Caught in the crossfire, Akero was struck - and sent falling. El was quick to recall him before he could hit the ground though - a hue of pain crossing their expression. "You did good," they whispered against the pokeball - placing it back on their belt, and considering who they'd bring out next. "Rest, Akero."

But, this was not the end of painful sights. Glancing out into the combat beyond, El could see it - people that they had healed themself, that they had closely worked with, that they had watched get back up onto one's feet - struck down by the poison horde. Their breath hitched with shock at the sight - eyes growing wet with tears...

... No more. They couldn't let anyone else fall.

"Great Maccao!" At El's call, a dracozolt emerged - Maccao letting out an eager screech all the whilst. Wasting no time, they hopped onto the electric raptor's back - between the spines, one of which a hand gripped tight at. With a prod of the heel, El commanded Maccao onwards - charging into the fray.

Though the foes were thinning out, the fighting was still ongoing - though El's gaze was on the feuding Legendaries beyond. The prophecy stated that they had to make a choice. To side against one or the other, to put an end to this eternal dream. And of the two evils, only one was in the constellations that El gazed to, that they studied.

Necrozma.

Though they felt that striking down Eternatus would put an end to the fighting all the sooner, Necrozma was the one that the stars depicted being fought against. And in a time like this, they desired to put their trust in the stars.

Sliding down from Maccao's back, El swung their staff forth in another Heal Bell, to support their allies and push back the poison army that'd otherwise threaten them. And pointing to the Black Knight, they had but one command. "Bolt Beak!"

Maccao shrieked with excitement at the prospect of a fight, as if they completely missed the mood in the room (or the scale of the foe they were prepared to 1v1 if need be.) Propelling themself forwards with a mix of their powerful legs and equally muscular tail, they would attempt to strike at Necrozma with their beak - wreathed in electricity all the whilst!

Hopefully, El thought to themself, they were making the right choice.

TLDR / NOTES :

SPOILER: Click to show

- Akero is KO'd and recalled
- El witnesses past/former patients falling in battle, and is greatly pained at the sight.
- Not wanting to see anyone else die, they send out Dracozolt and ride into battle.
- El uses Heal Bell to protect combatants + force back the poison army.
- They have Dracozolt target Necrozma with Bolt Beak, wanting to put their trust in the stars and the ★CMa constellation

Dd2JeVYN

The sound of clashing steel hitting poisonous sludge bellowed like a tidal wave over the battlefield. Only to be pushed away when cataclysmic explosions of Dynamaxed Pokémon attacks fell upon towering enemy-monsters.

Attacks thrown haphazardly, with not a care in the world for the depris it sent flying. Fireballs fell from the enemy, engulfing peasantry and warriors alike. Gerald watched as some of his men fell to the fire, shrieking in pain before the poisonous beasts consumed them.

Gerald recognized the faces. Among them was the face of the dissenter, the one that had questioned marching to war at the sight of the enemy.

Gerald took comfort in knowing he had not lied. Like those of his subordinates still alive he allowed the deaths to fuel his righteous fury. The fury allowed him to swing his heavy warhammer again and again, taking down enemy beasts and creating STONE EDGE paths from which the enemy had no choice but to be funneled through.

Fighting through the waves was tiring though, even for a man such as Gerald whose tale boasted of a near titanic strength. By the time he rejoined with his Decidueye and reached Postwick, and the sight of Necrozma wrestling with Eternatus, he was fairly spent.

Still, there was more fighting to be done. Gerald took a deep breath and readied himself once more. Grip tightening around the handle of his warhammer. They needed to end both of these monsters, unfortunately they seemed equally matched and Gerald was not certain that the Galarian forces could outlast the poisonous army long enough. Gerald saw only two choices presented before him.

Risk being overwhelmed by the armies or help one of those monsters.

The choice was simple: Help.

There was one giant monster before him, to which he could attribute all of these years of fighting, all of these years of pain and death.

Eternatus and its Poison.

The choice was simple. He would aid Necrozma against their common enemy.

He returned Decidueye to its Pokéball. The Poisonous nature of the enemy made it a bad matchup for the grassy-archer. In its place came a Kecleon the small Green Pokémon gazed upon the struggle.

