As you peer at the wreckage from your hiding spot, you can just about make out a silhouette through the smoke and the ash. Blurry, indistinct, but nevertheless radiating with a pure, destructive malice. One person did all this? It's unbelievable, but you don't have much other choice than to believe it.

The figure calls out, and your body instinctively tenses up. Does he know you're here? No, that's a stupid question. If he knew that, you'd already be blown to smithereens. Despite how bad the situation seems, he doesn't know you're here. As long as you're quiet about it, you should be able to creep away without getting caught.

So, you move to sneak away, and--

CRUNCH.

--Shiiiiiiiiiit. You slowly raise your foot, revealing the source of the offending noise: A shard of crispy blue shell. Is that… Is that a chunk of Pineco?

Calm down! It's fine! Maybe he didn't hear it…?

---

MATIAS SILPH

When the Zap Cannon fired, you assumed the worst, but as the blinding flash fades from your eyes and your sight returns to you, what you're looking at seems to be the best case scenario. Howard and Grigori are both very much alive, and the towering Stakataka is laying on the ground, very much "dead". The threat is neutralised, and somehow, nobody died. All in all, not too shabby, is it?

"YES YES YES! MURDER KILL DONE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOW WHO DO I PUNCH STAB STOMP CRUNCH SLAM RIP CLAW NEXT?! WHO WANTS TO GET VIOLENCED NEXT!? I'LL VIOLENCE ANYONE!!! I'LL VIOLENCE EVERYONE!!!!! I'LL--"

"Holy SHIT, shut the fuck up." You groan, clutching your head. If you have to listen to those insane ramblings for even a second longer, it'll actually drive you insane. So, with a click of a button, you call the mad dragon back into their Pokeball, and blessed silence finally falls upon the battlefield. You breathe a deep breath as you slump down, slowly lowering yourself to the ground as you lie flat on your back, staring up at the stormy skies. Just like all of your trips to the Ultra Plant, this was an unmitigated disaster that just seemed to keep getting worse. But hey, you're still alive, aren't you? So, instead of complaining, you just close your eyes and breathe a sigh of relief. "Man, what a day. For a second, I really thought it was all over..."

You continue to lie there, relishing your hard-earned moment of respite. However, it isn't long before you can feel a tall shadow being cast over you. Great, what does Grigori want now? With a scowl on your face, you open your eyes, and--

--THE XURKITREE CAME BACK TO FINISH THE JOB.

"GYAH!" You yelp, looking up at the creature as it stands over you, no doubt thinking about how to finish you off. Slowly, it extends an arm, and all you can think to do is grovel for your life. "Wait! Stop! Be reasonable! You don't have to do this. Humans and aliens don't have to fight like in the movies. We can get along, just like in the movies! Think about it! You don't have to kill me! It's not too late to change things! I can fix my mistakes! I can turn my life around! I HAVE SO MUCH LEFT TO LIVE FOR...!"

...Wait, is that a Pokeball in its hand? You blink. It's offering you a Pokeball? You climb back up to your feet to get a better look at it, and as you look at it, you notice the initials S. Z. are crudely etched into the hinge. This is one of your Pokeballs? Oh, it all makes sense now! You must have accidentally dropped it during your last time in the Ultra Plant, and it was just trying to return it to you.

"Oh." You sheepishly rub the back of your neck, avoiding eye contact with the alien's lack of eyes. Man, Howard and Grigori aren't going to let you live this down, are they? "Thanks, bud. Sorry about the whole screaming thing. I guess I misunderstood you. It seems we have a long way to go before humans and aliens can-- Oops!"

As you reach to take the Pokeball back, you accidentally knock it out of the creature's wirey grip, causing it to bump into mass of cords that made up its torso. Before either of you could even process what was going on, the Xurkitree was caught within a flash of red light, pulled into the very same Pokeball it had been trying to give back to you. You have no words. You have no thoughts, either. You simply stand there, completely stunned, eyes wide and mouth agape, as you watch what happens next.

