Lathiel was on the prowl for Ultra Beasts, Shalin keeping her eyes out for them as she rode toward the farthest corner of the Ultra Desert. Clad in the greens and reds of her SYGNA SUIT, the explorer's green, psychic mount kicked up hot sand beneath her. "I hope you brought your best, Sven and Elise, because we're gonna need it today. All the mysterious things we've found, like that sundial... we're getting to the bottom of it today. Everything leads to that one tower at the bottom of the valley there," she pointed toward an ancient series of obelisks making up the vertices of a regal, two-story temple:

The TEMPLE OF HOURS.

A tomb to an unknown monarch or deity, perhaps Shalin would discover its true purpose as her investigation continued. She would have a hell of a report for illeana reyes when she was done here, regardless of what else happened today. "Let's ride." For now, she and Starr would lead the way through the tunnel her Flygon had cleared out before, the first true demonstration of what her suit could do. Without the protection her suit bestowed, the vibration would have reduced her to pudding.

At the base of the temple was a sentient monument depicting an enormous cat. In the minds of all three trainers echoed a noble voice's words: "I have no fangs, yet I constantly bite. I have no scales, yet I slither through you. What am I?"

At the answer of "Venom", the feline statue's eyes glowed a bright yellow. With a loud rumble, it shifted toward a tall sand dune, displacing a large quantity of sand and forcing Shalin's Espeon to retreat. A dust cloud in its wake obscured vision for a while before fading away to reveal the TEMPLE OF HOURS, an ornate and large, labyrinth-like tomb. Stepping inside once the coast was clear, its interior was surreal-looking. There were murals that seemed to be drawn upside down, doors that descended from the ceiling, and even a locked treasure chest that hung upside down from what appeared to be rafters.

Taking a photo of one of the murals, Shalin turned the image right-side up using a photomanipulation app on her phone. It depicted swaths of Pheromosa and Buzzwole having a territorial dispute, with no signs of other Pokémon nearly. After Starr pushed mentally pushed open what appeared to be a vertical sliding door panel, the explorer continued on. As they progressed deeper into the temple, she found more and more mummified Megalopolan corpses, some right side up, some right side down. They went on and on about Pheromosa and Buzzwole. Not one mention of other Pokémon. Were they the only Pokémon that lived in this realm prior to the rifts opening?

[player]https://fi.zophar.net/soundfiles/nintendo-64-usf/legend-of-zelda-the-majoras-mask/152%20Middle%20Boss%20Battle.mp3[/player]

Middle Boss Battle - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Deep within the temple, the hordes they had seen depicted were real: in a sand-filled courtyard, the Ultra Beasts were at war once more. "Arceus..." Shalin moaned, pointing at the lithe and muscled bug-types exchanging blows. Though they were surrounded in quicksand, the great speed of the Pheromosa kept them from drowning, as did the great strength and size of the Buzzwole. Shalin concluded that while the quicksand wasn't deep enough to swallow them, it would greatly impeded movement if they didn't stay mobile. "We need to break this up before they cave this place in," the explorer urged. "Go after the big, tall, red ones."

Rather than Lathiel going after the Buzzwole right away, she turned on Shalin. Not expecting the friendly fire of her Type: Null's CRUSH CLAW, the Shiny Espeon's psychic harness did not hold up, launching her rider away. "Starr, help!" she shouted, sinking into the sand. With a quick ALLY SWITCH, the brave Espeon got Shalin to safety, but now she was sinking! One of the Pheromosa zoomed toward the vulnerable green Pokémon, appearing next to her in a blur. The Ultra Beast unfolded its long wings and smacked Starr with them at the frequency of a BUG BUZZ. Starr's trainer reached to withdraw her before things escalated more, but she was too late. The crackling noise of bug wings against psychic fur tore at Shalin's heart, one of her most important Pokémon downed in a single blow.

Empowered by Starr's bravery, Lathiel went berserk, slicing and dicing at Buzzwole after Buzzwole with great speed. Buzzwole were strong, but they didn't have exemplary speed like she or the Pheromosa did. Once the last one was downed, she began to attack the more lithe bug-types, too. "Stop, Lathiel! They don't mean harm!" Shaking her head, the Type: Null reluctantly did as asked, having tasted enough Ultra Beast blood to satiate her appetite for some time.

