, recognizes Lunala. That it does not display any urge to violence suggests as much to Gavin. They'd been allies during the battle. "It certainly seemed powerful in the Blackout. Have you explored what it can do?"

Though he speaks to Valerio, Gavin's eyes are on Lunala. He gives it a curt nod, acknowledging its presence.

[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon lugia"]

Valerio huffs a laugh when Gavin congratulated him. He supposes the admin has questions left unanswered: how does the creature manage to go its way to him? Does he know about its origin? How much power does it possess?

“Nope. But I guess we're here to find out.”

Perhaps, there is a mutual understanding as to what they are supposed to do in the summit of the mountain the moment they set their eyes on each other. Lunala acknowledges Lugia back, seeing it as a familiar figure that orchestrated on the defending side of the region to ward off the attacking Necrozma.

“Let's try not to act restrained. That's part of the reason why I wanted to do it here anyway.”

The redhead raises his hand, gesturing at Lunala as it lunges into the air, preparing to attack.

“I wanted to test the extent of this creature's power especially when it's on our side.”

With a flap of both wings, the dark skies begin to roar, THUNDER chasing the other legendary pokemon at Gavin's side.

---

LUNALA uses THUNDER.

BATTLE: Cillian Quinn

"Let's also try not to put each other out of commission," Gavin drawls with arid intonation.

The battle does not start off in Lugia's favour, with the boom of thunder making it shriek in pain and anger. Such an attack incites it to violence of its own, any neutrality abandoned as it flaps its darkened wings and ascends further into the skies. Buffeted by the gale such wingbeats cause, Gavin shifts his stance to keep his balance in check.

Where thunder was a natural result of a storm, the shadow storm that Lugia summons is anything but. Wind from its wings swirls and gathers into a threatening darkness, a cyclone of shadows that the corrupt legendary launches toward its once-ally.

[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon lugia"]

“I hope they won't.” He snickers for a little bit as he runs behind a rock to escape the incoming storm.

Valerio can only guess that Voldemort knows how to use the previous attack. After all, this battle is a test of ability and power and an opportunity to understand things that he does not know about his new companion. Valerio can only guess also that it will be effective against the Lugia. After all, shadow pokemons are very mysterious beings.

Lunala backs down from the summoned turbulence, a shadowy aura cloaks the already dark summit of the mountain. It pushes them down the mountain but it is not enough to make them crash.

“Use the storm to your advantage. Slow it down!”

Shouts the redhead and the Lunala complies. The chiroptera rises from the air, wings flapping as it summons a breeze of ICY WIND towards Lugia.

---

LUNALA is hit by SHADOW STORM.
LUNALA uses ICY WIND, attempting to slow LUGIA down.

BATTLE: Cillian Quinn

Gavin does not intend to assist the legendary in battle, but his intentions shift as the Lunala readies a blast of icy wind. They were at a disadvantage in terms of the bat's abilities, it seemed.

"Use your wings, Lugia!"

The darkness gathering in Lugia's maw is snuffed out as it closes its mouth and swivels its head around to regard Gavin with its ruby glare. Whether it understands his attempt to provide strategy through his commands or is simply compelled by the beast ball to obey, it turns back to face the oncoming winds with a piercing shriek.

Legends told that a single flap of Lugia's wings could summon storms; though exaggerations, its wingbeats are strong enough to fight back against the gale and direct the worst of the cold winds away from itself. My commands are able to bypass its instinct toward aggression. While they lacked the understanding they'd shared facing down Necrozma, Lugia's obedience remained a comfort to him.

[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon lugia"]

Frustration is already visible in its face, with the way Lunala carries itself. Eyes glaring, cry piercing, the creature turns renegade when as soon as the Lugia halts its attempt to strike with chilling breeze.

“Repeat the attack!”

But the creature does not heed. They open their mouth, an orb of orange energy forms under its breath. Their wings flutter and the FOCUS BLAST hones towards the avian legendary.

Voldemort looks back, red orbs softening, trying to check whether their move impressed its trainer and Valerio returns it with a smile. Perhaps, obedience is a thing they can both try to control in the future.

---

LUNALA uses FOCUS BLAST.

BATTLE: Cillian Quinn

Recognizing the pattern of an attack he's witnessed before with Lucario, Gavin calls out to Lugia. "Take the hit!"

Mental and physical strengths combine to endure the impact with minimal damage to the shadowed legendary.

