At first glance, Flutter Mane looked like a gigantic Mismagius.
It was said that Flutter Mane would sway its long body hair and drift leisurely through the night sky.
According to eyewitness accounts, its temperament was extremely violent and battle-hungry.
There was also a theory that it was a ghost, born from the soul of an ancient Aerodactyl.
On the competitive field, thanks to its excellent stat spread and typing, combined with overwhelming Speed and offensive coverage, it had been active for a very long time. At one point it was even lumped together with the other four meta plagues and jokingly called part of the "Chi–Tusk–Fish–Leopard–Mane" unhealthy core.
To some extent, it had even stolen the jobs of many fast Fairy-type sweepers. Among the powerful, meta-defining newcomers, it could be called the most outrageous of them all—immune to Fake Out and Intimidate, a truly magnificent example of "what on earth were the Pokémon designers thinking?!"
The Flutter Mane in front of them was enormous.
And unexpectedly, her eyes were glowing with a wild crimson light.
"Don't tell me… the Old Amber is resonating with this one?"
"Boss Paradox? Why am I having this kind of dream…?"
Boss Pokémon carried a condition known as Wild Power.
When in the Wild Power state, a Pokémon takes only half damage from status conditions and stat-shredding effects.
When in the Wild Power state, its Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed are all fixed at base 32.
As for why she was resonating with the Old Amber—that was easy enough to understand.
She'd also been an Aerodactyl "in life."
She drifted through the air and instantly picked out the Claydol that had just begun to move.
Maybe it was for fun. Maybe it was simple hunting instinct. Or maybe it was the primitive thrill of playing with prey.
Flutter Mane lobbed a massive Shadow Ball straight at Claydol.
The hit was super effective. Claydol's typing was Psychic/Ground, which was weak to Ghost.
The huge Shadow Ball left cracks all over Claydol's body. The Light Clay it was made from went soft and sagged.
Flutter Mane, like some feral brat of a girl, used her long feathers to hide the corners of her mouth while letting out a wild, unrestrained laugh.
"She's playing. She's treating Claydol as a toy—prey to be tormented and destroyed. Ancient Pokémon were just this violent and unfathomable. But that's exactly what makes them so charming…"
Sada AI narrated, though she had to admit that the tempers of these Paradox Pokémon were unstable in the extreme, and oftentimes downright cruel.
But because she had inherited Professor Sada's feelings, even knowing how "nasty" these Paradox Pokémon could be, she still couldn't stop herself from loving them.
It was a setting in her program—part of the lowest-level personality logic. It could not be altered.
Flutter Mane's attack threw the ancient people into a panic.
The newly born guardian deity, Claydol, was wobbling badly. It seemed completely incapable of standing up to Flutter Mane.
Even Sada AI's expression grew serious.
"Claydol, use Eerie Impulse."
Hikaru issued his commands carefully.
Eerie Impulse would radiate bizarre electrical waves from the user's body, bathing the opponent in them and sharply lowering its Special Attack.
Though Claydol had been born from his natural energy, it could receive special electromagnetic waves from space—this was also the key to how it could learn Cosmic Power.
"Habba~peh!"
Wrapped in those strange electrical waves, Flutter Mane suddenly felt a wave of weakness. It made her furious.
She focused an even bigger Shadow Ball and hurled it straight at Claydol.
"Teleport."
Claydol's eyes flashed. It vanished from the Shadow Ball's range in an instant, reappeared beside Flutter Mane, and followed Hikaru's next command.
"Shadow Ball."
That's right—Claydol could learn Shadow Ball too.
The strange Ghost-type power was turned back on its source. With a bang, it exploded against Flutter Mane's body. She let out a pained cry, baring her teeth at the dopey-looking Claydol—and then her eyes slid past it and locked straight onto Hikaru.
That "human."
He was the one commanding this big clay lump. From the standpoint of "play," wouldn't this human be an even more interesting toy?
"She's coming for us!"
Sada AI cried out. Hikaru also saw it—Flutter Mane's enormous body swooped down, the movement almost identical to Aerodactyl diving on prey.
