It boiled within him like steam trapped in a pot, and the release was almost there before the man said something curious to him.

His words stopped Gaius, and the smile on the bloodied mans face widened.

A proper fight.

One on one.

Glorious combat.

"Then I will seek you out. I expect you to be stronger then. Do not disappoint me." He said to the man, and that was enough to sate his thirst for now.

Gaius had found new opponents to devour this day. Kouji Matsubara, howard slayte, and Eduardo Hisakawa. They all proved to be powerful enough to warrant his attention properly.

Ripping the blade out of his side, he left it on the ground covered in his blood. His faithful Hound approaching him, and extending a paw to his body, and using Heal Pulse to staunch the bleeding, and mostly seal the wounds shut. It made them livable until they healed on their own.

Returning the Lucario to it's ball he released his second Hound. An enormous Arcanine that he got on the back of.

"I will find you three again...." And his crimson gaze would turn to Monroe. "And you Apex of this Battlefield....I will devour you one day...." With those words his Arcanine would race through the chaos.

That man howard slayte had promised to become strong if he helped him that one time, and it would seem that he held up his end of the bargain by taming that beast. Gaius cared not for the woman who challenged an Apex, and was slaughtered. That was the way of life, that was the rule of nature.

She was weak, and thus she perished.

Gaius would have to become stronger than her so that when he challenged the Titan Tamer, he would not wind up the same.

TLDR
Gaius has found worthy adversaries!
Gaius yaps a little to Eduardo Hisakawa.
Lucario uses Heal Pulse on Gaius to heal him a little!
Gaius gets on his Arcanine, and GTFO after promising to "devour" Monroe one day whatever that means.
Gaius sees Elisabeth Fiorelli get squished to paste, and just shrugs. She shoulda learned to parry!
Thanks for all the interactions howard slayte, Kouji Matsubara, and Eduardo Hisakawa! The chaos was awesome!

Isaac Merlo put up far more of a fight than Elisabeth Fiorelli.

Good.

That was his purpose. Better that he fought for Petalburg rather than the League. If he had done that in Dewford, the city would still be standing and Howard would be dead. Isaac's resolve had wavered then, and it was up to the admin to capitalize on that now. At least, until the fight was over and this could all return to normal.

Right. When it was normal, this would all return to normal.

"Where was this before, when it mattered? You could have ended this months ago! You're fighting me now, when the city is ours? Go! Get out!" Regirock fired a blast, its Lock On firing towards Tangaroa Emzar as it flew towards the Alolan, resulting in a nearby explosion. "JUST LET ME WIN!"

Regice, meanwhile, was knocked back slightly by the Aura Sphere, the frozen golem's attack detonating in its face. The titan stilled for several moments, unblinking, as Petalburg citizens and members of the Pokémon League fled the battlefield.

Stalling brought life. If Elisabeth had simply delayed, she would still be kicking. But she was a traitor to Team Rocket. She had attacked him first. She threatened to bring Ruination into this world. Such an apocalypse could not come to pass.

It would interfere with his and Naomi Sato's dream.

"Isaac."

His voice was soft.

"Isaac."

Slowly, Regice leaned forward, its face cracked heavily as it grabbed at the Lucario and began to squeeze on Isaac's Pokémon. Its pattern flashed red as the pressure increased, a Superpower squeezing every ounce of life from the Liberator's stalwart ally. Howard frowned.

"If you persist, you and Suicune will follow the fate of your siblings." A heavy sigh followed as Regirock continued its march. "Do you really want to meet Kyle and Raikou so badly?"

kyle lopez and Josh Devlin were both tied to an era that would never come again, back when myth fought against the invasion of their home from another region. Johto's story had ended. Kanto's had ended, and yet this incessant epilogue from Monroe persisted.

"You have people to protect. People that she..." Howard gestured towards the distant tomb of Elisabeth. "...did not. You're going to do this?"

Dynergy flared.

"You're going to lay down your life to prevent me from achieving my dream?"

---

Regirock misses Isaac, is aiming for Tangaroa Emzar (fate is up to Monk)
Regice facetanks the attack like a pro, pauses, allowing people to escape
Eventually repairs itself to grab Lucario and squeeze it with Superpower
Howard loves to yap

BATTLE OF PETALBURG

FLASH RAID

THE ICE HOLDS ONLY FOR A MOMENT. even the inorganic cannot resist the powers of death. a brittle rain of broken ice pelts him down below, but how can he feel it when his lungs are constantly burning from the poison in his veins? their mild stab is nothing to the constant wear and tear of petalburg’s SANDSTORM.

the call for another attack comes right after but they are interrupted by the converging rockets. many start to come out of the woodwork, literally, as they’re thrust into a losing battle. one he no longer cares for now that the outcome is obvious. they cannot hold this town, much less this position.

now is a time to retreat. and so he falls back, oblivious to skirmish that breaks out shortly after. after all, a rocket victory should mean her safe return.

right?

