Step. Step. Step.

Steel-toed boots stepped over the battlefield. Several limbs of groaning Rockets grasped desperately for the armored figure that had appeared at Route 102. A cloak draped over steel and alloyed metal scraped against the ground, and the helmeted figure looked at the pile of bodies that Thomas had accumulated.

"Quite the view from that mountain of corpses, Thomas." The admin said dryly, hand on a frozen Pokeball that he tossed up and down. "That's you, right? I've never seen you on the field. Probably for the best."

His eye fell on Tapu Koko.

"Interesting." He turned back to Thomas, taking a silent note of the Ceruledge and their silent vigor. "Oh, the guy from Kanto? Can't give him to you, sorry. He's a piece of shit, but he's also a member of Team Rocket. If I betrayed him, then nobody in this world would have his back."

If Thomas did kill him, though, Howard wouldn't complain. Kanto Rockets were beasts in human clothing.

---

Thomas Benoit

"Great. Howard coughed into his fist, his helmet making it sound like a clap of static. "I'm used to that. If you want to get what you want, then step over my corpse. If you're stronger, then your desire will supersede my own."

Though the admin would be loathe to admit that he was going to lose to a Tapu. Unreliable nature spirits masquerading as guardians, even if Tapu Bulu had tried to prove him wrong with Genevieve Cromwell. Yet that had been a mistake. An error. It had been an anomaly compared to the other three.

But first, he had to get past Thomas. He was as strong as any member of the Elite Four, so the admin rolled his shoulders.

"Alright, Regice. Let's get to work!" The Pokeball flew into the air, before cracking open and layering the Electric Terrain with a thin layer of ice as Regice stood proud. Instinctively, it Locked On to the god of lightning. The admin's Dynamax Band gleamed, before forcing the golem to Dynamax.

The resulting explosion of Dynergy as the golem grew in size sent Rockets flying in every direction.

---

Thomas Benoit

Regice had destroyed Dewford. Regirock had leveled Petalburg. There was only so much to be done about a giant that rewrote the laws of the land with a single attack. Yet it was human nature to rage against nature, so Thomas and Tapu Koko were encouraged to rage as much as they liked.

And as the blade met a barrier formed from Dynergy, the Ceruledge would learn a dire lesson: Regice did not melt. It could feel pain, but it did not melt like the common Cryogonal.

Dynamax was a ridiculous equalizer. Even if for a moment, it allowed Team Rocket's weakest admin to content with a former member of Hoenn's Elite Four. Even if the power was borrowed, even if it wasn't Howard's, it would suffice for a spell.

Instead, Mordred and Tapu Koko were met with a Max Hailstorm that blotted out the sun, destined to strike the land spirit, now that it had been Locked On.

---

Thomas Benoit

Three against one. Hardly fair, but expected. Dynamax was a phenomenon that encouraged focus fire, and Thomas was smart. Of course he'd abuse the fact that Dynamaxed Pokémon couldn't move to shatter as many barriers as possible.

"Smart..." One barrier shattered, raining Dynergy down on Thomas as the Dazzling Gleam met Regice, before the Bitter Blade was buried into the golem's chest, before getting forced out by a stream of Dynergy. The wound quickly resealed due to the golem's Ice Body. "...smart."

The Braixen released a Flamethrower towards the golem, before a frozen finger pointed towards the sky. A massive orb of Dynergy appeared, before being encased in ice.

"...but not smart enough."

The orb fell towards the Braixen, snuffing out the Flamethrower and crashing into the small fox's body. There was a moment of silence.

Then, an explosion.

---

Thomas Benoit

A Braixen died. The admin's heart died a little more. Yet the cry of one Pokémon did not roar over the orchestra of the slain. A thousand dead bodies were piled at the admin's feet, and both Petalburg and Dewford screamed for his annihilation.

By the time this was over, Hoenn would hate him. Yet that was for history to decide.

Crack. Shatter. Crack. Shatter. Two more barriers fell over the battlefield. Four left. Enough to beat Thomas, if the admin was smart. Rather than let the duo continue to beat on its frozen body, Regice stepped backwards, defying the constraints of Dynamax, before swinging a fist towards Dewford's guardian with a Max Knuckle.

For a moment, Dewford's protector and its destroyer met each other. A reminder that they were destined to wage a war against each other.

Then the fist landed.

---

Thomas Benoit

It continued to hail. Leftovers from earlier Max Hailstorms blew across the battlefield, before sparking as they came in contact with Tapu Koko's Electric Terrain. Two different types of environment attempted to control the battlefield, yet neither could immediately succeed.

Eventually, the surge would fade. As long as Howard kept firing off attacks, his snowstorm would continue.

"Four barriers. That's more than enough." The admin muttered his mantra as another two shattered. "This attack is all I need."

Thomas Benoit was far stronger than his fellow Tapu holders. He reminded the admin more of John Sullivan than anything. The thought filled him with extreme frustration. Tapu Bulu had fallen quickly, yet Tapu Koko refused to fall. It refused to do anything but keep attacking.

Despite the continued attacks, Regice's body continued to repair itself thanks to its Ice Body, which filled cracks with new material as the battle continued. Yet it could not regenerate Dynamax Barriers. Little could.

A colossal glacial lance emerged from the golem's hands, easily the size of several telephone poles, and Regice swung it towards Thomas in a wide-sweeping arc that froze the ground as it passed by.

---

Thomas Benoit

Thomas disappeared into the ether. He returned from its umbral clasp unharmed, though the ground around him had turned to ice and hail would pepper his face in the aftermath of such a colossal attack.

"Do another sweep, right as he comes back! You can sti-" The frozen blade prepared to do another round of attack, before the sound of two more barriers shattering rang in the admin's ears. Without the aid of the shields, ice cracked and splintered, urging the Ice Body to repair what it could while it continued to storm.

Yet slowly, as the admin turned to face Regice, watching as its Max Hailstorm shattered and its body began to shrink. Space folded in on the golem, and the admin was forced to stare in awe as the Dynamax ended.

"That's impossible. You broke all eight?" Howard muttered, awestruck. He took several deep breaths to compose himself. "You're strong."

He turned to Thomas as his armor covered itself in ice.

"Stronger than that girl with Tapu Bulu. Yet that's..." A chuckle escaped his lips. "...absurd. You two don't even enjoy each other, it feels. You just fight."

---

Thomas Benoit