[attr="class","kcontain"]

template by kay

[attr="class","aheader"]

[attr="class","athread"][player]https://www.mboxdrive.com/The%20Path%20of%20Justice%20%20CrossCode%20(Original%20Game%20Soundtrack).mp3[/player]
Amp hung his head, realising that he was on his own. Annie, on the other hand, had a smile that couldn’t possibly grow larger. Even if she couldn’t see his face, the lack of laughter and mockery meant the world. “Keep your spirits high, little light! If I’m right, we’ll need you to be on top of your game.” He nodded back, all too aware of what she meant. The junior hero gave him a thumbs-up, took one step forward, and then jolted a foot into the air at the Machoke’s roar.

Maybe she was a little too excited.

Her feet touched the ground, and the smile remained as if nothing had gone wrong. While the rest of the crew rushed forward to try and force out the Wailord, Annie didn’t budge. She’d owned a Wailmer for a while, and could barely budge him on a good day. She didn’t have a chance in hell of forcing its evolution to go anywhere. Not alone, at least.

“I think we’ve got a better idea. A little risky, but all the best ideas are. Amp, are you ready?” He nodded, a lack of enthusiasm exchanged for determination. The stone strapped to his back had remained mostly hidden, but when Annie pulled her Key Stone (tied to a string) from her pocket, all became clear. “Right! Let’s power up!”

The transformation was brief, but a spectacle to behold. The two stones shined, their rays of light seemingly searching for each other. The Ampharos braced himself as the Mega Stone expanded a mirage of itself, shielding him from their eyes as he involved even further beyond. As the shell of light exploded, Amp revealed himself once more, roaring to the sky. Annie could never tell whether it was out of exhilaration or pain, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to find out.

Instead she focused on the task at hand. “We don’t have long! Amp, whack ‘em with a Focus Blast! Everybody else… Get out of the way, probably!” If her words hadn’t been enough of a warning, the charging of the attack might have done the trick. The ball of energy between Amp’s hands quickly found itself adorned by stray streaks of barely-restrained power, rapidly flickering in and out of existence. Annie heeded her own advice and took several steps back, just in case.

The ball of fighting spirit was fired straight into the Wailord, the speeding bullet forcing the behemoth several feet away from them – and closer to the ocean. The progress came at the cost of a strained groan from the beast they were meaning to help; Annie frowned, but held no remorse in her voice. “Most other Pokemon would’ve been knocked out from that, but Wailord’s got too much fat for it to really hurt. I think. I’m pretty sure.”

template by kay

[attr="class","kcontain"]

template by kay

[attr="class","aheader"]

[attr="class","athread"][player]https://www.mboxdrive.com/The%20Path%20of%20Justice%20%20CrossCode%20(Original%20Game%20Soundtrack).mp3[/player]
It was near-frustratingly difficult to read the emotions of a masked man, but in a situation like there’s, silence could only be taken as a good thing. The girl’s grin went from ear to ear, not just because of the hero’s approval, but her Pokemon’s power to leave a lasting impression. Where they were headed, they needed to make a mark everywhere they went.

Seeing the man talk to his Pokemon helped to lift the Ampharos’ spirits too. Drifters like Annie and her Camp met a lot of trainers, and most of them fit into two camps. Those who treated their partners as dear friends tended to be further down the ladder, while those that barely spoke to them in the midst of action made up most of their challenges. It was refreshing to see a man that could do both. At least, he assumed as much. Why else would Annie force a Mega Evolution on him?

No amount of stones could protect him from an Encore, and so the dragon found itself charmed into sharing his trainer’s ego. Without a thought, he bowed to the party, while the girl behind him stifled her giggles. “Sounds like a plan, team! Let’s see how it goes!” A pair of Pokemon aided each other in taking the Wailord for a ride… Or at least, trying to. “Well, it could've worked,” Annie muttered.

Amp charged the Focus Blast over his shoulder, because it was the only thing he felt compelled to do, and Annie realised too late that he couldn’t stop himself. “Step away from the Wailord!” she called, seconds before Amp Hadouken’d his blast into the beached beast. Again, the attack shifted it closer to the ocean, and again, the poor thing bemoaned its fate.