Shake. Shake. Shake. CLICK!

---

Shred has caught a Mildly Irritated Xurkitree!
howard slayte Grigori Sokolov

...

...

...

Despite his taunting, the owner of the fish did not show themselves. On one hand, it clearly marked them as a coward, afraid to show their face and fight fair. On the other, that fact didn't get Lars any closer to where he needed to be, did it? While he might have claimed the moral high ground, that didn't mean anything unless he could claim victory, too.

Lucky for him, he was doing well on that front, too. The crackling fist of the Electivire caught Basculegion right in the jaw, a thunderous uppercut that sent the fish flying backwards. One could practically see the killing intent drain from its eyes, replaced with shock, and then overwritten by pain. With an agonised gasp, it flailed about in the air for a moment, before splashing back down into the sea below and vanishing amidst the water.

Yes, vanish was the right time, for no matter how hard one stared into the water, they could spot no sign of the creature. Had it made a hasty retreat? No, even after getting rocked by the Thunder Punch, it didn't seem like the type to flee so easily. Clearly, there was something else afoot, but what...?

An ominous shadow settled over the Electivire, a strange spot of inescapable gloom. Then, out from the nothingness, the spectre appeared from nothing, appearing out of nowhere as it sought to catch its foe off-guard and strike its unguarded back with a Phantom Force.

---

Laurence Anderson

"...Wha...?"

Okay, so there's a lot going on here. Why is there a girl picking up Howard's phone? And why is she so young? Is she Howard's daughter? Does Howard have kids? No, that wouldn't make sense. Knowing that bitchless bozo, he's probably infertile from huffing primeval fossil fumes from ages past. But then, if that wasn't it, then who was she? And if Howard was on the battlefield, why was a child answering the phone? And SERIOUSLY, who the fuck started a conversation like that?!

You consider hanging up. Clearly, howard slayte is dealing with some silly bullshit that you don't want to get tangled up in. That'll be best for the both of you, because really, you're not good with children. There's something about you that simply upsets them, which causes them to start screaming and crying, and that just pisses you off. Still, your alternative choice is to keep sitting in silence and staring at the ceiling, so you suppose this is a slightly, SLIGHTLY, better option.

"No. No I'm not." You deadpan, as though the mere insinuation that you and Howard could be an item was unworthy of even serious consideration. "Look, I don't know what's going on here, kid, but just put Howard on the phone, alright? I want to talk to him."

---

Eris Halla

Considering that you're already drenched head to toe in swampwater, wading through even more isn't much of a roadblock for you. Slow? Sure, especially when you have to lug Chester around, but difficult? No, not really. A pain in the ass? Definitely, but compared to everything else you've gone through today, it's nothing more than a slightly irritating walk in a very unpleasant park.

At least, until the Dhelmise arrived.

"SHIT!" You snap, narrowly dodging a chain fired in your direction. Nothing could ever be simple, could it? One moment, it's ghouls, and the next, its ghosts. And why are they all magenta? What kind of weird shit do these aliens have going on? You didn't see any weird magenta shit when you were in the Ultra Plant, so why are these guys so obsessed with it? Not much about this makes sense to you, but you suppose that's your fault for not reading all the circulars they clog your inbox with. And for skipping out on all those refresher meetings you get invited to. And for mentally tuning out when people start explaining it... Wow, you really fucked yourself here, didn't you? But you don't have time to linger on that, as another chain narrowly misses your head. Alright, they want to fight? You'll give them a fight. "Chester, Shadow Ball!"

"No thank you."

"No thank... WHAT!?"

"I'm sorry, old sport, but I can't reveal myself! These are clearly nefarious hitmen of the Maritime Union, hired by my numerous and hateful enemies, here to make an attempt on my life! I must stay in hiding, lest these scallywags succeed in their dastardly mission. But, don't fear! I'll reveal myself once my security team have taken care of these scoundrels."

