The New Normal - 19-10

The New Normal – 19-10 – False Titans

As I stared up at the newly emerged titans, I had a dozen different questions running through my head. Why did the Loyal Three suddenly awaken? I couldn’t remember if their awakening was explained in the games, but surely we were far ahead of schedule. Was it the presence of Ogerpon that triggered their reawakening? And why and how did they activate their titan forms? I couldn’t remember the exact reasoning for it.

Nevertheless, despite my questions and my surprise at this unexpected turn of events, my years of experience had kept me from panicking and kept me focused.

For all of their size and power, I did not feel the overwhelming presence of a Legendary pushing down on my shoulders. Not when I had been fighting against both Palkia or Zekrom.

So as large as they were, and as powerful as they seemed, I wasn’t afraid.

I felt a slight tingle in my head as my connection with Regigigas started to pulse with life. It was an unexpected offer of assistance, as if the Legendary Titan could sense the impending fight that was about to happen.

However, as much as I appreciated the offer, I rejected it. Not out of pride or because I wanted more glory for myself, but because I knew that this fight was not worthy of Regigigas’ attention. At least not yet.

Regigigas should only be summoned in cases of a genuine threat to the continued survival of human society.

This was not one of them.

So having Regigigas interfere in this would be a breach of my duties. Of my promise to the Legendary Titan.

No, this was a fight that we would be handling ourselves. With our own strength and determination.

And my Pokémon must have thought the same, because Tyrant instantly threw himself forwards with a Giga Impact as he came slamming into Munkidori, who was unfortunate enough to standing the closest to us.

Tyrant had completely blindsided it with his Giga Impact, catching Munkidori completely off-guard before the follow-up Knock Off sent it reeling backwards.  

Which set Vordt up perfectly as he came crashing into the vulnerable Munkidori with his own Guts-boosted, supereffective Headlong Rush that forced Munkidori down to its knees as it reeled from the blow. Naturally, Cynthia and her Pokémon weren’t far behind either, and a duo of Stone Edges came ripping out from the ground as Lucario and Garchomp impaled it from below.

Meanwhile, the rest of my team immediately began taking up defensive measures as a Light Screen and Reflect were quickly set up around us.

“…What the fuck is happening?!” The Kitakami local shouted out fearfully from next to me. I hadn’t even remembered that he was here.

“Go call for help and start the evacuation.” I ordered, my voice perfectly calm, “We’ll do our best to contain it here. And get Drake to come here. We might need his help.”

“But why are the Loyal Three alive right now? I thought they were—”

“Enough. Now’s not the time for this.” Cynthia cut him off, “I’ve already triggered the emergency alarm. So run back and make sure the rest of your people are cooperating with the evacuation. We need to make sure that the public is as far away from this battle as possible.”

“…Okay, got it.” And then he was off, allowing us to return our attention to the battle.

However, more importantly than that was the reaction from Ogerpon. Initially, she had panicked and looked ready to run away when the fight took place. Her eyes had been filled with fear and alarm as she took in the Titan forms of the Loyal Three for the first time.

But perhaps, after seeing us fighting back against these beings with a calm sense of efficiency, she had regained her resolve. And for the first time in what was likely centuries, she once again found herself fighting against the Loyal Three in order to protect Mossui Town.

And it was clear that the years had not deteriorated her strength as she sent forth a massive Power Whip that let out a loud crack as it struck the side of Munkidori’s head. Not very effective or not, the force behind the attack was enough to cause it to stumble backwards once more.

Munkidori tried to retaliate as it unleashed a massive burst of Psychic energy towards us, but Spiritomb and Wraith were ready for that as they both retaliated with powerful Dark Pulses of their own, softening the incoming blow enough so that the Light Screens could protect us.

From that attack alone, it just confirmed to me what I had already suspected – that Munkidori, in Titan form or not, was not at the same level of power as the other Legendaries that I had faced off against.

So this was a fight that we could win.

Of course, the remaining two members of the Loyal Three were not going to just allow us to beat down on Munkidori alone, and they quickly joined in on the fighting.

