Though the LIFE DEW stems much of the pain, making it bearable, Josh knew it would only last for a few hours. John Sullivan 's DIVINE HEALING would extend that; the poison from his leg was completely purged, but not even divine healing would mend his broken bone back together like a miracle cure. There was no miracle cure; without a bone to support the muscles of his arm, it would remain an immobile, useless hunk of flesh.

Learning how to ride with only one arm was going to be a pain. But it was one he would need to suffer through. At the very least, it wasn't his dominant arm that was broken. It was also gruesome to look at; while the Stealth Rocks had fallen out, the detonation had left quite a bit of inner flesh exposed.

So much for sleeping more than four hours at a time.

Suddenly, the temperature inside the chamber rose dramatically from Shred 's ORICHALCUM PULSE. It was some of the first true warmth the Gym Leader had felt since his capture. Where it came from, he cared not; it accelerated the restoration of feeling to the rest of his body. He was in fighting condition again, and needed it, what with the DYNAMAXED OKIDOGI crashing through the floor and into the Breeding Pit.

At the same time the crash happened, highly venomous MOCHI pelted Mastema, bringing his shower of LIFE DEW to a premature end and rendering him powerless in an instant. "Mastema!" Josh cried, withdrawing the sick-looking Fairy-type. Awkwardly reaching across his body to retrieve and click open Resheph's Poké Ball, the Dragonair looping around him before hovering at his side. He awkwardly climbed aboard the serpent and rode into battle, curling his good arm around his mount's body the best he could. "I trust you, Resheph!"

With a war cry, the Dragonair soared to the top of the Breeding Pit, aiming for the DYNAMAXED OKIDOGI's schnoz with a DRAGON RUSH-powered stab of her horn.

By the time he collected his Pokemon and supplies from a few Megalopolans, the Loyal Three had Dynamaxed.

Yippee.

He had realized that there were three wards relatively quickly, but Howard hadn’t thought about the fact that they were each governed by a warden of their own. He had desperately assumed that Munkidori was the only one ruining lives, but the existence of the other two only exacerbated the issue.

“Dynamax?” Howard groaned as he and Doug felt the prison tremble under their feet. According to the shouts from the other prisoners, this prison was actually an alien spacecraft? Again? The first spacecraft on Route 119 had been one too many. “Seriously? Are they stupid? This shit is dangerous. What if we crash?”

Granted, imprisoning several members of Rocket and the Pokemon League made Howard feel little pity for the Megalopolans. If they didn’t want trouble, they should’ve packed up and left gracefully, accepting their defeat from years prior.

Humanity was not the only species in this universe that did not want for ego. Nobody wanted to go out gracelessly into the night, their last sparks of hope extinguished.

“What a bother.” The admin reached into his kimono, as if looking for a cigarette. He found nothing, naturally. “People never learn, I suppose. Always wanting to control the uncontrollable.”

The similarities between Megalopolans and humanity were hardly distinguishable anymore. Both raged against the misfortune of their circumstances, against the chains of fate that confined them, against the threats that forced them to take action.

Necrozma.

Eternatus.

Two sides of the same coin, in this war of the worlds.

A week in prison had taught Howard a lot about being chained. It turned out that it fucking sucked. One chain with Rocket was enough. A chain to the people he loved was plenty.

His eye fell upon Shred . Primal sunlight warmed Howard’s heart.

That chain would suffice. The thread that tied them together would not be severed by these three colossal wardens.

“Hey.” A hand clasped the charred remains of Shred’s shoulder. “I knew I’d find you. After all…”

A smile full of sunlight shined from behind the mask. A vision of a dreamlike city glowing with lights flashed in his mind’s eye.

“...I dreamed of you.”

When was the last time that they had teamed up like this? Them, collaborating against a far bigger threat? Several months, at least. It had been in a similar scenario, too. Surrounded by Megalopolans, desperately striving to survive, to shine and impress.

Doug lumbered up. He was no Crumble the Claydol, but the bear would have to suffice.

There were only two words left to say.

“Signature Kill?”

Shred’s heart would do the rest as Doug charged up a Blood Moon, the gleaming celestial orb shining above the battlefield with a primal red malice. Creation and destruction were two sides of the same coin. When the sun and moon met, there was only one result:

An eclipse.

---

SIGNATURE KILL...
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And so begins a new dawn.

The harsh sun bearing down upon the battlefield sets fire to your blood. Your veins burn hot and the orichalcum upon your skin burns hotter. But, more than anything else, it’s your soul that burns the hottest.

It’s overwhelming. You barely manage to muffle a groan as you double over. Something feels… different. Your hand reaches to grab your chest, but it just won’t stop shaking. Every breath feels like you’re gasping for air. Every heartbeat feels like you’re getting hit by a hammer. Every thought feels like that, too.

Your eyes narrow into slits. Your fangs gnash against one another. Your claws dig into your burnt hide.

And yet, it doesn’t hurt. No, much the opposite.

You feel alive.

YOU ARE ALIVE.

With renewed vigour, you stand tall and look to the sky, to the silhouettes descending and their glowing masks. But though they might be bright, they don’t shine, do they? Not like you do.

It’s too late for them. The moment they let you slip the leash, it was all over from them. You’ll never go back into their cage. And if they try…

You’ll kill them.

YOU’LL KILL THEM ALL.

OKIDOGI, GUTTED FROM HIS HINDLEGS TO HIS GULLET. MUNKIDORI, EYES TORN OUT AND SKULL CRACKED. FEZANDIPITI, WINGS SNAPPED AND RIBS SPLAYED. CYLLORA, THROAT RIPPED OUT. NEVER-ROT, BEATEN AND MAULED AND LEFT TO DECAY. dahlia goode, HUNTED AND EATEN. declan walsh, CAST DOWN AND STARVED. annalise henderson, BLONDE HAIR TORN AND LEFT STAINED WITH BLOOD. Grigori Sokolov, LEFT LITTLE MORE THAN BONES AND GRISTLE. illeana reyes, BRAIN CRUSHED WITHIN YOUR TALONS. Lulu Flint, HEART DEVOURED IN YOUR MAW. PENELOPE LIVY, LOST EVEN TO HISTORY. howard slayte,

howard slayte.

howard slayte…

The archaeologist places his hand upon your shoulder, and it takes all your restraint to not lash out. The primal instinct within you wants to kill him like the prey he is. Yet, even as your insides burn, you remember. Late nights slacking off outside the Pokemart. Early mornings scrounging about trying to make a quick buck. So, so, so many fateful days.

As a false moon covers the false sun and shrouds the Breeding Pit in ersatz twilight, you manage to find your sense of self for long enough to act.

Your hand slams down on a Pokeball, and from it emerges your Gouging Fire. Empowered by its protosynthesis and pushed even further beyond, it leaps high into the air, even above the Blood Moon, before crashing through it with a Flare Blitz and crashing towards the Okidogi like a falling star.

And as the moon surrounds the Paradox Pokemon, and as the sun shines once more, you begin to burn once more. And as you do, you let out a roar of pure emotion. All of your hate. All of your hope. All that you were, are, and will ever be.

”SIGNATURE KILL: PROMETHEAN ECLIPSE!”

---

TL;DR - Shred goes SICKO MODE
Attacking Okidogi, Orichalcum boosted, Howard/Doug is also Orichalcum boosted, cool combo attack, uhhhhhh that's like 4 total?
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