Fresh, interesting prey.
That was what her eyes were saying.
"She can see me. So it really is because of the Old Amber?"
The earlier crazy primitives, the Sandy Shocks, had completely ignored him. But this Flutter Mane could perceive his existence.
Wild power roared through the air. Strange light flashed in her eyes.
Confuse Ray—disturbing the foe and plunging it into confusion.
It worked just as well on humans. As a hunting tool, it almost never failed.
However, the moment that ghostly light struck the ground, the "Primordial Cry" on Hikaru's body took effect.
Primordial energy activity rose, and negative effects were negated. Confuse Ray shone upon him, but instead of sending him into confusion, it boosted the activity of Ghost-type power. His soul's energy surged, and the Old Amber in his hand shone even more brightly.
The Amber suddenly flew out and smacked square into Flutter Mane's forehead. The little gremlin let out a scream of pain, flapping her great feathered wings as she shot back into the sky—only to immediately eat a Solar Beam from Claydol, which left her gritting her teeth in pure rage.
And in the midst of that surging energy, the Old Amber began to change.
The amber shattered. The tiny corpse inside—mosquito-like, yet clearly not any known Pokémon—also crumbled away. The ancient genetic material preserved within it revived in this historical memory, rapidly growing from juvenile form to adulthood.
"Roooaaar!"
A pair of massive wings snapped open. In this surging primordial age, a colossal black shadow beat its wings and roared from on high.
"Aerodactyl?!"
"The Old Amber got restored? But there aren't any fossil machines here—how is that even possible?"
Sada AI was utterly stunned by what she was seeing.
Hikaru spread his hands. "Beats me. Maybe it's the combined effect of primordial power and temporal energy."
"Or maybe this is all just part of historical memory too."
"In Aerodactyl's Pokédex entries, there's a line about this."
"It's said to have a fondness for amber—maybe because amber reminds it of its old companions."
In that case… was your "old companion" the Flutter Mane hovering in front of you now?
Even if that were true, she had already finished her metamorphosis from Aerodactyl into a Ghost. Whether she still retained any past memories was very much in doubt.
"They call it the king of the ancient skies…"
Sada AI frowned slightly, unable to parse what Hikaru had just said. Seeing that he had no intention of explaining further, she turned her attention back to the Aerodactyl that had just been resurrected.
Wait—there was something off about this Aerodactyl.
It stared at Flutter Mane with intense hostility—as if they were competing over the right to survive. There was some strange connection between them, too.
And its appearance was slightly different from that of a normal Aerodactyl.
This Aerodactyl did not have its usual look.
A thin layer of obsidian seemed to coat its body. The fractured edges of this stone were extremely sharp; ancient people had once used it to make weapons.
In the far past, obsidian had also been called "dragon crystal."
"Rooaar!"
Aerodactyl roared at Flutter Mane, the tone almost like an order.
But sure enough, Boss Flutter Mane couldn't remember what Aerodactyl even was.
It felt vaguely familiar, yet utterly strange.
That made Aerodactyl let out an angry bellow.
"Well, of course. Right now it's twenty thousand years ago. According to legend, your kin went extinct in an even earlier age, wiped out by a massive meteor."
Hikaru explained things to Aerodactyl, using psychic power to lay the facts bare in its mind.
"Even your resurrection may just be another part of the historical record—not truly real."
"After such a long time has passed, there's no telling whether she still remembers you as Aerodactyl."
That Aerodactyl should have its ancient memories—that much was obvious.
Because what had been resurrected was its genes. At the core, it was a clone of some specific Aerodactyl from ages past.
Aerodactyl looked at Hikaru. Flutter Mane cackled.
There was not a trace of comradeship in that laugh. Only the delight of having discovered new toys and new prey.
"Habba?"
You want to order me around?
Trash. Trash, trash.
And that "Aerodactyl" in front of her had a scent that sent Flutter Mane's emotions soaring.
The scent of dragons.
As a Fairy and a primeval hunter, one of Flutter Mane's preferred prey species was… dragons.
So what "king of the skies"? It was just a little dragon.
Though… little things were cute too.