“We tare taking that one down first!“ Gerald pointed toward Eternatus.

Kecleon nodded.

Together trainer and Pokémon took a stance, from their position they each readied their respective attack. Gerald would swing his warhammer into the ground and let STONE EDGE burst from the ground at Eternatus. Kecleon would gather both of its hands at the right, forming an almost gun-like shape with its tiny fingers before letting the wavey beam of pink PSYBEAM fly at the Eternatus.


cCCw6114

OOC: STONE EDGE WARHAMMER
TLDR:
- Gerald sees his subordinates die. He uses the anger as fuel to continue the fight.
- Fights his way through the army to Postwick.
- Decides to side with: Necrozma
- Recalls Decidueye and summons Kecleon.
- Kecleon uses PSYBEAM on Eternatus
- Gerald uses his Weapon to fire STONE EDGE at Eternatus.

He is almost taken from behind by a monster. Mere moments before a hand swipes him up, he is pushed out of his way. A blonde-haired man smiles at Hitoshi as he takes the blow in his sensei's place.[break]
"The hell d'you think you're doin?!" Hitoshi screams, both at this nameless blonde and at Jubei, who has fallen far ahead on the battlefield. "Dontcha wanna go back to Circhester?"[break]
"Yeah." The man says, smiling in the midst of all the chaos. Blood drools out of the corner of his lips. "I do. But after hearing you not shut up about that girl for going on fifteen years...just doesn't seem right for you to die here before you can see her again."[break]
Grabbing the man, yanking him free, Hitoshi starts hacking a path back towards the friendly lines. Someone there can heal him. This dog can only destroy. He can't kill. He can't soothe. Such things are not for swords.[break]
"Save yer breath. Medic! MEDIC!" He bellows like metal under a blacksmith's hammer.[break]
"You're a good guy, sensei. Say hey to her for me." His candle flickers out. Hitoshi hates himself for not remembering the man's name. They'd known each other for so long, but that knowledge leaves him feeling empty. Laying the man on the ground, Hitoshi closes his eyes.[break]
"Sorry." His voice is gloomy as he picks up his sword, pulling out a ball and recalling Jubei's corpse into storage. Hitoshi can only pray that he'll be alright once they're out of here.[break]
All there is to do now is make a choice. Two monsters fight in the skies above. The dog senses what he sensed so long ago: these creatures are threats. He doesn't know how, but he knows neither can be allowed to live.[break]
Best to pick one and start from there. It is utterly random which one is struck. The blade is indiscriminate. When his burning blade and his Kingambit's kowtow cleave strike Necrozma, it is arbitrary. He will try to strike the other one soon enough.

The enemy Pokemon had begun to fall under the relentless assault of the kingdom's of Galar. The Rillaboom, Cinderace, and Inteleon were striking back desperately as they began to succumb to the the giant attacks of their own Dynamaxed Pokemon. It was unfortunate that these death throes managed to find successful targets, one being Colton's own Rotom. The Dynamax energy began to leave Arti's body and it shrank down to normal size before collapsing to the ground. It's efforts had not been in vain, at least, as the Rotom's Max Geyser had helped in breaking the Cinderace's shield. The battle seemed to be winding down almost as quickly as it had begun and Colton was beginning to lift Arti's Pokeball up to call it back when a familiar voice pierced through the din of battle.

His eyes went wide when he saw Victoria run over to his Rotom, calling the Pokemon's name out.

Victoria was a young girl that had become in psuedo-apprentice in the past years, a bright young mind with a willingness to learn everything Colton could teach her. She had great promise and a passion unlike any other, even to the point that she wanted to come along and observe the participate in the battle so she could see Dynamax used to its fullest potential. Colton had forbidden it, simply because it was too dangerous and yet, it seemed she had snuck along so observe out of sight, only to jump out of hiding when Arti had been injured.

Time seemed to slow, Colton's body beginning to move itself towards Victoria and Arti. Out of the corner of his eye, he could an oozing purple mass making its way to the young girl. He reached down to his belt, pulling Twoey's Pokeball from his waist and releasing her out in a flash of white. Words left, his mouth, a command to attack, but he couldn't hear what he said. All his attention was placed on Victoria as she lifted Arti up and began to run towards him, worry over the Rotom clear on her face. She hadn't seen the sludge, didn't watch it rise up like a toxic tidal wave.

