The trip back to the precinct was not to be uneventful, nor was it to be smooth.

Spoiler alert.

Howard had been overseeing the loading of a cargo ship at Mossdeep's pier when he had heard that a warehouse full to the brim with artifacts had been seized by Mossdeep PD. It was lucky that he hadn't been there, otherwise they likely would've taken him without much of a fight.

Oh, how he loathed sticky situations.

The admin stood above an overpass, cape flapping in the wind as his helmet glinted in the sunlight. Normally, it wouldn't be an issue if a few people had been busted, but several of the people there knew his identity. Howard valued his men, and they couldn't afford to remain in police custody.

Alive, at least.

As the convoy drove through Mossdeep, a wall of bricks erupted onto the road, assembling into a roadblock.

"Let's go. Get ready." Howard tapped his communicator, relaying orders to several grunts that hadn't been at the warehouse when the raid happened. "Stick to the plan."

"Yes sir!" Several grunts responded in his ear. As the truck came into view, Howard jumped off the overpass and onto the moving vehicle. Silently, he thanked jayden cross for the field training. As he fell, he realized that the truck was going to have to stop or swerve to avoid the roadblock. All the admin could think was 'oh well.'

THUD! He landed on top of the truck.

---

Gwyar Wledig

You got a license for that Vase?

Ft. howard slayte

The blonde lightly cocked his head from the truck's rear seats, squinting at a... silhouette standing at the very edge of the underpass?

Jumper? He thought in alarm, his hand reaching quickly for a pokeball. So much for an uneventful tr—

"THE FUCK IS THAT?!" Screeched the officer at the wheel as the very road seemed to come alive, a mass of sentient cinderblock moving on its own to create a barrier for the cruising caravan.

Perhaps against Howard's expectations, uuuh... the first row of police escort vehicles? They did not quite manage to even be rerouted.

That is to say, they ran straight into the new roadblock, their cruisers getting packed up in an impressively catastrophic car-pile.

Thud.

Inside the truck however, Gwyar and the other officers had other things to worry about. Their gazes all snapped up in unison, eyes wide. Something had definitely made a landing on their truck.

Jumper indeed. Gwyar narrowed his eyes, letting go of one pokeball to instead grab another.

He could guess which group would be crazy enough to pull a stunt like this on an armed police convoy.

"I'm going in."

"You mean out."

"What— Shut it, Johnson! Wledig, handle it!"

"Yes sir." Gwyar said, turning his gaze up to the ceiling whilst reaching for his waist...

---

About a few seconds after Fox landed, a sword suddenly speared straight through the truck's ceiling between the rocket's legs, barely missing his crotch.

A moment later, it became a shadow spreading along the vehicle's surface before fully forming into a man and a massive, floating sword across
from the admin.

"Ah, I missed."

---

Mission: AND MAKE IT DOUBLE

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What an immaculate car-pile. Stakataka were unfathomably useful, capable of manipulating themselves into dozens of shapes and assemblies. They were limited only by the creativity of the user, and Howard was very creative.

Several small fists emerged from the wall, battering against the swarm of cop cars. Several vehicles were rolled over by the might of the alien entity. Cops shouted, metal shrieked, and tires burst in loud snaps, each more distracting than the last. A few masked grunts emerged onto the road to begin warring with Mossdeep PD.

"Get 'em!" A masked grunt pointed, and thus the battle in the streets began. There were less Rockets, but the officers were unprepared for a sudden attack. Wars on the street rarely occurred. "Glory to Rocket!"

Meanwhile, Howard stared at Gwyar with a twitch of annoyance. His helmet betrayed little to the officer, but this wasn't ideal. Howard had expected some resistance, but for such a quick response...! Admin Fox grunted, his voice a bark of static as he regarded his foe. His head turned towards the Aegislash for a moment, and he sighed.

