"Thanks for the concern." He offered the Galarian royalty a light smile, his eye flecked with red. Her care was surprising. He didn't think that Diana even liked him, but time soothed all disdain. "I'll live, though."

Even that was doubtful.

Time had broken them both, with only a few months required to turn pride into folly and arrogance into ignorance. They wore their scars with shame, even if it was due to their own sins. Howard didn't mind. He'd shoulder eternity and keep marching forward, as was expected of him.

In the distance, entire mountains of sand had been turned to glass by Registeel's powerful blasts. Nearby, a glacier-sized Power Spot thrummed with Dynergy. Red light radiated in waves like heat in a mirage.

"You're from Galar. As a result, you're better affiliated with Dynamax than half of the idiots I work with. Unfortunately, that makes me more familiar with the phenomenon than most. I figured I'd teach you how to fight back without getting smushed. It'll be useful when war comes."

He had learned from Navy , now he imparted the lesson to others. The silent war that humanity waged against the pawns of Eternatus.

---

Diana Cavendish

"Yes." Howard said simply. "You won't always have access to an even playing field. Dynamax is unfair. It is unjust."

The admin stared off into the horizon, the colossal Power Spot in the distance reflecting off of a bloodshot eye. His breath smelled like tobacco smoke and shame. In Howard's ears, the distant thudding of Dynamaxed Pokémon rang in his ears.

Thud.

"It's not smart to put you out like this, but you need to be prepared for the worst case scenario." Howard put a hand on his hip as he regarded the royal. Her lack of band was frustrating, but a nonissue at the moment. "We'll have to get you a band, though."

Thud.

The admin shut his eyes. The phantom thuds ceased.

"Pick a Pokeball." Howard produced two. One shined brightly, carefully buffed and polished. The second was covered in ice and exuded an ominous aura. "That's the one you'll fight."

---

Diana Cavendish

"I was busy with my projects. This one, for instance." He let the frozen Pokeball sit in his palm for a moment, its reflection distorting the royal's facial features. "I can't be everywhere, and I can't help everyone. This is what this exercise is—a chance to let you help yourself."

Regice's Pokeball was clipped to the admin's belt. The golem was a cudgel that the admin threw at problems that were beyond his ordinary skill level. That happened to be most, but an adventure into a fictional Galar had sharpened his gaze and improved his ability.

He wasn't inept, but he did not read a level of adeptness that his colleagues displayed.

The polished Pokeball opened, and a Coalossal stepped forward. The admin's Dynamax Band glowed with a harsh red light as the beast expanded in size, before blotting out the sun.

A roar that caused the sands to shift followed. Howard covered his ears until the sound dissipated.

"Dynamax is a pain in the ass. You're gonna struggle to fight one of these with allies by your side, but you need to learn how to deal with it." Vestivius stared down at them and blinked slowly. "Their firepower is immense, but they can't move and they weigh a ton."

He stared at her, before gesturing upwards.

"How would you fell this?"

---

Diana Cavendish

When the Walking Wake appeared, the admin internally sighed.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuck.

"Not wrong. In the scenario where you can actually strike at the main body, it'll certainly help. If anything, it'll beat whatever the enemy throws at you while you prepare yourself. But also, not completely correct." The distant thrum of Dynergy made the admin's left hand itch. The itching continued up his arm, tracing scars.

His hand twitched.

"The biggest weapon you have, paradoxically, is their size. They're too fucking heavy! Vestivius isn't going anywhere while it's that massive, but if you start blowing off their legs or tripping them up with ropes or chains or powerful blows, they'll fall. And the bigger they are..."

Howard gestured to Diana.

---

Diana Cavendish

"You need to attack it. The longer you leave something Dynamaxed, the more likely it is to level a city block and you along with it. Bring it down with speed and remarkable precision."

He didn't blink as the Walking Wake regarded him. It annoyed him, it frustrated him, it reminded him of when one had taken his Aerodactyl's eye and made her a mirror of him. Yet this was not that one. That one was long dead, crushed between a rock and a hard place.

Literally.

Still, he wanted to kick this Paradox Pokémon in the shins and run away.

"We'll use my Coalossal's own weight against it." He smirked, before scratching his chin. "Ready?"

---

Diana Cavendish

He nodded once, approving. If she could learn, then she could teach others. Thus the cycle could complete, until all of the world knew how to stop Dynamax. What a world that would be.

"Alright, now remember what I mentioned about the legs. Focus on one. If you're lucky, it'll tip over. If you're not, it'll just grow lopsided." He advised as he used his Teleport to warp near Diana, before warping even further away, to sit on top of a boulder. "It's hard for these things to right themselves."

Howard teleported again, until he was even further away. He gestured for Diana to follow him as his Coalossal invoked a Max Flare that turned much of the desert into bubbling, smoking glass. Water evaporated, but the intense heat was where Walking Wakes thrived.

The Hydro Pump glanced off the leg, striking the Dynergy Barrier. An Earth Power erupted near its leg, disrupting the ground near its foot.

"Watch out for those barriers! They're tough!"

---

Diana Cavendish