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“Thank you,” Xiura said, feeling a little excited about riding a new type of Pokemon, one whose power and potential could possibly rival an Ultra Beast. Xiura plopped her Cherubi onto her shoulder and climbed onto the Type: Null’s back with Zev’s help.
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They rose into the sky and flew away, heading to the relay station. She looked down and back at the shrinking forms of the sleeping League members, then faced forward to the horizon. “Hope the relay station is secured,” she thought aloud. Cherubi spun around in her lap, thrilled at the impromptu ride. Xiura patted the Pokemon’s head, smiling.
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The relay station was soon in view. Xiura tilted her head curiously, Cherubi mirroring her action as she noted some agents with League-coded armbands advancing up a nearby hill. "Zev... Think you're up for another round?"
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In time, they would relay the message about Rocket's advancement into the island's center. Their success was a given.

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The rocks began to crumble beneath their feet after the Iron Thorns and Graveler topple off the edge of the cliff. Xiura screamed, “Now!” and Gardevoir teleported the two women several meters away from the location of the Rock Slide, with only seconds to spare. The feeling was disorienting, like being sucked through an Ultra Wormhole. Taking a few moments to catch her breath, Xiura looked over to ensure the other woman was all right. Her Gardevoir swayed back and forth, humming, pleased that she had helped her trainer.
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Xiura asked the stranger, “Is your Graveler okay?” Xiura looked over the edge of the rock and saw the fallen Graveler below, as well as the Iron Thorns who had fainted from the fall. Xiura nodded at Nenet in acknowledgment, and said, “One more Teleport, Gardevoir.” Gardevoir brought them closer to the site of the impact, allowing Nenet to recall the Pokemon to its Pokeball.
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With that, the Iron Thorns stirred as if it would get up. “I think it’s time to go,” Xiura said, before fleeing with Nenet into the forest. They would part ways soon, each one likely to temporarily forget their fated encounter with all the trials that faced them ahead.

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Xiura closed her eyes as Jack kissed the stranger who looked like her. It felt like a betrayal, although she knew the figure was an illusion created from the mist—although she knew she was already betraying Jack by concealing her true allegiances and even her identity from him.
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She couldn’t blame Jack for believing this illusion was her. It certainly looked like her. And maybe it was a blessing in disguise, where Jack needed someone to comfort him after the loss of Ampharos. She gazed at the fallen Pokemon on the ground, feeling a deep sense of loss. She was grateful that Ampharos had saved them all, but the price had been too great. This mist sent a brief chill through her body. It was growing colder.
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She turned to leave, her hand drifting to her lips in a ghostly sensation of what she thought her double might be feeling from the kiss. It wasn’t a feeling she deserved. She looked up, her expression smoothing into neutrality. It was time to run, while Jack was distracted.
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“You’re not real,” she heard Jack say. And the false Xiura disappeared with his realization.
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Xiura froze as Jack dispelled the illusion with his logic. Her heart swelled as she heard Jack reason with the mist, naming the reasons why Xiura was different from mist's impression of her. Perhaps Jack knew her better than she thought, after all. What a feeling: to be known, to be thought of as good.
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Xiura left while Jack pondered alone with his grieving thoughts, stacking stones atop the fallen body of Ampharos. She would make it all up to him after this was over.

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Little did Xiura know how parallel her thoughts ran to her opponent’s.
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“It would’ve been nice if we could have gone home today,” she said under her breath to Hatterene, wishing fruitlessly that she was back in Lilycove City, tucked away in her room above the boba cafe. Nothing chaotic like a faction war, constant battling for one's life, or heavens forbid, an ultra wormhole out of nowhere.
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"I appreciate it!” she called back to the apparent League member. “I’ll also try to make this as quick as possible for the both of us.”
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She smiled beneath her mask, her eyebrows rising in surprise as a Psyduck joined the Toxtricity. With nary a word, she touched the waistbelt of Pokeballs at her side and summoned her Sableye, Jin. Hatterene swayed side to side patiently, awaiting an order.
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“Shadow Sneak,” she said, keeping her gaze on their three opponents. Her Sableye cackled in response, rushing at the Psyduck to attack.

