The presence of the Power Spot near Dewford briefly made Shalin shiver; to anyone that knew her, it may have been hard to tell whether it was her genuinely shaking on her own, or whether it was her Seismitoad, Bass Boost, gently vibrating the bumps the frog's saddle covered. She had genuine concerns over the Authentic Power Spots' use after reports from New Mauville came in. The loss of a Pokémon was a serious potential risk of using these Power Spots, but if they wanted a leg up in the war, the League would need to use them.

With her Flygon and Type: Null standing watch to make sure nothing was going to ambush them before their descent, Shalin was ready to go. "Ready to head--" Shalin's question was cut off as the excited ground-type kicked the vibration up a few notches, a distorted whoop overpowering the sound of the amphibious Pokémon shaking and rattling her trainer. "Whoo-hooooooo!!!" the Captain exhaled, getting the Infinity Energy flowing between her and her Flygon. "Anyway, ready to head in?"

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Lutgarde has made themself comfortable on Sylph's back, following Shalin closely in flight, with Sylv seated inside their lap. "Ready," they say, laughing quietly as Shalin's interrupted by the shaking. Just watching it made their head spin, and they grin, "I really don't know how you survive that."

It's a bit of lighthearted banter to distract from the severity of their mission, as they were tasked once more to mine for dynamax crystals and others. Lutgarde is very glad that they don't find themselves once more inside the legendary giant, and instead have a more ... "normal" threat in their eyes. Just a highly dangerous zone, nothing more, nothing less.

"Let's go and see how that spot looks like from below," they say, sighing slightly, and descend after Shalin.

Shalin Nariya
choice leap into the power spot, 50pts

"Without Sandy and my Sygna Suit, I wouldn't, hehe!" Shalin giggled while answering, still coming down from the high of the Infinity Energy spike. With a leap into its center, Shalin and Bass Boost led Lutgarde down the Power Spot's entrance.

While there was no legendary Pokéon's core emitting Dynergy, the field of it surrounding them was just as dense by virtue of the ore being more plentiful. Bass Boost rattled the bumps beneath her saddle, though more slowly than before, in an effort to relax Shalin much like a massage machine would. She would need it, too; as the Seismitoad led the way down the fork, a Naganadel and its Megalopolan owner swooped in for a deadly sting aimed right for the two Rangers!

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Lutgarde grins, "Even without, it's really something," they laugh, before the situation turns more serious. They descend, and while nothing immediately happens, the feeling is similiar to how being in Eternatus' core has felt. The sheer intensity of the energy around them ... yeah, it'd be hard to make that one up by hand. How is something like this even powered?

They couldn't help but look around in awe as they wonder about this, their interest in city planning and infrastructure often leading to such considerations. In this case, it also helps - they spot shadows moving, and are able to immediately follow Shalin as she and Seismitoad leap to the left, with Sylph's Extreme Speed giving the Togekiss the speedboost it needs to get out of way unharmed.

"!" They aren't sure if they've seen that pokémon ever before.

Shalin Nariya
choice go left, 50pts
100pts total

"Wait up!" Shalin called out as Lutgarde and Sylph left the Captain in the dust, the girl's fear of speed making her helpless at keeping her in sight as they whizzed past. Though Bass Boost's vibration was powerful, the species was not fast.

Were Lutgarde and Sylph able to give Shalin a chance to catch up, they would see a bewildered look on her face as their surroundings turned from purple to grey. From the DYNERGY manifested a horror from Shalin's past: a Hydreigon with one each of red, blue, and yellow heads. From one dripped blazimg embers; from another, a chilling mist; from the last, a shower of sparks.

"...Lutgarde..." Shalin shivered. "That's the same Hydreigon that killed Kiara in the Halls of Origin! What's it doing here?!" She steeled herself for battle as the abomination inhaled deeply, ready to belch fire, ice, and lightning all over the duo and their team!

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After the dodge and a couple of metres across, Lutgarde notices that Shalin's not ahead of them anymore and quickly slows down, as quickly as that goes when you were going speedy before. "Sorry, focused a bit too hard on getting away from there," they apologise, but are glad that they haven't gotten seperated in that moment.

It's only more fortunate as another beast comes up entirely. It just seems to appear, making Lutgarde think that it might be similiar to what they've seen before in Eternatus - a hallucination made manifest, real in ways only an illusion could be. They look at Shalin, and see that look of recognition, of horror, soon followed by- oh.

"What is that?" they ask, not being able to answer Shalin's question, but then quickly shake their head. "Let's keep it at bay for now. We've got this," they reassure Shalin, before nodding to Sylv (who detangles himself from Lut) and calling out Oreo as well. "Dazzling Gleam, Oreo! Sylv, use Disarming Voice!" The Galarian Rapidash neighs, filling the air with sparkles that, in this environment, seem more lacklustre than usual. Sylv seems to put extra effort to make his voice calming and soothing, even if his eyes fixed on the Hydreigon are fierce.

They really aren't sure if the typing's still the same, but it won't hurt to try ...

Shalin Nariya
choice confront a hallucination made real, 50pts
100pts

The two Fairy-type attacks made the dragon roar in pain, doing its best to shield its eyes against the bright light. Even so, it didn't seem to hurt as much as it normally did. There was no crown on its head; it wasn't Terastallized, was it? Was the environment itself, the Poison-type Tera Crystals, inhibiting Fairy-type attacks? Or was this Hydreigon just frighteningly tough?

