Jason was dumbfounded.
He stared blankly at the ordinary hexagonal pendant in Liko's hand, unable to process the whiplash.
What the heck?
A second ago the Terapagos had been unstoppable—face-tanking Walking Wake and Raging Bolt, practically wearing "World's Hardest" on its shell—and then… poof? Gone?
Mid-fight, at the critical moment, you bail?
What is this, friendly fire on your teammates?
Jason felt like his brain was overheating. This legendary was wildly unreliable.
Wasn't it supposed to "protect"? "Fight together"? So it pops in to flex, then leaves the mess to him?
With Terapagos back in pendant form, the oppressive pressure evaporated without a trace.
Walking Wake and Raging Bolt, who'd been wavering and ready to make a strategic retreat, halted almost in unison.
They weren't idiots. The only reason they'd been pinned was the little turtle's absurd defense—completely uncrackable.
Now the mobile fortress was gone. The rest of this lot? In their eyes, a handful of slightly beefy ants.
The threat was gone.
Which meant…
Counterattack time.
"Skree!"
Wake and Bolt exchanged a look—anger and killing intent unabashed in both pairs of eyes.
They turned, massive bodies once again blocking the party's escape, and locked on with feral glares.
Especially that Ditto.
The humiliation of being toyed with had to be paid back in blood.
The air snapped tight to freezing.
"Uh… can the pendant turn back again?" Nemona swallowed, staring at the trinket in Liko's hand.
Iono pointed the camera at Liko, voice taut. "Family, the situation flipped! Our heavy-hitting backup just DC'd! Your host is panicking!"
All eyes fell to Liko.
She gripped the pendant, heart racing. "Terapagos! Come out, please! Jason's in danger!"
She shook it with all her strength and shouted at it.
Moments ago she'd been useless—no Pokémon of her own, stuck on the sideline cheering. The helplessness burned, the anger at her weakness stung.
But now she knew—she did have a Pokémon. And not just any—a guardian so strong it had shrugged off Wake and Bolt in tandem.
She wanted to fight, to help Jason, to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
No matter how she called and shook, the pendant remained inert—cold, heavy, ordinary.
Terapagos, it seemed, truly had no intention of reappearing.
Cynthia's gaze flicked over Liko and the pendant, a shadow of concern in her eyes—but her voice steadied at once. "It's fine. We're not at the end yet. This fight's not decided."
She stepped forward, interposing herself before Jason and Liko, champion's aura rolling off her in waves.
"I'll have Garchomp and the others cover you. When the opening comes, you run."
She was already bracing to hold the line, to command her team while buying time for the others to escape.
Jason didn't budge.
He stepped out from behind Cynthia to stand at her side, shoulder to shoulder with the Sinnoh Champion.
"Let's fight together."
Quiet words, but the seriousness and resolve in his tone made Cynthia glance sideways, surprised.
Gone was the flippant grin. In its place, an expression she'd never seen on him: stark, solemn intent.
Their eyes met; the taut atmosphere seemed to freeze for an instant.
Suddenly Cynthia's lips twitched and she burst into a light laugh.
It rang clear in the dead silence.
One hand rose to cover the smile as her shoulders shook a little; those pretty gray eyes curved to crescents.
Jason was speechless.
"Seriously, Cynthia? Now?" he muttered, exasperated. "We're about to be turned into roadkill by those two and you're laughing?"
"Sorry, sorry." She forced the smile down, but the mirth lingered at the corners of her eyes. She smoothed a wind-tossed strand of gold and explained, "I've seen worse. This won't rattle me. Relax."
A beat; the teasing glint returned. "It's just… picturing you riding that Terapagos, yelling 'Charge! Charge! Charge!'—I couldn't help it."
Jason's face darkened. He sighed. "Can we not? I was trying to rally morale. Who knew it'd ghost us mid-fight, drop the party and go back to sleep?"
Just thinking of christening the "Turtle Knight" made his cheeks burn.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop." Cynthia tapped his shoulder, voice turning soothing. "It'll be fine."
Her face smoothed into seriousness—the calm of absolute strength.
The champion's pride and poise returned, steady as bedrock.
Looking into those sharpened, tranquil eyes, Jason felt his own nerves settle. He nodded, no more words.