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Xiura stretched, looking down the expanse of the island’s jagged shoreline, dotted with rock formations and sandy peaks.
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She was tired and alone but for her trusty Pokemon. So, in that case, she shouldn’t consider herself alone. She looked over at her Hatterene, who dutifully glided beside her over the sand, leaving nary a trace of her path. Only Xiura’s lone set of footprints dotted the wave-slithered white sands.
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“What a nice view,” Xiura commented brightly, though the bags under her eyes felt and looked deeper than they usually were. It had been a long time since they landed here, and fitful bouts of sleep weren’t the rest her body needed. In fact, it felt like her body had been thrown and battered through an ultra wormhole and spat out.
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Along the edge of the sand, far in the distance, she spotted a light glow from a Toxitricity and its trainer. She looked carefully, stopping in the sand. Was it a Rocket or a League member? She supposed she’d find out soon enough. Her mask was up, covering her face, and she faintly thought the other would peg her as a Rocket soon enough. Things would proceed from there. She smiled up at Hatterene tiredly.
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“Ready, my friend?”

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Confused by Aurelie's kiss and subdued by Jack's disappointed demeanor, Xiura gently squeezed Aurelie's hand, saying, "Jack must have been really excited and relieved to see you. I'm so happy you're safe, and he is, too." She gave Aurelie a worried smile, but tried to convey thankfulness in her expression for the gift Aurelie had given her.

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Aurelie left to make her rounds and collect information so Xiura ran up to Jack and asked Gardevoir to perform a Heal Pulse to heal his injuries. "I'm so sorry about Poe," she said, touching his jaw gently to make sure nothing was broken, watching as his split lip mended. She hoped her friendship with him wasn't damaged badly, either. "Can we stay together for the future? I can heal the both of you if anything else happens," she asked, reluctant to separate from either of her dear friends.
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She glanced over to see people choosing which path they would go down. She briefly waved to Adrian Malcolm and ryker hayes to wish them safety. "Good luck," she said, "I'll be going down the other path. Hopefully we see each other on the other side."
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Xiura followed behind Aurelie Lefevre, picking the second path. She gazed down the wall of vegetation and prepared her Gardevoir for whatever was going to happen next.

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Xiura and her Incineroar entered the Jagged Pass, seeking out the source of the echoing howls of the Lycanroc. “AWOOOOOOO,” they cried.
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“Roaaaarrrr,” Incineroar bellowed sardonically.
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Xiura sighed as they rounded the corner. “You volunteered for this, you know,” she commented. “Do you want to return to your Pokeball? I can ask Poliwrath to help instead.” Incineroar growled, then rushed up the path towards a pack of Lycanroc and Rockruff at full force.
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“Okay,” Xiura conceded. “It has been a while since we’ve taken a hike together anyway.”
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Squirtle and Xiura were blown back by the immense blast, leaving both dazed and disoriented. "Squirtle!" Xiura exclaimed in a hoarse whisper, crawling over to her Pokemon lying in the dirt. "Are you okay?" Her Squirtle didn't respond; she examined him, finding that he had fainted but was still alive. "Sweetheart," Xiura said heartbrokenly, gathering him into her arms, taking out a potion, and spraying him to restore some health quickly. Squirtle nuzzled her chin in his sleep, already looking better, so she kissed him on the forehead and recalled him back into the Pokeball.
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Wincing, she reached for her Poliwrath's Pokeball. If the Iron Moth were still alive, she'd have to risk it all and bring out her other Water Pokemon, but the risk was that Jack would recognize him. But at this point, she had to. She didn't want Jack to get hurt.
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She turned to check on Jack and saw him standing over the deathly-still form of his Ampharos, the same one that she had traded to him. Beside them was the Iron Moth, too weak to fight anymore. Her fingers fell away from her belt of Pokeballs. There was a pit in the bottom of her stomach, as if an Ultra wormhole had sucked her insides away.
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"Oh," she breathed. Conflicted, she stared at Jack's back, his head bowed and figure hunched in a posture that conveyed shock and sorrow.
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Making her decision, however foolhardy it might be, she opened her mouth to call out to him--but was beaten by another person's sudden appearance.
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"Jack," the person said in her voice. Xiura's eyes widened as her doppelganger stepped out from the mist, touching Jack's shoulder gently. She was dressed in her hiking outfit, the same from Route 119, when they had found that hiker's remains. The entire scenario seemed to be a replaying of a shared memory, but twisted. "I'm sorry," said the fake Xiura, with a kindness and compassion that made Xiura feel slightly nauseated.
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But here, something was different. Her clone leaned in and kissed Jack's cheek, saying, "I forgive you. I'm grateful my Ampharos could save your life through his sacrifice. Why don't you take that Iron Moth for your own? A life for a life. It can serve you well." The innocence and naivete of the fake Xiura left the real one dumbfounded and silent.