"You're the new Gym Leader." The observation rang out, and the figure sighed. Great. A Gym Leader. Lucky him. He had heard reports of Mossdeep's new Gym Leader, but he didn't expect him to be so proactive in warring against Rocket.

It was very inconvenient.

"Sorry to ruin your promotion." A Pokeball at his belt popped open, and a sarcophagus emerged. It sprouted phantom hands and gave Gwyar an eerie smile. "You should've gotten it right the first time."

He knew how swordsmen fought. jayden cross had beaten him black and blue with all manners of blades, including Honedge and Doublade. He could dodge Gwyar's attacks until this fight was over.

"My men. Let them out." The static voice barked as a dark wind began to erupt around the prison vehicle. It grew in intensity as the Ominous Wind became a storm. "Last warning."

---

Gwyar Wledig

You got a license for that Vase?

Ft. howard slayte

"And you are notorious Rocket Admin, Fox." He said simply, folding his arms behind his back as Galatine moved to hover before him, staring down the newly released Cofragigus.

As the admin chastised Gwyar's poor aim, he remained silent, his eyes instead taking in the masked man's silhouette with a rather telling once-over.

170 to 175 centimeters. 60 to 65 kilograms. Fully armored. Alloy, yet unknown. Stylish, yes. Practical, no. Big gaping hole in the heart area.

With all these things in mind, and considering the man's ultimatum, Gwyar took a moment, humming thoughtfully.

SPOILER: Click to show

"I did not bend to declan walsh." He said as he brought his hands together, digits popping audibly as he cracked his knuckles. As he did, the belts of his suspenders seemed to come alight, light flowing around them as the steel wrapped around his chest and shoulder linked with his Aegislash.

His Aegislash's form thrummed as infinity energy flowed through her form, the fabrics of her limbs flapping wildly as her eye glowed bright—

The Aegislash moved. In a blur of glowing blades, it spun in a wild arch around the knight, her blade of light releasing a cutting gale of her own, a storm within a storm pushing back against the oncoming ominous winds.

"If you've a weapon, now would be the time to brandish it, young man." He said with an ominous smile on his lips, tugging onto his leather gloves—

Before beginning to march towards Fox in the suddenly feeling very compact space atop the truck.

---

-Sygna Suit is activating.
-Galatine used Air Slash.

Mission: AND MAKE IT DOUBLE

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"You should've bent to him." A static bark cuts through Gwyar's speech. A verbal dagger tearing past the Gym Leader's bravado. "Steel bends, Gwyar. Iron is brittle. When you try to bend it..."

It was easy to surrender to Walsh. He was in every shadow, in every corner. Howard's missing eye twitched. Walsh was in the half of his vision that went missing, as well.

Several phantom limbs emerged from behind the admin, ominous and grasping. As the slashes flew towards the admin, several hands intercepted the attack, dissolving into darkness as the Air Slash struck the Cofagrigus's limbs. Howard let out a bated breath as he regained his composure. His armor hissed as it locked into place.

"It breaks."

The Cofagrigus's hands of shadow regenerated, before flinging a volley of Shadow Balls at Gwyar and his Aegislash. Howard, meanwhile, reached for his waist, where a small serrated blade was housed. He unsheathed it and compared it to Gwyar's weapon.

Damn. He thought to himself as he eyed the Aegislash. He's got a big sword.

"It's a weapon. It will suffice." Howard sighed in clear resignation. He was already losing this arms race. He'd kill for a few Stakataka blocks. "Let's boogie."

As the Shadow Balls flew towards Gwyar, Howard ran in after them, attempting to overwhelm the Gym Leader with brute force. He was hopelessly outmatched, but he still had to try.

This would've been far easier if he had just brought a gun.

---

Using Shadow Ball
SQUARE UP
Gwyar Wledig

You got a license for that Vase?

Ft. howard slayte

Fortunately, it didn't look like the blonde would be swinging the massive aegislash at the admin.

This time.