Grateful for the adventurers' help in repelling the muscular insects, the largest of the Pheromosa hive sprinted around Shalin before coming to a stop in front of her, crouching and lowering her wings. "You want to come with me?" Shalin asked. Nodding, the oddly-shaped insect further lowered her wings and stepped back, startling her when the surprisingly sturdy appendage touched the inside of her leg. "You... you want me to ride you? How?" As it turned out, this particular Pheromosa had been observing Shalin from the start of her journey through Ultra Desert, and seen what she had done with her Flygon. "Not yet. This place is dangerous for me to learn that." Holding out a Poké Ball at the strange creature's level, she made her promise. "The day after we leave this place, I'll work with you on it. You have my word." With a smile, the Pheromosa leaped toward the empty Ball and became a powerful member of her team.

Not long after, the entire realm flipped upside down. Their new surroundings were completely surreal; chambers once filled with water were bone-dry, ones with lava now rained molten death from above, and open-air chambers now featured narrow catwalks over large expanses of sky. It was terrifying to think what would happen if one slipped and fell. Seated on her Pyroar's back, she led the way through a formerly upside-down door, the realm's inversion opening new paths through the temple.

As the entire temple turned upside down, Shalin and her Pokémon felt gravity reverse. Where there once rafters spanning open air rooms, there were now catwalks stretching over large expanses of sky beneath them. It was terrifying to think about what would happen if any of them were to fall. Sven's MYSTERIOUS ORE had opened up a new way through the temple, revealing a formerly upside-down door. Shalin and her posse of Pokémon advanced with caution, the girl leaving Scar to a trot at fastest.

Beyond the door was a circular chasm that appeared to lead to a vast field of quicksand... in the sky? "How... how is this even possible?" Shalin asked. "It defies all -- LATHIEL! AHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed from the recoil of her own Type: Null lashing out at her with a CRUSH CLAW that left both her and her Pyroar steed bleeding, trails of red lagging behind them as they fell. Thinking quickly, she reached for the Poké Balls containing her Beedrill and Flygon, the two Pokémon doing their best to break their falls the best they could. Lathiel, with great courage, leaped after Shalin.

As if on cue, the ground beneath the explorer and her Pokémon started shaking not long after the buzzing wings of both the Beedrill and Flygon echoed on the reality-defying plane of sand. The level of sand lowered just enough to reveal a dais with seven yellow, glowing dots in the shape of something that looked vaguely familiar, though it had been too long since she had been to the Epoch Ruins to recognize it off the top of her head. Her memory would be refreshed when another earthquake rocked Shalin and her Pyroar, preventing her from mounting up immediately.



[player]https://fi.zophar.net/soundfiles/nintendo-64-usf/legend-of-zelda-the-majoras-mask/207%20Boss%20Battle.mp3[/player]

BOSS BATTLE - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

An upset-looking REGIROCK splashed sand all over the dais, socking Queen Zing with a STONE EDGE fist, the wasp's blue eyes fading to a teal color. Downed in a single hit, the girl had little choice but to recall the Beedrill. She was in big trouble.

The presence of Elise Calcifet 's Naganadel, Beelze, prompted Shalin to withdraw Lathiel immediately. There was little more that the Ultra Beast Killer wanted to do than tear into Ultra Beast flesh. With her Beedrill and Espeon down, the injured Shalin sent out Sandy and got on her Sygna Pokémon's back, against her better judgment. Shalin WORRIED for her friends and for her own well-being, the Flygon's SYNC STONE began to gleam green, the female's wounds slowly beginning to close.

The tangs of pain beginning to subside, Shalin commanded her Pokémon to rise into the air and land near the REGIROCK. "Now, grind its legs to dust, Sandy!" she cheered. The Slowking's SURF pierced cracks in the legendary Pokémon's rocky surface, the water freezing under pressure and making the EARTH POWER to come stronger. While she was in no condition to get on the buzzing wing to make the attack stronger, their screeching would be plenty powerful, the ranged Ground-type energy attack causing the foe's rocky legs to start crumbling.

With a cry and seven glowing, white eyes, the REGIROCK began gleaming with a brilliant, white light that meant only one thing: a giant EXPLOSION that would release with so much force as to turn parts of itself into supersonic projectiles. All but the outer edges of the entire platform glowed red and orange with the kamikaze attack's enormous blast radius, threatening to FAINT all Pokémon within.

By the time the smoke cleared, the REGIROCK would be nowhere to be found. There was no evidence it was even defeated.

Shalin's SYGNA SUIT was almost unrecognizable, covered in burns. She was motionless on the ground. If anyone were to check for a pulse, they would find one, revealing she was unconscious and in bad shape, but still alive. She would need a hand getting out of the ruins...