"Ha... ha..." Howard swallowed, dust coating his throat. Dynergy hissed from his body like gas leaking from a pipe. He would likely be saturated by the outpouring of Dynergy from Regice's core, but it was not a pleasant sensation.

Lulu Flint had been right. Dynergy was affecting him, but there wasn't much to do about that anymore. The damage was done, and this form was replaceable.

"I'm human. I'm me." He grunted, removing his broken helmet and taking a deep breath. "Which you never cared about, because I was too weak to stand alongside you. My heart wasn't in those scams we ran in Unova. There's something greater at stake."

He stood, legs trembling.

"So I will give everything to make my dream a reality. Just as you did everything to make my nightmares reality. That is what separates me from you." Howard looked around and all the fainted Pokemon, before turning back to face his frozen construct. Despite every fallen creature, the golem stood proud. And it even had a Dynamax Barrier remainin-

Wait.

"Only one?"

Montgomery had broken seven? Alone? The admin turned back towards Montgomery, eye flickering with interest. He took several steps forward, before a Pokémon appeared at the admin's belt in a flash. A Skarmory chirped at him in a mix of frustration.

"Steelheart... The distant howl of a hero of many battles echoed over hills and oceans, originating from Dewford Town. Two of Navy's Skarmory's chicks had met on the field, and thus it was impossible for one to die. It was not in their place. "He should die. He ruined my life! HE RUINED ME!"

Chirp. Chirp!

Then be better. You build, not destroy.

"Tsk." Howard turned away. "Navy's faith in you is impeccable, Montgomery. Never betray it." He turned away and left the deputy's body in the frozen field. "Because if you betray Navy's memory..."

His steps echoed into infinity. Montgomery would continue to think about ameena abadi , far into the future. That was the blessing that Montgomery James would inherit from Howard Slayte and Michael Navidson.

"I'll kill you."

---

Montgomery James
Total: 1555 MP

Montgomery reached him. It wasn't particularly hard, for a man of his size and stature.

"...!" Howard made no attempt to dodge the attack, simply observing as the deputy closed the gap with remarkable ease. Bloody hands reached around his neck and attempted to squeeze the life from the former disciple's body. "Montgomery...!"

Yet as the deputy squeezed, the admin's throat did not constrict. His eye grew wide in a potent display of frustration, but ultimately the man's neck did not snap nor did it even constrict properly. It was like squeezing stone.

Even his Sygna Suit should have folded under the deputy's manic strength, and it did. That was a testament to Montgomery's power. Yet the flesh below did not give.

It cracked.

"I'm not dying to you, Montgomery." Howard's snarl was low and deep, like mountains cracking. "The only person allowed to kill me is the sheriff, and YOU. ARE. NOT. HIM!"

Overhead, Montgomery's Pokemon got close to the barrier. They were there. They were right there. Montgomery James had been on the cusp of defeating divinity, and yet he had fallen short, for his Pokemon were engulfed in a Dynamax Cannon that emerged from the exposed Wishing Star.

"You haven't changed, you fake piece of shit!"

THUD. He struck Montgomery in the side of the head with a fist carved from stone.

"But I have!"

THUD.

"So either stop me..."

THUD.

"...or die in a pit!"

---

Montgomery James

Of course Eris Halla would object to his brilliant deduction. The time loop made perfect sense! It was the flawless theory, crafted from Howard's inability to get completely and utterly smashed over the course of this event.

Maybe Eris was constantly stuck in a time loop. It explained why she was so short.

"No, listen! It makes sense! Imagine you're like, eating a sandwich and the sandwich continuously regenerates! They could've moved the statue and let it rebuild in some side room." Howard protested as Eris meandered off to harass Galarians. It was a good past time, but it left the admin fuming from behind his paper bag. "Come back!"

She did not. Howard's teeth grinded in frustration. Getting up, he went to meander through the masquerade in an attempt to find someone to agree with his time loop theory. His eye eventually fell on Yuina Higashi .

This person was familiar. Who was hiding behind the mask?

"Hey!" Howard waved his napkin drawing of a time paradox under the historian's nose. "What's your opinion on time paradoxes?"

If only he knew.