Pocky pursed her lips, a hint of regret and pity briefly revealing itself. Even for a Pokemon of its size, a blow from a Mega Evolved Pokemon was nothing to joke about. On top of that, there was only so long that Amp could safely stay transformed, and that time was close to running out. “I think we’ve got about one attack left in us, but we can make it count! Anything explosive or forceful that can get it up will be great… We’ll time it better this time, so we can really send it flying! Then your Blissey can heal it up before it goes, right?” Amp nodded in agreement, his train of thought otherwise unhindered by the Encore.

template by kay

[attr="class","kcontain"]

template by kay

[attr="class","aheader"]

[attr="class","athread"][player]https://www.mboxdrive.com/The%20Path%20of%20Justice%20%20CrossCode%20(Original%20Game%20Soundtrack).mp3[/player]
He’d brought a whole team to do the job. In hindsight, maybe she should have as well. The Pokemon she’d brought along were versatile, but her mega-boosted Ampharos aside, she doubted any of them would show the strength they’d need to get the Wailord back where it belonged. A lot was riding on one last shot.

“Thanks, Scrambles! Everybody else, let’s get ready for one big shove!” Team Pokkenger did the heavy lifting, as far as she was concerned. While her Pokemon strained itself to be the strongest, their cooperation, timing, eagerness to help one another… It was hard for her to ignore the hard work of her fellow trainer. If only it didn’t come at the cost of a behemoth being pummelled, but hey, its blubber would spare it a great deal of pain. As they prepared their attacks, so did Amp, the last of his Focus Blasts amassing between his arms.

Seeing a fifteen-metre beast being forced into the air was always an impressive sight, and even moreso with some assistance. As their target reached the peak of its (admittedly) small arc upwards, the fighting sphere shot forward to bolster their efforts. Having been spared the trouble of having to get off the ground, the Wailord gained the power of flight!

…Very temporary, uncontrollable flight still counted as flight, right?

The beached beast landed… back in the sand. Mostly. Its front end touched the sea, and kept touching it even as the waves drew in. The Pokemon flapped its flippers, trying to overcome the final hurdle alone. A futile effort, but they were so close that one final push could have let it swim once more.

The push couldn’t come from Amp. Evolution energy solidified and shattered off his body, dispersing his luscious mane and tale. Annie offered a hand on his back, knowing that he would be fine after a few breaths. “That was some great stuff, Amp! There’s no way we would’ve finished this today without you. I’m gonna go finish up, alright?”

She took his nod as his blessing and jogged off, beckoning for the team to follow. “Can’t believe we got that close… But now’s not the time to be grumpy about it!” Finally, it seemed, she deemed the task worthy of her hands. To nobody’s surprise, her pushing against the Wailord did absolutely nothing, but at least she was trying.

template by kay

[attr="class","kcontain"]

template by kay

[attr="class","aheader"]

[attr="class","athread"]
Annie didn’t feel like she was making any progress. Probably because she wasn’t, as long as she was alone. The masked man’s words went unheeded, and between grunts she offered her retort. “I’ll have you know that my heart muscles are on another level!” She realised too late that that didn’t sound healthy, but whatever! They had other things to worry about.

Kazimir and his Pokemon inched the Wailord closer to safety (try as she might, Pocky may as well have been moral support). Fins splashed more and more water; it was either excited to be back in the water or desperate to speed up the process. The Dynamic Punch served as one last budge, enough to let the formerly-beached beast take control of its life again. After spending so long barely moving it, the ease with which the sea beast swam was almost a mockery to them.

Annie let it slide, knowing that she would be in a hurry to move too if she’d spent the day paralysed. Their new friend was smart enough to understand that its pain had a purpose, and overjoyed that it had paid off. Their reward was Wailord song – low tones that would be heard all across the beach, praising the party’s efforts.

A half-soaked junior hero rested her hands on her knees, ragged breaths interrupting her words. If not for the workout, she would have covered her ears; fortunately, the volume strayed just shy of damaging them. “You too, big dude! You have a great time diving out there. Maybe try not to get so close to land again, alright?” Even Amp offered a wave and a call as the Wailord turned to leave.

“I’d say that that was a job well done…! And a lesson learned for me: Bring more pushing Pokemon next time. You planned pretty well for this.”

template by kay

[attr="class","kcontain"]

template by kay