Security team? Does he mean YOU? Oh, this motherfucker! Why do you have to get your hands dirty while he gets to sit back and relax? Who does he think you are, Boris B. Bodyguard?! You won't stand for this. If he doesn't want to work, you'll just have to MAKE him work! Slowly, you gather your strength, and then, as though launching a shotput through the air, you toss the Substitute through the air, directly towards the opposing Dhelmise.

"Fucking HIT them, YOU CUNT!"

"AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

Finally, the Gholdengo acts. The mouth of the doll opens, and from it emerges a golden arm. It points a finger upward, calling forth ghastly energy from the gloomy surroundings to coalesce upon its fingertip. Then, when it grows sizable enough, it launches its Shadow Ball, towards one of the many Dhelmise in an effort to neutralise the wretched assassins. Meanwhile, you grab one of the dodged chains as it retracts back to the one who fired it, dragging you along with it. Certainly a dangerous method, but it's definitely one way of getting where you need to go.

---

TL;DR - Shred gets into an argument with Chester C. Coins over a disagreement in tactics (It's a good thing Shred is alone, because if people heard him talking to his Pokemon and calling them swears, they might think he's weird). Eventually, he tosses Chester's Substitute towards the Dhelmise, forcing the Gholdengo to use a Shadow Ball on the Dhelmise. Meanwhile, Shred takes advantage of a missed Anchor Shot by grabbing one of the chains, pulling him through the water and towards the other side.
sRh7lT|L

Toucannon, huh? Mmm. Reminds you of cheap, bad, sugary cereal. But you don't need a cereal mascot on your team. You need someone a little more... Well, you don't know what. It might be more accurate to say you need someone a little less Toucannon. Nothing personal. You're just not really feeling it.

Anyway, onward and upward.

---

Second spawn time.

Alright, you're not going to linger long on this: You all know why you're here. It's time to catch another Pokemon. Gotta catch 'em all, y'know? Course, you can't REALLY catch 'em all, since a bunch of them are extinct, but you can catch a good few of them, and that's got to be the next best thing. Really, if you squint, it's basically the same thing, right?

...Okay, it's not the same at all, but you don't really care. What are you supposed to do, travel back in time? You'll just have to settle for catching Pokemon that exist currently, and leave it at that.

Speaking of which, time to get looking. What will you find first, you wonder...?

---

First Spawn Time.

PURCHASING/REDEEMING

welcome to the poké mart!

3X gachapon (150 PD)
1X premium gachapon - dark(FREE FROM DDD)

Shred's Gacha Here - pkmn-hoenn.boards.net/thread/35215/shreds-gacha

TOTAL

do come again!

150 PD

CANTO X; DESTINY UNENDING

---

The trek to the top of Mount Coronet is solemn. Nobody is there to block his path with pointless challenges or inane questions. There are no landslides or avalanches or cave-ins or anything else that might impede his climb. Even the wild Pokemon seem to stray away from his path, as though they know not to interfere in his business. Thus, he has nothing to do but make the lonely walk along these carved paths and through yawning tunnels, his only company the falling snow and the howling wind.

All in all, it takes an hour for Paul to reach the ruins of the Spear Pillar. Then, it only takes thirty seconds to walk upon the ancient stone, past rows and rows of crumbling columns, to the far end of the fallen temple. At the highest point in all of Sinnoh, he looks down upon the rest of the region. From here, it all looks so small, so insignificant. It is as though he is standing atop heaven, upon the pinnacle of everything, looking down at the wretchedness before you. But, he did not come here to admire the view. Instead, his eyes turn eyes upwards, away from the world that disappointed him, and towards his final challenge.

To some, the Azure Flute might just seem like a novel instrument from ages past. But the champion knows its true purpose.

As he puts it to his lips, he begins to play. Shard, shrill, discordant bursts of noise, devoid of rhythm and unpleasant to the ear. However, just like all things, reality bends to accomodate him. In an instant, inadequacy twists into brilliance. In the span of a second, the wretched cacophony changes to a melody most pleasant, a soothing song that pierces the lingering disquiet.