Lugia shrieks in reply, and an orb of dark energy forms anew in its maw. This time, Gavin doesn't try to stop it. Lugia ascends and then dives toward the red-eyed bat, releasing a point-black shadow blast when it draws close.

[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon lugia"]

But the impact of which is proven impotent to the psychic and flying-type legendary, who easily retaliates with another shadowy attack of its own.

This time, Valerio notice how Lunala takes the damage more distressedly, sending the chiroptera crashing at the boulders of the mountain's apex. People will notice in the next morning that Mt. Pyre may have shed some of its rocks and with no possible explanation but a battle of colossal beasts took plaze at the summit.

The redhead realizes that the first time the shadow beast's attack hit them, they had a way of protecting themself from the impact (SHADOW SHIELD). Now, their defenses are bare and they have no choice but to take everything all in. Voldemort's eyes gaze back up at their trainer, then into the Lugia, before it hovers back into the sky with a luminous radiance.

“What is happening?”

Valerio's question is mostly to himself, but perhaps it is even audible for the person commanding the other legendary. He watches Lunala glimmer, the moonlight paling in comparison to the glow that they emanate. It begins to make out a form, a circular force field projeccting from its body, turning from white to blue. The attack seems to be charging energy.

And once they deem it's ready, the force begins to swirl before it sends out a powerful blast of MOONGEIST BEAM towards its opponent.

In the night sky that cloaks the eastern side of Hoenn, perhaps people will wake in the wee hours to see the piercing light atop the mountain. Upon closer look, it is Valerio's same Lunala, donning a different glow, a transformation akin to that of a mega evolution.

---

LUNALA is hit by SHADOW BLAST.
LUNALA uses MOONGEIST BEAM.
LUNALA performs ULTRA BURST.
LUNALA uses OVERCAST MOONLIGHT ability.

BATTLE: Cillian Quinn

Neither Gavin nor Lugia are prepared for the transformation. Some instinct seems to provoke Lugia to put distance between itself and the now-glowing Lunala, shadow fleeing light.

Gavin shields his eyes from it, blinking rapidly.

"This had better not attract attention," he mutters as his vision strains to adjust. He remembers Lunala's radiance in stark contrast to the blackness of void. It had been just as brilliant then. "That's what it did to that thing in the wormhole, isn't it?"

It releases the force of such light against Lugia, who seems particularly susceptible as it shrieks and crashes against the mountain. Rocks crumble beneath its bulk and scatter down the slope as the corrupted avian scrambles to right itself.

Acting upon its own instinct rather than a command from Gavin, Lugia gathers its rage into a weather ball that draws upon the overhead moonlight to become fairy-type. It fires it at Lunala, using the move as a distraction to take to the skies once more.

[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon lugia"]

“It's impossible to say it didn't, no?”

He laughs at his own response, but the answer is the most honest one. It is impossible that people won't see it. But that's why they are here in the first place: no one will come to think that what's happening above the region's cemetery is a cockfight between two legendaries.

“I think it is.” Valerio replies, hands waving off the light that also blinds him. “Though, I don't know what it's capable off.”

The first thing the redhead notices is that Lunala becomes dormant in the air. Even when the Lugia's weather ball, which has adorned the color of what seems like fairy energy, it remains hovering in the atmosphere unharmed. He will then see creature opening their eyes, their radience pulsating even brighter as it siphons more from the MOONLIGHT, the Lunala getting back at its full health.

“I have an theory. With this new form, I think some of its attacks are getting stronger and more effective.”

---

LUNALA is in ULTRA BURST mode. (1/5)
LUNAR ECLIPSE (weather) is on the field.
LUNALA is hit by WEATHER BALL. The attack is powered by LUNAR ECLIPSE. It deals normal damage.
LUNALA uses MOONLIGHT. It heals more with LUNAR ECLIPSE.

BATTLE: Cillian Quinn

Where a prolonged battle sees Lugia exhibiting signs of exhaustion, frustration, Lunala seems to draw energy from the moon to reinvigorate itself. Were this a battle for anything but research, Gavin would have been annoyed.

Instead, he cocks his head, watching curiously.

Lugia glowers at the moon, its radiance reflected in the legendary's ruby glare. With a shriek and a flap of its great wings, Lugia commands the sky to heed its call, for the clouds to summon rain, but — for the first time since Gavin has seen it attempt such a feat — the skies remain clear.

"I've never seen Rain Dance fail, before."

Of course, he knows of abilities such as Cloud Nine... but this was something different.

[attr="class","pokesprite pokemon lugia"]