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Xiura gasped as she was yanked back, narrowly missed by a stray rock. "Thank you," she breathed to the woman as the Pyroar's protective shield went up.
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As they approached the cliff at full speed, Xiura was forced to a full stop, skidding up close to the edge in her boots. Thankfully she didn't stumble; it was a long way down, she noticed as she peered over the edge at the steep drop, promising a painful landing into even more jungle.
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"Gardevoir," her Pokemon said, teleporting close by, the Pyroar following closely after. Her pink gaze calmly observed the
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"Y-yeah," Xiura stuttered, "That's an idea."
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She turned to the other woman, saying, "I don't think we're strong enough to face it head on. Maybe we can fool it into running off the edge." Compared to their Pokemon, the Iron Thorns seemed nearly as powerful as an Ultra Beast.
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There was nothing to hide behind here. It was all or nothing, and all of them would have to serve as bait. Xiura didn't see another way. She and her Gardevoir clustered close to the edge so that there would be no room for the Iron Thorns to slow down.
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She glanced at Nenet with trepidation in her eyes, but clutched her Gardevoir close. "My Gardevoir can teleport us out of the way," she ventured, uncertain if the other woman would accept her offer.

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Xiura thought about slipping Tropius a treat for his excellent performance, appearing like an ultra beast out of a wormhole, but decided to save it for after the battle.
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She nodded at Zev and called back her Tropius, replacing him with her Cherubi. "Let's get them to relax with some Sleep Powder," she coaxed her Pokemon. Perhaps it was a bit of a questionable move to call forth Cherubi, but the berry-like Pokemon innocently and obediently shook its leaves at her request. A pale glittering powder filled the air above the League members.
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The League agents slumped to the ground, barely able to fight the tantalizing call of restful slumber as the Type: Null remained alone on the battlefield. "Thank you," she whispered to Cherubi, cuddling him close.
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Cherubi chirped happily, waving its leaf. Xiura turned to Zev as the last perceived member of the League fell asleep. "Are you and your Pokemon okay?"

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Xiura cried out, "Water Pulse again!" The blast of surging water pinned the creature to the tree again, its shell cracking under the immense force. Squirtle leaped back in satisfaction as the Iron Moth swooped in for an attack and missed, the speed of the wind in its wake threatening to suck in small plants like a mini Ultra wormhole.
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Thankfully the Iron Moth seemed weak to water attacks due to its fiery and robotic nature. It hovered in the air angrily, swinging back and forth like a pendulum as it set its sights on both Pokemon in turn.
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It reared back, incensed by the combined retaliation from Squirtle and Ampharos and prepared to attack again. Xiura didn't know what to do besides press on with the strategy that seemed to be working.
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"Squirtle, keep it up!"

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