And, then, she was gone.

Twoey's IRON HEAD, landed, but it didn't stop the remnant of poison as it slithered off into the brush. Arti's body tumbled to the ground, unaware of what had occured as Colton sank to his knees. His shield slipped off his arm, clattering to the ground as he stared blankly where Victoria had been only seconds before. The rest of the world had ceased to exist, leaving Colton alone with the hollowness in his chest.

TLDR:
- Colton fails to save a young girl he'd been teaching, leaving him to shellshocked to attack either Necrozma or Eternatus

Josh felt euphoric.

After years of intense training, the Master of Faster got to do what he wanted to do: defend the land from evil by riding the fastest Pokémon on land into battle. With a whiplash-inducing slide that flicked Josh about the thundercloud, he got to see the Slowking's upper body slide off its lower. What a sharp and clean cut the LIGHTNING SWORD was capable of making. He felt empowered. While not an Avatar himself, he sure felt like one.

His attack was not without loss, though; the ELECTRO BALL's wide explosion was just as destructive to allies as it was to enemies. Among the swaths of poison-covered fallen soldiers and knights were several covered in electrical burns so extensive that it made many of their bodies unrecognizable. One of the few that Josh recognized was Rosa, the Knight-Captain that rode Suicune alongside him while he was in training. She had pushed him to his limits in training his body for what he would put it through today.

There was no time to mourn, though.

With the Black Knight and the Skeleton clashing violently above Galar's skies, it brought horrific memories of Hoenn back into Josh's mind: the Dawn of the Darkest Day. While he was not a direct participant in that bloodbath, he had heard reports from many. A single LIGHT THAT BURNS THE SKY had killed thousands of Pokémon. Even people. Perhaps even Arceus Himself would have shuddered in the wake of such a destructive show of power. There was only one thing left for Josh to do.

Do what he could to end this battle.

The rider gently pat the white tuft of fur in front of him. "You got one more in you, Raikou?" Josh asked, electric blade in hand. With a purr that rattled every fiber of his being, the Stadium Leader had his answer as a storm cloud formed not far above the battling legendary Pokémon. With a jab at the Beast's sides, the two were off. The acceleration was strong, pushing Josh back to the natural cantle formed at the base of his mount's thundercloud. Even so, it took Raikou quite a bit of time to get up to top speed. It was not from the electric tiger being slow to speed up; its top speed was just that high.

Once they were up to speed, a howling gale surrounding the two from the speed they circled south Galar at, Josh grabbed the outer tufts of Raikou's thundercloud and flicked them as though they were reins. Responding in kind, the Beast made a heroic leap. The ground rushed away from Josh and Raikou in an amazing view of the devastation beneath. When the Beast's jump was about to peak, Josh felt his mount's back suddenly push into him. The rear of the thundercloud had conjoined with the thundercloud above.

Twenty-year-old memories of when he had done this back on Hoenn crowded out much of his other thoughts. It was that glorious moment with kyle lopez 's Sacred Ash Raikou that led to what would be Galar's glorious triumph over the Black Knight. This kind of speed had paralyzed Josh before. Not today, though. Not after the rigorous training he had to go through to be seated where he was. Raikou floated toward the part of the thundercloud above Necrozma, Josh's hair standing on end as he felt an electric surge run through his mount's tail. He had been used to current running through him from his other electric ride Pokémon. It was both their unique talents that made the devastating combination attack to come possible. "Now, Raikou!"

Josh was about to ride the lightning.

With a bellow indistinguishable from a thunderclap, Beast and rider were wreathed in bright, yellow lightning. One hand grasping his LIGHTNING SWORD tightly and the other buried in yellow fur, the two left the thundercloud at the speed of a lightning strike. As the living THUNDERBOLT raced toward Necrozma, so did an ELECTRO BALL from the sword of the Knight of Thunder. The skin beneath his inert Sygna Suit wavered, his peripheral vision a blinding yellow. Only silence reached the man's ears mid-strike, though he would experience momentary deafness when the wake of his own charge's sound waves caught up to him.

Had his younger self been able to experience this, he would have been in heaven.