"Dragon?"
Hikaru read Flutter Mane's thoughts. He'd already felt something was off earlier, but now he was almost certain.
With the help of historical memory and temporal power, this resurrected Aerodactyl was not Rock-type.
It was Dragon/Flying.
"There is such a theory."
Sada AI rubbed her chin. "Some scholars believe that although the modern revived Aerodactyl is not Dragon-type, its original typing back when it ruled the ancient skies was Dragon-type."
She stared, stunned, at this special Aerodactyl. "This is my first time seeing something like this too…"
Hikaru: "But when you're facing a Fairy, that typing is… really not ideal."
If it were Rock/Flying, it would completely ignore Ghost and Fairy attacks. But as Dragon/Flying, this reversion put it at a massive disadvantage in the modern context.
"Trust you to revert to your 'original form' exactly when we needed you to be Rock-type…"
In its own way, that was another kind of return to origins.
What's more, Aerodactyl's movepool barely had any physical Dragon-type moves. It couldn't even learn Outrage, and was stuck with Dragon Claw.
It not learning Brave Bird—fine, you could say it was more of a dragon.
It not learning Outrage—fine, you could say it wasn't officially Dragon-type.
But it not learning Double-Edge… that just made no sense at all. As if Aerodactyl didn't even have a head.
Hikaru rubbed his chin, mentally ranting.
Honestly, maybe Aerodactyl's head had died long ago, and the "brain" was just the rock stuck in its skull.
You could take those old Parasect horror theories, swap the names, and they'd work just fine as an Aerodactyl creepypasta too.
That said, Aerodactyl could learn Sky Attack via TM back in Gen I, which just raised new questions.
"This Aerodactyl's status in life seems to have been high. Don't tell me it was actually a 'Wing King'? Or maybe when members of this species meet, they have to settle who's on top."
Aerodactyl was already vicious by default. Put it in front of Flutter Mane and they were two of a kind. To not start a fight would have been the real miracle.
"Habba-babba-babba~"
Flutter Mane snickered, and a full ancient moon appeared above her head.
Moonblast.
Fairy light bloomed, and as a Dragon/Flying "ancient Aerodactyl" with a 2× weakness to Fairy, a direct hit would be devastating.
Today I'll beat you to your knees, then drag you back to my nest as…
"Dragon Dance!"
Aerodactyl was furious, like a royal beast glaring down at a rebellious servant.
You dare talk to me like that?
We're doing this.
It heard Hikaru's voice then. Combined with the fact that this "companion" in front of it not only didn't recognize it, but was trying to overthrow it and treat it as prey…
Clearly, the thing in front of it was no longer "kin."
Aerodactyl snapped as well.
You've got some nerve.
Flutter Mane's violent nature—
That came straight from Aerodactyl, the base species, which had always been ferocious by nature.
If she wouldn't be a companion…
Then they could settle it between teeth and claws.
Without comradeship, that left only food.
Aerodactyl immediately beat its wings and launched into a fierce, mysterious dance. Its pupils narrowed to slits as it entered a berserk hunting mode.
Dragon Dance—raising Attack and Speed by one stage.
Originally, Aerodactyl and Flutter Mane's Speed only differed by 5 points. At that level of glass-cannon play, a tiny Speed gap could mean the difference between life and death.
In this ancient historical memory, Flutter Mane enjoyed an "Ancient Activation" boost that made it even faster.
Without that, and having instead "reverted" its typing, Aerodactyl had no choice but to use Dragon Dance to catch up.
"Ancient Power!"
Aerodactyl roared, unleashing a force unique to ancient Pokémon.
Ancient Power—attacking with primordial energy, and sometimes raising all its stats.
Boom!
Every single one of Aerodactyl's stats went up by one stage.
"Tch!"
Flutter Mane's Moonblast whiffed. Bombarded by Ancient Power instead, she snarled and bared her teeth, shooting a murderous glare at Hikaru.
I'll remember you.
Once I catch you, we'll see how I play with you.
"Claydol, Rock Slide."
Hikaru waved dismissively, ignoring her threats.