Okidogi landed in front of Tyrant and interposed himself between him and Munkidori, catching the incoming Mega Punch from Tyrant that was meant for Munkidori. Okidogi grinned down at Tyrant with an arrogant smirk on its face, as if to taunt Tyrant for his weakness – only for that smirk to be instantly wiped off his face as Tyrant unleashed a point blank Earthquake that tripped up Okidogi, before he launched himself into the air, dodging over a blind grab from Okidogi, before he slammed their heads together with a quadruply supereffective Zen Headbutt that knocked Okidogi right down to the ground from the sheer power behind that blow.

Okidogi might be several times bigger than Tyrant, but since when did size matter in a fight like this?

The only thing that mattered was strength, and Tyrant had that in spades.

He even matched against Zekrom. So who was this overgrown fraud to challenge him?

Munkidori tried to assist its ally by throwing a massive Sludge Wave in Tyrant’s direction, but he easily dodged out of the way by performing an aerial somersault using Aerial Ace that also sliced into the recovering Okidogi, forcing it back onto its knees once again.

It was then that Ogerpon also joined in on the fighting, and showing off the fact that she was no weaker than our Pokémon in strength, she bashed Okidogi with another powerful Zen Headbutt of her own while simultaneously throwing up a Protect shield that blocked another Sludge Wave from Munkidori, keeping her and Tyrant safe. Then a massive Ivy Cudgel came slamming down on top of the fallen Okidogi, burying it in a small hole in the ground. She even threw forth a few Leech Seeds at Okidogi to start draining its health overtime while restoring her own.

However, an ear-piercing screech flooded over us from Fezandipiti, causing all of us to stumble uncertainly as our eyes glazed over from the artificial charm that it had tried to douse us with. Yet its attempt to charm us quickly failed as we rapidly regained our senses, and all that Fezandipiti had done was enrage us.

Which is why two orbs of blindingly bright light started to fill the battlefield as both Zephyr and Garchomp were enveloped in the signature glow of a Mega Evolution – the first time we would be using it in an actual battle. And what better way was there for them to debut their newfound power than in a battle like this?

Zephyr was the first to emerge from his cocoon of light, and he instantly sent forth a massive Hurricane that ravaged through the battlefield, destroying all in its wake. His target was Fezandipiti, but even Munkidori was forced to leap out of the way as it too was in the path of the Hurricane.

Fezandipiti was painfully eviscerated by the howling gale winds, and before it could recover, the now-Mega Evolved Garchomp came roaring forwards as she slammed their heads together with a brutal and supereffective Iron Head, causing it to let out a melodic screech of pain as it reeled back from the blow.

Ironically, thanks to its larger size, Fezandipiti actually became easier to hit, and it wasn’t capable of being as evasive as it would have been if it was smaller.

Therefore, it wasn’t hard for one of our Pokémon to be able to follow-up on our Megas’ assault as one of them landed a glancing blow on one of its wings with a thrown Stone Edge, causing Fezandpiti to spiral uncontrollably as it fell out of the air.

And now that it was deprived of its ability to fly, its poor defensive typing allowed us to ferociously pummel it with attacks as our Pokémon worked together like a well-oiled machine of destruction.

Lucario and Ornstein were dashing in-and-out of the fight,  performing an unending series of hit-and-run attacks as they would strike or slash at Fezandipiti with Bullet Punches or Night Slashes respectively. Then from a distance, Psychics would blast it from all directions to keep it pinned down and distracted, while Taunts, Torments, and various other debuffs like Charms and Encores also bombarded it, making sure that it remained disorientated and unable to fight back effectively.

So titan form or not, its newfound size and power meant nothing if it couldn’t land a good hit.

Meanwhile, in the distance, Munkidori was kept busy as it faced off against Vordt, Smough, Winston, Pixel, Milotic, and Kleavor. It had been trying to fend them off by inflicting a debilitating confusion on them, yet thanks to the Safeguard from Milotic, it kept them all safe from both the confusion and from being Badly Poisoned by the Toxic Chain ability.

All the while, our healers were hard at work making sure that our Pokémon were all topped up with health as they repeatedly made use of Life Dews and Heal Pulses. Most of their attention was focused on Tyrant and Ogerpon, who were currently duelling Okidogi to a standstill.

Therefore, as the battle broke out into three different sections, and though the three titans were likely individually stronger than any of our Pokémon, that difference in strength was completely neturalised by the sheer amount of defensive and support buffs that our Pokémon received – from Helping Hands to Heal Pulses – they was easily able to hold their own.