The massive spinning blade instead made a rough landing upon the vehicle's roof, making the truck tremble, swerve and shift in place, nearly throwing both men off as it swung its shield forward.

A barrier rose, blasting against out the numerous shadow balls before barreling forward, attempting to shield bash the enemy Cofagrigus savagely.

With Galatine at work and keeping the other pokemon busy, Gwyar could afford to keep his eyes and attention on the admin, regarding him. From his posture to his saunter to his weapon of choice.

He smiled.

"I'm sure you speak from experience." He says in response to his words, his hand slipping down to his waist to draw a much, much more reasonably sized longsword. "Fortunately, I was blessed with more brass than iron."

Now... time to boogie. Whatever that was.

The first blow came— and Gwyar almost hesitated. There was some training to the man before him, clearly, but the oncoming blow appeared to be... brute force.

Surely not...

Surely...

No—!

Clank!

"Dear lord." Gwyar uttered blandly as he let the power of the blow ring through his blade and seemingly shove it away— before it came around to strike at the left side of the other man's head.

Maybe he had gotten a little too spoiled fighting the likes of Hitoshi Inoue...?

---

-Sygna Suit is active.
-Galatine used King's Shield.

Mission: AND MAKE IT DOUBLE

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More brass than Iron, huh? Howard was going to kick this cop in the brass.

Clang! Howard's one eye widened from behind his helmet as his strike was intercepted with the flippancy of a man going about his day. It was a casual block, made worse by Gwyar's passing comment. If Howard weren't so surprised, his self esteem would be crashing by now.

"...!" Howard pushed with two hands to attempt to push through the cop's defenses. A poor decision. Gwyar was built like a tank. Howard never thought things through on the battlefield, he was realizing. His battle with Palkia and Chi-Yu taught him that.

Cofagrigus's hands billowed out to block Galatine's charge. The coffin scraped against the truck as it was pushed backwards, sparks flying as gold scraped against steel. As Ozymandius grinded to a halt, it let out a wry grin, full of manic energy. Two of its hands reached towards the coffin that made up the bulk of its body.

Rusted iron hinges gave way as the coffin opened, and a Curse spilled out onto Galatine.

Meanwhile, several Stakataka bricks moved towards the truck...

Pick your arms up, Slayte.

As Howard danced with Gwyar, he heard the voice of jayden cross ringing in his ear. It was after one of their training sessions, in which Howard had been bruised and left on the floor while Jayden's Honedge floated next to him.

You spend too much time with a pen, and not enough with a sword.

The pen is mightier than the sword... Howard had complained, before wilting under the glare of Admin Cross. Sorry.

Howard's eye narrowed in on the sword as it swung towards his head. His helmet obstructed his vision, slightly, but...

You spend too much time watching the sword, and too little time on the person. Look at their arms, their waist, their shoulders.

CLANG! The shout of steel rang aloud as Howard parried the sword, though the force of it left Howard's arm sore. Instinctively, Howard backed away slightly, grunting in pain.

---

Using CURSE on Aegislash
Gwyar Wledig

You got a license for that Vase?

Ft. howard slayte

It wasn't a bad idea— a ghostly curse could wear down even the bulkiest opponents in short order, regardless of toughness.

But it did cost roughly half of the user's vitality...!

As the curse enveloped the Aegislash, the dark aura coiling along the length of the blade— the sentient weapon's own flapping, billowy hand moved suddenly, shoving her shield between the front half and bottom half of the sarcophagus...

Her eye glowing brightly as she glared as she stared down whatever was inside—

CLANG! Rang loudly as Gwyar's blow was parried away, the first sign of any real training from his opponent.

"Enough." With a flick of the wrist, the parried strike swung around, taking its path back to the masked man almost immediately, flying towards the Admin's wrist. "One should play to their own strengths."

He didn't know what had possessed the other man into attempting to fight a man so much larger than himself when his skills were only this much—

He took a large step, crossing the threshold between them whilst raising his leg, before thrusting it at the man's chest, attempting to throw him on his back.