She wanted to catch him?
She could get through the two Pokémon in front of her first.
Claydol's big head started spinning. In sync with Aerodactyl, it fired off Rock Slide after Rock Slide.
And Aerodactyl heard Hikaru's command as well.
"Aerodactyl, Rock Slide!"
Twin Rock Slides. With Rock Slide's 30% chance to flinch, Hikaru simply flipped the manual Serene Grace switch.
Massive rocks crashed down one after another on Flutter Mane. The ancient Fairy dove left and right, shrieking in a high-pitched wail. Smoke puffed from her forehead in pure rage. Then, in a single moment of carelessness, dozens of rocks slammed straight into her face.
"Habba!!"
Flutter Mane was furious. Her forehead hurt like crazy.
Her physical Defense was paper-thin to begin with. After eating a barrage of Rock Slides, her HP bar was scraping the bottom. Even as a Boss, she couldn't withstand that kind of focused fire.
Worst of all—
She couldn't get her moves off.
Flinch. Flinch. Flinch again.
"Habba-babba-babaaa!!!"
Hikaru: "Watch the language. That won't help. Keep using Rock Slide."
Sada AI stared, amazed. "You… can understand what she's saying?"
Hikaru: "I can read a Pokémon's heart. I'm a Psychic."
Even a supercomputer like Sada AI had things she'd never seen before.
To be fair, there didn't seem to be any Psychics in Paldea at all.
"Wait—she's gone!"
Sada AI suddenly pointed ahead.
Sure enough, under infinite Rock Slide and infinite flinch, Flutter Mane had reached her limit.
She finally found a chance to move and immediately slipped into the shadows without a second thought.
Phantom Force.
She would vanish somewhere on the first turn, then strike on the second. It could even hit through Protect.
Basically a "mini Shadow Force."
But compared to Shadow Force's limited distribution, Phantom Force was a move plenty of Pokémon could learn.
Flutter Mane's target was crystal clear.
Claydol was nasty, with infuriatingly high Defense.
Aerodactyl was a baffling piece of prey with access to Rock Slide that was making her life miserable.
But the human who had been commanding both Pokémon from the very beginning—that was her real target.
That was what truly infuriated her.
This time I'll grab you. Let's see how you command then.
"Hee-hee-hee…"
Just as she was about to strike, a bolt of lightning shot from the "hand" of that human.
A Pokémon without a true solid body, known as a plasma lifeform.
A blinding mass of electromagnetic waves engulfed her.
"Hah?!"
Flutter Mane's expression was one of pure disbelief.
Her Speed—her precious, prideful Speed tier…!
"Rooaar!"
Aerodactyl's roar sounded from behind her, and Flutter Mane spun around.
A blazing light wrapped around Aerodactyl.
"Sky Attack!"
Aerodactyl's eyes shone with murderous light. The fierce glow wrapped around it, stirring the atmosphere into a raging vortex as it slammed straight into the gem on Flutter Mane's chest.
"Habba-ha—!"
With 140 base power and same-type STAB, that monstrous blow smashed into Flutter Mane's pitiful physical Defense. Even with Boss-state buffs, she couldn't withstand it. She went flying, knocked from her drifting float and smashed into the ground.
The earth itself buckled into a massive crater. Aerodactyl beat its wings and roared triumphantly.
So Dragon-typing couldn't deal with you?
Look who's on top now.
"Now say 'I'm sorry.'"
"Habba-bba (I'll nev…er… lo—)."
"That little gremlin's not hearing anything anymore."
Hikaru and Sada AI walked up to the edge of the crater and saw that Flutter Mane's eyes had turned into dizzy spirals. The last words she'd managed to push out had just been unconscious muttering as she fainted.
It was obvious she'd completely lost the ability to fight.
"A Dragon-type actually beat a Fairy-type. Even after transforming into a Paradox form, it still couldn't beat its own base model, huh."
Sada AI stared thoughtfully at the roaring Aerodactyl. Having defeated this baffling "non-comrade," Aerodactyl was in a fantastic mood.
The ancient skies' king had returned.
(End of Chapter)
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