The explosion dissipated. When the smoke cleared, the admin was on his knees, breathing heavily.

Two against one. The admin fingered his belt as if searching for a Pokemon to pull him from this venture. Regice had torn through a large swath of Thomas's team, but the issue was that Thomas still had several Pokemon left in reserve, and his were far stronger than Howard's.

Without Regice's Dynamax and with his Terastalization used up, Thomas had quite the advantage. Howard would've killed to have Regirock right now.

"What...?" His eye flicked from Tapu Koko to Thomas, unaware of the Telepathy occurring between them. "What's going on? What're you two doing?"

No. dahlia goode had made a mistake with deploying Tapu Bulu and Tapu Koko. This was an error. She had messed up in relying on them. Their track record was terrible. How many times had Tapus bonded with humans, and how many times had those humans failed? How many times had the Tapus marred pristine tapestries with their flippant nature?

"I respect your commitment. If only you were still Elite Four..." Howard clenched his fist. "...whaetver."

Regice slid forward, the nearby terrain getting flattened by its Superpower as it rushed forward. Yet it stopped as the admin shouted a word. If that golem marched off, it would lose to Thomas Benoit. Rather than continue a meaningless fight with a stronger foe, the admin would choose a different path.

"You're not a warrior, but... The admin's mouth opened once, twice, thrice. "...you can be. What is a warrior?"

---

Thomas Benoit

"A true warrior doesn't need a sword, Thomas."

Though Thomas's answer was perfectly respectable. It scratched an itch in the admin's memory that few had ever bothered to scratch. A distant memory of dusty groves and a garden rang in the archaeologist's ear. The answer was acceptable. It was proof that humanity had not yet failed.

Their speceis would continue to triumph.

"But you fought for your beliefs, and you won. I can't fault you for that." Howard's eye shut behind his visor. "Hm."

A decision was made.

"Rustboro."

---

Thomas Benoit

"Because you still have to find him. You still have to beat him. You still have to get your revenge."

The admin's breath frosted beneath his helmet, cold and hot. It reeked of shame and old tobacco and alcohol and shame as he regarded Thomas. A reminder that Thomas had beaten Regice, not Howard Slayte. A reminder that the archaeologist was fallible and that Thomas was, despite everything, strong.

The archaeologist's body was frail. His power was not earned. He had not trained. Yet all the same...

"But if I see him fighting you, I'll help him. If you're trying to chase Miyazaki, then you must have a good reason. Still, I'll help him if I see you two fighting. I'll be obligated to, because if Team Rocket turns on him, nobody else will have his back."

The archaeologist's lips twitched upward into a smirk.

"Are you still worthy, Judge?"

---

Thomas Benoit

"I see." Howard bowed his head once. Unbeknownst to them both, Yveltal would be Rocket's, soon. They would chain it to their whims and use it to dictate the flow of causality. "Very well, then."

Regice disappeared into a frozen Pokeball, and Howard took a deep breath. He dusted frost from his arm, hardly shivering from the chill as he did so. The cold wasn't a problem, anymore.

"If you're really a warrior, you'll go find Tapu Bulu's avatar." Even if Howard had beaten Genevieve Cromwell, she had been on the verge of collapse. Pushing herself to that extreme for no visible result puzzled the admin. It had not been Genevieve's resolve that had won her that prize, it had been the benevolence of a land spirit known for its fickleness. "And help her, as only one who knows the curse of such a boon can."

Even if the Judge was gone, that didn't change anything. Thomas was Thomas, regardless of any gift of divine origins.

"Until next time..."

The admin disappeared into the snowstorm.

"...Thomas Benoit."

---

Thomas Benoit