A wordless request, and one that the universe is all too eager to acquiesce. From nothingness, comes light. From light, comes brilliance. From brilliance, a flawless stairway is etched into reality. The last steps of his journey. The final destination.

One step. Ten steps. A hundred steps. A thousand steps. The champion climbs past the clouds, through the atmosphere, and breaches out from the depths of the skies and into the shallows of the stars. He can feel the air growing thinner, thinner, thinner still, until it vanishes altogether. Still, he breaths. Still, he carries on. He does not even stop to question why he isn't dying, because he knows the reason why. Mortality is the concern of those who struggle. For the indomitable, death is meaningless.

Ten thousand steps. A hundred thousand steps. A million steps. Then, as he stands amidst the infinite cosmos, he finds his final foe: The Maker and the Unmaker, the Source of All His Woes, Audience to his Tragedy, the Uncaring Malice of All Things, and The One Who Consigned Him to His Inescapable Fate:

ARCEUS, THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA

As he stands in front of God, Paul feels a strange mixture of emotions bubble up within him. Emotions that he has long since forgotten, that he hasn't felt since he was a child. Joy, anger, fear, surprise, they all clash against one another, and yet, it is dread that dominates his mind. He stands before the judge of all things, the one who looked upon him, sentenced him guilty, and damned him to an insignificant life that meant less than death.

A chill went up his spine. Doubtless, if he was not wanted here, he would not be here. If the being in front of him wished it, he could be obliterated in an instant, destroyed so thoroughly and utterly that even his soul would not remain. So then, why? Why was he being allowed to stand where he stood, with this formless paradise?

”Do you know why I’m here, Arceus?”

”O’ SINGLE SOUL TORN, THOU SHALL NOT FIND WHAT YOU SEEK HERE. YOUR IDEAL AWAITS IN A FORGOTTEN PLACE, AS BITTER AND BROKEN AS YOUR DREAM. HOME IS WHERE THE LOST BEAST LURKS, WITHIN THE ONCE-FLAWED SWORD.”

Each world is like rapture and damnation all at once. His body feels like it’s dissolving. His brain feels like it’s melting. His brain feels like it’s unravelling into a thousand different threads. The champion had underestimated the omnipotence of God. Still, he reaches for a Pokeball.

”I’m here to capture you. Once I have, I’m going to use you to remake the world. I’ll have everything that I wanted. Everything you denied me.”

”THE BLACK KNIGHTS DRAINS THE MARROW OF THE SKELETON. THE PROFANE MEETS THE BLASPHEMOUS. HERESY ENTWINES WITH SIN. A NEW PRIME EVIL IS BORN, YET THE SHADOW AT YOUR FEET REMAINS.”

”I’m going to make everything perfect. I’ll succeed where you failed.”

”THE SALAMENCE WRITHES LIKE A WURMPLE. IT IS INCOMPLETE. IT KNOWS NOT ITS TRUTH. THE MIRROR OF THE HYPEREGO IS SHATTERED.”

”I’ll undo it all. Without exception. Good or bad, I’ll erase it, do you hear me? I won’t let a single shred of your flawed reality remain.”

”ONE QUESTION. THEN IT ALL COMES TO AN END. CHOOSE WISELY.”

The thread of his life begins to fray. The champion can feel his existence begin to fade. No, that isn’t it, is it? He isn’t being erased. Everything is being erased. Paul Meatles has spurned God, and he has been punished with the destruction of everything, all that he has ever known, and all that he will never get to know.

”Bastard! Why?! WHY DID YOU PUNISH ME?!”

”A SIMPLE MISUNDERSTANDING: I HAVE NOT PUNISHED YOU...”

A pause, as long as eternity itself. For a split second of an eon, God looks Shred Zeppelin in the eye, and his eye narrows.

”YOU ARE MY PUNISHMENT.”