And that wasn’t even including the number difference.

So the fact that the battle had been split three ways was actually a good thing for us. The last thing we wanted was for the Loyal Three to combine their strengths together and make use of teamwork, so forcibly keeping them split like this was massively advantageous for us.

I also began to notice that the Loyal Three were not as resilient as I expected. Despite their massive size and the power that imbued each of their attacks thanks to their titan forms, they were really bad at taking hits as they often recoiled in loud, painful moans.

I suspected that this was because their strength was borrowed – they didn’t actually have much in the way of combat experience. Or if they did, then it was against foes that were no match for them and wouldn’t require any skill on the part of the Loyal Three to defeat.

Perhaps that was why they got thrashed by Ogerpon.

Because of this, as the battle raged on, I noticed that their once-arrogant and confident smirks had long since faded away, and was replaced with a wary sense of caution and alarm as they realised that this was not a fight they could easily win.

Or perhaps, were even losing. Because our Pokémon were not giving them an inch to breathe or recover. 

Fezandipiti especially was getting absolutely pummelled by our Pokémon, as it had the majority of our Pokémon’s attention on it as well as two Mega Evolutions. It really had tried everything it could to create distance and force our Pokémon away so that it could take back to the skies again, but our Pokémon never allowed it to.

Heat Waves and Dazzling Gleams were all covered by a reinforced layer of Light Screens, while any attempt to Poison or Charm our Pokémon were either immediately purged off with a Heal Bell, or was just blocked entirely by a Safeguard. Likewise, trying to make use of physical moves like Cross Poison or Wing Attack to force our Pokémon away was ineffective as well, as our Pokémon (especially Garchomp, Lucario, and Ornstein) would just parry the blow and return it with a hard-hitting Iron Head or Counter respectively.

Fezandipiti stood absolutely no match against our Pokémon. In both technique and power, it was completely overwhelmed.

Likewise, the remaining two members of the Loyal Three must have realised how badly the fight was going for them. They watched as Fezandipiti let out repeating shrieks and cries of pain, and yet they were unable to rescue or support their brethren as our Pokémon kept them busy and suppressed.

Okidogi especially had been trying to fight his way over to support Fezandipiti, but Tyrant and Ogerpon stood in its way.

And they did not let him pass.

Which is why they suddenly switched tactics – surprising us with the most infamous tactic known to both humans and Pokémon—

They ran away.

Okidogi was the first to flee. It had the least amount of Pokémon on it, and neither Tyrant nor Ogerpon had the brute strength necessary to force it to stay in place. Therefore, it was pretty easy for Okidogi to just leap away, using its enormous size to make huge strides across Kitakami as it cowardly fled away from the battle.

Munkidori had a rougher time making its escape, but it eventually managed to do so after a sneaky Grass Knot tripped over Vordt, and a combination of both Sludge Wave and Focus Blasts forced our Pokémon onto the defensive – buying enough time for it to U-Turn and make a retreat.

Our Pokémon did try to chase after it, but just like with Okidogi, Munkidori not only moved too quickly, but the attacks that it fired back at our Pokémon were not easily shrugged off, since they still packed quite the punch.

As a result, we were forced to let them flee. But not for free.

“Fliers! Keep an eye on them!” Cynthia immediately ordered, “Track them from a distance. Stay safe, but report where they are to us!”

Our fliers quickly responded, and Togekiss, Port, and even Zephyr chased after the two fleeing titans. Meanwhile, we focused our attention on the remaining member of the Loyal Three that hadn’t managed to escape our grasp – Fezandipiti.

And now that it had been abandoned by the other members of the trio, it meant that its fate was sealed as all of our other Pokémon, which were previously dealing with either Okidogi or Munkidori, were now free to join in on the beatdown.

Needless to say, titan form or not, Fezandipiti stood no chance against the full might of our combined teams. The combination of both Tyrant and Mega Garchomp and their repeated supereffective Iron Heads was especially deadly for Fezandipiti, and it didn’t take long to be knocked out by our unending barrage of attacks.

Interestingly enough, its defeat also caused it to shrink back down to its regular size as its titan form faded away. But Tyrant made sure to bash it one more time just to make sure that it was properly knocked out.