— but that was no concern of his. He just needed to end this quickly and not let himself be caught off guard—

---

-Sygna Suit is active.
-Galatine used Flash Cannon.
-Gwyar takes a swing at Howard's wrist in an attempt to disarm him, before trying to sparta kick him.

Mission: AND MAKE IT DOUBLE

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The coffin's ominous eyes stared at the royal blade. They didn't blink even as the Flash Cannon brightened the inside of the coffin. Darkness recoiled from the steel gleam. When the strike rang out, the coffin let out a dull ring, as if struck by a bell.

Wordlessly, the coffin fell backwards. The loud thud echoed across the battlefield, ringing over the sound of blades, cops, and grunts.

Ozymandias was vanquished, but its Curse remained, seeping across Galatine's blade like a cancer. There were many ways to curse a blade: rust, corrosion, a dull edge. There were a thousand imperfections that could mar a sword of its pristine beauty and might. They were already taking effect.

Ozymandias had nothing but time.

"Shit!" Howard narrowly blocked the strike yet again, before dropping the blade. It clattered worthlessly against the ground, leaving Howard with nothing to defend himself with.

The curse had time. Howard did not.

As Gwyar tried to kick the admin down, he instead found himself kicking a wall of bricks that formed in front between the two. The wall opened its many blue eyes, which immediately switched to a violent red as the bricks formed into a fist which tried to pummel the officer.

Meanwhile, the truck had begun to shake. Was it... floating?

---

Gwyar Wledig
BRICK WALL TIME
Stakataka using Magnet Rise
Ozymandias fainted

You got a license for that Vase?

Ft. howard slayte

Gwyar's leg met solid stone instead of flesh. "What in the—?!"

He didn't wait to see what he was kicking— walls of floating brick did not spontaneously form atop speeding police vans, even in Hoenn.

Back stepping roughly, the man damn nearly flew off the van's roof and onto the pavement below.

A billowing fabric, the color of royal violet, suddenly extended and caught him, it's many segments wrapping around his form like a hand before swinging him back onto the vehicle.

Only as he landed did he realize the fact the Van was no longer touching the asphalt— and did he notice the stained steel of Galatine's blade.

"Curse?" He asked, to which the blade merely held his gaze. His lips grew thin.

Now they had a time limit now. And...

He turned his gaze to the row of sentient blocks, recognizing it from reports.

UB: ASSEMBLY. An ultra beast. Bloody fantastic.

The blonde reached for his temples, the ear piece on his side turning on.

"Chief— please undock the prisoner cargo and get out of the van." He spoke as he rose, holding out his hand towards Galatine. "It's time to test that out."

The Aegislash's eye glowed before the entire sword suddenly nodded.

And glowed.

Clang— CLANG!

Like discarded armor, pieces of gold and steel fell off the Aegislash's massive form, until a long sword, seemingly underneath this entire time was revealed.

Without warning, it flung itself into the officer's outstretched hand, the man catching it before smoothly dropping into a low Ox stance.

In that moment, the straps of the man's suspenders came alive, infinity energy visibly flowing through them as the plates on the man's back moved, locking around his left shoulder and arm before the Aegislash's Shield came, locking into place shapeshifting to fit into newly formed pauldron.

The Aegislash's newly shrunk edge glowed as bright as a small sun as the infinity energy flowed, a sound not unlike an engine beginning to roar as a dangerous aura enveloped the swordsman.

"Together now!" He boomed as he swung. "RAH!"

---

-Sygna Suit is active.
-Galatine lost 1/4 of her health. 3/4's left.
-Galatine used autotomize, becoming a Long sword.
-Sygna Suit at full throttle :v.
-Gwyar & Galatine used Sacred Sword.

Mission: AND MAKE IT DOUBLE

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"Oh, you've gotta be shitting me."