Just like that, everything makes sense. For the first time in thirty years, you smile. And then, everything ends...

...

...

...

When you wake up, you proceed to spend a week straight referring to yourself as "The Punishment of Arceus". So, y'know, all in all? Not the worst dream in the world.

CANTO IX; DESTINY FULFILLED

---

And just like that, Paul Meatles awoke from his dream.

For most, falling asleep at work would be grounds for disciplinary action. A lecture, a fine, maybe even dismissal from their post. But when one holds the title of Champion, such minor transgressions often go unpunished. Even if one wished to enforce it, it would be trivial to avoid the consequences of such actions. With power such as his, battling prowess and political connections and social influence, he are able to do as you please, and avoid that which displeases he. Such is the luxury of the strongest: To always have their way.

Slowly, Paul peels his face off the surface of his mahogany desk, and blinks the sleep out of his eyes. Idly, he turns his face towards the window of his of his office, and stares out at the skyline of Hoenn, cast in hues of orange and red and purple by the setting sun. The king stares at his kingdom, and feels nothing. The hollow in his stomach stopped gnawing at him thirty years ago, when he first won this title. Everything that came afterwards was just the echoes. Since the moment the entire world screamed your name, you have done nothing but walk the path ahead of you, led forward by the chain of excellence wrapped around your neck.

Aaaah, such a shame. You can't even appreciate the beauty of the dusk, nor can you feel melancholic enough to sigh. You just continue to gaze outward, neither admiring nor wistful.

Ringringringringringringring... Ringringringringringringring...

Ah. He's getting a call. Without even turning his head, Paul reached over to pick up the receiver, put it to his ear, and waited to see who was on the other side.

"Mr Meatles, sir?" Came the voice of his secretary, a hardworking and overworked woman. She is the real backbone of your Championship reign, carrying all the bureaucratic heavy lifting as you drift between effortless battles, tiresome meetings, meaningless publicity events, and listless malaise. She pauses for a bit, waiting for you to respond, but when you don't, she simply carries on. "You missed your five o'clock meeting with the Executive Board of Gym Management, sir, but I've rescheduled it for the same time next week. In the meantime, you've got dinner with the commissioner at six. The limo is waiting for us outside. We can discuss the intricacies of your appearance at tomorrow's harvest festival. The ghostwriters have a first draft for your speech, and--"

...What did he do to deserve this?

Paul leans back, looking up to the ceiling. Nobody forced you to go down this path. Nobody held you hostage, or imposed their wishes over you own. Hell, you didn't even foolishly misunderstand and blunder into it. No, you never had a choice. It was always going to end this way for you, and there was nobody to blame for it...

...No. That's wrong. There's one thing that you can blame this on, that you can blame EVERYTHING on. And, as Champion, you have all the resources that you need to finally meet them.

"Cancel everything and book me a flight to Sinnoh, Miss Flynt."

"S-sir?"

"I have an urgent matter I need to discuss with someone. Alone."

BOOM!!!

You don't remember when you'd fallen asleep, but the sound of a nearby explosion gets you out of your chair and onto your feet in an instant. Good news: Nothing in your immediate vicinity is blasted apart or on fire, so clearly, you weren't the intended target of that bombing. Bad news: It was still close, and that meant you're still in trouble. Just what the hell is going on outside of your secret little cave? And why do you get the feeling that it's going to ruin your day?

The safer option would be to just hunker down, stay quiet, and keep hiding, but how safe really is safe? Not safe enough for your liking. You can't risk Operation Yoink being ruined this late into the conflict. At the very least, you'll need to need to poke your head out, gauge the situation, and make a choice based off that. At least, that's what a smart person would do, right?

But that doesn't mean you have to like it. Grumbling to yourself, you grab your Pokeballs, hastily don your disguise, and skulk out to check on the situation outside...

---

What the FUCK.