---

HOWARD EATA
HOWARD EXPLAINS TIME THEORY (NOT A QUANTUM PHYSICIST)
INSULTS ERIS
WANDERS OFF TO FIND SOMEONE TO VALIDATE HIS DOGSHIT THEORIES (YUINA)

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

They found more statues, but they had been shattered and cracked and broken into rubble and stacked near the base of a tree. The terrain was soft, squishy, and reminiscent of mud and Route 119. A poor place to bury Pokémon, given the instability of the soil.

Nonetheless, there were likely bones and skulls buried in the muck, if Andrea and Ogerpon looked closely enough.

"Grrrrrrr..."

As they approached, a section of the mud pool rippled as a giant bear emerged like a zombie. Mud that had hardened into steel bore into the Pokemaniac's soul, before looking at the nearby Ogerpon and snorting. Not only was this the bear from Route 119, but it was also the bear from the space prison of doom.

"Grrrr."

SPECIAL TRANSLATION: "Well met, little ogre. Are you also indulging in petty vandalism?"

---

Andrea Vaneau

"Yes, I took them. Yes, I'll likely take them again. I'll likely kill a thousand people by the time this war is over, even if I'd rather not. It's not like I have a choice. If I defect, I die. And I won't kill myself and let my Pokémon fall into the wrong hands."

Getting morally hounded by Hideo felt personal. There was nothing more depressing than being demeaned by someone underage in an ethical conversation, especially when the young man had a point.

"But I do care." Howard jumped off the boulder to face Hideo and his Medicham. "It's why I fight. If you have a problem, then beat me. That's the only thing I can offer that would even begin to placate you."

The boulder shook and rattled, before raising up to its full height. A stone giant as tall as a building looked down at Hideo. Its pattern flashed as it regarded the Ralts, as if attempting to discern the Pokémon's true nature. Regice had been attacked by a reflected Dynamax Cannon, but Regirock had no experience with Hideo Kino.

Nothing but scant memories of conflict in Area Zero.

"No reinforcements. Only it." He gestured at Regirock, which immediately began to throw rocks the size of busses towards the Gym Leader in the form of a Rock Slide.

---

Hideo Kino

He had chosen. Unbeknownst to himself, Howard Slayte had chosen this side. He had chosen it after sacking Dewford.

"No, it's impossible for that to be a human. We had to dig deep to make it in here. If anyone had been in here when the ruin sank, they would have died in the dark." It was a somber note. Howard couldn't imagine delving into this ruin to find Regirock, only for the ruin to sink and leave him alone with nothing but sandstone and despair.

Regice had preserved its ruin in ice. Survival there had been impossible, but it had ensured that nothing disturbed it.

"It could be a ghost. Maybe a Cofagrigus or a pre-programmed Claydol." The admin chewed on his lip. Zac Ramsay's ghost couldn't harm them. Not that Howard knew the man or even knew his name. "Hell, it could be-"

Katherine Fairburne's voice rang out, familiar to the underboss next to Howard. Traitors were his forte, after all.

'We can’t fall here. I don’t know what’s waiting for us down there— but I also don’t want to find out.'

"What the fuck..." Howard said, peering down the tunnel. Regirock, meanwhile, turned to face the voice. Its pattern flickered in remembrance of its former trainer, in the person that had held its body in her hand. Slowly, it began to march down the tunnel. "After it!"

---

Cillian Quinn

"You can't avenge Dewford. Howard sighed as a large chunk of ice in the golem's body shifted like a sliding door, revealing the malignant star that sat in its breast. A Wishing Star gleamed with malignant energy, masking Thomas's Pokemon in Dynergy as they approached. "What even is there to avenge?"

The star flashed red, releasing a Dynamax Cannon in conjunction with Howard's Tera Orb. The light turned Stellar as thousands of alternate Regices were folded into one. Yet across the multiverse, this one was special. Only this Hoenn's giants consisted of those built from Eternatus's bones. Only this Hoenn's giants were commanded by one man. Only this Hoenn's Regice had itsheart opened as Dewford burned.

The tin soldier marched on.

Without Dynamax to hinder Terastal's advance, the admin was able to release a remarkably impressive Dynamax Cannon towards Mordred, intent on incinerating the knight.

'I am a warrior.'

Navy . The sheriff. Galar. The Pale Rider.