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
h4RNjyZ5

- flees once more rockets start to show up

'FUCK YOUR DREAM!'

The words rang through the air as Tangaroa Emzar struck the floor, unconscious. He had been stuck between two titans and an avatar. The mercenary had done well, all things considered. Still, his defeat was unfortunate. He had spunk.

Still, he deserved his fate for interrupting the admin's countdown. He had defied Hoenn's will to partake in Monroe's incessant browbeating, and he deserved to be humbled. It was a lesson that the muscle-brained Alolan would have to carry with him, and it would shape his future from this moment on.

To be humbled was to experience growth. That was something that Kouji Matsubara would experience now.

"Pardon?" Howard's voice was soft, barely carrying over the whisper of the sand. His eye flickered with Dynergy as he regarded the toy soldier denouncing him. "You have no right. I am your superior officer, and Underboss Fiorelli was assaulting me."

Stones rumbled, clacking over one another as they towered upwards. Howard's dream would not be denied. He had forged it in blood and stone and ice. Rocket had promised it to him, and Kanto would not deny him what Howard had denied himself for twenty-eight years.

"But if you denounce my dream, then it's up to you to shred it." The admin's eye gleamed with rage as Dynergy roared around the duo. "Fool's Gold, you become your name."

Regirock swung a fist towards Urshifu, its Hammer Arm slamming down. Kouji's face was reflected in Elisabeth's blood.

"Buried."

---

HALT: THE RED CHAIN AND ISAAC'S DENOUNCMENT IS INCOMING. Howard is interfacing with Kouji
Howard turns to face Kouji, enraged at his denouncement
Regirock uses HAMMER ARM on Urshifu
Dynergy pressure increases

Kouji rushed forward, faster than the admin could blink. Even on the verge of death, even as his body hung limp. Kouji was limp to his left, but the right was full of enough vigor to thrash Howard within an inch of his life.

Everyone was betraying him. The one time that he displayed loyalty to Rocket, and everyone was turning on him. Victory was in their grasp. They were going to win, and Kouji was allying with Isaac? Here? Now? WHY? The Liberator's long shadow had finally found a Rocket willing to heed his call.

Treason.

Yet he did not want to kill Kouji.

He was loyal.

"A bullied kid..." Howard whispered as Fool's Gold punched him in the side of the head, the admin's skull rattling around in his Sygna Suit's helmet. Oscar was a good engineer, but there was nothing that he could do when faced with a standard beatdown.

He felt a knife. Warm blood through his belly. Dynergy leaked alongside the latent remains of Ting-lu's corpse. Even now, fear dictated his actions. Yet he was Howard Slayte. When did that not?

Regirock's arm shattered when faced with the Urshifu's Z-Move, stones spraying the battlefield and knocking several grunts on their backs. The titan would rebuild, but the force of the blow reminded Howard of Elisabeth's Ruination or one of Jayden's many blades. When had Kouji gotten this strong?

When he had forsaken his weakness?

No.

"Fucker. I earned this. I EARNED THIS!" He roared as he staggered to his feet. His body didn't function. His legs hardly worked. His arms barely moved. That was fine. "I am stronger! All of these tribulations to reach this moment were forced against me."

A shaking hand picked up a piece of rubble from the ground, red lines of Dynergy flowing through the stone.

"I will continue to struggle because I am human." A deep breath. "My dream is just. AND I WILL NOT WAKE UP!"

SMASH!

He slid to Kouji's left and bashed the grunt on the side of the head with a piece of Regirock's corpse.

---

Kouji Matsubara

Thud. The punch smashed the admin's visor, embedding shards of clear material and metal into the grunt's knuckle as he knocked the admin backwards. It was a desperate, ugly punch. In another world, with his old body, the admin would have been punched through the socket.

But it was different now. It was a different form, made of a different material. Striking Howard Slayte was like beating on stone.

Still, he fell anyway. He sat there for a moment, tasting Kouji's purpose. It was a good one, but misguided. It described much of Rocket, the admin thought.

"I will not yield. I did choose. I chose Rocket to chase what I wanted from life." The admin rose steadily, his hand grasping onto the Dynergy-infused stone as he turned to face the grunt. "That is what Rocket offered you. A chance to choose your own destiny. To choose the form your soul would take."

A heavy breath. Regirock thrummed with power as it blasted Urshifu with a Dynamax Cannon. Red energy engulfed the martial artist.

"But it doesn't matter. We're here. You and me. We did this." Howard breathed raggedly as he smashed Kouji again, stone shattering bones and flesh. "We chose."

A deep breath.

"We chose to be cogs in a greater machine."

---

Kouji breaks Howard's visor, ouch!
Regirock uses Dynamax Cannon on Urshifu
Howard continues to bash Kouji with ROCKA