As you peek over the rock you're crouching behind, you look upon the smoldering remains of what was once a Rocket encampment. Choked by smoke and lit by burning flame, it looks like nothing short of a disaster. You don't even know what to think. Your head is swimming with questions, but you're not sure you'll find any answers here. In fact, it seems like all you're going to find is a bunch of burnt bodies, wounded survivors, and whatever the hell did this.

You pause. No point rushing in to a situation this miserable. Better to just wait a minute and make sure that the coast is clear, lest you get caught with your pants down, so to speak.

---

MATIAS SILPH
Shred's Disguise

You can barely even tell what's going on. Your body is bruised, your bones are fractured, and your brain has been bounced around your skull like a pinball. Haxorus is grappling with Xurkitree in front of you, and Golurk and Scizor are trying to topple the Stakataka behind you. This is an unmitigated disaster. Why do you do this to yourselves? There's just no need for it!

With a groan, you drag yourself up to your feet, trying your best to get a grip. Someone is yelling at you, but with all the ringing and the blood leaking out of your ears, you can't really hear him. Unfortunately, you're just going to have to ignore whatever struggle Howard and Grigori are going through right now. Besides, you couldn't even help them, even if you wanted to! Not with your heavy hitter busy trying to chew through cords and cables. Right now, you just have to focus on getting Haxorus separated from this Xurkitree. Then, and only then, can you rejoin the fight.

So... How do you do that?

"DIE! DIE!! DIEDIEDIE!!!"

Currently, the wires have wrapped themselves around the dragon like some kind of esoteric torture device, trying to restrain the monster's rampage. Said monster isn't taking that kindly, and is currently gnawing upon its... tail? It doesn't look like a leg or an arm, and it seems to have a plug at the end, or you're going to call it a tail. Fucking hell, what are you even supposed to do about this? What order can you give that would solve this problem? Wait... Yes, that's it!

"Haxorus, use--"

"GIGA IMPACT!!!!!"

Before you can even finish your response, Haxorus goes charging forth once more, this time with the Xurkitree in toe, and proceeds to slam directly into Golurk, who in turn slams directly into the Stakataka, and just like an esoteric form of dominos, all three of them come tumbling down. Eeesh, this isn't pretty. They're going to blame you for this, aren't you? Well, it is what it is. At the very least, you weren't lying: You DID knock it over. And now that it's prone, you can...

The Xurkitree raises an arm, a gigantic orb of electrical energy swirling about in its hands. Uh oh. UH OH. You've pushed your luck too far! That's no longer a Quite Displeased Xurkitree: That's an HIGHLY EXASPERATED Xurkitree. And if you know anything about Pokemon attacks - Which you honestly don't, but that's never stopped you before - then that can only be...!

"HOWARD, GREG, GET DOWN! THAT'S A ZAP CANNON!!!"

---

howard slayte Grigori Sokolov

The meet-up point isn't much to talk about. It's a rocky isle, far from the frontlines and the fighting, so distant that you can't even hear the cacophony of combat. But, in this instance, that solitude is most desirable. After all, the two of them are going to be meeting here to exchange information, swapping what information they've garnered about the ongoing conflict, before going their seperate ways. A routine trade of intel for intel, away from the prying ears of the enemy. Simple enough.

At least, it should be. Unfortunately, it isn't going to be, because one of the participants is Shred Zeppelin.

"Saaa... Saaaa... SAAAAA...!"

"Taroutaroutaroutaroutaround."

Salandit is the first to arrive, dragging the top half of a walkie-talkie up a slope, the receiver antennae gripped in its mouth. Tarountula arrives mere seconds later, pushing the bottom of the aforementioned walkie-talkie, four legs carrying, four legs walking, and all of it supported by a few sticky threads. Slowly, but surely, they manage to drag the device onto the middle of the isle, before the pair stop, glancing around.

It's a good thing they left earlier, because that took far longer than either of them could have expected. Still, they'd made it in just in the nick of time. With any luck, the contact would be arriving soon.

---

Aurelie Lefevre