The twin attacks bleached the Hydreigon's skin, prompting its three heads to direct their full wrath upon Lutgarde Dijkstra 's fairy Pokémon. Out of one head, FLAMETHROWER. From a second, CHARGE BEAM. From the last, FROST BREATH. Were they allowed to converge near the Rangers' Pokémon, the three elements would mix violently, creating an enormous, destructive explosion that would effectively strip mine the ground around them... if they could survive the coordinated blasts.

"Bass Boost, RAIN DANCE!" Shalin ordered, the water-type frog letting out a deep bellow. Torrential rainfall doused the flames, though they served as a conduit for the electric attacks to more accurately strike them and all their Pokémon. Hopefully it would at least avert the fire and ice mixing...

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It got hurt, which is a plus - however, it's not as effective as Lutgarde is used to, which is a reason for concern. And the list only gets longer - each head gets an attack, flavoured to fit the odd colouring for this pokémon. "Light Screen, but also get away - Fairy Wind, Quick Attack!" they command their pokémon. Sylv almost reflexively has put up the protective light, before dashing away, just like Oreo who uses the kicked up wind to try and distract one of the heads as well.

As Shalin's Bass Boost lets out a torrential pour to douse the flames, Lutgarde picks up that, on their own, each would be devastating - together, however ... they'd rather not see what could happen then. "Oreo, come back for now - Noh, Garnet!" they call, "Garnet, use Captivate - Noh, try and guide the electricity with Bubble Beam!" Bubbles wouldn't be as effective as a proper water beam, but it would have to do for now - at least its strength is boosted by the rain, too.

"Do you know of any weakpoints, Shalin?" they also turn to ask Shalin.

Shalin Nariya
choice confront a hallucination made real, 50pts
150pts

Doused by the RAIN DANCE and protected from the CHARGE BEAM, Bass Boost continued to use the strongest weapon she had: vibration. Rather than shake the lumps on her back, she instead loosed a powerful bellow that rocked the three-headed dragon's eardrums. The electricity would be drawn into Noh's BUBBLE BEAM, serving as a conduit to make the attack even stronger against the fairy-type. The FAIRY WIND would briefly blow the monstrosity off course, but it would not down the Hydreigon like a normal fairy-type attack would.

"That's the thing, Lutgarde - it doesn't have a weakness! That's why Kiara died fighting this thing!" the Captain managed before her Pokémon's HYPER VOICE drowned out all other noise. The violent sound burst stunned the fire and lightning heads, but not the ice head. It belched FROST BREATH in a titanic hemisphere around the Rangers and their team, the cold drying out the Seismitoad's skin and causing her to collapse on the spot. Her SYGNA SUIT, attuned to a Flygon, protected her very little; if anything, it would make the ice-type attack even more effective against her, too. She was shivering, frostbite covering her exposed skin...

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Even with their combined efforts, it doesn't seem like it does all that much, and Shalin's words only hammer the reality in more. At this point, the Hydreigon would run them into the ground before they could progress further - and they wonder, for a brief moment, what would happen then.

And they really, really would rather not find out if they could help it in any way.

"Light Screen!" Lutgarde yells out, but even with the half damage from the protection, it still is freezing here. Sylv barely manages to use a Quick Attack to get away from the brunt, while Sylph does the same with Extreme Speed, keeping herself and Lutgarde as her rider safe. Noh, however, isn't quite as lucky, and loses consciousness. The ranger quickly recalls him, "Thanks," before focusing on the situation at hand.

How to defeat something that doesn't have a weakness? It does seem to be significantly weakened now, with the Hyper Voice also, so maybe ... they'd have to keep at it, persevere against all odds. At least, there's no real other idea in Lutgarde's mind as they hop off Sylph, running over to Shalin. "Sylph, Extreme Speed to get close, and then Dragon Hammer!" they shout, before kneeling down next to Shalin, trying to get them both to a slightly safer spot - hoping that the pokémon attacking would be enough to distract it. "Oreo! Use Confusion!" they also call, hoping maybe - maybe itself would be the key to its own destruction ...

The Galarian Rapidash neighs, charging in shortly after the Togekiss. Sylph speeds up to attack as suggested, and the Fairy type, almost unreal-ly so, seems to appear surrounded by the roar of dragons as she slams her entire body against the Hydreigon with incredible force, quickly followed by Oreo attracting the heads' attention with a neigh, before directing their eyes to the shimmering horn on their head. The glittering lights try to confuse the heads, leading to them attacking each other - hopefully.

Shalin Nariya
choice confront a hallucination made real, 50pts
150pts

Lutgarde's ploy worked beautifully, the weakened heads unable to overcome their delirium induced by the Rapidash's CONFUSION. The fire head and ice head discharged their attacks into one another, creating a violent explosion that ripped Shalin from her mount and sent her team flying toward the ground. Her friend's Pokémon may have had a similarly difficult time. It accomplished its purpose, the Hydreigon dissolving into pure Dynergy.

"Thanks..." Shalin panted. "...Couldn't have done it... without you..." The girl struggled to get to her feet, doing what she could to get onto the back of a Pokémon that had more balance than she did. Her Kommo-o helped her stand before the dragon crouched to let her aboard easily. Treble knew better than to vibrate Shalin like he normally did; she was in no shape to withstand such powerful shaking, Sygna Suit or no. "If I ever... see that thing again..." she trailed off, her tired mind unsure where she was going with the thought.