Dealing with Gwyar and his Sygna Suit was not going to be a fun experience. Howard already knew that his fate was sealed when his first Pokémon fainted without much struggle, but now the fight had transitioned from 'difficult but doable' to 'impossible'. He wished that he could rely on his Sygna Suit, but he made it a point to not bring Shirley onto the battlefield.

He would not stain her with the sins of Rocket. She wasn't a beast to be unleashed for Rocket's villainy. His Aerodactyl would not risk her life in this battle, he had decided.

Gwyar prepared his strike, and the Stakataka wall reassembled. Immediately, Howard knew this was a doomed venture. However, it had taught Howard one very important lesson that he'd remember for the rest of his life.

He fucking hated swordsmen.

"FU-"

The sword went down.

As the Sacred Sword was sent his way, all Howard could do was get blasted back as his Stakataka bricks were cleaved in two by Aegislash like a hot knife through butter. Galatine's longer reach meant that slipping through the bricks was easier, and it also left Howard nowhere to run.

He was blasted to the edge of the prison truck. He desperately grabbed at the edge before he fell off. He felt blood trickle into his good eye from behind the helmet. When had that happened?

"Mercy! Mercy!" Howard shouted as the surviving Stakataka bricks continued to float thanks to Magnet Rise.

---

Gwyar Wledig
Sacred Sword strikes through Stakataka and knocks Howard to edge
He's fucking dying
Mercy? Pwease?
Stakataka used Magnet Rise

You got a license for that Vase?

Ft. howard slayte

The admin's barrier is destroyed. Now the man had no choice but to surrend—

Gwyar's eyes opened so wide the eyeballs threatened to roll right out of his skull as the masked admin flew back and damn nearly fell off the car.

Ah, right. They were still atop a moving vehicle.

...

"Bollocks!" Cursed the blonde as he rushed for the admin, leaping into a slide towards the edge as he rammed the sword onto the van's roof.

As his hand secured around the other's wrist, there was a brief moment of pause during the moments were he leveraged his grip with his sword, the full weight of the man hanging on for dear life suddenly dawning on him— and more importantly, his arm.

Ah— I forgot to account for the armor.

As it turned out, lifting just short of a 150 pounds of flapping meat (plus armor) with a single arm while all but hanging off the side of a speeding, floating vehicle was not an easy task.

"Gggrrrkkk...! Young man! I hope whatever they pay you is worth all of this!" Gwyar shouted mid struggle, neck and trap muscles bulging.

Still, the officer persevered, slowly helping the admin back up against his better judgement.

---

-Sygna Suit is active.
-Galatine lost 1/4 of her health. 2/4's left.
-Gwyar is helping.

Mission: AND MAKE IT DOUBLE

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It was mercy, but it was mercy for a poisoned source. If Gwyar pulled Howard up, the admin would be indebted to him. Such a concept was appalling, not because the help was unappreciated but because Howard had just been thoroughly schooled by the superior trainer.

If that hand pulled him up, Howard would sit in a cell until they came for him. A dozen things could happen. Gwyar could interview him. A detachment from Ever Grande would deem him far too valuable to sit in Mossdeep's police station. Walsh could emerge from the shadows and deem him an intel leak.

"You... why?" Howard grunted as he swung off the side, his feet rapping against the side of the container. From within, he could hear grunts screaming. "This... This isn't..."

If Howard was captured, the League would get a mountain of intel. Supply lines, safe houses, smuggled resources, Dynite Ore and Wishing Star mining areas...

"Let... go!" Howard struck the man with a gauntleted glove. He wasn't considerably strong, but an alloyed fist still stung. "You cuffed my men!"

...all of them would be for nothing if Howard was captured today.

"Drop it!" Howard barked. Dozens of floating bricks began to fall to the ground as their Magnet Rise disabled. The truck's prison container fell. With it, Gwyar and Howard.

---

Gwyar Wledig
Stakataka turning off Magnet Rise
We fall