Together they turned to face the two ancient predators.
In the back, Liko, Nemona, and Iono stood dumbstruck. Liko clutched her cold pendant, worry written across her features. She looked at the not-so-broad backs of Jason and Cynthia and felt both moved and guilty. Nemona clenched her fists, stars blazing in her eyes; she was dying to charge in and join a legend-class brawl. Iono's lens drank it all in, lingering on the pair before panning to the opposite line.
"Family, see it?" she whispered into the mic. "That's a champion's spirit—no retreat even at the edge. And Jason—what guts. So cool…"
Across the lava-scar, Walking Wake and Raging Bolt were apoplectic. These puny creatures daring to stand their ground? It was a slap.
Bolt roared, mane flashing—electricity built to a bitter stench. Wake's jaws churned, water energy spiraling; stone darkened with damp.
They would erase these fools—and everyone behind them—with their strongest blows.
And then—
A roar more imperious than Bolt's and fiercer than Wake's Hydro Pump ripped across the cavern.
"RROOOAAR!"
The force of it stabbed every ear like a blade. An instant later, a torrent of heat so intense it warped the air crashed from above.
Not ordinary flame—golden, annihilating fire—a waterfall from the sky, falling with perfect precision between Jason's group and the ancients.
BOOOM!
Where fire met stone, the ground melted like tofu; a deep lava trench tore itself open, crimson magma rolling and hissing, cutting the battlefield clean in two.
Everyone froze, stunned, eyes drawn up.
A tall, regal silhouette landed on an outcrop, then stepped off.
THUD.
It hit beside the lava cut; the whole floor shuddered.
They'd never seen a Pokémon like it.
It was like Entei in outline—but more majestic, crowned horns like a diadem. Cloud-white mane billowed like smoke, and the body seemed wrapped in flowing magma, a cloak of roaring flame for its kingly frame.
It did nothing more than stand there, yet sovereignty radiated from it.
The ancient Entei—Gouging Fire.
"Entei? No… not Entei," Cynthia murmured, surprise flickering across her face.
Her first thought had been Entei; but with Raging Bolt and Walking Wake here, she corrected herself. This wasn't Entei.
"Whoa! Family—three beasts—no, ancient variants!" Iono babbled, breathless. "Today's Ancient Beast Convention, let's go!"
"So… cool," Nemona breathed, eyes starry; a battle maniac's priorities were always curious.
Liko stared, oddly certain its gaze was somehow meeting hers.
Jason saw the Gouging Fire and let out a long breath.
Finally—someone reliable.
This should be one of the Six Heroes of rumor. It must have been Terapagos's energy surge that drew it here. With it on the field, they might walk away from this.
Gouging Fire ignored the tiny humans entirely. Its golden eyes swept past the lava to Wake and Bolt.
No anger, no bloodlust—pure warning, pure expulsion. As if driving beasts out of its domain.
The two had strutted around like tyrants; now both actually took a step back, trepidation breaking through. They knew this one—if only by reputation.
They'd built syndicates, recruiting every strong Paradox they could—hence their tenuous alliance and familiarity. Gouging Fire? It belonged to none. Waiting—for someone? It had refused every overture.
Running into it here was unexpected—and unsettling.
Gouging Fire stepped forward; the ground throbbed.
It fixed the ancients with a low, commanding voice.
"Leave."
One word. Simple, direct.
Raging Bolt's temper was shorter. Lightning danced along its ruff as it snapped back, "What are you? This isn't your business—stay out of it!"
Wake added coldly, "That's right. We've got scores to settle. Move."
Two-on-one—surely not unwinnable.
Gouging Fire snorted, twin jets of heat flaring from its nostrils.
"I'll say it once more: leave." Heat swelled with its rising anger. "These humans are under my protection. If you disagree—fight."
"You—!" Bolt snarled, incandescent. "Think we're afraid? Don't get cocky!"
"Try me." Gouging Fire lowered its stance, flames billowing higher. "It's been too long since I stretched."
The air crackled—one more word would set the clash ablaze.
Bolt gathered itself to charge—
"Wait," Wake said, tail barring its path. Its voice had cooled.
~~~
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