“…We’re going to have to chase after the rest.” Cynthia said with a frown, “We can’t just let them escape.”

“Not by ourselves.” I shook my head, “We got lucky with the fight just now. They were not ready for our level of firepower. If they had chosen to focus on destruction rather than fighting us, they could have caused a lot of harm. We were lucky they chose to retreat. So we should gather up a proper strike team to take them down.”

“The locals might not like that.” She pointed out, “Just a few hours ago they were worshipping the Loyal Three, and now they’ve suddenly come back to life and are now rampaging all over Kitakami. Not all of them would agree to fight back against them, not without seeing the full picture.”

I shook my head, “It doesn’t matter what they think. They might not be as powerful as a ‘proper’ Legendary, but there can be no doubt that the amount of widespread destruction they can inflict on our cities is immense. Even if we receive backlash from them, they have to be contained first and foremost.”

“True.” She was quick to agree with me, “Okay, I’ll speak with the Jennys and the Rangers and have them join us in the battle. We’ll overwhelm them with numbers and contain them.”

“What about this one though?” I pointed to Fezandipiti, “We can’t just leave it here. And the locals really won’t like it if we caught it in a Pokéball.”

“The Rangers should have the equipment necessary to keep it contained.” She replied, then she let out another sigh as she plopped down on the ground, “Phew. I didn’t expect for today to be so interesting. Who knew we would go from running a marathon up a mountain into a battle against three reawakened ‘Legendaries’.”

“Our Pokémon showed that they’ve come a long way since their first fight against Palkia. Today, we technically held our ground against a Legendary basically by ourselves.” I nodded, “And it ended up being a good test for our Mega Evolutions too. Your Garchomp in particular really put in the hurt.”

“Well we didn’t do all that training for nothing.” Then she turned and smiled at Ogerpon, “You too, Ogerpon. Thanks for helping us out today.”

Ogerpon nodded back, and this time her posture was a lot more confident and self-assured; as if the battle just now had reignited her confidence.

“…Speaking of which, Ogerpon, do you know what happened just now? Why did the Loyal Three suddenly come back to life?” Cynthia asked her, “Did you do something?”

Ogerpon frantically shook her head, clearly indicating that she didn’t know either.

Cynthia frowned, “That’s annoying. As much as I like a good mystery, I’d really prefer if I had something definitive to tell the locals later when they question why the Loyal Three suddenly woke back up again when they’re supposed to be dead. In any case – this does show that their oral stories about the Loyal Three were inaccurate. I just hope that they don’t blame Ogerpon for the Loyal Three’s sudden reawakening and rampage.”

Ogerpon looked saddened as she heard that, so Cynthia let out a comforting smile as she patted Ogerpon on the head, “Don’t worry, I know you didn’t mean it. And no matter what they say, I know you’re innocent and I will defend you in front of them. You won’t be alone.”

“Same.” I added, “Even though you didn’t necessarily have to join in on that fight, you still did. So you helped play a part in protecting the locals of Kitakami from the Loyal Three’s rampage. You can be proud of yourself for that.”

Ogerpon smiled, and with the help of Klee to translate her words, she also promised to help us finish off the remaining two members of the Loyal Three. Amusingly, she did not offer this purely because she wanted to help us out, but because she wanted revenge against them.

Quite reasonably, she held quite the grudge against them. And she was very determined to get her payback.

My thoughts were cut off as I heard a large horde of footsteps coming this way, and I didn’t have to turn around to see that our reinforcements had finally arrived as the evacuation efforts were finished.

Good. That meant that we could focus on taking down the remaining members of the Loyal Three.

We could discuss what we would do with them afterwards.

A.N. Sorry again for the delays. My stomach condition isn't getting any better - even after so long. So that's really been affecting my ability to write. I do apologise.

Nevertheless, here’s the fight against the Loyal Three! Naturally, this fight isn’t going to be nearly as devastating as a fight against a proper Legendary, as even in their titan forms, I never saw the Loyal Three to be THAT strong. That’s obviously not to say that they’re weak, but against the likes of Cynthia and John and how strong their Pokémon have gotten, the Loyal Three won’t be overpowering them so easily.

But the fight isn’t over here. There’s still more to come! Hope you enjoyed!