"No, you're not. I've only known one Warrior, and you're not him. YOU WILL NEVER BE HIM!" The admin roared as the magenta blast rushed forward. "Tapu Bulu avataring doesn't change anything! Your land spirits don't care about you! You're just a tool!"

The Nature's Madness hit and engulfed Regice and Howard in an explosion.

---

Thomas Benoit

The deputy screamed curses at him. An iota of Howard felt a twinge of regret for lowering someone who had risen up from a sinful past, but the rest of him felt nothing but pride. Montgomery James hadn't changed. He had wanted to, he had even tried to, but he was still the same piece of shit from Unova.

From the opposite direction of the explosions, Howard Slayte cut through the snowstorm. Behind him, Regice's pattern glowed red as the Wishing Star within recharged the golem's power supply.

There had once been a time when Howard had practiced with a stray piece of Galarian nobility. When Howard had fought her, Regice had shut down after running out of power. It had guarded its ruin for millennia, and thus it had run low on the power that allowed it to move. Registeel had something in its core, charging it with power. Regirock had a memory of the forefather to guide it.

Regice had held nothing until Dewford had burned. Now, its heart overflowed.

"I was wondering," Howard said, for it was Howard that stared down the deputy as he approached on horseback. "Wondering if you had that disgusting habit of throwing things away to explode for you, just so you could get ahead."

Bits of exploded Baltoy and Claydol littered the floor.

"You taught me that. That it was okay to toss things aside so that the greater whole could survive. That's why I turned Dewford into a glass pit." He could explain that it had been a mistake. That it had been an error that the admin had fixed. Yet Montgomery wouldn't accept that. Why even try? "So haunt away, Montgomery! I have a millennia of ghosts who want my head!"

He smiled as the dots above grew in intensity. Howard spread out his arms in a loving embrace.

"So come and take it."

---

Montgomery James

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

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

Elaine mentioned a smuggling ring, and Howard took a bite of a sandwich to avoid saying something stupid. As he ate and she spoke, the archaeologist cocked his head. Was that smuggling ring one of his? He had too many of them, these days. Too many sources of income, and not enough brainpower to handle them all himself.

Team Rocket's income was simply too massive a stream for the admin to recall on his own. Most of his personal attention had been delegated to illegal Dynite Ore mining and Wishing Star extraction. In an attempt to crack the code on Dynamax, he had ripped up the earth to discern the truth of yesterday's world.

He was getting close. He could sense it in his bones. After a moment, he swallowed the sandwich bite.

"That's pretty impressive. Don't sell yourself short!" Internally, meanwhile, he considered kicking her out the window for fucking with Rocket's cash flow. "You're doing good work. Be proud of that!"

He gave her a wide grin, before shamelessly paying for the sandwich with exact change.

"Stay safe, Elaine. Don't get anything with rye bread. Terrible stuff, that."

---

Elaine Highland

Speaking to declan walsh was always a terrifying prospect. Telling the boss that one of his oldest Rocket Beasts was dead was an experience that the admin would rather avoid. Between Tempest Quinn, Elisabeth, and Bryan rotting in prison, Team Rocket's council of kings was continuously stretching.

Even if Elisabeth had returned from beyond the veil, even if Bryan would be freed someday, that did not change the fact that Tempest was dead.

"..." The admin's hand had been on the doorknob before Hitoshi had called him out. He didn't move his hand, and silently considered walking out of the medbay anyway, leaving Cillian alone with the weight of their failure. "...fuck."

He let his hand slip off and turned to face the underboss.

"Team Rocket's greatest asset is the fact that we can replace one another when faced with tragedy. Bryan is gone, and Hitoshi filled his seat. Temp is gone, and a replacement will be found imminently. We cannot replace you. Thus, we retreated." The admin's magenta eye blinked, searching for something. "And continuing the battle was impossible, anyway."

Howard closed his eye, thoughtful. He could direct Cillian's anger, but ultimately the rush of rage that the Harbinger felt would burn both him and Hitoshi. He could redirect it from the Rocket Beast and onto himself, but there was still another entity to blame.

"...not after Lugia knocked you out. We were down an avatar. The fight went from doable to impossible."

---

Cillian Quinn Hitoshi Inoue