He sees his own reflection gazing back at him. A dog sees himself from twenty years ago. Bodies are scattered about thoughtlessly. Pokemon stumble about, dead and dying. Pointless slaughter. This dog is no hero. No matter where life takes him, that role will never suit him. All the same, he questions why. Why all this death?[break][break]
His heart burns. Raising his red blade, the dog walks forward. At his side is a Krokorok. Caught a few months ago, this beast endeavors to stay by his side. Keep his master safe. Fight, until the bitter end.[break][beak]
"Yo. Long time no see." The dog says to the man who presumably murdered them - him and his dark knight.[break][break]
"Any reason you're puttin' so many guys in the ground?"

"Damn." Perhaps another creature, a proper human being, would lace the words with disdain. Perhaps they'd carry some double meaning. A dabble of sarcasm would sprinkle them for effect. "That sucks." Yet he is open. Honest. Pensive at the news. First blood or last blood, it all blends together in the final analysis.[break][break]
It's pointless, this battle on the beach. Neither of them have anything to gain by spilling more blood here. Yet still, he marches forward. He doesn't know what drives him. Perhaps fighting this dark knight will bring him closer to an answer he seeks. Maybe the dog is a puppet as well, dancing to the swaying strings of an unseen puppeteer.[break][break]
Flicking his sword up, he aims a psycho cut at the dark knight. His Krokorok accompanies him, trying to bury his opponents in a sand tomb built from the shoreline.[break][break]
"The hell're we even fighting over?!

Because the bosses wanted to rule the world? The world is a vast, wide place. Too wide for a simple dog to imagine. Amber eyes little comprehend what is beyond the next hill or turn of the sand. Ruling a world is beyond him.[break][break]
What isn't beyond him is the clash of a bitter blade against a night slash. The blade in his hands screams in displeasure from the heat. Even a cursed blade like this has its limits. No great genius, this dog still calculates how well the blade will be able to resist future hits. The two-pronged blades of the Ceruledge are deadly indeed, and right there. Ready to tear into him.[break][break]
"The world's a big place. I don't think blondie and senpai's arms are that long!"[break][break]
Close by, the Krokorok is hit by the gunk shot. Instead of backing down, the dark beast moves in. He subjects the creature that attacked him to torment, pacing around and laughing at the living garbage.

This nameless Krokorok is possessed of a certain insanity. Some might call it suicidal. It simply wishes to even the score. Having drawn the living garbage close, he lunges at it, clings to it. Holds it tight. After confirming his grip, he begins to sink himself into the sand. Untrained, mad, and prone to the darker instincts of its nature, it wishes to bury both itself and its opposition in a sand tomb. It coils around the garbage in mutually assured destruction, dragging them both into a trap designed to kill them both.[break][break]
"Listen up." A dog declares to a beast of different stripes. "I don't get what ya mean. I don't even know Rocket's about. Dunno what they're fightin' for. All I know is...I think too much about stuff these days. I've killed too many people. I've seen too many people die. I dunno who's callin' the shots in Rocket from overseas. All I know is...can't afford to let ya kill me here."[break][break]
The Hasegawa Muramasa hooks into its owners flesh. Once more, it drinks deep of dog's blood. Ghostlight comes alive along the edge of the blade, surging with power. He made someone a promise. This creature very much intends to keep that promise. He must survive, for his life belongs to another.[break][break]
A surging cascade of blue flames bears down upon the Ceruledge. They trace around the human, ordered to not harm him by the will of the dog baring his fangs. It's an all or nothing gambit. Everything he has.

A dog collapses into the sand. That last blow was too much. It's always too much. It's a reckless attack born of valor. Reeling from it, drained of blood again, he is only saved by the intervention of three Kartana. One charges forward, distracting the fresh-evolved legend. The other two, along with the dog's own Ceruledge, drag him back. They flee across the battlefield, only to be joined by the last Kartana when it's clear the dog has been safely delivered to a passing group of grunts and executives.[break][break]
There is no winning this fight for him - no further glory. Nothing except another loss, another Pokemon that has died for him. This day, his team has been utterly decimated by the League - reduced to its barest essentials.[break][break]
When one finds themselves at the bottom of the dark, there is nowhere to go except up.